Dave Koz’s New Album, Gifts Of The Season + Christmas Tour w/Guest Artists

Twenty-two years after releasing his first Christmas-themed set, GRAMMY®-nominated saxophonist Dave Koz takes a very different stylistic approach on his new holiday album, Gifts of the Season. The 11-track collection will be released on Friday, October 11, via Just Koz Entertainment, Inc. Produced by Darren Rahn (Wayman Tisdale, Toby Keith, Bob James), the album brings a buoyant, soul/funk/pop feel to Christmas classics across different eras, and sheds new light on their rich musicality and lyrical depth. Closing out the set is “A Prayer for Peace,” a new song penned by Koz.

Gifts of the Season is the ideal companion piece for the 22nd Annual Dave Koz & Friends Christmas Tour – a whirlwind of 22 shows in 25 days – with Jonathan Butler, Melissa Manchester, Michael Lington and special guest Chris Walker. All four of Koz’s tour mates appear on the new album. Butler and Lington are also releasing Christmas albums this fall so – in a first for the tour – the shows will feature material from three brand new holiday albums. The run kicks off on November 29 at the Van Wezel in Sarasota, FL and includes shows at Tilles Center for the Performing Arts in Brookville, NY (December 8), the Plaza Theatre in El Paso, TX (December 16) and Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts in Southern California (December 20 and 21). Tickets are available at www.davekoz.com. See below for itinerary.

“One of the reasons I continue to record this music and tour every year is that the holidays are a reminder for all of us about the things that matter. It’s a time when we seem more capable of living our best lives,” says Dave Koz. “It’s easy to get off course during the rest of the year, especially the way the world is these days with all of its antagonism and intolerance. The holidays help bring us back to center. That’s what ‘A Prayer for Peace’ is also – a way to express that music is perhaps our one last vestige of uniting people who may be at odds in other areas of life.”

To bring an added warmth to the songs, Koz and Rahn recorded the basic tracks in the producer/musician’s Denver studio, then visited the guest artists to record them in their home studios. “We wanted to capture them at their most intimate, powerful best,” explains Koz.

Approaching Mariah Carey’s “All I Want Is You” as a soulful ballad, GRAMMY winner Melissa Manchester changes the entire emotional trajectory of the song. Koz notes, “It’s one of the most played holiday songs on the radio, but because it’s so up-tempo, it’s easy to overlook that it’s got a lot of meat on its bones. Melissa’s version makes you stop and pay attention.” Likewise, pairing the intensity of Michael Lington’s alto saxophone with Koz’s tenor fuels an explosive funk/soul romp through “Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer.”

Jonathan Butler brings his gritty, soul-gospel energy to classics from two different eras: a groovin’, African chant-spiced version of the nearly 70-year-old “It’s Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas” and a swinging, festive bounce through Donny Hathaway’s 70’s smash, “This Christmas,” which features Koz on soprano sax and Rahn on Wurlitzer and Hammond organ. Singer, bassist and former Al Jarreau musical director Chris Walker also knocks it out of the park, delivering the perfect blend of solemnity and classic soul power on a sparsely-produced rendition of “Mary Did You Know.”

Another vocalist Koz is excited to showcase on Gifts of the Season is Matt Cusson, whose Take-6-like vocal textures combine with Koz’s cool tenor to bring renewed poignancy to “I’ll Be Home for Christmas.” Koz and Rahn’s dance-jam spin on Wham’s mid-80’s smash, “Last Christmas,” makes it one of the album’s most compelling instrumental tracks. “Never in a million years did I think it would make a great vehicle for the sax,” Koz says, “but it was such a blast to play, so funky and danceable.”  See below for the album’s full track listing.

“The title Gifts of the Season is personal to me on many levels,” he adds. “It’s not about the presents under the tree, but the gift of showing love and appreciation. As I approach the 30th anniversary of the release of my debut album, nobody is more surprised than I am by the career I have had and all the ongoing support from my fans. I have been blessed with so many gifts and, in turn, I am honored to have the opportunity to share the gift of music with people around the world.”

Saxophonist extraordinaire Dave Koz has racked up an astoundingly impressive array of honors and achievements: nine GRAMMY® nominations, 11 No. 1 albums on Billboard’s Current Contemporary Jazz Albums chart, numerous world tours, 13 sold-out Dave Koz & Friends At Sea cruises, performances for multiple U.S. presidents, a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and more. A Platinum-selling artist, Koz is also known as a humanitarian, entrepreneur, radio host and instrumental music advocate.

Jonathan Butler - The youngest of 13 children, Jonathan Butler grew up in Cape Town, South Africa, ruled by Apartheid and segregation. Butler began his singing career at age 7. He released his first album in 1973 and won the Best New Artist GRAMMY in South Africa the following year at age 12. More than a decade later, Butler moved to London, England after signing with Jive Records and released his first album internationally. The self-titled set went Gold in 1987 in the United Kingdom and in the U.S. He received GRAMMY nominations for Best R&B Song for his R&B-pop vocal hit “Lies” and for Best Jazz Song for the instrumental “Going Home.” His new album, Christmas Together, is due out October 4.

Melissa Manchester - Following her stint as a founding member of Bette Midler’s Harlettes, Manchester established herself as a solo artist with Top 10 hits like “Midnight Blue,” the GRAMMY-nominated “Don’t Cry Out Loud” and the GRAMMY-winning “You Should Hear How She Talks About You.” Her songs have been heard in motion pictures, netting her two Oscar nominations, and recorded by such artists as Barbra Streisand, Dusty Springfield, Alison Krauss and Roberta Flack. On her latest album, The Fellas, she pays tribute to iconic male artists such as Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Nat King Cole, Johnny Mathis and Tony Bennett.

Michael Lington - Although he grew up in Copenhagen, Michael Lington was massively influenced by the soul music that emanated from Memphis, TN. At age 20, he made the fateful decision to move to the U.S. and is now regarded as one of the world’s top contemporary soul and jazz saxophonists. In his remarkable career, he has charted more than 20 hit singles and performed at some of the world’s most prestigious venues. He recently recorded his first Christmas album, A Foreign Affair Christmas, which features numerous special guests, including Vince Gill and Dave Koz.

