Francesco Guerri's Solo Cello Recording "Su Mimmi non si spara!"

Su Mimmi non si spara! contrasts moments of ethereal beauty with visceral aggression, aching lyricism with abstract noise, whisper-quiet minimalism with rock-inspired power. His expansive attack on the cello incorporates such disparate methods as alternative tunings, percussive bowing, exotic preparations and electronic distortions. At its core is the tension between the cerebral invention of Guerri's boundary-stretching technique and the passionate expression he conveys to his audience.

"I think that my music should be understandable to a child," Guerri says. "When you play solo the only other person involved is the listener, so I always try to be communicative to the audience."

Guerri doesn't exaggerate when he hopes that his music can reach even a child's ears. The title of his new album references his infant son, Mimmi; translated as "Don't shoot Mimmi," it refers to a water gun assault on the child by his older brother. Working intently on his music at home, Guerri heard his wife shouting out the titular phrase, and was immediately struck by its inherent contradictions: his son was playing lovingly with his sibling while at the same time miming an act of violence. (A second piece named for his youngest, "Mimmi Resisti," finds a groove in the constantly warring relationship between male siblings).

"I thought this idea, of a child naturally being both bad and good, went to the very roots of man," Guerri explains. " I want it also to go to the roots of my music."

His own children aren't the only youthful inspiration that Guerri draws upon. For the last two decades, alongside his evolving approach to solo cello, he has also worked as an educator at a Bolonga hospital, working with teens dealing with mental disorders. Music makes up a significant part of his outreach. "It's truly impressive to make music with these young people," he marvels. "The intensity of it makes really magical things happen. Music can change your life, and many of them need their life to change."

The major change in Guerri's life came just after he graduated from the Conservatorio di Musica Bruno Maderna in his native Cesena, Italy. It was then that he attended a workshop led by improvising cellist Tristan Honsinger, whose collaborators include such pioneers as the ICP Orchestra, Cecil Taylor, Derek Bailey and Steve Lacy. Through Honsinger the young cellist discovered free improvisation and forever left behind the rigors of the traditional classical repertoire.

Since then Guerri has performed in a rich variety of other contexts, from electronica to avant-garde rock music and free jazz, working with such names as William Parker, Butch Morris, Silvia Bolognesi, Gianluca Petrella, Fabrizio Spera, Ches Smith and Vincenzo Vasi. He has collaborated extensively with Honsiger as well as Carla Bozulich, playing in her band Evangelista and touring with her as a duo. He also co-founded the duos Nagel (with Alberto Fiori) and Nestor Makhno (with Nicola Guazzaloca).

Guerri has also worked extensively in the avant-garde theater, including with Teatrino Clandestino, Teatrino Giullare, and most intensively with the actor-director Chiara Guidi of the Societas Raffaello Sanzio. With Guidi the cellist has undertaken an ongoing, multi-year exploration of Dante's Divine Comedy, the characters of which inspired three of the pieces on Guerri's new album: the tense, vivid "Ciacco," the dramatic "Minosse," and the stunning overture, "Lucy" (short for Dante's Lucia - a name that means "bringer of light," an apt descriptor of the opener).

Following the overture, the album shifts to the shimmering overtones of the title track, which Guerri was developing when he overheard his wife's admonishment to their children. Taking such inspiration from the vagaries of the moment is key to Guerri's process. Most of the music on Su Mimmi non si spara! was born out of improvisation, then shaped into a through-composed work.

In contrast to his earlier albums, there is no improvisation on Su Mimmi non si spara! Instead, Guerri sought to eliminate the unconscious clichés that often creep into supposedly "free" playing by recording, examining and combining his impromptu explorations for their most sui generis moments, then crafting them into pieces bursting with invention and originality.

As Guerri poetically describes the process in his liner notes, "For the last few years I have taken this path. I walk on it slowly, paying attention to the details. I search under the fallen leaves, collecting tiny fragments of the world. I keep them. I assign a role and an order to each and every one of them. They often are small fragments emanating a wild scent, seeds of life that stick to me and that I carry with me wherever I go."

Su Mimmi non si spara! is thus the culmination of two decades of research into the solo cello, along with extensive performing and study into a diverse range of music. Though he hasn't performed classical music since his conservatory days, his private study of Bach is one of the inspirations behind his music.

"Study is the point from which everything starts," he asserts. "I spend a lot of time studying techniques, so usually improvisation comes from those studies. I study something, and then I start to improvise. Maybe I don't find anything, so I return to my studies and try again."

For instance: "Your Beginning," one of two pieces revisited from Guerri's solo debut FromYour Beginning to My [Ha]nd, employs the alternate tuning (with the A string tuned to G) as Bach's fifth Cello Suite. The other piece from that album, My [Ha]nd, was originally written for Guerri's collaboration with Bozulich. The piece transforms the sound of the cello via the use of guitar pedals, conjuring tones that evoke a steel pan or a heavy metal guitar.

Both "Viola" and "Medusa" also make evocative use of alternative tunings (there are a number of them throughout the album). By changing the relation of the strings to one another, Guerri discovers strange new intervals and intriguingly rich harmonic mysteries that he can delve deeply into. "Paper" is self-explanatory: the textural passage that opens the piece is the result of a long piece of paper threaded through the cello's strings, which are further altered via metal curtain clips clamped to them, creating a percussive rattle.

