Tony Bennett & Lady Gaga: Cheek To Cheek LIVE!" Swings on THIRTEEN's "Great Performances," Friday, October 24

Tony Bennett & Lady Gaga: Cheek To Cheek LIVE! -- featuring an evening of classic jazz standards in both vocal duets and solo performances -- will air on THIRTEEN's Great Performances, Friday, October 24 at 9 p.m. ET on PBS. (Check local listings.)    

Taped at Jazz at Lincoln Center's Frederick P. Rose Hall on July 28, each song was handpicked by the artists, and features classic selections from the Great American Songbook. At press time, the song roster is scheduled to include "It Don't Mean a Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing)," "Sophisticated Lady," "Lush Life," "Anything Goes," and the title track from their forthcoming album, "Cheek To Cheek."

Tony Bennett & Lady Gaga: Cheek To Cheek LIVE!  was filmed in front of a live audience of invited guests, many of whom were students involved in arts programs in NYC public schools.

The new special will air as part of the PBS Arts Fall Festival 2014. Tony Bennett & Lady Gaga: Cheek To Cheek LIVE! is supported by LG Electronics USA, the official sponsor.

With set and lighting design by Robert Wilson, the stars are joined by a 39-piece orchestra conducted by Jorge Calandrelli, soloists Chris Botti on trumpet and David Mann on tenor sax, and jazz musicians associated with both artists including members of Bennett's quartet, Mike Renzi, Gray Sargent, Harold Jones and Marshall Wood, and Lady Gaga's quintet, including Brian Newman, Paul Francis, Steven Kortyka, Michael Scott Ritchie, and Alex Smith.

Award-winning director Robert Wilson's signature works include King of Spain, Deafman Glance, The Life and Times of Joseph Stalin, and A Letter for Queen Victoria.  With Philip Glass, he created Einstein on the Beach. Following Einstein, Wilson worked with major European theaters and opera houses, creating Death, Destruction & Detroit and Death, Destruction & Detroit II; and the groundbreaking musical works The Black Rider and Alice.  His work in the operatic repertoire includes major productions of Parsifal, The Magic Flute, Madame Butterfly, and Lohengrin. Extensive retrospectives have been presented in Paris, Boston, Amsterdam, London, New York, Bilbao, and Seattle. 

Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga first met backstage in 2011 after the two performed at the Robin Hood Foundation gala in New York City and Bennett asked Lady Gaga to sing a duet with him on his Duets II album that he was beginning to record.   "The Lady is A Tramp" was the result of that endeavor and conversations began about collaborating on a jazz project. 

Recently, Bennett and Gaga surprised the student body at Frank Sinatra School of the Arts, a New York City public arts high school founded by Tony Bennett, when they spoke and performed for the school on the last day of classes in June.  Lady Gaga surprised the Montreal Jazz Festival audience by joining Bennett on stage when he was performing at the famed jazz festival in July.

  

"Cheek To Cheek," the collaborative jazz album from Lady Gaga and Tony Bennett, will be released on Streamline/Columbia/Interscope Records on Tuesday, September 23. The debut song from the album, Cole Porter's "Anything Goes" was recently released on iTunes and hit #1 on Billboard's Digital Jazz Charts.  

Tony Bennett & Lady Gaga: Cheek To Cheek LIVE! is produced by THIRTEEN Productions LLC for WNET.  With set design and lighting by Robert Wilson. Directed by David Horn.  Mitch Owgang is producer; Phil Hack is line producer. For Great Performances, Bill O'Donnell is series producer and David Horn is executive producer. 

Great Performances is funded by the Anne Ray Charitable Trust, the Irene Diamond Fund, the Anna-Maria and Stephen Kellen Arts Fund, The LuEsther T. Mertz Charitable Trust, Rosalind P. Walter, The Agnes Varis Trust, The Starr Foundation, the Philip and Janice Levin Foundation, and PBS.

BELA FLECK AND ABIGAIL WASHBURN PRESENT THEIR DEBUT ALBUM AS A DUO, SET FOR RELEASE ON OCTOBER 7. 2014

Béla Fleck and Abigail Washburn present their eponymous debut album as a duo, after many years of prominence as banjo players and composers in their own eclectic avenues.  Béla Fleck and Abigail Washburn is a front porch banjo and vocal album of new music, Appalachian murder ballads, gospel, chamber and blues; the culmination of a yearlong tour as a duo in 2013, following the birth of their son, Juno. Béla, an icon and innovator of jazz, classical and world, with more multi-category GRAMMY wins than any other artist (15 total), and Abigail, a formidable talent with triumphs in songwriting, theater, performance, and even Chinese diplomacy by way of banjo, turn out to be quite a fortuitous pairing with a deep, distinct and satisfying outcome. 

The culmination is an album like no other. The record reveals their astounding chemistry as collaborators, as the two seamlessly stitch together singular banjo sounds (through an assortment of seven banjos spanning the recording) in service to the stories that their songs tell, with no studio gimmickry needed. According to Béla, “finding a way to make every song have its own unique stamp, yet the whole project having a big cohesive sound – with only two people,” was at the core of their joint vision. Demonstrating seemingly unlimited rhythmic, tonal and melodic capabilities, Fleck and Washburn confirm the banjo’s versatility as the perfect backdrop to the rich lyrical component that Fleck and Washburn offer, “Sometimes when you add other instruments, you take away from the banjo’s being able to show all its colors, which are actually quite beautiful.” Thanks to this album, the musicians’ palette has never been more vivid or pure. 

Sure, in the abstract, a banjo duo might seem like a musical concept beset by limitations. But when the banjo players cast in those roles are Abigail Washburn and Béla Fleck—she with the earthy sophistication of a postmodern, old-time singer-songwriter, he with the virtuosic, jazz-to-classical ingenuity of an iconic instrumentalist and composer with bluegrass roots— it’s a different matter entirely. There’s no denying that theirs is a one-of-a-kind pairing, with one-of-a-kind possibilities. 

Fleck and Washburn have collaborated in the past, most visibly in their Sparrow Quartet with Casey Driessen and Ben Sollee. Until last fall, though, any performances they gave as a two-piece were decidedly informal, a pickin’ party here, a benefit show at Washburn’s grandmother’s Unitarian church there. It was inevitable and eagerly anticipated by fans of tradition-tweaking acoustic fare that these partners in music and life (who married in 2009) would eventually do a full-fledged project together.

  

Now that Fleck, a fifteen-time GRAMMY winner, has devoted time away from his standard-setting ensemble Béla Fleck and the Flecktones to a staggeringly broad array of musical experiments, from writing a concerto for the Nashville Symphony to exploring the banjo’s African roots to jazz duos with Chick Corea, while Washburn has drawn critical acclaim for her solo albums, done fascinating work in folk musical diplomacy in China, presented an original theatrical production, contributed to singular side groups Uncle Earl and The Wu-Force and become quite a live draw in her own right, the two of them decided they were ready to craft their debut album as a duo, Béla Fleck & Abigail Washburn (releasing October 7 on Rounder Records).

