NEW MUSIC RELEASES: JIMMY GREENE – FLOWERS: BEAUTIFUL LIFE VOL. 2; JOEY DEFRANCESCO – PROJECT FREEDOM; D-ERANIA – LANGUAGE OF THE HEART

JIMMY GREENE – FLOWERS: BEAUTIFUL LIFE VOL. 2

A huge step forward in music for saxophonist Jimmy Greene – an artist who's still reeling from the loss of his daughter, who was murdered at Sandy Hook Elementary in 2012 – but who's turning his grief and sorrow into some of the richest music he's ever recorded! The feel here is even deeper than the first volume dedicated to Green's daughter – original songs that burst out with so much life and energy, we're held rapt right from the very first note – almost never mired in the sort of melancholy you might expect from such an experience, and instead ready to set a new fire to light the way ahead! Greene plays tenor, soprano, alto, and baritone – and other musicians include Kevin Hayes on Rhodes and piano, Mike Moreno on guitar, Renee Rosnes on piano, Ben Williams and John Patitucci on bass, and Jeff Tain Watts and Otis Brown III on drums. Titles include "Fun Circuits", "Second Breakfast", "Flowers", "Stanky Leg", "Big Guy", "Amantes", and "Thirty Two".  ~ Dusty Groove

JOEY DEFRANCESCO – PROJECT FREEDOM

Joey DeFrancesco's been giving us albums for many years now, and he never fails to deliver something that's right on the money – as is the case with this tight quartet session with his People combo! Joey's touch on the keys of the Hammond is amazing – and there are all these unusual inflections and shadings throughout – of the sort that few players can do while still keeping their groove – and as always, Joey's sense of space and timing is what really makes the album sparkle, and set him apart from so many of his contemporaries. At a spot or two, DeFrancesco also picks up the trumpet, which he blows overdubbed over his keys – and the rest of the group features warmly understated work from Troy Roberts on tenor and soprano sax, plus Dan Wilson on guitar and Jason Brown on drums – on titles that include "So Near So Far", "Peace Bridge", "A Change Is Gonna Come", "Stand Up", "Project Freedom", and "The Unifier".  ~ Dusty Groove

D-ERANIA – LANGUAGE OF THE HEART

A sultry saxophonist from the Chicago scene – an artist who's especially great on soprano sax, which she uses in a sweet style that takes us back to Grover Washington in the 70s! Yet there's also a contemporary vibe to the record, too – not a smooth jazz polish, but instead a reworking of older funky jazz modes – into a modern, urban groove that's mighty nice – and which has plenty of space for D-Erania to give us some well-crafted lines on both soprano and alto sax. Tony Cazeau handles keyboards on most tracks – although one title features guest work on keys from Robert Irving III, and a few more feature drums from Makaya McCraven. Titles include "El Tobias", "Is What It Is", "All We Need", "Native Beauty", "Ride With Me", and "Laelia's Dream".  ~ Dusty Groove

NEW RELEASES: RAY MANTILLA – HIGH VOLTAGE; MONDO GROSSO – NANDO DEMO ATARASHIKU UMARERU; HAMPSHIRE & FOAT – GALAXIES LIKE GRAINS OF SAND

RAY MANTILLA – HIGH VOLTAGE

For decades now, Ray Mantilla's been one of the few cats who can effortlessly fuse together Latin rhythms and jazz – creating the kind of music that's completely satisfying to fans of both styles, but all without ever resorting to any sort of easy cliches or overdone modes! Mantilla's the kind of leader who can let the players really do their thing, while still hanging together as a tightly rhythmic unit – driven on by his percussion as well as his direction – with a lineup that features Guido Gonzalez on trumpet, Jorge Castro on baritone and flute, Ivan Renta on soprano and tenor, Edy Martiez on Fender Rhodes and piano, Chuco Martinez on bass, and Diego Lopez on drums. The set also features great guest vibes from Mike Freeman on two tracks – and the whole thing's got a rock-solid, all-jazz vibe that soars out on tunes that include "Solar", "Ramona", "Exit 45", "The Gypsy", "Midnite Jazz Affair", "Comin Home Baby", "Cedar's Blues", and "Third Plane".  ~ Dusty Groove

MONDO GROSSO – NANDO DEMO ATARASHIKU UMARERU

It's been quite a long time since we last heard from Mondo Grosso – the Japanese project from Shinichi Osawa whose work was part of the same great wave of 90s Tokyo soul we loved from artists like Mondo Grosso, Kyoto Jazz Massive, and Monday Michiru! Yet, despite the passage of time, and a number of solo projects, too – Osawa is immediately back in fine fine form – delivering the sort of album that instantly bridges the Pacific with a wonderfully well-crafted batch of upbeat club music! Some of the familiar talents from that older scene are on deck to help give a voice to the Mondo Grosso music – singers Bird, UA, and Tica – alongside a few other guests vocalists who deliver soulful lyrics, mostly in Japanese – on tracks that include "See You Again", "Solitary", "Late Night Blue", "Time", "Eraser", and "Gold". Features a bonus DVD, with 4 tracks that include "Time", "See You Again", and two more Japanese-language titles. (DVD is NTSC, Region 2.)  ~ Dusty Groove

HAMPSHIRE & FOAT – GALAXIES LIKE GRAINS OF SAND

Spacey sounds from the dream team of Warren Hampshire and Greg Foat – a set that feels a bit like music that Foat previously recorded under his own name, but which also has a more spiritual sound overall! Hampshire plays guitar and auto harp, and Foat plays Fender Rhodes, vibes, and other keyboards – but those instruments are just part of the sound here – as there's also some added strings, tenor, and other elements from time to time – inflecting the music with a visionary quality that reminds us of some of the more freethinking records coming out in the early 70s – especially the kind of small label sets that were years ahead of their time, and only finally getting their due all these many years later. The presentation of the package echoes the style of older Michael Garrick material on the UK Argo Records – and there's definitely a depth here to live up to that spirit, but also a warmer vibe overall. Titles include "How The Nights Can Fly", "Lullaby", "The Solar Winds", "A Long Way Home", and "All Washed Up".  ~ Dusty Groove

NEW RELEASES: FARNELL NEWTON – BACK TO EARTH; BRAXTON COOK – SOMEWHERE IN BETWEEN; ENNANGA VISION – ENNANGA VISION

FARNELL NEWTON – BACK TO EARTH

This might be the first date as a leader we've ever seen from trumpeter Farnell Newton – but it's already one that will have us looking out for more! Newton's got a tight, soulful sound on his horn – deft at times, but often more concerned with a longer, wider flow – which is balanced sonically by the trombone of Kyle Molitor – and given a nicely lyrical twist from the piano of Greg Goebel, a musician who may well be the second star of the set! We love Goebel's presence – which maybe reminds us of early Cedar Walton at times – and his warmly ringing tones are supported by work from Dylan Sundstrom on bass and Christopher Brown on drums. As with many of the best Posi-Tone label releases, much of the work here is original, and written by the leader – with titles that include "The Roots", "Transcendentals", "Crossing The Tracks", "Sons Of The Sun", "Gazillionaire", and "Road To The South".  ~ Dusty Groove