"AFK" is one of those acronyms familiar to those used to living their lives mainly through screens; it stands for "Away From Keyboard" and is used to indicate those rare moments when one is not playing a game or sharing one's most intimate thoughts, a notion with which Guerri is all too familiar working with disaffected teens during his day job.

As these descriptions indicate, there is a dazzling spectrum of sonic invention to be discovered in Su Mimmi non si spara! The music grows and shifts in unexpected directions within a single piece, even more so over the course of this category-resistant album.

Karrin Allyson Sextet to Release Shoulder to Shoulder: Centennial Tribute to Women's Suffrage

The Karrin Allyson Sextet releases Shoulder to Shoulder: Centennial Tribute to Women’s Suffrage, a very special and timely album, to celebrate the centennial of women’s voting rights. The album will be available physically on November 29 via Entertainment One and is available now digitally at all digital service providers. In addition to five-time GRAMMY® Award-nominee Karrin Allyson, the sextet also features trumpeter Ingrid Jensen, alto saxophonist Mindi Abair, pianist Helen Sung, bassist Endea Owens, and drummer Allison Miller.

Shoulder to Shoulder seeks to re-create the multi-decade debate – warts and all – that culminated in the enactment of the nineteenth amendment. “We want to highlight this significant movement in American history. One that we shouldn’t forget and that is relevant today,” said Allyson. “It’s also one in which music played an important role.” A remarkable artist, Allyson is also an activist who feels equally comfortable on the bandstand as she does at the podium making the case for women’s rights. In fact, she has a history of writing songs (“Big Discount,” “Way Down Below”) that challenge conventional political wisdom and call for societal change.

Most of these songs are propaganda. They were composed in the nineteenth or early twentieth century to advance or abridge women’s voting rights. In fact, the “suffrage” repertoire is made up of hundreds of songs, and Allyson and the production team selected ones that typified the back-and-forth debate of the struggle. That these songs can be re-imagined speaks not only to their timeless quality but the power of music in advancing social movements. The “war” over women’s rights was waged, in part, through and by music. And here these songs are made relevant again through modern jazz. 

Because of the theme’s inclusive import, Allyson and the production team invited several notable guests to “lend their voices” to the debate. Adding copious artists can risk turning any project from a cohesive musical statement to a gathering place. Alas, Allyson’s powerful and profound vocals provide the through line and beginning-to-end narrative arc of the entire production. This album is very much a story. And Allyson is its storyteller, with each guest thoughtfully featured to dramatize historical episodes in the women’s suffrage movement.

Shoulder to Shoulder has an incredible array of featured artists. Guest appearances by Madeleine Peyroux (vocals), Kurt Elling (vocals), Regina Carter (violin), Denise Donatelli (vocals), Veronica Swift (vocals), Rapsody (rap), Antonia Bennett (vocals), Emily Estefan (vocals), Pauline Jean (vocals), Olivia Culpo (cello) and a Choir of over forty Women's Rights Activists. There are several spoken word performances that re-create the debate over woman’s suffrage: Harry Belafonte performs a speech by Frederick Douglass, Rosanne Cash performs a speech by Susan B. Anthony, Julie Swidler performs a speech by Alice Paul, Lalah Hathaway performs a speech by Sojourner Truth, and Peter Eldridge performs a speech by Elihu Root. There is even a brief appearance by Roberta Flack on the album. Susan Morrison of The New Yorker serves as an Executive Producer of the project, which was produced by multi-GRAMMY® Award-winners Kabir Sehgal, John Daversa, and Doug Davis.

Next year, 2020, isn’t just a presidential election year. It’s the 100-year anniversary of the nineteenth Amendment to the Constitution, which became law on August 18, 1920, when Tennessee became the thirty-sixth state to approve the measure. It took some seventy years (and arguably more) to ink this clause into law. And it had immediate and enormous effects on the electorate as some 26 million women could vote in the 1920 presidential election, which swelled to over 74 million who voted in the 2016 election. And while the enactment of this amendment was cause for celebration one hundred years ago, it also exacerbated societal fissures, as African American women and other minorities weren’t able to fully participate in elections. This is a tension that is explored in the liner notes, which emphasize the importance of African American suffragists such as Frances Ellen Watkins Harper and Mary Ann Shadd Cary to the broader movement. The musical repertoire also conveys the injustices borne by minorities. For example, Sojourner Truth’s prescient and powerful speech makes a plea to treat everyone fairly.

While Americans take stock of the distance we have traveled, let’s also look ahead to that which still needs improvement. Such is the challenge of our times, to make sure that everyone can join the chorus for freedom, liberty, and dignity for all.

Track Listing:



01. "Preamble"

02. "The March of the Women"

03. "The Great Convention" (featuring Madeleine Peyroux, Denise Donatelli)

04. "Susan B. Anthony (1873)" read by Rosanne Cash

05. "I’ll Be No Submissive Wife"

06. "Frederick Douglass (1888)" read by Harry Belafonte

07. "Anti Suffrage Rose" (featuring Veronica Swift)

08. "She’s Good Enough To Be Your Baby’s Mother"

09. "Elihu Root (1894)" read by Peter Eldridge

10. "Columbia’s Daughters"

11. "Sojourner Truth (1851)" read by Lalah Hathaway

12. "The Promised Land" (feat. Pauline Jean, Antonia Bennett, Emily Estefan, Kate Reid)

13. "Winning the Vote" (featuring Kurt Elling)

14. "Alice Paul (1921)" read by Julie Swidler  

15. "Way Down Below" (featuring Regina Carter)

16. "Big Discount" (featuring Rapsody)

Sultans Of String : I Am A Refugee - feat Ifrah Mansour

Sultans of String are sharing the wealth. In more ways than one.

