Wednesday, November 19, 2014

Catherine Russell Returns to New York City in 2014-15 Following Release of Bring It Back

Capping off a stellar year, vocalist Catherine Russell returns to the New York City area in December to finish out 2014 in a flourish. Performing in a variety of settings, Catherine swings into the New Year with seasonal fare and classics of blues, swing, and jazz from her latest highly acclaimed album, Bring It Back (Jazz Village).

Saturday, December 6: Russell reunites with Vince Giordano and The Nighthawks for the annual Chazen Jazz Concert at Rockland Community College Cultural Arts Center in Suffern, New York.

Monday, December 8: Russell leads her sextet as the featured entertainment for the Louis Armstrong House Museum's annual GALA at Capitale in Manhattan with a program that will explore varied and sometimes overlooked chestnuts from Satchmo's vast repertoire, from New Orleans to Swing to The Great American Songbook.

Thursday, December 11: Russell and her quartet celebrate the Holidays with a free to the public, noon concert, in downtown NYC at The Winter Garden at Brookfield Place, performing seasonal tunes from favorites to the less well known.

Saturday, December 13: Ladies Sing The Blues (with Catherine Russell and Charenee Wade fronting a 7 piece band) visits McCarter Theater's Berlind Theatre in Princeton, NJ, for an evening paying homage to '20s and '30s female blues singers like Bessie Smith, Mamie Smith, and Ethel Waters, with arrangements based on the original recordings.

Tuesday, December 23: Russell makes her debut appearance at Jazz Standard as featured vocalist with Andy Farber's After Midnight Orchestra, the wonderful 18-piece band that recently wowed Broadway audiences. Leader, saxophonist, and arranger Andy Farber wrote arrangements and played on Catherine's two most recent albums, Bring It Back and Strictly Romancin', and will delve into that catalogue as well as unveiling new big band arrangements.

Saturday, December 27: Russell and her trio venture to New England for a first ever visit to The Side Door, a wonderful new jazz venue in Old Lyme, Connecticut.

Wednesday, December 31: Russell and her trio ring in the New Year with a New Year's Eve show at Shanghai Jazz in Madison, New Jersey for the 4th consecutive year.
  
Looking back at 2014, the highlights are bountiful. Russell's fifth album, Bring It Back, was released worldwide in February on Harmonia Mundi's Jazz Village imprint, and quickly garnered a rare 5 star review in Downbeat Magazine, whose writer Allen Morrison said, "By not trying to be modern, she has paradoxically created something new, retooling vintage tracks with soulful vocals and striking new arrangements that burnish the blues and swing feeling that is the bedrock of jazz." Bring It Back was also embraced by radio, spending five months at #1 on Roots Music Report's Jazz Album Chart, while also reaching #1 on CMJ's Jazz Chart, #1 on the European QOBUZ Jazz Chart, and #2 on JazzWeek.

Russell's Bring It Back tour commenced with sold-out Valentine's Day shows at Scullers Jazz Club in Boston, broadcast live on WGBH. Of her New York City album release concert at Dizzy's Club Coca-Cola at Jazz at Lincoln Center, DownBeat Magazine raved: "What really makes her special, however, is not so much her technical gifts-it's her innate sense of swing, mastery of phrasing and her actor's ability to fully inhabit a song's lyrics."

Additional 2014 touring brought Russell from coast to coast in the U.S., and to Europe and Asia, including her first ever five city sold out visit to Israel. Festival appearances included Savannah Music Festival, Greensboro North Carolina's 17 Days Festival, Manhattan's New York Hot Jazz, Rochester International Jazz Festival, San Jose Summer Fest in California, Jazz at Roland Garros (broadcast "live" on TSF Jazz Radio) and Nancy Jazz Pulsations in France, and SibeJazz in Novosibirsk, Russia, among others. "Catherine Russell ruled the roost, delivering a typical revelatory set", wrote Andrew Gilbert in JazzTimes reviewing San Jose Summer Fest. And after witnessing Russell's return to the Rochester Jazz Festival for a fifth year, the Democrat and Chronicle's Jack Garner noted, "Fest favorite Catherine Russell brought her typical fun-loving stage presence, a rare and deep understanding of the jazz and blues traditions, and a wonderful robust voice."
  
Touring continues into 2015 with select Catherine Russell appearances as follows: 

Friday, January 9 / City Winery (APAP showcase) / New York, NY
Saturday, January 17 / Jazz on the Mountain at Mohonk Mountain House
(w/ Carolyn Leonhart, LaTanya Hall) / New Paltz, NY
Saturday, February 14 / WP Presents at the Shea
Performing Arts Center (Valentines Day Concert) / Wayne, NJ
Thursday, February 19 / Tribeca Performing Arts Center
(Highlights in Jazz 42nd Anniversary) / New York, NY
Sunday, February 22 / NJPAC - Dorthaan's Place Jazz Brunch / Newark, NJ


Kassé Mady Diabaté – Kiriké Out in the US on January 6, 2015 on Six Degrees Records

For almost half a century Kassé Mady Diabaté has been recognized as one of West Africa’s finest singers. He is a descendant of the most distinguished griot family of the ancient Manding Empire, the Diabatés of Kéla, and his name, alongside other griot legends Toumani Diabaté and Bassékou Kouyaté, is equivalent to musical royalty in Mali. The Manding Empire was founded in the 13th Century by the emperor Sunjata. It swept from one end of West Africa to the other, from Casamance on the Atlantic coast all the way to Burkina Faso, thousands of miles to the east. Sunjata used a hitherto unheard of weapon to bind all his disparate peoples together: music.

Music became a formidable political tool and turned the hereditary Manding musicians or djelis (griots) into a powerful caste. Today, having survived centuries of change and turmoil, that caste is still flourishing. Drawing on themes as old as the empire itself and melodies learned in childhood, the modern griots still mediate for social order. It explains how an artist such as Kassé Mady Diabate can rise to such a degree of excellence and become a national treasure in Mali.

Kassé Mady was born in 1949 in the village Kéla. His aunt was the great griotte Siramori Diabaté, while his grandfather was known as ‘Jeli Fama’, which means ‘The Great Griot’, thanks to the gripping quality of his voice. When Kassé Mady was 7 years old (a significant age in Manding culture), the elders of the family, including Siramori, realized that he had inherited his grandfather’s vocal genius. They schooled him and encouraged him, until he was able to launch his own career. He would go on to play a role in the most innovative moments in Malian music over the next five decades, first in his own country and later with landmark international collaborations.

In 1970 he became lead singer of the Orchestre Régional Super Mandé de Kangaba. With Kassé Mady’s remarkable singing the group won the nationwide Biennale music competition in the Malian capital Bamako. The festival had been set up by the government, as part of a Cultural Authenticity initiative across all of the newly independent West African states, encouraging musicians to return to their own cultural heritage. At the Biennale Kassé Mady caught the attention of Las Maravillas de Mali, a group of musicians who had studied music in Cuba, and returned to Mali to perform their interpretations of Cuban classics. The Government was putting pressure on the group to incorporate a more Malian repertoire and so they invited Kassé Mady to join them as lead singer. With their young vocalist at the helm, the Maravillas, later known as Badema National, achieved huge success throughout West Africa, with songs sung in a Cuban style, but with a new Manding touch.

