New Music Releases: Nu Era (Marc Mac); Sokratis Votskos Quartet; Joshua Abrams & Natural Information Society

Nu Era (Marc Mac) - Evolve

Evolve is a great title for this full length set – as Marc Mac is one of the few talents from the 4Hero generation who's really evolved over the years, and who's continued to give us some really incredible music – a jazz-based take on the realm of beats and keyboards, with a cosmic-driven sort of energy that sends the grooves soaring out into time and space! The music is spare and simple, but so much more soulful than so many of his contemporaries – a masterpiece of doing a lot with a little, and creating surprising depth from very familiar elements. The tunes are all instrumental, but have a deeper spiritual meaning – and titles include "The Mind Of Jacob", "Around The Sun", "Closer To Mars", "Flying Colors", "Theme From Joe Smoke", and "Metal Butterfly". ~  Dusty Groove

Sokratis Votskos Quartet - Sketching The Unknown

A great global bit of spiritual jazz from reedman Sokratis Votskos – who works here in a style that not only follows some great European traditions of modal jazz, but which also resonates with some of the deeper roots of Greek music too! Sokratis plays soprano sax and bass clarinet – and the piano, bass, and drums weave these really magical rhythms that seem to set the leader free – often with echoes of a longer cultural tradition, but delivered with really personal intensity in the solos – in a way that makes us sure that Votskos is going to be a name to follow for years to come! A great new session that's very much in the tradition of some of the Spiritual Jazz compilations on the Jazzman label – with titles that include "Quadrum Waltz", "Syncopatient", "Sketching The Unknown", "Sevenates", and "Almopian Etude". ~ Dusty Groove

Joshua Abrams & Natural Information Society - Mandatory Reality

A really fantastic album from bassist Joshua Abrams – a set that may well be his greatest to date – and that's saying a lot, given all the other work he's given us in recent years! The double-length set has Abrams working with this lineup of improvising jazz talents, but in a way that's very rhythmic, and very organic – slow-building songs that almost seem to mix jazz with inspiration from gamelan music, but with very spiritual currents overall – music that builds slowly and flows to the cosmos – almost in a way that reminds us of the seminal "On The Beach" by Phil Cohran & The Artistic Heritage Ensemble! Yet Abrams is very much in his own territory here – working with a lineup that features the leader on guimbri, Lisa Alvarado on harmonium and gongs, Mikel Avery on tam-tam and gongs, Ben Boye on electric autoharp and piano, Hamid Drake on tabla and tar, Ben Lamar Gay on cornet, Nick Mazzarella on alto saxophone, and Jason Stein on bass clarinet – with every member of the ensemble also performing on flutes. The sound is incredible – music to build a bridge to the heavens – and titles include "In Memory's Prism", "Finite", "Shadow Conductor", and "Agree". ~ Dusty Groove

New Music Releases: Marion Meadows; Eliel Lazo; Ingrid Laubrock & Aki Takase

Marion Meadows – Christmas With You

Marion reaches back to his childhood for the inspiration that fuels his debut Holiday album “Christmas With You.” Marion teams up with veteran Producer Rhani Song to record an album that has something for everyone… “Rhani Song and I decided to get together and create something special. The result is a body of work, musically familiar yet surprising in many ways. We even went back with some moody tenor on ”Silent Night “and ”We Three Kings” and invited stellar guitar guests like Norman Brown and Perry Hughes, along with Blake Aaron, Wayne Gerard and Eric Leone. Also joining me were bass greats Chip Shearin and Will Gaines along with Harmonica virtuoso Julian Davis. Band mate, Will Brock offeres up a great arrangement of the classic God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen. Up and coming star Trez co wrote and sang on the title track “Christmas With You”. And Gail Jhonson pens a very cool arrangement of “The First Noel”. New comers Corey Jarell and Anetra Rene shine on the song “Christmas On The Radi”.

