Debut of New Quintet, Aggregate Prime, Featuring Vijay Iyer, Gary Thomas, Mark Whitfield and Kenny Davis

Now, as our seemingly unending conversation about race is reenergized by a plague of police shooting unarmed black citizens and the accompanying lack of accountability for those actions, Ralph Peterson-percussionist, trumpeter, composer, bandleader and educator-has called upon Hughes' iconic poem to give both title and theme to Dream Deferred, his 20th album as a leader and his sixth on his own label Onyx Music.

Dream Deferred is also the first to feature his new quintet, Aggregate Prime, comprising the powerful, all-star tandem of saxophonist/flutist Gary Thomas, guitarist Mark Whitfield, pianist Vijay Iyer, and bassist Kenny Davis.

"The album speaks to the question of that final question Langston Hughes asks in 'Harlem' and whether we as a society are close to answering it," says Peterson. "The answer is already there in that if we don't do the right thing, all of our hopes and dreams will explode." The first rehearsal for the album was in October of 2015 as pre-trial hearings were underway for the three Baltimore police officers accused of murder in the death of Freddie Gray while he was in their custody. (Charges were dropped later.)

As with the whole album bearing its name, "Dream Deferred" tries, in Peterson's words, "to capture some of the angst and hope that gave the protest music so much energy and excitement." Peterson blends the instruments in his ensemble in a way as to match the roiling furor surrounding the Gray case and similar ones occurring throughout America over the past few years, while ending with the same tone of pointed, yet "elegant" inquiry culminating Hughes' poem.

"I wanted to highlight Gary's flute, thinking back to Eric Dolphy and how his flute playing could be heard back during  times when music also reflected the restless energy of social change. Only," he adds, "the sound Gary brings belongs only to him."

The months since the Freddie Gray verdict have only seen more incidents and more protests like Eric Garner, Sandra Bland and Terence Crutcher. "What's really at stake is whether black men will survive at all. Nowadays simply getting in your car as a black man can end up being high risk. And the scary thing is, the risk can come at the hands of those sworn to serve and protect us."

The issue has special poignancy for Peterson, the son of a former police chief and mayor of his native Pleasantville, New Jersey who once played drums professionally in nightclubs throughout the South Jersey area. Ralph, Sr. died two years ago and his son can't help but contemplate how his dad would have reacted to this rash of excessive force.

"He'd have been appalled," Peterson says. "He was a boxer and he was of the old-school belief that things could be worked out with your hands. He was against deadly force as a first or even second resort. It's part of a whole bent of depending on guns that my dad wouldn't have recognized today. And I wonder myself why it is that guns have become the only way to deal with conflict. People are into self-defense training. But nobody boxes in the streets anymore. It's all about who has the most weaponry and that's become a deeply fatal flaw in our society today."

The death of his father was one of many personal and physical travails Peterson underwent in the past few years. He has undergone surgeries for spinal fusion, hip replacement and a reconstructed ankle. "I am Iron Man," he says with a self-deprecatory humor. Yet the ensemble's performance of Dolphy's "Iron Man" is nothing to joke about.

A more serious, yet just as stoic approach to both Peterson's physical struggles--and to the struggles both he and the rest of society have had to endure over the last couple years--is reflected in his composition, "Strongest Sword/Hottest Fire." An avid student of martial arts, Peterson says he was inspired by a documentary about the Japanese samurai discipline of bushido, to whose most gifted practitioners goes a sword forged to meticulous and harshly-regimented cycles of extreme heat and cold.

Ultimately, Peterson says, "the ability of the sword to cut cleanly comes from what seems to be abusive extremes and that's how we're all tested by life. When life is heating up on you, your own tensile strength becomes more resilient until things cool down for a while before getting hot again. It's these extremes that are ideal for stress test in strengthening metal...and your own mettle as well."

Peterson is also proud of the manner in which he has prevailed over physical and personal difficulties. Along with the aforementioned surgeries, he has completed his second decade of being "drink and drug-free." He has survived colon cancer and Bell's Palsy in addition to the aforementioned orthopedic challenges.

"The strongest sword," he says, "goes through the hottest fire."

Ralph Peterson's Upcoming Performances:

* Nov 4 - 6 / Dizzy's Club Coca-Cola (Dream Deferred CD Release) / New York, NY

** Nov. 25 / 9th Note / Stamford, CT

*** Jan. 26 / Scullers / Boston, MA

** Feb. 10 / 9th Note / Stamford, CT

** Feb. 11 - 12 / Smalls / New York, NY

** Feb. 13 - 14 / The Greenwich / Cincinnati, OH

** Feb. 15 / Nighttown / Cleveland, OH

** Feb. 16 / Tula's / Seattle, WA

** Feb. 17 / Jimmy Mak's (PDX Jazz Festival) / Portland, OR

** Feb. 21 / Regatta Bar / Boston, MA

* May 24 / Blues Alley / Washington, D.C.

* May 25 / Clef Club / Philadelphia, PA

* May 27 / The Side Door / Old Lyme, CT

* Aggregate Prime Quintet feat. Gary Thomas, Mark Whitfield, Vijay Iyer, and Kenny Davis

** TriAngular III Trio feat. Zaccai and Luques Curtis

*** Sextet Reunion

Little Jimmy Scott “I Go Back Home” featuring Dee Dee Bridgewater, Kenny Barron, Joey De Francesco, Joe Pesci, Oscar Castro Neves, Renee Olstead, Till Brönner, Monica Mancini, Arturo Sandoval, James Moody and Gregoire Maret

When Jimmy Scott died in 2014, dozens of musicians, hundreds of journalists and thousands of fans mourned the passing of a jazz legend. Not only had a link back to the era of Billie Holiday, Charlie Parker and Lionel Hampton been lost, but so had the chance to bring the fame and respect denied to him throughout his long and rich life.

Now, as if sent from some righteous deity, comes “I Go Back Home”, an album full of life recorded by Jimmy Scott years before his death. Created by German producer Ralf Kemper, Jimmy Scott and with mixes produced by Phil Ramone, no expense was spared in giving Scott the lushest musical backdrops possible, creating an album that, like Scott’s inimitable vocal style, comes late but, but right on time.

“I Go Back Home” uses the finest arrangers writing for the most experienced players, mixed by the most intuitive engineers in the best studios available. Scott revisited his favorite songs, into which he invested his lived experience, letting the listener feel the story known by far too few.

Hounding Jimmy Scott through the most of his recording career was an oppressive recording contract that prevented him from releasing albums. It wasn’t until 1992 that Jimmy, aged 63, recorded the first album over which he had creative control: “All The Way.” Nominated for a Grammy and finally bringing him to the attention of an audience that wasn’t entirely comprised of jazz fans and a few lucky passers-by, Scott began touring and regularly releasing albums. It’s not until “I Go Back Home” that Scott was given the budget that allowed him unfettered control over song selection, personnel and orchestration.

