Austin music group Atlas Maior announces a new 3-track EP titled Keyif

Austin music group Atlas Maior announces a new 3-track EP titled Keyif, out October 23rd, and will celebrate the release with a local performance at Central Market North on October 24th. Atlas Maior’s influences traverse American Jazz, Middle Eastern traditions and Latin American musical idioms, creating hypnotic, transportive soundscapes with powerful melodies and gripping passages. Istanbul, Turkey acts as the geographic focal point for the group’s new sonic exploration: Keyif is a Turkish word that loosely translates to enchantment and delight, a collective feeling that the band members took as a souvenir from their time there. A long way from the plentiful sounds of honky tonk and rock in the capital of Texas, Atlas Maior spearheads the growing Austin world music scene with their superb musicianship and rhythmic wizardry.

Recorded at Austin’s Bell Tree Studios, Keyif represents 3 years of Atlas Maior’s compositional ideas and travels from members Charlie Lockwood (oud, a pear-shaped Middle Eastern fretless lute considered to be an ancestor of the guitar), Joshua Thomson (alto saxophone, flutes), Ted Camat (percussion) and contributing bass player Gary James. Brazil, Turkey and Spain and the Canary Islands provide sonic touchstones for Keyif. Instruments such as the aforementioned oud, which Lockwood has focused on for the past 8 years, the Brazilian pandeiro, and the dumbek, a Middle Eastern goblet shaped hand drum, and Thomson’s woodwinds and saxophone help the band develop “seeds of melodic or rhythmic concepts” that swell and intensify into lush arrangements. Drawing on their rich improvisation sessions and multifarious musical sources, Lockwood states, “We wanted to come away with a sound that illustrated our original compositions but also captured a natural and lively rendition of each song.”

The EP begins with “Bête Noire,” a thunderous and grooving track that acts as a great introduction to Atlas Maior’s signature sound. Thomson provides both elongated and staccato melodic phrasing as well as a driving solo section, while Lockwood’s oud lines bounce with bright Turkish aesthetics. “Cynthia’s Tears” begins as a melancholy journey that grows with hope and joy, mirrored by Thomson’s solo section that transforms from a forlorn smoothness to a triumphant ascendance. “Raqs Laylah” is an arrangement of a standard in the world of Arab and Turkish music, often accompanied by belly dance. Highlights of the track include Lockwood and Thomson’s respective solos over a ciftetelli Turkish rhythm, and Camat’s dexterous work on the dumbek.

The band takes its name from the first world atlas, published by Joan Bleau in Amsterdam in the 17th century. Founded in Austin, TX in 2009, Atlas Maior was inspired by the idea of creating original music encompassing the group’s wide range of musical inspirations, stretching from Egyptian composer Mohammad abdul-Wahhab, Lebanese oud player Rabih Abou-Khalil, bassist Avishai Cohen, jazz artists such as Sun Ra, and fusion projects such as Amalgama and local Austin world music pioneers Atash.

Since its formation Atlas Maior has been creating original material, performing throughout Texas, and engaging creatively with other Austin-based musicians.  The group released a self-titled EP in 2011, and followed up with the 2012 release of Four Shades, Atlas Maior’s first full-length album, recorded at Mohr Music Studios.  In September 2013, Atlas Maior embarked on an international tour and cultural immersion experience in Istanbul, Turkey, where they performed at a variety of venues including a local university, and took music lessons from well-known Turkish musicians.  The summer before leaving for Istanbul, the group undertook a series of improvisatory recording sessions at Bell Tree Studios, where they began their studio collaboration with James, along with guests Bob Hoffnar (pedal steel), and Sari Andoni (oud). The live cosmologies of sounds resulted in Palindrome, the group’s 2014 two-disc album comprised entirely of this improved material.

Atlas Maior toured internationally, primarily in Turkey, to promote the new recording, and even received a hometown nod with the proclamation of “Atlas Maior Day” on March 27, 2014 by Austin’s City Council. They have opened for internationally acclaimed artists Vieux Farka Touré and Tal National, and have performed at music festivals including Wobeonfest, Art Outside, SXSW, and the City of Austin’s F1 Fan Fest.  The group has collaborated with a host of talented musicians in Austin and from around the world, including Atash, Layalina, The University of Texas at Austin Middle East Ensemble Bereket, and The Austin Global Orchestra and many more.

 

"Sinatra 100 — An All-Star GRAMMY® Concert" to Be Broadcast Sunday, Dec. 6, 2015, on CBS

The Recording Academy®, AEG Ehrlich Ventures, and CBS will honor the remarkable legacy of nine-time GRAMMY® winner Frank Sinatra by presenting "Sinatra 100 — An All-Star GRAMMY Concert," a primetime entertainment special celebrating the late icon’s 100th birthday. Initial performers announced for the tribute include 17-time GRAMMY winner Tony Bennett, two-time GRAMMY winner Garth Brooks, 15-time GRAMMY winner Alicia Keys, nine-time GRAMMY winner John Legend, three-time GRAMMY winner Adam Levine, seven-time GRAMMY winner Carrie Underwood, and eight-time GRAMMY winner Usher. The live concert taping will be held Wednesday, Dec. 2, 2015, at Wynn Las Vegas’ Encore Theatre. The special will be broadcast in HDTV and 5.1 surround sound on the CBS Television Network on Sunday, Dec. 6, from 9 – 11 p.m. ET/PT. Additional performers will be announced shortly.

“The name Frank Sinatra is synonymous with excellence that is timeless. As a performer, he possessed undeniable charisma and masterful artistry that resonate throughout generations”

In close partnership with the Sinatra family, "Sinatra 100 — An All-Star GRAMMY Concert" is the only televised concert special celebrating Sinatra's centennial. Through the generosity of the family, the concert will feature artists performing instantly recognizable arrangements originally orchestrated for "the Chairman of the Board" by renowned arrangers Don Costa, Gordon Jenkins, Quincy Jones, and Nelson Riddle. The special will keep the honoree center stage throughout the night by integrating tribute performances of Sinatra classics with rare archival footage narrated by Sinatra himself.

"Frank Sinatra is a voice for all generations. His showmanship and artistry have remained unmatched since he began performing professionally in the 1930s to his last recording 21 years ago," said Neil Portnow, President/CEO of The Recording Academy. "Today, he continues to gain popularity for his classic sound and signature style. It’s only fitting that we join the global celebration in honor of his 100th birthday."

"My personal memories of Frank remind me that he was a class act who also knew how to have fun. That's what this celebration will be," said executive producer Ken Ehrlich of AEG Ehrlich Ventures. "By partnering with Steve Wynn and featuring Las Vegas as the backdrop, the evening will be a party the Rat Pack would be proud of."

