SAM RUCKER'S "TELL YOU SOMETHING" EARNS PRAISE AS THE SINGLE "BE TRUE 2 WHO U R" GAINS RADIO PLAY

Hip hop producer turned contemporary jazz sax evangelist Sam Rucker stands out from the bunch by preaching melodic messages of hope and inspiration on “Tell You Something,” his sophomore set that was released today by Favor Productions featuring contributions from R&B and contemporary jazz veterans Norman Connors, Bobby Lyle, Tom Browne and Alyson Williams on the disc mixed and mastered by Euge Groove.

Rucker’s street cred on the gritty urban set chock full of meaty hip hop beats is never in question. Author of the album’s eight originals, he produced nine tunes and shared the helm with Connors on three classic R&B covers: “Before I Let Go,” “Footsteps in the Dark” and a version of Connors’ signature romancer “You Are My Starship” that is ignited by star turns from Browne’s gregarious trumpet and Lyle’s nuanced keyboards. The tracks throughout the session strike a deft balance between soul grooves and improvisational jazz. Rucker’s horn work is organic played passionately through soprano, tenor and alto sax. Lilting harmonies as well as a few cuts that include a vocal chorus uplift like powerful affirmations revealing the artist’s innate ability to connect and communicate with or without words. The first single, “Be True 2 Who U R” eases into the service before shaking the walls with a thundering soprano sax sermon presently finding favor with radio programmers.

A fistful of promotional events in Virginia this week will help launch “Tell You Something.” Tonight Rucker will be in Norfolk for an album listening event held by the Hampton Roads Jazz Lovers Group followed by a live interview at 10pm ET/7pm PT on internet radio program CoffeeTalk Jazz Radio. On Thursday, Rucker will make a live appearance in Hampton at The World Famous Lessons In Jazz Series and Friday finds him performing at the Portsmouth Seawall Music Festival.

Below is a sampling of some of the early album reviews heralding Rucker’s refreshing sound and approach:

“Sam Rucker has mad skills and unlimited potential!...After listening to ‘Tell You Something,’ the emotional quality of his music leaves little doubt that Sam Rucker is as sincere as he is talented.” – Critical Jazz

“Artists like Sam Rucker are more than a breath of fresh air – they represent such incredible promise to this genre because they bring understanding, energy, a  genuine love for the music, and, of course, an abundance of soul.” – The Smooth Jazz Ride

“For lovers of soul-jazz.“ – Sonic Soul

"This is smooth jazz as it was in its heyday.” – Soul and Jazz and Funk

“Tell You Something offers good beginnings, a professional musicianship and exquisite arrangements.” – Smooth Jazz Daily

“Excellent return of Mr Rucker.” – No Solo Smooth Jazz

www.SamRucker.com

NEW RELEASES: ENNIO MORRICONE - LE PROFESSIONEL & LE MARGINAL; LALO SHIFRIN - GOLDEN NEEDLES

ENNIO MORRICONE - LE PROFESSIONEL

A great little Morricone soundtrack – later than most of the classic work, but done for a French thriller that starred Jean-Paul Belmondo, with some great spare compositions that have slight romantic French soundtrack touches! There's some great numbers that feature Morricone's style of drifting solo instruments over strings – including some cool piano with a very offbeat feel – and others that have a wonderfully sweeping full and majestic feel! But given the action in the narrative, there's also a nice undercurrent of darkness too – which keeps things interesting and powerful throughout – in the best manner of a Morricone cop/crime film of the 70s. Titles include "D'Afrique", "Chi Mai", "Le Retour", "Le Vent Le Cri", and "Decision Finale". CD features 25 tracks in all – way more than the original album! (Limited edition of 500.)  ~ Dusty Groove

LALO SHIFRIN - GOLDEN NEEDLES

One of the most obscure Lalo Schifrin soundtracks of the 70s – a really weird, spooky little record that's filled with moody touches! Schifrin's not in all-out action mode here – and instead experiments with a range of styles – including some warm, jazzy elements that are especially nice – mixed with larger passages that are more powerful, and blend together tense orchestrations with some of the exotic touches you might guess from the story! Some of the best selections feature scene shifting passages that really illuminate Lalo's ability to tell a story with sound – and titles include "Heavies Approach/Harbor Sequence", "Chinese Street Source", "Finzie's Piano #1", "Felicity", "Mongolian Stripper", "Harbor Chase/Crowds/Conclusion", "Taxi", "Winters Mansion/Winters/It's Time", and "Airports/Street Fight". (Limited edition of 1000.) ~ Dusty Groove

ENNIO MORRICONE - LE MARGINAL

Ennio Morricone's score for the second Jean-Paul Belmondo "Professionel" police film – written 2 years after the first soundtrack, and with a feel that's a bit more electric and cop show-oriented! There's still plenty of great Morricone touches on the set – including his strong penchant for using space to really heighten the tension of a theme – but the instrumentation also features some electric bass undercurrents that are a bit stronger than usual, making for more of a cop funk groove than you'd expect from Morricone! This expanded CD edition features a total of 25 tracks – far more than the original album – and titles include "Le Marginal", "HSM", "Hypertension", "Theme Classique", "Don't Think Twice", and "Dreamer". (Limited edition of 500.)  ~ Dusty Groove

NEW RELEASES: JOSHUA REDMAN - TRIOS LIVE; YUSEF LATEEF / ROSCOE MITCELL / DOUGLAS EWART / ADAM RUDOLPH - VOICE PRINTS; INGE BRANDENBURG - DON'T BLAME ME

JOSHUA REDMAN  - TRIOS LIVE

Nonesuch Records presents saxophonist Joshua Redman's Trios Live. The album was recorded at New York City s Jazz Standard and Washington, DC s Blues Alley during stands with two different trios Redman and drummer Gregory Hutchinson with bassist Matt Penman (Jazz Standard) and Redman and Hutchinson with bassist Reuben Rogers (Blues Alley). Trios Live features four original tunes by Redman and interpretations of three additional songs. "This album is dedicated to all those folks, all around the world, of all ages, identities, allegiances, and persuasions, who come out, day to day, night after night, to see and hear live jazz," Redman says in the album's liner notes. "You bear witness to this music; you testify to that moment. You are here. You were there. You made it possible. You make it real. You are the reason. You were the point." ~ Amazon.com

