NEW RELEASES: ANN-MARGRET – SONGS FROM THE SWINGER & THE PLEASURE SEEKERS; CHIP WICKHAM – LA SOMBRA; JUNGLE FIRE – JAMBU

ANN-MARGRET – SONGS FROM THE SWINGER & THE PLEASURE SEEKERS

Two great Ann Margret soundtracks back to back on a single CD! The Swinger is Ann-Margret at her grooviest – singing the super-groovy theme from The Swinger – perhaps her greatest film appearance ever! There's a mod bounce to the album that goes way way beyond any of Ann's other albums of the period – thanks to arrangements from Marty Paich, Quincy Jones, and Johnny Williams – all of whom put a nice sort of lilt in the backings, and manage to capture Ann at her sexiest. The title tune "The Swinger" is worth the price of entry itself – as it's a catchy, guitar-twanging number delivered in an incredibly breathy mode – supported by 2 great instrumentals from the film as well, "Swinger's Holiday" and "Kelly's Dance". But even on more conventional numbers, Ann's got a great sound here – bringing whole new sexy life to tracks that include "I Wanna Be Loved", "By Myself", "I Just Want To Make Love To You", "More", and "Cute". Pleasure Seekers is a dreamy little soundtrack from Ann-Margret! The record features 4 unique vocal numbers by Ann – including "Madrid/The Pleasure Seekers", "Next Time", Something To Think About", and "Everything Makes Music When You're In Love" – plus instrumental tunes by Lionel Newman. Newman's work is partially snoozy, as it can be when he's scoring a more dramatic film – but there are some nicer groovy bits that really fit the mood of this 60 sex comedy. Nice numbers include the Latinized tracks "Romantic Bossa Nova", "Pleasure Seekers Bossa Nova", and "Zig A Sig A Ding Boom Bah".  ~ Dusty Groove

CHIP WICKHAM – LA SOMBRA

Sublime spiritual sounds from reedman Chip Wickham – part of the new revival of soulful 70s modes that we see in the music of Nat Birchall and Matthew Halsall! Chip lists both of these musicians as key influence in the notes, and we can definitely hear that in the music, too – which is a mix of modal groovers and more spacious numbers that blossom with Strata East-like energy – all handled by a great quartet that features Chip on both flute and tenor, plus Gabriel Casanova on piano, David Salvador on bass, and Antonio Pax on both drums and vibes. The music also has some hip European echoes – with styles that recall older work by Harold McNair on the flute numbers, or maybe the best of the Saba/MPS acoustic years. Easily the most righteous album ever issued by the Lovemonk label – with titles that include "Sling Shot", "Red Planet", "The Detour", "La Sombra", "Pushed Too Far", and "La Leyenda Del Tiempo".  ~ Dusty Groove

JUNGLE FIRE – JAMBU

Fantastic funky work from Jungle Fire – a group we've heard before, but who never seemed to blow us away this much! In a moment when so many other groups are grabbing an Afro Funk sort of vibe, these guys hit a space that's almost completely their own – more Latin America, taken across the Atlantic – then maybe back to LA for a bit of Chicano funk in the grooves! The blend is completely wonderful – some moments feel like outtakes from the sessions for the best sessions by War, others feel like some lost wax you might find digging in a Colombian record store, and still others are a sound that's completely the group's own. Basslines are nice and heavy throughout – and titles include "Cumbia De Sal", "Callejero", "Efori", "NUSAU", "Lamento Momposino", "Mofongo", and "La Kossa".  ~ Dusty Groove 

Béla Fleck Juno Concerto with the Colorado Symphony, Conducted by Jose Luiz Gomez, also Featuring Brooklyn Rider

Béla Fleck is often considered the world’s premier banjo player.  The 15-time Grammy winner has earned awards in Jazz, World Music, Classical, Folk, Bluegrass, Pop Instrumental, Gospel and more, and has been nominated in more categories than any instrumentalist in Grammy history. 

On March 3, 2017, Fleck will release Juno Concerto (Rounder Records), a concerto for banjo and orchestra, recorded in March, 2016 with the Colorado Symphony, conducted by Jose Luiz Gomez.   The album also features two pieces for banjo and string quartet, performed with Brooklyn Rider.

Named for his son Juno, “every note of the concerto is colored by the experience of being a new father, and how that has changed what is important to me as a person, as well as what I wish to express through music,” says Fleck, who became a father for the first time at 55, with his wife, musician Abigail Washburn.   Co-commissioned by the Canton, Colorado, South Carolina, and Louisville Symphony Orchestras, Juno Concerto was composed in 2015.

Companion pieces to the Juno Concerto include “Griff” (G riff), featuring Béla with the Brooklyn Rider string quartet, and the second movement of 1984’s “Quintet for Banjo and Strings.”  Recorded here for the first time in 2016, the piece was co-written with friend and mentor, Edgar Meyer and was Béla’s first foray into classical music.

“For Juno Concerto, I wanted to take what I had learned from writing and performing my first concerto and apply it here. The Impostor was written in 2011 and now that I’ve had the chance to play it over 50 times, I’ve had the chance to observe what I like and what I think could be different,” says Béla. “This time I wanted to improve my writing for the orchestra, to create more and better slow music, and for the solo parts to focus on flow and things that come naturally to the banjo, rather than attempting to do the nearly impossible, constantly.”

Béla made the classical connection in 2001 with Perpetual Motion, his critically acclaimed, two-time Grammy winning recording with John Williams, Joshua Bell, Evelyn Glennie, Chris Thile, Edgar Meyer and others.   In 2003, Fleck and Meyer debuted a double concerto for the Nashville Symphony which featured banjo and bass, which they co-wrote. The dynamic pair collaborated again with the Nashville Symphony in 2006 on The Melody of Rhythm, a triple concerto for banjo, bass, and tabla, this time with Indian consummate tabla virtuoso, Zakir Hussain.  All of this built up to Béla’s first stand-alone banjo concerto, The Impostor, a commission by the National Symphony which premiered in 2011, followed by the companion documentary, How to Write a Banjo Concerto.

 

BLUES LEGEND JOHN LEE HOOKER 100th BIRTHDAY YEAR CELEBRATION BEGINS: Multi-Label Collection WHISKEY AND WIMMEN: JOHN LEE HOOKER’S FINEST

The son of a sharecropper, blues legend John Lee Hooker was one of the very first artists to break out of that genre and become a world-wide force. He based his sound on a driving boogie beat and lyrics that sometimes seemed to come from another world. To begin the centennial celebration of Hooker’s birth year, Vee-Jay Records, a division of Concord Bicycle Music, will release WHISKEY AND WIMMEN: JOHN LEE HOOKER’S FINEST on March 31. The multi-label compilation features songs from Hooker’s Vee-Jay, Specialty, Riverside and Stax Records releases, and includes many of the bluesman’s most iconic songs. 