BRAXTON COOK – SOMEWHERE IN BETWEEN

Braxton Cook is a singer, but he's often one who speaks first with his alto sax – which he blows in this wonderfully sharp way – often with cascading notes that set this beautiful mood for his tunes! The music is mostly electric – filled with Fender Rhodes, bass, and guitar – so the acoustic contributions from Cook really stand out in this great way, even though both his singing and saxophone work seem imbued with an electric sensibility of their own! Rhythms are quite fresh – maybe in a post-Robert Glasper style that makes the whole thing as compelling as it is complex – very down to earth in presentation, even though the record is bristling with new ideas. Titles include "FJYD", "You're The One", "Until", "I Can't", "Hymn For Trayvon", "Never Thought", and "Pariah".  ~ Dusty Groove

ENNANGA VISION – ENNANGA VISION

One of those records that definitely lives up to its cover – as it's not only a great mish-mash of styles, it's also got some 80s instrumental currents that might come as a surprise if you know other records on the Soundway label! The work recasts older elements of Ugandan music with old school keyboards and drum machines – all at a level that's almost in the territory of some of the best post-punk global experiments – such as work on the Crammed Discs label, and maybe some of the more creative groups from the French and Belgian scenes of the time! The notes describe the music in somewhat enigmatic terms – but there's a straightforward appeal that really makes the whole thing great – a quality that's very unique, and very different – all with a sensitive approach that never goes for easy sorts of gimmicks or tricks. Titles include "All This Blue", "Abbanna Kange", "Kampala Auto Chase", "Endongo Moogs", "Silimu", "Jaja", "New Sunshine", "Essembi", "Killing Ghosts", "Happy Birthday Wonder", and "Otim's War".  ~ Dusty Groove

NEW RELEASES: RONALD BRUNER JR. – TRIUMPH; JOSEF LEIMBERG – ASTRAL PROGRESSIONS; DAVE LIEBMAN / JOE LOVANO - COMPASSION: THE MUSIC OF JOHN COLTRANE

RONALD BRUNER JR. – TRIUMPH

A very well-titled album – given that the whole thing's a real triumph from Ronald Bruner Jr – who serves up some wonderful vocals alongside his work on drums – in a set that's got a swirlingly cosmic approach to soul! The album's overflowing with hip talents from the contemporary underground – with work from Thundercat on bass, Kamasai Washington on tenor, and even a bit of keyboards from the great George Duke – a lineup that really indicates the direction that Bruner is going for here – as he transforms contemporary soul with all the new energy from that scene too. And although his image on the cover might be tied to the streets, there's a more ambitious agenda taking place – as you'll hear on tracks that include "True Story", "Open The Gate", "Take The Time", "She'll Never Change", "Doesn't Matter", "One Night", "Sensation", "To You/For You", "Chick's Web", "Whenever", and "Geome Deome". (Includes download!)  ~ Dusty Groove

JOSEF LEIMBERG – ASTRAL PROGRESSIONS

A masterpiece from trumpeter Josef Leimberg – a set that features guest appearances by Kamasi Washington, Georgia Anne Muldrow, and Miguel Atwood-Ferguson – yet a record that has an amazing sound that's all its own! Washington's working in a blend of spiritual and electric jazz currents – often in settings that blend strings from Atwood-Ferguson with his own bold solos, and some rising instrumentation that effortlessly blends vocals, reeds, guitar, and keyboards – all in a mode that hearkens back to the majestic sound of the Cadet/Concept years in Chicago, but which has a distinctly 21st Century flavor overall! The music is incredible – righteous, visionary, and full of power – and we hope we'll be hearing plenty more from Leimberg in the future. For now, the album's more than enough to blow our minds – and titles include "Interstellar Universe", "Between Us 2", "The Awakening", "As I Think Of You", "Astral Progressions", "Lonely Fire", and "Celestial Visions". ~ Dusty Groove

DAVE LIEBMAN / JOE LOVANO - COMPASSION: THE MUSIC OF JOHN COLTRANE

Two saxophone giants who emerged in the post-Coltrane generation – both taking on the music of the master himself! The set features Dave Liebman and Joe Lovano going head to head in a wonderful way – playing for a BBC Jazz program, and really stretching out – not just on twin tenors, bot also with Liebman on soprano sax, c flute, and wood recorder – and Lovano on alto clarinet, Scottish flute, and aulochrome – all instruments that really help expand on the color palette of the Coltrane compositions! The rest of the group features Phil Markowitz on piano, Ron McClure on bass, and Billy Hart on drums – and although, since the set was recorded in 2007, it's not the same "vintage tapes" style as other Resonance releases, it's still got an equally crucial vibe – a key look at a musical moment that we might have otherwise missed. Titles include a very long take on "Compassion" – plus "Locomotion", "Ole", "Reverend King", "Equinox", and "Central Park West/Dear Lord".  ~ Dusty Groove

Jazz Singer and Broadway Sensation Leslie Odom, Jr. Makes Newport Jazz Festival® Debut Friday, August 4, at Fort Adams

After winning awards and critical acclaim in the Broadway smash hit Hamilton: An American Musical, Leslie Odom, Jr. could have done anything. Doors opened, opportunities arose, but it is sharing his love for jazz that has taken the spotlight. He recorded an album of jazz standards and show tunes while still appearing on stage, eight shows a week. The self-titled album was released last year and Leslie Odom, Jr., the original Aaron Burr in Hamilton, has been touring in support of the record ever since. On Friday, August 4, he will make his debut at the Newport Jazz Festival® presented by Natixis Global Asset Management.

Odom is an enormously talented, crossover star. When he burst onto the scene as the rapping, dancing founding father, the New York Times called him "suavely brooding." The role made him a Tony and Grammy Award winner, but before that he was already a known TV actor and club performer. Odom, 35, was born in Queens, NY, grew up in Philadelphia and was a musical theater prodigy. He appeared in Rent on Broadway when he was just 17 while attending Philadelphia's High School for Creative and Performing Arts. After graduating with honors from the School of Drama at Pittsburgh's Carnegie Mellon University, he acted on television as Sam Strickland in TV's Smash for two seasons and had a recurring role as Reverend Curtis Scott on Law & Order: SVU. Soon to conquer the big screen, Odom recently filmed a remake of Murder on the Orient Express with a star-studded cast that includes Dame Judi Dench and Johnny Depp, due in theaters in November.

But, being an original star of Hamilton, first when it was off-Broadway and continuing with the show to the Great White Way as Burr, the founding father who shot Alexander Hamilton in a fatal duel, propelled Odom into a different stratosphere all together. And, yet it was back to his roots he went. Honey-voiced Odom created an emotionally resonant album of standards with relentless appeal. In much the same way as he broke with tradition by being an African-American cast as Aaron Burr, Odom's music crosses boundaries. This summer he will appear at festivals, in concert halls, but also with the Boston and San Diego Symphony Orchestras. His universal appeal is undeniable.

Leslie Odom, Jr., the 10-song album, features the classic "Look for the Silver Lining," which has been recorded by jazz greats from Chet Baker to Tony Bennett, as well as "Nobody Knows You (When You're Down and Out)," "Cheer Up Charlie" from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, the South American classic, "Brazil (Aquarela do Brasil)" and "The Guilty Ones" from Broadway's Spring Awakening. This soulful collection is a different world from the sounds of Hamilton, yet it's all part of Odom's appeal.