In 1988 Kassé Mady left Mali and the Badema National behind and moved to Paris, where he recorded his first solo album for the Senegalese record producer Ibrahima Sylla. He spent the next ten years in Paris, recording Fode, then Kéla Tradition, an acoustic album of Kéla jeli songs. Moving back to Mali in the late 1990s, several collaborations followed, many of which have become landmark recordings: Songhai 2, the album he made with the flamenco group Ketama and Toumani Diabaté, and Koulandjan, on which he collaborated with Taj Mahal and Toumani Diabaté, an album which was famously cited by Barack Obama as one of his favorite albums of all time. Collaborations with Toumani continued and he starred in the Symmetric Orchestra and Afrocubism projects, both recorded by World Circuit.

Solo projects during the past decade have included the acoustic album Kassi Kassé, produced in 2002 by Lucy Duran, and Manden Djeli Kan, released on Universal France in 2009 and garnering 4 and 5 star reviews: ‘the star is always the brilliant vocalist’, said The Times reviewer, while the 5 star review in the Financial Times said simply ‘Time stops still’.

The new album Kiriké (out in the US on January 6, 2015 on Six Degrees Records) has provided a platform for Kassé Mady to celebrate his position as one of Mali’s greatest voices in distinguished company. The album is the third in a series born out of the friendship between the young Malian kora maestro Ballaké Sissoko and the iconoclastic French cellist Vincent Segal. Already this friendship has resulted in two beautiful albums, Chamber Music (2009) and its follow-up At Peace (2012), both released on Six Degrees Records in the US. Kirike, like the other two albums in the series, exemplifies a more intimate musical current that has been emerging in Bamako, one that’s closer to the acoustic sound of tradition.

Having long been admirers of Kassé Mady, Ballaké and Vincent dreamt of assembling a royal ‘cast’ around him and making an album worthy of his extraordinary voice. So it was that three virtuoso soloists came together, childhood friends, one-time members of the National Instrumental Ensemble of Mali, and scions of Mali’s great griot dynasties. Ballaké Sissoko is the son of Djelimady Sissoko, the musical giant who recorded the album Ancient Strings, a cornerstone of modern kora music. Balafon player Lansiné Kouyaté is the son of Siramori Diabaté. (and so related to Kassé Mady). And ngoni player Makan Tounkara, aka ‘Badié’, grew up in the heart of the Instrumental Ensemble, his father being one of its directors.

The centerpiece is Kassé Mady’s voice. He sings in Bambara, the dominant language of southern Mali, and in doing so ‘the man with the voice of velvet’ reveals an altogether different personality: an old man of the soil grumbling at the margins of his field in a language infinitely rootsier and more flavorsome than the grand Malinké of the classic griot praise-songs. A fifty-year long career hasn’t blunted his high-notes, but rather added richness to the astonishing gentleness of his baritone, making his voice better suited to this ‘chamber music’ than to the brilliant sheen of fusionistic pop.  It is a sound attuned to the modern ear, a consecration of one of Mali’s greatest voices.

Meanwhile the trio represent three major elements in Manding music: the kora music of Casamance, the balafon of the central zone and the more bitter sounding ngoni, so reminiscent of the northern deserts of Mali. And the music on Kiriké keeps faith with that contemporary acoustic Bamako sound; the subtlety and simplicity of Vincent Segal’s approach allows the musicians to pour out their art with liberated ease, and show new facets of their talent. The ngoni, at once melodic and percussive, takes pole position, its stunning improvisations (‘Douba Diabira’) promising to dazzle amateurs of both Bach and jazz, of the gnaoua of Morocco and the trance music of Madagascar. The balafon and the kora conjure up novel moods, as in the liquid accompaniment they provide on the song ‘Sadjo’. And drawing all the sounds together is the stunning voice of Kassé Mady, dazzling with its range and power.


A griot to the core, Kassé Mady expresses himself almost entirely through his music, transcribing all of the nuances of the human soul into song. He is not especially at ease with the spoken word, and is known to all who come across him for his modest and peaceful character. But when he sings, his delivery embodies the power of his message it is this that cements his position as “the greatest singer in Mali”, as described by fellow countryman Salif Keita.


Tuesday, November 18, 2014

NEW RELEASES: EMMA DONOVAN & THE PUTBACKS - DAWN; GC CAMERON; DAWN PEMBERTON – SAY SOMETHIN’

EMMA DONOVAN & THE PUTBACKS - DAWN

Richly soulful vocals and gritty funk backdrops from singer Emma Donovan and the funky Putbacks band – an great little set from the Australian funk scene! We had a pretty good idea of how strong the Putbacks are, thanks to stellar couple of singles – but their stylistic breadth comes into full display here, in backing an excellent singer. Emma is an indigenous Australian with a voice that can pull off gritty psych funk jams and more gentle, if still nicely raw soul with equal skill – and as the primary songwriter here, she shows us just how strong she his as both a singer and songwriter. Strong work all around! Includes "Black Woman", "My Goodness", "Dawn", "Mother", "Daddy", "Keep Me In Your Reach", "Come Back To Me", "Voodoo" and "Over Under Away". ~ Dusty Groove

GC CAMERON

Strong work from GC Cameron – really making a bold mark here on his own – working in a smooth, rich, masculine style that's a bit like some of the best early 70s material from Eddie Kendricks! Arrangements are by James Carmichael, Paul Riser, Wade Marcus, Gene Page, and other smooth soul talents – and GC's got this edgey vocal approach that strikes out from the backings very strongly, with a hip dope sound on the best cuts, almost in a blacksploitation soundtrack mode – with a sharper edge than on his previous group recordings. Titles include a great version of "If I Ever Lose This Heaven", plus the cuts "Me & My Life", "It's So Hard To Say Goodbye To Yesterday", "Strong Love", "Share Your Life", "Truly Blue", and "Don't Want To Give It Up". ~ Dusty Groove

DAWN PEMBERTON – SAY SOMETHIN’

A great Canadian soul singer – and one that we'd rank right up there with the contemporary best from the American underground! Dawn Pemberton's got a great approach here – sliding into the record in a very personal, subtle way (without any sort of "intro" track either – thank you!) – and things really open up wonderfully as the whole thing rolls along, with one of the most well-conceived, well-executed soul debuts we've heard in years! Dawn can get funky, but isn't a funk singer at all – and she can hit mellow modes, but never spends too much time on ballads – and instead has this way of coming out with proud, righteous energy you might never have expected from a soul singer north of the border. Fender Rhodes sets the tone on most tracks, but the album's also got much richer instrumentation than the usual beats-n-Rhodes sort of set – given Dawn's richer conception of a song. Titles include "Freedom Time", "Say Somethin", "Deeper", "Inside & Out", "What I Got", "Hello Love", and a nice cover of "I Can't Go For That".  ~ Dusty Groove



NEW RELEASES: DORIVAL CAYMMI - THE ESSENTIAL CAYMMI; CAROLINA EYCK / CHRISTIPHER TARNOW - IMPROVISATIONS FOR THEREMIN AND PIANO; JOHN ZORN – THE LAST JUDGEMENT

DORIVAL CAYMMI - THE ESSENTIAL CAYMMI

A tremendous tribute to 100 years of Dorival Caymmi – the legendary Brazilian singer/songwriter who helped pave the way for bossa nova, Tropicalia, and so many other sounds to come! Unlike the beautiful 90th birthday album for Caymmi, in which he was still alive and able to participate – this set features other artists, including key family members, coming together in rich reworkings of his best compositions – done in a sophisticated blend of older Brazilian modes that's similar to some of the best Biscoito Fino projects in recent years. Mario Adnet put the album together with Dori Caymmi – and the set features performances by Caetano Veloso, Gilberto Gil, Chico Buarque, Nana Caymmi, and Danilo Caymmi – as well as Adnet and Dori – on titles that include "O Que E Que A Baiana Tem", "Saudade Da Bahia", "Sargaco Nar", "Dora", "Vatapa", "Nem Eu", "Samba Da Minha Terra", "A Vizinha Do Lado", and "Cancao Da Partida".   Dusty Groove