YUSEF LATEEF  / ROSCOE MITCELL / DOUGLAS EWART / ADAM RUDOLPH - VOICE PRINTS

Some of the most spiritual work we've heard from Yusef Lateef in years – a set cut with AACM legends Roscoe Mitchell and Douglas Ewart, and done with a sound that takes us back to the legendary sounds of both players in the 70s! Adam Rudolph also joins the quartet, bringing in some great percussion – and the album's a really collaborative affair, with all the musicians shifting through a wide range of instrumentation in their own spheres of expertise – at a level that recalls the work of the Art Ensemble of Chicago at their best. Lateef plays tenor, flutes, oboe, and even vocalizes a bit – as does Ewart, who along with Roscoe Mitchell plays a range of reeds and percussion instruments. Titles include "Voice Prints", "Sound Search", "Harpers Ferry", and "Morning Moves".  ~ Dusty Groove 

INGE BRANDENBURG - DON'T BLAME ME: EUROPE'S BEST JAZZ SINGER IN CONCERT 1958-1962

Rare work from the lovely Inge Brandenburg – one of Germany's hippest jazz singers of the postwar years – and an artist who set the tone for later work from a range of European vocalists! Inge sings in English throughout, and has a groove that's almost in the Verve Records mode – often with small combo backing that allow Inge lots of room for inflection on the lyrics and a definite jazz-based sensibility – and a style that might be somewhere between that of Anita O'Day and Ella Fitzgerald. The package brings together a host of well-recorded live tracks from the late 50s and early 60s – only two of which have ever been issued before – and titles include "Secret Love", "Lover Man", "That Old Black Magic", "S'Wonderful", "Lover Come Back To Me", "There'll Never Be Another You", and "Dancing On The Ceiling".  ~ Dusty Groove

 

NEW RELEASES: THE DOORS - WEIRD SCENES INSIDE THE GOLF MINE; LEE FIELDS - EMMA JEAN; FRANK ROSOLINO - I PLAY TROMBONE

THE DOORS - WEIRD SCENES INSIDE THE GOLF MINE

The Doors now make their legendary, long out-of-print compilation Weird Scenes Inside The Gold Mine available for the first time as a 2-CD set. Originally released in 1972, this gold-certified double album was the first compilation to be released after Jim Morrison's death in 1971. The 22 songs that appear on the collection provide a wide-ranging introduction to the music recorded between 1967-71 by the original quartet, John Densmore, Robby Krieger, Ray Manzarek and Jim Morrison. The band's longtime engineer Bruce Botnick remastered the music heard on this reissue, which takes its title from a lyric in "The End. " Mixing familiar cuts and deep tracks from six studio albums, Weird Scenes Inside The Gold Mine touches on everything from hits like "Break On Through" and "Love Her Madly" to unexpected delights like "The Spy" from Morrison Hotel and "Running Blue" from The Soft Parade.  Adding yet another dimension to the album's track list is the inclusion of two stellar b-sides: "Who Scared You" which appeared in March 1969 as the flipside to "Wishful Sinful, " and a cover of Willie Dixon's " (You Need Meat) Don t Go No Further" which was paired with the smash "Love Her Madly" in 1971. ~ Amazon.com

LEE FIELDS - EMMA JEAN

An amazing chapter in the career of Lee Fields – an artist who's been moving our souls for decades, but who just keeps on growing in these really great ways! Unlike the fragile style of My World, or the heady southern soul of Faithful Man, Emma Jean's got this very different vibe – laidback, and definitely with a southern twinge – but with this mellow style that almost takes us back to country soul experiments of artists like Bobby Womack or Joe Tex in the 60s! Not that the style is straight country soul, though – because the backing is by El Michels, who have a strong funk pedigree – but who work with Fields here in this slow-stepping mode that really builds up energy – delivering Lee's vocals with all the power of before, but in an even more personal way. The result is another amazing set from an artist who never falters for a minute – and one of the few contemporary singers who can ever match the depth and strengths of 60s deep soul greats. Titles include "Standing By Your Side", "Just Can't Win", "In The Woods", "Stone Angel", "It Still Gets Me Down", "Don't Leave Me This Way", "Eye To Eye", and "Paralyzed".  ~ Dusty Groove

FRANK ROSOLINO - I PLAY TROMBONE

One of the best albums ever cut by trombonist Frank Rosolino – an open-ended quartet session that really lets him do his thing! The tracks are long, with plenty of room for solo space, and Frank's working with a really great quartet that includes the legendary Sonny Clark on piano – a key force on the west coast scene during his stay in the late 50s – plus Wilfred Middlebrooks on bass, and Stan Levey on drums. Rosolino's tone is tremendous – a perfect tone, but never too polished – and although Clark doesn't play with the same sense of fire as on his Blue Note sessions, his presence is still strongly felt on the date. 3 of the album's tracks are over 7 minutes long – quite rare for a Bethlehem session – and titles include "Doxy", "My Delux", "Flamingo", "I May Be Wrong", and "Frieda".  ~ Dusty Groove

NEW RELEASES: BOBBY HUTCHERSON / DAVID SANBORN / JOEY DEFRANCESCO / BILLY HART - ENJOY THE VIEW; MESCHELL NDEGEOCELLO - COMET COME TO ME; TAYLOR MCFERRIN - EARLY RISER

