Trombonist Steve Turre Displays Brilliant Artistry with Heartfelt Ballads on New Release, The Very Thought of You

The thought of Steve Turre inevitably conjures the image of a dauntless virtuoso. Over the course of a remarkable career spanning more than five decades, Turre has proved time and time again that he’s one of the foremost masters of the trombone, able to steer his challenging instrument through breakneck turns and imaginative leaps at dizzying speed.

On The Very Thought Of You, Turre shows off a less celebrated side of his brilliant artistry: his moving, heartfelt way with a ballad. Luxuriating in timeless melodies and swathed in lush strings, Turre makes his horn sing with delicate lyricism and subtle beauty. Of course, the irrepressible trombonist can’t help but unleash his fiercely swinging side, peppering his ballad set with a few pulse-quickeners here and there.

Due out August 24, 2018 via Smoke Sessions Records, The Very Thought Of You features a stellar quartet ideal for a session that calls for a light touch combined with the soul-stirring depth of feeling that Turre brings to everything that he plays. Turre is joined by pianist Kenny Barron, bassist Buster Williams, and drummer Willie Jones III, supplemented on four of the pieces by a string octet conducted by veteran arranger Marty Sheller. An outstanding pair of guests, legendary tenor saxophonist George Coleman and guitar great Russell Malone, both lend their breathtaking mastery to the music as well.

“There’s a challenge to playing ballads on any instrument,” Turre admits. “It’s not about showing off; it’s about trying to play beautiful, to touch somebody with your sound and with your phrasing. The reason I wanted to do it is because I’ve never done it before. I’ve done so many records where I play fast and complicated. It was time to play ballads.”

Especially on the four immortal classics to which Sheller added strings – “Never Let Me Go,” “Shadow of Your Smile,” “Danny Boy,” and the title track – Turre likened his role to that of a singer, ceding the solo spotlight to his bandmates while focusing his own playing on the interpretation of the songs’ incredible melodies.

“I don’t know anybody on the trombone that can play faster than Curtis Fuller could,” Turre explains. “But when I first came to New York in 1973, I met Curtis and he told me that the hardest thing to do is to play simple and have it mean something. So my role wasn't as the improviser; I was the singer, and my focus was to make the melody say something without over-embellishing it.”

It was some of the music’s most renowned vocalists that inspired Turre’s choice of standards on The Very Thought Of You. Nancy Wilson’s versions of the title tune and “Never Let Me Go” convinced the trombonist that he wanted to take on those melodies, while a live rendition of “The Shadow of Your Smile” so captivated him that he added it to the setlist. “Carmen McRae sang nothing but the melody and it was so astounding,” Turre recalls.

The Very Thought of You is not the first time that Turre has melded his voice with strings. On Lotus Flower (1999), he led a sextet where the frontline swapped sax and trumpet for Akua Dixon’s cello and Regina Carter’s violin. And on his 1997 self-titled album he teamed with Sheller – a longtime colleague on the Latin jazz scene – for a string arrangement of the Machito classic “Ayer Lo Vi Llorar” featuring the iconic Afro-Cuban singer Graciela. But the new album marks the first time that Turre has utilized strings in the traditional vein of classics like Clifford Brown with Strings or Nat King Cole’s elegant sound.

“With ballads, it’s not about playing loud and boisterous, it’s about playing with subtlety,” Turre says. “The strings help to bring that out. Plus, Marty Sheller’s writing was just sublime, so tasteful and lush and not overdone but complimentary to a T.”

After opening the album with a swooning “The Very Thought of You,” the band is joined by Malone for the first time on an up-tempo but laid-back romp through “September in the Rain.” Then Turre and Malone pair off for the trombonist’s intimate duet piece “No Regrets.” The song was originally written back in the ‘70s while Turre was playing bass in drummer Chico Hamilton’s band, where once a night the leader would take a break and leave Turre to play duo with guitarist Rodney Jones. On “Freedom Park, SA” Turre and Jones go head to head with a free improv sparked by a melody conceived by Turre while playing a festival in South Africa last year.

Turre contributes his own ballad to the proceedings with the wistful “Time Will Tell,” then nods to his late mentor J.J. Johnson (as well as his wife) on the trombone giant’s touching “Carolyn in the Morning.” Coleman’s heart-wrenching solo on “Never Let Me Go” is a highlight of the album, but Turre welcomes him back to let loose on a rip-roaring take on Charlie Parker’s “Yardbird Suite.”

The album concludes on a poignant note with the sentimental Irish ballad “Danny Boy,” a particularly meaningful choice for Turre. He fell in love with the song through Ben Webster’s version, but never played it until his brother-in-law, frail but still alert at 100 -years-old, made the request. On the opposite end of the age spectrum, Turre’s gentle but jaunty “Sachiko” is named for a baby whose smile touched his heart during a chance encounter in San Francisco.

There are countless musical moments that might come to mind at the thought of Steve Turre: his formative stint with Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers, his innovative collaborations with Rahsaan Roland Kirk, his tenures on the road with Ray Charles or Woody Shaw, his decades as a member of the Saturday Night Live band, his ground-breaking use of conch shells as musical instruments, countless collaborations with the greatest artists in jazz and popular music. With The Very Thought of You, Turre offers a beautifully vulnerable and lyrical side to that catalogue of memories.

"The Very Thought of You" was produced by Paul Stache and Damon Smith

and recorded live in New York at Sear Sound's Studio C on a Sear-Avalon custom console

at 96KHz/24bit and mixed to ½" analog tape using a Studer mastering deck.

Available in audiophile HD format.

  

Steve Turre · The Very Thought of You

Smoke Sessions Records · Release Date: August 24, 2018

Previously Unreleased Historic Recordings: Dexter Gordon Quartet Tokyo 1975 // Woody Shaw Tokyo 1981

In life, trumpeter Woody Shaw and saxophonist Dexter Gordon – two instrumental giants of the jazz idiom – were often connected. They both lived in Europe, (Gordon for 14 years in the ‘60s and ‘70s, and Shaw briefly in 1964), they were friends and frequent collaborators, and their respective recording careers were re-fashioned at Columbia Records by producer Michael Cuscuna. Gordon and Shaw became key voices in the rejuvenation of that label’s jazz division, and yet again both men reunited with ex-Columbia Records president Bruce Lundvall and Cuscuna at the newly reactivated Blue Note label in the mid-‘80s. Among Gordon’s late career highlights is his Oscar-nominated role in the film Round Midnight and the film’s pair of soundtrack albums, Round Midnight and The Other Side of Round Midnight. Shaw, who served as Blue Note’s house trumpeter in the ‘60s, collaborated with Freddie Hubbard on two seminal ‘80s recordings for the storied imprint.