CAROLINA EYCK / CHRISTIPHER TARNOW - IMPROVISATIONS FOR THEREMIN AND PIANO

Really beautiful sounds – and a record that's far more haunting than you might expect! The record's not just piano notes alongside sci fi sound effects – and instead has this really subtle use of theremin, so that the instrument almost comes across more like a cello, or acoustic bass – with these wonderfully rich tones that are used in a very organic way next to the piano. There's an extremely thoughtful approach to the whole record, never a sense of gimmick – and overall, the record really brings the theremin strongly into legitimate instrumental territory. Titles include "Deep In The Earth", "Quiet Snowfall", "Earth & Sky", "10,000 Bells", "Somber Waking Up", and "A Whale In Love". ~ Dusty Groove

JOHN ZORN – THE LAST JUDGEMENT


Heady heady work from John Zorn – part of his Moonchild series of projects, and done with the same great group as the album In Sacred Blood! Like that set, there's a weird blend of jazz and spiritual modes going on here – a sound that's more forward-moving than some of Zorn's more meditative projects in recent years, but still filled with a soaringly mystic sensibility – one that comes through especially strong in the organ lines from John Medeski, who's light years beyond (or behind, in an ancient sort of style) his famous work with MMW! Mike Patton delivers some vocal passages at points – either singing in some ancient spiritual mode, or speaking with a whisper-like sensibility – but the core of the album seems hinged on the instrumentation, and Medeski is even more set free than before – alongside bass from Trevor Dunn and drums from Joey Baron. Zorn composed and produced – and titles include "Incant", "Sleepy Hollow", "Tria Prima", "Trinity", "Resurrection", and "Le Tombeau De Jacques De Molay". ~ Dusty Groove


NEW RELEASES: UNDISPUTED SOUL MIXED BY DJ SPINNA; REVEREND CLEATUS & SOUL SAVIOUR STEW; JESSE BOYKINS III – LOVE APPARATUS

UNDISPUTED SOUL MIXED BY DJ SPINNA

DJ Spinna takes on the sound of Motown, with wonderful results – and a groove that's quite different than any other project we've heard from him! If you only know Spinna as a talent in a contemporary mode, you'll really be surprised at his love and understanding of classic Motown – as he mixes together 22 vintage tracks from the legendary soul label, all in a non-stop groove that features some great Spinna twists and turns as the music comes together! There's a few tracks that are all new Spinna edits of classics, and others have little touches here and there as they move on – a thoughtful way of mixing that really makes all the cuts resonate strongly together. Titles include "Date With The Rain (DJ Spinna refreak)" by Eddie Kendricks, "Brothers Gonna Work It Out (DJ Spinna refreak)" by Willie Hutch, "Bernadette" by Four Tops, "Malinda" by Bobby Taylor & The Vancouvers, "Do It Baby" by The Miracles, "The Love You Save" by Jackson 5, "Love's Gone Bad" by Chris Clark, "I'm A Sucker For Your Love" by Teena Marie, "The Hunter Gets Captured By The Game" by Barbara McNair, and "Honey Chile" by Martha Reeves & The Vandellas.  ~ Dusty Groove

REVEREND CLEATUS & SOUL SAVIOUR STEW

There's no reverend here – despite the name of the group – but the set is one smokingly righteous set of funky instrumentals – more than enough to send us to the heavens with its stunning sense of spirit! The group's a lean one, with an especially strong focus on Hammond and guitar – an approach we've come to really love on their 45s for the Tramp label, and which holds together very well over the extended course of this full length set! There's no vocals, no horns, just wicked small combo instrumentation – with a focus on organ and guitar that's neither 60s soul jazz, nor just another Booker T ripoff – and instead a very unique approach by this up-and-coming group. Titles include "Soul Saviour Stew", "Paper Cut", "Who's In Here", "Brain Damage", "No Bones", "Hash Cake", and "2lbs Of Funk In a 1lb Bag" – a title that may well sum up the whole record! (Includes download!)  ~ Dusty Groove

JESSE BOYKINS III – LOVE APPARATUS


Warm love and plenty of soul from Jesse Bokyins – an artist who keeps on perfecting his craft more and more with each new record – to create a special place in soul that's very much his own! The grooves are heavy on keyboards, but with these very trippy touches – and the whole thing has a unique, handcrafted feel that almost makes Boykins a kind of Shuggie Otis figure for the 21st Century – a supreme master of mellow soul, able to wrap together voice and instrument with this incredible sense of flow! Bass and beats can sometimes be heavy, but always with a slow, crispy vibe that resonates strongly with the more cosmic elements of the music – on titles that include "Show Me Who You Are", "Create Beauty", "Make Believe", "4Ever No More", "Matter Of The Heart", "GreyScale", and "I Wish". (Comes with a bonus download for 8 extra tracks!)  ~ Dusty Groove


Family of Bob Marley and Privateer Holdings Unveil World’s First Global Cannabis Brand – Marley Natural

Today Privateer Holdings announced the creation of Marley Natural, the world’s first global cannabis brand. Privateer Holdings is the world’s first private equity firm investing exclusively in the legal cannabis industry. Marley Natural will offer premium cannabis products that honor the life and legacy of Bob Marley as well as his belief in the benefits of cannabis.

“and he felt it was important to the world. He looked forward to this day.”
“We are joining with Privateer Holdings because they understand and respect our father’s legacy,” said Rohan Marley, Bob’s son.

Starting in late 2015 in certain jurisdictions where regulations permit, Marley Natural will begin offering heirloom Jamaican cannabis strains inspired by those Bob Marley enjoyed. In addition to cannabis, Marley Natural will offer cannabis- and hemp-infused topicals, including sun repair creams and lotions containing Jamaican botanicals such as aloe and coconut, as well as accessories, including limited edition products based on those that Bob preferred. As a brand with a strong social conscience, Marley Natural’s business model and philanthropic initiatives will be built to ensure that families and communities who have been harmed by prohibition have the opportunity to benefit from the new, legal cannabis economy.

Bob Marley, a Jamaican-born musician, became a global superstar and advocated for peace, unity, social justice and personal freedom through his music. His greatest hits compilation, Legend, is the world’s best-selling reggae album, with more than 27 million copies sold worldwide. Marley was also a well-known advocate for “the herb,” as he called cannabis, which he said brought him inner peace and furthered his creativity. “When you smoke the herb it reveals you to yourself,” Marley said.

Privateer Holdings and the Marley family began discussing the possibility of working together in early 2013 and quickly realized their common values – social change, environmental sustainability and building a professional, responsible and legal cannabis industry. Privateer Holdings is committed to ending the social harms caused by prohibition, just as the Marley family carries on Bob’s vision of social justice through their charitable and business ventures. The Marley family’s strong commitment to sustainability will be carried forward by Marley Natural’s use of organic growing mediums and fertilizers.

“My dad would be so happy to see people understanding the healing power of the herb,” said Cedella Marley, Bob’s daughter. “He viewed the herb as something spiritual that could awaken our well-being, deepen our reflection, connect us to nature and liberate our creativity. Marley Natural is an authentic way to honor his legacy by adding his voice to the conversation about cannabis and helping end the social harms caused by prohibition.”