There was one other small, yet not at all insignificant factor in the timing: the birth of their son Juno. Says Fleck, “I come from a broken home, and I have a lot of musician friends who missed their kids’ childhoods because they were touring. The combination of those two things really made me not want to be one of those parents. I don’t want to be somebody that Juno sees only once in a while. We need to be together, and this is a way we can be together a whole lot more.” 

That goes for touring and album-making both. Thanks to the fact that they have a first-rate studio on the premises, Fleck and Washburn could record at home—but that didn’t mean it was an easy process. Consumed with caring for their new baby and perpetually sleep-deprived, they had to get resourceful in order to carve out time to cut tracks. 

“Béla is really the reason that it’s finished,” Washburn emphasizes. “There were a few months when Juno was a newborn that I just really had to have somebody say, ‘Hey, this is what we’re gonna do today.’ As long as I could spend a few hours a day between nursings, we could make some good progress on the record.” 

The aim wasn’t simply to get the album done, but to make it feel satisfying and complete using only the sounds they could coax out of their bodies and their banjos. Says Fleck, “We didn’t want any other instruments on there, because we’re into this idea that we’re banjo players, and that should be enough. Why do you always have to have a rhythm section, a guitar player, a bass player or something? Sometimes when you add other instruments, you take away from the ability of the banjo to show all its colors, which are actually quite beautiful.” 

Washburn and Fleck didn’t confine themselves to playing their usual workhorses, her Ome Jubilee and his pre-war Gibson Mastertone Style 75. Between them, they used seven different banjos in all, including a cello banjo, a ukulele banjo that technically belongs to Juno and a baritone banjo that Fleck commissioned specifically for this album. 

“We had this vision of playing different banjos in different registers,” he says, “finding a way to make every song have its own unique stamp, yet the whole project having a big, cohesive sound - with only two people.” (A giggling Juno is the only other person who appears anywhere on the album.) 

From track to track, Washburn and Fleck are a nimble band unto themselves. On the trad tune “Railroad,” she sustains a droning feel, while he jabs in syncopated counterpoint. Woven into the middle of their arrangement is an excerpt from another American banjo chestnut, “Oh! Susanna,” an occasion for Fleck to briefly slip into a dixieland role. In their co-written original “Little Birdie“ he supplies what amounts to a ticklish, inventive bass line while she plays circling arpeggios and picks out the melody. “Bye Bye Baby Blues” is her turn to toy with droll, walking bass beneath his wonderfully jaunty licks. “What’cha Gonna Do,” which came entirely from his pen, lyrics and all, rides a churning groove made up of intertwining banjo figures and foot patting. 

All that’s to say, there’s a ton going on rhythmically, tonally and melodically. Then there are the breathtaking ballads like Washburn’s “Ride To You” and the traditional “What Are They Doing In Heaven Today?,” which showcase the way she caresses a lyric with the hearty yet elegant empathy of her vocals. (The story goes that Fleck was so taken with her singing the first time he heard it on a recording that he lost track of how fast he was driving and got pulled over.) He’s singing harmony on a couple of tracks too, something he hasn't had the chance to do since his New Grass Revival days. 

You’d expect Fleck to take the lead during intricate instrumentals, but that’s not always the case here. In “New South Africa,” which came from his Flecktones repertoire, he and Washburn each take a turn out front. And if you listen to “banjo banjo” in stereo, it’s easy to make out the subtle rippling effect of the two players seamlessly trading notes during ascending and descending runs. 

That kind of stuff was way out of Washburn’s comfort zone. “I come from the old-time world,” she says, “which is more about communally trancing out on old fiddle and banjo tunes. It has very little to do with soloing or anything technical or virtuosic. So for me to try to learn Béla’s music has been a big challenge, but a wonderful one. Although I'm a very different type of player, I feel very lucky that he’s a musical mentor to me. It’s a beautiful part of our connection.”

  

Fleck chimes in, “I’m a big fan of Abby’s playing. I know it so well that I could imagine the two of us playing these tunes together. I love looking at her playing and going, ‘What can I throw into your kettle of soup that would make it bubble up just a little bit?’”

  

The directness of her musical sensibilities had a profound effect on him, too. “I do a lot of heady music,” he explains, “and I’m always trying hard to keep soul and melodicism as important elements, but there’s also a lot of complexity going on. When I play with Abby, there’s an opportunity for me to make music that hits you in a different place emotionally. That’s one of her gifts, is a pure connection to the listener, taking simpler ideas and imbuing them with a lot of personality and a point of view. I wanted to make sure that while I was respecting my own ability to play complex ideas, I was also part of making that feeling happen.” 

A surprising number of the songs on the album address matters of life and death, a coincidence that Fleck and Washburn came to embrace. There are multiple meditations on the afterlife, one example being the Appalachian-accented “And Am I Born To Die,” which Washburn learned from a recording of one of her heroes, Doc Watson. And if they were going to record the Victorian murder ballad “Pretty Polly,” Washburn wanted to make sure that it was a version where Polly had a speaking part, and that it was immediately followed in the song sequence by her original “Shotgun Blues,” a song whose gist she summarizes as “I’m gonna come after that nasty, old man that keeps killing all those ladies in all those murder ballads.” 

Of course, Fleck and Washburn also had a new life entrusted into their care, and were overwhelmed at times by how strong the protective parental instincts hit them. So, after recording one version of “Little Birdie,” they ultimately went with an alternate version where the mama bird saves the baby bird from a crocodile in the final verse. That one felt right. 

Judging from the way Juno dances every time he hears it, his favorite song in the bunch is “Railroad.” In fact, Fleck suggested they work it up after he overheard her singing it to their newborn. (Washburn’s mother used to sing to her when she was little too.) Juno gets to hear rehearsals and sound checks a plenty, since he accompanies his parents to folk festivals, arts centers and theaters all across the country. But he’s typically already asleep in his very own bunk on the bus before the shows start.

  

Washburn and Fleck playfully embrace the notion that they’ve become a family band. And at home, on stage or on record, it’s their deep bond, on top of the way their distinct musical personalities and banjo styles interact, that makes theirs a picking partnership unlike any other on the planet.

NEW RELEASES: DAVID BOYKIN - LOVE POWER MAGIC; THE AUCTION PROJECT WITH GUEST MIKE STERN - SLINK; SALSA DE HOY: AN INDEPENDENT SALSA CALIENTE COMPILATION

DAVID BOYKIN - LOVE POWER MAGIC

One of the most spiritual albums we've ever heard from reedman David Boykin – a beautiful batch of long, flowing tunes that have tremendous modal energy and a very cohesive feel! We've always loved Boykin, right from the start – but here he's showing an even deeper sense of spirituality and direction – a great evolution after so many years in jazz, with a strong ability to build new ideas over a very long space – and still communicate in this universal style that transcends time and place! The package is lean – just a small cardboard sleeve – but the music is mighty, and feels like some lost underground jazz classic from the 70s. Boykin plays reeds and a bit of percussion – in a quintet with some really tremendous bass from Josh Abrams – plus piano from James Baker, guitar from Alex Wing, and drums from Marcus Evans – on the tracks "Love Power Magic", "Hyperspace", "6/10/13", and "Some Slick 8 Bar Blues". ~ Dusty Groove.

