David Bowie Blackstar Collaborator DONNY McCASLIN Releases Beyond Now

Saxophonist Donny McCaslin and his band, featured on David Bowie's Blackstar, will make their Motéma Music debut with the October 14 release of Beyond Now, a highly anticipated album dedicated to Bowie. Recorded nearly three months after Bowie's passing, the project is deeply influenced by their extraordinary experience collaborating with one of the greatest artists of all-time on his final album.

"It was like a dream except it was something I never could have dreamed of," reflects McCaslin on working hand-in-hand with Bowie on Blackstar. "David Bowie was a visionary artist whose generosity, creative spirit, and fearlessness will stay with me the rest of my days. Beyond Now is dedicated to him and to all who loved him."

Comprised of core Blackstar personnel, bassist Tim Lefebvre (Tedeschi Trucks Band, Saturday Night Live), drummer Mark Guiliana (Meshell Ndegeocello, Brad Mehldau), and Jason Lindner (Now Vs Now) along with guitarist Nate Wood and producer David Binney, Beyond Now's repertoire is expansive, comprised of two Bowie songs, covers of Deadmau5, MUTEMATH, and the Chainsmokers, as well as compelling McCaslin originals including the title composition, inspired by a track inspired by a song McCaslin recorded for Blackstar that didn't make the album.

Today, Entertainment Weekly premiered Beyond Now's first single, "A Small Plot of Land," a cover from Bowie's 1995 release Outside (featuring vocalist Jeff Taylor). The album pre-order has launched today as well on iTunes; fans will receive "A Small Plot of Land" instantly when pre-ordering a download of the album. McCaslin has also announced extensive touring in the US and Europe through the remainder of the year. See below for a list of U.S. tour dates, including upcoming appearances at the Newport Jazz Festival, BRIC Celebrate Brooklyn! and The Charlie Parker Jazz Festival.

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With three GRAMMY® nominations and 11 albums to his name, McCaslin's path to Bowie and Beyond Now can be traced back to 2011 with the release of his album Perpetual Motion, taking on an electric direction for the first time in contrast to his previous acoustic projects. Two subsequent albums Casting for Gravity (2012) and Fast Future (2015) released with his working band were directly influenced by electronica artists (covering groups such as Aphex Twin, Boards of Canada, and Baths), which netted McCaslin a 2013 GRAMMY® nomination for "Best Improvised Jazz Solo."

The once in a lifetime opportunity to work with David Bowie came after composer Maria Schneider, a longtime collaborator, recommended McCaslin and his group to Bowie. Schneider and Bowie were collaborating on the track "Sue (Or in a Season of Crime)," which featured McCaslin as a soloist. In June 2014, Bowie heeded Schneider's advice and made a visit to hear McCaslin and company at the 55 Bar in Greenwich Village. Soon after, Bowie began corresponding with McCaslin over email and sending music, forming a new collaboration and friendship that transpired through the recording of Blackstar until Bowie's passing. The result is Beyond Now, which documents "David Bowie's Last Band" as they were processing both their grief and Bowie's distinctive impact.

"This new album is an expression of that journey for all of us," says McCaslin. "David allowed Blackstar to be what it was going to be regardless of how people might have categorized it. More than anything, it was his fearlessness in crossing musical boundaries and genres in his music and life that inspired the approach I'm taking in Beyond Now. I am indebted to Bowie for showing me the risks and rewards of going for your uncompromising musical vision."

BEYOND NOW TRACK LISTING:

1. Shake Loose (McCaslin)

2. A Small Plot of Land (David Bowie/Brian Eno/Sterling Campbell/Reeves C. Gabrels/Michael David Garson/Erdal H. Kizilcay)

3. Beyond Now (McCaslin)

4. Coelacanth 1 (Deadmau5)

5. Bright Abyss (McCaslin)

6. FACEPLANT (McCaslin)

7. Warszawa (David Bowie & Brian Eno)

8. Glory (McCaslin)

9. Remain (Mutemath)

DONNY McCASLIN U.S. TOUR DATES:

July 29 - Newport Jazz Festival - Newport, RI

August 10 - BRIC Celebrate Brooklyn! - Brooklyn, NY

August 23 - Cape Cod Jazz Festival - Harwich, MA

August 24 - Museum of Fine Arts - Boston, MA

August 25 - Blue - Portland, ME

August 28 - Charlie Parker Jazz Festival - New York, NY

September 16-17 - Blue Whale - Los Angeles, CA

September 18 - Monterey Jazz Festival - Monterey, CA

September 19 - Yoshi's Oakland - Oakland, CA

September 20-21 - Dazzle Jazz Restaurant & Lounge - Denver, CO

October 12 - The Jazz Kitchen - Indianapolis, IN

October 13 - South Milwaukee Performing Arts Center - South Milwaukee, WI

October 14-15 - The Green Mill - Chicago, IL

October 16 - Des Mounes Social Club - Des Moines, IA

October 17 - The Washington - Burlington, IA

October 18 - The Mill - Iowa City, IA

October 19-22 - Jazz St. Louis - St. Louis, MO

October 23 - We Always Swing Jazz Series - Columbia, MO

October 24 - Jefferson College Fine Arts Theatre - Hillsboro, MO

November 29-December 4 - The Village Vanguard - New York, NY

Sonzeira - Tam Tam Tam Reimagined

Tam Tam Tam Reimagined is the second album to come from Gilles Peterson’s Sonzeira project. Overseen by GP, with Will LV and Rob Gallagher as vital co-pilots, this second album picks up where the first one left off. Where Brasil Bam Bam Bam brought together the all-stars of Brazilian music, this album focuses on a key moment in the country’s history; a record made at a crucial moment serves as the jumping off point for an open-ended project of musical reimagining.

Of all those records released in Brazil, however, the search for one in particular has taken on a real significance for GP over the past couple of years: José Prates’ Tam Tam Tam. An accompaniment to a stage production financed by the Brazil Culture Ministry, it was created to promote the country’s culture to the world. Hearing the album – including its prototype of ‘Mas Que Nada’ that became a Sergio Mendes mega anthem – through Ed Motta during the making of the last Sonzeira album, it sparked a long hunt to get his hands on a copy (including a plea live on Channel 4 news).

With a mint copy successfully procured – not long after Jonny Trunk’s re-issue championed by Record Collector mag – it was taken as a starting point for creating something new. Working with production associates Will Horrocks from UK bass-meddling duo LV and Rob Gallagher from 2 Banks of 4 – along with appearances from drumming prodigy Moses Boyd and Kassin from Rio’s Orquestra Imperial – they picked out phrases and snippets to build songs and tracks around.

Released in 1958, Tam Tam Tam celebrates a distinctly Afro-Brazilian culture that was later suppressed following a coup in the early 1960s that led to a military dictatorship. From sparkling recreations of the atmospheric original to reverb-laden dub, the album takes a magpie-like approach to re-interpreting the most exciting aspects of Prates’ postcard of Brazil to the world. Tam Tam Tam Reimagined forms another part of the Sonzeira project’s aim to take apart and reassemble the pieces of what makes Brazil’s music so unique.