“Marley Natural is a partnership between two cannabis pioneers,” said Brendan Kennedy, CEO of Privateer Holdings. “The Marley family has been an admired voice in the cannabis movement for more than 50 years and Privateer Holdings is the leader in building professional, mainstream cannabis brands. We’ve learned a lot over the past year about Bob’s views towards cannabis and how he viewed the herb differently. We are honored to work with the Marley family to bring his voice to a professional, authentic and modern brand that will be a defining first in the cannabis industry.”

“My husband believed ‘the herb’ was a natural and positive part of life,” said Rita Marley, Bob’s wife, “and he felt it was important to the world. He looked forward to this day.”

About Marley Natural 
Marley Natural is a premium cannabis brand rooted in the life and legacy of Bob Marley offering heirloom Jamaican cannabis strains, cannabis- and hemp-infused topical products, and accessories. To learn more about Marley Natural, visit www.MarleyNatural.com or follow the conversation on social media using #MarleyNatural.

About Privateer Holdings
Privateer Holdings is the cannabis industry’s first private equity firm. Through strategic investments in the emerging legal cannabis industry, Privateer Holdings is building a portfolio of mainstream companies that elevate the conversation about cannabis. The company aims to change past perceptions of the marketplace by building brands set apart by their professionalism and operational excellence. For more information, visit www.PrivateerHoldings.com. Privateer Holdings’ other companies include:

•Tilray: a leading premium medical cannabis company, offering unparalleled quality and consistency. Tilray began shipping medical cannabis to Canadian patients from its $20 million production facility in April 2014 and has a pending application for a federal production license in Uruguay.

•Leafly: the leading online cannabis information resource, with more than four million visitors per month and the world’s largest database of user-generated reviews of cannabis strains, dispensaries and retail stores.


Monday, November 17, 2014

JAZZ IN THE GARDENS CELEBRATES 10TH YEAR WITH WORLD CLASS LINEUP

The City of Miami Gardens is proud to announce the first round of artists for the 10th Annual Jazz in the Gardens (JITG) music festival at Sun Life Stadium. The three-day weekend festival on March 20th to 22nd, 2015 will feature artists Maxwell, Toni Braxton, R. Kelly, Men of Soul’s Jeffrey Osborne, Peabo Bryson and Freddie Jackson, and Brian Culbertson. Comedians and nationally syndicated radio personalities D.L. Hughley and Rickey Smiley will co-host the festival. 

First round of artists include Maxwell, R. Kelly, Toni Braxton, Men of Soul, and Brian Culbertson with more artists to be announced soon.

This event is predicted to break attendance records, surpassing last year’s 68,000 tickets sold, and promises a memorable kick off for springtime Miami. “This signature event was birthed from humble beginnings with just 1,800 people in attendance our first year,” said City of Miami Gardens Mayor Oliver Gilbert. “I am proud to have watched this festival grow in number and esteem and reach this landmark of 10 years. With our top notch production team, the City of Miami Gardens promises this year’s experience is one for the books, you haven’t seen anything yet!”

NEW RELEASES: CARLA BENSON – YOU SHOULD BE HERE; BOBBI HUMPHREY - THE GOOD LIFE; PHILLY CREAM – GROOVIN’

CARLA BENSON – YOU SHOULD BE HERE

A sweet solo record from Philly singer Carla Benson – a vocalist you'll probably know best for her role in the Sweethearts Of Sigma trio, where she backed up countless soul singers in the 70s! The set's a new one, but has a nicely classic vibe – done in more of an 80s Philly modern soul mode, with production and arrangements by Butch Ingram that nicely match his other recent work for the Society Hill imprint. Carla's vocals are richly expressive – maybe more so now than ever – and the set is mostly mellower numbers and midtempo cuts, with titles that include "You Show Me", "I Dreamed A Dream", "You Should Be Here", "Autumn Leaves", "Outstanding", and "Ready For Love".  ~ Dusty Groove

BOBBI HUMPHREY - THE GOOD LIFE

First Time Ever on CD Release. Includes 4 Bonus Tracks Liner Notes by Alex Henderson Re-Mastered using the Original Master Tapes by Sean Brennan at Battery Studio s New York Bobbi Humphrey's major-label swan song eradicates the final traces of jazz remaining in her music's elemental makeup. Produced by Ralph MacDonald and William Eaton, The Good Life is a 1979 straight-up R&B record. Humphrey always embraced commercial sounds and sensibilities regardless of jazz conventions, but this music is simply too slick for comfort. Her skills as a flutist remain exceptional, which gives The Good Life the funky grooves and gossamer textures that buoyed her classic Blue Note sides. The Good Life is quite an unashamedly commercial album for Bobbi Humphrey as she has drops the high class approach of her earlier albums and opted for making a full-on in-your-face disco album. This is a big fat disco cliché, even right down to the electronic bongos, But my bet is you'll be so impressed that you'll make an easy move to get some of the Good Life. ~ Amazon

PHILLY CREAM – GROOVIN’

The wonderful return of Philly Cream – a group who made some great records at the end of the 70s, and who seem like they haven't missed a beat at all! The style here is really in the old school Philly harmony mode – maybe the modern soul variant, with some slight contemporary touches in the instrumentation – but an overall feel that has all the vocals coming together wonderfully! Old group member Art Austin is working here with younger female singers Simone Talley and Adrienne Aje – and the record has plenty of musical support from Ingram, with Butch Ingram at the production helm – in a similar mode to the other great recent sides on Society Hill. Titles include "Somebody Told Me", "A Beautiful Morning", "Crystal Blue Persuasion", "Slow Down", "Cowboys To Girls", and "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For".  ~ Dusty Groove



DEE BROWN'S BROWN SUGAR, HONEY-COATED LOVE

On his Innervision Records debut dee Brown, whose tasty melodies, grooves and vibe perfectly reflect its unforgettable title: Brown Sugar, Honey-Coated Love collaborates with some of Detroit’s best local talent including Desi McCullers, Jr. The son of one of the original Motown “Funk Brothers”; Valdez Brantley, longtime keyboardist and MD for Usher; his brother, bassist Kern Brantley, Musical Director for Lady Gaga; Chip Dixson, a notable gospel player, “soul trumpeter” and instrumental recording artist Lin Rountree and DJ Shannon Weiss.

Realizing that jazz comes out tastier when he’s inspired by and bouncing ideas off musicians and songwriters he admires, Brown co-penned with Dixson “Honeycomb and “I’m Here For You (I’ll Never Leave You),” featuring the soulful vocals of co-writer Shaunia Edwards.   In addition, the guitarist co-wrote seven new tracks with Valdez, including “My Love’s Forever” (with McCullers); “Smile Again” (with lead vocal by co-writer Arnell Carmichael); “Pleasurable Dream” (featuring Brown on scat vocals); “Ice Cream Sunday”; “Natural Love”; and the infectious title track featuring Rountree’s soaring trumpet and flugelhorn. Brown includes a glorious, old school cover of The Intruders’ Philly Soul hit “I’ll Always Love My Mama” as a dedication to his beloved mother, Roceal Brown.

Where does all the sweetness on Brown Sugar, Honey-Coated Love come from? Same place Brown’s music always has--his faith in God. Raised in church, Brown plays gospel music every Sunday at his congregation Baptist World Changers in Detroit. To that end, Brown happily offers thoughtful and dynamic music that stands apart in today’s crowded contemporary urban jazz landscape. The guitarist also notes that just as honey is natural sugar, his sound and his tunes come from an organic, soulful place.