The 2017 Newport Jazz Festival presented by Natixis Global Asset Management takes place August 4 - 6 at Fort Adams State Park and the International Tennis Hall of Fame at the Newport Casino. Artists include The Roots; Béla Fleck & The Flecktones; Snarky Puppy; Andra Day; Branford Marsalis Quartet; Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue; Rhiannon Giddens, Christian McBride Big Band with Special Guests; Cécile McLorin Salvant; Maria Schneider Orchestra; Hudson: Jack DeJohnette, Larry Grenadier, John Medeski & John Scofield; Maceo Parker; Vijay Iyer & Wadada Leo Smith and many more.

www.newportjazz.org.

GERALD CANNON Plays in a Remarkable Variety of Combinations on his Long-Awaited Sophomore Release - COMBINATIONS

The veteran bassist returns as a leader for the first time in more than a decade, mixing with Gary Bartz, Kenny Barron, Jeremy Pelt, Russell Malone and more

"It has been wonderful working with Gerald, I'm sure he will remain a force in the jazz world for years to come." - McCoy Tyner

"Gerald is dedicated to perfection in expressing his art. I have the greatest admiration and respect for him because every time I hear him, I hear something new." - Buster Williams

14 years after releasing his self-titled debut as a leader, bassist Gerald Cannon makes his long-overdue return with Combinations. Due out July 14 on Cannon's own Woodneck Records, the album makes up for lost time by mixing and matching a range of styles, moods and collaborators from across the spectrum of Cannon's far-reaching career.

In Cannon's virtuosic hands, Combinations carries a multitude of meanings. There's the obvious fact, first of all, that no two tracks on the album feature the same line-up of musicians, juggling ten of the bassist's closest collaborators in a variety of combinations. Then there's the diversity of sounds represented by the compositions (almost half of which were penned by Cannon himself): everything from simmering post-bop to boisterous funk, frantic modern jazz to elegant ballads, gospel to bossa nova. Then, as legendary bassist and Cannon's mentor Ron Carter points out in his liner notes, there's the many hats that Cannon wears, making him a combination of bassist, composer, arranger and producer.

"Not only did I want to do a record with a combination of my favorite musicians," Cannon explains, "but I wanted to do a record with a combination of different styles."

Cannon assembled the perfect line-up of musicians with which to realize that goal. The pool of artists from which he drew for the session includes saxophonists Gary Bartz, Sherman Irby and Steve Slagle, trumpeters Jeremy Pelt and Duane Eubanks, pianists Kenny Barron and Rick Germanson, guitarist Russell Malone and drummers Willie Jones III (who also co-produced the album) and Will Calhoun. Together with Cannon they combine and recombine in quintet, quartet, trio, duo and - in the bassist's memorable, heartfelt closing rendition of "Darn That Dream" - solo configurations.

"Everybody on this record is an honest musician," Cannon says. "They play their personalities."

The same could be said for Cannon, who has played with an impressive list of legendary musicians since arriving in New York City from his native Wisconsin more than thirty years ago. That encyclopedic lists includes his longtime tenure in the Roy Hargrove Group and the McCoy Tyner Trio, along with stints with Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers, the Cedar Walton Trio, and bands led by Elvin Jones, Dexter Gordon, Jimmy Smith, Joe Lovano, Monty Alexander and Stanley Turrentine, as well as playing with a host of legendary Cuban musicians.

Combinations comes out of the gate robustly swinging, with a tune by another early mentor, Slide Hampton. "Every Man is a King," which Cannon learned from a version by one of his bass heroes, Sam Jones, features a bold quintet with Gary Bartz and Jeremy Pelt out front, anchored by Cannon and his regular trio of Rick Germanson and Willie Jones III. That trio gets to shine on the classic ballad "How My Heart Sings," revealing fragility reminiscent of the classic Bill Evans Trio. Cannon's own ballad "A Thought" is highlighted by the sensitive touch of Kenny Barron, which sounds gorgeous in conversation with Sherman Irby's lithe alto.

Steve Slagle makes the most of his sole appearance with an unaccompanied intro to Duke Ellington's "Prelude to a Kiss," which is immediately contrasted by the frantic rhythms of Cannon's ode to his usually-packed home subway station, "Columbus Circle Stop." Cannon fell in love with authentic bossa nova while touring Brazil, and offers his own version in dedication to his late mother, "Amanda's Bossa." Sam Jones' influence returns with his composition "One for Amos," a feature for Cannon's thick, woody tone, while Bartz is the subject of the tribute "Gary's Tune." Also featuring Living Colour drummer Will Calhoun, with whom Cannon plays in a band honoring his former boss Elvin Jones, the tune is built on a soulful groove that Cannon wrote while reminiscing about his teenage years playing R&B in his parents' basement.

"Gary is a good friend and big brother," Cannon says. "The melody that I wrote for that tune had to do with a lot of things I hear him play with McCoy Tyner. Gary's a groovy cat, so soulful and complex at the same time. He's the consummate musician, and I like the fact that he's very true to his feelings about life and the world."

Growing up in the church, Cannon says that it was a rare Sunday that he wasn't either playing or hearing "How Great Thou Art." He recorded this captivating duo version with Russell Malone in honor of his later father, who led his own gospel group during Cannon's childhood. The title tune returns to a blistering quintet format, this time pairing Duane Eubanks with Bartz on the frontline.

That's a lot of combinations, but Cannon can add one more to his resumé: he is renowned as both a jazz bassist and a visual artist. Though he's long kept the two pursuits separate, not wanting to be thought of as a musician who dabbles in painting on the side, he's recently allowed his dual passions to cross paths more often. One of his colorful abstracts graces the inner sleeve of Combinations (alongside one by his gifted son, Gerald Cannon II), and he's begun to recognize how much influence each of the arts has on the other.

"Painting is like a bass solo," he says. "You start at one spot but you don't really know where it's going to end up. All you know is, on a canvas or on a chart, you've got four corners to finish it and at some point you've got to say who you are or what your emotions are at that particular time."

www.cannonmusicnart.com

Vocalist Dominique Eade and pianist Ran Blake take a stark, mesmerizing journey through the American folk tradition on their second duo collaboration with Town and Country

Plainspoken but poetic, timely and timeless, poignant yet pointed: the American folk song tradition has a long history of confronting specific injustices while embracing a universal humanity. On the starkly moving Town and Country (out June 9 on Sunnyside), vocalist Dominique Eade and pianist Ran Blake take the long view of our own tumultuous moment in history with a wide-ranging collection of folk tunes that examine the travails of Americans from Main Street to the mountains. 

With the varied repertoire on Town and Country, Eade and Blake – long-time colleagues both on the stage and as educators at Boston’s New England Conservatory – present a broad notion of folk song that’s as diverse as the nation itself. There are the expected classic tunes and country ballads, the ill-fated coalminers, the tragic romantics grasping out their last breaths, the cries of faith and determination sent heavenward. But in the agile imaginations of these two inventive artists, who share a love for skewing the traditional through a modernist lens, the folk idea is broad enough to include film noir laments and TV-scaled road songs, moonlit love and Third Stream austerity. 