NEW RELEASES: JOHN BARRY – PLAYS 007 & OTHER 60s THEMES FOR FILM AND TELEVISION; SHIRLEY DAVIS & THE SILVERBACKS – BLACK ROSE; SPENCER DAVIS GROUP – TAKING OUT TIME: THE COMPLETE RECORDINGS 1967-1969

JOHN BARRY – PLAYS 007 & OTHER 60s THEMES FOR FILM AND TELEVISION

An excellent collection of work from the great John Barry – one that focuses on his famous contributions for the James Bond films – but also includes other soundtrack and instrumental material as well! The set begins with the John Barry Plays 007 record – a brilliant album that not only features some instrumental soundtrack themes, but also includes some great mod Barry instrumentals from the 60s – kind of a nice link to his sophisticated film music, and some of his smaller combo work! Titles include "Kinky", "Fancy Dance", "007", "From Russia With Love", "Big Shield", "Aliki", "Monkey Feathers", and "The London Theme". Next are two tracks from Elizabeth Taylor In London – "Lovers & Browning", with a recitation by Taylor – plus the jazzy instrumental "The London Waltz". Next are two tracks from Zulu – a colonial period film that starred Michael Caine – followed by 15 more groovy instrumentals that include "Tit Willow Twist", "Hit & Miss", "Easy Beat", "Beat Girl", "The Lolly Theme", "Spinnerree", "Roman Spring Of Mrs Stone", "The Sun's Hooray", and "Saturday's Child".  ~ Dusty Groove

SHIRLEY DAVIS & THE SILVERBACKS – BLACK ROSE

There must be something funky going down in the water in Spain – because in recent years, the nation's scene has given us some mighty hard-hitting funky artists – the best of whom may well be featured on this set! Shirley Davis isn't one of those easy retro soul singers – and instead steps out strongly as a voice that we're sure that we're going to hear plenty from in years to come – thanks to a righteous way of putting over a tune, and a classic sound that really lives up to the spirit of the album's cover! Davis is backed by Madrid's Silverbacks combo – a tight funk group who really hit all the right currents to really let her soar out in the lead – with a power that's much stronger than on her previous single with Deep Street Soul, which is the first time we heard her sing. Most tunes here are originals by the group – and titles include "Black Rose", "Two Worlds", "Pay For Your Love", "My Universe", "Burial Of A Dead Star", and "Make My Day". ~ Dusty Groove 

SPENCER DAVIS GROUP – TAKING OUT TIME: THE COMPLETE RECORDINGS 1967-1969

Great work from the second chapter of The Spencer Davis Group – the time immediately after Steve Winwood left to form Traffic, and the combo stepped forward into some even headier music of their own! This period of the SDG isn't nearly as well known as their early hits – and the box set is a really surprising revelation overall – music that has some of the R&B currents of the earlier group, but which is also infused with a headier, trippier style too – not just in the instrumentation, but in the way the records are put together – with cool elements that space things out slightly, but never get too indulgent! The mix is a bit like that on the earliest work of The Move – or that shift that Small Faces were taking after moving to the Immediate label – and as with previous work from the Spencer Davis Group, there's as much great Hammond on the tunes as there is guitar, thanks to the talents of new member Eddie Hardin. Some of the best cuts almost hit a freakbeat mode – with a very cool mix of mod and psych – and the 3CD set features the full albums Funky and With Their New Face On – plus material from the Round The Mulberry Bush soundtrack, lots more singles, some BBC sessions, and even some alternate and unreleased tracks too. 68 tracks in all – titles that include "Letters From Edith", "Time Seller", "Taking Out Time", "After Tea", "Sanity Inspector", "What A Way To Die", "Firefly", "Magpie", "Groove Extra", "The Girls Song", "Don't Want You No More", "Der Wassermann", and "Picture Of Heaven".  ~ Dusty Groove

Multi-Grammy® nominee David Arkenstone shares his latest take on classic lounge music - Songs from the Aqua Lounge

On August 23rd, fans of composer, musician and performer David Arkenstone’s brand of ‘chill’ music will be delighted with his latest lounge offering, Songs From The Aqua Lounge (a QDV Recordings release).

“It’s a sexy album,” says Arkenstone from his home overlooking the Pacific. “It was inspired, in part, by the lounge records of the fifties and sixties, like Martin Denny and Antônio Carlos Jobim and their unique sounds. “This is equally groovy!” says Arkenstone, holding up the limited edition 3D lenticular CD cover, complete with Lava® lamps.”

Recently awarded Best Vocal Album 2015 by One World Music for Inamorata, Arkenstone says, “I don’t often have vocals, so Songs From The Aqua Lounge is unusual in that there are five songs that feature vocals.” What also distinguishes this album from Arkenstone’s previous ‘chill’ recordings (World Café, Celtic Chill, Native Chill, Christmas Lounge, Chillout Lounge) is that some tracks border on smooth jazz, particularly “5 a.m.” featuring award-winning flugelhorn player Jeff Oster.

“I was thrilled that Jeff was available to bring his artistry to “5 a.m.,” says Arkenstone. “I wrote “5 a.m.” with flugelhorn in mind. And I finished writing it at 5 a.m. This is the first time I’ve written songs that so prominently feature flugelhorn and sax. “Midnight Cruise” features David Crozier on sax. I’ve been working with David for years, but this is the first opportunity I’ve had to feature him. Stylistically it was a good fit. I’m really pleased with Jeff and David’s creative and expressive solos. Also featured is guest artist Luanne Homzy on violin. It was fun collaborating with so many artists.”

Award-winning vocalist Charlee Brooks lends her stunning stylings to the album. Songs From The Aqua Lounge is her fourth collaboration with Arkenstone.

“A lounge is a place where people are comfortable and congregate,” says Arkenstone. “Songs From The Aqua Lounge is music to relax to, to put you in a good mood, to play in the background, and to accompany all sorts of activities!”

Music and Media Focus reviewer Michael Diamond states, “Ever the sonic adventurer, veteran recording artist David Arkenstone embarks on another journey into the ultra contemporary world of Chill music on his latest release Songs From The Aqua Lounge. Drawing on elements of ambient, electronica, and smooth jazz, the album serves up a groove-based blend of sounds that range from dreamy to driving. A perfect example is a track called “Take My Soul,” that features atmospheric synthesizers, electronic beats, and the misty, sensuous female vocals of Nahara that evokes a vision of Tangerine Dream and Enya performing together. If this album illustrates anything, it is that with David Arkenstone one thing to expect is the unexpected.”

About the featured track “Take My Soul” Arkenstone says, “I wanted to write a sexy song, and now we’ve made a sexy video to accompany it. Nahara made it come alive with her distinctive delivery.”