"Even when I’m playing music that both fans of sacred and secular music can enjoy, that’s always a foundational inspiration for me as a songwriter and artist.”

"My father George "Sonny" Brown introduced me to Jazz and improvisational music, had that not happen, I would've never known my true passion. ‘Sonny’ is the song I dedicate to my dad, and ‘A Little Elbowroom’ is the CD that is dedicated to the man who is my true hero George "Sonny" Brown." 


Friday, November 14, 2014

NINHO DE VESPA, THE FIRST US RELEASE FROM 17-PIECE BAND FROM BRAZIL - THE SPOKFREVO ORQUESTRA

Bringing a traditional style of music into the 21st century is no easy task, yet virtuoso saxophonist and arranger Inaldo Cavalcante de Albuquerque, better known as Maestro Spok, has done just that on his US debut, Ninho de Vespa (Wasp’s Nest). Spok has assembled a 17 piece orchestra, performing what is arguably Brazil’s most creative music – frevo – and infusing it with the improvisational spirit of jazz. Just as The Buena Vista Social Club served to shine a light on the legacy of the great players of Cuban music, Ninho de Vespa‘s guest performers include many of the legendary musicians from Pernambuco, the birthplace of frevo.

Ninho de Vespa will be released on October 28, 2014, on Motema Music, as the Orquestra kicks off a multi-city tour that includes stops in Boston, NYC, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Iowa City and Lemoni, Iowa, and St. Louis.

Much more than a style of music, frevo’s combination of music, dance with the uniquely Brazilian hybrid of martial arts and dance known as capoeira represents the wealth of imagination and originality that is at the heart of Brazilian culture. Its vivid, frenetic and vigorous rhythm stems from the amalgam of several music genres such as march, Brazilian quadrilha, polka and pieces from the classical repertoire, all of which can be found among Ninho de Vespa’s 13 tracks, which include compositions from leading lights of Brazilian music, including Dori Caymmi, Jovino Santos Neto, Hamilton de Holanda.

“The fact that these songs were mostly unknown was definitely a factor that made us choose them, but it’s also true that there just aren’t that many frevos in the repertoires of Dori, Jovino and Hamilton,” says Spok. “ ‘Ninho de Vespa’, by Dori Caymmi and Paul Cesar Pinheiro, was released in the early 1990s and is representational of what we want to promote in Brazil – to have composers from several states and of different origins, and not only from Pernambuco, composing frevos. This is why we chose songs from composers that were not from Pernambuco: Hamilton and Jovino are from Rio de Janeiro and Nelson Ayres is from Sao Paolo.”

Spokfrevo Orquestra formally emerged as a group in 2003, but its roots go back at least another decade. Inaldo Cavalcante de Albuquerque, aka Maestro Spok, is the band’s saxophonist, arranger and musical director, fronting a true big band with saxophone, trumpet, trombone, rhythm sections, bass and guitar. In the northeastern state of Pernambuco, from which frevo emerged over 100 years ago, the genre was performed mainly at street festivals. Spokfrevo Orquestra adds a new dimension to frevo, moving it from its supporting role to that of a leading actor, shedding light on its original texture and complex playing techniques while remaining faithful to its more traditional origins; succinctly, the group breaks patterns and reinvents tradition without subverting it.

Spok provides a bit of historical background to Spokfrevo Orquestra’s evolution of the style. “Originally, in Recife, frevo was essentially music for dancing, played by orchestras in clubs in the months that preceded Carnival, and on the streets during Carnival itself. People usually didn’t pay as much attention to the musicians or the arrangements as they did to how well the groups could reproduce the classics. Felinho was a saxophone player in the famous orchestra of Maestro Nelson Ferreira who began improvising during their performances. That sparked a major revolution in the way that frevo was played since, for the first time, people began to notice an individual musician’s performance. As frevo musicians today, we have been very influenced by that bold approach that Felinho took, showcasing his performance instead of just being part of a party orchestra.”

The infectious energy of Ninho de Vespa’s opener, “Onze de April,” introduces a set that is marked simultaneously by a sense of graceful movement and a playful mood, a pair of contrasting yet complimentary sensations which the Orquestra’s seventeen musicians and twelve guest artists express throughout the album.

And what an impressive cast of guest artists have been tapped to join the Orquestra! Clarinetist Paulo Sergio Santos, best known to international audiences for his work in Uakti and their collaborations with Peter Gabriel and Phillip Glass in the 1980s, virtually shimmers on “Onze de Abril,” written by the renowned composer and musician Dominguinhos. Jovino Santos Neto’s “Comichao, which the acclaimed pianist recorded on his own 2003 album, Canto de Rio, here feels somehow richer and even more vibrant than the original. Adelson Viana, who guests on electric piano on his own “Spokiando” (co-written with João Lyra), brings a sparkling sophistication to the song’s propulsive marching rhythm, supported by Spok’s equally effervescent solo. Beto Hortis takes center stage on the accordion on “Capibarizando,” and Luciano Magno’s capering guitar seems to literally embody the title of his “Pisando em Brasa “ (“Jumping in the Embers.”)

The prominent pianist/composer/arranger Nelson Ayres, who has worked with an astounding array of internationally acclaimed artists such as Dizzy Gillespie, Benny Carter, and Milton Nascimento throughout his nearly sixty-year long career, brings an imposing elegance to “Quatro Cantos.” Ayres has also worked with the equally venerated singer and composer Dori Caymmi, whose “Ninho de Vespa” (“Wasp’s Nest”), is the album’s only track with vocals. Master Zé Maria (trumpet) and Nilsinho Amarante of Trombonada ( a five piece trombone only band whose collaborations consistently challenge genre pigeon holes)perform together on “O Que Nelson Gostou,” a sprightly light-hearted romp.

Mandolin virtuoso Hamilton de Holanda’s performance on his composition, “Tá Achando Que Tá Devagar? “ seamlessly integrates the mandolin, which has a long and rich tradition in Brazilian folk music, into Spokfrevo’s big band sound, once again positioning de Holanda among the most eclectic innovators on his instrument. Further innovation takes “De Baixo Do Frevo,” with its almost improvisational bass solo by bassist, arranger, producer and songwriter Bráulio Araújo, well into jazz territory, a region also explored by the the lively “Pipocando,” (“Popping”) led by flutist César Michilles, and “Cara de Carranca,” written by guest artist, pianist Thiago Albuquerque, who trades strong solos with the Orquestra’s guitarist Renato Bandeira. Spok takes center stage on the album’s final selection, “Moraes É Frevo,” which cements his reputation as an audacious catalyst for musical evolution.

While determined to propel frevo’s evolution, Spok remains equally committed to preserving its rich tradition. He has produced a film, Sete Corações (Seven Hearts,) which pays tribute to the music, its masters and to Pernambuco, just as the Buena Vista Social Club did for the then-obscure heroes of Cuban music.

Many critics, who recognize Spok’s music as the harbinger of a new school, endorse his boldness. In an article for Jornal do Brasil (17/07/2009), musical critic Tárik de Souza writes that “the time has come for frevo‐jazz”, pointing to Spokfrevo as “a big band that has synthesized frevo and jazz in a blazing way”. In 2005, O Globo newspaper ranked the Spokfrevo performance at TIM Festival as one of the ten best gigs of the year in Rio de Janeiro.