“During the election season I was thinking a lot about the planet,” Eade explains. “Usually Ran and I draw material from the Great American Songbook because we both have a love for that, but in this case I really wanted to say something different. Many of these folk songs deal with things like the prison system and poverty and wealth disparity, different parts of our country coming through this music. The nature of folk music is that there’s a lot of history in the words, but that history felt very relevant to making a statement in and of our time.” 

The material here ranges from Bob Dylan’s scathing attack on consumer culture, “It’s Alright, Ma (I’m Only Bleeding)” to “Give My Love to Rose,” Johnny Cash’s bitter ode to those abandoned by the prison system; Charles Ives’ poetic portrait of “Thoreau,” the founding father of the New England Transcendentalists, to a pair of shadow-shrouded nursery rhymes (“Lullaby” and “Pretty Fly”) from Charles Laughton’s children-in-peril noir classic The Night of the Hunter; the English lynching protest “The Easter Tree,” which presages Billie Holiday’s “Strange Fruit,” to the gospel plea of “Elijah Rock,” best known from Mahalia Jackson’s unforgettable rendition. 

All these songs are unified and transformed by Eade and Blake’s stunning treatments, which render them all with unvarnished lyrical force combined with strikingly unique harmonies, unpredictable phrasing and evocative atmospheres. Though Town and Country is only the duo’s second recording together – following Whirlpool from 2011 – it reveals a singular, focused chemistry forged over decades of playing together. 

The two met in 1978 when Eade arrived in Boston to study at Berklee – until she heard Blake, then the chair of the Contemporary Improvisation Department (known at the time as the Third Stream Department) at New England Conservatory where he’s still on faculty. The encounter proved life-changing for the young singer. “Ran’s solo playing seemed to me like an inevitable extension of Thelonious Monk, who I adored,” Eade recalls. “That’s when I decided to switch and study at NEC.” 

Blake was equally impressed with Eade’s expansive talents. “Dominique is one of our great singers, composers and teachers,” he says. “Her range is fabulous and her ears pick up amazing subtleties. Her repertoire ranges from Stan Kenton to coal miner songs to English folk songs, and she has a keen sense of pulse with bebop scat, political protest, and the forgotten standards. It felt so natural performing with her.” 

Gunther Schuller, then president of NEC, founded the school’s Jazz Studies Department in 1967 and invited Ran to chair the new Third Stream Department two years later, passing the great composer’s teachings regarding the merger between classical and jazz on to students like Eade. The duo pays tribute to Blake’s, and by extension Eade’s, mentor on “Gunther,” which is an improvisation on a 12-tone row composed by Schuller. Blake takes solo turns with “Moti” and the two versions of “Harvest at Massachusetts General Hospital,” representing his distinctly acute harmonic approach.

Much of the repertoire was suggested by Eade, who began her life in music as a singer-songwriter, only shifting her focus to jazz in her early college years at Vassar. “I was looking for a way to connect the music that I was performing in high school to modern jazz, which I was quickly falling I love with,” she says. “Everything changed when I heard Miles Davis’ Nefertiti for the first time, or whatever the other soundtracks to my college years: Keith Jarrett’s Belonging, or Roland Kirk’s Rip, Rig and Panic. It’s a tall order to meld that with all the other things I was into, but I guess that’s why I’m still at it.” 

Blake made key additions to the program, however: the two Night of the Hunter songs continue his long-running dedication to film noir (his department at NEC presents an annual live soundtrack to a noir film), the three “moon” standards (“Moonlight in Vermont,” “Moon River” and “Moonglow,” the latter paired with the theme from Picnic, in which it appears) were his suggestion, as was the Dylan song, its verbal avalanche given a tour de force performance brimming with urgency and righteous anger. 

“This music feels like a journey through different parts of U.S. history and geography,” Eade says. “I felt more like Ran and I were a couple of vagabonds rummaging through a shared history, both of our own and of wherever we happened to be in the world.”

Pianist Vadim Neselovskyi Forges a Musical Bond with his New Trio Amidst the Political Turmoil of his Native Ukraine

Though he left the country more than 20 years ago, returning home to his native Ukraine is always a special occasion for pianist/composer Vadim Neselovskyi. His summer 2014 performance at the country's largest jazz festival, Alfa Jazz, took on an added poignancy, however, because of the political turmoil afflicting the nation. Having assembled a trio especially for the occasion, Neselovskyi forged a strong and meaningful bond with his bandmates - bassist Daniel Loomis and drummer Ronen Itzik - through this act of musical communion with his homeland.

That deeply emotional bond can be felt and heard throughout Get Up and Go, Neselovskyi's first trio recording. The album, released May 19, 2017 via Jazz Family and Neuklang Records, shows off the range of emotions this trio is able to summon, as well shining a spotlight on Neselovskyi's compositional gifts, allowing him to conjure a remarkable symphonic sweep from such limited instrumentation.

When Neselovskyi and his trio arrived at the Alfa Jazz festival that June day, they had planned an upbeat, playful set appropriate to an open-air summer festival. Only ten minutes before they were to take the stage, the promoter announced that a Ukrainian military plane had been shot down by separatists and that the entire country was in mourning. Neselovskyi sat down at the piano, faced not with a crowd of eager revelers but with a somber audience holding candles, tears streaming down their faces.

Changing the program on the fly, Neselovskyi opened the set with a solo performance of "Krai," a poignant piece that quotes from an Orthodox prayer, the raw feeling of which he replicates here. The trio followed with "Get Up and Go," the piece that became the new album's title track. Though the phrase connotes a feeling of energy and ambition in English, Neselovskyi was unaware of the idiom when he originally composed it (the song was originally recorded on Gary Burton's Next Generation album).

In the composer's mind, the phrase refers to a soldier, wounded on the battlefield and lying on the ground, who wills him or herself to rise and carry on. The tune's air of quiet but forceful resilience proved especially resonant in the circumstances in which the artists and audience alike found themselves that tense summer day. "The human soul is a complicated thing, and we'll probably never understand how it works, but I can say that I have a special connection to the place where I was born," Neselovskyi says. "Every time that I visit Ukraine or Russia, I think I'm subconsciously searching for this feeling of home that I had when I was growing up, but it cannot come back. That concert was a moment when I felt that I was together with my people, as strongly together as maybe only tragedy can bring people."

It was also a spontaneous shift in plans of which only a smaller ensemble would have been capable. Given his taste for employing an orchestral palette in his work, Neselovskyi had long resisted leading a trio. "I think of myself primarily as a composer, and I always felt like my music naturally required all these extra layers that a piano trio could not give," he explains. Having gleaned a wide-ranging grasp of orchestration from working in both orchestral writing and extensive solo performances in the wake of his solo album Music for September, Neselovskyi began to change his thinking, coming completely around upon discovering his significant chemistry with Loomis and Itzik. "Suddenly I started to see possibilities for how a trio could sound like an orchestra."