The “Take My Soul” music video will premiere live at an exclusive VIP event at Mixology 101 in Los Angeles on August 16th (see details below).

DAVID ARKENSTONE’S AQUA LOUNGE RELEASE EVENT – AUGUST 16th

Live from Mixology 101 in Los Angeles, CA, chart-topping, multi-Grammy® nominated musical visionary David Arkenstone is throwing a major Hollywood shindig to celebrate the release of his latest disc, Songs From The Aqua Lounge. David and special guest artists will perform a few key tracks from this new album AND debut the super-sexy music video for the song “Take My Soul” featuring Instagram sensation Carlotta Champagne and actor/model Aaron Mann.

Guest artists include award-winning Jeff Oster on flugelhorn, David Crozier on sax, percussionist Stevie Ray Hernandez, Best Vocal Album winner (with Arkenstone) Charlee Brooks, and vocalist Nahara.

There are 2 ways that you can attend this event from anywhere in the world!

In person:

A special limited edition half-price VIP package tickets to the exclusive event are being offered by Goldstar Tickets. Attendees will enjoy the mini-concert and music video debut, receive a limited edition CD of Songs From The Aqua Lounge with 3D cover, a signature ‘Take My Soul’ drink, light hors d’oeuvres, meet & greet with David and guests, and a chance to win a Lava® lamp!

Attend ‘virtually’ on Concert Window:

Tune in free to Concert Window and enjoy the mini-concert and music video debut live. Concert Window participants who tip $10 or more will receive a download of the entire "Songs From The Aqua Lounge" AND have a chance to win a Lava® lamp! For $35, participants will receive an autographed limited edition CD with 3D lenticular cover, as well as a chance to win a Lava® lamp!

Track list for Songs From The Aqua Lounge:

1. Temporary High (featuring Nahara) 4:38

2. Midnight Cruise (featuring David Crozier) 4:30

3. La Grande Corniche 4:00

4. Take My Soul (featuring Nahara) 4:13

5. 5 a.m. (featuring Jeff Oster) 4:09

6. Boarding Pass 4:14

7. Charade (featuring Charlee Brooks) 5:01

8. I Don’t Mind The Rain (featuring David Crozier) 4:20

9. Reflections on the Highway 4:30

10. Be My Muse (featuring Nahara) 4:12

11. Water On Mars 4:08

12. Don’t Say Goodnight (featuring Charlee Brooks) 4:43

13. Sakura Ascending (featuring Luanne Homzy) 4:31

The Musical Mojo of Dr. John: A Celebration of Mac & His Music

On Saturday, May 3, 2014, a group of world-renowned musicians and friends joined together for “The Musical Mojo of Dr. John: A Celebration of Mac & His Music,” a special concert event honoring this musical icon in his hometown of New Orleans. Taking place at the historic Saenger Theatre in the French Quarter, this momentous evening was captured in stunning HD and has been produced into a full length concert film with accompanying audio recordings.

The one hour and forty-five-minute film and available audio recordings feature over 20 once-in-a-lifetime performances from a lineup of prestigious and award-winning artists including Dr. John himself, Bruce Springsteen, Jason Isbell, Cyril Neville, Anders Osborne, Bill Kreutzmann, Aaron Neville, Charles Neville, George Porter Jr., Zigaboo Modeliste, Irma Thomas, Tab Benoit, Shannon McNally, Dave Malone, Big Chief Monk Boudreaux, Widespread Panic, Warren Haynes, Ryan Bingham, John Boutté, Mavis Staples, John Fogerty, Terence Blanchard, Sarah Morrow, Chuck Leavell, and Allen Toussaint.

Dr. John, a six-time GRAMMY Award-winning musician and Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee, is known throughout the world as the embodiment of New Orleans’ musical legacy and is a true American icon. His colorful musical career began in the 1950s when he wrote and played guitar on some of the greatest records to come out of the Crescent City. Some of his many career highlights include the masterful album Sun, Moon and Herbs (1971) which included cameos from Eric Clapton and Mick Jagger and 1973’s In The Right Place, which contained the chart hits “Right Place Wrong Time” and “Such A Night.” In 2013, Dr. John won his latest GRAMMY Award for Locked Down, a collaboration with Dan Auerbach of the Black Keys. As further evidence of his musical diversity, Dr. John is currently completing an album in tribute to Louis Armstrong, which will be released in June of this year. After a half century of creating music for himself and others, Dr. John continues to write, arrange, produce and interpret with a passion that has yet to wane. 

Ben Wendel - What We Bring Featuring Gerald Clayton, Joe Sanders & Henry Cole

Saxophonist, composer, bandleader, educator and catalyst Ben Wendel's What We Bring, available September 9, 2016 on Motema Music (his 15th album as a leader or co-leader and his debut for Motema), is panegyrical, acknowledging the great legacy and lexicon that he has played and composed his way into. While composing the music for this album, it occurred to Wendel that the evolution of a musical genre, or artist, is a continuum that looks backwards and forwards at the same time. Wendel elaborated, "What We Bring refers to the experience, inspiration and shared wisdom that musicians collect and absorb throughout their lives, and how that is expressed through their art. All of the pieces on this album are dedicated to masters from the past, peers from the present and musicians of the future. In my opinion, nothing springs from a vacuum - all that we make is connected, influenced, and most importantly, indebted to what has been created before us and around us in the present day. This album expresses my continued acknowledgement and appreciation to all of those who have helped me along the path, both directly and indirectly." Wendel added, "I get the most joy when I find ways to express my love for the bravery of the people who came before me, for the people who are doing this music now, and for the people who will do this music in the future" (from the feature on Wendel by Ted Panken, DownBeat Magazine, June 2016).  

What impresses most about Wendel is that he has gleaned from past masters, and his peers, far more than technique and chops to become an artist who embodies the importance of finding your own voice, and the pluck to follow your inner compass. This is fully revealed and represented on What We Bring, which opens majestically and powerfully with "Amian", a subconscious, compositional reaction to listening to Coltrane's "Naima" hundreds of times in his formative years. Like "Naima", "Amian" possesses a melody that floats over a constant bass note, with shifting chord qualities, offering myriad moods and colors.   

"Fall" and "Spring" are two pieces repurposed from Wendel's acclaimed Seasons project of 2015, featured on NPR's All Things Considered, and in The New York Times (www.npr.org/2015/07/28/427178381/saxophonist-ben-wendel-reimagines-tchaikovskys-the-seasons, www.nytimes.com/2016/01/22/arts/music/with-the-seasons-ben-wendel-redefines-the-musical-encounter.html). "They were originally written as duo pieces for the exceptional pianists Taylor Eigsti and Aaron Parks. I felt they would be great vehicles for the quartet and decided to arrange them for this album", commented Wendel.

"Doubt" is one of two covers on the album (the other being the standard "Solar", given a highly-entertaining, brainy, odd-meter face lift by Wendel & co.), by the indie-rock band Wye Oak. "I fell in love with their music years ago and this track is hauntingly beautiful in its mood and simplicity. What We Bring also refers to what we listen to, and at this point, most jazz musicians listen to a wide spectrum of music outside of our field. I wanted to showcase something that had moved me along the way", said Wendel.