In 2009, the band’s first album, Passo de Anjo – Live was awarded the Prêmio da Música Brasileira (one of the most important awards in Brazilian music) as the best instrumental music CD of the year. Spokfrevo was elected the best group in the same category.

Spokfrevo’s international career received a definite boost in 2008, as their first large-scale European tour proved the universal appeal of its music. When in France, the Orquestra was invited to perform at the closing ceremony of the World Music Day (Fête de la Musique). It has played the final gig of the event at the Palaisdel’Élysée, the official residence of President Nicolas Sarkozy, who attended the performance accompanied by First Lady Carla Bruni. Spokfrevo’s summer tour of festivals throughout France, Italy, Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark and Switzerland, served to position frevo as a unique musical language, as well as a proper integration of the genre into the jazz and world music scenes.

“Frevo has always been very identified as a music from Pernambuco, made by musicians from the state, but what we have been trying to prove is that this regional restriction has never been a real limitation,” says Spok. “We believe that frevo is a style that can easily touch people from all over the world. Even if the songs sometimes have lyrics, frevo is essentially an instrumental genre, so there’s no linguistic barrier that would stop anyone from enjoying it – it’s vibrant, it’s rich, and it’s very energetic.”


With the release of Ninho de Vespa, fans of Brazilian music around the world will discover yet another facet of the music that moves them both in the flesh and in the spirit. Frevo, as performed by Spokfrevo Orquestra, will join samba, choro, MPB , bossa nova and forro in the rich cultural mélange of Brazil.


Matuto Chronicles a Life-Changing Journey Across a Continent with Africa Suite

This playful assignment was the genesis of Matuto’s Africa Suite (EP) (Motema Music; release date: November 4, 2014). About to embark on a five-week, five-country African tour sponsored by the U.S. Department of State, the five-member Appalachia-gone-Afro-Brazilian band decided to create tributes and love letters to the sounds they heard along the way, and the people who welcomed them. They divvied up the task by country, at random, but the results sound anything but.

“It had been our dream to tour in Africa for a long time, and we knew in advance that it would be a once-in-a-lifetime experience. We wanted to perform for African audiences, but more importantly, we wanted to allow the people, music, and culture to seep in, to live with us, and to change us,” explains Clay Ross, Matuto singer and guitarist.

From young voices lifted in a song of thanks in Mozambique to hot 70s-era Ivorian beats, from palm wine music and village jams to beloved Cameroonian rhythms, Matuto dived into a sea of African sounds. The resulting songs brought all they experienced home, blending the band’s signature sway and charm into shimmering, uplifting tracks.

“We decided we wouldn’t be too strict about the geography of sound, but in the end, there was just so much information, so many rhythms and sounds, that allowing each individual to focus on one country worked out great,” Ross reflects. “We’re happy with the diversity that it brought to the final work.” It’s a diversity that mirrors the band’s adventures.

The pieces that make up the Africa Suite range from the sweet (“Mozambique,” with its moving chorus of “kanimambo,” “thank you” in Shangaan) to the mysterious (the opening of “Cameroon,” with violinist Mazz Swift’s lyrical playing). Fans of Afropop will catch the winks to Ghanaian highlife and to Ivorian popular music (ziglibithy), but there are plenty of surprises for the African music aficionado, too: “Senegal” bristles with gorgeous rock energy, while drawing on regional styles the band encountered while performing for (and learning from) musicians and listeners in Senegal’s rural south.

The biggest source of inspiration: the people who welcomed the band. Bassist Mike LaValle was moved by the young people they met in an arts center in Mozambique. Accordionist Rob Curto caught the gentle, unedited joy of Accra’s music scene. Ross pays tribute to the positive energy of the powerhouse Ivorian band, Zieti, who hosted and jammed with Matuto.

With all the fresh sounds and friendly receptions, there was ample food for thought and music making. Then the pieces, composed immediately after returning to the US, took on that certain Matuto shine, as passionate playing and clever arrangements gave the diverse ideas a unified feel.

This came, in part, from the band’s unusual instrumentation. “The violin and accordion are not all that common in most African popular music and that led to some creative orchestrations,” notes Ross. “Often we would use the violin and accordion to emulate different rhythmic figures found in African guitar music. Ultimately, like James Brown said, ‘All the instruments are drums.’ We just happen to have an accordion drum in our band!”

They may have had an unexpected sonic palette to play with, but their full-on tour schedule left them no time at home to record. So they did the most logical thing: They recorded impressions of one tour while out on another, tracking the session at Catamount Recording Studios in Cedar Falls, Iowa.

In the crucible of road life, they took pains to dig into and refine their approach to the technically challenging material that informed the pieces. “There is a deep complexity to the polyrhythmic interplay in the music we engaged with on our journey,” Ross says. “In the Suite, there are a lot of musical layers. It was challenging at times to strike the right balance or decide which instrument should play which rhythmic building block. This is where the pieces became truly collaborative efforts, with everyone weighing in to help make these decisions.”

Collaboration lies at the heart of The Africa Suite, and it hasn’t ended with the band’s exit from the studio. The band got a chance to share their work with new friends like Mozambique’s leading music and dance troupe, Wuchene, who danced along to the grooves. Matuto hopes to bring the piece back to Africa, the root of its inspiration, playing it for and with collaborators, and letting the piece grow and evolve as they do.

“Mozambique” (by bassist Mike LaValle): “After a short concert at an arts-centered school in downtown Maputo, the class sang us a song expressing their gratitude from which I took inspiration for my piece. A simple yet elegant melody using only the word Kanimambo; the Shangaan word for ‘thank you.’”

“Ivory Coast” (by guitarist Clay Ross): “This song was inspired by our collaboration with our local hosts, Zieti, and the lyrics chronicle the people and events from our stay there, especially the grisgris, the positive energy we got from them.”

“Ghana” (by accordionist Rob Curto): “My piece was inspired by a very light and optimistic sense of life I experienced immediately upon arrival in Ghana. The sound and emotion of the music I heard in Accra, especially high life and palm wine music, and of the people I met there, were uplifting and also very gentle. I wanted my piece to express that direct honest feeling, free from much irony or tension.”

“Cameroon” (by drummer Richie Barshay): “The medley captures Matuto’s diverse adventures in Cameroon. From a chanted tribute to its capital city Yaounde, to an upbeat rendition of the popular melody ‘Zaminamina,’ and a groove section dedicated to one of the country’s unique rhythms, bikutsi.”

“Senegal” (by violinist Mazz Swift): “I took my affinity for Rock, set to a specific rhythmic motif we learned from a group of musicians in Ziguinchor, a village we visited in the deep south of Senegal. The piece also utilizes a vocal call and response, which imitates the traditional music of the Djiola people of the Casamance region in Senegal, but is conceptually turned on its head: the voice of a woman is calling and the men responding.”

The Africa Suite follows up Matuto’s acclaimed sophomore album, The Devil and the Diamond (Motema 2012) and their debut Matuto (Galileo MC 2011). It will be available commercially in digital form only, though true fans can pick up a physical CD at live shows and online at www.matutomusic.com, where various merchandise is also available.

The compelling artwork for The Africa Suite, was created by Ty Wilkins who recently won a coveted Communication Arts Design award for his work on The Devil and The Diamond.