As the album progresses, each song sees another musician or singer join Scott for a fresh interpretation of a beloved song, long-time collaborators such as Kenny Barron and Joe Pesci, or new ones, such as actress and singer Reneè Olstead, trumpeter Till Brönner and harmonica player Gregoire Maret. All give Scott the room he needs to slide between phrases, telling his story and living out the world of each song.

As Jimmy explained: “The lyric is so important to me. I feel if you’re singing a song or telling the story in a song it should mean something. That’s why I protect what I have in it, because that’s where I believe it should go. It should mean something. It should make sense.”

Watch the documentary trailer here.

Dave Nathan wrote on AllMusic that Scott’s phrasing moves “beyond mere poignancy and close to reverence.” This is truer than ever on “I Go Back Home.” Scott shifts from speak-singing in the album-opener “Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child” to a lively bossa nova take on “I Remember You” to full-throated commitment on “If I Ever Lost You.”

Expertly interplaying with top tier collaborators “I Go Back Home” is ultimately a record of collaboration and companionship, and the sound of a singer going out on top. Scott commemorates his highest points, and spars with fresh new talent in a way that suggests that he would have had great albums in him yet. And while we can mourn the decades he didn’t record, the tragedies and injustices that never defeated him, “I Go Back Home” succeeds in capturing the essence of a life that was ultimately triumphant.

On January 27, 2017 Eden River Records is set to to release “I Go Back Home On January 27, 2017. This the last album by Little Jimmy Scott also features Dee Dee Bridgewater, Kenny Barron, Joey De Francesco, Joe Pesci, Oscar Castro Neves, Renee Olstead, Till Brönner, Monica Mancini, Arturo Sandoval, James Moody and Gregoire Maret.

Tracklist:

1. Motherless Child (with Joey De Francesco)

2. The Nearness of You with Joe Pesci)

3. Love Letters

4. Easy Living (with Oscar Castro Neves)

5. Someone To Watch Over Me (with Renee Ostead(

6. How Deep Is The Ocean (with Kenny Barron)

7. If I Ever Lost You (with Till Bronner)

8. For Once In My Life (with Dee Dee Bridgewater)

9. I Remember You (with Monica Mancicni & Arturo Sandoval)

10. Everybody Is Somebody’s Fool (with James Moody)

11. Folks Who Live On The Hill (with Joe Pesci)

12. Poor Butterfly (with Gregoire Maret)

The creation of “I Go Back Home” was the subject of an acclaimed documentary of the same name. It depicts producer Ralf Kemper’s drive to work with Jimmy and provide him with the best album he can. The film captures the challenges and sacrifices that lead up to the recording sessions, a document that makes “I Go Back Home” an even richer record.

NEW RELEASES: RODRIGO CAMPOS – CONVERSAS COM TOSHIRO; THE SESCHEN – FLAMES & FIGURES; MAZ - IDEALIST

RODRIGO CAMPOS – CONVERSAS COM TOSHIRO

A completely beautiful set from contemporary Brazil – and a record that, like some of our favorite classics from that scene, has a mindblowing vibe and a sound that's completely beyond any sort of easy description! Rodrigo Campos has a way of weaving acoustic and electric elements together with a quality that's sometimes snakey, often exotic, and occasionally touched by warmer jazz phrasing – although the music is completely individual, and light years from jazz too. Campos sings with this raspy style that has an undercurrent of soul, and which gives his Portuguese lyrics an instant appeal, even if you can't understand the language – and there's a instantly captivating, completely compelling sound to the record that we'd put in a line between mid 70s Caetano Veloso, and later material from singers like Lenine or Arnaldo Antunes. Titles include "Wong Kar Wai", "Funatsu", "Takeshi E Asayo", "Chihiro", "Abraco De Ozu", "Velho Amarelo", "Toshiro Vinganca", and "Dona Da Bateria". ~ Dusty Groove

THE SESCHEN – FLAMES & FIGURES

One of the most soulful acts in years from the Tru Thoughts label – and that's saying a lot, given that most of their records are pretty darn soulful! Seshun have kind of a crispy, contemporary vibe – tunes that aren't afraid to hang onto a hook, but which also have all the forward-thinking production elements that you'd expect if you know any of their labelmates – a blend that makes the catchy lead female vocals still feel wonderfully fresh, and quite far from mainstream R&B. Bassist Akiyosi Ehara produced the record, but all the words were written by singer Lalin St Juste – whose charms are the real draw to our ears! Titles include "Distant Heart", "Right Here", "Spectacle", "Flames & Figures", "Already Gone", "Other Spaces", and "Firewalker". ~ Dusty Groove

MAZ - IDEALIST

Vocal material from Mike "Maz" Maher – mostly known for his trumpet work in Snarky Puppy, stepping out here in the lead with help from members of that group! Mike sings throughout here – doesn't play trumpet at all – and he's got sort of a breathy, flowing style that opens up soulfully on some gently emotive tunes – the kind of cuts that could have even more crossover appeal than Snarky Puppy, and which are likely to establish Maher as a big solo act on his own. Titles include "Dream Away", "Bombs Into Wine", "Dying Star", "Replica", and "The Rain In June". ~ Dusty Groove

Singer Elijah Rock Launches IndieGoGo Campaign for Great American Songbook Album ‘Gershwin For My Soul’

Cleveland-born baritone Elijah Rock is pleased to announce the IndieGoGo campaign for his newest album, ‘Gershwin For My Soul’. Ongoing through October 20, 2016, the singer’s campaign hopes to raise $40,000 for the promotion of the recently recorded traditional pop album. Fans and supporters can donate via IndieGoGo.com and Rock has made exciting perks available to those who donate at every price point. These perks range from a $5 single download and Facebook shout out all the way up to a $5,000 VIP trip (including airfare) for two to an Elijah Rock performance along with a variety of Elijah Rock merchandise.

‘Gershwin For My Soul’ represents a full circle journey for Rock, as he sang to his first Gershwin songs at 16 in “Porgy & Bess” at the Cleveland Institute of Music. Over the years, Rock has continued to return back to the classics penned in the early 20th century by Ira and George Gershwin. Carrying this art forward, Elijah Rock dove into this project with relish and the trio of producer/arranger/pianist Kevin Toney, bassist John B. Williams, and drummer Greg Paul, plus guitarist Jacques Lesure in the west coast jazz sanctuary of Nolan Shaheed’s studio.

The 12-song CD opens with “S’Wonderful,” a tender fitting contemporary take a la Al Jarreau. “Fascinatin’ Rhythm” and “Our Love Is Here To Stay” are drenched in that punchy syncopated manner that most recalls their original era, the latter with some of Toney’s signature piano flourish. “I Can’t Get Started” swings and chugs with a four on the floor groove while the lovely “Long Ago and Far Away” floats on a slow hot wind bossa beat. Elijah milks the rarely heard extended introduction to “How Long Has This Been Goin’ On” before it falls like feathers into the brushed blues of its well known verses.