Born near Clarksdale, Mississippi in 1917, the man who would become known as the “King of the Boogie” was destined for blues royalty. Hooker’s 1948 single, “Boogie Chillun,” sold a million copies and set Hooker on his unstoppable path. Countless recordings followed, and a winding road through different labels and audiences. He was a huge influence on the burgeoning British Invasion in the early ‘60s, and welcomed with open arms by the rock audience around the world. Hooker is a member of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, Blues Hall of Fame, Memphis Music Hall of Fame, has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and won four Grammy's. He performed with or had his music covered by music's elite, including Eric Clapton, the Rolling Stones, Van Morrison, Bonnie Raitt, Carlos Santana and many more. 

WHISKEY AND WIMMEN: JOHN LEE HOOKER’S FINEST is the perfect collection to honor the man. It includes many of Hooker’s most exciting and time-honored recordings, showing how an artist who started with literally nothing but his inspiration and talent was able to make such a lasting impact on music. His work for the Vee-Jay, Specialty and Riverside labels were many of the recordings his unshakeable legend is built on, and provide a sonic tour of what Hooker’s blues accomplished. Music journalist Bill Dahl contributes insightful new liner notes.

In the proud history of American music there have been a handful of blues artists who really did shape what the music became. They took the primal forces of Mississippi country blues and twisted and turned it into their very own creation. To hear how John Lee Hooker did that over the course of these 16 songs is a blood-rushing history lesson of all that he created. And to have them all on a single disc is as convincing a collection as has ever been assembled that, indeed, John Lee Hooker will remain the “King of the Boogie” forever. 

“When so much music of great importance exists, it’s thrilling to continually find ways to share that history with collections like this,” says Concord Bicycle Music’s Chief Catalog Officer Sig Sigworth. “It literally sounds like America at its most exciting, and honors someone who changed the way we hear and feel forever.”

 Track Listing:

1.Boom Boom

2.Boogie Chillun

3.Dimples

4.I’m in the Mood

5.I Love You Honey

6.Whiskey and Wimmen

7.I Need Some Money

8.Grinder Man

9.I’m Going Upstairs

10.Big Legs, Tight Skirt

11.No More Doggin’

12.No Shoes

13.Crawlin’ Kingsnake

14.Frisco Blues

15.It Serve Me Right to Suffer

16.Time Is Marching

NEW RELEASES: FUKUMI – MOON IN PARIS; DIAZPORA – ISLANDS; DAVID WEISS & POINT OF DEPARTURE – WAKE UP CALL

FUKUMI – MOON IN PARIS 

Moon in Paris, recorded in New York – as Japanese singer Fukumi works with some of that city's top jazz talents – including Eric Alexander on tenor sax, Behn Gillece on vibes, David Hazeltine on piano, John Webber on bass, and Joe Farnsworth on drums! The instrumental core of the album is wonderful – very much in the Alexander/Hazletine camp – and Fukumi's a hell of a singer, too – one who can put forth the lyrics at one point, then scat wordlessly with a very melodic approach – a style that sounds especially nice next to the piano and vibes! Production is wonderful – lean, clean, and just the right mode to capture the interplay between the singer and the band – and all arrangements are by Hazeltine, who also plays a bit of Fender Rhodes. Titles include Fukumi's original "Moon In Paris" – plus nice takes on "The Windmills Of Your Mind", "What Are You Doing For The Rest Of Your Life", "Devil May Care", "Once Upon A Summertime", "Sunny", "I Will Wait For You", "Yesterday When I Was Young", and "This Girl's In Love With You". (HQ – Hi Quality CD pressing!)  ~ Dusty Groove

DIAZPORA – ISLANDS

A record with a cosmic cover, but a sound that's very down to earth – fierce deep funk, in the best Legere Records mode – played by a group who are currently one of the hardest-hitting acts on the funky label! The music's got the full-on power of Afro Funk – especially in the way that everything seems wrapped around the fast-moving rhythms on the upbeat cuts – but the sound is hardly Afro Funk at all – as these guys push things in all sorts of different grooves and currents, and also know how to throw in an offbeat or mellow rhythm when needed – which creates a great sense of freshness on the record. The lineup features alto, tenor, baritone, flute, and trumpet – plus some very strong drums and percussion, and nice use of riffing guitar. Titles include "Street Market", "Islands", "Kinshasa Strut", "Piece By Piece", "Moon", "Me & I", "Nap Xtra Long", and "Numbers".  ~ Dusty Groove

DAVID WEISS & POINT OF DEPARTURE – WAKE UP CALL

Trumpeter David Weiss never fails to give us amazing music, no matter what the setting – and here, he's working with his Point Of Departure group – an ultra-hip lineup that features Myron Waldon and JD Allen on tenor sax, each taking on different parts of the record – plus guitar, bass, and drums – as well as a bit of extra Fender Rhodes from Weiss himself! As with some of David's other projects, the music is a look back at the future of modern jazz in the late 60s and early 70s – with a spotlight on amazing compositions by artists like Wayne Shorter, Kenny Cox, Joe Henderson, Tony Williams, Charles Moore, and John McLaughlin – music that was years ahead of its time when written, and which gets even more forward-thinking treatment here by the group. Rhythms are tentative and angular at some points – really allowing for shades of color between the trumpet and tenor – and other points are bolder, and unlock some deeper righteous power in the compositions. Titles include "Sanctuary", "Noh Word", "Two Faced", "Pee Wee", "Gazelle", "The Mystic Knights Of The Sea", and "Sojourn".  ~ Dusty Groove

NEW RELEASES: MARK DE CLIVE-LOWE – LIVE AT THE BLUE WHALE; NICHOLAS PAYTON - AFRO-CARIBBEAN MIXTAPE; MOSTLY OTHER PEOPLE DO THE KILLING – LOAFER’S HOLLOW

MARK DE CLIVE-LOWE – LIVE AT THE BLUE WHALE

A jaw-dropper of a record from Mark De Clive-Lowe – much more of a jazz album than anything he's ever done before – and a set that's recorded live, too – which is also more of a change! The style here is wonderful – with Mark handling piano, keyboards, and some live effects – in a quartet that also features alto sax, bass, and drums – spinning out in territory that's a bit 70s space jazz, but also inflected with a lot more 21st Century phrasing, too. The blend is sublime – way more spiritual and spontaneous than anything Mark's ever done before – even though we've really loved most of his other music, too. It's wonderful to hear such a shift in someone we've already dug for well over a decade – and the titles are dedicated to Sun Ra, Ahmad Jamal, and Yusef Lateef – which should give you an idea of the spirit that he's going for on the record. Titles include "Evergreen", "L&H", "The Golden Lady", and "Swahililand".  ~ Dusty Groove