"Song Song" is dedicated to the great Ahmad Jamal, and was inspired by his famous composition, "Poinciana". "I was on tour with nothing to do one evening and watching countless performances of 'Poinciana' on YouTube. There's something incredibly meditative about the piece that I've always loved - the rhythm section's commitment to playing one beautiful groove throughout the song - not doing anything more, and most importantly, not needing to. I recall waking up the following morning with the bass line for 'Song Song' looping in my head", explained Wendel.

"Soli" rocks and swings and, like the rest of the album, displays the band's ability to conduct complex maneuvers in complete harmony with one another (the term "big ears" comes to mind). A track like this will surely send fledgling musicians scurrying to the shed, and prompt listeners to quickly hit "repeat." "Soli" is a pre-written passage played in unison by multiple instruments. You can hear this technique used in everything from classical music to big band music and Wendel has always loved the sound of it. "In fact, I've always had at least one piece on each album that highlights this approach. Though I don't know how long this streak will continue, I can say this was perhaps the most challenging one I've written to date", said Wendel.

One of the most emotive and gorgeous songs on What We Bring is "Austin", "dedicated to the incredibly talented pianist Austin Peralta, who left this world much too soon. I played with Austin on 'Endless Planets', his final album. I was deeply saddened by Austin's passing and also incredibly moved at his funeral by the outpouring of love from friends, family and musical peers. Many of his personal letters and writing were read at the ceremony. I was struck by the depth of his inner life - something he didn't show the outer world very much. I didn't get to see this side of him until it was too late. This was something I was thinking about as I wrote the piece," stated Wendel.

On What We Bring, Wendel's camaraderie with his fellow musicians, Gerald Clayton (piano), Joe Sanders (bass) and Henry Cole (drums) greatly informed his artistic choices and inspired him. He has stated (in a recent feature by Bob Weinberg, Jazziz Magazine, Spring 2016) that, "it's hard to know where the music starts and the friendship ends", and that, "all of these layers of understanding and all the coded information that's embedded in how you play together, it's so intermingled."  

  

More on Ben Wendel: GRAMMY-nominated saxophonist Ben Wendel was born in Vancouver, Canada and raised in Los Angeles. Currently living in Brooklyn, NY, he has enjoyed a varied career as a performer, composer and producer. Highlights include multiple domestic and international tours with artists such as Ignacio Berroa, Tigran Hamasyan, Antonio Sanchez, Gerald Clayton, Eric Harland, Taylor Eigsti, Snoop Dogg and the artist formerly known as Prince. Ben is a founding member of the GRAMMY-nominated group Kneebody, currently signed with Concord Records and Brainfeeder Music.

As a composer, he has received an ASCAP Jazz Composer Award, the 2008 and 2011 Chamber Music America "New Works Grant" and most recently was awarded the Victor Lynch-Staunton award by the Canada Council For The Arts. He also co-wrote the score for John Krasinski's adaptation of David Foster Wallace's "Brief Interviews With Hideous Men." 

Ben's recent work includes producing and playing in jazz and many other genres, including the GRAMMY-nominated album "Life Forum" for pianist Gerald Clayton on Concord Records, the new Kneedelus album (Kneebody + Daedelus), released on Brainfeeder and given a rave 8.0 review from Pitchfork, appearing on Julia Holter's new film score, and collaborating with her on a new non-jazz album he is co-creating with Daedelus (the album will feature artists such as Terrace Martin, Knower and Mark Guiliana), producing an album for Folk/Americana artist Darryl Holter (a BMI Woody Guthrie Fellowship Recipient), playing on Jimmy Chamberlin's (drummer from Smashing Pumpkins) new instrumental album, and producing live concerts at the Broad Stage in Santa Monica, CA from 2008-2015, with the help of Quincy Jones and his production team. He also recently worked with conductor Kent Nagano in producing a series of concerts for the Festspiel Plus in Munich, Germany.

Ben is a former Adjunct Professor of Jazz Studies at USC and a current Adjunct at the New School in NYC.  Educational outreach has been a constant in his career with over 250 masterclasses at various colleges, universities, high schools, and previous work with the LA Philharmonic Artist Program.

Ben has recorded for Sunnyside Records, Concord Records and Brainfeeder, with two solo albums under his belt, Simple Song (2009) and Frame (2012), a duo project with French-American pianist Dan Tepfer entitled Small Constructions (2013) and multiple Kneebody albums. His music video project, The Seasons, inspired by Tchaikovsky's works of the same name, was released throughout 2015 and included guests such as Joshua Redman, Jeff Ballard, Mark Turner, Julian Lage and more. Ben's third solo album What We Bring is planned for release in the Fall of 2016 on Motema Music. 

What We Bring - CD Release Tour:

Sept 14 - Dizzy's Club Coca-Cola, NYC - 7:30 & 9:30 PM

Sept 15 - The Regattabar, Cambridge, MA - 7:30 PM

Sept 16 - Firehouse 12, New Haven, CT

Sept 17 - Chris' Jazz Cafe, Philadelphia, PA

Sept 19 - University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI

Sept 20 - Oakland University, Rochester, MI

Sept 21 - Constellation, Chicago, IL, 7:30 & 9:30 PM

Sept 22 - Dazzle, Denver, CO, 7 & 9 PM

Sept 23-25 - SF Jazz Center - Joe Henderson Lab, San Francisco, CA, 7 & 8:30 PM (Fri/Sat), 5:30 & 7 PM (Sun)

Sept 26 - Western Oregon University, Monmouth, OR

Sept 27 - Cornish Playhouse-Seattle Center, Seattle, WA

Sept 28 - The Old Church, Portland, OR, 7:30 PM

Sept 29 - Kuumbwa Jazz Center, Santa Cruz, CA, 7 PM

Sept 30-Oct 1 - Blue Whale, Los Angeles, CA, 8 PM

Oct 2 - Musical Instrument Museum, Phoenix, AZ

Oct 8 - Le Crescent Jazz Club, Macon, France

Oct 10 - Theatre Astree, Villeurbane, France

Oct 12-13 - Duc des Lombards, Paris, France

Oct 14 - Bimhuis, Amsterdam, NL

Oct 15 - Lantaren Venster, Rotterdam, NL

Oct 16 - L'espace des Arts Vivants, Parc Culturel De Rentilly, Bussy Saint Martin, France

‘Michael Bublé – Tour Stop 148’ Swings into Cinemas Nationwide as the Grammy Award-Winning Singer-Songwriter Gives Fans Exclusive Backstage Access

You just haven’t met him like this yet. Michael Bublé and his tour crew come to the big screen for one night with “Michael Bublé – Tour Stop 148” on Tuesday, September 27 at 7:00 p.m. local time. This special cinema event closely follows Bublé’s dedicated team on the road and features a selection of his greatest hits on stage, including “Home,” “Crazy Love,” “Cry Me A River,” “Feeling Good” and more. In addition to the feature content, audiences will also enjoy a specially-filmed introduction and Q&A with Bublé which addresses his motivation for making the film, his music and his experience of life on the road.