THE AUCTION PROJECT WITH GUEST MIKE STERN - SLINK

The Auction Project is a union of musicians and composers made up of Arturo O'Farrill (piano) Carlo De Rosa (bass) Vince Cherico (drums) Heather Martin Bixler(violin) David Bixler (saxes). The material is the strength of their friendship love and musical creativity shared by the ensemble, Special guest Mike Stern. Tracklisting: Bear Island Reel, Cleveland, Slink, Richie Dwyer's Reel, Wind that Shakes the Barley, Heron's Egg, Marquis Of Huntley, Angry White Man, and Workmanship (Air). ~ CD Universe

SALSA DE HOY: AN INDEPENDENT SALSA CALIENTE COMPILATION

A great look at the range of excellent salsa that's been burning in the global underground over the past few years – played by a generation of groups who are really getting back to basics – and making the kind of music that first burst forth from the New York and Puerto Rican scenes in the 70s! The sound here is salsa dura all the way through – very sharp instrumentation on top of mindblowingly wonderful percussion – so great on its own that the vocals just come across as icing on the cake! Titles include "La Via" by Bio Ritmo, "Hueso Quemado" by 30 De Febrero, "Lluvia Con Sol" by Orquesta El Macabeo, "Rompe Colchon" by Tromboranga, "Les Calles De Mi Ciudad" by Juan Pablo Diaz, and "El Kikuyo" by La Malmana. ~ Dusty Groove

BARBRA STREISAND'S "PARTNERS" FEATURES 12 DUETS WITH THE WORLD'S GREATEST MALE VOCALISTS

Columbia Records has announced the upcoming release of Barbra Streisand's "Partners" album, to debut on September 16th, 2014, featuring 12 inimitable new Streisand duets with the world's greatest male vocalists.

Ms. Streisand took to Instagram on August 11th to announce to the world the official September 16th release date for "Partners."  Fans can pre-order "Partners" now.  All those who pre-order the album will receive a new downloadable song "New York State Of Mind," with Billy Joel.  The Lionel Richie duet of the classic "The Way We Were" will be also be made available to pre-ordering fans on August 26. The third Instant Grat track, the Michael Buble duet "It Had To Be You," - will be downloadable via  pre-order on September 2.

The inspired new musical pairings on "Partners" include, Andrea Bocelli, Michael Buble, Kenneth 'Babyface' Edmonds, Jason Gould, Josh Groban, Billy Joel, John Legend, John Mayer, Lionel Richie, Blake Shelton, Stevie Wonder and a breathtaking virtual duet with the King of rock n' roll, Elvis Presley.  The new album, which is executive produced by Ms. Streisand and Jay Landers, is produced by 'Babyface' and Walter Afanasieff. 

"Partners" is comprised of 12 songs, many of which are regarded as Streisand classics.  Among the songs included are "New York State Of Mind," with Billy Joel, "It Had To Be You," with Michael Buble, "Come Rain Or Come Shine," with John Mayer, "Love Me Tender," with Elvis Presley, "The Way We Were," with Lionel Richie, "What Kind Of Fool," with John Legend, "People," with Stevie Wonder, "I Can Still See Your Face," with Andrea Bocelli, "Evergreen," with Babyface, and Ms. Streisand's first studio-recorded duet with her son Jason Gould, on "How Deep Is The Ocean."

Throughout her career, Barbra Streisand has generously shared microphone and spotlight to create some of the most magical duets in music history.  Ms. Streisand has elevated the craft of pairing incomparable vocal styles with impeccable song choices, transforming the realm of the duet into the summit of collaborative artistry.  For more than six decades she has seamlessly blended such extraordinary moments – both live and in the studio – into an acclaimed body of work that is unrivaled in popular music.

Ms. Streisand is currently the best-selling female recording artist in history and the only woman to make the All-Time Top 10 Best Selling artists list, an honor which includes "Partners" duettist Elvis Presley.  Ms. Streisand has recorded 51 gold, 30 platinum and 13 multi-platinum albums in her career, including nine #1s, and is the only recording artist to have accomplished #1 album in five consecutive decades.

Recognized as an icon in multiple entertainment fields, Ms. Streisand has attained unprecedented achievements as a recording artist, actor of stage and screen, concert performer, movie producer, film director, author and songwriter.  In her accomplished career she has been awarded two Oscars, five Emmys, ten Golden Globes, eight Grammys, a special Tony award in 1970 as star of the decade, and two Cable Ace awards – the only artist to receive honors in all of those fields of endeavor.  Ms. Streisand is the recipient of the American Film Institute's Lifetime Achievement Award, the National Endowment for the Arts Medal, two Peabody Awards, A Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award and a Grammy Legend Award.  Ms. Streisand is also the first film director to receive the Kennedy Center Honors.       

Most recently, Columbia Records released Barbra Streisand's "Back To Brooklyn" concert CD/DVD, which reached #1 on the Billboard Top DVD Music Videos chart in December of 2013.  Ms. Streisand has topped the DVD charts five times, earning nine Gold DVDs, six Platinum and three Multi-Platinum citations.

The "Back To Brooklyn" concert CD/DVD captures Streisand's first musical performance in her native Brooklyn since she departed at age 16 to pursue her acting career and became one of the most popular and acclaimed musical performers in history. 

All the artists featured on "Partners" have achieved global acclaim.  Below are just a few highlights from their prestigious careers:      

Babyface: Has written and produced over 26 No. 1 R&B hits throughout his career. He has won 10 Grammy Awards.

Andrea Bocelli: Has recorded fourteen solo albums, selling over 100 million records worldwide, making him one of the best-selling music artists. In 1999, he was nominated for Best New Artist at the Grammy Awards. "The Prayer", his duet with Celine Dion for the animated film Quest for Camelot, won the Golden Globe for Best Original Song and was nominated for an Academy Award in the same category. Seven of his albums have since reached the top 10 on the Billboard 200.

Michael Buble: Has won four Grammy Awards and multiple Juno Awards. Buble's 2009 album Crazy Love debuted at number one on the U.S. Billboard Top 200 after three days of sales, and remained there for two weeks.

Babyface: Has written and produced over 26 No. 1 R&B hits throughout his career. He has won 10 Grammy Awards.

Jason Gould: Actor, director, producer, writer and singer, his self-titled EP garnered rave reviews in 2012, as did his live duets with Barbra Streisand on her 2012 fall tour and her live CD/DVD package of Ms. Streisand's critically acclaimed 2012 "Back To Brooklyn" concert.

Josh Groban: His first four solo albums have been certified multi-platinum, and in 2007, he charted as the number-one best selling artist in the United States with over 21 million records in the nation. To date, he has sold over 25 million records worldwide.  Josh appeared on Ms. Streisand's 2002 album, "Duets," a compilation of her duet performances throughout her career, form 1963 to 2002.