NICHOLAS PAYTON - AFRO-CARIBBEAN MIXTAPE

One of the most unusual projects we've ever heard from trumpeter Nicholas Payton – a record that's not straight jazz, or a standard exploration of some of the roots that have influenced his music – and instead a wonderfully criss-crossing combination of sounds from the African diaspora – served up here in a way that really lives up to the title! Payton plays his usual trumpet, but also delivers sounds on Fender Rhodes, organ, and even a bit of vocals – in a vibrant group that also includes more Rhodes, cello, sound effects, turntables, percussion, and even a string ensemble – interspersed with vocal snippets from Art Blakey, Duke Ellington, Max Roach, and many others! Payton's always had a sense of history in his music – but this may well be the first time he's taken that history and focused it forward – really creating something new in the process. The double-length set gives him plenty of room to express and experiment – and titles include "La Guajira", "Jazz Is A Four Letter Word", "Bamboula", "Kimathi", "Madmwazel Ayiti", "Junie's Boogie", "Jewel", "Othello", "The Egyptian Second Line", and "Call & Response".  ~ Dusty Groove

MOSTLY OTHER PEOPLE DO THE KILLING – LOAFER’S HOLLOW

Fantastic work from a group who never fail to blow our minds – and who also seem to try out something different with each new record, yet never falter at all in their progress forward! Mostly Other People Do The Killing may have one of the longest names in jazz, but they've also got a brash approach that really lives up to the cockiness of their name – a confident step in whatever direction they want, which always leads them down the best path. This time around, they're mixing both modern and trad jazz expressions with literary inspiration from writers who include Thomas Pynchon, Kurt Vonnegut, James Joyce, Cormac McCarthy, and David Foster Wallace – each of whom are listed as reference points for certain songs – which are based around snippets of their text, then transformed into a musical mode. The instrumentation is a very offbeat take on trad – with Jon Irabgon on tenor and sopranino sax, Steven Bernstein on trumpet and slide trumpet, Dave Taylor on bass trombone, Brandon Seabrook on banjo and electronics, Kevin Shea on drums, Ron Stabinsky on piano, and leader Moppa Elliott on bass. Titles include "Kilgore", "Hi Nella", "Honey Hole", "Bloomsberg", "Glen Riddle", "Mason & Dixon", and "Five".  ~ Dusty Groove

Therapeutic “Conversations”: Smooth soul singer Selina Albright comfortable and confident enough to “Eat Something”

While a song about the joy of packing on a few pounds and a widening booty may seem contrary to the messages bombarding the popular music and media landscapes, smooth soul singer Selina Albright’s “Eat Something” is instantly resonating with fans and radio programmers, including SiriusXM Watercolors’ Dave Koz Lounge, which will feature the song on the February 5 national broadcast. The mid-tempo adult R&B song bolstered by guitarist Kay-Ta Matsuno’s crafty touch is the lead single from Albright’s first full-length album, the very personal “Conversations,” which will be released March 17 by Golden Rays Music..       

“Over the past few years, I’ve noticed that I’ve reprioritized my life and stopped putting so much emphasis on doing and being what’s most acceptable to others, and instead focused more on appreciating and expressing who I’ve become. Getting to that place in my life inspired me to write about topics I normally wouldn’t, such as ‘Eat Something.’ I know it’s unconventional to write a song about being so happy that you gain weight from eating more, but there’s a freedom in the candor of the lyrics. There was no way I was going to change that. It was far too special,” said Albright, who selected the heartening cut as the first single based upon the immediate and rousing response she receives whenever performing the song in concert and from the fervent reaction from her “FanFamily” on social media.   

Describing the custom-tailored blend of sensual soul and sultry jazz album as “my own therapeutic diary through joy, betrayal, liberation and hope, all written without holding back,” Albright wrote the lyrics for all nine original tunes and co-produced three tracks on “Conversations.” Her subject matters are based upon intimate and probing conversations she’s had, shared as if she’s confiding in a close friend. Whether skillfully unleashing the full power and magnitude of her gravity-defying voice or harnessing her passion in a reassuring caress, Albright’s demeanor remains sunny and glowing on uplifting numbers like “Possible” and “Highest High.” Even when confronting weightier subjects head on like she does on “Wifey Anthem (You Don’t Have To Fight At Home)” and “Victim,” her inherent optimism remains present and undaunted. “Let Go” also is wrought with emotion and includes dramatic flute flourishes from multiple Grammy nominee Gerald Albright, Selina’s father. The disc’s lone cover is a stripped down, jazzy take on “If I Were A Boy” with accompaniment by contemporary jazz hit-maker Peter White on acoustic guitar and Randy Ellis (Stevie Wonder, Beyoncé) on sax. Also contributing to the date are producers Chris “Big Dog” Davis and James “JRob” Roberson as well as guitarist David P. Stevens.    

To help launch the album, Albright will perform at three record release parties: February 12 at Spaghettini in Seal Beach, California, April 6 at the Berks Jazz Fest in Reading, Pennsylvania and April 15 at The Soiled Dove Underground in Denver, Colorado. The Southern California show is already nearly sold-out. 

Born and raised in Los Angeles, California, Albright was reared in the jazz and R&B scene, making her first appearance singing on one of her father’s albums twenty years ago. She has since sung on several of his collections, including penning lyrics and singing on the Grammy-nominated “24/7,” a 2012 duet set from the chart-topping saxophonist and Grammy-winning guitarist Norman Brown. Oozing stage presence, exuberance and captivating charisma, Albright has made her own name while singing on records and stages around the world, shining brightly amidst a galaxy of contemporary jazz stars and R&B legends that spans Brian Culbertson, David Benoit, Dave Koz, Kirk Whalum, David Sanborn, Boney James, Richard Elliot and Rick Braun to Chaka Khan, Will Downing, Regina Belle, The Temptations, Hugh Masakela and the late George Duke. In an entirely different setting, she injected her soul-powered energy into the electronic dance music world by collaborating with Manufactured Superstars, leading to a performance with the internationally-revered DJ duo at Las Vegas’ Electric Daisy Carnival in 2011. Recording as a solo artist, Albright placed the spirited jazz original “You and I” on the iTunes Top 100 Singles Downloads in 2010. A few years later, she topped the soul chart in the United Kingdom for four weeks with her R&B/soul single “Brighter.” Last year, Albright primed the marketplace for “Conversations” by issuing “Sun Comes Up,” which outpaced her previous singles.                  

“Conversations” contains the following songs:

“Eat Something” (featuring Kay-Ta Matsuno)

“Possible”

“If I Were A Boy” (featuring Randy Ellis)

“Talk To Her”

“Highest High”

“Wifey Anthem (You Don’t Have To Fight At Home)” (featuring David P. Stevens)

“Search My Name”

“Victim”

“Let Go” (featuring Gerald Albright)

“Uncharted Love”

www.SelinaAlbright.com.

"Akua's Dance," by Cellist Akua Dixon Features Guitarist Freddie Bryant, Bassist Kenny Davis, & Drummer Victor Lewis, & Special Guests Ron Carter & Russell Malone With Victor Lewis

Akua Dixon Akua's Dance With her sublime new album, Akua's Dance, cellist Akua Dixon brings her sumptuous sound to the foreground on an array of material encompassing exquisite balladry, the music's deepest roots in African and African-American culture, and instrumental pieces gleaned from Dixon's opera-in-progress. 

"The music moves forward from where I was to where I'm going," says Dixon, who notes that her last release, 2015's critically hailed album Akua Dixon, was a string-centric recording that featured her "in a sectional way," Dixon says. "On this one I'm out front with the rhythm section."