"The name Frank Sinatra is synonymous with excellence that is timeless. As a performer, he possessed undeniable charisma and masterful artistry that resonate throughout generations," said Jack Sussman, executive vice president, specials, music and live events, CBS Entertainment. "To have the opportunity to celebrate the life and art of The Chairman of the Board on his 100th birthday, and witness the lasting effects his music has had on artists today with a star-studded GRAMMY concert, is a true honor."

Among Sinatra's nine GRAMMY wins are three for Album Of The Year for Come Dance With Me (1959), September Of My Years (1965), and A Man And His Music (1966). Additional recognition from The Recording Academy includes a Lifetime Achievement Award, GRAMMY Legend Award™, and 13 recordings inducted into the GRAMMY Hall Of Fame®.

Pianist Frank Carlberg - WORD CIRCUS Featuring Frank Carlberg with Christine Correa, John O'Gallagher, Pascal Niggenkemper & Michael Sarin

Brooklyn-based Red Piano Records is proud to announce the release of Word Circus by Frank Carlberg. This album features a stellar quintet of jazz and improvised music heavy-hitters such as Christine Correa, voice; John O'Gallagher, alto sax; Pascal Niggenkemper, bass; Michael Sarin, drums and Carlberg on piano. Word Circus is a collection of musical settings of poems by contemporary American writers such as Ron Padgett, Joe Elliot, Ken Mikolowski and Anselm Berrigan. Carlberg gives some insight in to the background of Word Circus: "This project, my 10th CD devoted to settings of poetry, is a logical extension of my previous excursions in to words, their meaning and sound. On Word Circus the poems range from light and humorous to existential musings, to meditative ruminations on the state of our world. Word Circus is a continuation of my fascination with American poets, which has informed my work for the twenty-plus years, beginning with the release of The Crazy Woman on Accurate Records in 1995."

The songs on Word Circus were written for this Quintet, which has with a few modifications been around since Carlberg's earliest efforts with text. About the vocalist Christine Correa Carlberg explains: " Christine is the main reason for the existence of this group and this repertoire; my muse as it were. I have by now written over 150 songs with poems by writers such as Robert Creeley, Anselm Hollo, Anna Akhmatova, Rabindranath Tagore, Kenneth Rexroth, Allen Ginsberg, Alejandra Pizarnik etc as well as various other texts such as excerpts from Bill Clinton Grand Jury testimony, fragments from medical journals, pieces from legal documents, cut-up versions of the Bill Of Rights etc. All this work would never have happened had I not had a voice to compose for. Christine Correa provided me with that voice. She was able to execute whatever lines I would dream up and she was able to infuse the words with powerful expression and emotion. The rest of the group has remained remarkably stable as well with drummer Michael Sarin working with us since the "In The Land Of Art" project (Fresh Sound New Talent) in the late 1990's. John O'Gallagher has worked with us since the "Uncivilized Rumination" CD about 6 years ago. Pascal Niggenkemper is a relative newcomer who stepped in to this project after longtime collaborator John Hébert was unable to participate because of schedule conflicts. This group is really a dream come true for me as these musicians are all completely committed to the music while bringing such strong personalities and remarkable musicianship to the plate. A real composer's paradise"

The compositions for Word Circus were commissioned by Chamber Music America through their New Jazz Works program.

The songs on Word Circus cover a broad range of moods and emotions. The opening track You & Me has a short text with some existential over(under)-tones. The poem by Ken Mikolowski is from a series of poems that he wrote titled "Ecology". After a brief F-pedal tone the band throws itself into the declamatory melody with reckless abandon. The melody is followed by a piano solo with bass and drums interjecting in free-time. After a short reappearance of the melody, now as an interlude, a sax solo over a relentless up-tempo pulse by the rhythm section is a flight of brilliantly constructed ideas at breakneck speed. For Even If the pace slows down to a luxurious ballad with a witty, matter-of-fact text by Joe Elliot. It is delivered with intensity while maintaining a certain casual nonchalance. After a melodic bass solo and a playful piano statement Correa re-enters with added urgency. A sax/drum duet leads seamlessly in to On Some Level with an acerbic text by Ron Padgett, one of the great living American poets. The song is performed in an understated way, drawing the listener in to its tiny little verbal labyrinth. The music picks up steam on Things To Do In An Economic Crisis (by Ken Mikolowski) with its simple recommendation: Buy Low/Stay High. The band is turbo charged on this one as sax and piano exchange ideas while the rhythm section propels forward with fearless ferocity. After a short recap of one of the opening melodic statements the Niggenkemper takes over and leads us in to Ecology with a text once again by Mikolowski. After a chant-like vocal opening, Carlberg has a solo that seems to express a certain wistful sweetness before gradually building intensity, culminating in a section of powerful vocal wailing before a return of the somber mood of the opening. The next song, Stop Telling Me, voices a complaint. The poem is by Anselm Berrigan and states: "Stop Telling Me/ I look tired/ I know what I look like/ Tell Me How I Feel". After an edgy and angular melody the band forges into a collective improvisational give and take before the return to the opening melody, which in turn serves as an interlude leading in to an extended drum solo by the masterful Sarin. His solo eventually sets up the closing track, Lullabye. With its gorgeous text by Ron Padgett and the luscious music it serves as a perfect and calming end to this exhilarating set.

With Word Circus, his 10th recording of settings of poetry and text, Carlberg has taken yet another step forward in establishing himself as quite possibly the leading current exponent of combining poetry and jazz. Not since the remarkable oeuvre of the late great Steve Lacy has there been such a sustained and satisfying effort in creating connections between these two spectacular art forms. And make no mistake: this is not just beatniks in berets reading with a backdrop of flutes and bongos. This is an organic effort born out of commitment, passion, skill and vision to both mediums.

Upcoming Frank Carlberg Appearances:

This Saturday, October 17th: Frank Carlberg's WORD CIRCUS

@ Sound It Out Series, Greenwich House, NYC

October 21st: Roxana Amed/Frank Carlberg- La Sombra De Su Sombra @ Consulate General of Argentina in NYC

November 19th: Frank Carlberg's WORD CIRCUS

@ Cornelia Street Café (CD Release Celebration)

December 3rd: Frank Carlberg's WORD CIRCUS

@ Bates College (Olin Arts Center) Lewiston, Maine

December 4th: Frank Carlberg's WORD CIRCUS

@ Dimensions in Jazz, Woodford's Church, Portland Maine

FAMILIAR PLACES, The Debut Recording From Pianist DAN KAUFMAN

Brooklyn-based Red Piano Records is proud to announce the release of Familiar Places from pianist/composer Dan Kaufman.  This album marks Kaufman's debut as a leader, with a stellar line-up featuring Johnathan Blake on drums, Gilad Hekselman on guitar, Matt Clohesy on bass, Sam Sadigursky on saxophones and Keita Ogawa on percussion, in a program of eight original compositions.  Kaufman explains the genesis of Familiar Places, "To put it simply, I wanted to make a record that I would want to listen to. Something that had memorable melodies, that was accessible, but at the same time challenging and stimulating for the players as well as for the listener. A record that felt honest and personal."