Chris Walker - Born and raised in Houston TX, Chris Walker began singing before he began speaking. He got his start in church, performing as a member of his family gospel group, The Walker Brothers. He has played with such jazz greats as Ornette Coleman, Art Blakey, Bob James, Jimmy Heath, Cassandra Wilson and others. He served as musical director for Regina Belle and also for seven-time GRAMMY Award winner Al Jarreau. Walker’s latest album, We’re In This Love Together Celebrating Al Jarreau, is out now. It features many smooth jazz greats, including Dave Koz.

Track Listing – Gifts Of The Season

It’s Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas feat. Jonathan Butler

O Come All Ye Faithful

White Christmas

Last Christmas

Mary Did You Know featuring Chris Walker

I’ll Be Home For Christmas featuring Matt Cusson

Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer feat. Michael Lington

This Christmas featuring Jonathan Butler

All I Want For Christmas feat. Melissa Manchester

Winter Wonderland

A Prayer For Peace

Simply Red: New Album Blue Eyed Soul Out November 8th on BMG

Simply Red have just released new soulful ballad ‘Sweet Child’ from their 12th studio album, Blue Eyed Soul. Effortlessly soulful, the dreamy string section compliments the catchy guitar riff on ‘Sweet Child’. Reflecting on the song, lead singer and band leader Mick Hucknall writes "We (alleged) grown ups should be asking ourselves if we will be leaving this world in better shape for our children than it is for us. So, are we? Or are we failing them?" Blue Eyed Soul will be released November 8th on BMG. 

Blue Eyed Soul is a ten track masterclass in funky, brassy soul music and emotionally charged ballads and available for pre-order HERE. Recorded in London at British Grove Studios, all ten tracks of Blue Eyed Soul were written by Mick Hucknall and produced by long time collaborator Andy Wright. The results are simply sensational. Recorded as live, with few overdubs, Blue Eyed Soul drew on inspiration from classic funk and soul: Isaac Hayes, Curtis Mayfield, James Brown, Bobby ‘Blue’ Bland and Tower of Power.

After 40 years of making records (with punk band The Frantic Elevators, solo and various line ups of Simply Red) Hucknall wanted to create something tailored to the core strength of his fantastic band. “I asked myself, what would these guys really like to play, night after night? I want them to enjoy playing, for crowds to get up and move around, and everybody to put their heart into it. It’s all about capturing the groove.”

Simply Red have over a billion hits on YouTube, have sold over 60 million albums worldwide, 5 going to number one in the UK. Their 1991 classic Stars was the best-selling album for two years running in Britain and Europe. They have had two US Billboard chart toppers with classic singles "Holding Back The Years" and "If You Don’t Know Me By Now." Every Simply Red studio album has been a UK top ten (with previous release Big Love reaching number 4 in 2015). Hucknall has been the songwriter and bandleader since the beginning in 1985, aided since 1986 by long-serving saxophonist Ian Kirkham.  

Blue Eyed Soul is the sound of Simply Red firing on all cylinders. “At this stage of my career, I could do one of those dark reflective albums looking back on my life and all that kind of stuff that people tend to do at a certain age,” Mick Hucknall admits. “But I thought sod that! I wanted to make something punchy. I want to have a good time.”

Nat King Cole - Hittin’ The Ramp: The Early Years (1936-1943)

Released in partnership with the Nat King Cole estate, Resonance Records’ HITTIN’ THE RAMP: THE EARLY YEARS (1936-1943) is the first large-scale collection of the pivotal early recordings (1936-1943) of Nat’s 29-year recording career. Most tracks are receiving their first official release in this meticulously restored set of original live-to-disk recordings.

This definitive 7CD and limited-edition 10LP collection draws upon a wide range of sources, including many newly-discovered tracks unearthed for the first time from archives located all over the world, such as “Trompin” (jukebox-only release for Cinematone, 1939), “What’cha Know Joe” (undocumented radio performance, 1940 — now the earliest known recording of Nat “on the air”), “The Romany Room is Jumpin’” (private recording, 1941) and “Beautiful Moons Ago” (longer alternate take, 1943). 

Sessions include Nat at age 17, playing piano in his brother’s band in Chicago, 1936; the first King Cole Trio recordings from 1938, made for radio broadcast only, for Standard Transcriptions; further radio transcription sessions for Standard, Davis & Schwegler, Keystone, plus his first (uncredited) session for MacGregor, with vocalist Anita Boyer; the Ammor Records Session (Spring 1940 – the first commercial-release sessions for the trio), the Decca Recordings (1940-41), the small-label sessions for Excelsior and Premier labels (1943), many previously-uncirculating Armed Forces Radio performances, and, with producer Norman Granz at the helm, early jazz sessions with Lester Young (Granz historic, first session as a producer) and Dexter Gordon, originally released on Philo and Mercury, respectively. 

Boasting an extensive 60+ page booklet with rare photographs; essays by acclaimed author Will Friedwald and guitarist Nick Rossi (with a special focus on Oscar Moore); interviews and testimonials from Johnny Mathis, Tony Bennett, Quincy Jones, Harry Belafonte, John Pizzarelli, Freddy Cole, Michael Feinstein and many others.

Hittin’ the Ramp features new remastering from original source disks transferred for this set from a number of personal collections and from the archives at University of California – Santa Barbara, The Institute for Jazz Studies at Rutgers University, the the CU Boulder American Music Research Center, and the Library of Congress.

Celebrate Nat King Cole’s centennial in 2019 with this definitive early years multi-disc box set. This is the origin story of a great artist just as he was just “hittin’ the ramp,” launching a distinctive style that would quickly become famous the world over.

Resonance Records, the Los Angeles-based independent jazz label noted for its historical releases, will issue its most ambitious release to date, the seven-CD/10-LP Nat King Cole boxed set Hittin’ the Ramp: The Early Years (1936-1943) on November 1, 2019.

Succeeding critically acclaimed Resonance archival collections devoted to previously unheard recordings by Bill Evans, Wes Montgomery, Sarah Vaughan, and other eminent jazz performers, Hittin’ the Ramp offers the first in-depth survey of singer-pianist Cole’s work in the years preceding his long hit-making tenure at Capitol Records.

“This is a really important project for Resonance,” says Zev Feldman, label co-president and the set’s co-producer. “We’ve done some pretty substantial packages over the years, such as our three-disc Eric Dolphy and Jaco Pastorius sets with 100-page booklets, but this Nat King Cole box is truly a definitive, king-sized set, clocking in at a staggering 10 LPs and seven CDs worth of essential early Cole material with enhanced audio.”