The second half of ‘Gershwin For My Soul” is where more chances are taken. The title track — the sole original penned by Rock and Toney — is a hip churchy blues where Elijah testifies his fascination with all things Gershwin. It’s followed boldly by “Tchaikovsky (And the Russians),” a hip hop swing interlude perfect post the Tonys-sweeping genre bending musical “Hamilton”. And Elijah brings his tap shoes in for solo and drum-dueling duties on the revival rave-up stomp “I Got Plenty O’ Nuttin’.” Most movingly, the focus becomes sheer aural nudity on a trio of ballads Elijah submerges in into that shat showcase the full resonant beauty of his voice and his skills of interpretation from the acting world. They are the relaxed and romantic “Shall We Dance,” the parlor song swoon of “Love Walked In,” and the tour-de-force closer “Isn’t it a Pity,” a bluesy ballad wish of delicious diction and a heart-stopping dip into a cinematic so long.

“Before this experience, I hadn’t really embraced the balladeer aspect of my gift,” Rock reflects. “It was about me being vulnerable enough to know I could do it. It’s been an interesting transformation… everything slowed down. There’s space for introspection and that moment to moment feeling of the lyric. I fell in love with the space between the notes and the simplicity of telling the story.”

Rock — whose resume boasts a decade and a half of acclaimed, across-the-board accomplishments in stage, film, and television — found the perfect collaborator in Kevin Toney whose work as a keyboardist, composer, arranger, author educator, a co-founder of the 70s R&B-Jazz group the Blackbyrds provided the optimal springboard for Rock to bounce concepts off. ”Kevin Toney is a virtuoso whose experience speaks for itself,” Rock says. We brought our authentic creative selves to the material and in that it because uniquely ours.”

"Art Pepper & Warne Marsh," Vol. 9 of the Critically Acclaimed "Unreleased Art" Series, To Be Released by Laurie Pepper's Widow's Taste Label

On April 26, 1974, two wildly gifted and very different artists, Art Pepper and Warne Marsh, met again, for the first time in 17 years, by accident, on the stage at Donte's in North Hollywood, because Jack Sheldon had to cancel. It must have made for an unforgettable night for those who found themselves sitting in the legendary club and listening to two cult heroes, two profoundly great musicians, playing for the audience and each other -- out of the lives they'd lived at the same time, in the same places, but personally and stylistically so far apart.

Now we can join that audience. The music was recorded. And it will be released as a 3-CD set on November 11, just in time for the anniversary of Widow's Taste, the label Laurie Pepper started ten years ago to bring her collection of Art Pepper's unheard live performances to his fans.

In 1974, Art was at the very outset of what would be his last great comeback. He'd quit his job managing a bakery and was making a living playing bar mitzvahs and weddings. He had just started playing in Jack Sheldon's band, once a month, at Donte's.

Unlike Art's, Warne's career had been relentless and ongoing. He'd been touring with his own bands for years, and in 1974, he was traveling the world with Supersax, with whom he'd won a Grammy.

Though Warne forbade recording at his gigs, this gig was recorded. On reel-to-reel, quarter- inch, quarter-track tape. The original tapes were quite good; the audio was probably picked up from the sound board. And the tapes were sent to Laurie Pepper by persons never known or now forgotten. She rediscovered them while cleaning out a closet. As she tells us in her liner note: "Sometimes, the way things and people come to me for Art's sake is -- I want to use the word -- miraculous." A good word for this night and those tapes. Laurie gave them to the incomparable Wayne Peet of Newzone Studio, who, "knows how jazz, how Art should sound." He balanced and enriched the onstage sound, killed excessive noise, and dealt delicately with inevitable glitches that occur in live recording. Laurie, a non-musician, goes on to talk about the Pepper/Warne distinctions in the language of a dedicated fan:

"Art lives down in the grime of earth. You can find him on the L.A. Freeway. You can get into your car, roll up the windows, put on any of Art's blues or ballads and delve into your pain and scream aloud to it.

"Warne seeks sublimity, improvising music that's transcendent, that makes mere passions puny. He can take you to a level where shit doesn't matter.

"Warne offers to distract us. He offers art, the endlessness and possibilities of art, the infinite inventiveness and charm. Something in me, if I'll listen, hears his rhythmic and harmonic revelations and responds with pleasure, satisfaction, even laughter, as to a mystic's holy trickery.

"Art discovers, witnesses, makes us confront, the disasters and the raptures swimming through our own, shared, volatile blood, beyond the reach of language. He knows our grief, our joy, our rage, and turns them into something timeless. His music seems to talk about real, actual life, the one that's nasty, sweet, and short. And he convinces us, repeatedly, that, just as-is, it's sacred."

This latest album joins the catalog of previous albums from the Unreleased Art Pepper series. All have gotten rave reviews from well-known critics. They are:

Volume I, Abashiri (2-CD set)

Volume II, Last Concert: Kennedy Center

Volume III, Croydon (2-CD set)

Volume IV, The Art History Project (3-CD set)

Volume V, Stuttgart (2-CD set)

Volume VI, Blues for the Fisherman: Live at Ronnie Scott's (4-CD set)

Volume VII, Sankei Hall, Osaka (2-CD set)

Volume VIII, Live at the Winery

And all (except Volume IV, which is available for download only) are available at both Amazon (http://bit.ly/buyArtPepper) and CD Baby (http://www.cdbaby.com/Artist/ArtPepper). Laurie says she'll keep releasing yearly miracles as long as she keeps finding them. She says there are still plenty in her closets. Maybe, next year, a ballad set? Maybe.

“Moving On”: Jazz fusion guitarist Tyler Reese rediscovers his creative muse on “Reminiscence”

Guitarist Tyler Reese found that being a busy Nashville session player all week and touring in a country band every weekend left little time to explore his own musical creativity. The 23-year-old, once summoned to Paisley Park to play for Prince and who studied at the feet of jazz guitar legend Pat Metheny, re-immersed himself in the music that first sparked his passion and imagination: jazz fusion. Carving time to revisit his roots resulted in the varied guitar-driven, jazz odyssey titled “Reminiscence,” featuring ten of his original compositions. The platter, produced by Jeff Silverman (Rick Springfield, Hiroshima, The Allman Brothers Band, Tim Weisberg) and Reese, will be released on November 4 and is prefaced at radio by the spirit-lifting, sweetly melodic acoustic guitar sojourn “Moving On.”     

Reese composed “Reminiscence” to be an ambitious and intrepid expedition through vast jazz terrain. Most tracks slash through thickets of electric guitar-powered fusion, horn-highlighted funk and sprawling progressive rock. Others present delicate bouquets of acoustic guitar expressions, fragrant stems of gypsy jazz and new age meditations. Whether gracefully strumming gentle harmonies or dexterously plucking frenetic runs at dazzling speed with turn-on-the-dime precision, Reese’s fretwork primarily serves his engaging compositions, enabling his fingers to communicate evocatively and emote vividly.