Billy Joel:  Has become the sixth best-selling recording artist and the third best-selling solo artist in the United States. He is also a six-time Grammy Award winner who has been nominated for 23 Grammy Awards throughout his career. He has sold more than 150 million records worldwide, making him one of the best-selling artists of all time.

John Legend: Has won nine Grammy Awards. He has gained chart topping hits from his solo work, including the Billboard Hot 100 No.1 peaking single, "All of Me".

John Mayer: In 2003, he won a Grammy Award for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance for "Your Body Is a Wonderland."  He has sold over 10 million albums in the U.S. and over 20 million albums worldwide.

Elvis Presley: The king of rock n' roll, he is the best-selling solo artist in the history of recorded music, with estimated album sales of 600 million units worldwide.  He was nominated for 14 Grammys and won three, receiving the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award at age 36.

Lionel Richie: Has sold more than 100 million records worldwide, making him one of the best-selling artists of all time. Has won two Grammys.

Blake Shelton: Has charted 24 country singles, including 11 #1's. He has been nominated five times for a Grammy Award. Has won the Academy of Country Music's Entertainer of the Year twice.

Stevie Wonder: Has recorded more than thirty U.S. top ten hits and received twenty-two Grammy Awards, the most ever awarded to a male solo artist, and has sold over 100 million albums and singles, making him one of the Top 60 best selling artists.

Track Listing for "Partners"

1. It Had To Be You with Michael Buble

2. People with Stevie Wonder

3. Come Rain Or Come Shine with John Mayer

4. Evergreen with Babyface

5. New York State Of Mind with Billy Joel

6. I'd Want It To Be You with Blake Shelton

7. The Way We Were with Lionel Richie

8. I Still Can See Your Face with Andrea Bocelli

9. How Deep Is The Ocean with Jason Gould

10. What Kind Of Fool with John Legend

11  Somewhere with Josh Groban

12 .Love Me Tender with Elvis Presley

~ Columbia Records

BOBBY BAZINI RELEASES U.S DEBUT ALBUM "WHERE I BELONG" / FOLLOWING RECENT PERFORMANCE AT FESTIVAL INTERNATIONAL DE JAZZ DE MONTREAL

Highly acclaimed Canadian singer-songwriter Bobby Bazini is set to release his debut U.S. album, "Where I Belong," on August 12 through Capitol Music Group's Strange Cargo/Manhattan label.  The album debuted at #1 on the Canadian Albums chart after its May 26 release in his home country and remains in the Top 5 after seven weeks.  Most recently, Bazini performed in front of 60,000 people at the 35th Annual Festival International de Jazz de Montreal.

"The recording of 'Where I Belong' has been a tremendous experience and has allowed me to work with some truly amazing and talented people," said Bazini.  "I'm thrilled to not only have debuted at #1 in Canada, but to also now be able to bring an album I care about so much to fans in the U.S." 

"Where I Belong" found Bazini teaming up with legendary producer Larry Klein and recording at the historic Village Studios, a studio that has hosted some of his heroes such as Bob Dylan and Otis Redding.  The album is also filled with some of Bazini's favorite musicians including, Booker T Jones (organ), Jack Ashford (percussion) and Jay Bellerose (drums).  "Where I Belong" will be released in the U.S. under Capitol Music Group's Strange Cargo/Manhattan label, the famed division that has signed with the likes of the Beatles and each of the band's members, as well as Johnny Cash, Joe Cocker, David Bowie, Frank Sinatra and Pink Floyd.

"Bobby is an extraordinary talent.  It's incredibly rare in this era of American Idol and The Voice to come across a young man of Bobby's age who has gone the extra mile and not only assimilated his influences and made them  his own, but has developed his own voice as a songwriter," said producer Larry Klein. "I assembled a group of legendary musicians to work with on this album, and Bobby left us all shaking our heads after each take. This is just the beginning for him."

In 2010, Bazini's musical career climbed at a rapid pace with his very first single "I Wonder," which topped the Québec charts for nine straight weeks at #1 in the very same year, holding off challenges for chart supremacy by teen sensation Justin Bieber and fellow Quebecer Rufus Wainwright.  The single was featured on "Better in Time,"  the album that launched his career in Canada  and secured the attention of contemporary music fans around the globe, in addition to securing him two Juno® Award nominations for "New Artist of the Year" and "Pop Album of the Year in 2011."

Website: www.bobbybazini.com

Facebook:www.facebook.com/bobbybaziniofficial

Twitter: www.twitter.com/bobbybazini

Youtube: www.youtube.com/bobbybazini

~ Universal Music Group

IVO PERELMAN Celebrates 25th Anniversary of Recording With the Release of Reverie - Available on September 23 via Leo Records

For most artists, the chance to mark the silver anniversary of a recording career - as the tenor saxophone marvel Ivo Perelman does on his new album, Reverie - would involve a look back at the various styles and milestones that have marked the last quarter-century. It would perhaps include the participation of guest artists who have contributed to that period (during which the Brazilian-born Perelman has released more than 50 albums under his own name). A 25-year anniversary offers the chance for all sorts of majestic efforts to tie together that period with the advantage of hindsight. 

But Perelman is an artist who keeps his sights trained on the steps ahead, not the path behind, and accordingly, his silver-anniversary recording features him in tandem with an artist he had never played with before, and in fact had never met until just before their studio session. As Grammy® Award-winning jazz authority Neil Tesser writes in the liner notes to Reverie: "If you were expecting a grand retrospective, a summation of all the artistic threads and spikes of the preceding quarter-century, you've come to the wrong guy and the wrong place. Ivo doesn't do nostalgia."

And Perelman doesn't trade in the comfortable or conventional, either, as shown by his decision to record this album with Karl Berger, the storied pianist, vibraphonist, composer, and musical activist, whose Creative Music Workshop - founded with Ornette Coleman in 1971 in Woodstock, New York - has remained a magnet for musical iconoclasts and visionary artists to this day. But despite Berger's history of championing transformative ideas and innovative techniques - two phrases that accurately describe Perelman's own work - the two had never met, or even spoken, until plans for Reverie got under way. Berger had heard Perelman's name, but never his music; for his part, the saxophonist had once heard a Berger recording, and was well aware of his place in the development of modern music.  Still, he had never considered teaming up with Berger until, he says, "I was talking to another musician, and he mentioned being a big fan of Karl Berger, and so I got in touch with him to talk about a couple of projects. These things didn't all work out, but we did get the duo happening." 

"Happening" doesn't begin to cover the level of interaction and synergy that marks Reverie. The album is, if not unique, then certainly quite unusual among the spate of albums that have marked Perelman's current creative burst (during which he has released nearly 20 titles in this decade alone). Reverie juggles and re-orders the elements that make up any Perelman project. These include the hyper-expressivity and expanded technique of his tenor playing, with its controlled excursions into other-worldly registers of the instrument that most other saxophonists visit only for haphazard effect; his ability to transform the instrument into either a gruff and guttural warrior or a transcendent poet; and the split-second switchbacks from mood to mood and tempo to tempo that can only arise in an atmosphere of total freedom. (As is always the case with Perelman, he entered the studio without any written music or even a pre-session discussion about where each improvisation might lead. In fact, he and Berger met for the first time at the studio, says Perelman: "I shook his hand five minutes before we went to record.")

