HOLLY COLE TRANFORMS LOSS INTO LOVE AND INSPIRATION ON "HOLLY"

The Great American Songbook repertoire is what many argue to be the pinnacle of American popular music and one of this country’s greatest cultural contributions to the world. Dating back to the 1920s and created by such luminary composers and lyricists as Cole Porter, George and Ira Gershwin, Irving Berlin, Duke Ellington, Richard Rodgers, Harold Arlen and Johnny Mercer among others, this timeless body of work has enchanted music enthusiasts for decades. These gems from Tin Pan Alley, the silver screen and Broadway have become the stuff that stars are made of. In the hands of the right artist this classic material has the ability to take on new life. Celebrated Canadian vocalist Holly Cole, who has stretched the boundaries of what a jazz singer can sing, illustrates this transformative ability on her 17th recording as a leader and Shanachie Entertainment debut, Holly. “The high quality songwriting from the classic American songbook and the timeless themes were crafted for interpretation,” says Holly. “This perfect combination enables me to explore subtext and make a very personal individual statement with each and every song.”

The epiphany for Holly Cole to record Holly evolved from a deeply personal experience centered around her mother falling ill. The singer decided to take off a few years from music so that she could take care of her mother in Toronto. This decision, which ultimately became life-changing. Upon her mother’s suggestion to embark on studying something new during this hiatus, the vocalist decided to study hypnotism, which eventually led her to her studies on Neuro-Linguistic Psychology. Sadly, Holly’s mother passed during the recording of the album but Holly clung to her mother’s advice to keep reaching for something new. In her search, Holly ended up buying an old barrel factory from 1845 on the coast of Nova Scotia. “Restoring this old building is a beautiful project for me and incredibly creative too,” confides the singer who influences include such diverse artists as Nina Simone, Roberta Flack, Anita O’Day, Ricky Lee Jones, Betty Carter and Tammy Wynette. “The concept aesthetically is old meets new. I want to retain a lot of the historic integrity. It is thought-provoking and beautiful. At the same time I also want to add more contemporary elements that contrast in an aesthetically pleasing but also intriguing way. I was a year into the renovation before it dawned on me that that’s exactly what I do with music.”

Holly Cole teamed up with Grammy winning producer Russ Tielman (Steve Winwood, Eric Clapton, James Taylor, etc.) and confesses to being a long time fan. This is the first album in which she did not wear the hat of producer. Holly features her long-time trio-mates, pianist Aaron Davis, bassist David Pitch and drummer David DiRenzo. Recorded in both Toronto and New York, Holly features Cole in various configurations with musicians she is playing with for the first time, including pianist/organist Larry Goldings, guitarist Ed Cherry, bassist Ben Street and drummer Justin Faulkner. Holly who was born in Halifax, Nova Scotia and based in Toronto says, “Along with being musicians with enormous integrity all of the musicians deeply understood my musical aesthetic. That’s priceless.” Holly Cole has been dazzling audiences with her flawless, earthy and rich vocals, impeccable taste and dynamic showmanship since she emerged on the scene over three decades ago. Holly is a wonderful introduction for those who somehow are just discovering this incredible talent and will be a cherished gift to those who are already converts. Holly Cole and her all-star ensemble manage to reinvent some of the most well-known and beloved classics and interpret them in a new and exciting way that embodies her personality and sublime artistry. “Capturing the spark of musicians connecting with one another and discovering the essence of the song while recording is rare and fantastic,” shares Holly. “I became a singer because I wanted to perform live. One of the things that I am most proud of is the fact that I believe much of the essence of my live performance has been captured on Holly.”

  

Track Listing:

1. I’m Beginning To See The Light

2. Your Mind Is On Vacation

3. I Was Doing All Right

4. It Could Happen To You

5. Ain’t That A Kick In The Head

6. Teach Me Tonight

7. We've Got A World That Swings

8. They Can’t Take That Away From Me

9. Everybody Loves Somebody Sometime

10. I Could Write a Book

11. Lazy Afternoon

Guitarist YOTAM SILBERSTEIN releases FUTURE MEMORIES

On his sixth album as a leader, Future Memories (featuring the superlative bassist John Patitucci, Glenn Zaleski, Vitor Gonçalves, Daniel Dor & Andre Mehmari), Yotam Silberstein continues to offer up unequivocal proof that for jazz musicians, Israel is one of the promised lands, and Brooklyn continues to possess the optimal environment for maximum artistic growth. Silberstein's playing is also testimony that the art form of jazz guitar, brought into vivid existence by Kenny Burrell, Wes Montgomery, Grant Green and many others, is alive and evolving in the hands of this artist. Commenting on Silberstein's previous recording The Village, AllAboutJazz said,"[his] unadorned hollow-body guitar work freely invites comparison to releases from the heyday of Blue Note Records . . . [however] he isn't piggy backing on memories. He's forging his own path with skills and style." JazzTimes Magazine added that, "since his arrival in New York in 2005, Israeli guitarist Yotam Silberstein has made an impact on the scene with his precision bebop lines and fleet-fingered improvisations."

Following up an album as compelling as The Village (jazz&people, 2016) may have seemed to be a daunting task. After all, Bill Milkowski called it, "his most fully realized recording to date" in a feature in DownBeat Magazine. However, Yotam Silberstein, ever forward-looking, took his music on many great voyages of distance, erudition, and immersion, into the music of Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, Peru, Venezuela, and North Africa; developing real affinities with these cultures and traditions, to the point where they have been fully integrated into his own musical world.Silberstein elaborated, "I feel like all these new influences combined with my knowledge of jazz, blues, Israeli and Arabic music has merged into something very unique and beautiful." The result is the resplendent and bountiful, Future Memories, available on jazz&people now.  The NYC CD Release Celebration will take place at Dizzy's Club on April 2 & 3!

  

It is jazz under which Silberstein's various musical argots are united and blended with other sources of inspiration that, from Andalusia to the Far East, imbue his music. The New York Times concurred that, "Silberstein improvises in a cutting tone and writes heady original tunes that seem to tug the straight-ahead jazz tradition in new directions. You'll occasionally notice coiled rhythms and minor scales that recall Jewish folk music, but chatter in the patois of contemporary jazz."