BOBBY HUTCHERSON / DAVID SANBORN / JOEY DEFRANCESCO / BILLY HART - ENJOY THE VIEW

NEA Jazz Master Bobby Hutcherson makes his triumphant return to Blue Note Records, where the virtuoso vibraphonist started his career in the early 60s, with the superb album, Enjoy the View. The vibrant session is produced by Blue Note president Don Was. Recorded by an all-star collective of saxophonist David Sanborn and organist Joey DeFrancesco, and featuring drummer Billy Hart, the Hutcherson-sparked group plays seven original compositions that range from cool, gentle grooves to fiery outbursts of exuberance. At heart, the album soars thanks to the divine musical alchemy among the performers an assemblage of veteran artists who play at the top of their game. DeFrancesco proved to be the common denominator of the session, having played with Hutcherson for some ten years, with Sanborn and Hart, with whom he has enjoyed a long history, including his second album as a leader (1990 s Where Were You?). In New York when Was first came on board at Blue Note Records, after dinner he serendipitously dropped into the Blue Note club where DeFrancesco and Sanborn were performing. 'I'd known Dave for some 25 years and I knew Joey as one of the best Hammond B3 organ players in the world,' Was says. 'I just sat there and the set was so relaxed and grooving. I loved what I heard. So after the two sets, I met Joey upstairs and asked him what he thought about doing an album with Bobby and Dave. That s how it started.' ~ Amazon.com

MESCHELL NDEGEOCELLO - COMET COME TO ME

Meshell Ndegeocello comes on with the force of a comet – and delivers one of her boldest records in years – a crackling set of cosmic soul tunes that have all the power of the singer in her early years! Meshell's definitely absorbed some of the headier elements of her varied projects over the past decade or so – including some stronger jazz elements, a respect for older roots, and even a complicated sense of rhythms – but she also moves forward with a focus and presence that we haven't heard this strongly in years – proud, righteous, mature, and very much her own self throughout the course of this wonderful album! Titles include "Friends", "Shopping For Jazz", "Conviction", "Folie A Deux", "Choices", "Modern Time", "American Rhapsody", "Tom", "Good Day Bad", and "Comet Come To Me".  ~ Dusty Groove

TAYLOR MCFERRIN - EARLY RISER

A great debut from Taylor McFerrin – family member to another famous jazz singer, but very much possessed of his own self and style! The album's got this crackling, glistening quality – subtle electrics and Fender Rhodes mixing with Taylor's well-crafted vocals – never overwhelming them, but taking them into a space that's beyond conventional soul or jazz – and completely hypnotic throughout! Robert Glasper guests on one track on the set – and McFerrin's approach is a bit like some of the most creative elements in Glasper's Black Radio experiment – and other guests on the record include Emily King, Nai Palm, and Thundercat. Titles include "Decisions", "Postpartum", "Degrees Of Light", "The Antidote", "Florasia", "4am", "Stepps", and "Already There".  ~ Dusty Groove

VOCALIST/COMPOSER KAVITA SHAH COLLABORATES WITH GUITARIST LIONEL LOUEKE ON DEBUT ALBUM - VISIONS

A vivid self-portrait in mosaic form, Kavita Shah's Visions heralds the arrival of a strikingly original, globally minded new voice. The gifted vocalist/composer brings together a rich variety of musical, cultural, and personal influences into a formidable debut album that combines a jazz quintet with Indian tablas and the West African kora.

Visions interweaves Shah's multicultural background (she's a native New Yorker of Indian descent fluent in Spanish, Portuguese, and French) with her wide-ranging musical tastes (reared on 90s hip-hop, Afro-Cuban music, and bossa nova, she studied jazz voice and classical piano) and her fascination with ethnomusicology (which she studied at Harvard). The album was co-produced by the renowned Benin-born guitarist Lionel Loueke, a kindred spirit who shares the singer's cohesive view of a multi-hued musical experience.

  

"I haven't been so excited about a project like this in a long time," states Loueke. "Kavita is a real, true musician. She's a great singer, but the way she writes music, she's not really thinking just about the voice. It sounds like she could be a horn player, a saxophone player."

  

Shah majored in Latin American Studies at Harvard, living abroad in Peru and then Brazil, where she conducted research on Afro-Brazilian music in a Bahian favela. That period is reflected in her rhythmically intoxicating duo with Lionel Loueke on Edil Pacheco/P. C. Pinheiro's "Oju Oba" as well as in her own composition "Moray" (winner of ASCAP's Young Jazz Composers Award), named for an Incan archeological site and inspired by Pablo Neruda's epic poem "Las Alturas de Macchu Picchu."

Shah went on to receive her Masters in Jazz Voice from Manhattan School of Music while studying privately with Theo Bleckmann, Peter Eldridge, Steve Wilson, and Jim McNeely. Wilson's supple reed playing is featured on three tracks on Visions, while McNeely proved instrumental in nurturing Shah's innovative arrangements. While at MSM, Shah was named byDownBeat as Best Graduate Jazz Vocalist, and she has since become an active member of New York's thriving jazz community, performing regularly at such venues as Joe's Pub, Cornelia Street Café, Bar Next Door, 55 Bar, Shapeshifter Lab, Kitano, and Minton's Playhouse.

"It is so against who I am to pick just one style of music," Shah says. "Being a global citizen in the 21st century means having a somewhat disjointed life - scattered memories, connections, and experiences that can be enriching but also isolating. Visions is my small universe of all the parts that make me whole."

Shah had never met Lionel Loueke when she called on him to co-produce the album, but she recognized a fellow traveler in his own globetrotting sonic collage. "Lionel went above and beyond as a co-producer. He and I share the same vision for how we approach music, so I think there was an automatic trust, respect, and appreciation there. He has a really beautiful spirit and we formed a special relationship; he's been incredibly generous and supportive of my music."

Fourteen musicians from around the world ultimately contributed to breathing life into Shah's Visions, including keyboardist Stephen Newcomb, guitarist Michael Valeanu, bassist Linda Oh, drummer Guilhem Flouzat, percussionist Rogério Boccato, kora master Yacouba Sissoko, tabla prodigy Stephen Cellucci, and a string quartet conducted by Miho Hazama. The album follows an engaging narrative sweep, tracing the cycle of a day or, from a more melancholy angle, stages of grief (Shah's father died when she was 18). But through Shah's restless searching, it possesses a geographic as well as emotional sweep, made cohesive by her singular, prodigiously confident vision. 