"We love to expose people to sounds they might not have heard before," explains violinist and bandleader Chris McKhool, summarizing the mission statement of the groundbreaking and acclaimed world music ensemble. "And we love collaborating with other artists."

Over the past dozen years and six albums, McKhool and his bandmates - co-founding guitarist Kevin Laliberté, bassist Drew Birston, Cuban percussionist Rosendo ‘Chendy' Leon and second guitarist Eddie Paton - have excelled at both. Thrilling listeners around North America with their genre-hopping fusion of Celtic reels, flamenco, Gypsy jazz, Arabic, Cuban, and South Asian rhythms, Sultans of String celebrate diversity and creativity with warmth and virtuosity. And they often do it with artists such as Paddy Moloney and The Chieftains, Richard Bona, Benoit Bourque (Bottine Souriante), Nikki Yanofsky, Alex Cuba, Ruben Blades, Crystal Shawanda and Ken Whiteley.

With their historic and visionary seventh album Refuge (coming in 2020), McKhool and co. bring their unique brand of musical synergy and collaboration into the studio like never before. Their most ambitious, diverse, inclusive and passionately political album, Refuge puts the Toronto-based Sultans face-to-face with a VIP roster of artists from around the globe - including American banjo master Bela Fleck, Israeli vocalist Yasmin Levy and others, like Iraqi violinst Imah Al Taha and Iranian santur master Amir Amiri, who have fled the peril and persecution of their homelands for the safer shores of North America.

"This is a project that is centred around the positive contributions of refugees and new immigrants to U.S.A. and Canada," says McKhool, whose Lebanese grandfather stowed away on a ship bound for North America a century ago. "We are bringing in special guests that are newcomers to this land, as well as global talents that have been ambassadors for peace.  We wish to celebrate the successes of those who make the journey here, and bring their extraordinary talents with them. We hope that the kinds of conversations we can have as musicians can provide a model for peace that our politicians and citizens find inspiration from."

That inspiration could not be summed up more clearly than on Refuge's gorgeously evocative and powerful first single I Am a Refugee, co-starring Somali poet and multi-media artist Ifrah Mansour, who now makes her home in the Twin Cities. "I wrote the poem for me, for my community, and for those that are yearning for change, those are yearning to deepen their empathy," explains Mansour. "Writing the poem was a way to unleash some pain that I could name finally – I wrote it because I was so frustrated with so many people sending me emails and asking me what I thought about the travel ban, the first time our American government here shared the first travel ban. And that an artist's job is to draw that hope, especially in a time of deep hopelessness."

Like most of the collaborations on Refuge, I Am a Refugee came to life in the studio, with Sultans of String and their guests composing and creating together. But no matter how they began, they all ended the same: With all the artists recording together at Jukasa, a world-class recording facility on the Six Nations reserve between Toronto and Buffalo.

"We knew we had to do it this way," McKhool stresses. "We couldn't make an album honouring refugees and do it long-distance. But having everyone in the room at the same time made it extremely challenging, both from a logistical and technical standpoint. But the results certainly made it worthwhile."

Of course, Sultans of String have never taken the easy road. Since releasing their debut album Luna in 2007, they have continually strived to make each chart-topping album more original and meaningful than the last. That includes working with an orchestra (2013's Symphony), teaming with Pakistani sitarist Anwar Khurshid (2015's Subcontinental Drift) and even crafting a world-music holiday album (2017's Christmas Caravan), which landed them on the Billboard charts and the New York Times. Their ambition and work ethic have garnered them multiple awards and accolades, including three Juno nominations, first place in the International Songwriting Competition (out of 15,000 entries), three Canadian Folk Music Awards, and countless other honours.

Their live resumé is similarly stellar. Equally at home in a concert hall, jazz club or festival setting, the Sultans have gigged at the legendary club Birdland in New York, the renowned Celtic Connections Festival in the U.K. and the San Jose Jazz Festival. They have performed with symphonies across Canada and the U.S., and played live on BBC TV, Irish National Radio, World Cafe and SiriusXM in Washington. No matter the venue, the goal is the same, McKhool says.

"I've always wanted our concerts to be a place where everyone feels welcome. I want to reach out to diverse communities to say, 'Come out and enjoy music with us - you're going to have a really good time.' And it's great to see people from, say, the South Asian community mixed in with the hipster crowd. Or to play some very small towns where they might not have heard a sitar played live before. It benefits society as a whole, to have people from around the world blending their ideas, mixing their cultures."

And sharing the wealth.

New Music Releases: The Bad Plus, Something Blue, Jenna Marie Pinard & Jay Yoo

The Bad Plus - Activate Infinity

Infinity is the second album from The Bad Plus since the remarkable pianist Orrin Evans joined the trio back in 2018. With their sights set on a new trajectory, combined with an abundance of spirit and creativity, the trio have produced one of their finest and most original albums to date. This is group music played with vibrant imagination and vigour. It's real, deeply honest and personal. Their joy in music-making together is clear and their vision is committed and democratic. With a new home on the British label, Edition Records, the trio are working with a renewed intent that will see them grow to new heights and continue to flourish. Sit back, listen and enjoy the ride!