Tickets for “Michael Bublé – Tour Stop 148” can be purchased online beginning Friday, August 12 by visiting www.FathomEvents.com or at participating theater box offices. Fans throughout the U.S. will be able to enjoy the event in more than 350 select movie theaters through Fathom’s Digital Broadcast Network. For a complete list of theater locations visit the Fathom Events website (theaters and participants are subject to change).

"Along with giving my fans a front row seat to the show, I really wanted to celebrate the incredible backstage team. They're the 'unsung' heroes who bring this show to a new city every night. I could not have done it without them," said Bublé.

Canadian superstar Michael Bublé has left an indelible mark on the entertainment world. His music has earned him numerous Grammy and Juno awards. He has sold more than 55 million albums worldwide and more than two million tickets for the To Be Loved Tour. “Michael Bublé – Tour Stop 148” gives his legions of fans not only a front row seat to breathtaking concert performances of his greatest hits, but also an exclusive look at what goes into a concert tour of this magnitude – where the crew becomes family and the camaraderie is unmatched.

“Michael Bublé’s reputation as the consummate performer who gives the audience all he’s got is on full display in this cinema event, along with the efforts of the incredible team that surrounds him while moving this lavish production from city to city,” commented Dion Singer, Executive Vice President, Creative at Warner Bros. Records and Executive Producer of the film.

“Michael Bublé has taken his music to a completely new level with a reach that spans audiences of all ages,” Fathom Events Vice President of Programming Kymberli Frueh said. “This event provides unique backstage access while sharing the experience of an artist at his peak. You will truly feel like you are switching between front-row-center during his performances and a fly on the wall backstage.”

SAXOPHONIST RICHARD ELLIOT CELEBRATES HIS FUNK AND R&B ROOTS ON SUMMER MADNESS

When tenor saxophonist Richard Elliot began preparing Summer Madness, his follow-up to 2014’s critically acclaimed Lip Service, he knew exactly what he wanted to do. First and foremost, it had to be funky. “When I was growing up in the ’70s and first learning to play the saxophone,” he says, “I was mostly attracted to instrumentally based R&B and to jazz that had R&B roots. This record definitely goes down that path, leaning more on the funk side.”

He also knew precisely who he wanted to accompany him on the new music. “I wanted to involve my band,” Elliot says. “A lot of artists tour with a group of musicians, and then when it’s time to make a record they hook up with a producer and go into the studio and use completely different people that maybe they’ve never even met before. I feel that if you’re lucky enough to have a regular group of musicians that you work with, and you don’t draw on their talent and their inspirations, you’re short-changing yourself.”

Summer Madness, set for release on September 9, 2016 via Heads Up, a division of Concord Music Group, is a new kind of Richard Elliot recording. For one thing, the cast includes two other horn men augmenting Elliot’s signature sax work: trumpeter/trombonist Rick Braun, who also produced the album and, on several tracks, baritone saxophonist Curt Waylee. Most importantly though, the music was created from scratch as Elliot and his handpicked musicians formulated and honed their ideas in the studio, with Braun’s ultra-capable guidance. For Elliot, recruiting the additional players and having the entire band—plus a well-respected veteran producer help him shape the music—was integral to the project’s success.

“I didn’t want to direct them,” he says. “I wanted to bring them in and let them be part of the process—the writing, the arranging—and to do it all together. I had a lot of confidence that these guys are mature enough musically. Everybody brought what they do to the table and we all put our heads together. We didn’t have rehearsals first, we didn’t have writing sessions first. We booked some days in the studio and the music just poured out.”

The result of these impromptu jams—seven new originals and three classic interpretations—is unquestionably one of the most electrifying and gratifying recordings of Richard Elliot’s three-plus-decade solo career. From the opening salvo, a super-funkified take on Spyro Gyra’s “Cachaca,” through the closing “Mr. Nate’s Wild Ride,” spotlighting bassist Nathaniel Phillips, who wrote the track along with Elliot and Braun, Summer Madness is one of those albums that simply takes hold the moment you press play and never lets go. Along the way it touches down on a variety of moods and styles, from Latin- and African-inspired funk to soul jazz, even flirting with fusion on the hard-driving, appropriately titled “Ludicrous Speed.”

A couple of sparkling ballads pay tribute to heroes of Elliot’s going back to his earliest days of musical discovery: “Europa,” on which he honors one of his saxophone inspirations, the late Gato Barbieri—who famously remade the Carlos Santana-penned track in his own image, and the title track “Summer Madness,” a mid-’70s hit for funk titans Kool & the Gang.

Among the original compositions, “Harry the Hipster,” says Elliot, “is reminiscent of songs that had cool, recurring melodies and a funky pulse—the idea was not to wrap yourself up in how much complexity you could put into the song, but how much feeling and groove can you put into the song?” Another highlight, the band-written “West Coast Jam,” is Elliot’s nod to yet another influence, the late leader of funk trailblazers Zapp, Roger Troutman, while “Breakin’ It Down,” which arrives early on Summer Madness, is designed, he says, to bridge the genres of funk and contemporary jazz, with which Elliot has long been associated. “I sort of formulated that theory later though,” he confesses. “When we were making the music we were just making it.”

It should come as no surprise to Elliot’s longtime fans that he would, at some point in his career, choose to celebrate funk in such a dedicated, decisive way. It was, after all, with the legendary Tower of Power that many first heard the saxophone virtuosity of Richard Elliot. Although he was born in Scotland and grew up in Los Angeles, where he started playing saxophone while in middle school, his five-year run with the Bay Area institution ToP during the 1980s was when Richard Elliot first came to prominence.

“I learned more about being a musician, about being a performer, about being a team player in a horn section, about how to make a statement when you step out and do a solo, from being with Tower of Power than from any other group or artist I ever worked with,” Elliot says, adding that it was “initially terrifying” to find himself among some of the most accomplished and highly respected musicians on the funk/R&B scene. In fact, he learned enough from working with them, Elliot says now, to know that he was ready to go off on his own when he did.

“Leaving Tower of Power was the hardest decision I ever made,” he says now, but great things were to follow almost immediately. By the late ’80s, Elliot had launched his solo career and was signed to Blue Note Records, where he worked with the legendary record executive Bruce Lundvall, an early champion of Elliot’s work. Since then, Elliot has released more than 20 albums as a leader, and has also polished his chops serving as a sideman for a considerable list of diverse giants, including Motown hitmakers Smokey Robinson and the Temptations. One of Elliot’s favorite projects was the collaborative 2013 release Summer Horns, which found him teaming up with fellow sax-slingers Dave Koz, Gerald Albright and Mindi Abair—the album was nominated for a Grammy in the category of Best Pop Instrumental Album.