"I see myself as a cultural interlocutor. A singer can play an almost mystical role, connecting these different elements on stage with an audience through the human voice, through words. With the Visions project, it's amazing to see the Joni Mitchell fan who has never before seen a kora standing next to the hardcore jazz fan who would not expect to hear tablas on a Wayne Shorter tune. I hope that people find something familiar in the music that draws them in, but then discover something new that might change, even for a second, how they see the world."

KavitaShahMusic.com

NEW RELEASES: JASON AJEMIAN / TONY MALABY / ROB MAZUREK / CHAD TAYLOR - A WAY A LAND OF LIFE; SEBASTIEN TELLIER - L'AVENTURA; JASON AJEMIAN - FOLKLORDS

JASON AJEMIAN / TONY MALABY / ROB MAZUREK / CHAD TAYLOR - A WAY A LAND OF LIFE

Jason Ajemian can always be counted on to offer up way more than just the usual set of avant and improvised music – and as with some of his other recent albums, this set shows a range of imagination that just seems to be growing bolder in the past few years! The music is very carefully conceived, but also has the freshness of spontaneous improvisation as well – with a shifting sense of scope and time that makes the record way more than just the usual set of this nature – and instead this rich palette of sounds and ideas that keeps things compelling throughout! Some moments are spare and thoughtful, others snapping with a bit of a swing, and still others have a more aggressive improvised feel – music played by a very well-matched quartet that includes Rob Mazurek on cornet and electronics (Ajemian plays some electronics too), Tony Malaby on tenor, and Chad Taylor on drums. Titles include "Yes We Know", "With A Mythador", "All Nights", "All Ups", and "Living The Sky". (Limited edition of 400 copies.) ~ Dusty Groove

SEBASTIEN TELLIER - L'AVENTURA

Sebastien Tellier goes Brazilian, but not just in an offhand way! Instead, he enlists the help of maestro Arthur Verocai – who helps with the arrangements, and creates the same sort of complicated sound palette you'd find in his own classic recordings – but in a style that's nicely fresh here too, and more fitted to the French language lyrics of Tellier's music! The album's a really wonderful blend of different sounds and different cultures, different ideas and different eras – and it all hangs together with its own organic sense of unity that goes way past any easy tricks or gimmicks, or some simplistic level of cultural pilfering. Sebastien's really won us over with this sweet set – and titles include "L'Amour Carnaval", "Aller Vers Le Soleil", "Love", "Ma Calypso", "Sous Le Rayons Du Soleil", "Ambiance Rio", and the extended "Comment Revoir Oursinet".  ~ Dusty Groove

JASON AJEMIAN - FOLKLORDS

One of the trippiest albums we've heard from Delmark in recent years – a really creative session from bassist Jason Ajemian, and one that links the label's avant jazz work to some of the deeper sides of Chicago's indie scene! Ajemian is free to work without any sense of genre or convention – in a mode that still hits plenty of jazz, with key use of work by Monk, Mingus, and Sun Ra – but which really abstracts things and takes them to a whole new level – opening up cosmic territory that lives up to the album's stated request to "Please Feel Yourselves". Ajemian plays bass and some electronics, in a quartet that also features Owen Stewart Robertson on guitar and electronics, Kid Bliss on alto sax and vibrolux, and Jason Nazary on drums – the last of which are played in a very slow, spacious style. All tracks are long – and titles include "Ask Mr Blunt Now" – which features extrapolations of "Satellites Are Spinning" and "Ask Me Now" – and "Orange Is The Color Of The Sun Then Blue Sky" – which is built upon some key Charles Mingus tunes. Other titles are originals, and include "Punk The Blues", "Material Girls", and "Freedom Is A Trail Of Tears". ~ Dusty Groove

BRIAN CULBERTSON'S NAPA VALLEY JAZZ GETAWAY FEATURING LEE RITENOUR, DAVE GRUSIN, EARL KLUGH & OTHERS

Final arrangements are underway for the upcoming onslaught of wine and jazz fans flocking to Napa Valley from all over the world June 11-15 for the third annual Napa Valley Jazz Getaway , an immersive music and lifestyle experience celebrating the good life. The festival’s founder and creative director Brian Culbertson booked an all-star lineup of contemporary jazz, R&B and funk performers and partnered with the best wineries and restaurants in Napa Valley. Concerts, wine tastings, fine dining, post-concert hangs and a golf tournament are planned to keep attendees busy at events that enable them to get behind the velvet rope to interact freely with the artists.

Beyond his role as a lifestyle curator, Culbertson is a charismatic contemporary jazz star who recently marked the 20th anniversary of his debut recording by releasing “Another Long Night Out,” his sixth album to debut at No. 1 on the Billboard chart spawning his 27th No. 1 single as an artist, producer and songwriter. Culbertson chats and performs tonight (May 30) on the Tavis Smiley Show televised nationally on PBS.

VIP tickets to the Napa Valley Jazz Getaway sold out instantly and sales have been robust for the 4-day Gold and 2-day Silver Packages as well as single-day seats. Take a peek at the lineup:

June 12 at the Lincoln Theater

Jazz Legends Night starring Dave Grusin, Lee Ritenour, Earl Klugh plus special guests Eric Marienthal, David Benoit and more.

June 13 at the Lincoln Theater

Friday Night Funk Night struts out The Ohio Players, comedian Keenen Ivory Wayans, and Brian Culbertson & The Funk Experience with Eric Darius, Marqueal Jordan and Marienthal. Before the show, the annual silent auction and wine reception will take place in the lobby to benefit The GRAMMY Foundation.

June 14 at Jamieson Ranch Vineyards

The weekend concerts move outdoors to the stunning Jamieson Ranch Vineyards grounds with the Saturday marquee lit by Brian Culbertson’s 20th Anniversary Show, Morris Day & The Time, Average White Band and Dirty Dozen Brass Band.

June 15 at Jamieson Ranch Vineyards

Sunday spotlights Eric Benét, Mavis Staples, Darius and Jazz in Pink featuring Gail Jhonson, Althea Rene and Karen Briggs.