Two rhythm sections, to be precise. Seven of the 10 tracks feature her stellar working quartet with guitarist Freddie Bryant, bassist Kenny Davis, and drummer Victor Lewis, with Dixon performing on the baritone violin. Built by the late luthier Carleen Hutchins, "it's an instrument with the same tuning as my cello but a larger, deeper sound," Dixon says. "I wanted some more power."

On three pieces Lewis and Dixon (on cello) are joined by guitar ace Russell Malone and bass legend Ron Carter, with whom she first performed some four decades ago on Archie Shepp's The Cry of My People (1972, Impulse!). But Akua had never had a chance to work with Carter playing her music, "so I reached out to him. If you don't ask you don't receive."

Akua Dixon Quartet The album opens with Dixon's "I Dream a Dream," a piece she repurposed from her opera based on the life of 19th-century New Orleans voodoo queen Marie Laveau. "This dance rhythm has roots in many parts of Africa and wherever Africans were taken," says Dixon. "Akua's Dance" is another tune drawn from the opera, and its terpsichorean groove was inspired by Dixon's gigs performing for dancers at African-American socials. "Dance was at the foundation of this music," she says. (Above: Dixon with Ron Carter, Russell Malone, Victor Lewis.)

If the album has an emotional centerpiece it's Abbey Lincoln's "Throw It Away," a song that's become a bona fide standard in recent years. It's the only piece featuring Dixon's soulful vocals.

Closing the album are several pieces that embody the sacred and secular sides of African-American culture. Following a slinky version of Sade's "The Sweetest Taboo," Saturday night revelry gives way to Sunday morning revelation with a reverent rendition of the Negro spiritual "I'm Gonna Tell God All of My Troubles" that basks in the baritone violin's voluptuous lower range. "I always like to include a spiritual," Dixon says. "It's an important part of my legacy."

   

Born and raised in New York City, Akua Dixon grew up in a family suffused with music. She started playing with her sister, the late violinist Gayle Dixon, shortly after the cello came into her life in the 4th grade.

After graduating from the prestigious "Fame" High School of the Performing Arts, Dixon studied at the Manhattan School of Music at a time when the only track available focused on European classical music. She describes her post-graduation gig in the pit band at the Apollo Theater as an essential proving ground.

With the doors of most symphony orchestras closed to African-American musicians (to say nothing of women), Dixon found a home in the Symphony of the New World, where she experienced the Ellingtonian epiphany that led her to jazz. "I started immersing myself in jazz and spirituals, and became determined to learn the secrets of improvising," she says.

In the early 1970s, this jazz string pioneer served as director of new music for the String Reunion, a 30-piece orchestra founded by Noel Pointer, and at the same time launched her own string quartet, Quartette Indigo. A founding member of the Max Roach Double Quartet in the early 1980s, Dixon had honed her rhythmic drive backing the likes of James Brown, but learning to phrase bebop with one of the idiom's founding fathers was an invaluable experience.

"It's been a calm couple of years," says Dixon, now resettled in New York's Hudson Valley. "I'm working on The Opera of Marie Laveau, a project I started a long time ago. I recently completed the second half of the opera since moving to Rhinebeck."

Dixon, along with a quartet of singers and accompanied by her string quartet, will perform scenes from The Opera of Marie Laveau and African-American spirituals, at Mount Morris Ascension Presbyterian Church (15 Mount Morris Park West, 122nd Street at 5th Avenue) on Sunday 2/19, 3:00pm. She is also planning a pair of CD release shows with her quartet at Trumpets, Montclair, NJ, 3/4, and Sistas' Place, Brooklyn, 3/11 (Freddie Bryant, g [replaced by Richard Padron at Sistas' Place]; Kenny Davis, b; Orion Turre, d).

 

"Horizonte," 3rd Album by Brazilian Pianist/Composer David Feldman, set for release March 3

With his new album Horizonte, Rio de Janeiro-based pianist David Feldman has fully come into his own as a composer artfully extending the samba jazz tradition. Feldman introduces his superlative working trio with bassist André Vasconcellos and drummer Márcio Bahia, and welcomes two very special guests to the proceedings, the legendary guitarist/composer Toninho Horta and the brilliant trombonist Raul de Souza. Horizonte will be released by Feldman's imprint, David Feldman Music, on March 10.

"This album blurs the boundaries," Feldman says. "I'm trying to incorporate song forms into this language that's called samba jazz. But my music is going somewhere else and I don't know if we have a label for it yet. It's Brazilian and it's jazz, but not straight-ahead samba jazz."

The great bossa nova vocalist Rosa Passos calls Horizonte "one of the best CDs of Brazillian instrumental music that has been released in the last 10 years." And composer Ivan Lins asserts that "hearing this music leaves in my soul a confirmation that the new generation that is making quality music today . . . will continue to keep up the beautiful reputation of Brazilian music."

  

While Feldman focuses on his original compositions on the new CD, he includes three tunes by other artists. Horizonte opens with a fleet version of Oscar Castro-Neves's "Chora Tua Tristeza" and closes with a rhapsodic reading of Johnny Alf's "Céu e Mar," a standard from an earlier era. Toninho Horta's gorgeous "Soccer Ball" is the album's only quintet track. "You can't have Toninho on your album and not have him playing one of his songs," says Feldman.

The leader's original pieces reflect a refined and supremely lyrical sensibility gleaned from deep listening and study of Brazilian and American masters. Among the album's numerous highlights, his "Adeus" stands out as the tune most likely to be picked up by fellow artists, with its graceful waltz feel and sumptuous melody. Horta is featured on the ballad "Tetê," and de Souza on the supple samba jazz of "Sliding Ways."

Born in Rio de Janeiro in 1977, David Feldman grew up in a family immersed in European classical music. He started piano studies at four, and within a few years he began resisting the expectation that he should play only what was written on the page, preferring to elaborate on the score. Introduced to jazz by Thelonious Monk's "Misterioso," he sought out teachers versed in improvisation, eventually studying with Luiz Eça, the pianist from the pioneering Tamba Trio (and composer of the standard "The Dolphin").

Feldman eventually enrolled at the New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music, graduating in 2002. While in New York he played with veteran masters like Slide Hampton, sat in with the Mingus Big Band, and performed with outstanding young musicians such as Matt Garrison and Eli Degibri. He forged particularly close ties with samba jazz pioneers Claudio Roditi and Duduka da Fonseca, appearing on three of the drummer's recent albums. 

"Duduka is a great influence on me," says Feldman, who continues to work with da Fonseca, performing in his trio and hiring him for trio gigs in New York. "I'd go to Duduka's place and he'd tell me stories about bossa nova. It's a style that feels very natural for me to play. Duduka introduced me to Claudio, another musician I admire a lot. They gave me this injection of samba jazz."