Now this pair of jazz giants, in peak form and backed by crack working bands, can be heard again, on two newly discovered, previously unreleased live performances from Japan: Dexter Gordon Quartet Tokyo 1975 and Woody Shaw Tokyo 1981, released in deluxe-CD and LP editions by Elemental Music.

Gordon and Shaw thrived personally and artistically during their time in Europe. Woody Shaw played with and learned from the great saxophonist Eric Dolphy. During his time in Copenhagen, Dexter Gordon formed a fruitful musical connection with pianist Kenny Drew. At the heart of Dexter Gordon Quartet Tokyo 1975 is that almost telepathic interplay with Drew who moved to the Danish capital in 1964. On this recording, Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen, the Danish bass prodigy, equally adept at both walking bass-lines and solos, holds down the bass chair. Drew, Pedersen and drummer Alex Riel were the house band at Jazzhus Montmartre in Copenhagen, with Riel later replaced by another American ex-pat Albert “Tootie” Heath. It is this lineup that’s heard on Dexter Gordon Quartet Tokyo 1975. Whatever the lineup, the Jazzhus house band played live and on record many times with not only Gordon but Ben Webster, Johnny Griffin and others.

As famed jazz producer and Elemental Music Consultant Michael Cuscuna states in his liner notes for this package: “Having suffered the perils of being a single on the road for so many decades where out-of-tune pianos and tone-deaf pianists lurk around every corner, Dexter was lucky enough to enjoy the fruits of this great rhythm section for years in Copenhagen.”

Captured at Yubin Chokin Hall on October 1, 1975, Dexter Gordon Quartet Tokyo 1975, Gordon and his quartet play a program that opens with a long version of his favored original “Fried Bananas” and continues on to a pair of well-known standards in Henry Mancini’s “Days of Wine and Roses” (which Gordon recorded on his 1972 Prestige album, Tangerine) and Erroll Garner’s immortal, “Misty,” which had headed the 1965 Gordon live album of the same name. In glance back to the 1940s, the program continued with the Billy Eckstine-penned “Jelly, Jelly, Jelly,” which Gordon was often known to sing. This package also contains a pair of bonus tracks, the first being a spirited reading, complete with a quote from “Popeye the Sailor” of Thelonious Monk’s “Rhythm-a-Ning” recorded in Laren, Holland in June 1973 with Drew, Pedersen and drummer Espen Rud behind the kit. The second bonus number, a slow take of “Old Folks” dates from May 1977 in New Haven, Connecticut and features Gordon’s homecoming band with pianist Ronnie Matthews, bassist Stafford James, drummer Louis Hayes and Shaw.

One of the most distinctive and underrated trumpeters in jazz history, Woody Shaw began on the trumpet in high school, reputedly the same month that one of his heroes, Clifford Brown, died in a tragic car accident. First gaining fame as a sideman with Willie Bobo and Eric Dolphy, with whom he made his recording debut on Dolphy’s Iron Man, Shaw moved to Paris in the mid-‘60s, where he crossed paths with Gordon, who he later helped reintroduce to the stateside jazz scene in the mid-‘70s. After returning to the U.S. to play with Horace Silver’s Quintet, Shaw recorded for a variety of labels including Blue Note, Contemporary, Muse and finally Columbia, where in 1978 he recorded Rosewood, an album widely acknowledged as his masterpiece.

Shaw was also a key member of Gordon’s live Homecoming album, which captured Gordon’s first gig at the Village Vanguard after returning to the U.S. in 1977. Active on the jazz scene and as an international ambassador for the music until his untimely death in 1989 at 44, Shaw brought vital new energies to the language of jazz improvisation and uncompromising expression. On Woody Shaw Tokyo 1981, Shaw is joined by his working quintet which was notable for having the unusual textures and tonality of a frontline of Shaw and trombonist Steve Turre, backed by the considerable talents of pianist Mulgrew Miller, bassist Stafford James and drummer Tony Reedus.

Woody Shaw Tokyo 1981 opens with a stellar rendition of Shaw’s signature tune, the famous 69-bars of “Rosewood,” which is here played at a faster tempo than on the original studio recording. A straight reading of Thelonious Monk’s “`Round Midnight” with gorgeous solos by Shaw and Turre follows. In the ballad “From Moment to Moment,” Shaw shows his softer side and uses his warm, generous tone to its fullest. A swinging reading of Shaw’s waltz “Theme for Maxine,” closes the show. Written for his manager Maxine Gordon, this tune became something of a theme song for Shaw and was a constant presence on his concert set lists. This package also contains a bonus track from a concert of the Paris Reunion Band recorded live in Den Haag, Holland on July 14, 1985. Besides Shaw and Dizzy Reece on trumpet, this ‘80s ensemble of one-time ex-pats included saxophonists Johnny Griffin and Nathan Davis, pianist Kenny Drew, trombonist Slide Hampton, Jimmy Woode on bass and Billy Brooks on drums. Here they dig in on Shaw’s “Sweet Love of Mine,” an oft-covered number, probably best known in versions by Art Pepper and Jackie McLean. This version is highlighted by a heated competition in solos by Shaw, Griffin and Drew and a gorgeous trumpet cadenza by Shaw in the finale.

“Woody Shaw had in mind to contribute something meaningful to the world, something that was the result of his own labor, his own search and life’s journey,” writes his son, Woody Louis Armstrong Shaw III in his liner notes for the package. “For jazz, he felt a deep sense of loyalty and honor, a feeling that fueled his commitment and provided him with the inspiration he needed to turn his musical dreams, however farfetched they may have once been, into a reality that we now get to experience through the music he left behind.”

Instantly essential, these two sets document two of the towering figures in jazz history playing at their peak, and as such Dexter Gordon Quartet Tokyo 1975 and Woody Shaw Tokyo 1981 are invaluable additions to the recorded legacies of both these irreplaceable jazz visionaries. Maxine Gordon summarizes in her liner note to the Gordon package:

“Jazz fans the world over love discoveries of previously unreleased gems, hidden in storage rooms and vaults, unmarked and covered with dust. Elemental is finding a way to share these treasures with us. They are remastering often overlooked musical events and repackaging them to look as beautiful as the music sounds.”



Dexter Gordon Quartet Tokyo 1975 & Woody Shaw Tokyo 1981

Elemental Music · Release Date: July 13, 2018

Previously unissued 1968 live set from session guitar master Dennis Coffey - One Night At Morey's

From his early work with ’50s/’60s hit makers the Royaltones (who also backed other artists, including Del Shannon); to his run through the Motor City’s independent labels as a session ace; to his pioneering and legendary work with the Funk Brothers, backing band to massive Motown hits like “Just My Imagination,” “Ball of Confusion (That’s What the World Is Today),” “War,” “Cloud Nine,” “Someday We’ll Be Together,” and “Band of Gold” among many others; there’s no doubt about it: Dennis Coffey is a guitar legend.