The expansive collection — which includes several previously unreleased studio sides, transcriptions, and private recordings — is the first major overview of Cole’s earliest work to be produced in conjunction with the musician’s estate.

“The Nat King Cole Estate is thrilled to be partnering with Resonance Records on this exciting collection of early recordings that showcase Nat’s extraordinary abilities as a jazz musician,” says Seth Berg of the Nat King Cole Estate. “The family is especially grateful for Resonance’s unwavering determination to preserve and present these pioneering recordings to the world.”

The set’s co-producer, writer and historian Will Friedwald – who received Grammy Award nominations for his work on Mosaic Records’ landmark 1992 box The Complete Capitol Recordings of the Nat King Cole Trio and the 1989 album Nat “King” Cole and the “King” Cole Trio – points out in his comprehensive notes to the collection that Cole’s deep and influential jazz roots were often obscured by his towering reputation as a pop singer.

“At the height of his fame in the 1950s and ‘60s,” he writes, “Nat King Cole (1919-1965) was primarily known as a popular singer — the biggest-selling artist of his generation, no less — who occasionally played piano. By that point, only a few older fans and critics remembered that he had been one of the greatest pianists in the whole history of American music, a true spiritual descendent of Earl ‘Fatha’ Hines and Art Tatum, and himself a huge inspiration for Oscar Peterson, George Shearing, Erroll Garner, and many others.”

Beyond Cole’s brilliance at the keyboard, the Resonance set takes in his dazzling work as a vocalist, and includes a new interview with the master pop singer Johnny Mathis, who discusses his debt to and friendship with his great predecessor.

“As a young boy, studying the art of vocalizing, Nat was everything I needed,” Mathis says. “All I did was listen and learn…And then I want [people] to remember that he also, also, also played the piano. Please, please, please remember that. Even as gigantic as a pianist as he was as a vocalist.”

Co-produced by Zev Feldman, Will Friedwald, Seth Berg, Matt Lutthans, and Jordan Taylor, and executive produced by Resonance co-president George Klabin, Hittin’ the Ramp homes in on Cole’s prodigious early career, beginning with the debut sides he recorded with his brother Eddie for Decca Records as a 17-year-old piano phenom in 1936.

The majority of the set’s nearly 200 tracks focus on the first work by the King Cole Trio, the seminal combo that put Cole on the map with a swinging combination of jazz, jive, and pop, with an emphasis on his simpatico creative partnership with the trio’s longtime guitarist Oscar Moore.

In his notes for the collection, guitarist Nick Rossi notes that Moore’s synthesis of such influences as George van Eps, Dick McDonough, Django Reinhardt, and Charlie Christian led to his “groundbreaking style, one which provided a template for how the guitar functions in a modern jazz setting.”

Hittin’ the Ramp compiles Cole’s recordings – among them the first versions of “Sweet Lorraine,” a staple of his ‘40s repertoire, and the R&B and pop hit “Straighten Up and Fly Right” – with his trio and in other studio settings (as sideman and accompanist) for Decca, Ammor, Excelsior, Premier, Mercury, and Philo (including a celebrated session for the latter label, founded by Norman Granz during the 1942 Musicians Union recording ban, with saxophonist Lester Young).

It also contains dozens of transcriptions, mainly by the trio, cut by Standard, Davis & Schwegler, and MacGregor for servicing to radio stations, as well as wartime recordings produced for American servicemen by the Armed Forces Radio Service.

The newly discovered selections include several performances that were not known to exist before research for the boxed set began. These include a privately recorded number, “The Romany Room is Jumping,” a homage to the titular Washington, D.C., club that hosted Cole’s group; the hitherto unheard Cinematone transcription “Trompin’”; and an unreleased 1940 trio rendering of Trummy Young’s “Whatcha’ Know Joe.”

“Although nothing on this package can be described as ‘common,’ these are some of the rarest Cole items known to exist,” Friedwald writes.

He adds, “Just in time for his centennial, we cover this quintessential American artist from his very first stirrings at the start of the swing era to the very precipice of universal fame during World War Two, with dozens of fascinating detours along the way. This, then, is the incredible but true origin story of a sound and a career that would change the world.”

New Music Releases: Ramsey Lewis & Urban Knights, Greg Foat & James Thorpe, Sure Fire Soul Ensemble

Ramsey Lewis & Urban Knights – VII

A smoking little set from Ramsey Lewis – one that really recalls the best electric years of his 70s recordings – and which also has a much sharper sound than some of the other albums recorded with the Urban Knights! There's plenty of great piano on the record from Ramsey, mixed with keyboards from Tim Gant – and the blend has that warm mix of acoustic and electric that Columbia would feature on some of their more soulful fusion albums of the 70s – and which is never overdone here in the production or arrangements, given that the group is nice and lean – with just Henry Johnson on guitar, Charles Heath on drums, and Joshua Ramos on bass. The great singer Dee Alexander joins the group on "The Shape Of My Heart" – and other tracks include "Tequila Mockingbird", "The Spark", "I'll Never Forget You", "Sharing Her Journey", "Trees", "Armandos Rhumba", and "Baby What You Want Me To Do".  ~ Dusty Groove

Greg Foat & James Thorpe - Photosynthesis

A very cool collaboration between Greg Foat and James Thorpe – a set that's billed more as a sound library session than some of Foat's other jazz projects – even though the sound is equally appealing if you love those records too! The set is self-described as "futuristic analogue cosmic synth library cues for TV, film, and radio" – but it's also got a much warmer sound than you might expect, very much in keeping with the natural image on the cover – as Foat and Thorpe eschew some of the colder keyboard styles of other library records, and instead really let things glow with that organic vibe that usually informs Greg's music, as gentle rhythms set the pace for Fender Rhodes, Hohner pianet, and a host of Korg and Roland keys. There's also a touch of vibes, some field recordings, and other cool touches – on tracks that include "Balloon Ride", "Circadian Rhythms", "Grockle Box", "Living The Dream", "Platform Game", "Stacey's Theme", and "Elementary Physiology (parts 1 & 2)". ~Dusty Groove.