Eliel Lazo - Cuban Jazz Report

A tight set of Latin jazz, and very much in the spirit of the title – featuring a quartet led by percussionist Eliel Lazo, recorded with some great chorus vocals from the members of the group! The record's not nearly as rootsy or slavishly classic Cuban as others of this nature – which means that the whole thing explodes with all these fresh colors and rhythmic changes – almost at a level that reminds us of some of the recent forays into the underground Havana scene by the Brownswood Records label! Players include Javier Gutierrez Masso Caramelo on piano, Yasser Morejon Pino on bass, and Raul Pineda on drums – and titles include "Cromason", "Havana Chants", "One Night One Song", "Nueva Amanecer", "A Cuban Blues", "Camina Y Ve", "Monday Evening", and "Para Luisa". ~ Dusty Groove

Ingrid Laubrock & Aki Takase - Kasumi

We seem to appreciate the saxophone talents of Ingrid Laubrock more and more with each new record we hear – and that's definitely the case on this beautiful session – which has her improvising these really beautiful lines alongside the piano of Aki Takase! Aki's tone is usually dark, and Laubrock almost feels as if she's counterbalancing with these colors from her horn that are sharp, but bright at the same time – this really unique voice, especially on soprano sax – which is used here in ways that are even more impressive than some of the tenor-based titles. Most tunes are relatively short, and there's almost a mix of modern, personal, and poetic that recalls some of our favorite 80s sessions on the Nato/Chabada label. Titles include "Brookish", "Chimera", "Harlekin", "Dark Clouds", "Kasumi", "Andalusia", "Scurry", and "Sunken Forest". ~ Dusty Groove

New Music Releases: Fay Victor ; Emma-Jean Thackray/Makaya McCraven; 3TM

Fay Victor - Barn Songs

Fay Victor has always been an experimental sort of singer – and here, she works in a very experimental setting – a "chamber trio" that just features her voice alongside the cello of Marika Hughes and alto sax of Darius Jones! Fay's voice is wonderful – cresting with the sort of sharp edges that Abbey Lincoln would bring to her more pensive, more avant performances – set up in a way that also echoes some of the classic modes of Jeanne Lee – but with these beautifully poetic lyrics that are very much Victor's own. Titles include "Stealaway", "Last Night's Dinner", "Dream State", "Sometimes", "Talk Talk (part 2)", "Nico", and "There They Are". ~ Dusty Groove

Emma-Jean Thackray / Makaya McCraven - Too Shy (12 inch version) / Run Dem (Gilles Peterson edit)

A great little record that continues the Chicago/London meeting that was begun in the Makaya McCraven album Where We Come From – a limited single with two collaborative grooves on each side! Emma-Jean Thackray serves up "Too Shy" on side one – a skittish blend of jazz elements, keyboards, and some soaring soulful vocals! Side two features a Gilles Peterson edit of the track "Run Dem" – which has plenty of hefty drums, plus musical contributions from Joe Armon-Jones, Theon Cross, and Soweto Kinch!  ~Dusty Groove

3TM - Lake

Drummer and producer Teppo Mäkynen's 3TM returns with a new album, 'Lake', on 29 November on Helsinki's We Jazz Records. The album is the much awaited follow up to 2017's successful 3TM debut 'Form', which was awarded as the "Jazz Album of the Year" in Mäkynen's native Finland. 'Lake' was preceded by the ambient electronic album'Abyss' in August, which set the mood for what's to come next: a compact yet far-reaching body of work bringing together the trio's acoustic jazz sound and ideas rooted in abstract electronic music in a remarkably boundless way. 'Lake' is a collection of 9 Mäkynen-penned originals ranging from the looping, hypnotic  compositions such as first single 'Laws Of Life' to the delicacy of tracks such as 'Woods'. There is a sense of long form narrative here, evident in glorious, slowly evolving tracks such as 'Lake' and 'A Pile Of Broken Dreams'. The overall sound is swinging, melodic, deep and futuristic. It's acoustic jazz and abstract electronic music understood deeply and used as the base of a new sound, which goes beyond the usual distinctions of "acoustic jazz" or "electronic music". This is music for the present day, moving forward. In the 3TM trio formation Mäkynen is joined by sax man Jussi Kannaste and bassist Antti Lötjönen, both Finnish scene mainstays. The band will celebrate their new release at Helsinki's We Jazz Festival on 7 December.

Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes: Be For Real: The P.I.R. Recordings 1972-1975 Remastered

Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes were one of the very first groups to achieve global success for Philadelphia International Records within its first year as a CBS-distributed label. The 1972 release of two consecutive 'tell-it-like-it-is' ballads 'I Miss You' and 'If You Don't Know Me By Now' marked the start of a four-year association that yielded some of the most enduring recordings in contemporary soul music, in the process creating with label founders Kenny Gamble & Leon Huff and a burgeoning coterie of talented songwriters, arrangers and musicians - a handful of timeless dance music classics including 'The Love I Lost', 'Bad Luck' and 'Don't Leave Me This Way'.