It is with musicians the guitarist regularly tours with whom he has chosen to record Future Memories, in which in addition to his own compositions are three pieces by two great Brazilian musicians, the mandolinist Hamilton de Holanda and Paulinho da Viola, master of the choro and heir to the tradition of Jacob do Bandolim and Pixinguinha. It should come as no surprise that Silberstein has added to his quartet a Brazilian, Vitor Gonçalves. This Carioca by adoption, who has worked with Maria Bethânia and Itiberê Zwarg (a longtime member of Hermeto Pascoal's group), settled in New York in 2012, where his twin talents as a pianist and accordionist have not gone unnoticed. Gonçalves takes turn on keyboards on the album with Glenn Zaleski, one of the most remarkable pianists in NYC who has made his mark in Ravi Coltrane's quartet. The drummer, Daniel Dor, who came to prominence in the bassist Avishai Cohen's trio, stakes a claim as an invaluable first-call musician with his startling capacity to play odd meters, the various rhythmic underpinnings that are crucial to the success of Silberstein's music, and seemingly anything that his vibrant, inventive imagination can dream up, all with the utmost taste and flair, with the common good of the music his sole mission. Bassist John Patitucci needs no introduction. He has been a longtime member of the groups of two of the major figures in the history of jazz, Wayne Shorter and Chick Corea, and a regular collaborator with Silberstein, who was recently featured on the bassist/composer's new recording, Irmãos de Fé (Newvelle, 2017). Commenting on recording Future Memories Patitucci said, "everything really clicked with Yotam. He is a very intuitive, very emotional player, he's lyrical, he's also strong rhythmically, he has a voice, and he's also like an encyclopedia of Brazilian music! I really loved the way the colors were flowing all around."

Whether embracing the bewitching virtuosity of the caprichos of Hamilton de Holanda, or admirably managing the dangerous game of odd meters, his guitar can recapture the dancing accents of a Brazilian bandolim and simultaneously evoke, with a touch of nostalgia, the shores of the Mediterranean. Silberstein floats like a feather over a melody as simple as a lullaby, and convokes the conjugated spirits of the choro and flamenco. He is an artist who displays with a confounding maestria the range of his talents and the richness of his inspiration. If the guitar is the ideal nomadic instrument, Silberstein's playing has retained, from his travels around the globe, a variety of impressions that are superbly expressed in a rousing and inspired album - his most personal to date, in his own words-and opens like so many windows on the beauties of the world and the memories of the emotions they evoke in each of us.

English bassist and producer Richard Ford releases Basso Profondissimo

The musical world of Basso Profondissimo springs from the imagination of English bassist and producer Richard Ford. The collection was conceived and played on bass, creating a unique and surprising melding of sounds and adding some rough edges to the genres of jazz, ambient, bossa nova and neoclassical.

Sharing some of the same musical landscape as Sigur Rós, Lyle Mays, Bebel Gilberto, ECM Records, and Bill Frisell, Basso Profondissimo employs a cinematic language, often minimal and evocative. There are surprising moments, as when softer passages burst into something rougher and edgier. In the neoclassical-leaning pieces, unexpected elements surface, like floating transparencies revealed from somewhere back in the scenery. Elsewhere, bubbling rhythms emerge, cracking pieces open into exotic meters. This is not a work concerned with virtuosity (though references to seminal bassists like Jaco Pastorius can be heard in places). This collection is about evoking moods and character, not about flash.

Basso Profondissimo was recorded in Venice, California in the spring and summer of 2018, rooted in Richard's preferred creative method:  "I use my bass to chalk out ideas and the music takes off naturally from there."

All of the tracks were executed on basses, multi-tracked and treated. As Richard started to experiment with vocals (specifically the addition of the amazing Costa Rican vocalist Michelle Gonzalez) new possibilities emerged - including a full-blown, fresh cover of George Duke's Brazilian-influenced 'Malibu', which features a handful of world-class jazz musicians, among them renowned keyboardists Kait Dunton and Peter Gabriel alumnus Simon Clark.

The seeds of Basso Profondissimo were sown in late-80s New York, where Richard had begun recording demos, exclusively with basses. He was soon playing concerts in downtown performance spaces, both as a soloist and with his ‘Electric Bass Quartet'.  As he recalls, "There was a certain freedom to working solely with bass - and also an imperative to be sonically creative in new ways. The perceived limitations became inspiring challenges."

The project was put on hold when Richard moved to Los Angeles to work in film and film music. In that role, he has been an important member of director Alexander Payne's creative team since 1998, earning credit as Executive Music Producer on their last three projects together (The Descendants, Nebraska and Downsizing). As an Emmy-winning film music editor, he's played a role in many successful productions, among them American History X, Training Day, Sideways, Argo, and Hidden Figures.

Much of his work in film has involved reconstructing and remixing the music of others. While this has been creatively challenging, Richard felt "the itch to get the basses out of the closet and create something that truly came from me." Basso Profondissimo began to unfold.

Born in London, Richard grew up in a musical family, immersed in the classics from an early age. He began performing as a boy, in Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice's choir. His love of music eventually led to the bass, and he developed into an accomplished player. He has toured and recorded with many artists, including the revered guitarist Bill Nelson (in his band Red Noise) and upon moving to the US, singer-songwriter Joe Jackson.

In New York, Richard discovered and embraced an ever-expanding world of music and culture - perhaps most significantly through his study of African and Afro-Caribbean music and dance. The rhythms he found there grew to become part of his musical DNA.

These vast and varied influences have informed all of Richard's work and shaped the rich diversity evident in Basso Profondissimo. This signature collection is the culmination of Richard Ford's extensive musical journey to date.

New Releases: Aretha Franklin - Amazing Grace – The Complete Recordings; The Supremes – Produced And Arranged By Jimmy Webb; Brenda Holloway - Every Little Bit Hurts

Aretha Franklin - Amazing Grace – The Complete Recordings (4LP set)

A legendary album – one that has Aretha Franklin returning to her roots in gospel music – but working with all the strength and power that Atlantic Records had to offer! From early years recording as a young voice alongside her father's congregation, Aretha has matured into a hell of a lead singer – and really knocks it out of the park here alongside the mighty James Cleveland, and the Southern California Community Choir! While it might have been nice to record the set back home in Detroit, the California setting for the material works perfectly to elevate Franklin to a special place in the heavens – tying together her heritage in beautiful ways, and making for another great stride forward in her career during the 70s. One of the best ideas ever for a soul music concept album – with titles that include "Mary Don't You Weep", "How I Got Over", "Precious Memories", "Wholy Holy", "Never Grow Old", "Amazing Grace", and Climbing Higher Mountains". This package really expands past the original album – and adds in all these other tracks recorded during the proceedings, which were done over the course of two different nights in November of 1972 – with a mighty set of long tracks that quadrupalizes the original double album! ~ Dusty Groove