Daytime events scheduled for June 11 are VIP wine tastings and a luncheon while the evening offers welcome dinners at two locations: one at Round Pond for VIPs serving a performance by Benoit and Culbertson, and the sold-out dinner at Black Stallion Winery featuring live music by Cecil Ramirez and Michael Lington. Another sold-out show is “piano2piano” by Culbertson & Benoit in the round at Rutherford Hill Winery on June 13 from 12-2pm, which includes lunch and a wine tasting. After, Lington hosts a cigar & port event at Prager Winery & Port Works free for all to attend from 2-4pm. The full schedule of events, including details about the Wine Downs at The Westin Verasa Napa and the “Another Long Night Out” Late Night Hangs, is available on the Getaway’s website: 

www.napavalleyjazzgetaway.me

SEAN JONES - IM.PRO.VISE = NEVER BEFORE SEEN

Celebrating his 10th anniversary with Mack Avenue Records, internationally acclaimed composer and eter Sean Jones views his seventh album, im.pro.vise = never before seen, as "a reintroduction of who I am." Although he has clearly established himself as a formidable leader through recordings and live performances, this album reflects his "conscious decision to approach this latest step in my artistic evolution as a trumpet player, a composer and a leader."

A major event in that evolution occurred when he chose to step down from his longtime position as Lead Trumpeter of the Jazz At Lincoln Center Orchestra in 2010. But touring with Wayne Shorter and Herbie Hancock's Tribute To Miles the following year made a truly profound impact on his personal journey.

"I have so much respect for those men, so I asked them how I could best contribute to this music. Without hesitation and in one voice they said: 'Lead. That's what we hired you to do.' That brought it all together for me."

Through that epiphany, Jones set out with a new motivation firmly in place, and im.pro.vise = never before seen began to take form. Paring his artistic viewpoint down to the basics, he decided to make his first quartet recording with his longtime bandmates, the dynamic pianist Orrin Evans, and the seamless bass/drum tandem of Luques Curtis and Obed Calvaire. Furthermore, he chose to do it old school.

"All of my previous albums were 'productions' with overdubs, etc," says Jones. "This time it was just the four of us in one room, no barriers between us, playing live." The sense of immediacy and urgency that has always been a key element of the jazz art at its highest level is front and center throughout this entire album. Another essential tradition of looking back to look forward is also omnipresent here, and that includes the full scope of that legacy from its blues roots to its freer explorations.

That perspective is clearly expressed from the very beginning with the opening track "60th & Broadway," as the influences of iconoclasts like Don Cherry and Lester Bowie are included in the vernacular over which Jones displays his flawless command. "This piece was a nod to all the great years I spent at Lincoln Center," says the trumpeter. "I'm so grateful, but it was time to move on." Clearly this movement is both focused and bold, as this piece demonstrates a group synergy locked into a unity of purpose and joy of discovery.

There are five more Jones originals on the album, each of them exquisitely crafted as an ideal launching point for the improvisational exploration. These are not head-solo-head constructs. Instead, the approach on these pieces-and on the entire repertoire-is one of evolution and organic development. Appropriate to that vision, there is a floating sense of time, with a rubato feel often at play alongside distinct rhythmic sections, creating a context that is almost cinematic. These are tales sometimes told gently, sometimes with vehemence; sometimes cryptically and others in matter-of-fact terms. "All of my compositions have a specific meaning," explains Jones, "something that has happened to me, or affected me in some way."

"Dark Times" was written over 10 years ago while Jones was pursuing his Masters Degree at Rutgers. "It's a reflection of a time of struggle and uncertainty...and my decision to put it aside and just move ahead." As the atmospheric, darkly lustrous rubato opening moves into the fluidly lyrical theme, that depiction is vividly stated. With a freely floating tone reminiscent of Miles' Filles de Kilimanjaro period, Jones demonstrates his command of the Miles philosophy of time and space where what's not played is as important as what is.

The opening and closing movements from the five-part "Date Night Suite" are included here. "New Journey" is a joyful romp-open, freewheeling, but anticipatory and speculative. The closing movement, "The Morning After," begins as a lovely anthem-like ballad "reflecting on the night before," explains Jones, "then hopeful, speculative," as an exuberant foray erupts with joyful possibilities.

A ballad of filigreed beauty, "We'll Meet Under the Stars," is a serenely evocative piece, with the melodic line caressed lovingly between Evans and Jones, cushioned by marvelously subtle bass and drums interplay.

"There are times when you just have to say 'I don't give a damn' and go with what your feelings are," expresses Jones, and thus, the "I Don't Give A Damn Blues," written on the bandstand in the middle of a wee-hours set. The blues is the core of jazz expression and this piece has that late night intimacy where the musicians are just playing for themselves-and whoever happens to be lucky enough to be there to hear it.

While one can easily envision that blues being played by Roy Eldridge and Teddy Wilson, another staple of the jazz repertoire receives a most unusual treatment. "How High the Moon" - a longstanding vehicle for jam sessions, vocalists, swing bands and bop ensembles-is constructed, deconstructed and reconstructed, offering a surprising new chapter to an often told story in an unexpected time and place. The trumpeter also provides a fiery new interpretation of Jackie McLean's "Dr. Jekyll" (best known from Miles' Milestones album). "I wanted to let everybody stretch out in the tradition," says Jones, and stretch out they do, in breathtaking and virile terms.

Jones includes a piece by another outstanding altoist with "Interior Motive" by Joe Ford. "Joe has always been very inspirational to me, encouraging me since we worked together with the Fort Apache Band and with Charles Fambrough," reflects the trumpeter. Built upon a richly wooded bass vamp and splendid drumming, the piece weaves in and out of various rhythmic contexts and shifts moods audaciously, but with perfect continuity.

Pianist Evans contributes "Don't Fall Off the L.E.J." for the album. "You can't play with a band unless you take chances while playing together," says Jones of this spirited excursion, delivered in straightforward fashion, delightfully syncopated and swinging fervently.

This extraordinary album concludes on a most poignant note with Stephen Sondheim's "Not While I'm Around," dedicated to Jones' mother. "My mother has been so crucial in my life. I love Sondheim, and this piece just encapsulates her essence to me."