A Philadelphia-based group (The Charlemagnes) became 'The Blue Notes' after Harold Melvin joined them in the mid-'50s and after a number of personnel changes, 'Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes' achieved their first US Top R&B hit in 1965 with 'Get Out (And Cry)'. Mainstays of the popular lounge circuit, Melvin had hired Theodore Pendergrass as the new drummer for the group's touring band in 1970 and by the time the quintet joined the fledgling roster at P.I.R., he had emerged as the lead singer; it was Pendergrass' gospel-honed passion-filled vocals that were front-and-centre of the four gold-certified albums that formed the legacy of treasured recordings included in this glorious 36-track, 3-CD box set.

Disc 1 comprises the 1972 LP, I MISS YOU (originally released as 'Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes' and retitled after the US Top 10 R&B success of their first P.I.R single) and includes the soulful opus 'If You Don't Know Me By Now'; and the 1973 set, BLACK & BLUE particularly memorable for the group's anthemic 'The Love I Lost' and 'Satisfaction Guaranteed (Or Take Your Love Back)'.

Disc 2 features two albums released in 1975: TO BE TRUE which kept the momentum going with 'Where Are All My Friends' and 'Bad Luck' while also introducing female vocalist Sharon Paige via the US R&B chart-topper, 'Hope That We Can Be Together Soon'; and WAKE UP EVERYBODY, the title track of which with its memorably timeless lyrical theme – became the group's final million-seller with Pendergrass who went on to launch his solo career in 1977.

Disc 3 consists of various bonus tracks: the group's cover of Nilsson's 'Everybody's Talkin'' from The Philadelphia All-Stars' 1977 LP, "Let's Clean Up The Ghetto" LP; two dance mixes by legendary remix pioneer Tom Moulton, "Bad Luck" and an eleven-minute version of 'Don't Leave Me This Way', originally a track from the group's final P.I.R. LP never issued as a U.S. single (but covered by Motown's Thelma Houston for whom it became a global smash); and three 'live' recordings from the group's performance at a CBS Records' 1973 convention.

With artwork by Roger Williams and mastering by Nick Robbins, the box set also includes informative notes by renowned US writer Kevin Goins.

Contemporary Guitarist and co-creator of the Imrat guitar Todd Mosby releases fifth album: ‘Open Waters'

Produced by Windham Hill Records founder Will Ackerman, and with a sound described as "an album to daydream to", Open Waters finds Mosby once again embarking on a creative journey navigating through elements of Jazz, New Age, Folk and Indian music. "Open Waters is one of the best project I have been involved with…Todd Mosby is the most unique sounding guitarist I have ever worked with, nobody does what he does…" - Will Ackerman

"This album crosses the full spectrum of the music I have performed and know intimately...from Indian Rag to traditional Jazz to the The Police.  It's a concept album based upon the story of Atlantis (Plato's story about the destruction of the ancient civilization), and what survivors may have felt as they escaped from the deluge in ships heading westward." - Todd Mosby

Coming from a family of inventors (he is the co-inventor of the Imrat guitar along with Kim Schwartz and Imrat Khan), Mosby's early musical DNA was formed from his love of Bluegrass and Folk music, which eventually expanded into Fusion and Jazz.  While a college student, Mosby began studying Indian music (namely classical North Indian music), which led to the genre's incorporation into his music, and sparked the creation of the Imrat guitar [a 20 stringed hybrid sitar guitar musical bridge instrument that allows Western musicians to access Eastern melodies and Eastern musicians to access Western harmonies for the first time]. After 13 years of study with Imrat Khan, Mosby became the only guitarist ever admitted into the Imdhad Khani Gharana, India's most prestigious family of musicians.  "This instrument [Imrat guitar] sounds better than a guitar and sounds better than a sitar…it is an instrument for the 21st century." - Imrat Khan

With more than several accolades and collaborations during his very active career, Mosby has either shared the stage with, or opened up for such luminaries as Michael Manring, Imrat Khan, Foreplay, Spyro Gyra, and several others. He has performed around the world including, Kravis Center (West Palm Beach, FL), The Harris Center (Modesto, CA), Soka University (Aliso Vieja, CA), and many others.

Speaking again on the conceptual nature of the project, Mosby says:

This (the Atlantis reference above) is what I consider an archetype model as well for anyone journeying from one country to another, one city to another or even leaving planet earth to journey into interstellar space for colonization on new worlds.  My mission as an artist is to connect with audiences at the spiritual, emotional and physical levels and as such, change lives."