The Supremes – Produced And Arranged By Jimmy Webb

An overlooked moment of 70s genius from The Supremes – and from the great Jimmy Webb as well – given that the pop studio genius wrote, arranged, and produced the entire album! Jimmy had plenty of famous work under his belt by this point in time – including his famous collaborations with 5th Dimension – but the sound here is something completely different entirely, and very different than Webb's own records, as he was starting to find a voice of his own. Instead, the man is more than happy to let the vocals of the Supremes flow forth in this really heavenly way – with Jean Terrell now in the group instead of Diana, but never missing a beat in the lead – as she soars out in this sophisticated mix of strings and soul that's completely sublime! The songs are very fresh territory for the group, and the use of mostly Webb material on the record makes for a very unified set – almost the Supremes' answer to Minnie Riperton's fantastic first album with Charles Stepney, Come To My Garden. Titles include "Once In The Morning", "Cheap Lovin", "When Can Brown Begin", "Beyond Myself", "I Guess I'll Miss The Man", "All I Want", "I Keep It Hid", and "5:30 Plane". ~ Dusty Groove

Brenda Holloway - Every Little Bit Hurts

Classic heartbreaking soul from Brenda Holloway – one of the weepiest early records on Motown, as you might guess from the title! The style here is almost more New York uptown than Detroit at times – a fair bit like Maxine Brown with its mix of strength and fragility on the vocals, and scored by the Davis/Gordon team with a subtle sense of drama. Strings step in on most numbers, but never in a sleepy way – and there's plenty of nicely stepping tunes here that maintain a good sense of Motown rhythm, even in mellower moments. Titles include "Sad Song", "I've Been Good To You", "Every Little Bit Hurts", "Too Proud To Cry", "A Favor For A Girl", "Suddenly", "You Can Depend On Me", and "Can I". ~ Dusty Groove

New Releases: Diane Hoffman - Do I Love You; Darien Dean – Detours; Jim Snidero – Waves Of Calm

Diane Hoffman - Do I Love You 

Diane Hoffman is a multi-faceted talent - a jazzy, hard-swinging singer and an accomplished painter. Raised in Cambridge, MA, Hoffman earned a BFA from the California College of Art and later studied independently with famed painter Jacques Fabert in Erongarícuaro, Mexico (her works have been exhibited extensively in Mexico, Canada, and the United States). Hoffman’s singing debut was at the legendary Sonny’s Place, in Seaford, Long Island in the late nineties, and for years she has been igniting audiences throughout the Tri-State area and beyond with her emotionally charged singing. Her often unique repertoire is informed by her painter’s passion for narrative, tone, and balance, and she has been recognized for her rich-textured voice, keen rhythm and original phrasing, and natural feel for jazz and blues. Hoffman has recorded three albums as a soloist, Someone In Love (2000), My Little French Dancer (2007), and her latest release, Do I Love You The Jazz Network Worldwide

Darien Dean – Detours

The third great album from Darien Dean – a diversely talented singer, with an approach here that goes way beyond the usual! Darien can effortlessly belt out a contemporary soul tune – but he's also got this varied approach that really sets the album apart from the rest – as he seems to draw equally from jazz, soul, hip hop, and occasional global elements in his music – which makes for this varied rhythmic quality, and equally diverse sonic palette! The songs are tight, and confidently written – and Dean's delivery more than lives up to his words, on titles that include "Black Widow", "Last Song", "Autopilot", "Todamore", "Straight Up", "You're The One", "Best Is Yet To Come", and "Scorned". ~ Dusty Groove

Jim Snidero – Waves Of Calm

Jim Snidero's got a really wonderful group here – a combo that makes for a perfect complement to his phrasing on the record, which seems somehow even more magical than usual! The rhythms are open and spacious – lots of room between the notes, served up by bassist Nat Reeves, drummer Jonathan Barber, and the great pianist Orrin Evans – who also plays Fender Rhodes as well as acoustic piano on the session! The trio creates this great space that really seems to bring out new elements in Jim's playing – especially on the tracks that also feature Jeremy Pelt on trumpet, which is about half the album. Titles include "Waves Of Calm", "Visions", "Dad Song", "Estuary", "If I Had You", and "Truth". ~ Dusty Groove

Journeyman Phil Madeira follows his jazz muse into the wordless world of “Crickets”

The award-winning Americana singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and producer indulges his passion for a retro straight-ahead jazz quintet collection that drops April 26.

A Nashville mainstay, Phil Madeira was Americana before it was a thing. His venerable pedigree as a singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, producer and arranger is assured, backed by Grammy-winning credits and a lengthy discography boasting collaborations with Garth Brooks, Emmylou Harris, The Civil Wars, Elvis Costello, Alison Krauss, Toby Keith, Amy Grant, Mavis Staples, Keb Mo’, Bruce Hornsby and Vanessa Williams. Yet when this musician’s musician sits at the piano backstage or at home, it’s jazz-blues riffs that he noodles. On April 26, Mercyland Records will release Madeira’s first instrumental album, “Crickets,” comprised of ten new songs that he wrote and produced for a jazz quintet.    

The straight-ahead jazz rhythms and bluesy harmonies Madeira scripted for “Crickets” harken back to another jazz era.

  

“It’s slightly sophisticated blues, right out of the 50s and 60s playbook. I can hear bits and pieces of what turned me on as a kid - Ramsey Lewis and Herbie Hancock, and of course, Monk, whom I later discovered. I composed the music that became ‘Crickets’ thinking I would pitch it to a music licensing company for use in film. But then I realized that I had created something far more personal,” said Madeira, who recorded all ten songs in one day accompanied by Aaron Smith (drums), James Hollihan (guitar), Rahsaan Barber (saxophone) and Chris Donohue (bass).

“Crickets” swings with a cool vintage swagger as rendered by the breezy grace of the free-spirited quintet. Madeira’s piano skips with lilting joy through a panorama of melodies and grooves. The acoustic instrumentation makes it sound live - organic, spacious and unpretentious. The players weave in and out of the spotlight without ever infringing upon each other’s turf, taking equitable turns to solo. There’s a palpable lightness of being throughout the album, mirroring Maderia’s own grounded persona.     

Madeira’s co-producer on the session was Sirkka Svanoe Wood whose first name in Finnish means cricket, which is one of the inspirations for the album title. But there was another.