Sure Fire Soul Ensemble - Build Bridges

Sure Fire Soul Ensemble are tighter than ever, and have really perfected a trademark sound – a style that's got the breaking drums of a vintage funky 45, the moody horns of an Ethio funk group, and the kind of organ and keyboard lines that would be right at home on a vintage album by The Meters! The blend is wonderful, and carried off to perfection here – touched with some added percussion and other surprises over the course of the record – but all with this lean, sharp instrumental style that never needs any vocals, nor any other added elements to hold our interest! The set begins with a cover of the Roy Ayers tune "Aragon" – then moves through originals that include "Build Bridges", "Roxy Funk", "Gloria's Anthem", "El Nino", "Sucker Punch", "Costa Blues", and "Campus Life". ~ Dusty Groove

Brenda Earle Stokes "Solo Sessions Volume 1"

 Brenda Earle Stokes has a new album "Solo Sessions Volume 1" - a solo piano and voice project that was recorded in just under 4 hours in her hometown of Sarnia, Ontario, Canada.  As a follow up to her 2014 studio release Right About Now, she wanted to go back to the simplicity of her favorite jazz records by recording live with no overdubs, edits or corrections.  What you hear is exactly what came out in the moment. 

She was inspired by many of the great piano/voice duo records - Ella/Oscar, Tony Bennett/Bill Evans and Fred Hersch/all the singers he has worked with.  There have been very few albums put out in this voice/piano solo format, which made this project both terrifying and exhilarating. 

Brenda Earle Stokes is a rare jazz artist with a true command of both the piano and the voice. As a follow-up to her critically acclaimed 2014 studio album Right About Now, Stokes sought to challenge herself to dig deep and share the full scope of her talents in the most intimate setting possible. In her latest album Solo Sessions Volume 1, Brenda explores the rarely- recorded format of solo piano/voice, showcasing her mesmerizing fluidity as both singer and pianist. Recorded in a single four-hour session in her hometown of Sarnia, Ontario, Canada, Brenda explores a wide spectrum of material, including jazz standards, original compositions and seldom-heard compositions by George Shearing and Steve Swallow. She rounds out the recording with lush jazz arrangements of songs recorded by k.d. lang, Michael McDonald and Huey Lewis, showing the full range of her musical curiosities.

The official release date is November 15th. 

Check out the first single off the new record: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9xwBx8sPmwE

www.brendaearle.com

Jazz chanteuse Kinga Heming aiming for a GRAMMY® nomination

A GRAMMY® nomination would remain forever in the heart of jazz chanteuse Kinga Heming

Tucked away in the dimly lit vocal booth of producer Gabriel Mark Hasselbach’s recording studio in Vancouver, jazz vocalist Kinga Heming tapped into the powerful emotions that fill her newly released third album, “Forever in My Heart.” While tracking “The Very Thought of You” from the Great American Songbook, something clicked as she crooned the lyrics “Forever in my heart, the very thought of you.” Hasselbach knew instantly that he had uncovered the soul of the singer, the magic ingredient that makes her record special. 

“That is the title of your album,” Hasselbach said to Heming about the first-round GRAMMY ballot contender for Jazz Vocal Album, “Forever in My Heart.”

Heming identifies herself as a singer and a storyteller. While the eight tunes she recorded for “Forever in My Heart” are standards, she selected each song because of her personal connection to each one. 

“These were songs that were introduced to me at a very young age. Gabriel suggested that I choose songs that I feel reflect on my life. So, I chose the ones that I felt really connected to because, to be honest, when I sing a song, it’s not just singing a song. It’s not just reciting the lyrics to make it sound pretty. It’s me telling a story. And every single song on the record is me telling a story,” said the Polish-born Heming, who moved to Ottawa, Ontario in Canada when she was five and now resides in the small British Columbian town of Kelowna.

“When I sing songs, I never make myself emotional to the point of getting moved by a song. However, one of the songs on the album that does hold a soft spot in my heart is ‘Here’s to Life.’ When I sing it, I kind of felt like Johnny Mandel wrote that song for me. Lyrically, every single part of that song, it’s just me.”

Garnering airplay on Canadian radio from coast to coast, “Forever in My Heart” is an acoustic jazz vocal album. Heming’s elegant and graceful voice is embellished by Miles Black’s dramatic piano melodies and supple basslines, Joel Fountain’s genteel drumming and Hasselbach’s astute trumpet expositions. On “Nature Boy,” Heming’s exquisite voice rides the rhythmic groove etched by guitarist Loni Moger and upright bassist Bernie Addington with evocative shadowing emoted from Hasselbach’s muted trumpet.     

Heming celebrated the album release last week by performing the material live at the Rotary Center for the Arts at the Mary Irwin Theatre in Kelowna where she shared the stage with Hasselbach, Black, Moger, Addington and drummer Tony Ferrero. Bonding with her audience as she tells her intimate stories through song is important to the singer.

“It’s me telling a story to everybody in the audience and for me to move an audience with my songs is even better,” Heming said before returning the focus to “Forever in My Heart.” 

“At the end of the day, I know for myself, and from my own perspective, that I recorded this (album) from the bottom of my heart. That’s why I came up with ‘Forever in My Heart’; because every single part of that story is held forever in my heart.”

Soul-Jazz flutist Kim Scott emerges in the GRAMMY® race

It was a hot July for soul-jazz flutist Kim Scott, who rocketed like fireworks to the top of the Billboard chart with her first No. 1 single, which has inserted the emerging artist into the GRAMMY conversation. Scott’s solo on “Emerge” made the first-round ballot for Best Improvised Jazz Solo while the album on which the track appears, “Free to Be,” is garnering consideration in the Best Contemporary Instrumental Album category.  

Scott wrote “Emerge” with keyboardist Jonathan Fritzen, a hitmaker who is featured delivering his own shimmering solo. However, it is the flautist’s fanciful flourishes that are meriting consideration from the voting members of The Recording Academy for the 62nd GRAMMY Awards that take place on January 26, 2020. 

After setting the stage to perfection with a Billboard chart-topping single that also went No. 1 on the Groove Jazz Music chart, Innervision Records dropped “Free to Be,” Scott’s fourth album, in mid-July. She had a hand in writing five of the album’s nine songs, which offer an alluring blend of instrumental pop appeal, jazz spontaneity and funky R&B grooves. Scott’s classically trained flute melodies share the spotlight equitably on a few numbers with prominent guest soloists Fritzen, saxophonist Jazmin Ghent and Pieces of A Dream keyboardist James Lloyd. Guitarist Eric Essix, drummer/percussionist James “PJ” Spraggins and bassist Sean Michael Ray anchor the rhythm section with compelling textures and vibrant harmonies crafted by keyboardist/programmer/producer Kelvin Wooten, keyboardists West Byrd and Jaden Scott, alto saxophonist Cameron Ross and instrument programmer Dimitri Turner. The disc’s second single, the bumping “Take It To The Rink,” is presently skating laps around playlists after earning Most Added honors in its debut week at radio.    