Throughout all of his music, Richard Elliot has always strived to achieve one certain goal. “Miles Davis said, ‘The hardest thing for a musician to do is sound like himself.’ That stuck with me,” Elliot says. “If you fixate on a single influence, you tend to sound like someone who’s trying to sound like that person. I never know if I’ve achieved that goal but on occasion I’ve had someone come up to me and say, ‘I heard a song on the radio and I knew it was you.’” Summer Madness puts a bit of a new twist on the classic Richard Elliot sound, but you won’t doubt for a single second who you are hearing.

NEW RELEASES: KEVIN WHALUM - I LIVE FOR YOU; RE-WORKS (VARIOUS ARTISTS); GABY HERNANDEZ – SPIRIT REFLECTION

KEVIN WHALUM - I LIVE FOR YOU

Kevin now has three solo albums under his belt: the self-produced solo debut, Timetable (2002); the George Duke-produced, One Life To Love (2008); and the new self-produced, I Live For You (2016). Although Kevin eschews any effort to force him into a category or genre’, he freely admits to defining himself as “primarily a jazz vocalist who just happens to be a Christian”. He exhorts, “I hope I never agree to be just one thing. A true artist never wants that. I have been-and will remain-free to explore the musical universe. There’s too much out here to stay locked into one soundscape forever. Music is big, but Jesus is infinitely bigger. I want to touch his face with everything he puts in my heart to do. I hope people find my new record, I Live For You, refreshing, and dare I say it, groundbreaking.” Includes: Pretty Bird; Somebody Somewhere;Take A Stand (Introducing, CRISIS); I Live For You; Come Back Home; Somebody Said; Strong (For my sister, Charlisa); Truly Unconditional (Introducing, Daphne Delva Smith); and Take A Stand (reprise).

RE-WORKS (VARIOUS ARTISTS)

Great compositions, reworked – in a very cool project that takes older recordings from the Decca catalog of classical music, and puts them in the hands of 21st Century producers! The sound is surprisingly great – no dancefloor remixes of Beethoven's 5th, and instead these really thoughtful pieces that extrapolate the original songs in beautiful ways – often mixing their acoustic core with some slight electric elements – in ways that remind us a lot of recent material from Max Richter. The package is clearly done with an ear towards Richter's work – and is similar to projects like this that have been done with the Deutsche Grammophon catalog – and our only complaint is that the notes don't give any information about the original sources of the performances. That's only a very minor issue, though – and the music is more than enough, as you'll hear on Grieg's "Peer Gynt" remixed by Solmon Grey, Erik Satie's "Gnossienne No 1" remixed by STarkey, Faure's "Requiem" remixed by Faultline, Steve Reich's "Six Pianos" remixed by Mr Scruff, Debussy's "String Quartet" remixed by Henrik Schwarz, Holst's "The Planets (Neptune)" remixed by Thomas Gandey, and Schubert's "Schwanengesang" remixed by Kate Simko.  ~ Dusty Groove.

GABY HERNANDEZ – SPIRIT REFLECTION

A fantastic record from Gaby Hernandez – a singer we've loved for previous collaborations with Build An Ark and Life Force Trio – but who really knocks it out of the park with this double-length set! The presentation is a bit unusual – in that the entire album is presented with vocal versions of the songs, then a second instrumental take on the tracks – the latter a great showcase for the album's many collaborators – a heavy-duty lineup that features Kamasi Washington, Carlos Nino, Miguel Atwood-Ferguson, Dexter Story, and the Contact Field Orchestra! Gaby's vocals really sine in all this great company – and the musicians have ways to deepen the spirit of her songs, and take things in places that still make us love the music, even after her voice has dropped out. Titles include "Spirit Reflection", "Into Yoa", "Super Nova Lovers", "Baobab Tree", "Messy Love", "Los Mas Dulce", "Stay A While", and "Entranced". (Includes download!) ~ Dusty Groove

Rare Studio One Records Compilation LP Money Maker Reissued Feat. Im and David, Ernest Ranglin, Jackie Mittoo, Lloyd Williams and more

Money Maker, one of the rarest albums in legendary reggae label Studio One's catalog, has just been reissued in LP/CD and Digital formats.

Featuring a more overt soul and jazz sound for Studio One, the album is comprised of mostly instrumentals of early Studio One tracks made famous by groups like The Heptones, The Wailing Souls and John Holt. Money Maker features performances by Studio One house bands, The Sound Dimension, The Soul Brothers and The Soul Vendors joined by Im and David, guitarist Ernest Ranglin, Lloyd Williams, Jackie Mittoo and "The Boss" himself, Coxsone Dodd. The original 1970 release was pressed in limited quantities and remained out of print until 2002 when a limited edition including extra tracks was released. Remastered from the original session tapes, this reissue is presented with it’s original track listing and iconic “cash” cover.

Last week, Studio One Director of A&R, Chris Wilson, spoke to The Takeaway about the legend of Studio One. Listen here:

http://www.wnyc.org/story/studio-one-and-legacy-jamaican-reggae

Kicking off the reissue campaign on May 27th were The Wailers and their debut album The Wailing Wailers featuring Bob Marley, Peter Tosh and Bunny Livingston, reviewed in Pitchfork. Future releases include the never before released Studio One Radio Show featuring beloved host, Winston "The Whip" Williams, a Don Drummond collection and a "House of Joy" box set to celebrate the label's over 60 years of existence.

Founded by Clement "Coxsone" Dodd in the late 50's, Studio One was one of Jamaica's most renowned recording studios and record labels, helping to pioneer ska, rocksteady, dub and dancehall. The label discovered and released music from The Skatalites, The Wailers, Delroy Wilson, Jackie Mittoo, The Maytals, Jackie Opel, The Gaylads, Alton Ellis and more. Throughout the years, countless songs have been sampled and covered from the catalog including, "Pass the Dutchie" by Musical Youth, The Clash's cover of "Armagideon Time" and "Smile" by Lily Allen, just to name a few. For a full history on Studio One, click HERE and visit http://studioonerecords.com/

Money Maker Tracklisting

1. Money Maker - Im and David

2. Black Is Black - Im and David*

3. Soul Brother - Im and David*

4. Black Man's Train - Lloyd Williams*

5. Great Gu Gu Mu Ga (Great Gu Ga Mu Ga) - The Boss* (Coxsone Dodd)

6. Feel It - Jackie Mittoo

7. Mixing - Jackie Mittoo*

8. Candid Eye - Im and David

9. Stormy Night - Jackie Mittoo*

10. Soul Walk - Im and David

*Featuring Ernest Ranglin on guitar

Musicians: The Sound Dimension, The Soul Brothers and The Soul Vendors

Produced by Clement Dodd

Engineered by Sylvan Morris and Clement Dodd

Executive Producer: Carol Dodd

Reissue supervision by Chris Wilson for Studio One

Mastered by Toby Mountain at Northeastern Digital

Reissued via Yep Roc Music Group

Introducing Annalé: From Seoul to Soul‏

Born and raised in South Korea, New Jersey, and now based in Los Angeles, singer, songwriter, and producer, Annalé’s musical influences like her sound can be described as a perfect blend of Neo-Soul, R&B, and Pop! “I love music that I can feel and am pretty eclectic when it comes to the types of music that I love,” shares the 21-year-old. “When I discovered artist like Lalah Hathaway, Erykah Badu, Floetry, India Arie, Norah Jones, Adele, Sadè, Jill Scott, Brian McKnight, Mint Condition, Musiq Soulchild and Lauryn Hill, I felt something almost visceral. Their music, melodies, move and inspire me.”  