“All of my records up to this point have been lyrically oriented. This is the first instrumental record I’ve recorded, hence ‘Crickets’…as in not a word,” explained Madeira.

  

Last year, Madeira landed on the Billboard jazz albums chart for the first time with “Providence,” a vocal record that veers into jazz, chronicling his stories of growing up in Rhode Island. Guitarist John Scofield guested on that date. Madeira has been in Harris’s Red Dirt Boys band for eleven years playing piano, guitar, accordion and singing. The seeds of his multi-instrumental prowess were sown after he went from drums to piano when struck by the desire to write songs, before picking up the guitar. He got his professional start in the mid-70s playing with Christian Contemporary Music guitar great Phil Keaggy, leading to the move to Nashville in 1983 where he has been based ever since. Madeira quickly became a fixture there by playing a variety of instruments as a first-call session ace, songwriter, arranger and producer for a lengthy list of country, CCM and pop artists, many of whom were seminal in creating the Americana sound. He has won Grammy and Dove awards as a songwriter, a Nashville Music Award as best keyboardist and an ASCAP award for humanitarian work. “Crickets” is his eighth solo outing.      

“Crickets” contains the following songs:

“Sirkka’s Dream”

“Cut It Out”

“Cricket”

“Teamwork Salad”

“Rollin’ With Oti”

“Last Call At Bovi’s”

“Swingset”

“In Walked Willis”

“Jazz Hands”

“Coming Home”

http://philmadeira.net

Coming Soon From Guitarist Chris Standring: Best Of Chis Standring Remixed

We reived some big news from Guitartist Chris Standring. His upcoming Best Of Chris Standring Remixed album will be released on June 21st of this year. He plans on having physical copies for the two upcoming Spaghettini, Seal Beach dates. His Saturday May 25th show is almost sold out so if you are planning to go to one of those shows, jump in now while tickets are still available.

Chris' two remix guys Matt Cooper and Rodney Lee have taken the reins for most of the project (Chris remixed a couple himself). He says it get's pretty experimental in some places, but for the most part it's seriously funky. Here's what the CD & digital track list looks like:

01: Stop It! (Mercury Mix 2019) 5:51

02: Fast Train To Everywhere (Jupiter Mix 2019) 4:31

03: Bossa Blue (Outside Mix 2019) 6:15

04: Kaleidoscope (Neptune Mix 2019) 5:07

05: Liquid Soul (Venus Mix 2019) 6:28

06: Pandora's Box (Saturn Mix 2019) 4:18

07: Sneakin' Out The Front Door (Earth Mix 2019) 4:53

08: Soul Express (Love Mix 2018) 4:40

09: Oliver's Twist (Outside Mix 2012) 5:38

10: Constellation (Galaxy Mix 2018) 6:05

11: Ready Steady Flow (Outside Mix 2019) 6:38

12: Kaleidoscope (Cake Mix 2019) 4:46

The vinyl version will be a little different, bearing in mind you only get around 22 (quality) minutes per side.

Side 1

01: Stop It! (Mercury Mix 2019) 5:51

02: Fast Train To Everywhere (Jupiter Mix 2019) 4:31

03: Bossa Blue (Outside Mix 2019) 6:15

04: Pandora's Box (Saturn Mix 2019) 4:18

Side 2

01: Liquid Soul (Venus Mix 2019) 6:28

02: Kaleidoscope (Neptune Mix 2019) 5:07

03: Sneakin' Out The Front Door (Earth Mix 2019) 4:53

04: Soul Express (Love Mix 2018) 4:40

All tracks not featured on the vinyl version will be available as free downloads.

New Orleans Jazz Orchestra Returns from 3-Year Recording Hiatus With "Songs: The Music of Allen Toussaint"

New Orleans Jazz Orchestra SONGS The renowned New Orleans Jazz Orchestra reflects on the wide-ranging influence of the Big Easy's own Allen Toussaint, the legendary composer, singer, pianist, and producer, with the March 29 digital release of Songs: The Music of Allen Toussaint on Storyville Records (physical release is set for April 19). The album features six songs by Toussaint and one associated with him, as well as two original tribute pieces. It also marks the NOJO leadership debut of drummer/artistic director Adonis Rose, who assumed the mantle in 2016 to navigate the 18-piece orchestra out of the troubled waters surrounding its now-departed founder.

Toussaint, who passed away in 2015, left his deepest footprints in R&B and rock 'n' roll. However, he was also a major figure in the development of New Orleans funk; resonated in country music (by way of Glen Campbell's smash hit cover of "Southern Nights"); and, of course, was steeped in jazz. "[It] was in his blood," Rose says. "There's always some connection to jazz: When you're from New Orleans, there's no way around it."

When frequent NOJO collaborator Dee Dee Bridgewater remarked that she'd never heard a big band take on Toussaint's music, Rose was instantly inspired. "I said, 'You know what? Yes. That's a great idea. Let's dig into this and make it happen!'" he says.

The results honor not only Toussaint, but the broader musical culture of his hometown. The iconic "Working in the Coal Mine" does not feature a singer, but the band members make New Orleans shouts out of its well-known lyrics. "Southern Nights" takes on a brass-band street groove, while "Java," a Toussaint-penned 1963 instrumental hit for trumpeter Al Hirt, retains and even amplifies the original record's raucous second-line feel. New Orleanian percussionist Gerald French contributes the original "Gert Town," which he flavors with the music of Mardi Gras Indians.

Toussaint's ballads get attention, too, with help from a powerhouse set of vocalists. Bridgewater brings her vitality to the beautiful "It's Raining" and "With You in Mind," the latter in a duet performance with New Orleans vocalist Philip Manuel. The rhythm & blues staple "Ruler of My Heart" takes on new majesty at the hands of Nayo Jones, NOJO's house vocalist -- and a newly swinging energy in its second half, thanks to Rose and the orchestra.

Adonis Rose Adonis Rose was born January 11, 1975, in New Orleans, the scion of a musical family. He began playing drums at 3 years old, following in his father and grandfather's footsteps, and as a teenager became enamored with the music of fellow New Orleanians Wynton and Branford Marsalis -- with whose father, Ellis, Adonis studied at New Orleans Center for Creative Arts (NOCCA). 

Rose won a prestigious presidential scholarship to Berklee College of Music in Boston; just afterward, however, Terence Blanchard called and invited him to tour. "So two days after my high school graduation I went out on the road with Terence. That was my first gig," he recalls. He continued to get work with Betty Carter, Marlon Jordan, and the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra, ultimately dropping out of Berklee to go on the road and make a home in New Orleans.