Motown’s move to the West Coast in the ’70s didn’t slow him down. Instead, he struck out on his own and recorded a million-selling hit, “Scorpio,” in 1971. Coffey continued his studio session work (notably appearing on “Boogie Fever” by the Sylvers), scored films and produced other artists’ albums, such as Gallery’s Nice To Be With You and Rodriguez’s Cold Fact.

The 2000s have found Coffey appearing on the big screen, including the 2002 film Standing in the Shadows of Motown and 2012’s Searching for Sugarman. And to this very day you can find him playing every Tuesday night in Detroit.

One Night at Morey’s: 1968, scheduled for June 8, 2018 release on Omnivore Recordings, is drawn from the Lyman Woodard Trio’s residency at Morey Baker’s Showplace Lounge in Detroit. In those days the trio, consisting of Coffey on guitar, organist Lyman Woodard, and drummer Melvin Davis, could be found at their regular weekly stint at Morey’s. They played to a dedicated audience of often-repeat attendees, so the band kept the repertoire fresh and changing. One Night at Morey’s: 1968 follows last year’s Hot Coffey in the D: Burnin’ at Morey Baker’s Showplace Lounge, released by Resonance Records and also drawn from the Morey’s residency, but with an entirely different track list.

All tracks on One Night at Morey’s: 1968 are previously unissued and come directly from the vaults of Coffey and his producer partner, Mike Theodore. There are original compositions “Big City Lights,” “Mindbender,” and “Union Station,” as well as surprising and funky covers of “Billie’s Bounce” by Charlie Parker, “Burning Spear” by The Soul Strings, “Cissy Strut” by the Meters, “Eleanor Rigby” by the Beatles, “Groovin’” by the Young Rascals, and “I’m a Midnight Mover,” by Wilson Pickett (from the pen of both Pickett and Bobby Womack).

According to Coffey, “Morey Baker’s was the hottest club in town and packed every night! We rocked the house. I am excited to be working with Omnivore, a record label that really appreciates the music we created back then!”

  

Track Listing:

1. I’m a Midnight Mover  4:03

2. Eleanor Rigby  13:39

3. Cissy Strut   9:13

4. Groovin’   6:34

5. Burning Spear  13:54

6. It’s Your Thing/Union Station   3:05

7. Mindbender   4:17

8. Big City Lights  2:58

9. Billie’s Bounce  2:43

Newly Discovered Never-Before-Heard Bobby Darin on “Go Ahead and Back Up: The Lost Motown Masters”

Bobby Darin joined Motown Records in 1970, inaugurating the final phase in a remarkable career that saw him transform from a rock-and-roll teen idol to a sophisticated swinger to a socially conscious folkie.  Yet before his tragic death at the age of 37 in 1973, Darin only released one album and a handful of singles for Berry Gordy’s legendary label.  A few posthumous recordings followed in 1974 and a live album in 1987, but the story stayed the same: that despite the best efforts of all, Darin’s music for Motown never lived up to the great potential of the pairing.  Now, more than 45 years after the artist’s passing, the truth can be revealed.

Real Gone Music and Second Disc Records’ Go Ahead & Back Up: The Lost Motown Masters lifts the curtain on the final years of Bobby Darin’s life with 24 never-before-released recordings directly from the Motown vaults, their existence largely unknown to even Darin’s most ardent collectors and biographers.  Due on July 13, this years-in-the-making project (the landmark 25th release for Second Disc Records) premieres a lost album produced by Bobby in the raw, stripped-down style of his stage shows of the period; a return to standards as only Bobby could have recorded; and an entire album’s worth of stunning, surprising tracks written and produced by Motown’s cream of the crop.

Go Ahead & Back Up features newly-discovered, never-before-heard songs and productions by a Motown “Who’s Who” of Smokey Robinson (who shares the microphone on “Cindy”), Nickolas Ashford and Valerie Simpson, The Corporation (Berry Gordy, Fonce Mizell, Freddie Perren and Deke Richards), Jerry Marcellino and Mel Larson, and Mike Randall.  The funky, soulful, and altogether exciting recordings on Go Ahead and Back Up finally give listeners a taste of where Bobby Darin might have been headed next.

This ultimate collectors’ edition has been co-produced and annotated by Joe Marchese (Bobby Darin’s Another Song on My Mind: The Motown Years) and Andrew Skurow (Diana Ross and The Supremes’ Expanded Editions), while acclaimed engineer Kevin Reeves has mixed and mastered from the pristine original Motown tapes.  A lavish 28-page booklet designed in impeccable period style by John Sellards includes comprehensive liner notes (drawing on exclusive quotes from Smokey Robinson, Valerie Simpson, and Jerry Marcellino) and rare, never-before-published photos of the superstar artist.

Thought you knew everything about Bobby Darin and The Motown Sound?  Go Ahead & Back Up!  This isn’t your mother’s Bobby Darin.  These long-lost recordings will hit stores from Second Disc Records and Real Gone Music on July 13.

Bobby Darin, Go Ahead & Back Up: The Lost Motown Masters 

Go Ahead and Back Up

(Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher and Higher

Help Me Make It Through the Night

Watch the River Flow

Lady Madonna

I Walk the Line

You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feeling

I Don’t Know How to Love Her

Catch the Wind

We’re Getting There

Stray Dog (Oh Let Her Be)

Child of Tears

I Think the Devil Must Be Beating His Wife

Cindy (featuring Smokey Robinson)

I’m Glad About It

Oh Lord, Where Is My Baby

Young Joe Caldwell (a.k.a. Lucky Day)

The Letter (Extended Version)

Proud Mary (Version 1)

Proud Mary (Version 2)

Rags to Riches

Mona Lisa

Smile

Melodie (The Symphony Mix)

All tracks previously unreleased

~ www.theseconddisc.com

Nicola Conte & Spiritual Galaxy - Let Your Light Shine On | New album

The Italian guitarist and bandleader Nicola Conte has recorded his first album for the legendary, recently re- established MPS records. Conte has brought with him an ensemble of stars including trumpeter Theo Croker, saxophonists Logan Richardson and Magnus Lindgren, and singer Zara McFarlane. Recorded in Bari, Italy and Johannesburg, South Africa, “Let Your Light Shine On” is a cohesive and powerful work of art that crosses the border between soul and spiritual Afro-jazz.

For his new album, Conte has casually interwoven soul and grooves pulsing with the beat and breath of Africa. In doing so, he combined elements that seemingly do not belong together. This innovative jazz revivalist has always been open to sounds of every sort and color. Born in 1964, Conte formed the artist collective Fez in the early ‘90s in his native city of Bari, produced jazz and modern electronic-oriented Bossa Nova, and recorded film scores. Conte’s eighth album conveys his interest in spiritual deceleration (“We should not be hemmed in by materialism. We need new perspectives!”).