In addition to her recording career, Scott hosts the nationally syndicated “Block Party Radio Show,” which added to its growing list of stations with the recent pickup on Alabama Public Radio, an NPR affiliate. The artist infuses her energy and enthusiasm into the weekly broadcast featuring the latest  contemporary jazz, urban and Latin jazz releases. 

The Birmingham, Alabama-based Scott debuted in 2011 with “Crossing Over.” Her records have consistently produced Billboard Top 20 singles. On the concert stage, she’s performed at clubs and marquee festivals, including Catalina Island JazzTrax Festival and Seabreeze Jazz Festival. Scott is also a member of the all-female supergroup Jazz in Pink with whom she has played shows across the US. 

http://kimscottmusic.com

Bassist Brian Bromberg goes viral unapologetically with over 1.2 million video views

Bassist Brian Bromberg goes viral unapologetically with over 1.2 million video views sparks the release of the furiously funky “Minneapolis, 1987”

Every recording artist dreams of having a video go viral, but jazz bassist Brian Bromberg never imagined that one of his clips would receive over one million views. The Grammy-nominated musician who thrives in both electric and acoustic bass settings unassumingly posted a live performance video with his Unapologetically Funky Big Bombastic Band on his Facebook pages featuring a monster bass solo on the funk throwdown “Minneapolis, 1987.” Something magical happened. Amassing over 1.2 million views to date across multiple social media platforms, the voracious response to the video spurred Bromberg to drop the track as a single, the fourth from his “Thicker Than Water” album. The single goes for playlist adds on October 14.

Filmed during last spring’s Berks Jazz Festival, Bromberg’s “Minneapolis, 1987” blows the roof off the building as the bassman unleashes a torrid, bass-in-your-face solo. Bromberg thumps away feverishly accompanied by saxophonist Everette Harp, guitarist Ray Fuller, keyboardist Tom Zink, drummer Tony Moore and the fire power of the five-piece Berks Horns.

“I knew this project (“Thicker Than Water”) was special and the band was special, so I wanted to have some videos from some of the festivals we played. I recorded in front of a live audience at three different venues. This is the first time in my career that I have done that,” said Bromberg, a musician, producer and songwriter who has crafted a diverse 25-album catalogue, resulting in five No. 1 hits and more than a dozen Top 5 and Top 10 singles.

Bromberg posted the “Minneapolis, 1987” video on his Facebook pages where it struck a chord instantaneously, long before he added it to his YouTube page (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=86aHMo3hds0). Conceiving the song happened just as organically as the video’s popularity.  

“I was doing something in the house while the TV was on and there was a commercial that came on that got my attention because the music was slammin’! I have no idea what the commercial was for, but the vibe was great and got me in a funky mood. The next thing I know, I have my bass on, and I am playing and grooving. Poof! The song just came out and wrote itself. The first thing I thought of and came to mind was the music that came out of Minneapolis in the mid-80s. The sound, the feel, the vibe, the energy, etc. So, the song wrote and named itself. What else could I call it? You hear it and you instantly know the city and the era that inspired it,” Bromberg recalled. 

The jazz-funk-R&B jam session that is “Thicker Than Water” has thrived ever since Artistry Music dropped the collection last year. The first single, “Coupe Deville,” drove into the No. 1 spot on the Billboard chart. The title track followed, going Top 10 at Billboard and No. 2 on the iTunes jazz chart. “Thicker Than Water,” which topped the Billboard albums chart, showcases Bromberg collaborating with Harp, Randy Brecker, Paul Jackson Jr., Najee, Marion Meadows, Brian Simpson and the late George Duke. The unexpected reaction to the live video has given the album new life and may be the inspiration for Bromberg’s next project.       

“We actually might release a live CD, which would be cool as I have never done a live CD of my own music,” said Bromberg, who may opt to do another studio project first. “I have a ton of ideas and snippets of parts of songs and vibes. I’m not sure if I am going to do some special reissues, remixed-remastered CDs of previous recordings, a live CD or a new album of all original music. I would imagine it will be on the funky side if it is a new CD.”

https://brianbromberg.net

Frank Zappa's Legendary 1969 First Solo Album, "Hot Rats"

Fifty years ago today, Frank Zappa's inimitable, groundbreaking first solo album, Hot Rats, was released, putting the songwriter and musician on the map as a virtuosic guitarist and changing the course of music forever with its conceptual, compositional and technological innovations. Self-described as a "movie for your ears," the mostly instrumental 1969 album was a new musical avenue for Zappa following the dissolution of his band The Mothers Of Invention as he melded the sophistication of jazz with the attitude of rock and roll to create a highly influential masterpiece widely hailed today as a pioneering album of jazz-rock fusion.

On December 20, just one day before what would have been Frank Zappa's 79th birthday, Zappa Records and UMe will celebrate Hot Rats and the legendary composer's highly prolific 1969 period with a mammoth six-disc boxed set titled, The Hot Rats Sessions. This expansive new collection documents and compiles every composition recorded during several days in July 1969 when Zappa recorded Hot Rats and a wealth of other material that ended up being used throughout multiple releases during his lifetime. Filled with an abundance of rare and unedited mixes, work mixes, relevant Vault nuggets and complete basic tracks mixed from the original multi-track master tapes by Craig Parker Adams and mastered by Bob Ludwig in 2019, the collection provides a fascinating look into the making of this classic album, and includes essentially every musical entity that was recorded during these iconic sessions.