Something Blue - Maximum Enjoyment

For this album, I chose to use the aesthetic ideas suggested by classic Victorian era English rhyme to curate all the aspects of the production process. I also specifically selected musicians who are old familiar faces: Art Hirahara, Boris Kozlov, and Rudy Royston. There are some new friends as well: Alexa Tarantino, Nick Finzer, and Sam Dillon. The carefully selected musical program features some borrowed compositions taken from earlier Posi-Tone releases, which were subsequently produced to create performances reminiscent of the mid-1960 s, the blue period of modern jazz. I sincerely hope everyone will experience as much Maximum Enjoyment" listening to these musical offerings as I did producing them. Marc Free, producer.

Jenna Marie Pinard / Jay Yoo – Here, Now

Inspired by extended technique and improvisation, this duo record was made with the intention of paying homage to the jazz tradition whilst simultaneously creating an emotional, intimate and contemporary sound. “Here, Now” is a debut duo album by vocalist Jenna Marie Pinard and guitarist Jay Yoo. The album consists of inventive arrangements of jazz standards and original music. Inspired by the active creative music scene in Toronto, the duo wanted to use this record as a vehicle for exploration and improvisation. Their third collaborator was the highly skillful Tom Upjohn, who mixed and mastered the record. The album was recorded by Jenna Marie Pinard and Jay Yoo, first in Jenna Marie’s family home in Montreal, and later in their individual Toronto apartments. “Here, Now” was generously funded in part by the University of Torotno Faculty of Music Undergraduate Association (FMUA).

New Music From: Such, Jonathan Jurion, Palm Unit

Such - Wide Nose Full Lips

Not the first album we've heard from Such, but a set that has us listening to her music with fresh ears all over again – as the whole thing's got a crisp, positive crackle that really lives up to the pride of the cover image and the title! In a world of underground soul singers who can sometimes sound too alike, Such comes across with an instantly distinct personality – this flow in her music that's completely wonderful, and which pushes her message forward with a warmth that's hard to ignore. It also helps that there's some near-perfect keyboards in the mix, which seem wrapped around her voice to combine and make the pairing seem like a whole new instrument – on titles that include "The Real Thing", "Wide Nose Full Lips", "Mood", "Ordinary People", "Don't Matter What They Say", and "Before Dark". ~ Dusty Groove

Jonathan Jurion - Le Temps Fou – The Music of Marion Brown

A beautiful tribute to the music of Marion Brown – a saxophonist who might be one of our favorite jazz musicians of all time – and who always seemed to have a vision that was even wider than the recordings he gave the world! That spirit really seems to come out here – as pianist Jonathan Jurion uses the songs of Brown as a jumping-off point, but then quickly moves into music that's very different than any of Marion's own recordings – yet which, we're guessing, would have really met with his approval! There's definitely horns in the group – trumpet form Josiah Woodson, and tenor and soprano sax from Jowee Omicil – but the core energy of the music really comes from the piano, which is wrapped up with the rhythms in a way that's sometimes echoes work from Abdulla Ibrahim or Randy Weston – even though Jurion's working with a very different sense of rhythm. The group features great drums from Arnaud Dolmen, bass from Michel Alibo, and ka drum from Olivier Juste – on titles that include "Sweet Earth Flying", "Fortunato", "La Placita", "Capricorn Moon", "West India", "Once Upon A Time", and "Le Temps Fou".  ~ Dusty Groove

Palm Unit - Don't Buy Ivory Anymore – The Music Of Henri Texier

Palm Unit began their recorded career with a great tribute to French jazz legend Jef Gilson – but here, they maybe sound even more amazing – in an album that takes on the tunes of bassist Henri Texier, but with results that are completely the group's own! Bass definitely figures in the music – as organist Frederic Ecoffier plays some very cool bass synth too – but the music has this warm, organic flow that's very much like some of the more unusual albums that Texier recorded in the 70s – music that certainly has jazz at the core, but which is very open to embracing other sounds too – in a lineup that also features Lionel Martin on tenor, Philippe Pipon Garcia on drums, and Abraham Mansfarroll on percussion. The drums and percussion dance along in these wonderful rhythms with the keyboards and electric bassbits – and the tenor tops things off with a very soulful vibe. The set features one track with vocals – "Le Piroguer" – and other titles include "Homme Rogue", "Mad Nomad", "Don't Buy Ivory Anymore", "Quand Le Blues S'En Ira", and "Mr Freeman".  ~ Dusty Groove

Brian Culbertson Announces new album and tour for 2020

As chart-topping multi-instrumentalist, songwriter and producer Brian Culbertson crafts his 20th album, the aptly titled “XX” – Roman numerals representing twenty – he revealed plans for the extensive US concert tour that will support the record release. Beginning April 1 in Louisville, Kentucky, Culbertson will take an elaborately designed concert production, The XX Tour, on the road for three consecutive months, playing more than 70 shows, an extremely rare feat for a contemporary jazz artist. 

Culbertson’s catalogue includes recordings of jazz – contemporary and straight ahead - as well as R&B, funk, instrumental pop and New Age. “XX,” which drops April 10, reflects his remarkable diversity. 