A semi-finalist in the Montreux Jazz Festival's 2004 Solo Piano Competition, Feldman has thrived since moving back to Rio. He's performed widely at jazz festivals at home and abroad, maintained a steady presence in New York City, and released his critically hailed debut album in 2009. Featuring bassist Sérgio Barroso and drummer Paulo Braga, O Som do Beco das Garrafas is an homage to the musicians who forged the bossa nova sound in Bottles Alley, and focuses on well- known Brazilian standards by composers like Johnny Alf, João Donato, Carlos Lyra, and Jobim. He followed up in 2014 with the solo Piano, a project that showcases his keyboard command.

"My thing is jazz and improvisation," he says. "The new album isn't about the pianism. I try to think like a movie director, always looking at the bigger picture, but I'm always thinking about bringing people into the music. I like things to sound simple, but with a lot of hidden complexity."  

Legendary composer and trumpeter Wadada Leo Smith presents the CREATE Festival - April 8 & 9, 2017 at Firehouse 12 in New Haven, CT

Visionary composer and trumpeter Wadada Leo Smith proudly announces the first-ever CREATE Festival, a two-day celebration and exploration of his inventive and unclassifiable music that will feature classic works alongside world premiere performances. Taking place April 8 & 9, 2017 at Firehouse 12 in New Haven, Connecticut, the festival will include performances by five separate ensembles as well as seminars discussing Smith’s singular compositional innovations.

“This idea has been in a dream state for many, many years,” Smith says. That long-cherished dream has been realized in part due to support from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, which awarded Smith the Doris Duke Artist Award in 2016. The festival offers a thrilling, rare opportunity to delve deeply into the full scope of Smith’s sui generis compositional voice and approach, which – in their category-defying range and breadth – can only be classified using Smith’s preferred term, “Creative Music.”

The eclectic weekend will include two unique trios, each featuring unusual, ingenious instrumentation; three of the composer’s most recent works for string quartet, the latest entries in an oeuvre now spanning more than five decades; a vocal oratorio; and the world premiere performance of Smith’s latest epic composition, “America’s National Parks.” In addition, both days’ performance schedules will kick off with short sets by young, unrecorded musicians (including Wadada’s 21-year-old grandson, guitarist Lamar Smith), providing an invaluable opportunity for artists in the early stages of their careers to receive guidance and exposure from the iconic composer.

Both evenings’ concert programs will culminate with the first-time live performance of the four largest movements from “America’s National Parks” by Smith’s newly-expanded Golden Quintet: Smith, pianist Anthony Davis, bassist John Lindberg, drummer Pheeroan akLaff, and cellist Ashley Walters. Cuneiform’s 2-CD recording of the suite last year was widely acclaimed, taking its place at or near the top of most annual lists of the year’s best releases. JazzTimes wrote that the album “unites political engagement with a soul-deep connection to nature… rich with ineffable majesty, [the suite] fully engages with tensions at the heart of the American experience.”

Saturday’s line-up commences with “Dark Lady of the Sonnets,” a piece dedicated to Billie Holiday and originally recorded in 2011, by Smith’s Mbira trio with akLaff and pipa virtuoso Min Xiao-Fen. Mbira will then be joined by the RedKoral Quintet, a string quartet specially assembled to perform Smith’s music, and a pair of vocalists for excerpts from his “Rosa Parks Oratorio,” originally premiered during the 2016 FONT Festival of New Trumpet Music. The Oratorio, Smith says, “is not a portrait of Rosa Parks. It’s my view of how she generated her ideas, her courage and her notions about how to resolve conflict.”

The RedKoral Quintet, comprising longtime collaborators Shalini Vijayan and Mona Tian (violin), Lorenz Gamma (viola) and Ashley Walters (cello), will then premiere Smith’s “String Quartet No. 9” and the first movement of “String Quartet No. 10,” two of the latest in a book of music begun in the mid-1960s. “No. 9” features four movements dedicated to female African-American pioneers in music and the Civil Rights movement (Ma Rainey, Marian Anderson, Rosa Parks, and Angela Davis), while “No. 10” was inspired by the legendary Duke Ellington and also features pianist Anthony Davis.

Sunday’s concert begins with Smith’s 12th String Quartet, the “Pacifica,” which was premiered at the 2016 Vision Festival and was written for four violas (Stephanie Griffin, Gwen Lester, Tanya Kalmanovitch and Jason Kao Hwang) with Smith’s trumpets and electronics by New York-based sound designer Hardedge. The evening continues with a newly-composed piece for the trio New Delta Akhri, in which Smith is joined by saxophonist and flutist Dwight Andrew and vibraphonist Bobby Naughton. That trio, Smith says, continues to expand concepts inaugurated with his influential early trio, the Creative Construction Company, with fellow AACM pioneers Anthony Braxton and Leroy Jenkins. “That trio set the pace for the idea of an ensemble that didn't have a set bottom, middle and top,” he says. “It sits in a zone that’s quite unique.”

Several of the works will be supplemented by images provided by video artist Jesse Gilbert, who Smith says adds integral visual context to the aural elements. “The music and imagery don’t move in separate streams,” he says. “They’re actually intimately connected and responsible for each other, allowing us to create a narrative that transcends space and time. It’s twofold: there’s a technical and musical connection, and then there’s a psychological and historical connection that help to provide for comprehension of the work.”

In order to further that comprehension, Smith (aided again by Gilbert’s images) will offer two afternoon seminars during the weekend, one to elaborate on several of the compositions and the inspirations and approaches behind them, and one to offer insights into his symbolic musical language, Ankhrasmation. Both seminars will be accompanied by premium coffee brewed by Wadada himself and Creole gumbo prepared by Gianna Chachere, executive director and founder of New Orleans arts organization The New Quorum.

Smith chose New Haven’s Firehouse 12 as the ideal venue for the CREATE Festival, calling it “almost a perfect place to play. The size is intimate enough that everybody in the space will feel that they’re part of the performance and can have a clear, engaged audio and visual experience. It’s a strong center for music in Connecticut.”

As with every performance, Smith sees the overall festival as a work in itself, which he calls “Kosmic Music: A Sonic Spectrum of Crystallized Rhythm: Pure – In Eight Parts with Five Ensembles.” In the end, Smith hopes that audiences who attend the festival will come away “with a deeper understanding of how I make my art. I expect that they’ll be more informed about what my music is and therefore they can create a deeper level of appreciation for what I do. Ultimately I wish to create a dialogue about issues of liberty, democracy, art and the connection between human beings.”