Not all of the music on Get Up and Go echoes the mournful mood of the Alfa Jazz performance. The album begins in the sort of playful mood that the trio originally had in mind that day, with the joyfully spiraling "On a Bicycle," inspired by 20th-century Russian poet Yevgeny Yevtushenko. "San Felio" evokes even sunnier climes, sparked by a vacation on the Mediterranean and capturing the image of sunlight reflecting on the sea as well as the sheer freedom and exuberance of getting away from it all.

The muted, hauntingly slow "Winter," highlighted by Loomis' wrenching arco bass, depicts the isolation and detachment embodied by the coldest months of the year, while the dreamy "Station Taiga," featuring ethereal wordless vocals by Portugese singer Sara Serpa, gives that mood a geographical location - the train station that marks the entryway to the "infinite forest," the seemingly endless, snow-covered forest that covers much of Siberia, Canada and Alaska.

"Who Is It?" picks up the pace again, with frenetic, buoyant rhythms inspired by the folk music of Moldova and the Balkans that Neseolvskyi heard as a child. "Prelude for Vibes" adapts the title track of Next Generation, written with Gary Burton in mind, into a piano trio version, while interludes featuring a Loomis solo and an atmospheric group improvisation both culminate in the album's moody closer, "Almost December," the delicate, first-snowfall stillness of which is hypnotically enhanced by another appearance by Serpa.

The youngest student to be accepted into the Odessa Conservatory (at age 15), Neslovskyi moved to Germany and finally to the US, where he completed his studies at Berklee College of Music and the Thelonious Monk Institute, where he was awarded a full scholarship as the pianist of an ensemble handpicked by Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter and Terence Blanchard. During this time, he toured internationally with Hancock, Chaka Khan, Dee Dee Bridgewater and Terri Lyne Carrington and shared the stage with artists such as John Scofield, Terence Blanchard, Kurt Rosenwinkel, Benny Golson, Nicholas Payton and Steve Coleman.

Neselovskyi's 2013 solo piano album Music for September was produced by Fred Hersch and received wide critical praise including a 4-star review in DownBeat. He has worked closely with another mentor, Gary Burton, for the past twelve years, both performing with and composing for the master vibraphonist. His next release will be a duo recording with French horn player Arkady Shilkloper celebrating five years of collaboration, and he has plans for an album of his orchestral compositions in the near future.

www.vadimneseloskyi.com

Legacy Recordings and Rockingale Records Set to Release Carole King - Tapestry: Live at Hyde Park

Recorded on July 3, 2016, in front of a rapturous audience of more than 65,000 fans, Tapestry: Live at Hyde Park celebrates the 45th anniversary of a zeitgeist-shifting touchstone album that established Carole King as the quintessential singer-songwriter, a "Natural Woman" who gave voice to the emotions and experiences of millions of listeners around the world. With songs that are literally woven into the fabric of pop culture, Tapestry struck a universal chord, topping the Billboard 200 for 15 weeks and staying on the chart for six years. King took home four Grammy Awards for the album, including Album, Record and Song of the Year. And the songs, including "So Far Away," "It's Too Late," "I Feel The Earth Move," "You've Got a Friend" and others remain timeless standards and radio staples.

The artist's largest concert since her legendary 1973 show in Central Park, Carole King's historic Hyde Park performance marked her first British concert since 1989 and the first time she'd performed Tapestry on stage in its entirety. The album showcases Carole leading a full band (including guitarist Danny "Kootch" Kortchmar, who played on the original Tapestry album) through the album with the bonus addition of some of her personal favorite compositions from her formidable songbook. Guest performers include her daughter, Louise Goffin, who joins Carole on several tracks including "Where You Lead" (which the duo re-recorded as the theme song to the popular television series "Gilmore Girls") plus the Laurence Olivier Award-winning West End cast of "Beautiful: The Carole King Musical."

Originally released in 1971, Tapestry established Carole King--already a noted songwriter of smash hits for Aretha Franklin, The Everly Brothers, The Monkees, The Drifters and many others--as an extraordinary performer who defines the singer-songwriter genre from the 1970s onward.

The Carole King - Tapestry: Live at Hyde Park package includes the full concert on CD/DVD and is rounded out with insightful recollections from Carole about the making of Tapestry.

Leading up to the home release of the CD/DVD, "Carole King: Tapestry – Captured Live at Hyde Park London" will be broadcast to U.S. movie theaters on Tuesday, July 11 at 7:00 p.m. (local time). In addition to the full-length concert, this special one-night cinema event includes an interview with King herself, special introduction by the iconic WCBS-FM radio host Scott Shannon, star-studded appearances from Tom Hanks, Elton John, Graham Nash, Lou Adler, Danny "Kootch" Kortchmar, James Taylor, David Crosby, Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil, and includes several timeless Goffin/King compositions. Tickets and more information available at FathomEvents.com

A special television broadcast edition of Carole King - Tapestry: Live at Hyde Park, distributed by American Public Television, will begin airing on public television stations in September 2017.

Additional performances on Live at Hyde Park include a Gerry Goffin/Carole King medley featuring "Take Good Care of My Baby," "It Might As Well Rain Until September," "Go Away Little Girl," "I'm Into Something Good," "One Fine Day" and more.

Guitarist Brian Tarquin Releases “Orlando In Heaven” in Support of Orlando's Pulse Nightclub Tragedy Feat. Larry Coryell, Mike Stern, Chris Poland and Others

Multi-Emmy award winning guitarist, producer, and composer Brian Tarquin presents “Orlando In Heaven”; a very special project featuring an incredible cast of musical virtuosos playing their hearts out for the victims of the Pulse nightclub shooting in Orlando, Florida!

Tarquin composed and produced each of these tracks and displays his own guitar prowess alongside such world-class players as guitar icon Larry Coryell (his final recordings before his passing earlier this year), vocalist Phil Naro (Talas, Julian Lennon), Grammy jazz guitarist Mike Stern, fretless bass extraordinaire Tony Franklin (Jimmy Page/Blue Murder), Chris Poland (Megadeth), Hal Lindes (Dire Straits), Will Ray (The Hellecasters), jazz keyboardist Bobby Baldwin & Grammy nominee Denny Jiosa. The album features exclusively released tracks inspired by victims of the Pulse nightclub in Orlando. Partial Proceeds donated to Catholic Charities of Central Florida. They provide case management and supportive services for victims and family members of the Pulse shooting in Orlando.

Says Brian, “Being a Floridian I was moved so much by the Orlando Pulse Shooting, in fact my family and I were in Orlando at the time of the shooting. When I found out that Catholic Charities of central Florida was helping out survivors, I immediately went into action to compose and produce an album to benefit the victims and was very fortunate to work with Larry Coryell on the release before he passed!”

“Brian is a very good guitar player, the 'Godfather of Fusion' gives him an A plus and his musicians too. The song that I played on, 'Pulse 49' is a beautiful piece of music We artists have to do everything we can to educate, enlighten and inspire the world in which we live.” - Larry Coryell

June 12th  marks the one year anniversary of this tragedy, and a portion of the proceeds from this release will go to Catholic Charities who provide case management and support services for victims and family members!