Powerfully committed to his art and clearly focused upon where he wants to take it, Jones has developed one of the most impressive and compelling ensembles on today's scene, all of whom are committed to performing together and taking their place alongside the most affecting and important ensembles in jazz.

Tgether this quartet generates the consummate energy to which all truly dedicated jazz artists should aspire. The musicians bring everything they have to the table, making the music their own, yet always understanding that the purpose is to fulfill the vision of the leader. "I want to reflect the tradition of what jazz is," says Jones, "and my voice is a voice that needs to be part of it."

Upcoming Sean Jones Performances:

* June 7 / Capital Jazz Festival / Columbia, MD

June 9 / Sunflower Jazz Festival / Topeka, KS

June 13 / Orchestra Hall (special guest of

Chicago Symphony Orchestra) / Chicago, I L

* June 14 / Playboy Jazz Festival / Los Angeles, CA

June 26 / Tri-C Jazz Festival / Cleveland, OH

June 29 / Saratoga Jazz Festival / Saratoga Springs, NY

July 11 / Buzzards Bay Jazz Festival / Marion, MA

July 17 - 20 / Jazz Standard / New York, NY

July 30 / Scullers / Boston, MA

August 12 - 13 / Dizzy's Club Coca-Cola (featured guest artist) / New York, NY

August 21 / SFJAZZ Center / San Francisco, CA

September 1 / Detroit Jazz Festival / Detroit, MI

September 5 / The Frick / Pittsburgh, PA

September 25 - 28 / Jazz Showcase / Chicago, IL

November 3 - 8 / SF Performances Residency / San Francisco, CA

November 10 - 15 / Jazz Bistro / St. Louis, MO

* performing with Dianne Reeves

Sean Jones · im.pro.vise = never before seen / Mack Avenue Records  ·  Release Date: July 22, 2014 

SeanJonesMusic.com

JUA RELEASES SECOND CD - COLORS OF LIFE

Colors of Life, the second CD by Raleigh, North Carolina-based vocalist Jua, marks an artistic rebirth for the 35-year-old singer. His 2007 debut, Anticipation, had enjoyed attention from smooth-jazz and R&B stations, but Jua was having second thoughts about his direction and soon found his way to Berkeley's Jazzschool Institute. There he devoted a year to intensive jazz studies and was the first recipient of the school's annual Mark Murphy Vocal Jazz Scholarship. His musical goals came into sharp focus. 

Jua now emerges as a unique and highly emotive jazz vocal stylist with the remarkable 10-song CD Colors of Life, which will be released by his Chocolate Chi Music on June 24. Produced by Onaje Allan Gumbs, the veteran New York pianist, arranger, and producer noted for his work with Norman Connors, Nat Adderley, Woody Shaw, and many others, the album showcases Jua in the company of Gumbs on piano and (on one track) Hammond B-3 organ, guitarist Shan Kenner, bassist Gregory M. Jones, drummer Vince Ector, percussionist Gary Fritz, and tenor and soprano saxophonist Roger Byam. 

The disc features four original compositions by Jua (three written in collaboration with his former Jazzschool instructor, pianist Matt Clark, the other with Kenner), along with the standard "Old Devil Moon" and tunes by Abbey Lincoln ("Bird Alone"), Bob Dorough ("Love Came on Stealthy Fingers"), Bill Withers ("Let Me Be the One"), and James Williams ("You're My Alter Ego"). Jua also added lyrics to Rivers's 1964 ballad "Beatrice," which opens the album. Arrangements were handled by Gumbs, Kenner, and Clark.

  

"Colors of Life is an honest expression of my life and the world around me," says Jua. "The process of planning and recording this project with world-class-talent musicians taught me a great deal about my developing voice as an artist. I am eager for listeners to learn more about me through this music."

  

While growing up in Chicago, Jua Howard was involved in the gamut of athletic activities, but veered toward music after moving with his mother to Lanett, Alabama. He began playing trumpet in the fifth grade, joined the youth choir (and was frequently called upon to solo) at a local Baptist church, and was selected for the Alabama All-State Boys Choir, an ensemble of some 70 voices that focused on European classical music. He and his mother spent two years as members of the All-Atlanta Choir, and Jua then enrolled at Emory University in Atlanta, where he sang in the gospel choir and graduated with a B.A. in English.

  

He put his singing on hold for two years after graduation, but back in Chicago vocal coach Sondra Davis encouraged him to resume applying his richly rounded multi-octave pipes to song. He relocated to Washington, DC. and worked for a time as a background vocalist with the Blackbyrds. "Jazz was clearly a big part of their foundation," says Jua, "and singing with them made me think about pursuing jazz as a career."

As did Nancy Wilson, whom he saw perform in Atlanta. "She had such presence," he recalls. "It just kinda made me change my way of thinking."

Jua "Jazz," he adds, "which is based on improvisation, is about being a part of an ensemble and everyone communicating with each other to get the musical statement across. Even though I'm standing in front, I'm just one of the instruments telling a story to the audience. It's about the story and the music, and paying respect and credence to the music."

Jua, who uses only his first name professionally (it's Swahili for "sun"), cites Vandross, Hathaway, Al Jarreau, Johnny Mathis, Mark Murphy, and gospel great Daryl Coley as influences on his style. Yet, as evidenced throughout Colors of Life, Jua has developed a distinctive, emotion-gripping approach to song that's quite wonderfully his own.

In addition to taking his new music to several North Carolina venues in the next month (5/31 Irregardless Café, Raleigh; 6/7 Unvined Wine Bar &Tapas, Cary; 6/28 Sharp Nine Gallery, Durham), Jua has booked a 7/11 appearance at New York's Cornelia Street Café. "I am wholeheartedly excited about my upcoming gigs to support the release of Colors of Life," says Jua. "It's always a lot of fun to tell my story and connect with the audience."

 www.juasmusic.com

DAVE KOZ AND FRIENDS SUMMER HORNS TOUR DATES ANNOUNCED

Dave Koz and friends, otherwise known as Summer Horns are set to embark on a U.S. tour where they plan on presenting some new arrangements to classic songs of the 60s and 70s. Summer Horns bandmates Gerald Albright, Richard Elliot and Mindi Abair are scheduiled to take the stage in Newport Beach, CA tomorrow at the Hyatt Newport Beach Jazz Festival.