It is Berger's presence, and his philosophy of performance, that re-orders these elements into an unusually spacious Perelman album. In comparison to the pianists Perelman has worked with in the past, he explains, "Karl is more 'European' - more romantic, I think you can say - and so I'm not playing my usual 'fire-breathing.' The music asked for something else. And I'm a slave of the music - a conveyor of the emotions that are happening."

  

The "European" aspect that Perelman refers is a lyricism grounded in Berger's use of space, and it elicits a serene centeredness in the saxophonist's own playing - a phenomenon that Berger himself is well aware of. "People can much more strongly express their individuality if they're looking not just at what they play, but at what they don't play," Berger points out. He anticipates a further evolution of this interplay: "My feeling with Ivo is that there's a grand potential for him to go further even than in this album. I'm looking forward to arriving at another place with him. If you really edit yourself down to the essentials, it brings the listener in. If you leave silences for the listener to play in their own mind, it answers what you do; if you leave more and more space, then more and more the listener can come back and react, and feel closer."

"Active and passive - the meeting of two minds that are open and humble enough to cover each other's lexicon," Perelman says of this date. "And I know Karl was very happy about it, too: he was dancing in the studio." By allowing Berger's relative minimalism with his own expansive "fire-breathing," Ivo Perelman has produced one of the most unusual and accessible albums in his monumental catalog - a startling (but typically iconoclastic) way of launching the second quarter-century of his recording career.

Born in 1961 in São Paulo, Brazil, Perelman was a child prodigy on classical guitar; entranced by the cool jazz saxophonists Stan Getz and Paul Desmond, he soon moved to the tenor saxophone. Entering the famed Berklee College of Music in 1981, he first studied the mainstream masters of the instrument, to the exclusion of such pioneering avant-gardists as Albert Ayler, Peter Brötzmann, and John Coltrane - all of whom would later be cited as precedents for Perelman's own explosive and ear-stretching technique. Within two years, however, Perelman found his studies confusingly unsatisfying; leaving Berklee, he moved to Los Angeles, where he discovered his penchant for post-structure improvisation. At jam sessions, he recalls, "I would go berserk, just playing my own thing." Emboldened by this approach, Perelman began to research the free-jazz saxists who had come before him, arriving at a more nuanced understanding of his place in this lineage.

  

In 1989 Perelman recorded the first of more than 50 albums now under his own name, featuring a number of mainstream and Brazilian jazz musicians, and a program comprising traditional Brazilian folk melodies. But even then, he recalls "moments of real free playing, and I decided I liked it." In the early 90s he moved to the more inviting artistic milieu of New York, where he lives to this day, often working with in a small coterie of collaborators that include pianist Matthew Shipp, bassists William Parker and Joe Morris, drummer Gerald Cleaver, and violist Mat Maneri. In recent years, Perelman has undertaken immersive study of music written for the natural trumpet - the instrument used before the invention of trumpet valves - so as to apply techniques used on that instrument to gain even more command of the squeaky-high altissimo range, of which he is already the reigning master in modern music.

Perelman, who is also an internationally recognized (and collected) visual artist, is in the midst of what he has called a "creative frenzy" during which he has released 17 albums since 2011, almost all of them on the Leo Records label.

IvoPerelman.com

Pianist HAROLD LÓPEZ-NUSSA Announces 14-City North American Fall Trio Tour In Support of Latest Album, New Day

Cuban pianist Harold López-Nussa announces a rare 14-city North American Fall trio tour from September 20 through October 14, 2014. Booked by Ted Kurland Associates, the tour includes performances at the Monterey Jazz Festival (Monterey, CA), SFJAZZ Center - featuring David Sánchez (San Fransisco, CA), The Kennedy Center (Washington, D.C.), Jazz Standard (New York, NY), Scullers Jazz Club (Boston, MA), Blue Whale (Los Angeles, CA), SPACE - Society for the Preservation of Art & Culture (Evanston, IL), L'Astral (Montreal), and Jazz Bistro (Toronto), among other venues and cities (full tour schedule listed below). In support of the 31-year-old pianist's latest album,  New Day (released on JazzVillage in October 2013), the touring trio will feature drummer Ruy Adrián López-Nussa (Harold's brother) and bassist Jorge Sawa Pérez.

In December 2010, López-Nussa came onto the radar of prestigious booking agent, Ted Kurland (Ted Kurland Associates), who considers Harold to be one of the best young talents coming out of Cuba. The following year, the pianist was one of the featured artists on Ninety Miles, a project that came together after Wynton Marsalis & Jazz At Lincoln Center Orchestra conducted a five-day residency in Havana, working and performing with students. The album was released on Concord Picante and also featured Stefon Harris, David Sánchez and Christian Scott. Soon after, López-Nussa released his sophomore album, titled El Pais de las Maravillas (JazzVillage).

López-Nussa's latest release, New Day, showcases his ever-growing confidence as both composer and improviser, and features the first use of electronic keyboards on one of his own albums. His compositions for New Day were equally fueled by the sights, sounds, and creativity of modern Cuba as by its legendary history.  "I haven't recorded in my homeland in a long time," says López-Nusa. "This made the album really special because here I'm surrounded by the people and situations that inspire my music."

Harold López-Nussa is a child of two worlds. Born into a musical household in Cuba and educated by his French grandparents, López-Nussa took an early interest in classical piano before attending the prestigious ISA School in Havana. At the young age of 20, López-Nussa shifted his focus to the fiery Cuban jazz of his youth, but not without the nuanced, classical touch of his education. López-Nussa made his mark touring across Europe from Verdona and London to Vienna and Paris before winning the esteemed Solo Piano Contest at the 2005 Montreux Jazz Festival and recording his first solo piano album, Sobre el Atelier. 

  

Harold López-Nussa

Fall 2014 - North American Tour

September 20 / Blue Whale / Los Angeles, CA

September 21 / Monterey Jazz Festival / Monterey, CA

September 25 / SFJAZZ Center - Miner Auditorium Feat. David Sánchez / San Francisco, CA

September 26 / Iowa State University - Maintenance Shop Memorial Union / Ames, IA

September 29 / SPACE - Society for the Preservation of Art & Culture / Evanston, IL

September 30 / Jazz Standard / New York, NY

October 1 / The Kennedy Center - Millennium Stage / Washington, D.C.