“It’s a mix of things that I’ve done throughout my twenty records. There’s a lot of funky instrumentals, some pop-sounding tracks, a couple slow jams, straight-ahead jazz, gospel, some vocals, lots of horns and some straight-up FUNK! The album is very much a mixture of some modern sounding programming along with live instruments, too. Real drums on almost everything mixed with programming. Definitely a cool sound,” said Culbertson, who invites fans to get involved with the making of “XX” via an Indiegogo campaign that launched this week (https://igg.me/at/BCXX).

Recreating that cool sound live for The XX Tour is Culbertson’s favorite part. Like his massive Colors of Love Tour that played 77 shows in three months and was captured for “Brian Culbertson’s Colors of Love Tour: Live in Las Vegas” Blu-ray disc and two-disc CD that dropped last Valentine’s Day, Culbertson is creating the sound and look for The XX Tour as a sensory experience. The exuberant performer spends months in preproduction meticulously conceiving stunning visuals - staging, lighting, wardrobe and effects – in order to put on a mesmerizing show each time he takes the stage. In addition to spotlighting the new album, the setlist will include cuts from Culbertson’s hit-filled songbook that has amassed 32 Billboard No. 1 singles. There will also be a segment showcasing songs from “Winter Stories,” an album released last month that placed him in an acoustic jazz trio setting for the first time.   

Culbertson, who founded and curates the annual Napa Valley Jazz Getaway and Chicago Jazz Getaway music and lifestyle festivals, is offering two tiers of VIP ticket experiences during The XX Tour. The Ultra VIP package includes front row center seats; an intimate pre-show champagne toast backstage with Culbertson; pre-show meet & greet, photo opportunity and performance; exclusive tour merchandise gift; autographed tour poster; commemorative The XX Tour VIP laminate; and early access to the venue for crowd-free merchandise shopping.  

The Meet & Greet VIP package consists of premium seats; pre-show meet & greet, photo opportunity and performance; exclusive tour merchandise gift; autographed tour poster; commemorative The XX Tour VIP laminate; and early access to the venue for crowd-free merchandise shopping.    

Below is The XX Tour itinerary (more dates will be added to the itinerary when confirmed):

April 1 / Louisville, KY / Bomhard Theater

April 3 / New Haven, CT / Lyman Center for Performing Arts

April 4 / Cranston, RI / Park Theater

April 5 / Reading, PA / Scottish Rite Cathedral 

April 7 / Morristown, NJ / Mayo Performing Arts Center

April 8 / Collingswood, NJ / Scottish Rite Auditorium

April 9 / Buffalo, NY / Buffalo State Performing Arts Center

April 10 / Pittsburgh, PA / Roxian Theatre

April 11 / Columbus, OH / Southern Theatre 

April 14 / Detroit, MI / MotorCity Casino Hotel

April 15 / Ft. Wayne, IN / The Clyde Theatre

April 16 / Indianapolis, IN / Egyptian Room at Old National Centre

April 17 / Akron, OH / Akron Civic Theater

April 18 / Washington, DC / Warner Theatre

April 19 / Richmond, VA / The National

April 21 / Clearwater, FL / Bilheimer Capitol Theatre

April 22 / Orlando, FL / Plaza Live

April 23 / Sarasota, FL / Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall

April 24 / Panama City, FL / Seabreeze Jazz Festival *

April 26 / Jacksonville, FL / Florida Theatre 

April 27 / Newberry, SC / Newberry Opera House 

April 29 / Nashville, TN / Marathon Music Works

May 1 / Atlanta, GA / Atlanta Symphony Hall

May 2 / St. Louis, MO / The Pageant

May 3 / Minneapolis, MN / Fitzgerald Theater

May 5 / Joliet, IL / Rialto Square Theatre

May 6 / Kansas City, MO / Arvest Back Theatre at The Midland

May 7 / Tulsa, OK / Cain’s Ballroom

May 8 / San Antonio, TX / Empire Theatre

May 9 / Dallas, TX / Kay Bailey Hutchinson Convention Center Dallllas

May 10 / Houston, TX / Cullen Performance Hall

May 14 / Ft. Collins, CO / The Armory

May 15 / Denver, CO / Paramount Theatre

May 19 & 20 / Mesa, AZ / Mesa Arts Center

May 21 / Tucson, AZ / Rialto Theatre

May 22 & 23 / Las Vegas, NV / Aliante Casino

May 24 / Lake Tahoe, NV / Montbleau Resort Casino & Spa

May 27 / Santa Barbara, CA / Lobero Theatre

May 28 / Fresno, CA / Tower Theatre

May 30 / San Diego, CA / Humphreys                  

June 3 / Bend, OR / Tower Theater

June 4 / Spokane, WA / Bing Crosby Theatre

June 5 / Seattle, WA / The Moore Theatre

June 6 / Boise, ID / The Egyptian Theatre

June 7 / Portland, OR / Revolution Hall

June 12 / Yountville, CA / Napa Valley Jazz Getaway

June 14 / Los Angeles, CA / The Wiltern

June 17 / New Orleans, LA / The Civic Theatre

June 19 / Memphis, TN / Minglewood Hall

June 21 / Charlotte, NC / Knight Theater

June 24 / Durham, NC / The Carolina Theatre

June 25 / Birmingham, AL / Lyric Theatre

Daniel Casimir and Tess Hirst release their debut album ‘These Days’

Award-winning bassist Daniel Casimir and vocalist Tess Hirst, are set to release their debut album ‘These Days’ on the 1st November via pioneering London-based record label, jazz re:freshed. 