Familiar Places is a collection of original compositions that Kaufman has written over the last 10 years.  He elaborates, "They are like little places, familiar, yet somehow new and unique.  Each tune has a specific character, mood, structure, groove, and concept.  The goal of the record was to freely explore these places as an ensemble by capturing the essence of each composition."  Together the band and the music take a journey, give the listener a sense of having traveled over time, rich varied places that seem both familiar, fresh, and universal.

To navigate these varied and intimate musical places having the right traveling companions is critical.  "The musicians are all players I've had long standing musical relationships with, some going back over 15 years, although before preparing for the record we had never played in this particular combination.   We all share a certain sensibilty, selflessness, a compositional approach.  Although I had a very specific idea of mood and shape of each piece, I wanted the musicians to not feel restrained, but inspired and liberated by the compositions.  Indeed, each musician brought their  unique voice to the project and made the music their own."

Sam Sadigursky, one of the most underrated saxophonists in New York City brought a fearlessness, a fire and an impeccable attention to detail.  Gilad Hekselman displays his deep sense of time and his organic genre-transcending approach.  This album features some of his best playing to date, particularly on "Farmington".   Johnathan Blake anchors the band with soulful, swinging, and adventurous drumming, and has an uncanny hook up with Kaufman, as heard on the first track, "Windshadow."  Matt Clohesy's playing is clear, precise, intense, funky and smart, and is equally comfortable in a wide variety of groves.  Percussionist Keita Ogawa brings a richness and warmth with his combination of inventiveness, tastefulness, and his ability to blend in with a modern jazz ensemble.

Kaufman gives us some insight into each composition on the album: "Windshadow", a modern uptempo jazz waltz, with a floating rolling feeling has a warm folksy quality.  It's a tribute to my friend Michael's boat.  "Kuumba", (swahili word for creativity) is a happy and simple melody with an Afro-Cuban inspired groove, with deceptively unusual meter and essentially a blues form.  It is named for the great trombonist/vocalist Frank Kuumba Lacy who used to sing this tune when we had a weekly gig at Smoke, the uptown New York club.  The worlds of Astor Piazzolla and Lennie Tristano collide on "Dansesong", a heady tango in 7/4. "Falling Petals" is a medium waltz, in the vein of the late 60s jazz artists like Joe Henderson, Bobby Hutcherson and Herbie Hancock, which utilizes a series of pedal points in the bass.  "Familiar Places" was written back when I was a student at Juilliard, and blends influences of Keith Jarrett-like  harmony with Brazilian rhythms.  "Dew Eye" takes inspiration from the language of modern indie rock, and alternates seamlessly between 3/4 and 5/4 time.  "Farmington" was composed at the Maine Jazz Camp in Farmington, Maine, where I first met Red Piano Records founder Frank Carlberg over 16 years ago.  It was the last song we recorded during the two-day recording session, which happened to be in the middle of one of the biggest blizzards in New York history.  We let it all hang out. Gilad's solo is remarkable and Sam's wailing improvisation at the coda provides the perfect ending to a joyous session."

Familiar Places is a most auspicious debut by this considerable talent who skillfully manages to bring the listener into familiar places and then takes them much farther.   The recording continues to push Red Piano Records towards the front of small independent labels releasing music that is fresh and fearless. 

Dan Kaufman has emerged as a leading and promising voice in jazz piano.  His playing is adventurous and dynamic while firmly rooted in the tradition.  As a versatile and sensitive sideman Kaufman has performed for audiences around the world, with many prominent figures in jazz such as Jimmy Heath, Wynton Marsalis, Christian McBride and Mark Turner.  He is also an accomplished composer and arranger.  Kaufman began classical piano studies at age four and was working professionally as a teenager.  He moved to Boston to attend the New England Conservatory where he studied with Fred Hersch and Danilo Perez.  Kaufman joined the Grammy-nominated group The Either/Orchestra and quickly became one of the most in demand young talents on the Boston scene, working extensively with Jeremy Pelt, Miguel Zenon and Bob Moses, among many others.  After a brief stint as a member of the highly selective Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz, Kaufman moved to New York to attend the Juilliard School on a full scholarship and joined their inaugural class of jazz studies.  At Juilliard he studied with the great Kenny Barron.  Kaufman has established himself as an in demand pianist in New York, joining the working bands of Donald Harrison, Ben Wolfe, Wycliffe Gordon, Rodney Green, Wayne Escoffery and Dominck Farinacci.  He also works with many of the worlds top jazz vocalists including Nnenna Freelon, Kevin Mahoganny, Robin McKelle, Allan Harris, Gretchen Parlato, Marilyn Maye, and KD Lang.  Kaufman has appeared on numerous recordings as a sideman.

Philadelphia's Bynum Brothers Announce SOUTH: Kitchen, Jazz, Bar: New Intimate Jazz Club to Host Nationally Recognized Artists and Philadelphia's Finest Musicians

Gerald Veasley

Philadelphia is proud to welcome SOUTH: Kitchen, Jazz, Bar to the expansive list of top-tier night life establishments in the dynamic neighborhoods in Center City Philadelphia with a top of the line venue and restaurant at 600 N. Broad Street. Pioneering restaurateurs and jazz aficionados Robert and Benjamin Bynum, who have brought such fine venues as Warmdaddy's, Relish, Paris Bistro, and the late Zanzibar Blue to the City of Brotherly Love, are reaching out yet again with a beautiful three-room establishment featuring a top of the line jazz room, an inviting kitchen, and a contemporary bar and lounge.

"We need to support our great heritage as an important jazz city and provide unique opportunities for these artists to perform here," says Robert Bynum on why SOUTH will be a major destination for jazz artists touring in support of new releases. "We want to be a welcoming option for those national artists who've always come through Philadelphia, as well as an attractive choices for the artists who have not made Philadelphia one of their stops in the past."