  

www.wadadaleosmith.com

NEW RELEASES: TYRONE DAVIS – I JUST CAN’T KEEP ON GOING; BLUE BOSSA: COOL CUTS FROM THE TOPICS (VARIOUS ARTISTS); HIDEO YAMAKI / BILL LASWELL / DAVE DOUGLAS - THE DRAWING CENTER

TYRONE DAVIS – I JUST CAN’T KEEP ON GOING

Tyrone Davis the mellow master – still going strong into the 80s! The album's an overlooked gem from Tyrone's years at Columbia Records – a time when he was changing up his style a bit, and really finding a great new groove – a way of getting past some of the overdone modes of his Brunswick/Dakar recordings, and moving way way past his Chicago roots! The album's got these warm modern soul arrangements that still hold onto a bit of the blues from Tyrone's past – but often glide forward in this stepping sort of style that's offset nicely by that raspy, honest vocal approach that makes Davis such a unique singer. Titles include the excellent mellow stepper "Overdue", plus "I'm Glad You're Here With Me Tonight", "I Just Can't Keep On Going", "Wanna Make It Good", and "Comin Back Baby". (Limited edition!)  ~ Dusty Groove

BLUE BOSSA: COOL CUTS FROM THE TOPICS (VARIOUS ARTISTS)

The Latin side of Blue Note Records – and the Brazilian one, too – served up here in a series that brought together classic work from the label in a special sort of groove – tunes that are maybe more influenced by south of the border rhythms than you'd expect from the soul jazz and hardbop artists who originally made the records! There's a bit of bossa here, but the rhythms open up into a fair bit more, too – and it's great to hear the difference in these musicians as they change things up from straighter bop modes, and use the new grooves to open up their solos and rework their phrasing too! This side of Blue Note was sometimes buried in a world of collectors looking for more familiar hardbop, but it really lives again, thanks tot he Blue Bossa collection. 3CD set features 41 tracks in all – including "Afreaka" by Lee Morgan, "Avila & Tequila" by Hank Mobley, "Chitlins Con Carne" by Kenny Burrell, "Congalegre" by Horace Parlan, "Back Down To The Tropics" by Charlie Rouse, "Latona" by Big John Patton, "Girl From Ipanema" by Lou Rawls, "La Fiesta" by Stanley Turrentine, "Headin South" by Horace Parlan, "La Malanga" by Bobby Hutcherson, "Mama Inez" by Grant Green, "Swingin The Samba" by Horace Silver, "Upa Neguinho" by Duke Pearson, "Mambo Inn" by Grant Green, "Ghana" by Donald Byrd, "Love For Sale" by Dexter Gordon, "Samba De Orfeu" by Charlie Rouse, "Afrodisia" by Kenny Dorham, "Sambop" by Cannonball Adderley with Bossa Rio, "Loi" by Ike Quebec, "Sandalia Dela" by Duke Pearson, "Congo Lament" by Ike Quebec, "Corcovado" by Grant Green, "Tin Tin Deo" by James Moody, "El Gaucho" by Wayne Shorter, and "Stormy" by Duke Pearson.  ~ Dusty Groove

HIDEO YAMAKI / BILL LASWELL / DAVE DOUGLAS - THE DRAWING CENTER

M.O.D. Technologies presents another stunning release as part of their digital Incunabula Series, this time with high-caliber artists Hideo Yamaki, Bill Laswell and Dave Douglas. Hideo Yamaki is Japan's most renown, respected and in demand drummer. He is a veteran of countless recordings and live projects with Japan's most celebrated pop / rock artists as well as many with Japanese icons such as Ryuichi Sakamoto, Toshinori Kondo, DJ Krush, Akira Sakata and many others. Bill Laswell is a legendary Ikonoklast, bassist / producer, who has worked with Hideo Yamaki since the eighties in many diverse and unimaginable configurations. They have been able to establish a bass and drum dialog that explodes with fluid, spontaneous blasts of telepathy, an ever expanding, dynamic matrix. Dave Douglas is one of the leading trumpeters of his generation, and was recognized as "Trumpet player of the year" by the Down Beat critics poll for the first time in 2000. He continued that billing 13 times in the 15 years since. He has worked with John Zorn's Masada, Horace Silver, Anthony Braxton, Joe Lovano and many others. A transcendent style and sweeping vision. Album features one track: The Science of Imaginary Solutions (45:48). Recorded by Hiroyuki Sanada & Fuso Murase at The Drawing Center, NY, on August 19, 2016.

On April 7, Visionary Avant-Garde Composer JOE GARRISON Returns with “THE PEOPLE UPSTAIRS”

As a 25-year veteran of pushing the boundaries of modern composition, prolific musician Joe Garrison is getting set to introduce his most adventurous project yet.

Releasing April 7, The People Upstairs is the follow-up to 2013’s Veranda, which the San Diego Troubadour favorably compared to the ground-breaking work of Oliver Nelson while also landing in NBC San Diego’s Top 10 jazz releases that year.

Produced by multi-instrumentalist Lori Bell, the new opus consists of 5 movements, with each of the first four featuring a different horn (flute, flugelhorn, clarinet, bass trombone), while the last highlights the entire ensemble. The music moves back and forth between tightly composed and radically improvised. Garrison explains, “In my mind I envisioned the instruments being personifications of a family, or group of people who have moved in upstairs. Somehow a cat, a bird and a kite are involved. They probably have been living here for a long time, but they're definitely observing the proceedings. I like to think that The People Upstairs turn out to be the musicians - and beyond that, anybody who hears the recording.”

“Moving Day” jump-starts the wild and wondrous action before side-shifting through the space time continuum on “The Balcony, 3am.” Elsewhere “The Cat, the Bird and the Kite” elegantly explores an ethereal dimension, providing an emotional counterpoint to the dizzying ascension of “2nd Floor Man.” The final step up the Stairs is to behold the elegiac beauty of “The Two Stars,” which is based on a poem Garrison wrote about what happens in a relationship when one of the members dies. Profoundly moving, “The Two Stars” represents the sole track Joe performs on.

Clocking in at 41 minutes, the intricate and visceral compositions on The People Upstairs recall the eclectic veracity of John Cage, who decreed “All music is music when you let it flow.” It’s a mindset Garrison has championed throughout career, fusing jazz, classical, rock, Indian, Indonesian Gamelan, Japanese, stride, medieval, and minimalism into his amalgamations, so it’s only natural that his music doesn't really fit in, yet, unequivocally, draws you in.

Commissioned by local music event, Rusefest, in 1989, Night People’s sole ongoing purpose has been playing original, creative, modern jazz, usually in large ensembles, using instruments not normally associated with jazz, such as oboe, French horn, flute, and bass clarinet. While the collective expanded to 19 members at a KSDS Jazz Live concert in 2015, The People Upstairs is configured as a septet throughout the main suite before increasing to nine on closer “The Two Stars.” Joining Garrison on this vast musical journey are acclaimed jazz and classical musicians, Lori Bell (flute), Dr. Ariana Warren (clarinet, bass clarinet), Derek Cannon (flugelhorn), Brian O'Donnell (bass trombone), Melonie Grinnell (piano), Tim McNalley (electric bass), Michael Hayes (drums) and New York French horn player Nicolee Kuester, who commissioned Garrison to compose the project.

Receiving classical training at UCSD, CSU Fullerton (BM), and University of Colorado at Boulder (MM), where he gained expertise in music composition emphasizing indeterminate and minimalist approaches, Garrison’s compositional process draws from the entirety of his life experience and traditional study. Having participated in many styles of music, from tightly composed to freely improvised, he has found a middle ground. Improvisation and through-composition are employed as structural elements serving his musical forms, thus opening up space to provide contrast and distort time while maintaining forward motion.