“The seed of my inspiration for ‘Reminiscence’ came from needing a creative change and a musical recharge - something fresh and new - so I delved into writing and found myself back at my jazz roots and renewed my love of fusion. It has rekindled my musical soul. I hadn’t realized that I had so many ideas floating around in my head. The writing and production process was fun and inspiring, but challenging and liberating at the same time. The body of work is truly no holds barred, which is exactly what I was going for,” said Reese, a Fredericksburg, Virginia native who will return to the area to perform on November 20 at the Riverside Center and November 23 at The Tin Pan in Richmond. “I was never too much into songwriting, but after moving to Nashville and spending the past few years playing so many gigs, traveling extensively and going through certain life experiences, I was inspired to write. ‘Reminiscence’ encompasses all those experiences and places I’ve gotten to see, all of which are reflected in the writing.”

Reese studied classical piano for 14 years beginning at age three and started studying jazz guitar when he turned twelve. He cranked out his first album at age 15, “Risus21,” an energetic, moody and heavy progressive rock foray. Two years later, his “Because I Can” disc put a contemporary funk, rock and blues spin on a collection of straight-ahead jazz standards. He recorded a duets project two years ago with longtime Prince backup singer Elisa Fiorillo-Dease titled “Life in 20,” which is how he came to the attention of the late purple icon. Impressed, Prince flew the guitarist to Minneapolis for a jam session and carefully studied the young prodigy’s technique. Reese attended a master’s guitar clinic taught by Metheny and calls the 20-time Grammy winner a mentor. During his sophomore year as a jazz performance guitar major at Berklee College of Music, Reese released a rock single, “Simply To Choose,” his first collaboration with Silverman, who recruited the rock band Boston’s Kimberely Dahme to sing on the track. Feeling he learned all he could in the classroom, Reese left college early eager to launch his professional career.          

  

Released on the Tyler Reese Music label, the “Reminiscence” album contains the following songs:

“Moving On”

“Breaking Point”

“Out Of Orbit”

“Reflections”

“Astrotermination”

“2Funk”

“Escapade”

“Reminiscence”

“Headed Out”

“Emancipation”

Bonus Track: “Moving On” Radio Edit

www.TylerReeseMusic.com

NEW RELEASES: RAMSEY LEWIS - HOT DAWGIT THE ANTHOLOGY: THE COLUMBIA YEARS; GREGORY PORTER – LIVE IN BERLIN; JORDAN YOUNG – JAZZ JUKEBOX

RAMSEY LEWIS - HOT DAWGIT THE ANTHOLOGY: THE COLUMBIA YEARS

Fantastic sounds from Ramsey Lewis – killer work from a time when the legendary pianist was electrifying his sound – and transforming the worlds of jazz, funk, and soul in the process! By the time of these sides, Ramsey already had more than a decade of incredible Chess Records material under his belt – soul jazz piano numbers that really rocked the 60s – but here, Lewis is often moving between acoustic piano, Fender Rhodes, and other keyboards – really opening up his groove at a level that not only shows a strong relationship with Maurice White and Earth Wind & Fire, but which also moves into a love of Brazilian music, spacey funk, and lots lots more. The 2CD set is the best we've ever seen to focus on this period – and features 37 tracks that not only include some key Rhodes classics, but also open up into some important collaborations, unusual instrumental settings, and even some equally great acoustic numbers that show that Ramsey never lost his roots, even while expanding his sound. Titles include "Don't It Feel Good", "Brazilica", "Hot Dawgit", "What It Is", "Slipping Into Darkness", "Eternal Peace", "Lakeshore Cowboy", "Kufanya Mapenzi", "All The Way Live", "Aquarius/Let The Sunshine In", "Whisper Zone", "Come Back Jack", "Slow Dancin", "7-11", "Eye On You", "My Love Will Lead You Home", and "Sassy Stew" – plus duets with Nancy Wilson on "Midnight Rendezvous" and "The Two Of Us". ~ Dusty Groove

GREGORY PORTER - LIVE IN BERLIN

Filmed in the round at the Philharmonie Berlin on the 18th May 2016, with minimal staging and simple lighting, it captures Gregory Porter and his band performing tracks from across his recording career. There’s also a bonus feature interview with Gregory Porter and the members of his band about their background, influences and the way they work together as a group. ‘Gregory Porter: Live in Berlin’ is released November 18th 2016 on DVD and Blu-ray. Tracklisting: Holding On; On My Way To Harlem / What’s Going On; Take Me To The Alley; Don’t Lose Your Steam; Hey Laura; Liquid Spirit; Consequence Of Love; Bass Solo / Papa Was A Rolling Stone; Musical Genocide; Don t Be A Fool; Work Song / Drum Solo; In Fashion; Be Good (Lion s Song);1960 What?; Water Under Bridges; and Free / Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin).

JORDAN YOUNG – JAZZ JUKEBOX

Drummer Jordan Young has a great quartet here – one that features Brian Charette on Hammond, who shapes the sound as much as Jordan's drums! In fact, the organ's so up front in the lead, the record might almost come across as being under Charette's leadership – but, like the time when drummer Joe Dukes was the leader for organist Jack McDuff, we can also hear Young's influence on the whole thing too – that tight snap and crackle that brings a strong focus to the tunes, along with the guitar of Matt Chertkoff and tenor of Nick Hempton. Hempton gets in plenty of great solos too – and titles include the originals "Giant Deconstruction" and "Sao Paulo Nights" – plus versions of "Paris Eyes", "ESP", "I'm Only Sleeping", "Son Of Ice Bag", and "Time In A Bottle" – plus a wonderfully groovy take on the "Love Boat" theme! ~ Dusty Groove

Punk Bossa artist, Van Botti, releases Lost In The Storm

Whether he is traveling to the United States to perform during the legendary South By

Southwest music festival or being recognized by Brazil’s Ministry of Culture for his work in music, Punk Bossa artist, Van Botti is creating something innovative, intelligent and sophisticated.  Bringing together the irony and sarcasm found in Punk Poetry and infusing it with the musical flavor of Bossa Nova and Jazz, Van Botti is fostering an art that will leave fans laughing one moment and contemplating existential completeness the next.  

Saying that rock was his first language as a composer, the Italo-Brazilian artist cites The Ramones, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, and the Mutantes as some of his most important early influences.  He was a student of one of the greatest guitar players in the history of Brazil, Aderbal Duarte.  A scholar of Brazilian popular music, Van Botti transcribed for his master's dissertation numerous works of João Gilberto.  During the 1990's, Van Botti was a member of indie rock star band, Úteros em Fúria, which toured Brazil.  He also enjoys the Bossa Nova works of Stan Getz as well as Chet Baker in Jazz.

One of his most recent singles, Lost in the Storm, has already garnered widespread praise from several critics, including Fabio Massari (MTV Brazil, Yahoo! Brazil) and Chico Castro Jr. (A Tarde Journal).  Additionally, Van Botti has been awarded the prestigious Pixinguinha Award, an award created by the Brazilian Ministry of Culture to recognize the country’s most prominent music artists.  Past recipients have included João Bosco, Joyce Moreno and Tom Zé.  Van Botti’s works have also been featured in advertisements for Ford Motors, C&A, and the Brazilian Goverment.  He is known not only for his incredible improvisational skills on guitar and piano, but also for his work composing instrumental themes mixing samba rhythms and jazz forms.