MAY 2014

Saturday, May 31 - Newport Beach, CA - Hyatt Newport Beach Jazz Festival

JUNE 2014

Thursday, June 26 - Jacksonville, FL - Florida Theatre

Friday, June 27 - Clearwater, FL - Ruth Eckerd Hall

Saturday, June 28 - Cleveland, OH - Tri-C JazzFest

Sunday, June 29 - Hampton, VA - Hampton Jazz Festival - Hampton Coliseum

JULY 2014

Friday, July 4 - Highland Park, IL - Ravinia Festival

Saturday, July 5 - Kettering, OH - Fraze Pavillion for the Performing Arts

Sunday, July 6 - Prior Lake, MN - Mystic Lake Casino

Friday, July 18 - Oakville, CA - Robert Mondavi Winery Summer Concert Series

Saturday, July 19 - San Dimas, CA - JazzFest West

AUGUST 2014

Friday, August 1 - San Diego, CA - Humphreys Concerts By The Bay

Saturday, August 2 - Las Vegas, NV - The Smith Center - Reynolds Hall

Saturday, August 9 - Austin, TX - One World Theatre

Sunday, August 10 - Dallas, TX - Music Hall at Fair Park

Thursday, August 14 - New York, NY - Hornblower Infinity

Saturday, August 16 - Atlanta, GA - Chastain Park Amphitheatre

Friday, August 22 - Saratoga, CA - Villa Montalvo - Montalvo Arts Center

Saturday, August 23 - Sacramento, CA - Red Lion Hotel Woodlake

SEPTEMBER 2014

Saturday, September 27 - Temecula, CA - Thornton Winery Champagne Concert Series

Sunday, September 28 - Temecula, CA - Thornton Winery Champagne Concert Series

NEW RELEASES: MARC RIBOT TRIO - LIVE AT THE VILLAGE VANGUARD; ALEX PUDU - THE GOLDEN AGE OF DANISH PORNOGRAPHY VOL. 2; RODRIGO AMADO MOTION TRIO & PETER EVANS - THE FREEDOM PRINCIPLE

MARC RIBOT TRIO / HENRY GRIMES / CHAD TAYLOR - LIVE AT THE VILLAGE VANGUARD

One of the greatest recordings we've heard from guitarist Marc Ribot in years – but that's mostly because of the presence of the great Henry Grimes on bass and violin! The best cuts are the mellower ones – of which there are many – long numbers that let Ribot's tones resonate beautifully with Grimes' spacious sense of his instrument – played with a depth and thoughtfulness that's grown tremendously over the years – and to which the sensitive drumming of Chad Taylor proves to be a great accompaniment. Titles include "The Wizard", "Dearly Beloved", "Bells", "Sun Ship", and "Old Man River". ~ Dusty Groove

ALEX PUDU - THE GOLDEN AGE OF DANISH PORNOGRAPHY VOL. 2

A really beautiful little set of tracks – music composed to accompany vintage porn films from the 70s – played to perfection by the great Alex Puddu! The story behind the project is great – a friend was involved in rescuing and issuing rare porn from the underground – most of which no longer had any sort of soundtrack. Puddu was called in because of his skills with vintage-styled grooves – and stepped up perfectly with the sweet instrumentals you'll hear in this wet – tracks that are heavy on sweet keyboards, slinky basslines, and funky guitars – often served up with tighter, funkier styles than you'd hear in the original films – even though the overall sound is still very vintage. There's lots of Fender Rhodes on the set – and titles include "Hot Mouth", "Horny At The Office", "Boys & Girls & Danish Hot Dogs", "She Wants It Black", "After Party", and "Bad Love". ~ Dusty Groove

RODRIGO AMADO MOTION TRIO & PETER EVANS - THE FREEDOM PRINCIPLE

The title definitely lives up to the sound of the record – a really loose, free session from a quartet that includes strong work from both trumpeter Peter Evans and tenorist Rodrigo Amado – the latter of whom leads the group! All tracks are long, and build with a nice degree of energy – one that gets back to the "freedom principle" generation between the ESP and loft jazz years – when spontaneous creativity like this was really in action. All four members contribute equally to shape the sound of the performance – and the group also features Miguel Mira on cello and Garbirel Ferrandini on drums. Titles include "Pepper Packed", "Shadows", and "The Freedom Principle". ~ Dusty Groove

NEW RELEASES: THE IMPELLERS FEATURING CLAIR WITCHER - MY CERTAINTY; TOCO - MEMORIA; NATE WOOLEY / HUGO ANTUNES / CHRIS CORSANO - MALUS

THE IMPELLERS FEATURING CLAIR WITCHER - MY CERTAINTY 

“My Certainty” is the third album by The Impellers and according to the band, their most accomplished yet. With their previous releases “Robot Legs" (Freestyle) and “This Is Not A Drill” (Légère/Mocambo) this group from Brighton have established themselves as a tight and authentic raw funk unit. With “My Certainty” the band - featuring vocalist Clair Witcher and composer, producer and multi-instrumentalist Glenn Fallows - explore fresh territory. “We wanted this album to be different to other material we’ve produced, but still keeping the big and heavy sound which people have liked about us.  There’s a couple of reasons why we hope this album will surprise people,” Clair Witcher explains. With "My Certainty" there's no question that The Impellers have re-invented their sound. "We've used different musical styles which match the stories and sentiments in each of the songs. There's a couple of soulful ballads, some acoustic folky soul, a bit of R&B-inspired stuff. Having said that, there's a load of influences from individual band members too, which seem to bleed through into the overall sound," Glenn Fallows explains.  