October 3 / The Side Door Old Lyme Inn / Old Lyme, CT

October 4 / Montpelier Arts Center / Laurel, MD

October 7 / Wellfleet Preservation Hall / Wellfleet, MA

October 8 / Scullers Jazz Club / Boston, MA

October 9 / L'Astral / Montreal, Quebec, Canada

October 10-12 / Jazz Bistro / Toronto, ONT, Canada

October 14 / Festival de Jazz de Quebec - The Cercle / Quebec City, Quebec, Canada

haroldlopeznussa.com

NEW RELEASES: DIANA KRALL - WALLFLOWER; HERB ALPERT - IN THE MOOD; DARIUS JONES / MATTHEW SHIPP - COSMIC LIEDER: THE DARKSEID RECITAL

DIANA KRALL - WALLFLOWER

Diana Krall's forthcoming studio album, Wallflower, is a collection of songs from the late 60's to present day that have inspired Krall since her early years. Produced by 16-time Grammy® Award-winning producer David Foster, the album finds Krall breaking new ground with her interpretations of some of the greatest pop songs of all time. On Wallflower, Diana Krall showcases her considerable gifts as a vocalist in a bold and beautiful way. Krall sings a set of songs that include familiar popular classics like The Mamas and the Papas' "California Dreaming" and the Eagles' "Desperado," favorite vintage songs by Krall's musical heroes Bob Dylan (he inspired the album's title track "Wallflower") and Elton John ("Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word"). The album also features more recent gems like Crowded House's "Don't Dream It's Over" and a wonderful new composition from Paul McCartney ("If I Take You Home Tonight"). Diana Krall will embark on the US leg of the 'Wallflower World Tour' that will take her to 26 cities starting November 7th in Phoenix, AZ & concluding in Clearwater, FL on December Wallflower is set for release on October 13 (Ex North America) and October 21 (U.S. & Canada). ~ Verve

HERB ALPERT - IN THE MOOD

On the heels of his 2014 Grammy win for his 2013 album Steppin' Out, legendary trumpeter Herb Alpert presents his latest album, In The Mood. A collection of original compositions and modern takes on classic standards, In The Mood continues Alpert's tradition of pushing his own musical boundaries. Tracklist: Chattanooga Choo Choo;  Blue Moon;. Zoo Train; Begin the Beguine;  Don't Cry; Ol' Man River (Amazon Exclusive);  Let It Be Me; Spanish Harlem; 5am; Morning; When Sunny Gets Blue;  Amy's Tune; All I Have To Do Is Dream; Sneaky;  Conversation (Amazon Exclusive); and America the Beautiful. ~ Amazon.com

DARIUS JONES / MATTHEW SHIPP - COSMIC LIEDER: THE DARKSEID RECITAL

The inter-generational partnership of alto saxophonist Darius Jones and pianist Matthew Shipp seamlessly meshes the talents of two of the most restlessly inventive and deeply gifted instrumentalist-composer-improviser-leaders working today. This singular duo project was first revealed in 2011 on the 13-part song cycle Cosmic Lieder, widely hailed as a wholly original and deeply compelling work of great emotional and intellectual heft, and seemingly arriving from the future. Since then, Jones and Shipp have continued to develop and broaden their exclusive language live in performance. The Darkseid Recital is their brand-new album of cosmic lieder, triple distilled from NYC engagements at Jazz Standard and The Stone. It is yet another unimpeachably potent work, devoid of cliché. The approaches here range widely, from entrancingly lyrical and gentle ear candy to liquid flows of notes designed to caress to a shredding intensity that can potentially be quite frightening. All of them are rendered with laser-sharp focus with intent toward catharsis, resulting in a whole that is both warmly accessible and uncompromisingly inventive. ~ Amazon.com

NEW RELEASES: THE GARY BURTON QUARTET - DUSTER / COUNTRY ROADS & OTHER PLACES; MADE TO BREAK - CHERCHEZ LA FEMME; GAROTAS SUECAS - FERAS MITICAS

THE GARY BURTON QUARTET - DUSTER / COUNTRY ROADS & OTHER PLACES

Classic work from the great Gary Burton – two sessions that forever established his place at the forefront of jazz! Duster is a really incredible record from the great Gary Burton – a key 60s set that definitely has him finding a musical voice that's all his own – a way of using the vibes that nobody else had ever attempted before! The instrument is a flurry of chromatic beauty – tones and light exploding at each new twist and turn – mixed here with superb work from a quartet that includes Larry Coryell on guitar, Steve Swallow on bass, and Roy Haynes on drums! The names of the players alone might be enough to give you a picture of the sound – but let us go onto say that the overall approach is amazing – angular, jagged, and more rhythmic than melodic – but equally swinging, in sort of a modal way. Tracks include "Ballet", "One Two 1234", "Liturgy", "Response", "General Mojo's Well Laid Plan", and "Sweet Rain". Country Roads & Other Places has a title that might be a reference to Burton's Nashville roots, and the music does have a slightly pastoral vibe – but the overall execution is extremely modern, and filled with the kind of bold tones and sharp turns that always made Burton so wonderful at the start! The group includes Jerry Hahn on guitar, Steve Swallow on bass, and Roy Haynes on drums – all very freewheeling, open players – with an equal balance between rhythm and melody. Burton, Swallow, and Hahn composed a good many of the tracks – and titles include "A Singing Song", "Wichita Breakdown", "Country Roads", "The Green Mountains", "True Or False", and "Gone But Forgotten".  ~ Dusty Groove

MADE TO BREAK - CHERCHEZ LA FEMME

Sharp improvisations with a decidedly sonic sensibility – music that bridges between free jazz and much more textural moments! The group features Ken Vandermark on reeds – sometimes blowing with forward-moving lines that are plenty bold – sometimes stepping back to merge with the more electronic passages of the group, handled by Christof Kurzmann. Drummer Tim Daisy is on hand to propel things forward at all the right moments – and the songs here are dedicated to a diverse array of inspirations – from Betty Davis to Helen Frankenthaler to Sleater Kinney! Titles include "Sans Serif" and "Capital Black". (Includes bonus download!)  ~ Dusty Groove

GAROTAS SUECAS - FERAS MITICAS

A contemporary group from Brazil, but one who've got a quirky ear for song styles that takes us back to some of our favorite artists of the 70s! Garotas Suecas work in a style that's a bit post-Tropicalia – almost like some of Tom Ze's music of those years, but maybe not as all-out wild – fused perhaps with a sense of the songwriting strengths of Caetano Veloso in his later years. Yet the work also has a contemporary vibe that's definitely the group's own, too – a sense of spirit that really marks these guys as a group to watch, already even more exciting on this second album than their first. Titles include "New Country", "Bucolismo", "Manchetes Da Solidao", "A Nuvem", "Bicho", and "Charles Chacal".  ~, Dusty Groove

"Witch": Soul Singer Quentin Moore Preaches the funk

To anyone wondering where real music is today, look no further. Austin,TX USA-native Quentin Moore is an R&B and Soul artist with a sound that exudes originality while capturing a bygone era of love, happiness, joy and pain. Following the success of his 2013 album “You Forgot Your Heart,” which rose to the top of the UK soul charts, and the February 2014 release of “The Vday EP: Volume 1,” Moore is ready to take the music world by storm again with the world premiere of the video of the single “Witch.” “Witch” is a blend of a variety of sounds that come together to channel the essence of the Blaxploitation Soul/Funk era while capturing the Indie Neo-Soul vibe of today. “Witch” is a song about a bitter woman who is shallow and materialistic, trapped because of her past love life failures. The song is intended to show bitter women that if they make a change in their attitudes toward men, abandon wishes of a fairytale romance, stop focusing on material objects and release the failures of past relationships, it can possibly bring them more than they've ever wanted in their love lives. With the video premiere of “Witch,” Moore shows that he is a creative force to be reckoned with, in sight as well as sound. 