New Music Releases: Sharon Musgrave, Tribe, Still Moving

Sharon Musgrave – Comfortable Deep

You never know what Sharon Musgrave is going to do next. This new remix is in her line of reasoning. As usual it is a bag of eargasm treats, jazzy soulful, funky and her distinguishable brand of positive wholesomeness. This time Sharon partnered up with Michael MC, Michael Cortello, a DJ and Producer from Italy and together they have created a little gem. Comfortable Deep is a remix off her album Sha’s Archives. With 7 minutes of chilled instrumentation on a free style bass line ever pumping out good vibes only.

Tribe – Hometown: Detroit Sessions 1990-2014

Ignored by the mainstream, many African American jazz artists in Detroit and across the US began creating their own small imprints. Led by Wendell Harrison and Phil Ranelin, Tribe emerged alongside other cultural entities during the early '70s to express self-determination goals in the city. The ‘Hometown’ compilation places the spotlight on the later era of Tribe and Rebirth Inc., with rare and previously unreleased recordings from Harrison’s WenHa/Rebirth Studios and the SereNgeti Gallery And Cultural Center. Among many highlights, Harold McKinney and his “McKinfolk” family of musicians contribute the pulsing ‘Wide And Blue’ and dance celebration ‘Juba’; Phil Ranelin re-works his classic ‘He The One We All Knew’; Poet Mbiyu Chui (Williams Moore), pianist Pamela Wise and percussionist Djallo Djakate spark on the uncompromising ‘Ode To Black Mothers’ and the rallying cry of ‘Marcus Garvey’: “If we ever get together we will astound the world.” Harrison himself evokes the power and majesty of juju on ‘Conjure Man’. ‘Hometown’ is available as a 2LP gatefold, 1CD digipak and for streaming and download.

Still Moving – Still Moving

The debut EP from Still Moving coming out 15 November on Lanquidity. After releasing the acclaimed 'Live In Kalisz 1986' by Sun Ra Arkestra, Lanquidity Records are back with the debut release of a new exciting London trio Still Moving.  Drawing from a wide pool of influences – touching on jazz, folk rhythm traditions, club-oriented electronics, and progressive experimentalism, the trio generate an organic performance rooted in an intimate musical understanding between performers. The self-titled EP consists of 4 recordings reflecting the live, improvisatory nature of the project, mixing raw and dynamic performance with an experimental approach to studio production.

New Orleans band, Naughty Professor, released their new EP Everyday Shredder

Iconoclastic New Orleans based jazz-funk sextet, Naughty Professor, released their newEP, Everyday Shredder, today on all digital platforms. Everyday Shredder brings Naughty Professor back to its 6-piece instrumental roots, highlighting the full-circle maturation the band has experienced over the last few years. The previously released lead single "3 Wise Men" served as a tantalizing taste of the EP and gained notoriety from the likes of HYPE Magazine, and EARMILK who described Naughty Professor as having "astounding chops and a sound that continues to push the boundaries of funk". Developed as a totally organic creation in Bill Daniel’s Wild Child Studios of New Orleans, Everyday Shredder showcases the extraordinary talents of the band and serves as a reminder of Naughty Professor’s innate abilities as a forward thinking funk powerhouse, yet leaves the door open for continued development and expansion into new musical spaces. 

"They mix and mash funk and jazz with a touch of R&B elements that linger in the back. They are full of energy, like a rollercoaster of funky melodies, jamming guitar riffs, and spacey avant-garde jazz. " - The Jamwich

Since the release of their first full length collaborative effort, Identity, Naughty Professor has naturally progressed into many different musical directions, both in the studio and on stage, showcasing their raw ability to perform in a variety of roles. Within days of its release in June 2017, Identity shot up the iTunes Jazz charts to #6. The album’s first single, “Stray,” featuring David Shaw of The Revivalists, has received over 1.3 Million streams on Spotify.  The album saw further integration of musical talents like Eric “Benny” Bloom (Lettuce), Ivan Neville (Dumpstaphunk), and Mike Dillon.

The band has since served as the touring band for diverse acts such as legendary emcee Chali 2na (Jurassic 5) and New Orleans bounce queen Big Freedia, lent their horn section to prominent acts including GRiZ, The Revivalists, TAUK, and Tank and the Bangas, and have collaborated on stage with talented individuals like Marcus King, Shaun Martin (Snarky Puppy), and Paul Meany (MUTEMATH). The whirlwind two-year stretch has landed them on prominent music festivals such as Jam Cruise, Summer Camp, and most recently the Canadian jazz fest circuit, capstoning their summer touring endeavors. Recently returned from a tour in China headlining famed jazz venue The Blue Note, Naughty Professor is excited to bring these new-found influences and lessons into their latest EP, 4 years removed from their last full instrumental release. The difference both as musicians and songwriters is noticeable, and the band feels their best foot is forward with the release of Everyday Shredder.