Overseen by the Zappa Trust and produced by Ahmet Zappa and Zappa Vaultmeister, Joe Travers, The Hot Rats Sessions will be available in a 6CD boxed set and digitally, including Apple Digital Master. This creatively fertile time in Zappa's career is visually brought to life through a beautiful 28-page booklet featuring striking never-before-seen images of the recording sessions by Bill Gubbins, photographs of the master tapes and tape boxes, and stunning outtakes from original Hot Rats cover photographer, Andee Nathanson's shoot with Miss Christine. Nathanson provides the collection's new cover image and several unreleased photos, all from the same photo shoot, captured on Infrared film which gave the original album its otherworldly look. The photographer vividly details the shoot in the liner notes which also includes essays by Zappa collaborator Ian Underwood and Vaultmeister Travers and an appreciation from "The Simpsons" creator and lifelong Zappa fan, Matt Groening, who recounts his first time listening to Hot Rats as a teenager: "From the opening moments of that unforgettable drum fill, I was transported. The kaleidoscopic, calliopean, dare-I-say-callipygian, mini-masterpiece 'Peaches En Regalia' elevated my scrawny body into the air, spun me around like a propeller beanie, and melted my brain."

The Hot Rats Sessions also includes a one-of-a-kind "Zappa Land" board game where fans are tasked with helping Frank get back to the studio to finish Hot Rats. All boxes preordered via Zappa.com will come with an instant grat download of the unreleased outtake, "It Must Be A Camel" (1969 Mix Outtake). Listen to the track and preorder The Hot Rats Sessions now: https://UMe.lnk.to/HotRats50thPR

Two exciting new vinyl releases will also be issued to celebrate the 50th anniversary: the original Hot Rats album will be pressed on limited edition translucent hot pink 180-gram vinyl featuring the 1969 mix mastered from the original analog master tapes by Bernie Grundman in 2008 and pressed at Pallas in Germany, and a limited edition 10" picture disc Peaches En Regalia EP will be released in conjunction with Record Store Day's Black Friday on November 29. The EP has rare mono mixes on Side A of "Peaches En Regalia" and "Little Umbrellas," intended in 1969 as a promotional single, and the 1969 unreleased rhythm track mixes from the forthcoming boxed set on the flipside.

Hot Rats was composed, arranged, and produced by Zappa who played guitar on all tracks and delivered extraordinary solos throughout. One of the best-selling albums of his career, the six-song record is made up of five instrumentals, including one of his most beloved works, "Peaches En Regalia." Frequent Zappa collaborator Don Van Vliet aka Captain Beefheart provides his unmistakable vocals to lone non-instrumental, the skronky blues-rock number, "Willie The Pimp." Star musicians on these sessions include multi-instrumentalist Ian Underwood, violinists Don "Sugarcane" Harris and Jean Luc Ponty, bassist Max Bennett, drummers Jon Guerin (Max and Jon played together in the famed fusion outfit L.A. Express), Paul Humphrey and Ron Selico, R&B pioneer Johnny Otis and his 15-year-old son, Shuggie Otis who lays down some astounding, ahead of his time bass lines on "Peaches En Regalia" and several other tracks.

The Hot Rats Sessions offers a riveting and revealing fly-on-the-wall experience by showcasing the genesis and evolution of the Hot Rats songs as well as tracks that would be featured on Zappa's acclaimed albums, Burnt Weeny Sandwich, Weasels Ripped My Flesh, Studio Tan and Chunga's Revenge. Hot Rats was the first record to be recorded on a prototype 16-track tape machine and this new technology, along with Zappa's overdub techniques, further inspired him to create and innovate. The first three and a half discs of the set are dedicated to the basic track recording sessions recorded at T.T.G. Studios in Hollywood, California on July 18, 28, 29 and 30th, and allows listeners the opportunity to experience what it would be like to be in the studio as Zappa perfected these compositions. His intense work ethic is on full display and a newfound respect is gained for the choices he made when creating the final masterwork.

The fifth and sixth discs of the set presents the original Hot Rats album with Zappa's 1987 digital re-mix along with an assortment of extras such as vintage promotional audio ads for the album, the mono singles of "Peaches En Regalia" and "Little Umbrellas" and rare mixes of more than a dozen tracks. The Hot Rats Sessions is rife with unreleased session material and also includes the first-ever official release of "Bognor Regis," and several unedited masters of songs like "Peaches En Regalia," "Twenty Small Cigars," "Toads Of The Short Forest," "Lil' Clanton Shuffle" and "Directly From My Heart To You."

The Hot Rats Sessions provides an awe-inspiring snapshot of an especially productive time for Zappa, who in the year 1969 alone, outside of his own projects, produced Captain Beefheart's outsider classic, Trout Mask Replica and the one and only album for The GTO's, toured and had his second child. With this new, exciting deep dive, fans can explore one of Zappa's most revered records like never before and experience how it coalesced to become one of the greatest albums of all time.

This month, just in time for Halloween, Zappa's two complete Halloween shows recorded on October 31, 1973 in Chicago will be released on October 25 via Zappa Records/UMe. These completely unreleased live recordings total more than four and a half hours and feature songs from across his prolific catalog. Continuing the Halloween series that the Zappa Trust began in 2017 with the acclaimed Halloween 77 releases, Halloween 73 will be released as a specially designed, limited run four-disc costume box complete with a FRANKenZAPPA mask and gloves, housed in a display worthy box.

 

Chucho Valdés Receives A 2019 Latin Grammy® Award Nomination in Best Latin Jazz Album for Latest Album JAZZ BATÁ 2

Congratulations to acclaimed pianist, composer and bandleader Chucho Valdés on his 2019 Latin Grammy® Award nomination for Best Latin Jazz Album with his latest release, Jazz Batá 2. This is Valdes’ eleventh nomination, having previously won three Latin Grammy® Awards, one each for the albums New Conceptions and Canciones Ineditas as well as the 2018 Lifetime Achievement Award from the Latin Grammy® Awards Association.

Jazz Batá 2, composer, pianist and bandleader Chucho Valdés’ first album for Mack Avenue Records, marks a new peak of creativity for the artist, even as it revisits the small-group concept of his 1972 Cuban album Jazz Batá. That album upon release was originally considered experimental at the time, but the trio project – featuring no drum set and two virtuosi who would subsequently be charter members of Irakere: Carlos del Puerto (bass) and Oscar Valdés (batâ: the sacred, hourglass shaped drums of the Yoruba religion in Cuba) – would now be considered contemporary.

Recorded in two and a half days at John Lee’s studio in New Jersey, Jazz Batá 2 is both rhythmic and lyrical at once. The six-hand complexity of the batá repertoire – the deep classical music of West Africa – permeates Valdés’ piano solos throughout the album. “I applied to my solos the different rhythms of the batá,” he says. “The piano is of course a harmonic instrument, but it’s percussive too, and you can play percussion with it.”