 

KOKO JONES, FORMER PERCUSSIONIST FOR WHITNEY HOUSTON AND THE ISLEY BROTHERS, STEPS OUT FRONT ON WHO’S THAT LADY

Koko Jones has a story to tell.  On Who’s That Lady, her new album dropping from Motema Music on November 18, the percussionist reveals her hidden abilities as a lyricist and songwriter.  While building on the artistic excellence and percussive brilliance of her previous world-jazz releases, Tenth World and Tenth World Live!, Who’s that Lady delves deeply into the 1970s and 80s soul and R&B crucible which first formed the percussionist and producer’s prodigious musical vision, and at the same time renders a timeless musical narrative of this extraordinary woman’s past, present and future.

In a career spanning four decades, Koko has performed and/or recorded  as a first call percussionist for some of the most well known names in pop, R&B, jazz, house and African music. Her resume and discography includes the likes of Whitney Houston, The Isley Brothers, Carlos Santana, Angela Winbush, Raul Midon, Marcus Miller, Randy Weston, , Jose Feliciano, Buddy Miles, Clarence Burke, Louie Vega, Luisito Quintero, Michelle Williams of Destiny’s Child, DJ Kenny Dope, Archie Shepp, and Reggie Workman.  Her two albums on Motema (released as Kevin Jones) – Tenth World (2005) and Tenth World Live! (2008) – drew major kudos from critics and audiences alike. Koko’s always uplifting performances have been praised as having a “genre-crossing platform, energy and relentless grooves” (All About Jazz); as being “a feast for the ears” (Global Rhythm magazine); and as “a very special blend of Latin, soul, world, and jazz.” (Jazz Times).Writing about Tenth World Live!, the reviewer at Jazz.com went so far as to remark that “At the ten minute mark, I swear you will feel the urge to rip off your shirt, throw yourself to the ground and writhe in the beauty of it all.”

A musician first and foremost, Koko – who was previously known as ‘Bujo’ Kevin Jones – is a transgender woman of color. That identity, as integral to her being as is her musical talent, has propelled her to a parallel role as an activist and a voice in the trans community.  In addition to Koko’s ground-breaking work as an interventionist at the Center for HIV Education Studies and Training (CHEST) at Hunter College, where she is a part of T-Talk, a project delivered by trans women for trans women that seeks to reduce sexual health risk, substance use, and internalized stigma affecting the community, she frequently speaks at events, and recently gave a TEDx talk at Seton Hall University and delivered a lecture on Current Issues in the Trans Community at Columbia University Teachers College.  She is also an active member of Trans Women of Color Collective (TWOCC). The November release of Who’s That Lady happens to coincide with the annual Transgender Day of Remembrance on November 20; several tracks on the album reflect either personal or universal issues facing the trans community:  “Why” honors those trans individuals who have lost their lives due to violence or suicide and “Turn It” pays tribute to the heroes, past and present, who strive for civil rights, justice and equality.  “I’m Free” celebrates the joy of reveling in who you really are despite societal norms and constraints. And “Xtravaganzas” pays homage to the House of Xtravaganza, one of the most important cultural institutions in the trans community.

With Who’s That Lady, Koko brings these two elements of her identity – the expert side artist and the charismatic bandleader – into perfect musical alignment. Moving beyond the instrumental  world-jazz that marks her Tenth World releases, Koko here calls on her early soul influences, creating a vocal driven album with a cast of players firmly rooted in jazz, crossover jazz and R&B: producer Onaje Allan Gumbs (Cassandra Wilson, Phyllis Hyman, Gerald Albright); vocalists Derrick Dupree (Gloria Gaynor), Mike Hammond (Gladys Knight, Patti Labelle, Kelly Price, 50 Cent, Incognito), and Myoshi Marilla (former co-host of The BETJ List); keyboardist Jesse Fischer (Ryan Shaw and his own band, Soul Cycle)and bassist Kenny Davis ( Freddie Hubbard, Cassandra Wilson, Abbey Lincoln, Diane Reeves, Art Farmer and with Kevin Eubanks in the Tonight Show Band). Together with her extended group, Koko delivers a dozen groove driven tracks that serve as powerful aural vignettes revealing the fascinating trajectory of her intersecting musical and personal life.

Who’s That Lady opens with the disco-era redolent beat of “Xtravaganzas,” Koko’s tribute to the legendary House of Xtravaganza, the most publicly recognized “house” to emerge from the 1980s NYC ballroom scene, and an on-going cultural influence in the areas of dance, music, visual arts, fashion, and community activism. The opening riff of “That Lady” is immediately recognizable to music fans of every generation; Koko and band’s version of the Isley Brothers’ rock-funk fusion cover of their own earlier single (“Who’s That Lady,” which appears later on this album as well), is just as funky and soulful as the 1973 original, courtesy of Mike Hammond on vocals and the relentless groove of Koko’s propulsive arrangements for her expert band.  “I included ‘That Lady’ out of my deep respect and love for Ronald, Rudolph, O’Kelly, Ernie and Marvin Isley and Chris Jasper, and to honor the years that I  created music with them, which were very formative years for me,” explains Koko.

A casual listener to Koko’s original “Why” might take the song for a 1970s style R&B ballad; in fact, “Why,” featuring interchanging lead vocals by Koko, Derrick Dupree and Myoshi Marilla, is among the most personal and poignant tracks on the album. “Intimately, this is a song about something that happened to me early in my transition, when I was brutally beaten,” says Koko. “But it is dedicated to all of those who suffer senseless violence due their gender, sexual or racial identity.”

As if to echo Koko’s own ability to move forward despite that traumatic event, Who’s That Lady moves forward with a positive, upbeat groove on Whitney Houston’s Top Ten hit, “Love Will Save the Day.”  That affirmative attitude is one that has long been a stabilizing force in Koko’s life journey, instilled by her early adoption of the Buddhist path.  “In Buddhism the ultimate goal is happiness. I often equate it to love, she explains. “It is a two-fold path. You might say that you cannot achieve this absolute happiness without love for others as well as self love. It has been easy for me to love others but difficult to have self love. Like a mother’s love it is unconditional and the one thing that we cannot live without.” Derrick Dupree’s “Get on Up” is a reggae-tinged funk paean to that same message.

Michael “Moon” Reuben’s lilting guitar opens Koko’s anthemic “I’m Free,” which quickly unfolds into an exuberant Afro beat influenced romp that supports the whole album’s theme of the importance of being free to feel comfortable in one’s own skin.  “Sometimes the bonds that hold us back are of our own making, inside our own minds,” says Koko.  “I’ve often found that music is the key to releasing me from those bonds, so I wrote this to capture the freedom that music can bring.”

“Decatur Avenue Stomp,” another of Koko’s originals, is the album’s only instrumental track, and it showcases the astonishing percussive chops that led to her early – she was working professionally by the time she was 13 – and ongoing success.  “Decatur Avenue was the street I grew up on and where I enjoyed endless days and nights of jam sessions,” recollects Koko.  The song also features the incredibly talented Kevin Louis (Jimmy Heath, Kermit Ruffins, Nicholas Payton, Gary Bartz, Will Calhoun, Mos Def) on trumpet and drummer Jerard Snell (Jennifer Holiday, Glenn Jones, and the Elements of Life band) who is featured on the percussion breakdown with Jones. Both Jerard and Koko have, for the past 14 years, been known as a “dynamic duo” of sorts, lending their percussion prowess to the bands of Gloria Gaynor, Chops the Band and Louie Vega.  Also contributing to this “jam” of a song is the solid bass support from Mamadou Ba (Leni Stern, Regina Carter.) 

Koko dedicated “Turn It” to Sylvia Rivera and to Marsha P. Johnson , who were at the center of the Stonewall Riots in 1969.  “In their honor, it’s also dedicated to all those fighting for justice and equality around the world,” says Koko.