In 2002, Rose became the founding drummer for the nonprofit, Grammy-winning New Orleans Jazz Orchestra (NOJO), the only institution in jazz's birthplace that is committed solely to the music's development. He maintained that position even after moving to Fort Worth, Texas, in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, where he taught at the University of Texas at Arlington and established the Fort Worth Jazz Orchestra. Rose moved back to the Crescent City in 2015, by which time NOJO was his steadiest gig -- soon to be his full-time one.

For all its uplift of Allen Toussaint and of New Orleans, Songs is also a personal triumph for Rose. Following the controversial departure of founder Irvin Mayfield from NOJO and its subsequent loss of institutional support, he set himself to the fearsome task of rebuilding the orchestra while keeping its sterling musical reputation intact. He succeeded.

"Almost all of our shows since we started back have sold out," he says. "All of the band members, every single last one of them, came back. The musicians who built this organization, put it on their backs night after night, those are the ones that are doing it again now, along with me." Songs thus stands as a monument to Rose's accomplishment.

The orchestra will be performing a CD release show at its home base, the New Orleans Jazz Market, on Fri. 3/29, with other shows at the same venue to follow on Fri. 5/3 (a tribute to Whitney Houston) and Thurs. 6/6 (a tribute to Prince). NOJO is scheduled to perform at the Exit Zero Jazz Festival, Cape May, NJ, 4/13; the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival 4/28; the St. Lucia Jazz Festival 5/8-10 (the NOJO 7,with guest vocalist Ledisi); the Ascona Jazz Festival, Switzerland 6/18-30 (in various configurations); and the Detroit Jazz Festival 9/1 (with guest vocalist Dee Dee Bridgewater). NOJO will head to New York later this year for a two-night stand at Jazz at Lincoln Center's Appel Room (12/13-14, with guest vocalist René Marie). Rose, who has also recently been performing with vocalist Kurt Elling's band, is already planning future recording projects with the orchestra, including one with vocalist Ledisi and a Brazilian-themed album. "With a new recording project, touring schedule, and new leadership," says Rose, "the New Orleans Jazz Orchestra is poised for success and committed to spreading our music around the world."

 

RECORD STORE DAY 2019 IS SATURDAY, APRIL 13TH AMAZING TITLES FROM DOZENS OF INCREDIBLE ARTISTS ANNOUNCED!

ANDERSON PAAK & BUSTA RHYMES * BOB DYLAN * BRIAN MAY & TAYLOR HAWKINS * CANNED HEAT * COURTNEY BARNETT  * CRAIG MACK & NOTORIOUS B.I.G. * DAVID BOWIE * ELVIS COSTELLO AND THE IMPOSTERS * ERYKAH BADU & JAMES POYSER * FOO FIGHTERS * GREEN DAY * GRETA VAN FLEET * HIGH ON FIRE *JANIS JOPLIN * JEFF TWEEDY * JOHN LENNON * JOHN THE MARTYR * JASON ISBELL* MARC MARON * MARK RONSON & MILEY CYRUS * MOTORHEAD * PEARL JAM * PRINCE * SLY & THE FAMILY STONE * SOCCER MOMMY * SWERVEDRIVER * WEEZER 

First, a little note: we’re bringing tiny back! This year we’re introducing our own turntable, the RSD3, and it is an adorable little thing. Of course, if you’ve got a 3” turntable, you need some 3” records, and we’ve got those two. A Foo Fighters 3” record, (ironically, it’s “Big Me”), and two blind box series from Epitaph Records and Third Man Records hit the shelves on April 13. (With more to come, for the cutest little record collection you’ve ever seen).

We’re always asked what we’re most excited about, and this year, we can say we’re looking forward to the release of In The Garage: Live Music From WTF With Marc Maron, a collection of lovely intimate performances from the podcast, which brought together a team that included Marc, folks from Newbury Comics, Fingerprints, Tito’s HandMade Vodka and us—for the first release on our own Record Store Day record label. Best part? This compilation with music from Ben Harper and Charlie Musselwhite, Karen Kilgariff, Jason Isbell,  Dave Alvin, Eels, J Masic, Aimee Mann, Melissa Etheridge, Margo Price and Nick Lowe benefits the amazing organization Musicians on Call, who know something about the beauty of the intimate performance—they bring musicians to hospital facilities to bring a little joy to patients across the country.

Other than that, we’re always psyched about any title that ties back directly to a record store or artists we know are record store lovers. Our 2019 Ambassadors Pearl Jam certainly fit the bill—and their RSD 2019 contribution is the vinyl release of their legendary Live At Easy Street CD. Not only was this set recorded live at a record store in Seattle, the audience was made up of staff from record stores across the country (who says there are no perks of the job?) Our beloved PRINCE was devoted to his local Minneapolis record stores, and he’s got two titles on this year’s list: a vinyl release of His Majesty’s Pop Life/The Purple Mix Club and the truly sought after The VERSACE Experience: PRELUDE 2 GOLD, a cassette release never commercially released—but given out at Versace’s 1995 Paris Fashion Week show. Ooh la la!  Jeff Tweedy spent some time working at a record store himself, and he’s got a spot on the list with an entirely new album, Warmer. Recorded during the sessions for his latest album, Warm, this companion album for Record Store Day is ten brand new songs.

Collaborations run strong too, as Anderson Paak teams up with Busta Rhymes for a single, Mark Ronson and Miley Cyrus get physical with their hit “Nothing Breaks Like A Heart”, we revisit a classic cassette from Craig Mack and the Notorious B.I.G.  and if posthumous collaborations count, the group that came together when Queen’s Brian May and Foo Fighters’ Taylor Hawkins fleshed out a track left by Beach Boy Dennis Wilson is  pretty cool. (Brian May is everywhere this RSD: his other band has a reissue single of that song that will never be a hit--- “Bohemian Rhapsody”, with its original B-Side “I’m In Love With My Car”; a picture disc of the Bohemian Rhapsody soundtrack: and he has a single all his own.) And while there are usually some David Bowie treasures to be found on Record Store Day, the single celebrating the celluloid collaboration of Bowie with Marlene Dietrich in Just A Gigolo stands out. 

Musicians love music just as much as we do, and some of them use RSD as a chance to take on their own favorite songs. Erykah Badu and James Poyser take Squeeze’s “Tempted” down another road, Swervedriver bring the shoegaze out in classic tracks from the Byrds and The Supremes, Motorhead’s love of the Ramones is evident on their RSD 2019 7” release, High On Fire give Celtic Frost and Bad Brains some attention on the flip side of their brand new single, and Weezer tops them all with their full covers record The Teal Album (guess what color that vinyl is?).