Orrin Evans

Their location on Broad Street didn't happen by accident--this area was the last home of Zanzibar Blue and is currently experiencing a major reemergence as a dining and housing destination. "Broad Street has always been at the heart of the jazz scene in Philadelphia going back many, many years," explains Bynum. "Not only is it in the center of our great city, but also at the heart of its jazz core."

SOUTH is not focused solely on national artists, however. "We feel a special kinship with the born and bred Philadelphia artists and want them to see SOUTH as their home," says Bynum. "We want them to know how much we respect their rich musical heritage and feel like SOUTH is their home while at home." In the interest of keeping Philadelphia's roots strong in the new venue, two local staples, pianist Orrin Evans and bassist Gerald Veasley, have been given weekly residencies with local bands featuring national artists.

Every Wednesday, Orrin Evans will host What's Happening Wednesday, a series aimed at presenting national artists in Philadelphia who may be falling just under the radar. "My goal is to present artists with their full ensembles doing what they do," explains the pianist. "This is about bringing artists from all over that are making music that I believe should be presented to the people." Evans has a curatorial history, having done similar residencies at Philly's own Blue Moon and the former Zanzibar Blue. He has also hosted jam sessions at World Café Live and currently hosts a weekly residency with his rotating cast in the Captain Black Big Band at New York City's Smoke Jazz & Supper Club.

On Thursday nights, Gerald Veasley will perform with celebrated contemporary jazz artists in a program called Unscripted Jazz Series. Veasley, a faculty member at the University of the Arts who just wrapped up another year of his Bass BootCamp, plans to give these artists an opportunity to stretch out from their typical performances. " The series will give these outstanding artists an opportunity to stretch out and express themselves in front of an appreciative audience," explains Veasley. "These will be exciting nights of breaking outside of the box, hence the title Unscripted. "

The 75-seat jazz room will offer superior sound with a clear sightline of the stage from all seats. SOUTH will present live music Tuesday through Sunday evenings, featuring a Tuesday night local jam session, and an emphasis on local and national artists on Friday through Sunday.

The Bynum brothers personally selected Lafayette, LA native Chef Paul Martin to serve vibrant Southern cuisine in the restaurant inspired by the sophisticated Southern destinations, Charleston, South Carolina and Savannah, Georgia. The bar and lounge will also feature Southern snacks and shared plates, as well as a comprehensive list of 50 American whiskeys; 10 beers on tap, including custom offerings from Maryland's Evolution brewing; and barrel-aged and bottle-conditioned cocktails, and infused spirits.

Orrin Evans Presents What's Happening Wednesday

October 21 // Chris Oatts

October 28 // Marc Cary

November 4 // Joe Farnsworth & Harold Mabern

November 11 // M'Balia

November 28 // Chris Oates

November 25 // Jeremy Pelt

December 2 // Buster Williams & Rene Rosnes

December 9 // Sarah Charles

Gerald Veasley Presents Unscripted Jazz Series

October 15 // Alex Bugnon "A Night in Tunisia"

October 22 // Karen Briggs "Soulchestral Groove"

October 29 // Carol Riddick "Swings the Classics"

November 5 // Marion Meadows "Take the SoulTrane"

November 12 // Kirk Whalum "Autumn Serenade"

November 19 // James Lloyd "Returns to Jazz Roots"

Guitarist Scott DuBois Recounts a Day Long Journey Through Varied Landscapes on Latest Release Winter Light

Nineteenth-century philosopher Ralph Waldo Emerson called art an "expression of nature." Guitarist Scott DuBois' Winter Light transports the listener on a day's journey from earliest dawn into deepest night, illustrating the day's changing light through varied landscapes and weather conditions. He has loved representations of this evolution in visual art, especially in the paintings of Claude Monet, who often worked on several canvases at once in order to track the day's shifting light. Winter Light captures such visions in sound.

"First Light Tundra" opens with the earliest glimpse of light over a cold, desolate landscape as birds awake, call, and fly off into the distance. In a battle between darkness and light, fierce crashing winds obscure the approaching sunrise with flying snow. The sun triumphs in the end.

"Early Morning Forest" introduces a stately pine forest soon pierced by rays of light dazzling snow-filled branches and the white forest floor. Animals call one another to enter the mass of trees. Deeper in the forest, in the darker thick brush, an ominous cold mist fills the air. The animals call again after slowly emerging from the forest into the warmth of the unobstructed morning sun. "Late Morning Snow" conveys the elegance and peaceful nature of light on newly fallen snow. A progressively cold stinging wind rises.

"Noon White Mountain" begins with the day's most powerful light on majestic snow-capped mountains. They are slowly overtaken by dark clouds. A distant storm transforms into a passing gentle freezing rain. Then bright noon light returns. "Afternoon Ice Fog" evokes mysterious light reflections from the tiny ice crystals suspended in the air. In "Evening Blizzard" the light is shrouded by the intensity of a snowstorm while peace and tranquility return in "Night Tundra" where moonlit snow glows in the darkness.

The New York City Jazz Record has described DuBois' writing as "captivating music for the meditative thinker." This telling expression goes quite some way towards unlocking its essence, since the guitarist composes in an associative way, through pictures. Indeed, Winter Light, which marks his debut as an artist on the ACT label, has a strongly programmatic concept running right through it. The listener is taken on a journey through a winter's day. As we witness the progression from before daybreak right through to the depths of night, DuBois draws the listener in with sounds vividly portraying myriad shifts in the balance of light, leading us through different landscapes, and even making us feel the ever-changing patterns of the weather.

The guitarist's first five albums have received major critical acclaim. Black Hawk Dance earned the maximum 5-star rating from DownBeat Magazine. His next album, Landscape Scripture, was one of the "Top Ten Jazz Albums of 2012" as selected by the highly influential coast-to-coast American network, National Public Radio.

Scott DuBois, the 37-year old American jazz guitarist and composer, is one of the most important figures on the young New York jazz scene. The New York Times has praised the way that DuBois "has begun to make waves" with his "exploratory yet melodic sensibilities, serious compositional ambitions," and "cohesive looseness against complex subtleties."

DuBois studied at the Manhattan School of Music. He made his first mark alongside saxophonist David Liebman, who appeared on DuBois' albums for the Soul Note record label, Monsoon (2005) and Tempest (2007).   DuBois' quartet, with whom he has now been working for the past decade, consists of some of the world's most in-demand improvising musicians: German saxophonist and bass clarinetist Gebhard Ullmann, American bassist Thomas Morgan, and Danish drummer Kresten Osgood. This regular working band performs DuBois' masterfully-crafted original compositions which point to future trends. DuBois presents these powerful works with dynamic group improvisation and interaction, creating massive, colorful landscapes and a spiritual intensity that cuts straight to the heart. 