The foundation of the album is Conte’s live band, Spiritual Galaxy. Conte plays guitar and is accompanied by such top international stars as trombonist Gianluca Petrella, who has been awarded “Best Emerging Artist” by the prestigious DownBeat jazz magazine, Swedish tenor saxophonist Magnus Lindgren, and Finnish drummer Teppo Mäkynen. They meet up with pianist Pietro Lussu, bassist Luca Alemanno, and singer Bridgette Amofah. The band also includes two up-and-coming stars of the younger generation of jazz musicians from the USA, players who don’t shy away from Hip Hop, R&B, and electronic music – alto saxophonist Logan Richardson and trumpeter Theo Croker.

A Scandinavian-American-Italian all-star band, a truly cosmic and international ensemble – complimented by a sensitive guest appearance by the celebrated British singer Zara McFarlane.

Let Your Light Shine On is Conte’s debut on the legendary MPS label, which has recently resumed releasing new recordings. “For me, when it comes to European labels, MPS has always been leading the way,” the Italian said. “Jazz Meets the World on MPS – that was their motto. It wasn’t about exploiting trends, it was about genuine artistic expression.”

Fire and Music: Nsimbi Tells Human Stories with East African Wisdom, Grace, and Swagger

The day used to end the same way around the world. After the work was done, families and communities would gather around a fire. They would sing, dance, tell stories, distill learning into proverbs.

The fire that brought us together still burns, insists the American-Ugandan power duo Nsimbi. On their eponymous debut (release: June 22, 2018), the Kampala-born star hip hop MC and storyteller GNL Zamba and gifted American singer-songwriter Miriam Tamar trace age-old wisdom that can and should inform modern life, using traditional East African instruments and sounds in utterly contemporary ways.

“The album was inspired by ancient Swahili proverbs, but it centers around African culture, more generally, the ancient insights it conveys,” Zamba explains. “We want to show people today how relevant that knowledge is. We want to promote that oneness this knowledge suggests.”

“The transition to modernity is a big theme on this album. We were looking for roots and we found them in Swahili proverbs,” Tamar agrees. “Every song is based on a proverb. They are the thread, but it all keeps coming back to our need for human connections to thrive.” These connections weave together sonically, via instruments from kalimba to kora, into tight, grooving songs.

These songs are a natural outgrowth of a musical partnership that began several years ago in Kampala, where Zamba and Tamar met. Tamar managed a recording studio, having left a position in the troubled northern part of the country at an NGO dedicated to peace education and recovery after years of devastating war. She had come to the Ugandan capital to focus on her music and began working for a label.

At the studio, she ran into Zamba, a legend on the burgeoning Ugandan hip hop scene who had racked up numerous awards, producing gigs, and brand sponsorships. The two connected, and when Zamba was looking for a singer for a government-supported track to raise HIV awareness, he called on Tamar. The song is credited with making a significant impact, Zamba notes. They went on to more collaborations, as part of Zamba’s hip hop label.

“I was singing more pop and hip hop,” Tamar recalls. “I didn’t really have a strong idea about my voice or message at that point, but I knew I wanted to be singing and writing. I was experimenting and figuring out what I needed to do that felt closer to my own vision.” Then, after five years in Uganda, events drew Tamar back to the States. In the year she spent alone in the US, she found her voice, writing and recording a solo EP, Firedance. The EP debuted in the top five of the iTunes world chart, garnering strong reviews and significant YouTube views.

When Zamba came and joined her in America, he began to explore new ideas. Though he had collaborated with traditional and acoustic musicians in Uganda, his focus and his claim to fame were his accomplishments as a hip hop MC. Known as a “ghetto storyteller” for his frank portrayals of life in Kampala, “I grew up listening to American MCs like Nas and to rappers from South Africa and elsewhere. I had fun as a young man just doing hip hop, but it wasn’t my only center. I was all over the place; I would preach on the record but it never felt whole.” Zamba, too, began to search for a different way to raise his voice.

The romantic ties that bound Zamba and Tamar inevitably blossomed into musical collaboration, as both found a deeper calling as artists. “This album was an opportunity to mature and evolve and promote the things we both believe in,” says Zamba. “We love culture, and we want to encourage international collaboration across cultures.”

They hit upon Swahili proverbs as conceptual anchors, bringing their broad musical loves and diverse experiences together. “There is so much in these proverbs, some of which I first encountered when I studied Swahili in college and in Tanzania,” Tamar notes. “We’d talk about them, and then Zamba would find similar ideas in Baganda culture.” “Leo ni Leo,” for example, reminds listeners that all we have is today, but today is more than enough to find joy. “Dunia ni Matembezi” advises listeners to leave their familiar surroundings and discover the world, literally stating that “the world is walking,” getting out there, seeing new things.

The evocative proverbs were just the beginning. “After we’d thought about the proverb, we’d come up with stories that we could tie together from our two perspectives and experiences, and I’d develop the melody,” recalls Tamar. “We ended up singing in English, Luganda, Lingala, and Swahili.” The linguistic range was enhanced by the duo’s collaborators, US-based Ugandan multi-instrumentalist Kinobe and Congolese-born soukous guitarist and singer Jaja Bashengezi, whose musical imprint on tracks like the party-read “Sokota” proved crucial to the album.

Nsimbi has diverse origins but the tracks share a sonic integrity, a sunny acoustic sound and a mesmerizing rhythmic intensity. Within the overarching feel, the contributors’ various styles glimmer through: Tamar’s singer-songwriter instincts (“Gonna Be Alright”), Zamba’s hip hop roots (“Flower of the Heart”), Bashengezi’s red-hot soukous licks, and Kinobe’s expressive kora (“Forsaken,” which addresses the plight of refugees in East Africa and worldwide). Zamba and Tamar’s musical impulses sometimes lead to different understandings of a shared concept, as in “Omugga,” dedicated to the swaying current of a river. Tamar heard the pulse in one way, Zamba another. “You can watch us dancing to these different beats on stage,” laughs Tamar. “But it all came together, even though our sense of a river’s rhythm were so different.”

The differences and variations are part of the point. “We have very different approaches to writing,” reflects Tamar, “and the pace we worked at was scary, but rewarding.” “One thing we both love and agree on, we love music that helps society,” Zamba adds. “We don’t mean this in some corny way; it’s not a trite thing. We honestly believe in music’s positive power in the world.”

 

Erroll Garner: Nightconcert – Live Recording at Midnight Concert in November of 1964 at The Royal Concertgebouw in Amsterdam

Features Eight Never-Before-Heard Song Interpretations + Newly Discovered Original Song

There are certain musical artists who have transcended genre limitations, crossing over into other areas of audience appeal. But in very rare cases there are artists who cross over in an entirely different way, becoming iconic and beloved figures to the broader spectrum of humanity by their very existence and essence of their being as universal messengers of love and spirit. Legendary pianist and composer Erroll Garner stands tall among those individuals.