“While dangerous and difficult to musically express tragedies such as the 2016 Pulse nightclub shooting in Orlando, Florida, producer/guitarist Brian Tarquin's deft casting (guest stars include the late Larry Coryell and Mike Stern), buoyant yet reverential jazz-pop-fusion songs, and emotional guitar playing make Orlando in Heaven a fitting tribute to those who lost their lives for merely being themselves.” - Michael Molenda, Editor in Chief, Guitar Player magazine

Says Multi-Grammy Nominated Guitarist Mike Stern, “Brian is a really good cat! I really enjoyed and had fun playing on the track 'Kinda, Sorta' which is very well done. The whole project is for great cause!” Renowned vocalist Phil Naro adds, “I'm always willing to help out for a great cause without the expectation of receiving anything in return. I'm hoping for this release 'Orlando In Heaven' to touch the hearts of millions people and heal the family and friend who have lost love one's in this tragic situation.”

Multi-Emmy Award winning Brian Tarquin is an established top rate composer/guitarist. He has won 3 Emmy's for “Outstanding Achievement in Music Direction and Composition for a Drama Series” and has been nominated for an Emmy 6 times. In 2016, Tarquin's release “Guitars For Wounded Warriors” was nominated for Best Album by the Independent Music Awards, which showcases Tarquin's guitar prowess along side such world-class shredders as Steve Morse, Billy Sheehan, Gary Hoey, Bumblefoot (Gun n Roses), Reb Beach (Whitesnake), Hal Lindes (Dire Straits), Chris Poland (Megadeth) and Chuck Loeb (FourPlay). In 2006 SESAC honored him with the Network Television Performance Award. Tarquin has graced the Top Billboard Charts with such commercial releases as: “This is Acid Jazz,” “Vol. 2,” “Sweet Emotions,” and “Bossa Brava: Caliente” on Instinct Records, followed by several solo jazz albums, which charted Top 10 at Smooth Jazz Radio. Brian has appeared on 36 releases, selling over 140,000 records in his career.

In 2006, Tarquin opened his own boutique record label called BHP MUSIC/GUITAR TRAX, specializing in instrumental guitar music. The label releases the Guitar Master Series featuring guitar legends: Jeff Beck, BB King, Santana, Jimmy Page, Joe Satriani, Zakk Wylde, Stanley Clarke, Billy Sheehan to name a few. The releases, which were composed, compiled and produced by Tarquin, received rave reviews from Guitar Player, Guitar World and Vintage Guitar Magazines. Tarquin also produced and engineered bassist Randy Coven’s last record, Nu School featuring Leslie West in 2010. And if that's not enough Tarquin has a radio show called “Guitar Trax” on WFIT 89.5FM on the Florida Space Coast. He hosts in depth interviews with world-renowned guitarists weekly. The show can also be heard on https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/brian-tarquins-guitar-trax/id1015196859?mt=2

“Brian Tarquin is back with a vengeance and a hunger to  help the victims of the most heartless and deadliest  shooting attack in America. Employing his blisteringly superb fretwork as a call to love and service, Brian once again has assembled a crack ‘seal team like' army of the finest pickers and singers to produce a sublime collection of heaviest sonic healing and hope songs you’ll ever be likely to hear.” - Hal Lindes (Dire Straits)

Guitarist Alex Goodman Opens a New Chapter Featuring a Stellar Band of Next-Generation Jazz Voices on Second Act

After five years in New York City, Alex Goodman has not only established himself as a rising star and significant voice in the jazz mecca, but has gathered together a gifted group of peers, each of whom are quickly forging a path forward for the music's next generation. The guitarist/composer began his career in his native Toronto, becoming an integral part of the scene in the Canadian city and receiving a wealth of accolades across the country. The CBC News hailed him as having "taken the jazz world by storm [and] attained a level of fame and success in the insular jazz community that few other Canadian guitarists can match." In 2014 he received international recognition winning both first prize and the Public's Choice Award at the Montreux Jazz Festival International Guitar Competition in Switzerland.

Goodman's last release, Border Crossing, documented his initial reactions to his move to NYC and his acclimation to a new setting. With his fifth album, Second Act, Goodman looks poised to make a similar impact in his adopted home, revealing a vision shaped by the Big Apple's thriving modern jazz scene and by the dedicated and accomplished group of musicians with which he has surrounded himself.

As the title implies, Second Act (out June 23rd via Lyte records) signals a new beginning as much as the closing of a particular period, and the album's eleven striking compositions more than live up to that promise. A stunning departure from the chamber-jazz style of Border Crossing, the music on Second Act balances inventive composition and thrilling improvisation, with pieces that boast exhilarating, fluidly angular melodies and intricate architecture but which spark electrifying spontaneity from Goodman and his deft quintet.

"Second Act is my first CD comprised of a New York City based band that was assembled around the member's similar artistic vision," Goodman says. "All the music was written while I've been living here, and it all relates to the things that happen in the life of a musician living in New York City."

Given the agility of the playing and the depth of communication throughout the album, Second Act features a band that has obviously spent a good deal of time getting to know each other's sonic personalities. Goodman is joined by four peers who have also come to the city from a variety of disparate places and experiences: saxophonist Matt Marantz (Texas), pianist Eden Ladin (born in NYC but raised in Israel), bassist Rick Rosato (Montreal) and drummer Jimmy Macbride (Connecticut). They've each formed relationships with such envelope-pushing artists as Avishai Cohen, Will Vinson, Lage Lund, Nir Felder, Terence Blanchard and Jonathan Batiste, while working together in a variety of settings, spurring each other onward into exciting new territory.

"Everybody in the band is on the same wavelength both musically and personally," Goodman says. "I think we all share the same creative mindset, where everybody has a very firm foundation in the tradition of jazz but is also very creative and adventurous. Each one of them brings some of their own personality and identity to their playing, which I really value, but they're also very well rounded musicians who can do a lot of different things."

To enhance the music's already wide-ranging palette, Goodman added layers of human voice to the pieces after the initial studio sessions, writing new parts for the wordless vocals that interweave with not only his originally written material, but also the band's in-the-moment interpretations. He enlisted a talented pair of fellow Canadians to sing the parts: Felicity Williams, a longtime collaborator who also appears in a similar role on Border Crossing, and Alex Samaras, a key contributor to the Canadian jazz and new music scenes. Goodman often layers the two vocalists' contributions, offering him the option of employing sinuous lines or lush, swelling choruses as desired.

Rosato's knotty bass initiates "Questions," the album's brisk opening track, highlighted by the sauntering swing of Ladin's piano solo. "The First Break" is fueled by Macbride's intense, mechanistic rhythms and the composer's serrated guitar, while the infectious "Departure" gradually accumulates from a tenuous solo intro passed off from Goodman to Ladin, which finally unfurl into the piece's memorable melody. The leader's ringing, resonant solo playing provides an extended overture for the exultant "Losing Cool," a showcase for Goodman's alluring vocal writing.

"Empty" erupts from the outset with an overdriven rock urgency, contrasted by the mysterious, ethereal hush of "Heightened," before that piece gives way to sheer, joyous swing. Marantz wends a boldly eloquent solo through the bustling "Sharon," while Goodman's fleet fretwork and Ladin's burbling Rhodes intermingle rapturously on "Welcome To New York." "Apprehension" adds soaring vocals to an already lyrical melodic cascade before "Acrobat" closes the album on a wistful, free-floating note.