Following the success of Casimir’s critically acclaimed 2017 debut EP 'Escapee', which featured Hirst on vocals and fellow rising stars on the scene, Moses Boyd, Joe Armon-Jones and Shirley Tetteh, ‘These Days’ is inspired by the duo’s London surroundings, as charged observations are delivered via thought-provoking lyricism, neo soul and modern jazz. Across twelve tracks, Casimir and Hirst fuse traditional jazz sounds into beautifully composed compositions, narrating their way through a political and cultural landscape. 

A regular fixture on the UK jazz scene, Casimir (a former Birmingham Conservatoire student) has provided his heavy weight upright sound for the likes of Julian Joseph, Jason Rebello, Benet Mclean, Lonnie Liston Smith, Nathan Facey, Shane Forbes, Chihiro Yamanaka, Ashley Henry, David Lyttle, Nubya Garcia, the Clark Tracey Quintet (Meantime, Jubilation), Tom Harrison (Unfolding in Tempo), Jasmine Power (Stories and Rhymes), Camilla George and Art Blakey Jazz Messenger saxophonist, Jean Toussaint. Tess Hirst is a natural story-teller who's lyrics are uncompromisingly honest and layered. Hirst takes her own personal experiences wider offering a voice to a generation's struggles. 

In what promises to be an evolving collaboration, Daniel Casimir and Tess Hirst have already received radio support from BBC Radio 3, BBC Music Introducing and Jazz FM, along with coverage in the London Evening Standard and Jazzwise magazine.

Jazzanova – Of All The Things (Deluxe Edition) – Triple Gatefold LP Vinyl

Very few albums manage to unveil their roots so honestly and at the same time succeed in creating something utterly distinct. ‘Of All The Things‘ from Jazzanova is one of these albums. Originally released in 2008 on Universal, it now gets a luxurious reissue on Sonar Kollektiv as a 3LP with pop-up gatefold cover including previously unreleased instrumentals. This format corresponds perfectly with the elegant opulence of the music that shines even brighter eleven years after its initial release. At no time is it unclear that this album is a deep bow to soul from the 1960s and 70s as well as genres like jazz, brazil and pop music in the vein of the early Beatles. Along these lines, ‘Of All The Things‘ is meant to be perceived as a tribute to the music that Jazzanova has been honoring affectionately in their DJ sets and which has always had a decisive influence on their own productions. At the same time, the Jazzanova guys have been successful in casually creating elaborate musical pieces which convey a deeply contemporary vibe – not least because of the multifarious references to electronic productions.

The path to this sophomore long player, which features the contribution of over 50 studio musicians, had been laid out beginning with Jazzanova‘s first album ‚In Between‘ from 2002.

While the overall impression of their full length debut was more minimal and rooted in club genres like broken beat and acid jazz, it became immediately apparent with Jazzanova‘s remix for Heavy’s ‘Wonderlove (for Minnie)’ in 2005 that the music collective was ready to progress towards utilizing the acoustic and electric instruments of studio musicians. Another fine step forward was the production of the soundtrack for ‚Belle Et Fou‘ in 2006 with its sophisticated arrangements and live orchestra.

It could be said that ‘Of All The Things‘ is the culminating point of a long developing focus on songwriting and orchestra arrangements. However, it is notable that the album doesn‘t rest on  indulging in its musicians‘ skills. Instead, by retaining elements of electronic music production, Jazzanova always makes references to alternative ways of creating music. Particularly, methods such as sampling are very near and dear to Jazzanova: “We have tried to write songs that we would love to sample ourselves”, the DJ and producer collective points out. There was no mistaking the outstanding role of sampling on ‘In Between‘ already. The further development of this technique’s utilization on ‘Of All The Things‘ is that Jazzanova would like the music on the album to be read as samples – only that this time the guys have written all the samples themselves.

Combining the art of sampling with classic compositional practices and songwriting – that‘s where this album excels while displaying the defining innovation of these musicians whose roots lie in DJ culture. What makes the songs on ‘Of All The Things‘ even more exciting are the many features of renowned vocalists like Phonte Coleman who has been causing quite a stir in the R‘n‘B world together with Little Brother as Foreign Exchange. The album also features a duet from Detroit legends Leon Ware and Dwele, the unique voice of Blue Note artist Jose James and even a guest appearance from Fat Freddy’s Drop front man Joe Dukie. Furthermore, the album marks the beginning of a long-term collaboration with Paul Randolph – another Detroit legend who has gone on to become one of the leading figures in Jazzanova‘s live band.

In this regard, it‘s important to highlight that ‘Of All The Things‘ also marked the start of Jazzanova as a live band: The band has been on tour since 2009, playing more than 250 concerts all over the world on almost every continent, so it seems very natural to celebrate the importance of this album as a vinyl reissue and to call to mind its relevance once again.