Scott DuBois · Winter Light

ACT Music  ·  Release Date: November 6, 2015  

 

Jamaican roots color Darren Barrett’s “Trumpet Vibes” as hard bop jazz meets reggae on the award-winning artist’s seventh album

Trumpeter Darren Barrett proudly wears his Jamaican ancestry on his musical sleeve as well as on the album sleeve of “Trumpet Vibes,” his seventh album that will be released November 20 on the dB Studios label. Decorated in the distinctive green, yellow and black colors of the Jamaican flag, the award-winning Canadian musician, composer and producer mines the native sounds of  his parents’ homeland for the first time on the eight-tracker constructed of hard bop jazz amidst laidback reggae rhythms and frenetic ska grooves. Throughout the session that highlights Barrett’s academic technical proficiency and heartfelt interpretive trumpet work, animate vibraphone plays the role of trusty sidekick with noted vibist Warren Wolf on the record’s opener and closer.

Barrett not only honors his family’s lineage on “Trumpet Vibes,” but he opens the proceedings with a salute to one of his early mentors, Donald Byrd, with a bouncy take of Byrd’s “Fly Little Bird,” that flaps mightily, evolving into a hard-swinging tilt midflight. Barrett wrote four compositions for the album and applies the jazz-meets-reggae ethos to a few modern classics. An original tune, “Chiapas” serves up somber autumnal hues from Barrett’s horn over a brisk ska track provided by the dynamic rhythm section composed of brothers Alexander and Anthony Toth on upright bass and drums respectively. The stately pop gem “To Sir, With Love” gets an invigorating and spritely makeover, riding the crest of a rocking wave of Caribbean culture. Vibraphonist Simon Moullier, who plays on the entire album, charismatically shares the spotlight with Barrett’s moody horn on the regal reggae jam “Song For A Princess.” The cadence is elevated on “Phantom,” a particularly rambunctious monster stalking the outer perimeter of experimental jazz, free-form fusion and rowdy rock. Both “Everything I Own” and Stevie Wonder’s “My Cherie Amour” get the full-scale reggae treatment with the former being a fun and celebratory romp while the latter benefits from some good old rock & roll grit. Closing with a knockout punch, brilliant musicianship electrifies “The Club Up The Street,” which bops, swings and soars mightily, allowing Barrett and Wolf the time and space to mix it up in a go-for-broke improvisational trumpet and vibraphone free-for-all. 

“This album means so much to me personally because it mixes the music from my Jamaican heritage, which is part of my heart, and jazz, which is part of my soul, into one. ‘Trumpet Vibes’ brings together the best of these two musical worlds that share a common ancestral genesis in Africa. I’ve spent the past two years totally immersed in the creation of this project – writing, producing, playing and recording - and I’m excited for people to finally hear it,” said Barrett, who was labeled “a force to be reckoned with” by the Boston Globe.

  

Barrett, a Toronto, Ontario native who has been anchored in Boston, Massachusetts ever since attending the famed Berklee College of Music where he presently serves as an associate professor in the ensemble department, won the prestigious Thelonious Monk International Jazz Competition in 1997. Two years later, he issued his debut recording as a band leader, the aptly titled “First One Up.” Often mentioned in the same breath as Wynton Marsalis and Terence Blanchard perhaps comes from having studied under the same professor, William Fielder. Barrett soloed on Esperanza Spaulding’s double Grammy winner “Radio Music Society” and has recorded or performed internationally with jazz royalty such as Roy Hargrove, Elvin Jones, Wayne Shorter and Herbie Hancock. The trumpeter is a jazz purveyor who leads a handful of combos that provide a variety of outlets for his wanderings and full creative expression in the genre. Still enjoying a remarkably prolific period that brought to fruition two releases last year - “Energy In Motion: The Music of the Bee Gees” and “Direct 2014: Darren Barrett and the dB Quintet” – he’s already at work crafting his next unpredictable endeavor, jazz interpretations of Amy Winehouse’s songbook, which is slated to arrive in the spring. On Sunday (October 18), Barrett leads his dB Quintet into New York City for a show at The Iridium.

The songs contained on “Trumpet Vibes” are:

“Fly Little Bird”

“Chiapas”

“To Sir, With Love”

“Song For A Princess”

“Phantom”

“Everything I Own”

“My Cherie Amour”

“The Club Up The Street”

Sonny Rollins to Receive Lifetime Achievement Award At the Jazz Foundation of America's 14th Annual "A Great Night in Harlem"

Sonny Rollins Tenor saxophonist Sonny Rollins will be presented with the Jazz Foundation of America's Lifetime Achievement Award on Thursday, October 22, at the Apollo Theater during the foundation's 14th Annual "A Great Night in Harlem" gala concert.

The concert segment honoring Rollins will feature performances by Donald Fagen (of Steely Dan), Jimmy Heath, Jack DeJohnette, Gary Bartz, Billy Harper, Randy Brecker, Clifton Anderson, Kenny Garrett, Ravi Coltrane, Al Foster, James Carter, Wallace Roney, the Cecil Bridgewater Big Band, and more.

"What a privilege it is to have Sonny Rollins grace the stage," says Wendy Oxenhorn, Jazz Foundation of America's Executive Director. "[Musical director] Steve Jordan has gone above and beyond to make this a fitting tribute worthy of Sonny's genius in return for all the decades of the music he has given to the world. For us and the Great Legends who are coming out for Sonny, this is our humble attempt to say 'thank you.'"

For 26 years, the Jazz Foundation of America has been keeping jazz and blues alive by helping musicians who played with everyone from Duke Ellington and Billie Holiday to Jimi Hendrix and the Rolling Stones. The organization now assists in more than 5000 cases a year nationwide -- preventing homelessness and eviction by paying rents and mortgages; providing free medical care and operations; maintaining a Musicians' Emergency Fund to address a wide range of crises.

"What a necessary, wonderful organization!" says Rollins. "I've been aware of the Jazz Foundation's work for many years now, including the assistance they've given to so many of my colleagues. I'm honored to receive this award from them and to lend them whatever support I can now and in the future."

Rollins is presently completing work on a new album in his Road Shows series of live performances for release by his label, Doxy Records. Holding the Stage: Road Shows, vol. 4 will be released on April 8, 2016 under a distribution agreement with Sony Music Masterworks and its jazz imprint OKeh Records. 