SONAR with David Torn - Tranceportation (Volume 1)

Swiss band Sonar announces Tranceportation (Volume 1), their fifth studio album and the second by them to feature American avant-guitarist legend, David Torn.

"Had MC Escher made music instead of drawing impossible and perplexing perspectives, it would sound like Sonar" is how writer Sid Smith once assessed the Swiss-based band's work.

It remains an apt description for the outfit's method of creating hypnotic pieces by gradually building intricate patterns of picked notes, plucked harmonics, mesmeric bass, and insistent rhythms.

The music created by Stephan Thelen (tritone guitar), Bernhard Wagner (tritone guitar), Christian Kuntner (tritone bass), Manuel Pasquinelli (drums, percussion) harnesses elements of rock, jazz and contemporary classical minimalism and fuses them to create a distinctive musical language.

Their partnership with David Torn began with their 2018 release, Vortex. Initially brought in as producer, such was Torn's enthusiasm for the quartet's music he couldn't help but add his flowing brand of effusive, vivid soloing and textural layering across the breadth of the record. While that was a spontaneous, off-the-cuff reaction to music that had been composed for a quartet, for Tranceportation the music has been specifically composed with Torn in mind from the very beginning.

Bringing a renowned and adventurous musicality to everything he does, Torn's reputation as a 'wild card' instrumentalist has seen him work with an impressively wide array of diverse artists that includes David Bowie, Laurie Anderson, Bill Bruford, David Sylvian, Tori Amos, Mick Karn, Madonna, Jeff Beck and Jan Garbarek among others.

With parts written and arranged for a new quintet formation of Sonar there's a greater integration of space for improvisation and deeper sonic exploration built into the music. 

Sonar's principal composer, Stephan Thelen, says of Torn, "David is somebody I have known all my life through his music and whom I really admire for his work. So to get him over to work with us in Switzerland first as a producer and then as a player was really exciting." Torn's fluid improvisations over Sonar's tight clusters of sound added yet more depth to their work.

Recorded in Bellmund, Switzerland during a marathon five-day session that yielded over 80 minutes worth of material, they have chosen to release the first half of those sessions as Tranceportation (Volume 1) in November 2019 with Volume 2 scheduled for release in May 2020.

Thelen, who in addition to his work for Sonar has previously been commissioned to write for the acclaimed Kronos Quartet, explains how the music of Tranceportation works. "The seven new pieces which make up the two volumes of Tranceportation are all based on harmonically remarkably simple patterns that only consist of a few notes and that are, in one form or another, repeated throughout the whole piece, which is clearly where the 'trance' element comes in. However, using rhythmical techniques like isorhythms, polyrhythms and odd time signatures, these seemingly simple patterns actually subtly create complex rhythms and twisted sonic illusions."

Likening this aspect of his work to the conceptual puzzles embedded within MC Escher's paintings, Thelen explains that the repetitions don't appear immediately obvious. "So, even if you only hear a few notes, it sometimes takes a very long time until the overall pattern is in fact repeated."

While the conceptual and structural underpinning of Tranceportation's music is vital, so too are the impassioned performances that resonate at the heart of the four tracks that make up Volume 1. Riding alongside the metronomic certainties of the sonic architecture, surges of dialogue and discursive ideas are vented and examined as the tension within the music builds and creative sparks fly.

At its heart, the compositions and performances on Tranceportation invites listeners to step away from the mundane and enter into the transformative space that Sonar and David Torn create. They say every journey begins with a step. This journey begins with your ears.

TRACKS

1. Labyrinth (14:26)

2. Partitions (5:37)

3. Red Sky (11:14)

4. Tunnel Drive (7:42)

Volume 2 is scheduled for release in May 2020.

Jazz/Rock Reissue From David Axelrod - Seriously Deep

The rediscovery of the music of David Axelrod in the 1990s was a revelation to the scores of Hip-Hop and breakbeat DJs that sampled him, but his composition genius was on display as early as the 1960s. After producing and arranging major critical and commercial hits for Lou Rawls, The Electric Prunes, David McCallum, and Julian "Cannonball" Adderley, he was encouraged by Capitol Records to record and produce solo material. Coming right on the heels of The Beatles' revolutionary 1967 album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Heart's Club Band, Axelrod would produce a slew of instrumental baroque pop records, which were intricately orchestrated, fused elements of jazz, psychedelic rock, chamber music, and neo-classical, and tackled issues of mental enlightenment, environmental impact, and would be hailed by critics as highly ambitious pieces of conceptual art.