Moore’s recently released album “You Forgot Your Heart” is a mellow, jazz-blues-funk infused odyssey of soul, taking the listener on a journey into love, heartbreak, freedom and fulfillment. One senses this journey has been Quentin’s as well, as each groove comes to life with raw reality that only comes from personal experience.  “You Forgot Your Heart” transcends mere performance and ascends to the heights of passion, pain, pleasure, and even purpose. Alternately a blast from the past and a vibrant portrait of the present, the album mixes the classic soul sound of the sixties and seventies with the neo soul vibe of today’s urban culture. His first single, “Natural Sista”, held the number one spot on the UK Breaking Artists Independent Charts and maintained a top ten ranking on the UK Soul Charts for weeks. It has also been a popular underground hit at home in the US. The album itself has occupied the number three spot on the UK Soul Charts and shows no signs of slowing down anytime soon. A graduate of the University of North Texas, Moore currently resides in Dallas. When not in the studio or performing live, Moore is active keeping up with social media, being a foodie, jogging, and staying up to date with the latest in movies, music and culture.

Full Version: http://youtu.be/e5i0ldmOAmk 

Short Version: http://youtu.be/7BvvvOJJIkA  

Instagram Trailer: http://instagram.com/p/rH4QSvKj9X/?modal=true

www.Qmooremusic.com

Italian Guitarist Peppino D'Agostino To Release Highly Anticipated New CD 'Penumbra'

Much to the excitement of guitar players worldwide, acoustic guitar virtuoso Peppino D'Agostino will be releasing his eagerly awaited new album 'Penumbra' on Mesa/Bluemoon on August 5, 2014. Along with original material, the new CD features work by Roland Dyens, Maurizio Colonna, and two compositions written especially for D'Agostino by Latin Grammy award-winning Brazilian guitarist Sergio Assad.

Peppino D'Agostino doesn’t just play the guitar. He composes, arranges, collaborates, improvises and has even been known to sing a song here and there in both English and Italian. But what he does create on the guitar makes the difference between simply playing and truly making music apparent in the most wonderful ways. D'Agostino has been hailed as “a guitarist's guitarist” by Acoustic Guitar magazine as well as “a giant of the acoustic guitar” (San Diego Reader), and holds many top guitar awards, but the San Francisco Chronicle encapsulated the essential difference that distinguishes D'Agostino’s music when it dubbed him “a poet.”

“Peppino's music is deep and beautiful.” - Tommy Emmanuel

A native of Italy, D'Agostino has made his considerable international mark as a musical artist on the guitar since he arrived in America a little over 25 years ago. The readers of Guitar Player voted him 'Best Acoustic Guitarist in 2007', and the following year in Acoustic Guitar's People's Choice Awards he won a Bronze medal for 'Best Acoustic Album of All Time' for his 2002 release 'Every Step Of The Way' (tying with Leo Kottke, one of his prime inspirations) and another Bronze award as 'Fingerstyle Guitarist of the Year'. Even his Peppino D'Agostino Seagull Signature Guitar model was ranked in June 2014 as one of the 10 best signature guitars by Guitar Player Magazine. But as said above, it's not just his talent that makes D'Agostino so notable, but also what he does with it.

Collaborations have been key to D'Agostino’s career.  In 2010, D’Agostino co-founded with David Tanenbaum, The Pacific Guitar Ensemble – an eclectic group of six guitarists who play everything from nylon and steel-string guitars to electric basses and 17th century theorbos.  At other times, he's on stage with musicians such as Stef Burns, electric guitarist for Huey Lewis and the News and Italian rock star Vasco Rossi, drummer Jeff Campitelli, one of Rolling Stone's 100 Greatest Drummers of All Time; legendary Paraguayan harpist and violinist Carlos Reyes; or Frank Martin, keyboardist extraordinaire who has played with everyone from Lady Gaga to Bruce Springsteen.

D'Agostino's simultaneous immersion in the classical guitar and rock worlds, has culminated in his new solo recording, 'Penumbra'. “There has been an evolution in my playing due to all the incredible musicians that I have met, and this new CD reflects that,” he says. “How can I not be influenced by such great players? I don't even recognize how much, because it goes into your brain, and you can't quantify that, but working with all these artists, and knowing what inspires them, has made a noticeable difference in my approach. I definitely feel that this record expresses all those various influences.” According to D'Agostino, 'Penumbra' is a mix of sophisticated yet melodic compositions that are technically complex.

“Peppino brings warm humanity to the acoustic.” - Adrian Legg

'Penumbra' includes two compositions written for D'Agostino by Latin Grammy Award winner and classical guitar legend Sergio Assad. Of this fateful collaboration D'Agostino says, “We became good friends when he started teaching at the Conservatory in San Francisco. I really admire what he does as a composer, so one night when we were having dinner in North Beach, I asked him, 'What’s your approach?' And he said, 'Well there's different things that I do. One of them is, I use numbers, like the dodecaphonic approach. For instance, if you give me your name, each letter, p-e-p-p-i-n-o, is a note.' And then, three weeks later, he came up with a tune based on my name which is very melodic and lyrical. On another night, David Tanenbaum, Sergio, and I went out and had some fun and three days later, Sergio said, 'Hey I wrote another one for you.' This one is more like a samba and it's pretty fast. Later David was telling me, 'Do you know how many classical guitarists constantly ask Sergio to write for them – and he just gave you two compositions - you're really lucky.' ”

“The latest CD release by Peppino D'Agostino brings us a repertoire typically associated with nylon guitar players. The beautiful sound of Peppino's steel strings makes us hear this repertoire with renewed interest. 'Penumbra' is a must for all kind of guitar lovers.” - Sergio Assad

The new CD also features compositions from two other contemporary classical guitarists, Roland Dyens and Maurizio Colonna. “I really admire Roland Dyens,” says D'Agostino. “He's one of my favorite guitarists, because he mixes classical and jazz. He has this mind that can go both places. And every concert he starts with an improvisation. I always loved his piece 'Valse des Anges' ('Angel's Waltz'). It's more of a jazz waltz - very melodic, but also jazzy.”

Like Assad, Italian guitarist Colonna contributed two pieces. D'Agostino explains, “I met Maurizio years ago, and he's interesting because he uses a classical technique, yet he has also recorded very complex arrangements of rock songs by Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd, but the two pieces I recorded are his original compositions. One is very melodic, with a lot of the classical tremolo technique. The challenge is to do it on steel-string, which is not easy. The other piece, 'Synchronized Movements', is an almost minimalist piece, where phrases are rhythmic yet change only slightly.”