It’s an exceptionally tight band. All of the three supporting musicians – Yaroldy Abreu Robles, Dreiser Durruthy Bombalé, and Yelsy Heredia – are from the Guantánamo region and have deep roots in Cuban musical culture as well as being conservatory-trained. Yelsy and Dreiser grew up together, went through music school together, graduated together, and have been playing music side-by-side literally all their lives. Yaroldy, who plays a wide variety of drums – congas, batá, bongó, orchestral percussion – has been working with Valdés for 20 years. “He always knows what I’m going to want to do,” says Valdés.

Jazz Batá 2 also marks the centenary of Valdés’ late father and teacher, Ramón “Bebo” Valdés (b. 1918). 

These two giants of Cuban music shared a birthday – October 9 – so Bebo’s 100th will be Chucho’s 77th. Between the two of them, they’ve exercised a massive musical influence since the 1940s. Bebo’s 1952 creation of the commercially failed but artistically successful batanga – which combined batá drums with a state-of-the-art jazz band – was a direct inspiration for the batá-driven jazz of Irakere, as well as for Jazz Batá and its sequel being released 46 years later. This stretch of time reinforces the enduring and magnificent career Valdés has cultivated over the 77 years of his life, with no signs of slowing down and never one to conform or expand the boundaries of his musical inventions.

Barney Wilen Quartet Live in Tokyo '91

Unreleased Live Album Featuring French Cinema Composer and Saxophonist Barney Wilen

 For most American jazz aficionados, Elemental Music’s new 2-disc set, Barney Wilen Quartet Live in Tokyo ’91 will be a revelation. In the U.S. the remarkable saxophonist is best known as Miles Davis’ choice to participate in his groundbreaking soundtrack to Louis Malle’s 1958 film Ascenseur Pour L'échafaud (Elevator to the Gallows). Wilen is also known for playing on the soundtrack for Roger Vadim's 1960 film Les Liaisons Dangereuses, alongside Thelonious Monk and Art Blakey. 

As a presence on the Parisian scene, he performed with major figures, including Benny Golson, J.J Johnson and Bud Powell, and recorded as a sideman with such heavyweights as Blakey, Monk, Powell and John Lewis. A man of many interests and artistic depth, he composed for French filmmakers during the ‘80s & ‘90s–and experimented over the years in forms ranging from rock and punk to musique concrete, African music and the sounds of Grand Prix auto racing–but in the 1990s his own artistic vision primarily returned to the hard bop domain of his earlier years. Live in Tokyo ‘91 was recorded at the famed Keystone Korner on his second trip to Japan, where he achieved a deep adulation among its audiences during his various trips there during the ‘90s. What better way could there be to understand a musician’s essence than with a live performance in front of a deeply appreciative audience accompanied by totally sympathetic musicians? 

For this tour, Wilen assembled an outstanding rhythm section of Olivier Hutman on acoustic and electric piano; Gilles Naturel on bass and drummer Peter Gritz – Hutman facile, at ease in all styles, sensitive in support and creative in soloing; Naturel with a solid rhythmic thrust, whether swinging or freer, always maintaining a solid pulse; and Gritz very creative without ever losing the rhythmic body of the piece, deftly fitting into the context of each piece. The synergy they create with Wilen is splendid, providing a fertile setting for his delightfully exploratory and exciting solos. His playing is clean, precise and fully in control, calling to mind the fluid lyricism of Stan Getz and the richly visceral muscularity of Sonny Rollins. 

His free jazz experience is evidenced often in his solos as he blends free blowing elements into his hard-driving swing without any disruption of the flow and not even a wisp of affectation–reminiscent of the straight-ahead players in the ‘60s and ‘70s like Joe Henderson who adopted various elements of free jazz into their vernaculars. From the first few seconds of the opening piece, the tone of the recording is fully apparent–no nonsense, straightforward jazz featuring the swaggering and authoritative sound of a musician in full command of his consummate musical abilities. The live setting allows for extended pieces that give Wilen plenty of room to stretch out on the adventurously intriguing tales that he weaves through his imaginative and colorful expressiveness. The repertoire itself conjures a vivid portrait of Wilen as well, and although he was a fine composer, he bypassed his own compositions and instead selected a delightfully varied set of music that ideally encapsulates his artistic persona. 

Contained here are compositions by personally relevant jazz composers and past collaborators, timeless standards and a couple of pieces by the internationally renowned and iconic French singer/songwriter Charles Trénet–the gently swinging “L’âme Des Poètes” and “Que reste-t-il de nos amours?,” an evocative and atmospheric balled with a certain edge that features Wilen’s sinuous soprano playing and Hutman on electric piano. The soprano/electric piano combination is also employed to great effect on the buoyant groove of “Latin Alley” by pianist Alain Jean-Marie, with whom Wilen frequently collaborated since the 1980s. Another frequent collaborator–vocalist Marie Möör–contributed “Mon Blouson ~ C’est Ma Maison,” a straight ahead driving swinger with free jazz colorings in the tenor solo and an adventurously free rhythm section. 

A staple of Wilen’s live performances was the Mexican standard “Bésame Mucho,” here a hard driving scorcher propelled by deftly punctuated rhythms and subtly effective changes in tempo. Four more classics are included as well–all from the Great American Songbook of the 1930s. “Beautiful Love,” which opens the album, and Irving Berlin’s “How Deep Is the Ocean” are both offered in a comfortable mid-tempo groove. “Old Folks,” mentioned in Wilen’s introduction as often performed by Charlie Parker and making the gentle ballad that moves into double time an homage to Bird; and Gordon Jenkins’ “Goodbye” with a highly original approach to the exquisite ballad, without in any way losing the essence of its beauty. 

From the jazz canon, Duke Jordan’s score for Les Liaisons Dangereuses offers “No Problem,” a daring interpretation with interesting time shifts and Wilen tearing it up over the sizzling trio. Appropriately, three pieces from titanic tenormen round out the set. John Coltrane’s basic but captivating “Bass Blues” shows Wilen in a deeply blues-drenched mode. Sonny Rollins’ “Little Lu” is a jaunty up-tempo calypso with sparkling drums and an infectious ostinato piano and a remarkably fluid and exciting tenor solo. As an encore, Rollins’ “Doxy” receives an unusually funky treatment. Wilen’s spoken introductions on every piece are an added bonus and offer further insight to the man. The set boasts carefully curated packaging, with a 20-page booklet peppered with photos taken during the date and with plenty of information about Wilen. 