In the rare moments that Van Botti steps away from music, he can be found practicing Capoeira, drinking cachaça, and cooking Spaghetti alla Corbonara.  He also loves reading about philosophy and astronomy.  Some of his favorite philosophers include Friedrich Nietzsche, Arthur Schopenhauer, and Maurice Merleau-Ponty.

Visit THE JAZZ NETWORK WORLDWIDE "A GREAT PLACE TO HANG" at: http://www.thejazznetworkworldwide.com/?xg_source=msg_mes_network

Five gifted composer-performers join forces on the leading edge of classical and jazz as Alchemy Sound Project

Medieval alchemists were known to have sought a way to turn lead into gold, but the actual purpose of their experiments was to transform the very soul of the alchemist. Alchemy Sound Project follows a similar course, experimenting with combinations and distillations of jazz, African traditions and Western classical music in an effort to transform themselves and their audience. On Further Explorations, the band's debut released May 27, 2016 on Artists Recording Collective, five composer-musicians and their invited guests find a way to meld their distinctive approaches and voices to create a unique sound with the lushness and intricacy of a symphony orchestra combined with the spontaneity and interplay of a small jazz group. Alchemy, indeed.

The five core members of Alchemy Sound Project were brought together by the Jazz Composers Orchestra Institute, a program initiated by the American Composers Orchestra and the Center for Jazz Studies at Columbia University to encourage jazz composers to explore writing music for the symphony orchestra. Directed by composer/trombonist/educator George Lewis, JCOI selects 38 jazz composers at various stages of their careers, chosen from a competitive national pool of applicants, for a one-week summer intensive with leading composers, conductors and performers.

Tenor saxophonist Erica Lindsay attended the first JCOI session in 2010; at her encouragement, both pianist Sumi Tonooka (a frequent collaborator) and trumpet player Samantha Boshnack (a former student of Lindsay's at Bard College) enrolled in the second round in 2012. There, Tonooka and Boshnack met and bonded with bassist David Arend and multi-reedist Salim Washington. By day they studied aspects of music history and the orchestral palette, while by night they shared inspiration over dinners and walks around the UCLA campus. A year later, the five reconnected at Tonooka's behest to further explore the ideas they'd studied in the program.

"It was a very intense experience," Tonooka says of JCOI. "It got me really excited about being able to apply my own experiences to the instrument that is the orchestra."

For their debut release, each composer was encouraged to bring in two new pieces for the group, supplemented for the recording by trombonist Willem de Koch and drummer Max Wood. The result is an artful and boundary-stretching amalgam of jazz and classical ideas that shows off the chemistry formed during the bandmates' brief but enlightening time studying together. "The JCOI concept is about blurring these lines, hybridizing jazz elements with classical music," Arend says. "It's up to us to figure out what that means, but the synergy of the band is awesome - we're inspiring each other, teaching each other, pushing each other, and it feels like new territory even though we're drawing on centuries-old traditions."

The connection between the Alchemy participants is exemplified by Washington's "Charcoal, Clear, Beautiful All Over," which opens the album. The title is taken from the English translation of the Japanese name "Sumi," while the piece itself was penned to spotlight the bass clarinet, Tonooka's favorite instrument. Washington, a Professor of Music at South Africa's University of KwaZulu-Natal and a collaborator with jazz visionaries like the late Fred Ho, also contributed the closing track, "The Call." The tune was written in tribute to Solodeen Muhammad, whom the composer calls "one of the hipsters of my father's generation. This piece is in his honor and in appreciation of the psychic and spiritual support, the cultural continuity that he represents in my life as a musician. It attempts to channel the hipness and the energy that this streetwise, musically savvy father figure has passed on to me."

Lindsay, an artist-in-residence and teacher at Bard College who has performed and recorded with artists ranging from McCoy Tyner and Oliver Lake to Frank Zappa and Melba Liston, says that her piece "Further Explorations" is intended to "connote a journey of discovery" that parallels the creative act. The richly-hued piece, which slowly builds from a tense alto flute theme over a bass/drum pulse to accumulating horns, contrasts moments of free improvisation with lush composed sections. The piece, Lindsay explains, "explores the balance and necessary tension between the unknown and the known that exist within the creative mind. As one sets out to leave the known world and fall into unknown territory, there is a certain wonder and innocence involved as well as the courage to let go of the known." Lindsay's second piece, the sprightly "Beta," is more through-composed, though it carries the playful dodge-and-weave energy of the written lines into its solo sections.

"I was listening to a lot of orchestral works as I was writing," says Boshnack, "and trying to incorporate and highlight classical counterpoint and grandeur in my music. I was listening to and inspired by the music of my colleagues and trying to give them a space in which to shine." A mainstay of the Seattle jazz scene with her own B'Shnorkestra and as co-leader of Reptet. Boshnack begins her first piece, "Alchemical," with a fanfare of classical counterpoint for the horns and drums before bursting into a heavy groove, prompting intense solos from Tonooka and Lindsay. "Divergency" sets up a tension between light and dark, with airy melodies and starker rhythms. Both reflect the hybrid nature of the ensemble in their apt mash-up titles, combining alchemy and chemistry in the first, diversity and urgency in the second.

Tonooka, a Philadelphia native now based in Seattle who has written symphonic and chamber works and film soundtracks in addition to working with jazz greats from Philly Joe Jones to Rufus Reid, set out to write two entirely different compositions for the band. The stunning, crystalline-then-jarring "Waiting" was born from a difficult personal situation, while the celebratory "Joie de Vivre" combines the composer's love of Malian music and the contrapuntal approach of composers like Bach.

The most classically-oriented member of the ensemble, Arend is a longtime member of the Oakland Symphony as well as a composer and performer in jazz, electronic, avant-garde, and singer-songwriter contexts. He adapted "Her Name Is Love" from a piano piece by Czech composer Leo_ Janá_ek, reharmonized with piano removed from the equation entirely. The title of Arend's second contribution to this recording, "Archetype," refers to one of the most archetypal formats in jazz, the big band, the sound of which Arend recreates with the band's seven pieces.

Each of these pieces is striking in its own right, but together Alchemy Sound Project provides thrilling new avenues for exploration - which its members are eager and committed to explore. "You could think of it like a dinner," Tonooka muses. "Everybody brings different dishes to the table and we're all enjoying and tasting and delving in and creating something new out of it. That makes it fun for us and interesting to the listener because it's not just one flavor. It's all of us."

www.alchemysoundproject.com

Anna Webber looks to the internet for inspiration on her new recording Binary; featuring the SIMPLE Trio with John Hollenbeck and Matt Mitchell

New York-based composer, saxophonist, and flutist Anna Webber, called "one of the most exciting new arrivals on the New York avant-garde jazz scene" by Peter Margasak in the Chicago Reader (2014), releases Binary with her band the SIMPLE Trio, featuring John Hollenbeck on drums and Matt Mitchell on piano.  The recording will be out October 25 on Skirl Records.