In addition to the works of Cage, Garrison has been influenced by innovators from all eras, including Leonin and Perotin, Claudio Monteverdi, Hector Berlioz, Igor Stravinsky, Harry Partch, Terry Riley, John Coltrane, Thelonious Monk, Wayne Shorter, Charles Mingus, and Miles Davis. When pressed for a reflective Garrison comparison, he suggests, “Stravinsky with a rhythm section.”

During his illustrious career, Garrison has played keyboards with the the likes of Tambau's International Orchestra, Ruse Collective, Ira Liss' Big Band Jazz Machine, Bob McMahon's Real Band, Koko Pelli, and Immediate Freedom Latin Jazz Ensemble.

He has also performed with Daniel Jackson, Gilbert Castellanos,  Rob Thorsen, Ben Schachter, Derek Canon, Tim McMahon, Tambau, Bill Caballero, Burnett Anderson, Gene Perry, Mark Lamson, Kevin Delgado, Gunnar Biggs, Kim Kimmery, Steve Feierabend, Larry De La Cruz, Dave Millard, and Kamau Kenyatta, who won a Grammy for producing Gregory Porter’s Liquid Spirit.

JOE GARRISON and NIGHT PEOPLE

The People Upstairs

1.Moving Day (flute feature)

2. The Balcony, 3am (flugelhorn feature)

3. The Cat, the Bird and the Kite (clarinet feature)

4. Everyday's Again - (bass trombone feature)

5. 2nd Floor Man

    &. The Two Stars (French horn, Alto flute, piano)

Joe Garrison - Piano (track 6 only)

Lori Bell - Flute/Producer

Dr. Ariana Warren - Clarinet/Bass clarinet

Derek Cannon - Flugelhorn

Brian O'Donnell - Bass trombone

Melonie Grinnell - Piano

Tim McNalley - Electric bass

Michael Hayes - Drums

Nicolee Kuester - French horn

Tour Dates:

4/08 - San Diego, CA @ Dizzy’s (Record Release Show)

http://www.nightpeoplejazz.com

http://www.facebook.com/JoeGarrisonAndNightPeople

ADAM RUDOLPH’S MOVING PICTURES – GLARE OF THE TIGER

This is the first release by Adam Rudolph's Moving Pictures in over five years. It is a perfect example of creative music looking to the future while expressing the sound of now. The amazing chemistry and collective language amongst the musicians reflects their many years of developing and performing Rudolph's concept. These musicians each have direct and personal connections to the roots and history of jazz as they have performed with and have been mentored by key figures in 20th century creative music such as Ornette Coleman, Yusef Lateef, Roy Haynes, Don Cherry, Sam Rivers, Jon Hassel and many more. The exceptional and modern, recorded sound of Glare of the Tiger was done by long-time collaborator James Dellatacoma, head engineer at Bill Laswell's Orange Music Studio.

"This recording is the fullest realization of aesthetic and concept, which I have been developing for the past three decades. My aim was to compose music that inspired the musicians to express their inner voice, while still maintaining a clear focus on aesthetic and overall sound. It is my feeling that to honor tradition, one should look forward and not backward. The tradition is to sound like yourself and create a NEW music that reflects the NOW. To put it another way, Yusef Lateef often said to me, "Brother Adam, we are evolutionists."

A Pioneer in World Music - The New York Times

A Percussion Wizard - DownBeat

Musicians:

Adam Rudolph: handrumset (kongos, djembe, tarija), sintir, cajon, itotele, glockenspiel, gongs, percussion

Alexis Marcelo: fender rhodes, electric keyboards & hammond B3

Damon Banks: electric bass

Graham Haynes: cornet, flugelhorn, electronics

Hamid Drake: drumset, percussion

James Hurt: sogo & kidi drums, oghene bell, okonkolo, fender rhodes, smart phone synthesizer module & sound design

Kenny Wessel: electric guitar, electronics

Ralph M. Jones: flute, alto flute, bass clarinet, soprano & tenor saxophones, husli, bamboo flutes

TRACKS

01.    Glare of the Tiger  13:44

02.    Interlude One  0:25

03.    Ecstaticized  5:43

04.    Interlude Two  0:21

05.    Rotations  6:00

06.    Dialogics  4:06

07.    Ciresque  7:31

08.    Interlude Three  0:39

09.    Lehra  3:08

10.    Wonderings  12:43

11.    Interlude Four  0:44

Compositions by Adam Rudolph.

Produced, arranged, edited, mixed, processed by Adam Rudolph and James Dellatacoma.

PHIL PERRY RELEASES HIS 12TH SOLO ALBUM "BREATHLESS"

"I look for enough of myself in the song to be the vocal thought of the composer," reflects Phil Perry. "It's always about the music. Not me." Phil Perry IS music. He has spent a lifetime converting audiences with his riveting performances and unforgettable renditions of some of the greatest songs in R&B and the American songbook. The dynamic singer has the uncanny ability to make you a believer with a single note. Truly one of the greatest voices of our time, Perry's vocal talents have been sought after by everyone from Patti LaBelle, Chaka Khan and Anita Baker to Quincy Jones and Barbra Streisand, among others. It is no wonder why  Down Beat Magazine once referred to Perry as the "Pavaratti of Jazz" and

JazzTimes Magazine once declared that Perry "creates joyous, romantic magic." Phil Perry's rich smooth tenor and unrivaled falsetto have set him in a class by himself. For Perry, who has been dubbed the "real deal" by the iconic Al Jarreau, his unique voice and approach to the music are simple. "I try to always be me...I just sing. What comes out is what comes out. It's just Me."

Phil Perry's new album, his 12th as a leader, Breathless, will leave you feeling just that. The singer explains, "Each of my 12 solo projects is a House where listeners go to HEAR the music, but while they are in there they also FEEL a lot of love - it's Home Sweet Home."  Perry is joined on Breathless by his longtime collaborator, producer extraordinaire and pianist, Chris "Big Dog" Davis.  Davis and Perry have a chemistry in the studio that is undeniable. Having worked together on several projects, they have proven to be a winning combination.  "Chris and I respect the music the same way we respect each other," shares Perry. It's a unique and rare thing and it's easy because we speak the same language. What's really amazing are the times we enjoy whenever we get the chance to perform LIVE together." Breathless features such gems as the timeless title track, the tender ballad "Never Can Say Goodbye," Perry's stunning recreation of Stevie Wonder's timeless classic "Love's In Need Of Love Today, " a delightful in reinvention of the Burt Bacharach/Hal David composition, "One Less Bell To Answer" and more!