TOCO - MEMORIA

Toco just gets better and better with each new record – to a point where it's almost impossible to separate the sound of this recent release with Brazilian classics from the 70s! The vibe is great – not a bossa rehash, but kind of a post-bossa style that's almost more in the territory of Caetano Veloso or Gal Costa in the 70s – more sophisticated, and with a deep sense of songwriting – but still served up with a sense of economy learned from the bossa generation – which comes to play in the light instrumentation used on most tracks. Fender Rhodes is expertly blended with acoustic guitar and percussion – and a few numbers featre slight sweetening with strings, but just in a gentle way. Most numbers have Toco's vocals with some slight harmony backing on the chorus – in a way that recalls some of Marcos Valle's laidback music from the early 70s. Titles include "Cigana", "Breque Bom", "O Tempo E Aqui", "Divino", "Rainha", "Minas", "Mane", "Meu Rio", "Bate", and "Vendaval".  ~  Dusty Groove

NATE WOOLEY / HUGO ANTUNES / CHRIS CORSANO - MALUS

Nate Wooley's turning out to be one of the most powerful voices on the trumpet of his generation – a player in the left side of the spectrum, but one who can also evoke a classic sense of tone as well – used in a spacious, majestic way that's very commanding! This set's a great illustration of Wooley's growing power as a player – working here in an improvisational format in a trio with Hugo Antunes on bass and Chris Corsano on drums – but with a sense of vision and focus that's really amazing – almost like Ted Curson at his most out, but with an even greater sensitivity to his members in the trio. Titles include "Sawbuck", "4 Cornered", "Gentleman Of Four Outs", "Sewn", and "Seven Miles From The Moon". (Limited edition of 300 copies.)  ~ Dusty Groove

RICK BRAUN RETURNS WITH FIRST CONTEMPORARY JAZZ ALBUM IN FIVE YEARS - CAN YOU FEEL IT

Chart-topping trumpeter Rick Braun returns July 8 with “Can You Feel It,” his first contemporary jazz album in five years; “Get Up and Dance” starts the party at radio. It’s been five years since trumpeter-flugelhorn player Rick Braun released an album full of the funky R&B contemporary jazz grooves that made him one of the genre’s most consistent hitmakers over the past twenty years, but the award-winning musician, producer and songwriter returns to his signature sound July 8 with the release of his sixteenth album, “Can You Feel It,” which will be issued by Artistry Music/Mack Avenue Records. A bona fide contender as the feel good anthem for the summer of 2014, Braun’s “Get Up And Dance,” a collaboration with tenor sax sensation Dave Koz, is already collecting radio playlist adds. 

After scratching a creative itch to croon jazz standards on his two most recent releases, “Sings with Strings” and the holiday-themed “Swingin’ in the Snow,” Braun had a very specific direction he wanted to pursue for “Can You Feel It” for which he wrote or co-wrote nine tunes along with helming the production.

“When I started working on this album, which was about a year in the making, there were two goals that I had in mind. I wanted it to be really organic and have a lot of my friends playing on it. Young players melding together with the old faithful,” explained Braun. So he reached out to a bunch of his friends, colleagues and collaborators and dialed back the time machine twenty years ago to the era of his breakthrough disc, “Beat Street,” to help chart the course for “Can You Feel It.” 

“It’s a return to the sound and style of “Beat Street,” which essentially was a tribute to my years playing in War. I took out all of the sequencing with one exception and made the record like a garage band using great live players. It was a lot of fun making the record. It’s energetic and earthy. We hit it hard—kind of like Tower of Power—capturing the energetic, funky horn band sound. I wanted lots of horn section parts on the album.”

Braun added a new weapon to his arsenal: valve trombone. And he stacked the tracks with layers of horns section parts adding power, punch and potency. His friends were eager to join the festivities enabling Braun to toss the ball around the horn with Koz, Brian Culbertson, Philippe Saisse, Jeff Lorber, Euge Groove, Elliott Yamin and a retinue of ace players such as Frank “Third” Richardson, Nathaniel Kearney Jr., Randy Jacobs, Nate Phillips, Adam Hawley, Sergio Gonzalez, Brandon Fields, Tony Moore, Phil Davis, Ramon Islas and more. Bud Harner, who co-wrote the first single with Braun, helped shepherd the album as associate producer.  

A popular and dynamic performer who draws material for his set lists from his vast catalogue of No. 1 chart hits, radio playlist staples and fan favorites, Braun is touring nationally in support of “Can You Feel It” as a member of Jazz Attack with fellow contemporary jazz titans Peter White and Groove. Sprinkled in his concert calendar are dates with BWB, the all-star trio made up of Braun and Grammy winners Kirk Whalum and Norman Brown. The Allentown, Pennsylvania native entered the professional ranks by co-writing a Top 20 pop hit for REO Speedwagon (“Here With Me”) before becoming a first-call sideman touring and recording with Rod Stewart, Sade, Tina Turner, Natalie Cole and Tom Petty. Braun released his solo debut, “Intimate Secrets,” in 1992, but it was the success of “Beat Street” that forced the horn man to choose between continuing as a sideman and taking center stage as an artist. The decision came easily and Braun has never looked back on the path to stardom.

The songs contained on “Can You Feel It” are:

“Can You Feel It”

“Back To Back”

“Take Me To The River”

“Mallorca”

“Get Up And Dance”

“Another Kind Of Blue”

“Delta”

“Silk”

“Radar”

“The Dream”

“Dr. Funkenstein”

AMY WINEHOUSE - VALERIE (LIVE IN HD VIDEO)

BUDDY RICH DRUM SOLO VIDEO

MINDI ABAIR "WILD HEART" ALBUM PREVIEW VIDEO

AMOS LEE PERFORMS "CHILL IN THE AIR" FROM JIMMY KIMMEL LIVE VIDEO

JAZZ CONVERSATIONS WITH WAYNE SHORTER & JOE LOVANO PART 1 VIDEO

GREGORY PORTER "LIQUID SPIRIT" (THE TONIGHT SHOW WITH JAY LENO) VIDEO

HARVEY MASON CHAMELEON ALBUM PREVIEW VIDEO