ROBERT MILLER’S PROJECT GRAND SLAM RELEASES NEW FULL LENGTH ALBUM “MADE IN NEW YORK”

Album features the songs "New York City Groove" and their unique cover of Jimi Hendryx's "Fire" and includes two tracks recorded live at the world famous Blue Note Jazz Club in New York City

Robert Miller’s acclaimed fusion band, Project Grand Slam, today releases their new full length album, “Made In New York,” which includes the singles “New York City Groove” and “Fire”, five original Miller tunes, plus two tracks recorded “live” at the world famous Blue Note Jazz Club in New York City.  All of the songs capture the band’s unique jazz/rock/fusion /jam band sound.

"'Fire’ is a truly fiery new cover of Jimi Hendrix's song!" -- Lyndsey Parker,YahooMusic.com

PGS has recently released two videos for the songs “New York City Groove” and “Fire” that together have garnered over 120,000 views in just a few weeks. Both feature guest vocalist Kat Robichaud from NBC’s The Voice, who lends her rock n’ roll roots to the songs and the videos.

Project Grand Slam was formed in 2007 by bassist/leader/composer Miller and has previously released two highly regarded albums, “Play” (2008) and “Spring Dance” (2012). In 2009 the band was featured in an episode of the hit NBC-TV show “Lipstick Jungle”, and has had several additional hit singles: “The Captain Of Her Heart” feat. Judie Tzuke, “Catch You Later,” and “Spring Dance.”

See the video for “Fire” here: http://smarturl.it/PGSFire

See the video for “New York City Groove” here:  https://youtu.be/ptGNf97tB8E

http://www.projectgrandslam.com

The Donny Hathaway Legacy Project Launches on Artist's 70th Birthday

Donny Hathaway, arguably one of the most important voices of the 20th century, would have been 70 years old on October 1. With some of the most culturally impactful music of the 1970's, Hathaway's songs, along with his story as a prolific singer, songwriter, pianist and composer still resonates in the hearts of people all over the world.

"Our father was a prolific musician admired by many for his creativity and musicianship," said Donnita Hathaway, daughter and chair of the DHLP board of directors. "It's an honor that people like Roberta Flack [honorary co-chair] and Lindsey Aaron [advisory board member] have said yes to helping us solidify his legacy with this effort."

The launch of The Donny Hathaway Legacy Project (DHLP) aims to celebrate his life and legacy with events planned in major cities around the world to celebrate his birthday and pay tribute to his legacy. Designed to honor the legacy of a visionary gone too soon, The Donny Hathaway Legacy Project will present special projects, notable honors and charitable programs to share the music that filled his life and support those artists who share his illness.

"We are honored to launch this effort for the Hathaway family," said Anasa Troutman, president of Eloveate. "The magnitude and body of work that Donny Hathaway produced still has a significant impact on music, even today. I was pleasantly surprised that Hungarian Pop Star Viktor Kiraly, just this week, sang Donny's version of "What's Going On" on The Voice."

Tribute concert events in Atlanta and New York City, as well as radio stations, around the world, are dedicating entire shows to his music today.  In addition to these events, The Donny Hathaway Legacy Project will organize on social media to celebrate with the hashtag #Donny70 encouraging friends and followers to post a picture, video or story to tell the world what Donny and his music means to them.

Weather Report: The Legendary Live Tapes: 1978-1981, A New 4 Disc Box Set Premiering A Wealth of Previously Unreleased Live Material Performed by the Revolutionary Electronic Jazz-Rock Ensemble from 1978-1981

Weather Report was originally formed in 1970 by Joe Zawinul (3-time GRAMMY Award winner and whose prior credentials included his profoundly influential musical contributions to the Miles Davis albums In A Silent Way and Bitches Brew) and Wayne Shorter (a 10 time Grammy Award winner who'd served as a primary composer for Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers and an essential player in Miles Davis' Second Great Quintet). An active ensemble for 16 years (1970-1986), Weather Report moved freely across a variety genres, blending free jazz with tightly structured compositions, introducing elements of rock and funk and electronica into a multicultural world music that defied precedent and categorization. "We don't fuse nothin'," Zawinul said, "we just play from the heart." And yet, Weather Report inspired a revolution in jazz fusion music during the 1970s and 1980s.

When electric bass virtuoso Jaco Pastorius joined the Weather Report lineup in 1976, the group's sound evolved into even more adventurous and pioneering directions. The ensemble landed a crossover hit, "Birdland," in 1977. Drummer Peter Erskine joined in 1978 with Weather Report expanding into a formidable electric quintet with the addition of percussionist Robert "Bobby" Thomas, Jr. in 1980.

Performance high-points from these quartet and quintet lineups are chronicled in Weather Report: The Legendary Live Tapes: 1978-1981 and have been sourced from never-before-heard (outside the band) soundboard tapes recorded by Weather Report's longtime mixing engineer Brian Risner, and bootleg recordings from the audience. Rather than attempt to recreate the ebb and flow of a Weather Report set list of the era, The Legendary Live Tapes presents a variety of key individual performances, each of them capturing the unique and dazzling musical directions Weather Report was capable of achieving.

The 4 disc collection includes extensive notes and song-by-song descriptions of the performances penned by Peter Erskine.

Weather Report: The Legendary Live Tapes: 1978-1981

Disc 1

8:30

Sightseeing

Brown Street

The Orphan

Forlorn

Three Views of A Secret

Badia/Boogie Waltz

Wayne Solo

Jaco Solo (Osaka 1980)

Disc 2

Joe and Wayne Duet (Tokyo 1978)

Birdland

Peter's Solo

A Remark You Made

Continuum/River People

Gibraltar

Disc 3

Fast City

Madagascar

Night Passage

Dream Clock

Rockin' In Rhythm

Port of Entry

Disc 4

Elegant People

Scarlet Women

Black Market

Jaco Solo (Osaka 1978)

Teen Town

Peter's Solo (Osaka 1978)

Directions

King Curtis: The Complete Atco Singles. (3-CD Set)

King Curtis was the greatest R&B instrumentalist of all time, period. And it’s not much of a contest. Born Curtis Ousley in Fort Worth, Texas in 1934, the saxophonist played on hundreds of the most hallowed recording sessions of all time, everything from the Coasters’ “Yakety Yak” to John Lennon’s Imagine album. But Curtis wasn’t just a superstar sideman; he also was responsible for some of the greatest Pop/R&B instrumental albums of all time, including such Atco label classics as Live at Small’s Paradise, King Curtis Plays the Great Memphis Hits, Instant Groove, and, of course, Live at Fillmore West. 