For Binary, Webber looked to the internet for inspiration. Using websites that turn words into drumbeats, YouTube test channels, and even her own IP address, she found a constant stream of inspiration for her compositions. The album's title track was composed using numbers and letters produced by a random binary digit generator.

"Using material from a pre-defined source like the internet helps me to be more creative," said Webber. "It keeps me from falling into routines."

When writing the music for Binary, Webber began each piece with a small melodic, rhythmic, harmonic, or purely conceptual starting point. The five "Rectangles" tracks on the album come from the YouTube test channel "WebDriver Torso," which features ten-second videos of red and blue rectangles set to high-pitched, microtonal sounds. With a number of the pieces, she created musical plays-on-words that exude a sense of tension and release, including "Impulse Purchase," which was written using Webber's IP address, and "Tug o' War," a transliteration of the game tug of war into music. Interested in both the complex as well as the playful aspects of the internet, Webber investigated how the concept of a meme could manifest in a musical context in the aptly titled "Meme."

Though the internet provided innumerable opportunities for compositional experimentation, the greatest excitement came from knowing that she was composing for her SIMPLE Trio bandmates Hollenbeck and Mitchell, two incredibly adept musicians who share her desire to venture into unexplored territory.

"Because we've been playing, touring, and recording together as a band as well as in various projects for several years now, our musical interaction since the last album has evolved considerably," said Webber. "John and Matt are fantastic to compose for and improvise with because they have the ability to play challenging music in a way that feels relaxed and natural."

Webber's intention in her work is to blur the line between composed and improvised material, creating frameworks for improvisation that will challenge the musicians to expand outside the realm of what they normally play. She is committed to experimenting with the jazz form, pushing her to challenge conventions as well as her own impulses as an artist. Although Webber situates herself in the jazz world, her compositional approach is as greatly influenced by jazz music as it is by new music composers such as Giacinto Scelsi, Györgi Ligeti, and Gérard Grisey.

Binary finds the SIMPLE Trio expanding and building on what The New York Times called the "range of the group members: fulminous, intense collective improvisation" in songs that feel like living things and lead the audience in different directions on each listen. Binary is yet another example of the trio's ability to combine "a huge sound, big ideas and disarming humor into an engagingly avant-garde approach that promises to continue to gain wider recognition," (Style Weekly, 2016).

Anna Webber is an integral part of a new wave of the Brooklyn avant-garde jazz scene. A saxophonist and flutist who strives for the unexpected, she has furthermore consistently proven herself to be a unique and forward-thinking composer with releases such as 2014's SIMPLE (Skirl Records) and 2013's Percussive Mechanics.

In addition to the SIMPLE Trio, Webber also leads the septet Percussive Mechanics with which she has released two albums on Pirouet Records: Refraction (2014) and Percussive Mechanics (2013). Webber is also featured on Dan Weiss' album Sixteen: Drummers Suite and on an upcoming release from Jen Shyu's band Jade Tongue. She is a member of Ohad Talmor's Grand Ensemble; Matt Mitchell's Sprees; Fabian Almazan's Realm of Possibilities; the Erik Hove Chamber Ensemble; and a new sextet from Bang on a Can All-Stars member Ken Thomson; among others. She recently played in the world premiere of Sila: The Breath of the World by Pulitzer Prize-winner John Luther Adams at Lincoln Center.

In 2015, she was the recipient of a grant from the Shifting Foundation. In 2014, she won the BMI Foundation Charlie Parker Composition Prize as a member of the BMI Jazz Composers' Workshop. She is the winner of the 2010 Prix François-Marcaurelle at the OFF Festival of Jazz in Montreal. She has been awarded grants from the Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec and the Canada Council for the Arts and residencies from the Brush Creek Foundation for the Arts and the Millay Colony for the Arts. Webber is originally from British Columbia, Canada.

http://annakristinwebber.com/

Guitarist Cameron Mizell Releases a Beautifully Produced, Melody-Minded Trio Album, Negative Spaces

In the liner notes to Negative Spaces, the writer recounts a conversation he had with its maker, guitarist Cameron Mizell, about how it is absence as much as presence that defines music. Mizell explained: "As musicians develop their skills, the focus is on creating sound. Get the note out of the instrument, and then repeatŠ fill the silence with your sound. But there comes a point where you have to learn not to play. If you play constantly, the most memorable moment of your performance will be the time you didn't play. An artist understands this and knows how to 'play' rests, how to let a musical idea breathe, develop and tell a story." This ideal underscores the title of Negative Spaces, Mizell's fifth album, a trio disc with kindred-spirit keyboardist Brad Whiteley and drummer Kenneth Salters, to be released on October 7, 2016, by Destiny Records.

The spaces between the notes are indeed as vital as the notes themselves on Negative Spaces, with an emphasis on less is more; the magic of this music lies in melody, the catchy tunes hinting at not only vintage jazz but rock'n'roll and all manner of Americana, with Mizell's guitar 'singing' a set of irresistible instrumental songs. If "Big Trees" can evoke Bill Frisell in his avant-folk mode, the track "Take the Humble" is the sort of song that should make Steely Dan green with envy, the playful, syncopated tune seemingly tailor-made for some sly Donald Fagen lyrics. "On my past trio records, I composed from the groove up, but I wrote the songs of Negative Spaces from top down as if I were a vocalist, away from my guitar, with pen and paper," explains the 36-year-old, Brooklyn-based Mizell. "I even transcribed singers like Sam Cooke to get into how they phrased a melody. The idea with a lot of improvised music is to see how far out you can get. But with this album, I wanted to rein it in, create singable melodies and allow room for music to happen around them."

Negative Spaces follows Mizell's Destiny album from 2015, The Edge of Visibility, an atmospheric solo EP that All About Jazz praised as "hypnotic." The review in No Depression extolled the album's virtues at length: "Combining improvisational jazz with traces of progressive rock and avant-garde experimentalism, Mizell explores the sounds of the dreaming and waking world. This is a thought-provoking album, one that lingers in the memory long after it has ceased spinning." On The Edge of Visibility, Mizell created an enveloping aura of sound with only his customized Fender Telecaster, looping device and various tone-bending, oscillating effects. His playing remains gorgeous on the new trio album, yet the sound and gestures are leaner, even more dynamic. Negative Spaces still has a lush overall feel, with Mizell's guitars complemented by Whiteley's variety of keyboards: Hammond organ, Wurlitzer, piano, synth bass and Fender Rhodes. On drums, Salters can go from sounding like a full percussion section to adding apposite touches with only brushes.