A new addition to his brilliant manifestation of artistry and jubilant expressiveness is always a treat, but when it is at such a majestic peak as in Octave Music/Mack Avenue Records’ spectacular new release, Erroll Garner: Nightconcert, it is a revelation. Nightconcert presents Garner at the peak of his genius, recorded at a midnight concert in November 1964 at The Royal Concertgebouw in Amsterdam with an audience of 2000 highly enthusiastic and enraptured people of all ages. Also notable is that this album features eight never-before-heard Garner song interpretations, including a newly discovered original.

"The collection of recordings in the Garner Estate archives is immense and substantive," states Mack Avenue Records President Denny Stilwell. "To represent the historical treasure that is Nightconcert is a privilege for Mack Avenue and we are energized by this new collaboration with Octave Music."

Beginning with the immortal 1955 album Concert by the Sea – the best-selling jazz album of its era – Garner consistently proved that there is nothing to match that magical essence of transcendent artistry shared in the same air with a totally connected audience. On this night, the pianist’s consummate artistry is further enhanced by his rhythm section of bassist Eddie Calhoun and drummer Kelly Martin, with whom he’d been playing for nearly a decade – proving another unquestionable truth, that jazz is never better expressed than by an ensemble of musicians who have played together long enough to develop that telepathic synergy demanded by the music at its highest level. Accompanying Garner demanded that substance in exponential form.

As his longtime manager Martha Glaser wrote in the concert program notes, “one of Garner’s outstanding qualities is his unpredictability and spontaneity,” which followed “the individual selections which Mr. Garner will play have not been listed” – and neither of his accompanists were informed either. But there’s no way one could tell, as they match the master at every twist and turn as though it was just the way they rehearsed it. In fact, they never rehearsed. Their performances were pure magic through mutual awareness.

True to his singularly personal style, each piece begins with Garner’s sumptuous and often impressionistically rubato explorations before exposing the theme of the actual song he’s about to play, further stamping his personal ownership of the piece, no matter how familiar or how many other people may have interpreted it before. Each song is a unique entity, even in comparison to other interpretations that he may have done at another time – a most special talent and a mark of utter originality and immediacy.

The repertoire on this album is pure Garner, heavily drawn from the Great American Songbook with a nice infusion of originals. There are three Cole Porter classics: “Easy to Love,” “Night and Day” and “What Is This Thing Called Love;” and two gems from Rodgers & Hart: “My Funny Valentine” and “Where or When.” The Gershwins are represented by “’S Wonderful;” Irving Berlin by “Cheek to Cheek;” and Harold Arlen by “Over the Rainbow.” A couple of lesser luminaries are included with Einar Aaron Swan’s “When Your Lover Has Gone” and Clay Boland’s “Gypsy in My Soul.” Two great 1940s songs, immortalized by both being the title songs of terrific films and interpreted by scores of heavyweight artists are Bronislaw Kaper’s “On Green Dolphin Street” and David Raksin’s “Laura” – which can now add two more remarkable versions to their storied history.

Another outstanding title song from a film is one of three Garner originals, the exquisite “Theme from ‘A New Kind of Love’ (All Yours);” along with the jaunty “That Amsterdam Swing” and the touching “No More Shadows.” A brief taste of Ralph Rainger’s “Thanks for the Memory” provides the digestif to close this most delightful repast.

Nightconcert is an exhilarating journey through a comprehensive history of jazz piano: smooth stride, rollicking barrelhouse, unfettered swing, loping bop lines, Cecil Taylor-like chord clusters; spiced by potent touches of Debussy/Satie-like impressionistic flair. In other words, pure Erroll Garner: marvelously imaginative, richly lyrical, full of unexpected surprises, and utterly captivating.

This is the third new Garner release through Octave Music since its relaunch in 2015; the first, The Complete Concert By The Sea, was named 2016 historical record of the year by the Jazz Journalist Association and nominated for a GRAMMY® Award and an NAACP Image Award. It was produced by the late and deeply missed master jazz pianist Geri Allen, along with four-time GRAMMY® Award-winner, Steve Rosenthal. The second release, Ready Take One, a collection of previously unreleased studio recordings that was also nominated for an NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Jazz Album, was produced by Allen, Rosenthal and Peter Lockhart. Nightconcert is produced by Peter Lockhart, Steve Rosenthal and Mack Avenue Records pianist/composer Christian Sands in his new role as Creative Ambassador for the Erroll Garner Jazz Project. The album is available in both CD and double-vinyl and is beautifully packaged with excellent artwork by White Bicycle, on-site photographs by Nico van der Stam/Maria Austria Instituut and The Erroll Garner archive – housed at the University of Pittsburgh – historical artifacts, and informative notes by renowned writers Nate Chinen and Robin D. G. Kelley.

Erroll Garner · Nightconcert

Mack Avenue Records · Release Date: July 13, 2018

Christian Sands Announces Ambitious Summer with Digital-Only Live REACH FURTHER EP

After a dynamic 2017, filled with international touring and the release of his critically acclaimed Mack Avenue Records debut album REACH, singularly talented pianist, GRAMMY® Award-nominee, and Steinway artist Christian Sands is expanding on his story with REACH FURTHER EP. This outing features live performances of three tracks from his latest album, recorded on March 7, 2018 at the popular Los Angeles jazz club Blue Whale, as well as two unreleased tracks from the original studio recording sessions. This digital-only release will be available on May 18, 2018 via Mack Avenue Records.

REACH FURTHER EP serves as a natural platform to showcase Sands’ captivating live performances, as well as a glimpse into what is to come from the ever-evolving and multifaceted artist. “People react to different things musically in a live setting, and that influenced how we play these songs. But for us, mainly there are more chord changes now,” laughs Sands. “We’ve added different pulses and more grooves after playing in Europe and the United States.”

Sands used what little free time he had between touring and recording to lend a hand to the Erroll Garner Jazz Project, (officially becoming the Creative Ambassador for Octave Music) producing the upcoming never-before-heard live album Erroll Garner: Nightconcert. The album is a continuation of the work Sands has done with his mentor, the late and deeply lamented Geri Allen, to ensure Garner’s legacy is never forgotten.

“Geri was one of my teachers. I was studying with her during the same time I was studying with Dr. Billy Taylor. To watch her vision was incredible. When she introduced me to the Erroll Garner Jazz Project, I discovered the deeper idea of Erroll: his time, his phrases,” recalls Sands. “Being the Creative Ambassador to the Erroll Garner Jazz Project is a true honor and to be able to produce this record is something extremely heavy, yet humbling.”