The albums Song Of Innocence (1968), Songs Of Experience (1969), and Earth Rot (1970) are most often hailed as David Axelrod's finest moments, but little is mentioned of the producer's 1970s material. Among these records is Seriously Deep, his lone album recorded for Polydor, and an unheralded gem of jazz-rock fusion. On Seriously Deep, Axelrod dispenses with the heavily orchestrated measures of previous works to conduct a powerhouse crew of session musicians, including Leon Ndugu Chancler of Santana on drums, Mailto Correa on percussion, Jim Hughart on bass, Joe Sample on electric keys, and many others, with production from frequent Axelrod collaborators Cannonball Adderley and Jimmy Bowen.

Seriously Deep is an obscure release, but also one of David Axlerod's tightest, and most exploratory ones. Across six tracks, Axelrod and his collective of players dip in and out of bounding jazz-funk, Afro-Latin grooves, cinematic flourishes, psychedelic synth washes, and blaring big band horns. It's a singularly insular curiosity of musical impressionism that's equal parts brooding and joyous, a definitive part of Axelrod's discography, and a well of sample material for tracks by Mobb Deep, Large Professor, The Black Eyed Peas, and Beanie Siegel, among others.



Two-Time Grammy Nominated Jazz and R&B Duo The Baylor Project FREE at Harlem Stage

Harlem Stage, the legendary uptown venue that for over 35 years has promoted the creative legacy of Harlem and artists of color from around the corner and across the globe, is proud to present its Fall 2019 season of performances. The season is curated by Monique Martin, Director of Programming for Harlem Stage, and will celebrate the centennial legacy of the Harlem Renaissance. This season also welcomes legendary rock goddess, Nona Hendryx, as the Artistic Director for Harlem Stage’s new year-long initiative focusing on Sun Ra and Afrofuturism. The initiative will present performances that interweave music, technology, literature and dance to celebrate the legacy of visionary and pioneer of Afrofuturism, Sun Ra, along with the contributions of the countless artists he has inspired. Through these two powerful themes, which will carry into the 2020 season, Harlem Stage will reflect on and celebrate the past, present and artistic future of Harlem and explore how the Harlem Renaissance continues to be a rich source of inspiration across the globe while Afrofuturism continues to push the boundaries of our artistic imagination.

On December 5th, Harlem Stage in partnership with Carnegie Hall Citywide will present a FREE concert from two-time Grammy nominated, The Baylor Project. The Baylors will raise the audience up and inspire them to clap along as they entice ears with the swinging mid-tempo tune of original compositions and new arrangements of classic pieces. 

The Baylor Project is the husband-and-wife team of vocalist Jean Baylor and drummer Marcus Baylor.

The collaboration is deeply rooted in the heart and soul of Jazz, with influences of gospel, blues, and soul.

Their debut CD "The Journey" released on their own label, Be A Light, topped the Billboard Jazz Chart at Number 8 and a year later garnered 2 Grammy nominations for Best Jazz Vocal Album and Best Traditional R&B Performance.

Jean Baylor is well-equipped with an agile mezzo-soprano range and combines a fresh, whimsical approach to phrasing with clever improvisation resulting in singing of such vocal purity that it embraces the soul. She has performed with such stars as Marcus Miller and Buster Williams. Marcus Baylor is a former member and drummer of the Grammy Award-winning jazz quartet “Yellowjackets,” and since then has come into his own as a composer, arranger, producer and bandleader. He has previously performed alongside Cassandra Wilson, John Scofield, and Kenny Garrett, among others. 

Lead support for Carnegie Hall Citywide is provided by the Howard Gilman Foundation. Additional support is provided by the A.L. And Jennie L. Lucia Foundation. 

EVENT DETAILS

Carnegie Hall Citywide: The Baylor Project

Thursday, December 5 @ 7:30pm

Harlem Stage Gatehouse- 150 Convent Avenue (at West 135th Street)