The haunting, rhythmic “Yemaya, Parts 1 and 2”, written by vocalist Christelle Durandy  of CoCoMaMa, are based on a traditional African Yoruba chant in honor of the orisha (goddess) Yemaya,  who Koko describes as “the nurturer, the ocean, the essence of motherhood and a fierce protector of children.”

Koko’s composition, “The Treasure Tower,” is inspired by a Buddhist reference: ‘No treasure tower exists other than the figures of the men and women who embrace the Lotus Sutra.’ Those words, attributed to the founder of Soka Gakkai Buddhism, represent the center of Koko’s driving life force. Koko says that the song, which features an outstanding vocal performance by Myoshi Marilla, “reminds me that everyone possesses the treasure tower within their own lives and that, in the end, the heart – and nothing else – is what truly matters.”

Who’s That Lady concludes with its title track, which was written by the Isley Brothers in the 1960s, and is the precursor to their much more well-known “That Lady.”  Koko and band offer up a smooth, Latin-tinged version of the song, one which the percussionist also dedicates to the Isleys, with who she toured for years; however, more than merely paying tribute to that rich piece of her history, the track truly encapsulates the spirit of Koko’s re-emergence as a solo artist.  “Who’s That Lady?” The answer lies within the words and grooves on these twelve delightful and powerful tracks.

A native of Englewood, New Jersey, Koko grew up in a household immersed in jazz, soul, gospel and blues, from Charlie Parker and Lou Rawls to Nat King Cole and Mahalia Jackson, along with the pop and R&B legends of the times. Reportedly, Koko’s grandmother, Maggie Walker Jones, once played with (and maybe even recorded with) Bessie Smith. The arts of all types were nurtured in the Jones household and piano lessons were a requirement, not an elective.

Jones traces her percussion expertise to the age-old ‘academy of the streets.’ Over the years she has evolved an increasingly comprehensive approach to her instruments, commanding respect from artists such as the Isley Brothers, Whitney Houston, Winard Harper, and Reggie Workman.

Immersed in drumming since the tender age of 10, Koko literally learned to play by the seat of her pants. Neighborhood drummers were prone to testifying on front lawns and park benches, hand drums and various percussive enhancements in tow; their massaging, pulsating, skin-on-skins thoroughly hooked the impressionable youngster. Among these master drummers were Marvin “Bugalu” Smith (Sun-Ra, Archie Shepp, Mal Waldron), Earl “Buster Smith (Eric Dolphy,Sun-Ra), Karl Potter (The Isley Brothers, Pino Daniele) and Babatunde Lea (Pharoah Sanders, Leon Thomas), who all spent time with her and made a long-lasting impression on the young Koko’s life.

Along with jazz, Jones also was magnetically attracted to Latin music, particularly the Latin Soul sounds that permeated the New York/New Jersey byways during the late 60s/early 70s; sounds by Nuyorican artists like Joe Cuba, Joe Bataan, and assorted Fania soul-seros, and especially the bands of Mongo Santamaria and Tito Puente. “I can remember watching Mongo on television when I was around 12 years old. I became a permanent fan.” She became immersed in Afro-Cuban flavors through the influence and teaching of fellow percussionists Babatunde Lea, Steve Kroon, and Richie “Pablo” Landrum, who taught the youngster at one of New York’s premier music academies, Jazzmobile. However, it was a trip into the city with Babatunde Lea and Thelma Mwandido, to a rehearsal of Tanawa Drum and Dance 1976, led by Congolese griot-musician Titos Sompa, which hooked Koko on African rhythms, song and dance.


Koko has always continued to be an “eternal student of the drum” by constantly seeking to increase her percussion vocabulary with studying various genres of drumming and percussion. In addition to having recorded eight albums during her thirteen years with the Isleys, Koko’s percussion prowess can be found on recordings by Charles McPherson, Archie Shepp, Omar and Angie Stone, Babatunde Lea, Winard Harper and Joey DeFrancesco as well as by House music icons Josh Milan and BLAZE (Kevin Hedge), Louie Vega and Kenny Dope to name just a few. Koko has also graced the bandstands of Archie Shepp, Benny Powell, T.K. Blue, Randy Weston, Hilton Ruiz, hip hop artist Q-Tip and many, many more. She is perhaps most proud of her work with Tenth World,  the band she created  with pianist Kelvin Sholar, Brian Horton, Jaimeo Brown, Kevin Louis and Damon Warmack. Tenth World’s music represented a clear turning point in the development of Koko’s vision and ability to bring talented players together. “The creation of Tenth World was a distinct snapshot of where I was at that time, and the musicians that I had the pleasure of collaborating with brought the most heavenly sounds together.” Koko has not ruled out a reunion of some configuration of this band to record once again in the future.


NEW RELEASES: IT'S CHRISTMAS ON MACK AVENUE (COMPILATION); BRIAN CHARETTE - GOOD TIPPER; APHEX TWINS - SYRO

IT'S CHRISTMAS ON MACK AVENUE (COMPILATION)

A really great jazz-based Christmas album – one that's done in the best style of vintage gems like Jingle Bell Jazz or God Rest Ye Merry Jazzmen – with an equally great blend of instrumental and vocal artists throughout! The package highlights some of the best artists on the Mack Avenue label, performing a mix of Christmas standards in very different styles – some relatively straight, some full of fire and improvisation – and with a shift in instrumental lineups that makes for a very fresh record throughout! Titles include "Christmas Time Is Here" by Warren Wolf, "Silent Night" by Christian McBride, "Little Drummer Boy" by Tia Fuller, "Santa Claus Is Coming To Town" by Sean Jones, "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas" by Cecile McLorin Salvant, "Sleigh Ride" by Aaron Diehl, "Santa Claus Go Straight To The Ghetto" by Christian McBride, "Skating" by Hot Club Of Detroit, and "Carol Of The Bells" by Warren Wolf. A classic set you'll be playing at seasonal gatherings for years to come!  ~ Dusty Groove

BRIAN CHARETTE - GOOD TIPPER

Great Hammond work from Brian Charette – served up in a style that's a bit different than most contemporary organ jazz sessions! The tracks here are sometimes short – like the old soul jazz organ singles back in the 60s – and Charette mixes things up nicely with a few great covers of soundtrack and pop moments – a bit like some Jimmy McGriff album on Sue Records! Yet Charette's also got a much wider range of sounds than McGriff ever did – a knowledge of the Hammond that embraces all the changes from Larry Young forward – worked out with a sweet trio that includes either Avi Rothbard or Yotam Silberstein on guitar, and Mark Ferber or Jordan Young on drums. Joe Sucato guests on tenor on the album's one long track – and titles include "The Kicker", "Good Tipper", "Another Quarter", "Standing Still", "You Only Live Twice", "Up Up & Away", and "Time Of The Season".  ~ Dusty Groove

APHEX TWINS - SYRO


The first proper full length album by Aphex Twin in more than a dozen years – and like all of his preceding efforts, he transcends all electronic music genre distinctions, delivering a sound that's distinctly his own – a sound that'll stand the test of time! Glance at the ultra-complicated track titles, and you might expect the strangest, most outre aural science of his career, but to the contrary, it's highly melodic and insistent stuff – finding him him working comfortably at home in his own canon, without repeating past glories. Excellent later work from one of the most consistently rewarding electronic music artists of the past several decades. It seems like Richard D. James doesn't ever bother to release his stuff if he doesn't have something great in the hopper, and Syro is indeed pretty great! ~ Dusty Groove


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