Often overshadowed by the brilliance of his session work and his long players, however, is the fact that Curtis was actually quite a successful singles artist, notching 25 Pop and 10 R&B hits during his storied career. And, though it was during his tenure(s) at Atco that he recorded the most popular albums of his career, he also cut a mind-boggling 33 singles (including one that was never released until now) for the label. It is this hitherto-untapped treasure trove that Real Gone Music’s KING CURTIS: The Complete Atco Singles presents on three CDs in this unprecedented collection. 

Not only is this the first time on CD for virtually all of these original mono single mixes, but among these 66 tracks are over two dozen sides that never appeared on LP! That’s right…even if you own every Atco album King Curtis put out, you have never heard over a third of this set unless you bought all of the original 45s back in the day. And the caliber of the musicianship? 

Well, as the most in-demand session man in America, Curtis got to know a lot of folks, so appearing on these sessions are the great Muscle Shoals and Memphis studio cats like Cornell Dupree, Jimmy Johnson, Spooner Oldham, Roger Hawkins, Tommy Cogbill, and Reggie Young, plus a few other folks you might have heard of, like Duane Allman, Eric Clapton, and Delaney Bramlett! Not to mention the alternately tender, searing, and soaring sax lines of Mr. Curtis himself, heard on such classic tracks as “Memphis Soul Stew,” “Ode to Billie Joe,” and “Whole Lotta Love” (yes, the Led Zeppelin song) cheek-by-jowl with a host of smokin’ rare B-sides. Leiber & Stoller Music Publishing head honcho Randy Poe supplies the liner notes (Leiber and Stoller, of course, had a long relationship with Curtis), which we’ve put inside a gleaming 8-panel digipak sporting some great photos and Atco single labels. 

All but one of the 66 tracks have been transferred from tape in the Warner/Atlantic archives, and Mike Milchner of SonicVision provides the meticulous remastering. The R&B retrospective of the year! Release is set for December 4, 2015 via Real Gone Music.

SONGS:

Disc One

1. The Birth of the Blues

2. Jest Smoochin’

3. Ific

4. You Made Me Love You

5. Castle Rock

6. Chili

7. Honeydripper (Part 1)

8. Honeydripper (Part 2)

9. Heavenly Blues

10. Restless Guitar

11. Spanish Harlem

12. Boss

13. Quicksand

14. On Broadway

15. You’ve Lost That Loving Feeling

16. Make the World Go Away

17. Dancing in the Streets

18. He’ll Have to Go

19. Pots and Pans (Part 1)

20. Pots and Pans (Part 2)

21. Something on Your Mind

22. Soul Theme

Disc Two

1. Jump Back

2. When Something Is Wrong with My Baby

3. You Don’t Miss Your Water

4. Green Onions

5. Memphis Soul Stew

6. Blue Nocturne

7. Ode to Billie Joe

8. In the Pocket

9. For What It’s Worth

10. Cook-Out

11. I Was Made to Love Her

12. I Never Loved a Man (The Way I Love You)

13. (Sittin’ on) The Dock of the Bay

14. This Is Soul

15. Valley of the Dolls

16. 8th Wonder

17. I Heard It thru the Grapevine

18. A Whiter Shade of Pale

19. Harper Valley P.T.A.

20. Makin’ Hey

21. The Christmas Song

22. What Are You Doing New Year’s Eve

Disc Three

1. Games People Play

2. Foot Pattin’,  Part II

3. Instant Groove

4. Sweet Inspiration

5. La Jeanne

6. Little Green Apples

7. Rocky Roll

8. C. C. Rider

9. Patty Cake

10. Pop Corn Willy

11. Teasin’

12. Soulin’

13. Get Ready

14. Bridge over Troubled Water

15. Whole Lotta Love

16. Floatin’

17. Changes – Part II

18. Changes – Part I

19. Changes – Part I (Live)

20. Changes – Part II (Live)

21. Ridin’ Thumb – Part 1 (Unreleased)

22. Ridin’ Thumb – Part 2 (Unreleased)

NEW RELEASES: CEU - LIVE; LEE DELARIA - HOUSE OF DAVID: DELARIA SINGS BOWIE; NICHOLAS BRIDGMAN - WHEEL OF LIFE

CEU - LIVE

Ceu's album was recorded in celebration of the 10 year anniversary of the release of her first album. The recording was made in just 1 day and took place at the Centro Cultural Rio Verde in São Paulo, in the center of Vila Madalena (a neighborhood in São Paulo), where Céu has lived all of her life and where she started her musical career. She wanted to record all of the major songs of her career with her live band, Bruno Buarque (drums), Lucas Martins (bass), Dustan Gallas (guitar) and DJ Marco (Turntable, MPC). Although the repertoire mostly focused on the songs from her most recent album Caravan Sereia Bloom, fans favorites such as Lenda, Malemolência, Cangote, Rainha, Concrete jungle, and others were included in the show. She also included Mais uma Noite de Amor, an eighties hit by Brazilian pop artist Pepeu Gomes, which she has never previously recorded. 'This version was originally performed at a special show in 2013 during the carnival of Recife. The song brings back good memories of my teenage years' - she reveals. - 'The funny thing is that I only met Pepeu a couple of weeks ago after including this version of the song in my shows for two years.' The show is presented in a half-light scenario, with palm trees, chandeliers and even a marble parrot. They help to reinforce the sensual and hypnotic mood of Céu's performance. ~ Amazon
  

LEE DELARIA - HOUSE OF DAVID: DELARIA SINGS BOWIE

DeLaria is currently best known as Carrie Big Boo Black in the hit Netflix series Orange is the New Black. The first major jazz reworking on Bowies beloved catalog, the album features tracks such as a smooth bossa nova interpretation of Golden Years, a trenchant Life On Mars? and a roof-raising gospel take on Modern Love.Delaria boasts a multi-faceted career as a comedian, actress and jazz musician; she holds the distinction of being the first openly gay comic on television in America which led to countless television and film roles; selected TV credits include Awkward, Clarence, Californication, The Oblongs, One Life to Live, Law and Order: SVU, Will and Grace, Friends and Matlock; selected film credits include The First Wives Club, Dear Dumb Diary and Edge of Seventeen. ~ Amazon

NICHOLAS BRIDGMAN - WHEEL OF LIFE

Nicholas Bridgman composes and performs contemporary jazz.  He is classically trained, having debuted at age 16 with the New West Symphony, performing the Shostakovich First Piano Concerto.  He studied with classical pianist Gloria Cheng and composer Miguel del A guila.  Throughout his studies, he took an interest in jazz, becoming familiar with voicings, performing arrangements of jazz standards, and playing jazz-influenced classical works such as Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue. Over the coming years, Nicholas wrote many songs ranging from ballads to straight ahead to fusion pieces.  A common thread in his writing has been the combination of inspiration from jazz greats such as Bill Evans and Herbie Hancock with modern influences from dance, folk, new age, and classical music.  He strives to create music that is fun and easy to listen to, yet harmonically and melodically sophisticated at the same time.  His newest album, Wheel of Life (to be released 11/1/2015) includes the following tracks: Spiral Staircase; Wheel of Life; Swingtown; Planar Texture for Gloria; Kickin' It; Prismatic; Black Orpheus (L. Bonfa); Gravitation; Cantaloupe Island (H. Hancock); and Summer in December.