About his trio partners, Mizell says: "Both these guys are such amazing, open-minded musicians. I met Brad 15 years ago playing in a big band at Indiana University, and he has been on each of my group records. He's so versatile, playing synths with Regina Spektor and playing organ for mass in a cathedral in the Bronx, not to mention leading his own groups on piano. He always serves the music, being able to shred but not always feeling compelled to show it. If I'm the 'singer' on this record, then Brad is the ideal accompanist. Kenneth has crazy chops, too, but he's also about favoring musicality over technique. In the song 'Clearing Skies,' he orchestrates this long, slow burn ideally; he stokes the dynamic energy of a track as well as any drummer I've heard."

Negative Spaces ranges from ambient-accented ringing chords in the pair of title tracks to the rocking funk of "Get It While You Can." The near-epic "Clearing Skies" features one of Mizell's most dramatic guitar lines, while the groove of another album highlight, "Barter," suggests John Scofield at his slinkiest. The title of "Yesterday's Trouble" came from a phrase that the grandfather of Mizell's wife liked to use, one that struck the guitarist as like a quip from a Tom Waits song. "I'm not Marc Ribot," Mizell says, "but the playing in that track was my nod to the gritty, quirky sound he has given a lot of Tom Waits songs." With the continuity of favorites from Frisell's Disfarmer to Pink Floyd's Wish You Were Here in mind, Mizell created melodies that echo and complement one another, imbuing the album with a satisfying, suite-like sense of unity.

To Mizell, music should also reflect the wider world. There are subtle sound effects - birdsong, kids playing, a boat horn - recorded in his Brooklyn neighborhood, along with references to personal experiences and special places. The song "Whisky for Flowers" got its title from Mizell's customary exchange with his wife, who has become a connoisseur of bourbon, buying it for her husband as he buys her blossoms. Mizell's wife was also the ideal sounding board for the sensibility the guitarist was trying to cultivate with Negative Spaces. "She's my barometer for the writing and playing of music like this - chops don't matter to her, not a bit," he says. "If she hums something later that I've played her, I know I'm on the right track. And she hummed tunes from this record a lot."

Guitarist-composer Cameron Mizell, a Brooklyn resident for the past decade-plus, was born and raised in St. Louis and educated in music at the University of North Texas and Indiana University. In New York City, he has played with rock bands, singer-songwriters, bluegrass acts and Latin groups, as well as for Broadway musicals and dance companies. He has also worked in the music business on the label side, with years at Verve Records and, as label manager, Destiny Records.

As a bandleader, Mizell has ranged from jazz-funk to Americana, recording the album Tributary in 2010 with his trio featuring keyboardist Brad Whiteley and drummer Kenneth Salters. Prior to that, Mizell released a trio disc with Whiteley and drummer Mike Fortune, Life Is Loud, in 2007. The guitarist made his debut on record with an eight-piece ensemble for Cameron Mizell, released in 2004. His most recent release before new trio record Negative Spaces was a ravishingly atmospheric album for solo guitar, The Edge of Visibility, from 2015.

In 2008, Mizell decided to combine his knowledge of the industry with his understanding of life as a musician and put it to good use. Together with Dave Hahn, Mizell founded the website Musician Wages, which offers music industry advice geared toward the working musician. The site became a thought-leader in the musician community thanks to Hahn and Mizell's commitment to integrity, practicality and an honest perspective from their own careers.

www.CameronMizell.com  

SPARKS FLY IN HISTORIC FIRST MEETING BETWEEN PIANIST SATOKO FUJII AND BASSIST JOE FONDA

Great improvisers reveal a lifetime of experience and artistry in every note. For both pianist Satoko Fujii and bassist Joe Fonda, that brings to bear an estimable history of collaboration with some of the music's greatest practitioners and travel that spans the globe. It also means that despite the fact that their winding paths had never previously crossed, they immediately tapped a rich vein of musical understanding during their first-ever performances together.

On Duet, a live recording of their second concert in November 2015, they share a seemingly telepathic link that makes the music intimate and mercurial. It's an adventurous musical exchange that features some of their best playing on record. Duet was released October 7, 2016, on Long Song Records.

Both artists are travel the world to perform with their ensembles. Fujii is in the midst of a yearlong international celebration of the 20th anniversary of her Libra Records label. Fonda, one of the most in-demand bassists in new jazz, is often on the road leading his own groups, performing with one of the many collaborative bands he's in, or travelling as a sideman. While Fonda was on tour with Conference Call in Germany, a promoter recommended that Fonda give Fujii a listen. "He thought that I would love her music and might enjoy playing with her," Fonda says. "I thought if he is so excited about her, I'd better check out her playing. So I did and immediately knew I had to play with her. So I got in touch with her."

Fujii was surprised to hear from him. Their mutual friend talked about Joe a lot, but she didn't think that he'd ever heard her music. "Of course, I knew his name, but to tell the truth I hadn't heard much of his playing," she says.

When she mentioned she was coming to New York, Joe organized a few concerts. "As I suspected it would be," Fonda says, "it was quite magical."

The rapport between them is magical indeed. They seem to anticipate each other, sometimes spontaneously playing the same phrases at the same time, finishing each other's thoughts, or concluding independent lines simultaneously. The woody sound, intense physicality, and percussive quality of Fonda's bass contrasts beautifully with Fujii's more flowing lines. And both are eager explorers of unusual timbres and extended techniques that add color and depth to the music. Fujii structures her improvisations around sharp contrasts, sudden changes in direction, and her ability to absorb what her bandmates are doing into her own musings. Fonda, with long experience with collective bands, is an unfailingly supportive partner who can subtly insert ideas that shape and direct an improvisation. When they welcome trumpeter Natsuki Tamura to join them for the second set, the music grows richer and even more complex and layered.

"Joe is very open and flexible and that made me feel so free to play anything," Fujii says. "And he plays very strong, puts all of himself into his music, which inspires me to dig deeper into myself."

Critics and fans alike hail pianist and composer Satoko Fujii as one of the most original voices in jazz today. She's "a virtuoso piano improviser, an original composer and a bandleader who gets the best collaborators to deliver," says John Fordham in The Guardian.  In concert and on more than 80 albums as a leader or co-leader, she synthesizes jazz, contemporary classical, avant-rock and Japanese folk music into an innovative music instantly recognizable as hers alone. Her most recent group, Satoko Fujii Tobira with trumpeter Natsuki Tamura, bassist Todd Nicholson, and drummer Takashi Itani, released their debut recording Yamiyo Ni Karasu in 2015. ""There are pulse-pounding rhythms, vibrant tones and dark chords woven together into a multi-shaded tapestry of soundŠWhat an absolute pleasure to listen to Satoko Fujii." wrote Travis Rogers Jr. in The Jazz Owl. Over the years, Fujii has led some of the most consistently creative ensembles in modern improvised music, including the ma-do quartet, the Min-Yoh Ensemble, and an electrifying avant-rock quartet featuring drummer Tatsuya Yoshida of The Ruins. She has also established herself as one of the world's leading composers for large jazz ensembles, leading Cadence magazine to call her, "the Ellington of free jazz." Her ultimate goal: "I would love to make music that no one has heard before."