Elvis Costello and The Imposters release the tidy Purse EP that brings together the songs Elvis has written with some of the best songwriters in history, including Paul McCartney and Johnny Cash.  Some other names on a lot of ‘Best of All Time’ lists are also on our RSD 2019 list, including Steve Earle, Pink Floyd, Elton John, Joe Strummer, U2, Gorillaz, Rolling Stones, Devo, Aretha Franklin, Charlie Parker and more. Two of the most well known albums ever released get a fresh look on April 13: Bob Dylan’s Blood On The Tracks—The Original New York Test Pressing and John Lennon’s Imagine (Raw Studio Mixes) give fans a new look at beloved music, while newer artists like Greta Van Fleet, Courtney Barnett, John The Martyr and Soccer Mommy are here for that musical discovery side of record stores.

And of course, this year marks the 50th anniversary of that magical time out on Yasgur’s Farm, and the Record Store Day 2019 list highlights that with releases of the sets from Janis Joplin, Sly & The Family Stone, Canned Heat and a 3 LP Mono release of the original Woodstock soundtrack—exactly as you would have heard it from the loudspeakers in August 1969.  (Oh, and for good measure, a release that visits Green Day’s set from that second Woodstock.)

About Record Store Day

Record Store Day, the organization, is managed by the Department of Record Stores and is organized in partnership with the Alliance of Independent Media Stores (AIMS), the Coalition of Independent Music Stores (CIMS) and promotes independent record stores year-round with events, special releases and other fun things.

Record Store Day, the global celebration of the culture of the record store, takes place annually in April. Record Store Day 2019 is April 13.

Record Store Day Sponsors:

ADA, Caroline, Crosley Turntables, D’Addario, Dogfish Head Brewery, Furnace Record Pressing, Glowtronics, InGrooves, Music Business Association, MVD Entertainment, The Orchard, Redeye Distribution, Sony Music, ThinkIndie, Traffic Distribution, URP Distribution, , Vans, Vinyl Styl, WEA

For more information about Record Store Day, please visit www.recordstoreday.com

Claudia Villela Offers Panoramic Showcase of Her Brilliant Vocal Talent on "Encantada Live"

Claudia Villela Encantada Live Vocalist-composer Claudia Villela puts her stunning, supple virtuosity on vivid display with the April 12 release of Encantada Live on her own Taina Music label. Drawn from several live performances, the album alternates between performances by a septet, a quartet featuring Villela on piano, and intimate duets with various partners. It also includes three of Villela's originals, three interpretations of key Brazilian composers, and three wholly improvised pieces by Villela and her accompanists.

The sweeping panorama of Encantada Live -- only her sixth recording in a 40-year career -- is the direct result of a near-death experience in December 2017. While visiting Rio de Janeiro, Villela escaped from a terrifying electrical fire in her own apartment. Her own injuries were fairly minor, but the fire devastated her home, many keepsakes, and the masters of an album she'd been working on for two years.

"It left with me with a deeper recognition of the preciousness of time. It's time to really live in the moment and move on," Villela says. "I want to put everything out. I'm not going to hold it back. This is a cathartic album."

Whether by coincidence or fate, it's also an album that showcases everything that she can do. The opening "Cuscus" alone demonstrates Villela's enormous range and imagination, modulating from a guttural growl to a soprano squeak and inventing in the moment both a melody (with guitarist Bruce Dunlap) and a fully developed Portuguese lyric. The same duo creates a warm, introspective ballad on the closing "Em Paz." The nearly 15-minute "Minas" is an exquisite but multifaceted improvisation with Villela's longtime collaborator, pianist Kenny Werner.

However, Encantada Live also places her remarkable abilities into the context of compositional form. Villela proffers a beautiful, wordless rendition (with guitarist Peixoto) of 20th-century Brazilian classical composer Heitor Villa-Lobos's "Bachianas #5," as well as rhythmically exciting septet versions of two popular Brazilian songs: Edu Lobo's "Viola Fora de Moda" and Alex Madureira's "Cumeno com Cuentro."In addition, she revisits three of the original pieces from her 1994 debut, Asa Verde: "Negra," with guitarist Jeff Buenz; "Jangada," with a quartet featuring Buenz, bassist Gary Brown, drummer Celso Alberti, and Villela herself on piano; and "Taina," featuring newly improvised lyrics, with the septet (Brown on bass plus Jasnam Daya Singh, piano; Ricardo Peixoto, guitar; Andy Connel, soprano saxophone; Michael Spiro, percussion; and the late drummer Paul van Wageningen).

Claudia Villela Claudia Villela was born August 27, 1961 in Rio de Janeiro. She grew up surrounded by music in her grandmother's home, beginning to make music herself when she was only a year old. She started singing in college festivals around Rio at age 15, and before long found work as a studio musician. She also started performing around the city, while developing a book of original songs featuring her lyrics and music. Initially planning to enroll in medical school, Villela decided to combine her two passions and earned a B.A. in music therapy from the Brazilian Conservatory of Music.

Relocating to the San Francisco Bay Area in the mid-1980s, Villela quickly immersed herself in the region's thriving jazz scene, gaining valuable experience with the Down Beat-award winning De Anza College Jazz Singers. She studied with NEA Jazz Master Sheila Jordan and with John Robert Dunlap of the New York Metropolitan Opera before making her recording debut with 1994's Grammy-nominated Asa Verde. 

She has since performed and recorded with such major jazz figures as Michael Brecker, Toots Thielemans, Toninho Horta, Hermeto Pascoal, Airto, Guinga, Romero Lubambo, Mario Adnet, Dori Caymmi, and Kenny Werner (with whom she recorded her 2004 fourth album, Dream Tales, as a duo). That same year, she recorded a live performance at Kuumbwa Jazz Center in Santa Cruz, California, for broadcast on NPR; it was released as Live @ Kuumbwa 2004 in 2013. Encantada Live is her second live album.

Claudia Villela will perform at SFJAZZ's Joe Henderson Lab, San Francisco, on Wednesday 3/27, and Thursday 4/4; at the Hillside Club, Berkeley, Friday 4/26; at Kuumbwa Jazz, Santa Cruz, Monday 4/29; and at SFJAZZ's Miner Auditorium, Wednesday 6/19. 