Saxophonist Ivo Perelman Explores Relationship Between the Senses on Trio of New Releases - Complementary Colors, Villa-Lobos Suite and Butterfly Whispers

Each of the three new recordings from Ivo Perelman - albums entitled Complementary Colors, Villa-Lobos Suite, and Butterfly Whispers (Available October 30 via Leo Records) - exhibits a different approach to improvised music from the indefatigable Brazilian-born saxophonist. Each album represents a unique "first" for Perelman. For most artists, releasing three such iconoclastic forays at once would constitute a burst of the imagination, but Perelman is not most artists. He has documented his current creative fervor with nearly 25 albums over the last five years; you would think that by now the wellspring of imagination might start to run dry. The fact that he can still find a different format to frame his music - or in this case, three different formats - should boggle the minds of most listeners as well as his fellow musicians.

On the duo recording Complementary Colors, Perelman and his longtime collaborator, acclaimed pianist Matthew Shipp, explore the ties that bind the visual and the aural arts. In addition to his work as a groundbreaking improviser, exploring the outer limits of the saxophone's tonal range, Perelman is also a prolific and respected visual artist, whose work hangs in collections across four continents; at the time of these releases, he was in Brazil, overseeing the third major exhibit of his paintings and drawings in his native land. But for all that, Complementary Colors represents the first time he has sought to unite these two aspects of his artistic vision.

Perelman titled each track with the name of a color, which he chose after the recording. As usual in his music, these improvisations arose from literally nothing, with neither previous rehearsal nor any written music in hand; given this methodology, something as programmatic as a color-coded "concept" would be unthinkable. But the titles came naturally, since Perelman - by his own admission - experiences synesthesia, the sensory phenomenon by which some people "hear" colors, "taste" music, or "see" aromas, for instance.

Up until now, this has primarily manifested itself in his canvases. "I paint using musical impulses, translated, and transmuted into the shapes and colors," he explains. "When I paint, I feel my synesthesia is rhythmic; I visualize a rhythm and it's very strong in me." From there, the rest of the painting takes shape: "The rhythmic structure almost dictates what the colors will be; the rhythms in my paintings ask for the colors - 'This should be a red,' for instance." But on Complementary Colors, he applied the process in reverse, allowing the recorded playbacks to dictate the titles, based on the hues and mixtures that came to mind. And apart from any crisscrossed sense or extramusical pigments, the music itself occupies the high plateau achieved by Perelman and Shipp on their previous release, Callas, on which they attained a new level in their already telepathic musical communication.

On Villa-Lobos Suite, Perelman again discovered a deeper context for the music after it had been recorded: despite the fact that it bears the name of his countryman Heitor Villa-Lobos, this "suite" took shape without any preparatory study or even discussion of the man who is generally considered the 20th century's leading Latin American composer of classical music. In fact, the project originally had another name altogether; it was only after Perelman listened back to the recording that he found qualities unexpectedly redolent of his youth, when as a classical guitar prodigy he studied Villa-Lobos's music extensively. "That music is to me my second skin," he says; haunting echoes of it bubbled from the raw mixes of the album.

What makes this recording unique in Perelman's towering discography is the presence of not one but two viola players as his only accompanists. In recent years, the saxophonist has discovered a new musical soulmate in Mat Maneri, with whom he has worked on several noteworthy projects (starting with the score to the Brazilian film A Violent Dose Of Anything in 2014). But serendipitously, Perelman became acquainted with a second violist - the Canadian musician and author Tanya Kalmanovitch - when he heard Maneri playing an instrument borrowed from her. Perelman instantly fixated on the idea of performing with this small "string section"; in his words, "I suddenly had this idea - 'What would be better than one viola?' Having two violas! . . . . I had never thought of such a thing, because I never thought there would be another Mat Maneri, a viola player someone so compatible with me. But two of Mat Maneri would be better than one!"

Thanks to the instrumentation, the performances on Villa-Lobos Suite have a classical, almost symphonic quality that helped inspire the album's title; in addition, the violas' presence evokes the saxophonist's own ability to mimic the sounds, range, and even the textures of string instruments (which he has explored on previous albums with a string quartet, as well as with Maneri alone). Writes Kalmanovitch in her liner notes to the album:

"Listen to the relationship between the saxophone and the strings: we are constantly exchanging our roles as soloists and accompanists. Melodies are handed off, in constant motion from one voice to another. . . . Ivo would probably add that his studies of the cello infused his breath with the quality of a bow: for him, the saxophone and the cello are not so distant after all. And Ivo would certainly add that the viola and the tenor saxophone share not just a register, but also a spirit - mysterious, imbued with melancholy and longing - so that the instruments know something of one another's story before they've ever spoken."

The third new release by Perelman, Butterfly Whispers, teams him with pianist Shipp and another frequent collaborator, drummer Whit Dickey. So what distinguishes this recording is not the particular personnel, but rather the overriding concept of the album as a unified piece of "program music" - an artistic concept that, in its attempt to invest instrumental performance with specific extramusical meaning, could not differ more profoundly from Perelman's own methodology of total spontaneity.

The titles of the individual pieces, supplied by Brazilian poet Diva Galvao - titles like "Pollen," "Wet Land," "Plowed Field," and "Secret Garden" - suggest some hidden saga awaiting discovery. "Most modern listeners (myself included) shy away from attaching literal narratives to instrumental music," writes Grammy® - Award winning annotator Neil Tesser. "But on Butterfly Whispers, Perelman actively encourages us to do so - to make up our own stories to fit the music, whatever form those stories might take. . . It may also result from Perelman's conscious decision to pare things down," Tesser continues. "His improvisations have become shorter and correspondingly more focused: the tracks on Butterfly Whispers average less than five minutes, whereas albums from a few years ago often included tracks of two and three times that length. Here, he says, 'I went for a more compositional approach, a more condensed way of distilling and presenting the ideas. I wanted to edit more the musical thought.'"

Ivo Perelman · Complementary Colors, Villa-Lobos Suite, Butterfly Whispers

Leo Records  ·  Release Date: October 30, 2015