Christian Sands continues to expand into previously unexplored areas of his artistry, continuing to push the boundaries of the “jazz-norm.” Furthering that sentiment and looking to the future, Mack Avenue Records plans to release Sands’ next album this coming fall. Incorporating elements of acoustic piano, Fender Rhodes, and Hammond B3, the upcoming album displays his ability to look at the instrument as a tool of orchestration.

Those talents will be further applied with his upcoming Music Director position for the 2018 Monterey Jazz Festival On Tour band this year with Cécile McLorin Salvant, Bria Skonberg, Melissa Aldana, Yasushi Nakamura, and Jamison Ross. With so many elements and projects coming from his young inspired mind, the REACH FURTHER EP solidifies that this is Christian Sands’ world and we are just blessed to be a part of it.

Christian Sands' Upcoming U.S. Performances:

Jun. 14 / McCarter Theatre Center (The Berlind Theater) / Princeton, NJ

Jun. 23 / Freihofer's Saratoga Jazz Festival / Saratoga Springs, NY

Jun. 24 - 25 / Xerox Rochester International Jazz Festival / Rochester, NY

Jun. 26 - 27 / Dizzy's Club Coca-Cola (JALC) / New York, NY

July 3 - 20th: European Tour

Sept. 3 / Detroit Jazz Festival / Detroit, MI

Sept. 21 / Monterey Jazz Festival / Monterey, CA

Sept. 29 / Hyde Park Jazz Festival / Chicago, IL

Oct. 9 / Kuumbwa Jazz Club / San Jose, CA

Oct. 22 / Dimitriou's Jazz Alley / Seattle, WA

Oct. 25 - 28 / Jazz Standard / New York, NY

Nov. 2 / Christina Cultural Arts Center / Wilmington, DE

Nov. 3 / Montgomery County Community College / Blue Bell, PA

Michael Franks Celebrates 45 Years As A Recording Artist With New Album The Music In My Head

"'The Music In My Head' is my eighteenth studio album of original songs. I still think of these releases as albums and I write and sequence them with that same old-school idea of continuity in mind. On this project, I enjoyed writing and recording every note...from making the demos to working in the studio with so many of my former accomplices and some great new ones. When I started writing the compositions I shut myself up in my little studio room and got lost in the music, fueled by: tea, more tea, vegan lasagna, and punctuated by walking the dogs and deep water cardio workouts." - MICHAEL FRANKS

"As Long As We're Both Together" features Chuck Loeb on guitars and keys, he also produced and arranged the track. Jimmy Haslip-bass, Eric Marienthal, sax, Manuel Quintana-percussion, Veronica Nunn and Leslie Ritter-background vocals

Celebrating 45 years as a recording artist since his highly collectible self-titled debut in 1973, singer/songwriter Michael Franks hovers dragonfly-like in a sacred space all his own within his contributions to the artform of music. Liberatingly non-categorizable, Franks is in possession of unique fan bases around the world across jazz, quiet storm, adult contemporary, pop, contemporary jazz, folk and even blues styles. His songs have been lovingly covered by a wide range of artists that includes Ringo Starr, Natalie Cole, The Carpenters, Sonny Terry & Brownie McGhee, Diana Krall, Lyle Lovett, Al Jarreau, Carmen McRae, The Manhattan Transfer and Patti LaBelle, to name only a few. And some of his most well-known compositions - lyrical marvels wedded to his laidback delivery of vocalizing, produced, arranged and cast with some of the finest musicians in jazz and session lore - range from ethereal ("The Lady Wants to Know") to sensual ("Tell Me All About It") to playful ("Popsicle Toes") to edgy ("The Camera Never Lies") to evocative ("Tiger in the Rain") to cinematic ("Nightmoves") to seasonal ("Christmas in Kyoto") to comforting ("Inside You") to outrageous ("Now That Your Joystick's Broke") to sublime ("Still Life") and beyond. What James Taylor, Joni Mitchell and Paul Simon have contributed to pop-rock music in terms of singer/songwriter excellence, Michael Franks has accomplished as their iconic equivalent in the realms of contemporary jazz and the quiet storm.

For his 18th album and first in seven years, Michael provides America and the world at large a cerebellum- massaging musical survival kit of 10 new songs...an audio travelogue that turns our attention to the wonders of Creation and Mother Nature strewn with bread crumbs that additionally lead us to lofty literature, works of art, love, divinity...and tea. Titled The Music In My Head, it is a snapshot of the artist in his autumnal here and now, lost up in the fruits of his quietly profound career success, his loving wife Claudia, seven cats and two dogs, the idyllic wooded environ in which he lives, and the blessing of still firing on all cylinders in his wondrous endeavors of expression. Joining Michael in the process are producer/arrangers Gil Goldstein, Scott Petito, Charles Blenzig and former Yellowjackets bassist Jimmy Haslip, along with stellar guest musicians such as guitarist David Spinozza, saxophonists Bob Mintzer, Eric Marienthal and Gary Meek and for the first-time pianist Rachel Z.  Franks' dear friend and guitarist Chuck Loeb (Fourplay) also appears on the album. The singer/songwriter shares, "The loss of my long-time producer and friend, Chuck Loeb, threw the project out of balance for a few months. I sent Chuck the first demo I made, a guitar/vocal/percussion sketch of "As Long As We're Both Together." At this point in time he was struggling bravely against the odds of his health issues. We spoke on the phone a few times, discussing which guitars he might use, and in a few days time he sent me a perfect arrangement with the amazing solos you hear on the record. It's hard to comprehend how, in a time of such physical adversity, he summoned the wherewithal to play at his blazing, signature best. I'll always treasure this last collaboration of ours. I'm grateful to my friends Jimmy Haslip, Eric Marienthal, and Scott Petito, along with percussionist Manuel Quintana, and vocalists Veronica Nunn and Leslie Ritter for helping me finish this song in the sad absence of our late friend Chuck."

The result of "As Long As We're Both Together" and the nine additional gems highlighted on The Music In My Head is a magnificent sonic telegraph of timeless anthems that transcend all boundaries and reach straight for the heart.

NEW MUSIC - EDDIE PALMIERI - SABIDURIA; DOMENICO LANCELLOTTI - THE GOOD IS A BIG GOD; BEADY BELLE - DEDICATION

EDDIE PALMIERI - SABIDURIA

Eddie Palmieri’s influence on the world of modern music is often celebrated, but just as often underestimated. As he completes his 80th year with us, his energy and commitment seem to be increasing, as if to fully emphasize the power of not just the music but also the cross-cultural importance of the process. With no sign of slowing, Mr. Palmieri is the elder of a global culture of musicians, actively teaching young students and leading the way for the next generation. And now Mr. Palmieri brings to the world his first project since his back to back Grammy wins in 2005/2006 - Sabiduría. Sabiduría is the Spanish word for “wisdom”, and the message is clear from the outset that wisdom is the exalted value that should guide us all. His intent with Sabiduría, as it has been with all of his recordings, is to create art that will be analyzed and understood well beyond his time.