Three world-premiere recordings from Grammy nominated composer and clarinetist, Derek Bermel entitled MIGRATIONS

Three world-premiere recordings from Grammy nominated composer and clarinetist, Derek Bermel entitled MIGRATIONS was just released on Naxos [Naxos 8.559871].  showcasing The album includes his Migration Series for Jazz Ensemble and Orchestra (2006); the song cycle Mar de Setembro (2011), with texts by Eugénio de Andrade; and the three-movement orchestral A Shout, a Whisper, and a Trace (2009), in performances by the Juilliard Jazz Orchestra, saxophonist Ted Nash, clarinetist Bermel, Brazilian jazz vocalist Luciana Souza, and the Albany Symphony under its music director, David Alan Miller.

Bermel's engagement with other musical cultures has become part of the fabric and force of his compositional language; he grew up playing jazz, funk, and rock; studied with a wide-range of compositional luminaries, including William Bolcom, Henri Dutilleux, and Louis Andriessen; and traveled extensively to absorb musical traditions from across the globe, including Thracian folk music, Brazilian caxixi percussion music, and Lobi xylophone from Ghana. Of the new album, Bermel writes: "Like many Americans, my family came to the US from distant lands. Migrations is inspired by three artistic journeys-painter Jacob Lawrence's vivid depiction of African American migration from South to North; Portuguese poet Eugénio de Andrade's journeys across the ocean and the soul; and Hungarian composer Béla Bartók's emigration to my hometown of New York City-and by my collaborators Wynton Marsalis and Luciana Souza."

Migration Series was commissioned by Wynton Marsalis, for the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra and by the American Composers Orchestra. It takes its title from a 60-painting series by Jacob Lawrence, which traces the movement of blacks from South to the urban North during the First and Second World Wars (known as "The Great Migration"). Music critic George Grella writes in his program notes: "Bermel describes his musical thinking here as realized in the form of a mosaic; he uses various motifs that reappear in each movement, like the repeated use of tiles to create different combinations of patterns with the same source material. This is a visual quality that Bermel identifies in Lawrence's work, but that's secondary to the physical pleasure of the music." Bermel here draws freely on his training and expertise as a clarinetist: "That feel of music coming through the hands," Grella observes, "is plain and strong in the swing and swagger of Migration Series." View Panels from Lawrence's Migration Series. (Cover Art: The Migration Series, Panel 3, "From every southern town migrants left by the hundreds to travel north" (1940-41); The Phillips Collection. Washington, D.C. Acquired 1942.)

Written when Bermel was composer-in-residence at the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, Mar de Setembro-- consists of five songs ("Prologue: Que voz lunar," "Mar de Setembro," "Canção," "Ocultas águas," and "Frutas").  Mar de Setembro was composed in collaboration with the Brazilian jazz singer Luciana Souza. Bermel commented that great Portuguese poet Eugénio de Andrade's work "evokes saudade"-a hard-to-translate Portuguese word with a loose meaning of longing and sadness for lost people and lost things." The world-premiere was met with critical acclaim, the Los Angeles Times said "Bermel . . . has produced a small gem." Mar de Setembro, Grella writes, "is clear and upfront about its non-classical qualities, including the rhythms, harmonies, and the graceful, bossa nova–tinged vocal melodies." Something of a cultural travelogue, it opens the door to further possibilities: "The one place I've always wanted to go and have not yet been is Cuba," Bermel muses, and the country is "still on my list."

A commission from the Koussevitzky Music Foundation, A Shout, a Whisper, and a Trace pays tribute to Béla Bartók, who spent the last five years of his life in New York. The work  was inspired by Bartók's experiences as a New Yorker to view his own home city from a different perspective. Bartók had a difficult time adjusting to New York, and temporarily stopped composing; he died there, of leukemia, in 1945. "Bermel," writes Grella, "loves Bartók, whose music was deeply informed by his study of folk music. In the final, haunting movement, Bartók's ghost floats along the streets of Bermel's native New York, mingling with the other residents past and present. As only music can, the piece collapses the distance of time into the immediate present of the listening experience."

Grammy-nominated composer and clarinetist Derek Bermel is artistic director of the American Composers Orchestra, director of Copland House's CULTIVATE emerging composers institute, and curator of the Gamper Festival of Contemporary Music at the Bowdoin Music Festival. He has performed as a clarinetist worldwide, collaborated with an eclectic array of artists, and received commissions globally from the Pittsburgh, National, and St. Louis Symphony Orchestras, the Pacific Symphony, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, New York's WNYC, the Tanglewood Festival, Eighth Blackbird, the Asko/Schönberg Ensemble, Veenfabriek (the Netherlands), the Guarneri and JACK string quartets, violinist Midori, and the Koussevitzky and Fromm Music Foundations. His many honors include the Alpert Award in the Arts, the Rome Prize, Guggenheim and Fulbright fellowships, the American Music Center's Trailblazer Award, the Academy Award of the American Academy of Arts and Letters, and residencies at Yaddo, Tanglewood, Aspen, Banff, Bellagio, and Copland House. He recently served as composer-in-residence with the Seattle Symphony and as artist-in-residence at Princeton's Institute for Advanced Study.

In 1941, a 23-year-old Harlem artist named Jacob Lawrence produced the Migration Series, 60 paintings depicting the Great Migration, the epic movement of African-Americans from the rural South to the urban North during the early decades of the 20th century. The series was an immediate success. Shortly thereafter, this collection was acquired by two museums, New York's Museum of Modern Art and the Phillips Collection in Washington, DC, which divided the panels according to their even and odd numbers.