The bliss and brusqueness that Goodman balances throughout Second Act are an apt portrait of life in the jazz metropolis, reflecting what the composer calls "a tension that exists in living and being a musician in New York City. It's difficult and crazy and sometimes out of control, but at the same time there's something fulfilling and exuberant about it. It's so inspiring to see the level at which everything is happening all around you. Just to be a part of that has been really powerful and life affirming."

Alex Goodman has been hailed as "a definite musical voice" (Guitar International), "a jazz phenomenon the world over" (Birmingham Times), "genius" (La Presse) and "among the best in jazz today" (Improvijazzation). The Toronto native released his leader debut, Roots, in 2007 and his 2013 album Bridges was nominated for a JUNO, Canada's highest musical honor, as Contemporary Jazz Album of the Year.

Since moving to New York in 2012, Goodman has recorded with artists including John Patitucci, Dick Oatts, Kevin Hays and Rich Perry and performed with a variety of notable jazz musicians including Charles Lloyd, Eric Harland, Ari Hoenig, Jane Monheit, Ben Wolfe, John Ellis and John Riley. He was awarded a 2013 ASCAP Herb Alpert Jazz Composer Award, has written a book of solo guitar etudes and has composed extensively for jazz groups, chamber groups, orchestras, big bands, and string quartets. Along with performing at top New York City jazz clubs such as Smalls, the Appel Room at Lincoln Center, Mezzrow, 55 Bar, Smoke, National Sawdust and Cornelia Street Cafe, Goodman has toured the world, playing prestigious international venues such as the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C., Massey Hall in Toronto and Club Unterfahrt in Munich. He's also performed on the stages of prestigious international jazz festivals including Winter Jazz Fest in New York, the Montreal Jazz Festival and the Montreux Jazz Festival. He is a graduate of the Master's Program in Jazz Performance at the Manhattan School of Music.

www.alexgoodmanmusic.com

Renowned Composer, Producer and Performer GAUDI at the Crux of Electronica, Rock, Jazz and Ambient Music on MAGNETIC

Magnetic is the exciting new album by London based music producer / musician GAUDI, which features a choice selection of sounds from the catalog of internationally respected experimental label RareNoiseRecords, as well as direct contributions by several top caliber musicians from the worlds of rock, jazz and electronica.

The making of Magnetic truly was a creational challenge, even for a man who has been working to dissolve musical boundaries for over 35 years. The initial idea of the project was to compose an album of entirely new music using sounds from the RareNoise catalog as his 'orchestra of musicians'; over the course of its development it grew though into a full spectrum artistic interaction with a further array of international music giants, some of which GAUDI has worked with in the past.

Best loved and noted to date for his genre blending and high quality dub-centric productions, in Magnetic, GAUDI has shown us another aspect of his musical self, other ranges in his musical landscape and he has done it with an all-star cast of supporting musicians.

The list of artists whose sounds were initially chosen by GAUDI from the RareNoise catalog of releases or who successively added their sounds and skills to the overall project reads like a 'who's who' of musical talent and gives warranted indication as to the quality of the ingredients; They include bass legend and producer extraordinaire Bill Laswell, psychedelic prog-rock bassist Colin Edwin of Porcupine Tree fame, drummer Steve Jansen (of Japan fame), Ted Parsons, the drummer from cult band Killing Joke, Roger Eno on piano, Grammy award winning Eric Mouquet (aka Deep Forest) on grand piano, drummer extraordinaire Pat Mastelotto (known for his work with XTC, King Crimson and David Sylvian), innovatory avant-guarde guitarist Eraldo Bernocchi, post-punk experimental guitarist Buckethead

(collaborator with Guns 'n' Roses, Bootsy Collins, Iggy Pop), drummer Nikolaj Bjerre from Lamb, multi-instrumentalist Jamie Saft on bass...to name a few! (For the full list of featured artists please see below). GAUDI, alongside programming and production, returns to his roots as a pianist / keyboard and theremin player, playing here his full arsenal of vintage analog synthesizers.

  

Magnetic is like a tour around the other side of GAUDI, who always had the off-beat of reggae in his step, but since his teenage years also had music from experimental electronica, new wave, Krautrock and proto-punk flowing through his veins. Bands like Bauhaus, Tuxedomoon, Yello, Cabaret Voltaire, Devo, Killing Joke, Talking Heads and The Residents informed his early years. For those familiar with GAUDI's work these influences can be heard in a myriad of different ways in most of his 15 albums to date, but predominantly as flavors amongst the dub textures. In Magnetic, however, he has reversed the polarity, north has become south, there is dub seasoning to be found within, but the body, tone and flavor of this album are another beast altogether. Magnetic is a contemporary tribute to the darker side of the 80's; to psychedelic rock and an era when Sigue Sigue Sputnik dropped proto-punk on the world!

It is not a departure from the GAUDI we know and love, however... Magnetic is a celebration of bass in all its guises - there are six world class bass players featured in the album - and GAUDI's roots as a pianist and self confessed lifelong synth junkie, come up fairly center stage. His use throughout the album of original, modular and analog synths, from his big guns: the ARP 2600, Fender Rhodes, Minimoog, Korg MS20 and ARP Odyssey, to the diminutive but no less iconic Casio VL Tone, to his trusty vintage tape echoes and the 24 track analog tape machine it was recorded on, give the sound an authenticity and integrity right down from the musicians to the mechanics.

Magnetic is a both a visual journey of great, but hidden, complexity and richness, which yearns to be listened to with closed eyes, but also a voyage across a full spectrum of tempos, from near ambient soundscapes to rocky up-tempos with seamless bridges in between.

Magnetic is an album of polarities, spacious yet introspective, dark yet with a hint whimsy, deep and soothing yet fundamentally groovy; it was created both as a homage to the joy music brings and as an act of appreciation for great musicians.

Why 'MAGNETIC'? From the far reaches of the universe to our solar system and the planets within it, it is the force that keeps everything together. Magnetism moves us, pulls us toward each other, keeps the particles together.

Magnetic is the unseen in music, the intangible that draws and holds the notes and the musicians together, and it is, in the end, how the recording of this album ended up: on a magnetic tape.

Magnetic will be available on June 30th on a limited edition transparent vinyl LP, CD and Digital download.

NEIL COWLEY TRIO Announce North American Tour In Support of New Album, Spacebound Apes

Widely acclaimed as a composer of dynamic, cinematic music and having "genuine vision" (The Sunday Times), pianist Neil Cowley presents his latest creation, a bold exercise in atmosphere and emotion; an ambitious multi layered outing that's quite possibly his most musically confident statement to date.

'Spacebound Apes' - Cowley's 6th studio album with his trio - is a concept album; a glorious, hypnotic  soundtrack to an out-of-the ordinary, thought-provoking tale of one man- Lincoln- an everyday kind of guy whose unfolding blog reveals a bizarre story that culminates with the album release and show.  This intriguing and inspiring story is woven together with some of the most impassioned music that Neil has created. 

Spacebound Apes Live sees Neil Cowley Trio perform the album in its entirety. As on the album, Cowley is joined by long-time band mates, Evan Jenkins on drums and Rex Horan on bass.  Together, they present a powerful, atmospheric and captivating musical tale ensuring that Spacebound Apes Live in North America is a rare treat and one of the must-see shows this summer!