Barely able to reach the pedals, Annalé started playing her first instrument, the piano at the age of 4 under the guidance of her parents also musicians. Her father is an active orchestral conductor and composer in South Korea and her mother an organist. They discovered her vocal talent during middle school.  

With both classical training and an ear for melody and strong structure, she auditioned for Berklee College of Music and was selected as one of the seven Presidential Scholars receiving a 5-year tuition to the prestigious college.  “At Berklee, I majored in Contemporary Writing & Production and Vocal Performance and was constantly surrounded by amazing musicians from all over the world; it helped to sharpen my musical skills and performing with my band helps keep me fluid and improvisational.”

  

With her forthcoming debut coming soon and the  single, “Roses” quietly rising on Billboard’s Urban Adult Contemporary Charts, Annalè is positioning herself to musically and culturally reach global audiences.  While some may be amazed that this voice comes from an unlikely source, Annalè and those who follow her aren’t quite surprised at all. “People who really love music don’t care how it’s packaged or presented, they want to know if you can sing, if you can move them. That’s why I create music, not to follow the culture norms, but to reimagine them,” says the soulful siren.  

Legacy Recordings and Octave Music Set to Release Ready Take One, A Brand New Album of 14 Unreleased Studio Performances by Legendary American Jazz Pianist/Composer Erroll Garner

Legacy Recordings, the catalog division of Sony Music Entertainment, and Octave Music Licensing LLC, curators of American jazz legend Erroll Garner's archival recordings, announce the release of Garner's Ready Take One on Friday, September 30. 

A new album of 14 previously unreleased studio performances by Erroll Garner and his backing musicians--drums (Jimmie Smith, Joe Cocuzzo), bass (Earnest McCarty, Jr., Ike Isaacs, George Duvivier, Larry Gales) and percussion (Jose Mangual)--Ready Take One is comprised of tracks recorded during seven extraordinarily productive sessions in 1967, 1969 and 1971. The New York Times just premiered "Wild Music," a new original track from the album, which can be heard here: http://smarturl.it/Erroll_WildMusic.

Ready Take One features six previously unreleased original Erroll Garner compositions--"High Wire," "Wild Music," "Back To You," "Chase Me," "Latin Digs," and "Down Wylie Avenue"--alongside Garner's swinging interpretations of a variety of jazz and pop standards including "I Want To Be Happy," "I'm Confessin' (That I Love You)," Bobby Hebb's "Sunny," Duke Ellington's "Caravan" and "Satin Doll," Cole Porter's "Night and Day," "Stella By Starlight" and a passionately rendered version of Garner's own "Misty," one of the most-often-covered jazz compositions of all-time and the most-requested number in Garner's repertoire, recorded for this album on May 28, 1969 in Paris, France.

Recorded during an especially prolific creative period running from 1967-1971, all 14 songs found on Ready Take One are previously unreleased and only recently restored after nearly 50 years on acetate.

Drawn from these sessions at Universal Recording in Chicago (November 28-29, 1967), Capital Studios in New York City (October 7, 1969) and RCA Studios in Manhattan (April 27, June 22 and December 2, 1971), Ready Take One finds Erroll Garner in the studio with his road-tested band and longtime manager Martha Glaser, firing off some of the most memorable performances of his career. For the first time, listeners are given a glimpse behind the studio doors, with rare insightful conversational tidbits between Garner and the group included between many of the songs. Glaser, known for her progressive guidance of Garner's artistic and commercial interests, is heard here in producer mode, slating takes and joking with Garner over the control room talk-back mic. As album producer Geri Allen writes, "a kind of fifth member of the band, Glaser would support Erroll Garner in the moment of the creative act." Indeed the title of the album comes directly from Glaser's steady refrain of "Ready Take One."

The first new Erroll Garner studio album to be released in nearly a quarter century, Ready Take One is the worthy successor to Legacy/Octave's first Garner release, 2015's critically-acclaimed Grammy-nominated The Complete Concert by The Sea, which debuted at #1 on the Billboard Jazz chart. Ready Take One is the first studio album from the extensive Octave Music catalog of previously unreleased Erroll Garner recordings and compositions.

One of the great American jazz pianists and composers of the 20th century (his classic "Misty" is an undisputed cornerstone jazz standard and the mainstay of many repertoires) Erroll Garner was among the most popular, successful and influential jazz artists of his era. (Reportedly Johnny Carson's favorite jazz musician, Garner appeared 27 times as a guest on "The Tonight Show" during Carson's reign as host in the 1960s and 1970s.)

Garner recorded the top-selling outdoor jazz concert album of all time, Concert By The Sea, in 1955; in 1957, became the first jazz soloist to win The Gran Prix du Disque in Paris, France; in 1959, was the first musician to play a solo jazz concert at Carnegie Hall, turning away more than 7000 people; and was given his own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame (at 6363 Hollywood Boulevard).

Garner popularized jazz for millions all over the world with record breaking concert tours, and at the height of his career, was credited with developing the first completely original piano style since Art Tatum. With his completely distinctive, immediately recognizable and highly influential compositional and performance gifts, Erroll Garner was compared by critics to artists as diverse as Claude Debussy and Fats Waller.

Sadly, and somewhat inexplicably, since his death in 1977, Erroll Garner's artistry, enduring musical legacy and immeasurable contributions to the evolution of 20th century American jazz in the 20th century have been overlooked too often by contemporary audiences. With albums like Ready Take One, The Complete Concert By The Sea and future titles in the works, Legacy Recordings and Octave Music are reintroducing the music and genius of Erroll Garner to the world, bringing the abiding magic of his sounds to whole new generations of fans.

On June 15, 2015, the estate of Martha Glaser, Garner's longtime manager, announced the formation of the Erroll Garner Jazz Project, a major new archival and musical celebration of Garner. The project includes the donation of the Erroll Garner Archive--a huge trove of newly discovered historical material from Garner's life--to the University of Pittsburgh.