In recent times, Lawrence's masterwork has enjoyed newfound resonance, inspiring a multimedia dance production, a book of scholarly essays, and an adaptation based on the Arab Spring. 

It has also yielded Migration Series, composer Derek Bermel's sweeping, five-movement concerto for jazz ensemble and orchestra. Commissioned by Wynton Marsalis, the concerto is the centerpiece of "Migrations," a Naxos recording of Bermel's music by the Albany Symphony Orchestra and the Juilliard Jazz Orchestra, conducted by David Alan Miller. 

In a display of Bermel's deep eclecticism, the album also features two other works rooted in non-Western classical forms - Mar de Setembro (2011), written for the Brazilian singer Luciana Souza, and A Shout, a Whisper, and a Trace (2009), about Bela Bartók's years in New York.

"I was really first intrigued and then impressed when I heard Migration Series," says David Alan Miller, Albany Symphony's Music Director. "It charted daring territory because few have done it successfully - this combination of jazz band and orchestra."

Miller adds, "The idea behind the piece is so strong. It's so clearly and beautifully inspired by the images. That helped it not seem like a pastiche project."

Jacob Lawrence's Migration Series paintings trace a somber yet uplifting narrative through barren Southern landscapes, gospel churches, factories, urban race riots and a voting booth. Scenes of crowded train stations form a recurring motif.

Derek Bermel describes its form as a mosaic. "I realized there are different elements that ping-pong back and forth between the different paintings," he said. "That gives you a larger composite view of a big story that he tells through lots of smaller stories, and I just found that fascinating. He does it with color, he does it with shape, he does it with texture."

Derek Bermel was a young boy living on Manhattan's Upper West Side when his mother took him to a 1974 retrospective of Lawrence's work at the Whitney Museum of American Art. The Migration Series, with its cubist-inflected shapes and muted colors, stuck in his consciousness. Thirty years later, when Wynton Marsalis requested a piece that would combine the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra and the American Composers Orchestra (ACO), Bermel returned to the series. He deploys a rumbling groove interwoven with gospel ballads, moaning blues, and sinuous solos for brass, saxophone solo (played by Ted Nash) and clarinet (Bermel himself).

Unlike composers who dabble in jazz, Bermel spent his childhood imitating Thelonious Monk records on the piano. "That was my way into playing piano," he explains. "Monk was more of an influence than probably any composer on my harmonic language." Another model was Duke Ellington, "because he was a composer who couldn't be contained."

These influences coalesced during his graduate studies at the University of Michigan, where his teachers were the polymaths William Bolcom and William Albright. Bermel has also traveled to Ghana to learn the Lobi xylophone, Bulgaria to study Thracian folk music, and Ireland to learn the Uilleann pipes.

In approaching the Migration Series, Bermel was also drawn to its larger, social themes. "I'm from a family of European Jews," he notes, "so when you think of these large movements of people who are driven by  an imperative to start anew, in a different place, it's a very powerful work in that way as well."

  

Migration is also a central theme of A Shout, a Whisper, and a Trace, a three-movement orchestral work that honors Bela Bartók's move from his native Hungary to New York City after the outbreak of World War II. The piece was an opportunity for Bermel to consider his hometown with fresh eyes.

"I had just picked up a copy of Bartók's letters in a used bookstore," said Bermel. "I was fascinated, especially by the section with the letters he wrote home from New York. Bartók's letters were full of this longing, much in the way that Lawrence describes the South."

Bartók found life in New York rather difficult. He and his wife lived on money from his research fellowship at Columbia University, in which he transcribed Serbo-Croatian folksongs for cataloging and publication. He struggled with traffic and the subway system. Though he produced a handful of major works - including the Concerto for Orchestra - he gave few piano performances and the effects of leukemia began to take their toll (he died of complications of the disease in 1945).

Accordingly, the first movement of Bermel's score explores a clash of cultures.

"Some of the harmonies don't match the rhythms," said Bermel. "The harmonies are a little more New York while the rhythms are a little more Eastern Europe."

After a second movement inspired by Bartók's "night music" sounds, the finale imagines him as a ghost-like figure, haunting the city streets. "I thought of his ghost and then I thought of all the ghosts of people who lived here before. So that was kind of my way into a New York piece."

Luciana Souza, the featured soloist on  Mar de Setembro. 

A Portuguese Rhapsody

Just as Eastern European folk music underpins Bermel's Bartók tribute, Brazil and Portugal are the focus of Mar de Setembro (September Sea), a set of five songs to texts by the late Portuguese poet Eugénio de Andrade and written for the Brazilian-born singer Luciana Souza.

One can't accuse Bermel of under-researching his subject matter. He has made several trips to Brazil, where he studied caxixi percussion and even learned Portuguese (his wife also hails from Portugal). Lightly touching on bossa nova rhythms, the piece evokes Portuguese saudade, a feeling of intense melancholy.

"Luciana, being from Brazil, is fluent in those styles," Bermel said. "She is an inspiration in the way that it was an inspiration to write for Wynton and his band. Like Ellington, she knows about classical music, she's a jazz singer, and she sings Brazilian music, so her world is very big."

Then again, given the wide-ranging influences that Derek Bermel draws from, it's clear that his musical world is pretty big too.

- Written by Brian Wise