For over four decades Phil Perry has provided the soundtrack for generations of fans. In the mid-1970s, Perry came to fame as a member of the revered soul group, The Montclairs, and subsequently as part of the duo Perry and Sanlin. The dynamic vocalist launched his solo career in 1991 with The Heart Of A Man, which featured an impressive re-make of Aretha Franklin's "Call Me" which hit #1 on the R&B charts. Pure Pleasure came in 1994 and yielded another hit with his version of "If Only You Knew" and an unforgettable version of the Spinners' classic, "Love Don't Love Nobody."  The highly versatile Perry also began achieving success in the contemporary jazz arena through his collaborations with Lee Ritenour, The Rippingtons and numerous others. One Heart One Love came in 1998 and hit Top Five on the Billboard Contemporary Jazz chart.  Book Of Love and Magic followed and in 2006 Perry released Classic Love Songs, reminding audiences once again of his unmatched ability to put his own signature stamp on well known hits. Next came A Mighty Love in 2007, followed by Ready for Love and the stellar collaboration with Melba Moore, The Gift Of Love in 2009. Say Yes was released in 2013 and included imaginative and brilliant re-workings of such love songs as Sam Cooke's "You Send Me" and Simon and Garfunkel's "Bridge Over Troubled Water." It also featured a stirring duet of "Where Is The Love" with Chanté Moore that garnered considerable attention at radio and is listed on Billboards 2014 'Top 50 Smooth Jazz' songs. 2015 saw the release of A Better Man which among other gems featured two definitive re-workings of the Curtis Mayfield classics "Gypsy Woman" and "I'm So Proud."

Kneebody Returns with Ninth Studio Album, Anti-Hero – Capturing Grammy® Nominated Quintet’s Fiery Energy From Live Performances

Sixteen years in and the genre-bending electric jazz collective Kneebody is stronger than ever. On the heels of their recent groundbreaking collaboration with electronic musician Daedelus, the band returned to the studio refreshed and armed with a slate of road-tested tunes for their ninth studio album. Kneebody makes their Motéma Music debut on March 3 with the release of Anti-Hero, the pulsating result of that creative rebirth, featuring an assured set of churning backbeats and unrestrained exploration.

When Kneebody first convened in the year 2001, they were five twenty-somethings gigging around Los Angeles’ vast pockets of nightlife. Trumpeter Shane Endsley and saxophonist Ben Wendel formed the frontline, telepathic and complimentary, while keyboardist Adam Benjamin, bassist Kaveh Rastegar and drummer Nate Wood formed the rhythm section.

These five artists, all bandleaders in their own right, have become first-call musicians not only for their jazz contemporaries, but also for mainstream icons such as John Legend, De La Soul, Snoop Dogg and Pearl Jam to name a few. Yet throughout the years, Kneebody has always remained their artistic home.

It is the goal of the band to not be confined to any genre. Though they exist in an instrumental jazz world, their influences and abilities cover an enormous swath of genres from chamber pop to hard-driving electronic-based productions.

“I’ve often joked that our band is almost infamous at this point for being extremely hard to describe,” says Wendel. “I’ve always been proud of that. The music we’re doing is always new but the band itself is not new. Kneebody has always been our creative home. It’s always been the ground for us.”

The band opens with the ethereal “For The Fallen” composed by Endsley. The spiraling meditation is ominous. Endsley and Wendel weave in and out over Benjamin’s humming keyboards, never getting too comfortable, while Wood supplies a pounding backbeat for the self-titled track. Inspired by the expanding outlets for protest and specifically the 2014 battle for net neutrality, Endsley wrote the tune with a sense of empowerment. “There’s this revolution in this age that can come from our living rooms. You can launch an uprising from a coffee shop,” he marvels.

Wendel’s “Drum Battle”, which originally appeared on the band’s 2015 Daedelus collaboration Kneedelus, is a high-energy workout understandably powered by Wood’s hard-rocking kit.  Benjamin takes a soaring solo on the tune that bends in and out of centuries, conjuring an electric squall squarely in the here and now.

The title track “Anti-Hero” is a more subdued but no less propulsive song composed by Benjamin. “It’s one that we have been playing pretty regularly for the last three or four years. It was a nice feeling to record a song that was already in a fully mature phase.”

A majority of the material on this record was honed on the road in the last few years. The band takes pride in adhering to the spontaneity of never repeating a take. Months of road-testing tunes results in a very focused mission for the band but the studio as instrument has its charms too.

“When it really works, to write collaboratively is the best thing ever,” says Benjamin. “The five of us are totally equal in terms of our decision making on a compositional level, performance level, even on a business level. When everything is aligned and that works well, it is the best thing ever. We all share in the process and feel responsible for the things that go well. That’s what has kept it together for 16 years. We all feel like it’s our baby, individually and collectively.”

Endsley’s “The Balloonist” is one of those studio experiments. “It has kind of an irreverent, brat-rock punky beat. It’s above the earth. There is a heaviness but it also has a bouncy lightness to it.” Benjamin’s humming keyboards help that process with Rastegar and Wood in choppy synchronicity on the brisk rocker.

Two of Rastegar’s contributions are tributes to musicians gone far too soon. “For Mikie Lee” is a tribute to Bay Area musician Mikie Lee Prasad, a triumphant mid-tempo tune that moves with grungy deliberation. Both Wendel and Endsley heighten the performance with soaring confessions amid the pounding rhythm section.

“Austin Peralta” is the album closer. “Austin was a phenomenon,” remembers Rastegar. “He was at a high school that we would go to to teach some workshops and clinics. I remember him as an 11th grader, confident, shaggy-headed precocious wunderkind. Pretty soon after high school he started hiring some of us to play his gigs.” Upon the pianist’s unexpected passing at the age of 22, Rastegar wrote the tune as a solo bass meditation. In the studio he opened it up to the rest of the band. ”We put two drum kits on it. It’s got a stately mournful sound but it’s also got so much wandering beauty, people floating in and out.”

“Profar,” Benjamin’s nod to West Indies baseball player Jurickson Profar, grooves with life. “It’s a dense, through-composed piece that’s almost like an etude or a chamber music piece,” says Benjamin. “Usually in our set list and our live shows, we like to have a balance of music that is dense versus music that is very open. We like to improvise with structures in a jazz tradition.” Both horns shine with bright solos that ride over Wood’s sly tambourine and a plucky chicken scratch groove.

The spacious “Carry On” is one of Wendel’s contributions, a tricky bout that summons the heavens. “I have always felt that Kneebody is more in the spirit of a singer-songwriter, rock band where songs are honed in a certain way. My criteria tends to be that the song has a real strong composed element to it. If there are solos, it’s going to be really specific and maybe kind of minimal. I’ll think specifically of a band member that would be perfect for. They aren’t open jazz vehicles where I could bring it to anybody and ten million people can solo on it. There’s a certain kind of conciseness that I think is the same sort of producer version that someone would bring to a singer’s album.”

“Yes You” is a frenetic feature for Wendel, highlighting his deft chops and endless string of ideas and motion. The live element pervades with the sound of a band deep into a conversation that only they can control. They flutter like a flock of birds, plugged in and unafraid of hard turns on sharp corners.

“It feels to me like the best representation of what the band sounds like live in terms of a focused effort,” confides Wood about Anti-Hero. “That keeps it not too wandering for repeated listening but it has the energy of a live show. It was an easy album to make. We can just kind of do our thing and it seems to work pretty well.”