The album producers are:

Peter Lockhart, Senior Producer

Geri Allen, Producer

Steve Rosenthal, Producer

Susan Rosenberg, Executive Producer

Emma Munger, Assistant Producer

Erroll Garner

Ready Take One

Track list:

1. High Wire

2. I Want To Be Happy

3. I'm Confessin' (That I Love You)

4. Sunny

5. Wild Music

6. Caravan

7. Back To You

8. Night And Day

9. Chase Me

10. Satin Doll

11. Latin Digs

12. Stella By Starlight

13. Down Wylie Avenue

14. Misty

Jimi Hendrix Machine Gun: The Fillmore East First Show 12/31/69 Out September 30 On CD, 2 LP 180 Gram Vinyl, High Resolution SACD And Digital

Experience Hendrix L.L.C. and Legacy Recordings, the catalog division of Sony Music Entertainment, are releasing Machine Gun: The Fillmore East First Show 12/31/69, fully documenting the debut performance of Jimi Hendrix's short-lived but eternally influential Band of Gypsys on September 30. The group played four historic concerts at the Fillmore East in New York City - two on New Year's Eve 1969, and two on New Year's Day 1970. Never before has the first of these sets been available in its entirety. The vast majority of the performances have never seen the light of day in any configuration.

Machine Gun: The Fillmore East First Show 12/31/69 was produced by Janie Hendrix, Eddie Kramer and John McDermott, the same team who have overseen all of Jimi Hendrix's audio and audio visual releases by Experience Hendrix L.L.C. since 1995. Kramer served Jimi Hendrix as his primary recording engineer throughout his lifetime and the newly mixed Machine Gun: The Fillmore East First Show 12/31/69 from the original 1" 8 track master tapes. The album was mastered by Grammy Award winner Bernie Grundman and will be simultaneously released, on CD, 2 LP 180 gram vinyl, high resolution SACD and digitally. Machine Gun: The Fillmore East First Show 12/31/69 is available for pre-order on CD: http://smarturl.it/jh_mg_cd and Vinyl: http://smarturl.it/jh_mg_vinyl

Machine Gun: The Fillmore East First Show 12/31/69 marks the first ever Jimi Hendrix SACD and high resolution digital release. Additionally, Experience Hendrix is also releasing People, Hell & Angels on the same day. People, Hell & Angels, a collection of previously unreleased studio recordings, peaked at #2 on Billboard's Top 200 Album chart in March 2013. The album features studio versions of many of the songs featured on Machine Gun: The Fillmore East First Show 12/31/69.

Over the course of four extraordinary years, Jimi Hendrix placed his indelible stamp upon popular music with breathtaking velocity. Measured alongside his triumphs at Monterey Pop and Woodstock, Hendrix's legendary Fillmore East concerts illustrated a critical turning point in a radiant career which boasted of indefinite possibilities.

The revolutionary impact Jimi Hendrix, Billy Cox, and Buddy Miles had upon the boundaries and definitions of rock, R&B, and funk can be traced to four concerts over the course of two evenings on New Year's Eve and New Year's Day. These performances were first celebrated by Band Of Gypsys, which featured six songs from the two January 1, 1970 concerts including "Machine Gun," the album's dramatic centerpiece. Issued in April 1970, Band Of Gypsys challenged and surprised the guitarist's wide following with its extended arrangements and vibrant mix of rock and soul. Nonetheless, the album proved to be a runaway commercial success and sadly, with his death in London in September 1970, would become the last album Jimi Hendrix personally authorized for release.

Machine Gun: The Fillmore East First Show 12/31/69 documents the first of the group's four legendary Fillmore East concerts. This set presents an assortment of fresh, exciting new songs such as "Earth Blues," "Ezy Ryder," "Stepping Stone," "Burning Desire," and "Machine Gun"--none of which had ever before been issued on disc. Moreover, nearly all of the group's material had never been performed before an audience. "We decided that we couldn't do any songs that had already been released," explains Billy Cox. "We wanted to give them something different. So we went at the project in a joyous, creative posture and ultimately developed the repertoire of the Band of Gypsys."

While promoter Bill Graham had advertised the concerts as 'Jimi Hendrix: A Band Of Gypsys', few could have anticipated what Hendrix had in store. "We had two shows New Years Eve and two shows New Years Day," remembered Cox. "We didn't know what to expect from the audience and the audience didn't know what to expect from us, but from the time we hit that first note, they were in awe. You had Jimi Hendrix, a drummer who had been with the Electric Flag and Wilson Pickett, and I was the new kid on the block."

With the anticipation of the sold out Fillmore audience heightened to fever pitch, Hendrix led his trio through a scintillating, seventy-five minute opening performance. None of the eleven songs presented had yet to grace an Experience album. In the place of signature songs like "Purple Haze" and "All Along The Watchtower" were confident renditions of "Power Of Soul" and "Hear My Train A Comin.'"

Jimi generously extended center stage to Buddy Miles, providing a showcase for "Changes" and a charged rendition of the Howard Tate R&B hit "Stop". "We had rehearsed "Changes" and a few others for Buddy," explains Cox. "All of the songs we performed had been rehearsed. We didn't look at it as Buddy's part of the show. We were all there to give. We were all there to help and material went on whether it was written by Jimi or not." Former Rolling Stone senior editor David Fricke, who authored this collection's liner notes, describes "Stop" as being something akin to "a psychedelic power-trio Temptations." Hendrix's scalding version of Elmore James' "Bleeding Heart" is the set's only other cover, underscoring the new band's emphasis on the blues.

As the Fillmore audience roared with approval, the Band Of Gypsys left the stage confident that they had validated Jimi's new music before his loyal followers. "After the gigs were finished, Jimi was quite relieved," remembers Cox. "We felt the concerts went well. I might add that in previous gigs with the Experience he had used a fuzz face [tone control pedal] and a Wah-Wah pedal, then at Woodstock he used a fuzz face, Wah-Wah pedal and Uni-Vibe, but at the Fillmore East he used a fuzz face, Wah-Wah pedal, Uni-Vibe and Octavia and it was incredible. In fact you could hear all of it kicking in on 'Machine Gun.' It was incredible. There were people in the audience with their mouths open."

"Machine Gun" stands as one of Hendrix's finest and most influential compositions. Hendrix pushed Delta blues into places its pioneers could not have imagined, fusing his extraordinary instrumental skills within his passionate expression of man's inhumanity to his fellow man. "Machine Gun" endures as a classic amongst the already classic-drenched Jimi Hendrix canon. Fricke notes of this version, the first that Hendrix and company had ever played in concert, "..Here it is, after 46 years, another revelation - a stunning essay in pain, rage and determined survival, fully formed in its initial outing."

Long sought after by the guitarist's worldwide following, Machine Gun: The Fillmore East First Show 12/31/69 presents the complete performance in its original sequence.

Jimi Hendrix - Machine Gun: The Fillmore East First Show 12/31/69 (release date: September 30)

1) Power Of Soul

2) Lover Man

3) Hear My Train A Comin'

4) Changes

5) Izabella

6) Machine Gun

7) Stop

8) Ezy Ryder

9) Bleeding Heart

10) Earth Blues

11) Burning Desire

JimiHendrix.com