While all these guitarists have clearly contributed to Peppino's continuing evolution, he returns the favor with compositions dedicated to Tanenbaum and Sergio Assad. Says D'Agostino, “I dedicated 'Penumbra', the title track of the CD, to David Tanenbaum. 'Penumbra' means between dark and light. Through David I learned about Baroque music and minimalism. So I was really trying to bring some of the Baroque and minimalist elements into the composition. I wrote it for him and he actually started performing it. So there's an even stronger connection with the classical world.”

“Peppino D'Agostino's new CD 'Penumbra' actually has very few shadows, but rather his usual bright, Italian, sunny charm. I was particularly happy to hear him play the wonderful piece he wrote for me, 'Penumbra', with its blend of Baroque music and minimalism.” - David Tannenbaum

The track “Penumbra” is also a perfect illustration of how D'Agostino is balancing his interest in classical guitar and his older steel-string style. Opening with a Baroque-sounding theme, played with great sensitivity and feeling, the piece, which is in one of D'Agostino's trademark open tunings, segues into a rhythmic section in 9/8 that references his rock and ethnic-influenced style.

“[a] phenom in the same league with John Fahey, Leo Kottke, Doc Watson and John Renbourn.” - Jazziz

Peppino D'Agostino will be performing with a variety of ensembles in support of 'Penumbra'. He'll continue playing with the Pacific Guitar Ensemble, longtime colleagues Tanenbaum and Burns as well as the duos with drummer Jeff Campitelli and harpist and violinist Carlos Reyes. Furthermore, he is also part of a 2014 - 2015 tour called “The Great Guitars”, with Martin Taylor, Frank Vignola, and Vinny Raniolo. All these projects although different in nature and scope have one thing in common - D'Agostino's ongoing desire to expand the repertoire of the steel string guitar and to reaffirm the important role that music plays in our lives.

Watch Peppino D'Agostino's recent video for Guitar Player magazine: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ScSaTWRGtuc

Peppino D'Agostino 2014 Tour Dates:

Aug 15, 2014 - Coalesce Bookstore - Morro Bay, CA, USA

Aug 16, 2014 - Castoro Cellars - Templeton, CA, USA (Show Time: 7:30 pm)

Sept 27, 2014 - House Concert - Windsor, CA, USA

Oct 16, 2014 - The Ballroom at the Outer Space - Hamden, CT, USA

Oct 17, 2014 - Medallion Opera House - Gorham, NH, USA (Show Time: 7:30 pm)

Oct 18, 2014 - Harvard Public Library - Harvard, MA, USA (Show Time: 7:30pm)

Oct 23, 2014 - House Concert -Wheeling, WV, USA

Oct 26 & 27, 2014 - Via Vecchia Winery - Columbus, OH, USA (Show Time: 2:00pm)

Oct 30, 2014 - Foundry Hall    - South Haven, MI, USA

Nov 1, 2014 - Taffy's  - Eaton, OH, USA

Nov 8, 2014 - Blackstone River Theatre - Cumberland, RI, USA

Nov 15, 2014 - 21. Dresdner Gitarrenfest - Dresden, GERMANY

Nov 21, 2014 - Gaste Garage  - Hasbergen, GERMANY

Nov 22, 2014 - Schalloch - Hamburg, GERMANY

Nov 27, 2014 - Bar D’Amato  - Wolfratshausen, GERMANY

http://www.peppinodagostino.com

Drummer, vibraphonist, percussionist Mitch Shiner Releases his Debut Album Fly! with the BloomingTones Big Band on August 19 via Patois Records

Shiner - a protégé of trombonist Wayne Wallace, who co-produced the album - mixes originals with covers of "When You Wish Upon A Star" "Wrecking Ball" "Raindrops Keep Fallin' On My Head" and "Brother To Brother"

From J.J. Johnson and Freddie Hubbard to David Baker and Wes Montgomery, the Indiana jazz scene has given us some of our major voices and innovators in the music. Drummer/percussionist, composer and arranger Mitch Shiner is a son of that tradition and does it proudly. For Shiner, music has always been about connecting with an audience. Whether on stage or on a recording, his vibrant, high-energy style of playing permeates every performance.

Wayne Wallace, whose Patois Records is releasing Fly!, says: "Mitch is everything that is right about this generation of young musicians. He embraces tradition and learns from it, but keeps in touch with the music of today. He is accomplished on all of his instruments and retains has the desire to improve and learn new things from all styles of music. Collaborating with him on this project was a joy!! The BloomingTones is a talented 18-piece group that swings hard. I first heard the group in August 2013 and was impressed with their musicality and professionalism. The band is loaded with talented soloists and instrumentalists." With a mix of compelling originals and fresh takes on standards Fly! is an eclectic debut album for Shiner and the BloomingTones Big Band.

A native of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Shiner began playing drums at age eight, and has been studying percussion since age nine. He received his bachelor's degree in Jazz Studies from Indiana University's Jacobs School of Music where he studied under percussion professors Steve Houghton and Michael Spiro. He has performed in many ensembles at Indiana University including big bands, combos, the Latin Jazz Ensemble, The Singing Hoosiers, Vocal Jazz Ensemble, the Brazilian Percussion Ensemble, Steel Pan Band, and the University Orchestra.

An active bandleader, Shiner directs the BloomingTones Big Band, and performs his compositions and arrangements with his own sextet and quartet. As an in-demand sideman in the Bloomington and Indianapolis areas he is a member of the Postmodern Jazz Quartet, Jazz Fables Quintet, and Wayne Wallace Latin Jazz Octet. In Indianapolis, Mitch regularly performs with the Buselli-Wallarab Jazz Orchestra, Midcoast Swing Orchestra, and the Leisure Kings.

An avid composer, Shiner received a Summer 2013 Creative Activity Grant through the IU Hutton Honors College to compose five big band charts influenced by people and places in his hometown of Milwaukee. In addition, he received the 2013 Indianapolis Jazz Foundation Scholarship. In the summer of 2012, he was one of 15 jazz musicians to be invited to participate in the Ravinia Festival's Steans Music Institute where he studied with Curtis Fuller, Rufus Reid, Nathan Davis, and David Baker.

Mitch was selected from national auditions to perform in the 2011 Disneyland All-American College Band. In the AACB, Mitch was the lead drummer in the show band and drum set player for the big band, performing each day in the Disneyland Park. Directed by Dr. Ron McCurdy of the University of Southern California, the band performed weekly with guest artists including Rick Baptist, Sal Lozano, Jiggs Whigham, and Arturo Sandoval.

Recorded at Primary Sound Recording in Bloomington Indiana, Fly! showcases Mitch's composition and arranging talents to the fullest. Original compositions Fly, Dragon Express, 6:20 Shuffle, Watchful Eyes and Malibu Jump blend interweaving ensemble passages with energetic solos. Contemporary standards Brother To Brother, When You Wish Upon A Star and Raindrops Keep Fallin' On My Head are re-imagined with contrasting sections employing meter changes and intricate layered writing.

One of the album's highlights is Wrecking Ball - Ogun, an original mix of modern jazz and Afro-Cuban folklore. The recording also features an arrangement of An Evening Thought as a cha-cha by Mitch's teacher and mentor Dr. David Baker.

http://www.patoisrecords.com/

http://www.shineymusic.com/