DOMENICO LANCELLOTTI - THE GOOD IS A BIG GOD

You've heard Domenico before as part of the groundbreaking +2 trio with Kassin and Moreno Veloso – but this is only the second time the singer has worked on his own, and the first that he's given us his full name on the cover! That difference might mark a new sort of confidence in Domenico – a way of putting forth his careful songwriting genius with a bit more dexterity, which certainly gets a bit of assistance in the album's work by Sean O'Hagan and Kassin! If you've ever liked Domenico before, you'll totally love him here – and if this is your first time discovering his music, then get ready to go backwards – as the strength of this album will win over your ears, and send you searching for all the other wonderful music he's given us over the years. Titles include the very dreamy title cut "The Good Is A Big God" – plus "Insatiable", "Serra Dos Orgaos", "Voltar Se", "A Alma Do Vento", "Terra", "Logo", "Dama Da Noite", "Shanti Luz", "Arvores", and "pare De Correr". ~ Dusty Groove

BEADY BELLE - DEDICATION

Beady Belle never lets us down – and even though the lady's been making music for well over a decade, she still turns out some of the most consistently thoughtful soul we can think of! Forget the fact that the singer's on a Norwegian label, as the lyrics here are all in English, backed by warmly jazzy instrumentation that's always made Beady's music hugely popular with our customers for American neo-soul – and which puts her in the same territory as other classic "in the know" artists, such as Monday Michiru or Incognito! The keyboards are especially nice this time around – as thoughtful as the lyrics and the vocals – and titles include "I Run You Ragged", "Hold Your Breath", "Traces", "Dedication", "Waste Of Grace", "Last Drop Of Blood", "Can You Smile", and "Out Of Orbit". ~ Dusty Groove

NEW MUSIC: IDRIS ACKAMOOR & THE PYRAMIDS – ANGEL FELL; SOIL & PIMP SESSIONS - DAPPER; KASSIN - RELAX

IDRIS ACKAMOOR & THE PYRAMIDS – ANGEL FELL

Saxophonist Idris Ackamoor is a living jazz legend – but not the kind that's stale and stuffy, and instead a continuously vibrant player who's given us mindblowing music since his initial recordings with his Pyramids group in the 70s! This version of the Pyramids is different than that one, but they represent a continuing evolution of Ackamoor's rich spirit – his way of fusing spiritual jazz currents with global rhythmic inspirations – but all without every sounding as hokey as so many others who try for that space, and just fall flat! There's a sense of power and inspiration to Ackamoor's music that still moves us tremendously – and which, today, seems more urgent than ever – especially as Idris has seemed to set a new fire under his talents in the past decade or so, obviously more motivated by the need for social change than in his projects of more recent decades. The album's a mix of vocals and instrumentals – but the vocals are often more chant-like, or handled by the ensemble – at a level that further deepens the spirit of the sound. Titles include "Land Of Ra", "Papyrus", "Soliloquy For Michael Brown", "Message To My People", "An Angel Fell", "Tinoge", and "Warrior Dance".  ~ Dusty Groove

SOIL & PIMP SESSIONS - DAPPER

This great Japanese combo are maybe even more dapper than usual here – still strongly tied up in their tradition of hard-hitting jazz, but also opening the door for work from some guest soul singers and MCs! Leader Shacho is usually the "agitator" in the group – calling out the performances from the players – but this time around, he's more of the music director and songwriter – working in collaboration with the singers when they appear – in a lineup that features work from Nao Kawamura, Yojiro Noda, Shun Ikegai, Ego Wrappin, and Awich. Make no mistake, the instrumentation is as fantastic as ever – maybe even more so, as the group feel leaner and tighter – with some especially fantastic bass, trumpet, and keyboards. Titles include "A New Day", "Heaven On Earth", "Deform Reform", "Comrade", "Drivin", "Dusk", "Drifter", and "Pride Fish Ball". ~ Dusty Groove

KASSIN - RELAX

We admire the hell out of Kassin, but it's hard to imagine that we'd relax when faced with a new record of his – as we always pay fervent attention to everything he ever does! And this time around, that attention is rewarded even more than usual – as the musician and studio genius emerges a bit more from the background than usual – finally putting his face on the cover (sort of!), and really showing off his talents as both a singer and songwriter! Yet as with all of Kassin's other work – including his famous collaborations with Domenico and Moreno Veloso, his time in Orquesta Imperial, and his projects with bigger names in Brazilian music – there's always this understated quality that makes the whole thing even more charming than if Kassin was overstating his talents. Kassin is one of the few contemporary Brazilian artists to really live up to the genius of the golden years that gave us talents like Marcos Valle, Edu Lobo, or Caetano Veloso – and his sense of songwriting, presentation, and overall structure here is wonderful – making the album an instant classic in Brazilian music. Titles include "Seria O Donut", "Comprimidos Demais", "Estricnina", "Momento De Clareza", "O Anestesista", "Su Sugestao", "Enquanto Desaba O Mundo", and "As Coisa Que Nos Nao Fizemos". ~ Dusty Groove

NEW RELEASES: K. AVETT – LIONESS; GRANT GREEN – FUNK IN FRANCE: FROM PARIS TO ANTIBES 1969-1970; TONY RODRIGUEZ – AT LAST

K. AVETT – LIONESS

A great soul singer, and one with a very positive vibe – a sound that maybe grabs us the same way we felt when we first heard Jill Scott – and that's saying a heck of a lot! As you might guess from the title, K Avett's a singer who's not to be taken lightly – yet while her message may come on with the roar of a lioness, her sound is also warmly human – never too smooth, but with a great sense of flow that makes her overall sound as seductive as her lyrics! And despite all this hype, there's also a relatively understated quality to the record – which really helps it keep its charms and focus its energy through the entire set – on titles that include "Feelin Good", "Lioness", "Confusion", "Soldier", "In My Life", "Time Won't Wait", "The Matter", and "Down". ~ Dusty Groove

GRANT GREEN – FUNK IN FRANCE: FROM PARIS TO ANTIBES 1969-1970

Beautiful rare work from the late 60s years of Grant Green – a time when the guitarist was giving us some of his funk classics on Blue Note, and when he really seemed to be opening up his groove! That's definitely the case here – as the tracks aren't just funky, but also spin out at nicely long lengths – first on a set of tracks recorded for radio in Paris in 1969, with Green on guitar, Larry Ridley on bass, and Don Lamond on drums – working in a trio mode with a very different vibe than Grant's earlier work. Barney Kessel joins on second guitar on the tune "I Wish You Love", and other tracks include "I don't Want Nobody To Give Me Nothing", "Oleo", and "Untitled Blues". The second two thirds of the record are even more unbridled – and feature long live performances from the 1970 Antibes Festival – with a cool quartet that features Claude Bartee on tenor and Clarence Parker on Hammond. All tracks are well past the 10 minute mark, most pushing 20 – and titles include two versions of "Upshot", plus "Hi Heel Sneakers" and "Hurt So Bad". (Hand-numbered limited edition – on 180 gram vinyl pressed at RTI!) ~ Dusty Groove