On bringing the Trio back to North America, Cowley said, "well it's been a while since we flew across the Atlantic but 'Lincoln' our main character from our new album 'Spacebound Apes' is finally putting his feet down on American and Canadian soil. We'll be presenting a lot of the new album, which includes a fair few electronic components; a departure for us... as well as some of our more familiar high energy material. Montreal and Vancouver are extremely vivid and fond memories for us, and we're dead excited about creating new ones in places we've longed to visit such as Nashville and Chicago." 

"This is a project 'I've been working towards for a long time" Cowley says. "It takes in themes of guilt, fear, loss and longing with a few twists along the way.  It's been utterly immersive yet incredibly exciting. And yes, I'm not ashamed to say it, it's a concept album!"  He continues, "It sounds a bit cryptic, but hopefully everyone will come along for the ride".  Catch up with the story so far. www.spaceboundapes.com

Spacebound Apes musically charts Lincoln's journey.  Hypnotic passages create heart-pounding suspense while sweet, whispered themes create heart-shattering empathy.  Bold, bombastic tunes create drama, and in a departure from Cowley and his trio's more usual acoustic setting, electronics orchestrate desolation and despair.   And while the inclusion of a choir brings an emotional depth of mammoth proportions, it's the epic finale, The Return of Lincoln, that stuns and silences.

 

By his mid-teens, Neil Cowley had given up a promising classical music career (having performed a Shostakovich piano concerto at the age of ten to a full house at London's Queen Elizabeth Hal) in favour of his true passion - old school RnB, soul and funk.  He went on to tour and record with some of the most successful bands of the day including Brand New Heavies and Zero 7 alongside his own chill-out band Fragile State.  Since then, Cowley has become the go-to pianist lending his golden touch to many chart smashing hits including contributions to Adele's global chart toppers, 19 and 21 making him quite literally 2011's most listened to pianist on the planet!

In 2005 Cowley returned to his first love, the piano, and formed the Neil Cowley Trio with whom he has released five highly acclaimed studio albums; Displaced (2006) winner of the BBC Jazz Award for Best Album; Loud Louder Stop (2008), hailed by Mojo as a "Modern Classic"; Radio Silence (2010), The Face of Mount Molehill (2012), arranged for a string ensemble that earned them the a Jazz Fm award for Best UK Jazz Act and Touch and Flee (2014)that cemented his credentials as a brilliant, dazzling composer.

The trio's new album Spacebound Apes could quite possibly be Neil's crowning glory.

 

June 24th: Xerox Rochester International Jazz Festival

June 25th: Nashville City Winery

June 26th: Lincoln Hall, Chicago, IL

June 27th: TD Toronto Jazz Festival

June 29th: TD Ottawa Jazz Festival

June 30th: TD Victoria International Jazz Fest

July 1st: TD Vancouver International Jazz Festival

July 4th: Festival International De Jazz De Montreal

www.neilcowleytrio.com

 

Schomburg Center For Research in Black Culture Acquires Jazz Legend Sonny Rollins's Personal Archive

Sonny Rollins The Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture at The New York Public Library announced the acquisition of American tenor saxophonist and jazz legend Sonny Rollins's personal archive. The robust collection includes more than 150 linear feet of material that document Rollins's life and career from the 1950s to the present.

This acquisition also marks the Harlem native's "return" to the neighborhood of his youth. Rollins was profoundly influenced and inspired by the sights and sounds of the Harlem Renaissance and its pioneers, including Duke Ellington and Louis Jordan, who shaped modern music and Rollins's creative life.

"Well, I'm home again," Rollins said. "Home, where I absorbed the rich culture which was all around me. Where, on 137th Street, two blocks from the Schomburg, I was born in 1930. This archive reveals my life in music, how someone principally self-taught became taught. How the spiritual light of jazz protected and fed me, as it does to this day."

Spanning a 60-year career and more than 80 albums, the Rollins archive is rich with texture, offering an intimate look into the creativity, curiosity, and organization that led to the artist's creative process and practice. Archive items range from audio reels and cassettes of unheard music and practice sessions, personal photographs from Rollins's travels abroad, sheet music with margin notes, personal writing, practice diaries, and handwritten letters between Rollins and his wife and partner of more than 45 years, Lucille Pearson Rollins.

The archive also offers insight into Rollins's social and professional network of musicians through detailed notes from recorded sessions, letters, and snapshots from touring over the decades.

To be primarily housed within the Schomburg Center's Moving Image and Recorded Sound Division, the Rollins archive joins a robust collection of jazz-related materials across the institution's divisions, including the A Great Day in Harlem Documentary collection, the Louis Armstrong Jazz Oral History project, the Don Redman papers, the Billy Taylor collection, the Ron Carter collection, and the Duke Ellington Society collection.

This acquisition also adds significant weight to the New York Public Library's collection of jazz-related items including the George Avakian and Anahid Ajemian papers, which include letters from Rollins to Avakian and several unreleased live and studio recordings from Rollins's time at RCA; the Ivan Black papers that include promotional and performance photographs of Rollins; along with the Sy Oliver, Phoebe Jacobs, and Benny Goodman collections.

"Rollins had a measure of professional and personal stability that allowed him to collect the artifacts of his life from original manuscripts and compositions to his business records, unlike many of his peers. In this sense, his archive is unique," said Shola Lynch, curator of the Schomburg's Moving Image and Recorded Sound division."He has also been aware of keeping the flame. As Rollins said recently of his peers and mentors: 'They're not here now so I feel like I'm sort of representing all of them, all of the guys. Remember, I'm one of the last guys left, as I'm constantly being told, so I feel a holy obligation sometimes to evoke these people.' As in life, Rollins's archive will undoubtedly evoke them and their musical relationships, and through it, will add granularity to a swath of black history. For the first time, Rollins has opened the doors to studying his music, life, and work as a giant of jazz."

"Famous for his reinventions, Sonny Rollins and his archive reveal the profound nature of jazz, America's classical music. Drafts, notes on composition, extensive correspondence, the entire spirit and scope of the Rollins archive show his sophisticated, sustained, and spiritual creative process up close in a way that may best be called literary," said Kevin Young, noted author and Director of the Schomburg Center. "Having the archive of Sonny Rollins come home here, just blocks from where he was born and grew into one of our finest artists, provides a connection to the geniuses who made Harlem and whose legacies, like those of James Baldwin and Maya Angelou, also are housed at the Schomburg."

Highlights from the Sonny Rollins Archive include:

● Personal papers, diaries, notes, and drawings illuminating Rollins's private thoughts and creative process sporadically through the decades

● Recordings of practice sessions as well as recording takes from as early as the 1960s

● Snapshots and photos from life on the road with his fellow musicians from as early as the 1960s

● Personal correspondence between Rollins and his wife and manager, Lucille Pearson, over the decades that range the gamut from love notes to unfiltered thoughts related to colleagues, bandmates, and business

The Sonny Rollins archive will be processed over the next year at NYPL's Library Services Center in Long Island City, and will be made available for research at the Schomburg Center.