New Releases: Don Grusin and Filippo Gaetani - Populism Dystopia; Cinematic Orchestra – To Believe; Julian Lage – Love Hurts

Don Grusin and Filippo Gaetani - Populism Dystopia

American jazz pianist grammy winner Don Grusin and producer Filippo Gaetani long friendship culminated in a wild 4-day recording session in Vienna Tic studio in summer 2017 and continued through 2018, resulting in a 4 track Ep. “Populism Dystopia” will be released on April 26th via Rayrecordings. Between classical influences and ambient jazz, pop and soundtrack elements, it moves from a modern Indie sound to Steely Dan influences with dystopian Bossa Nova. Release date: April 26th 2019 and pre-release March 26^th. Youtube trailer: https://youtu.be/1Stg8mf7xeU

Cinematic Orchestra – To Believe

As longtime fans might know, the Cinematic Orchestra isn't a large ensemble, but a duo – yet the pair also have this fantastic way of creating a really spacious sound in their music – thanks in part to a very open door when it comes to creative guests! This time around, there's some fantastic voice in the lead – singers who really help give the music a very rich shape, including Moses Sumney, Roots Manuva, Tawiah, Heidi Vogel, and Grey Reverend – who add lyrics to most of the songs on the album, while the duo of Jason Swinscoe and Dominic Smith help keep the focus on the large instrumental landscape, which receives some fantastic light touches from the genius of Miguel Atwood-Ferguson this time around. It's been a while since the last project from the group – but if anything, the break has only seemed to help deepen their sound. Titles include "To Believe", "A Caged Bird/Imitations Of Life", "A Promise", "Zero One/This Fantasy", "The Workers Of Art", and "Wait For Now/Leave The World".  ~ Dusty Groove

Julian Lage – Love Hurts

Julian Lage is often one of the more compelling contemporary jazz guitarists on record – and this time around, he definitely lives up to that legacy – by offering up unusual trio takes on the music of Ornette Coleman, David Lynch, and Keith Jarrett – while also adding in a few of his own great tunes too! Lage often has a bit of fuzz around the edges – not full distortion, but also not the clean, crisp sound that's more often heard with jazz guitar – and that fullness of tone really makes things interesting, and often pushes out a sound that feels like a lot more than a trio – especially when the bass of Jorge Roeder and drums of Dave King get a bit more dynamic. Titles include "In Heaven", "Tomorrow Is The Question", "Trudgin", "Love Hurts", "In Circles", "Encore A", "The Windup", and "Crying".  ~ Dusty Groove

New Releases: A Day In The Life – Impressions Of Pepper (Various Artists); AZYMUTH – DEMOS 1973-75 / LTD. RECORD STORE DAY 7”; EUMIR DEODATO - OS CATEDRATICOS 73

A Day In The Life – Impressions Of Pepper (Various Artists)

Some of today’s most exciting up and coming and established jazz artists pay homage to the iconic Beatles record Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. Musicians were given the challenge to create loose interpretations of these classic songs, and the result is impressionistic, original, avant-garde takes on legendary tracks like “With A Little Help From My Friends”, “Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds”, “Getting Better”, and “A Day In The Life”. Featuring artists like Keyon Harrold, Brandee Younger, Shabaka & The Ancestors, and Antonio Sanchez this release will impress Beatles fanatics by highlighting the timeless material in a brand-new light, while showcasing some of the most exciting names in jazz today!

AZYMUTH – DEMOS 1973-75 / LTD. RECORD STORE DAY 7”

For a special one-off Record Store Day release, we are extremely proud to present two previously unreleased and unheard tracks from the formative years of Brazil’s iconic jazz-funk titans. Recorded between 1973-75 at the late great keyboard maestro José Roberto Bertrami’s home studio in Rio, the demos are a mesmerising document of the futuristic sound Bertrami, Ivan Conti (drums), Alex Malheiros (bass) and Ariovaldo Contesini (percussion) were developing, before going on to release their cult favourite, self-titled debut with Som Livre. With a huge opening 8-bar drum break, and Bertrami’s keyboard spaceship including Arp Solina Strings, Fender Rhodes 88, and a Clavinet with Wah Wah, the release captures Azymuth’s alien space-funk sound in its rawest, most progressive form. Following this special limited 7” will be a two-volume LP release comprising a comprehensive archive of some of the samba-jazz-funk mavericks’ wildest, unreleased early music. The best care has been taken in restoring and mastering these recordings from the original cassette tapes, given to Far Out founder Joe Davis by Bertrami at Azymuth’s first studio sessions for the label back in 1995. The record will be available on Record Store Day, 13th April from selected participating stores.

EUMIR DEODATO - OS CATEDRATICOS 73

Composed at the height of his productivity in the early 70s, Eumir Deodato's Os Catedtraticos 73 was recorded between Rio de Janeiro and New York. The album features a Brazilian rhythm section including Azymuth drummer Ivan ‘Mamão’ Conti, percussion master Orlandivo, and Sergio Barroso on bass, while the horn section features some of the Big Apple’s top players from the CTI in-house brass. A firm favourite with rare-groove enthusiasts and fans of Latin jazz alike, Deodato melds the musical sensibility of post-bossa nova Brazilian jazz with North American soul & funk, and the explosive Latin influences of ‘70s New York. Os Catedraticos 73 certainly swings harder than some of Deodato’s earlier releases and opening track ‘Arranha Ceu’ (Skyscrapers) is a euphoric party classic, which has been lighting up dance floors for years.

If Music Presents: You Need This – World Jazz Grooves 2018

Fresh from bringing us two incredible volumes of ‘A Journey into Deep Jazz’ and providing an introduction to Black Saint & Soul Note Records on BBE, IF Music’s Jean-Claude joins forces with Victor Kiswell for new compilation, ‘World Jazz Grooves’.

Currently celebrating 15 years of trading from his London record shop IF Music, Jean-Claude has built an enviable reputation over the past 25 years, as the go-to rare vinyl vendor for some of the biggest DJs and producers on the planet. Fellow record dealer and specialist music expert Victor Kiswell has travelled the globe several times over, hunting for rare records and DJing, appearing on a Cairo edition of Boiler Room in 2017.

As you might expect, this treasure trove of music contains a generous handful of obscure and brilliant musical gems, carefully mined from all corners of the globe.

“Europe, The Americas, Africa and Asia are all represented herein and hopefully a few surprises foryou, the listener, too” say Victor & Jean-Claude, summing up the project.