TONY RODRIGUEZ – AT LAST

After several years of leading the backing bands of star Cuban acts such as Havana D’Primera, Isaac Delgado and Carlos Varela, Tony Rodriguez - the pianist, composer, arranger and producer - has finally let loose his creativity in the form of the jazz album At Last.  For the recording of the album he locked himself away in the Abdala Studios in Havana for three days together with some of the best jazz musicians in Cuba, such as the percussionist Oliver Valdes, the saxophonist Carlos Miyares, the bassist Yandy Martinez and the trumpeter Alejandro Delgado. The five of them recorded seven jazz instrumentals together live in the studio, with melodies and elements that draw comparisons to cool jazz and hard bop.

Saxophonist Dave McMurray Makes Blue Note Records Debut with Detroit-centric Album, Music Is Life

Dave McMurray’s Blue Note Records debut, Music Is Life, is a reunion of sorts, given the long history the saxophonist shares with the label’s president, and fellow Detroit native, Don Was. McMurray was a member of Was’ genre-defying unit Was (Not Was), first working together on the band’s self-titled 1981 debut. He’s played on all of the band’s albums and many other Was produced projects in the years since.

When Was signed McMurray to Blue Note, the saxophonist says that he gave him no imperatives as to which artistic paths to take. “It was one of those situations in which he just said, ‘Do it,’” McMurray explains.

“I know Dave’s playing really well. He doesn’t bullshit,” Was praises. “He’s never playing licks for the sake of playing licks. He’s not trying to impress people with what all he knows about music or about his dexterity over the instrument. It’s all about honest expressions.”

McMurray proceeded by gathering a batch of strong originals and well-chosen rock and R&B staples then recruited musicians – bassist Ibrahim Jones and drummers Ron Otis and Jeff Canady – with whom he’s forged longstanding rapports. With minimum keyboard and string accompaniments on a few tunes, the music boasts an open, rugged sensibility that optimizes the leader’s burly tone and swaggering lyricism.

McMurray has cemented his reputation for versatility by playing with a vast array of musicians that include B.B. King, The Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, Iggy Pop, Patti Smith, Bonnie Raitt, Johnny Hallyday, Gladys Knight, Albert King, Nancy Wilson, KEM, Bootsy Collins, Herbie Hancock, Geri Allen, and Bob James. McMurray sounds as assured and inspired in a rock, R&B, funk, pop or folk setting as he does playing hard bop.

McMurray consolidates all of those aforementioned idioms on Music Is Life, creating a cohesive program of groove-based modern jazz that bristles with unalloyed soul. “I wanted it to have the spirit of a funk record,” he says, before rejoicing in the freedom afforded by having minimum chordal support. “I can just hold the melody down or go anywhere else in these songs.” Case in point, the joyous title track “Music Is Life (Live It),” which serves as his personal mantra.

McMurray attributes his saxophone sound and improvisational approach to growing up in Detroit. “Every time I hear an instrumentalist from Detroit play, it feels like they are singing. I don’t care if it’s Yusef Lateef, James Carter or Kenny Garrett. All of those saxophonists incorporated incredible technique too. But they had this singing quality in their playing. I think people hear that and connect with that aspect of it,” McMurray says.

“Dave absorbed a wide range of musical styles, which I think is something that’s consistent with Detroit musicians,” Was says. “You can trace it back to the boom of the auto industry after World War II. Workers not only from all over the country but from all over the world came to work in the auto plants. And they brought their cultures with them. There were so many different styles of music that you could hear; Detroit has such an eclectic blend of influences that I think what you find in music that comes out of Detroit is this genre-busting type music.”

For sure, McMurray stands on Detroit’s mighty music legacy that includes the influential Motown sound, P-Funk, numerous rock acts such as Stooges and the MC5, electronica-music pioneers Carl Craig, Moodymann and Theo Parrish; and hip-hop icons – J Dilla, Eminem and Slum Village. And let’s not forget the legion of jazz artists from Detroit that include Elvin Jones, Betty Carter, Milt Jackson, Regina Carter and Geri Allen.

In some ways, Music Is Life functions as much as celebration of Detroit as it does a reunion for McMurray and Was. “Bop City D” is a burning hard bop number that tips its hat to the Motor City, while the album’s closer, “Turo’s Dream” is a tribute to the memory of one of McMurray’s best friends that he met in elementary school. Other noticeable Detroit references come by way of covers of songs by artists with connections to the city – George Clinton’s funk anthem “Atomic Dog” and the White Stripes’ rock hit “Seven Nation Army.”

McMurray’s hard-hitting “Naked Walk” opens the set. Distinguished by stabbing riffs and a strutting melody, animated by fiery hollers and wails, the song has long been in the saxophonist’s songbook and is frequently played as a crowd-pleasing encore. The album’s other bracing originals include the brooding “After the Storm,” the snapping, hip-hop-centric “Freedom Ain’t Free,” the prowling “Time #5” – which is a part of McMurray’s ongoing “Time” composition series – and the stirring, string-enhanced “Paris Rain,” an evocative homage to one of McMurray’s favorite cities.

Speaking of France, Music Is Life also features a soaring reading of “Que Je T’aime,” a torch ballad that McMurray performed regularly with French rock legend, Johnny Hallyday, who passed away in 2017. “When we played that song live, everybody would be standing up. You’d see guys out there with tears in their eyes while singing along to that song. It was so emotional when he sang it,” McMurray recalls.

McMurray’s journey into music began when he started playing clarinet as kid, and inspired by his older brother’s interest in the saxophone he decided he wanted to learn that instrument, too. He counts seeing Cannonball Adderley perform on The Steve Allen Show as a defining moment in his childhood. While in high school, McMurray attended Cranbook Academy of Arts’ noted summer program, Horizons Upward Bound. He eventually got a scholarship to attend the private school. McMurray furthered his education by attending Wayne State University, where he earned degrees in psychology and urban studies.

While making his way on Detroit’s bustling music scene, McMurray played with the avant-garde jazz ensemble, Griot Galaxy, founded in 1972 by saxophonist Faruq Z. Bey. But McMurray’s catholic taste in music opened the doors for him to explore beyond the realms of jazz. “Any music that I heard – and continue to hear – I can see myself playing it,” McMurray asserts. “It could be rock, jazz, R&B, whatever.” And that’s a good explanation for his multifaceted career.