Tickets: FREE with RSVP

https://harlemstage.secure.force.com/ticket/#sections_a0F0W00000qYdEQUA0

New Music Releases: Leon Ware, ALexis Joi, Ori Barel

Leon Ware - Inside Is Love

A great moment in the career of the mighty Leon Ware – a set recorded after his famous 70s work for Motown, and before his return to fame at Elektra – but still with a super-tight quality that shows that Leon was always great, no matter what the setting! Leon's warm, mellow, and totally right on the money here – serving up some wicked midtempo grooves that sparkle way more than most of his contemporaries – and which even rise above most of the other work on TK records at the time! Ware wrote and produced the whole set himself – with that masterful studio approach that first rose to prominence on Marvin Gaye's album I Want You – and like that classic set, the whole thing here is great – never a clunker or a bit of filler at all. Titles include the great "What's Your Name" – an extremely catchy two-step number, with a hook that will ring in your head long after the track is over – and other cuts include "Inside Is Love", "Try It Out", "Club Sashay", "Inside Your Love", and "Love Is A Simple Thing".  ~ Dusty Groove

Alexis Joi - More Than Love

Alexis Joi, one of San Diego’s most polished voices, has released her latest musical project to the world, “More Than Love”. More Than Love is Alexis’ first Jazz project featuring pianists Ron Kobayashi and Irving Flores, bassists Henry (The Skipper) Franklin and Will Lyle, drummers Al Williams and Julien Cantelm, Nolan Shaheed on trumpet, and Louis Venezuela on guitar. This album consists of seven Jazz standards and four original songs. With strong vocals and masterful musicianship, this album is an instant classic. The album’s title and second single, “More Than Love” was written by Alexis Joi’s husband Isaiah Ham. The arrangement of the music was masterfully provided by producer and bassist Kevin Cooper. Cooper also provided production for the titled track “Stay Right Here” and also produced and wrote titled track “Springtime”. The final track on the album, “Philanthropy”, is a tune written by Phil Morrison and also can be found on Mikole Kaar’s project “Turning East”. More Than Love is an amazing collection of standards and new Jazz tunes. Joi’s use of Gospel, Classical and Operatic training offers a unique interpretation of America's greatest art form, Jazz. Alexis Joi will have touring dates to follow.

Ori Barel - Centrifugal Force For Player Piano

Albany Records has released a new album from composer Ori Barel featuring music for Player Piano. Featuring Barel's 4 part composition Centrifugal Force, a work inspired by robotic art, Barel comments: "We live in a culture where things happen extremely fast and so much information is condensed. I wanted to create a piece that would explore that aspect of our culture using elements of traditional and free jazz as well as silent film music, culminating in a musical fusion of today's technological world with pieces of the past. Using the player piano, I explored rhythms and tempos that would have been impossible for a performer to play accurately. To create a twist on this aesthetic, some sections of the piece accentuate the machine element and others sound like a performer is playing. This interplay between extreme fast and slow speeds fascinates me: an automated world contrasting a fake manual world."

UNA NOCHE CON RUBÉN BLADES from the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis featuring Rubén Blades Receives GRAMMY® nomination for “Best Latin Jazz Album

Blue Engine Records proudly announces Una Noche con Rubén Blades from the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis featuring Rubén Blades has been nominated for “Best Latin Jazz Album” for the 62nd annual GRAMMY® Awards, as announced by the Recording Academy® this morning. This is the first album GRAMMY® nomination for Blue Engine Records.

The 62nd annual GRAMMY® Awards will take place on January 26, 2020, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, CA.

Rubén Blades — the salsa giant and nine-time GRAMMY® Award-winning singer, songwriter, actor, and activist — collaborated with the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis in 2014 for an extraordinary series of performances on the Jazz at Lincoln Center stage. On these very special style-straddling, Americas-spanning nights, the worlds of salsa and swing collided.

Music-directed by Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra bassist Carlos Henriquez (called an “emerging master in the Latin jazz idiom” by DownBeat magazine), Una Noche con Rubén Blades features Blades backed by the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis. The group, performs Blades’s own beloved compositions including “Pedro Navaja,” “Patria,” and “El Cantante,” as well as swing-era standards like “Too Close for Comfort” and “Begin the Beguine.” 

“I’ve known Rubén Blades since I was two years old—or at least I feel like I have,” Henriquez says. “His albums—and the sound and the warmth they generated–filled my family’s apartment at 146th and Brook Avenue in the Bronx, and his music was one of my earliest influences.”

“Jazz is the story of taking old parts and building something new,” he continues. “When Rubén joined us for our performances at Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Rose Theater, we did exactly that using the Great American Songbook and the Afro-Cuban rhythms that propel all the wonderful music that Rubén sang that evening. The music I arranged for Rubén Blades to perform with the Orchestra sounds like Panama, New Orleans, and New York all mixed into one. Those sounds form the heart of all our stories as musicians, and in combining them we reaffirmed that we’re all in this together.”