From its inspired opener: Vietnam veteran Billy Bang’s visceral New York social commentary ‘Illustration’ whose Watts Prophets inspired spoken word vocal is (sadly) as relevant today as it was in 1978; through to the album’s closer, a touching African township ballad titled ‘ITwenty-Five’, ‘World Jazz Grooves’ takes the road less travelled to provide a jaw-dropping journey through world jazz culture.

As Jean-Claude and Victor put it: “Jazz will always have its appeal: though influenced, jazz does not need to be dictated by trends. It has been experimented with by (almost) every population on the planet. It is its diversity, the fusing of various elements of different folklores, that allows jazz to constantly evolve and maintain its relevance.”

Tracklist:

1 Billy Bang’s Survival Ensemble – Illustration

2 Michel Sardaby – Martinica

3 Kafé – Fonetik A Velo

4 Le Steel-Band De La Trinidad – Calypso Jazz Improvisation*

5 The Theo Loevendie Consort – Timbuktu

6 The Jazz Committee For Latin American Affairs – Ismaa**

7 Armand Lemal – Souffle (Part II)

8 Masabumi Kikuchi – Pumu #1**

9 Joe Malinga & Southern African Force -‎ IT Twenty Five

*vinyl and digital bundle only

Godwin Louis Explores the Worldwide Impact of Afro-Caribbean Sounds and Concepts on Music and Takes them Global

Saxophonist Godwin Louis had an epiphany when he came to New Orleans to study at the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz. He explored the city’s music--and kept getting an eerie sense of familiarity. “My mother and father are from Haiti, and though I was born in the States, I lived in Port-au-Prince for a few years in the 1990s,” recounts Louis. “When I moved to New Orleans, I felt that similarity everywhere, in the presence of Catholicism, the funeral marches, the second-line culture, the spiritual traditions tied to vodoun. I said, this is incredible. Where does this similarity come from?”

The answers turned out to be Global (release: Febuary 22, 2019), Louis’ first major release of his compositions and work as a band leader. Louis discovered the impact of Haitians on the music of New Orleans, arguably the musical heart of the US, and with it a history of Haitian presence going back to the French Colonial and Haitian Revolutionary period. Yet as Louis dug into the past, his understanding and musical vision expanded geographically and sonicly, as DNA tests led him to West and Central Africa (“Nago-Kongo”), Brazil, tiny Pacific islands--the entire global filigree of Afro-diasporic peoples and their art.

The resulting double-album of original compositions (with one anthemic concluding piece by composer Hermeto Pascoal) plumbs the past while remaining steadily grounded in contemporary and exploratory musical practices, that improvisatory, ever-fresh edge of jazz. A seasoned sideman--Louis’ touring history reads like a who’s who of jazz and pop--Louis felt it was time to bring his discoveries, in breathtakingly intricate and skillfully rendered form, to the world.

“My travels and studies let me fully explore and find this musical sound dedicated to the diaspora that you hear on Global,” says Louis. “The world is way more connected than we think. We’ve all heard of the Transatlantic trade slave and its tragedies and horrors, but so much came out of it and formed global culture, so much that’s rarely highlighted. You can feel it intensely in places like Santiago de Cuba, Bahia in Brazil, New Orleans, in L’artibonite, Haiti. The musical sound that came from those places has gone global, and it’s all filtered into pop culture. That’s where I started.”

Born in Harlem, Louis remembers encountering the beauties of jazz via his guitarist uncle, Robert “Magic” Saint Fleur. He marveled at his uncle’s ability to improvise and wanted to know his secret. “I was really drawn to that element of improvisation,” recalls Louis. “I would hear him riff off a song, and it seemed like the most incredible thing, how he came up with all these beautiful melodies on the spot. It showcased such knowledge of the songs and total mastery of the instrument.” His uncle encouraged him, then turned him on to Charlie Parker, and Louis was hooked.

He studied at Berklee and made an admirable name for himself among jazz’s creme de la creme. Though relatively young, Louis has already toured, performed, and recorded with Herbie Hancock, Clark Terry, Roger Dickerson, Ron Carter, Al Foster, Jack Dejohnette, Jimmy Heath, Billy Preston, Patti Labelle, Toni Braxton, Babyface, Madonna, Gloria Estefan, Barry Harris, Howard Shore, David Baker, Mulatu Astakte, Mahmoud Ahmed, Wynton Marsalis, and Terence Blanchard, among others, seeing a great swath of Africa, Asia, and Europe in the bargain.

As Louis developed his own style, where gospel and traditional Haitian and West and Central African songs, avant arrangements and grounded grooves collide, he discovered new concepts in African-heritage musical thought that enriched his jazz foundations. Fellow musicians in Mali, for example, based melodic phrases on underlying texts, not on arbitrary numbers of beats or bars.“Because it’s all based on the words, there's no common tempo,” explains Louis. “When the phrase is done, it’s done and then you move on. I decided to experiment with approaching notes the same way. An idea can keep on going. In general, Global questions tradition: Why should the form be one way and not another? If the idea isn’t done yet, it goes on, even when another idea comes. The melody is king in that approach.” The resulting feel is polyphonous, many different voices and perspectives chiming in and overlapping.

The overlap fascinates Louis and inspired many of Global’s pieces. He reveals into how European sacred music seeped into an Afro-diasporic melody found around the Atlantic, rich with triple meter. (“Four Essential Prayers of Guinea”) And how, in counterpoint, African instruments can inform Protestant hymns, despite centuries of church animosity toward West African sounds and forms. (“Bondye Ede-n”) He looks at narrative threads that unite the lyrical forms of Afro-Caribbean and Afro-South American romance (“Present” featuring Cuban singer Xiomara Laugart), and the playing techniques and moods that unite the Francophone cultures of the Caribbean (“Siwèl”).

Yet the wide-ranging journeys remain rooted in Louis’ personal experience as a person with a multilayered heritage and full awareness of past and present struggles. As the composer noted regarding the album’s title suite (“Global, Parts I and II”): “This is about my traveling experiences all over the world. I’ve been to 100 countries as of now. I have so many stories, some sad, some triumphant. So did our ancestors,” Louis reflects. “Sonically, I wanted to pay homage to some of our lesser-known ancestors that contributed to the development of music in Europe. People like Joseph Boulogne, Chevaliers De Saint-Georges who was a brilliant composer during the classical era. Overall, Global is the history of music and culture in the Americas. Cultures that came from Africa, met with indigenous aestheticism, and were refined or rarefied via colonialism, as a result changing the course of music history and culture worldwide.”