Elemental Music reached out to three jazz giants of the French jazz scene–Laurent de Wilde, René Urtreger and Daniel Humair–about both their reminiscences and angles of perspective about the unique persona that was Barney Wilen. Their comments, plus the recollections of Hutman and Naturel, paint a fascinating study of this very special saxophonist and composer; But no better portrait can be displayed than the extraordinary music contained in this set of Barney Wilen at his best: live and spontaneous in front of a deeply appreciative audience. It is both a fitting tribute and a marvelous introduction to a great saxophonist.

 

AZYMUTH EUROPEAN TOUR AUTUMN 2019

  Azymuth return! Bringing their two-volume archive of Demos (1973-75), the trio will play a series of shows transporting you back to those hallowed early years, alongside classics from across their phenomenal five-decade career. Book now to avoid disappointment. ⚡

October 30 - New Morning, Paris 

October 31 - Jazznojazz Festival, Zürich 

November 1 - Hideaway, London

November 2 - Hideaway, London 

November 3 - Band On The Wall, Manchester 

November 4 - The Spot, Liverpool 

November 5 - Apollo, Milan 

November 7 - Monk, Rome 

November 8 - Teatro Forma, Bari 

New Music Releases: Jacky Terrasson; Ash Walker; GoGo Penguin

Jacky Terrasson - 53

With the Sept. 27 release of 53, the 15th album in a recording career that has now spanned 25 years since his stunning self-titled debut on Blue Note in 1994, pianist Jacky Terrasson presents a magnificent collection of original pieces in the form of an intimate confession brought to life by a varied cast of trio mates. Hear the new tracks “The Call,” dedicated to Ahmad Jamal, and “Palindrome” on our playlist Jacky Terrasson: The Finest which looks back across his fantastic Blue Note catalog with highlights from albums including Reach, A Paris, Smile, & Rendezvous featuring Cassandra Wilson.

Ash Walker - Aquamarie

We really loved Ash Walker the last time around – but here, he really blows us away by stepping forth into a style that's even stronger than before – more focused, more soul-based, and with a depth that should really put him on the map! As before, there's lots of funky jazz in the mix – but often abstracted and produced in ways that open up the core elemental sounds – and singer Laville is upfront in the mix on most tracks, really helping give the music a message that matches its sound – while Ash works in the background on a range of other instruments alongside the band, including the studio as a whole – which he really seems to have mastered. Titles include "Brave New World", "Finishing Touch", "Under The Sun", "Time", "Come With Us", "Ain't Got You", "Dagon's Cashmere Jumper", "Fat King Smoke", and "I Need Money".

GoGo Penguin - Ocean in a Drop: Music for Film

UK trio GoGo Penguin will release a new EP Ocean in a Drop: Music for Film on Oct. 4, with 10” vinyl to follow on Oct. 18. The 5-track EP draws inspiration from the band’s celebrated live soundtrack for Godfrey Reggio’s 1982 cult doc Koyaanisqatsi, which the band will perform live with the film next month in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Berlin, Paris, London & Manchester, in addition to an appearance at the ACL Music Festival in Austin.

Urban-Jazz pianist Kayla Waters is in “Full Bloom”

After launching her recording career with back-to-back No. 1 Billboard singles, urban-jazz pianist Kayla Waters is truly a blooming artist on the rise. The third single from her “Coevolve” album is the aptly titled “Full Bloom,” which goes for playlist adds on Monday. The single drops during the period that voters are considering Waters’ music and video for nominations in four categories in first-round voting for the 62nd GRAMMY® Awards.

Under consideration in first-round GRAMMY voting for Jazz Instrumental Album and Engineered Album, Non-Classical, Waters composed the material for “Coevolve” conceptually. To tell the story of a seedling’s evolution into a blossoming plant on “Full Bloom,” she collaborated with Michael Broening. The Washington, DC-based musician-songwriter-producer jetted to Broening’s Phoenix, Arizona studio for the session. The night before meeting with Broening, Waters doodled on a baby grand piano into the wee hours of the night eager to come up with something fresh. The next day, she presented her ideas, which became the essence of the song.    

“During that late-night session, I created the chords to what are now the piano verses of ‘Full Bloom.’ I wanted to come up with a unique concept for the song and with Broening’s help, it naturally came to life. When composing, I wanted the musical construct of the song to literally sound like the blossoming of a flower or in the case of ‘Coevolve,’ the evolution of a seed into a beautiful plant. In the song’s intro, you’ll hear me play a glissando upward on the piano to emulate the sound of blossoming,” said Waters, an inspired 28-year-old artist of substance, style and divine depth.

“Full Bloom” is the only song that Waters wrote with a collaborator for “Coevolve” thus the process was different than that of the rest of the record’s creation. With Broening programming the invigorating track, Waters’ ebullient piano is bolstered by guest soloist Nick Colionne’s crisp electric jazz guitar licks. Freddie Fox adds rhythm guitar to the melody and Mel Brown’s bass enhances the brisk groove.

“The embryonic stage of the song was conceived in Phoenix during our first studio session together. From that point, we worked over cyberspace to get the song done. It was actually the longest song to complete for ‘Coevolve,’ likely due to the collaborative efforts, but it’s also significant and symbolic as a plant takes time to grow, to be nurtured and to bloom,” said Waters, who is signed to Trippin ‘N’ Rhythm Records.

When Waters’ sophomore album, “Coevolve,” was released last fall, she scored her second consecutive No. 1 hit when the collection’s premiere single, “Zephyr,” topped the Billboard chart. The accompanying video for “Zephyr” (http://bit.ly/2mzMhp6) is on the first-round GRAMMY ballot in the Music Video category. Also appearing on the first-round GRAMMY ballot for Instrumental Composition is the second single from “Coevolve,” “Obsidian Rain,” on which Waters passionately pours her classically trained piano prowess throughout the ethereal jazz-rock-fusion amalgam that she artfully crafted.      

Waters debuted on 2017’s “Apogee,” powered by the defining No. 1 Billboard single, “I Am.” She won the Rising Star in Jazz award from the Black Women in Jazz and the Arts Foundation and was named Best Jazz Artist at DC’s Wammies. For more information, please visit http://www.iamkaylawaters.com.