Joe Fonda "is a serious seeker of new musical horizons," according to the Boston Phoenix. From 1984 to 1999, he was the bassist with composer-improviser and NEA Jazz Master Anthony Braxton. Fonda also has been an integral member of several cooperative bands, including the Fonda-Stevens Group with Michael Jefry Stevens, Herb Robertson, and Harvey Sorgen; Conference Call, with Gebhard Ullmann, Stevens, and George Schuller; the Fab Trio with Barry Altschul and Billy Bang; and the Nu Band with Mark Whitecage, Roy Campbell, and Lou Grassi. He is currently a member of 3dom Factor, Alschul's trio with saxophonist Jon Irabagon, and guitarist Michael Musillami's trio, among others. He has collaborated and performed with other artists such as Archie Shepp, Ken McIntyre, Lou Donaldson, Bill and Kenny Barron, Wadada Leo Smith, Randy Weston, and Carla Bley.

Fonda has led some truly unique ensembles of his own including From the Source, which features four instrumentalists, a tap dancer, and a body healer/vocalist; and Bottoms Out, a sextet with Gerry Hemingway, Joe Daley, Michael Rabinowitz, Claire Daly, and Gebhard Ullmann. He has released twelve recordings under his own name.

From first learning about one another in Bielefeld, Germany, to a stunning performance in Portland, Maine, the duo of Satoko Fujii and Joe Fonda has covered a lot of territory, both geographically and musically. "That's the way things work in the music business," Fonda says, "things just happen. And you have no idea why the door swings open so that you end up working with a particular person. It just happens that way-the door swings open, you walk through, and you find your new musical associate on the other side."

www.satokofujii.com

www.joefonda.com

Pianist Nick Sanders and saxophonist Logan Strosahl find inspiration in music spanning centuries on new duo recording

Janus, out October 14 on Sunnyside Records, features inventive interpretations of medieval, Baroque and contemporary classical, bebop and modern jazz

"Nick Sanders is a mad genius-hauntingly melodic and utterly unpredictable. Just when you think you've mapped his trajectory, he's gone in a new direction, spinning off fresh, unconventional phrases." - Brian Zimmerman, DownBeat

"Logan Strosahl proves there is no Inside/Outside divide, dismantling all dialectics: he's melodic and free, reverent and irreverent, methodical and spontaneous, swinging and angular, raw and beautiful." - Aaron Goldberg

CD Release concert on Tuesday, October 11 at Cornelia St. Café, NYC

In ancient Roman mythology, Janus was the god of time, passageways, beginnings and endings. With his two diametrically opposed faces, he looked simultaneously backwards and forwards in time. Janus is thus an ideal title for the new duo recording by pianist Nick Sanders and saxophonist Logan Strosahl, which mines centuries of compositions to create music entirely of the present moment. The pair also share a unique chemistry, honed over nearly a decade of working together, that echoes Janus in its suggestion of two voices sharing one mind.

Janus will be released on October 14, 2016 via Sunnyside Records, almost ten years after Sanders and Strosahl began playing duo in the basement of the dorms at Boston's New England Conservatory, where both were students. The album features an intriguing mix of material, from medieval, Baroque and 20th-century French composers through bebop and Songbook standards to witty and inventive original pieces.

That stunning range of repertoire is not intended to show off the pair's musical knowledge, encyclopedic though it may be. It's simply a collection of songs, both insist, that they found appealing and that sparked imaginative improvisation. "Genre isn't crucial," Strosahl says. "What's crucial is improvisation. Even though we're working with music that represents different styles, they're really all from the same canon. They're all Western music and we're filtering all of it through ourselves. Genres have been artificially broken up, so we're just trying to take a larger, simpler and clearer view."

That broadened perspective allowed Strosahl and Sanders to find just as much territory to explore in a romantic 14th-century rondeau by Guillaume de Machaut as in the acute modernist corners of Monk's "Thelonious" or in their own playful, co-composed "Be-Bop Tune," which distorts the revered jazz language as through a funhouse mirror. The moods and colors shift over the course of these dozen tunes, but the duo's approach stays the same whether a composition began life as an elegant chamber piece or a swinging nightclub burner. All are translated into the same language, one that the pianist and saxophonist have developed from college basements to bandstands but that was nearly intact the moment they first joined forces.

"From the beginning, we both approached the jazz tradition not in identical ways, but like two sides of the same coin," Strosahl says. Sanders adds, "We always played really well together. It was always fun and didn't take any work. It was already there, right away."

Since meeting in 2007, both have recorded with their own projects. Sanders has released two albums with his trio featuring bassist Henry Fraser and drummer Connor Baker, both produced by his mentor, Fred Hersch. In 2015 Strosahl made his debut with Up Go We, featuring his septet - or as he calls it, his "team" - that includes Sanders and the pianist's trio mates within its ranks. But they've continually returned to the duo configuration and continued to find fresh inspiration in the partnership.

The album begins with Sanders' vertiginous "Sigma," an original piece that is alternately dizzying and jagged and which was inspired by a character from the "Mega Man" video game series. Gaming is also the surprising inspiration behind the melancholy "R.P.D.," which achingly captures a mood of forlorn nostalgia for a bygone era - only in this case it's a yearning for the days prior to the zombie apocalypse of "Resident Evil."

The passing of time is also central to Strosahl's contributions to the album, in keeping with the Janus theme. The title track is split into two halves, eventually encapsulating a sensation of frozen time, or peering back or forward from one time into another. In both "Allemande" and "Mazurka," the saxophonist builds upon well-established dance forms, continuing the engagement with early musical forms that runs through much of his music. "I like the formality and clearness of just naming something after a dance," he explains. "You let the piece speak for itself and just listen to the music."

While improvising on standards like "Old Folks" and "Stardust," and especially on a classic jazz tune like "Thelonious," improvising is a well-established tradition. That approach has become antithetical to modern classical performance, but Sanders and Strosahl point out that hasn't always been the case, offering precedent for their renditions of pieces by de Machaut, Baroque composer François Couperin, and influential 20th-century composer Olivier Messiaen.

"Mozart left blank spaces in concertos for cadenzas to be improvised," Sanders points out, before Strosahl picks up on his point. "It was par for the course because it works," the saxophonist says. "It's amazing hearing people spontaneously create music. We're not trying to give everything a 'jazz interpretation.' We're just going into music from multiple times and places and playing it with what we know about music and improvising."

In fact, the one common trait that all of the music on Janus shares is the sense of possibility that exists in each. Janus was, after all, also the god of doorways, and each of the twelve near-miniatures on the album finds Sanders and Strosahl venturing into some previously unopened portal leading off from each song. "Maybe subconsciously, we look for music that has an air of mystery," Strosahl says. "Spiritually, when you play it, you feel like there's a world that you can tap into and uncover."

www.nicksandersmusic.com

www.loganstrosahl.com