The album was released on October 19, 2018 and received critical praise from outlets including Rolling Stone, NPR Music, and New York Times, which called the original concert “radically beautiful.” Billboard Magazine sums up the release best stating, “Ruben Blades surrounds himself with a robust music ensemble: [the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis] who put a new spin on his classics.”

Gary Corben's Gods in Brasil

Joao Donato and Gary McFarland meets Anglo Polish Brazilian Bossa Pop with a 1960s and 70s feel.

In the mid 90s Gary lived in Rio sharing a flat with Kassin, then in an unknown local band but later to become one of Brazil’s greatest producers working with Gal Costa, Caetano Veloso and Gilles Peterson. Back then Gary used to constantly write songs but could never be persuaded to do anything with them. But the songs would stick in Kassin’s head and plague him for years. Over the following decades Kassin would regularly ask ‘what about your album?’ and Gary would shrug and say, yeah, maybe, one day. Then, in 2018 Kassin played in London with members of multi-platinum Polish supergroup Mitch & Mitch and this time when Kassin posed the question, Gary said ‘Yes! Let’s do it, but we have to do it in Poland with these guys.” 

This led to recording Gods in Brasil at the Polish Radio Studios in Warsaw with the Mitch & Mitch guys and a bunch of classical sessions musicians and finishing off in Kassin’s studio in Rio with some special guests.The record turned out so well that Gods in Brasil Vol 2 is already under way.The album touches on the classic sounds of 60s and 70s Brazilian records with nods to Gary McFarland on the way. The song Juanito Caminante is already a favourite with Joao Donato who was a huge influence on the sound of the album.

The arrangements were shared between Alberto Continentino and Ryszard Borowski of the Polish Radio Big Band.Gods in Brasil will be released on Mad About Records via Bandcamp on vinyl, and special editions on cassette and MiniDisc.

Gary helped develop the world’s first digital distribution system in the mid 90s and ran the service in Rio where he got deeply involved in the local music scene. He later founded cult reissue label Whatmusic and reissued over 80 albums on vinyl and CD as well as reissue series for EMI Odeon and recently the CBC’s hidden archive of classic albums from the 60s and 70s.

New Music Releases: Ornette Coleman; Melba Moore; The Mark Kelso Jazz Project

Ornette Coleman – The Shape Of Jazz To Come

Presented here are three seminal albums by the great Ornette Coleman (1930-2015): The Shape of Jazz to Come, featuring the debut of the splendid piano-less quartet with Don Cherry, Charlie Haden and Billy Higgins; Change of the Century, with the same personnel, and Something Else!!!!, which marked the debut recording by the Ornette Coleman Quintet, also showcasing Cherry and Higgins. THE SHAPE OF JAZZ TO COME ****(CROWN AWARD) PENGUIN GUIDE TO JAZZ: Brash as the titles are, the music is surprisingly introspective and thoughtful. Most of the essential Coleman pieces are to be found here, though interestingly only one of them--'Lonely Woman'--has ever come close to repertory status. (Richard Cook & Brian Morton) *****ALL MUSIC: THE SHAPE OF JAZZ TO COME Any understanding of jazz's avant-garde should begin here. (Steve Huey) *****ALL MUSIC: CHANGE OF THE CENTURY An absolutely essential purchase and some of the most brilliant work of Coleman's career. (Steve Huey) ****ALL MUSIC: SOMETHING ELSE!!!!This record swings from the rafters of the human heart with the most unusually gifted, emotional, and lyrical line since Bill Evans first hit the scene. (Thom Jurek).

Melba Moore – The Day I Turned To You

Melba Moore is an American prolific five-octave, four Grammy-nominated Singer and Tony Award-winning actress. Broadway, contemporary Soul/R&B, Pop, Rock, Jazz, Gospel, and Classical Melba Moore was destined to be a star! It could have been her Grammy-nominated cover of the Aretha Franklin classic Lean On Me or her Tony Award-winning performance as LuttieBelle GussieMae Jenkins in Purlie that solidified her place in America's hearts, or when she became the first African-American woman to perform the role of Fantine in Les Misérables. She scored a string of Billboard charted hits - eight Top 10 R&B hits including two #1 smash hits and four Grammy nominations, AMA Nominations, and rewards received including a Tony Award, Ellis Island Award, Artist Guild Award, Trumpet Award of Excellence, NAACP Spingarn Award and History Makers Tribute. In the '80s and '90s, Melba Moore gifted us with classic jams like Lean On Me, This Is It, You Stepped Into My Life, Love's Comin' At Ya, Livin' For Your Love, Falling and A Little Bit More a #1 duet with Freddie Jackson. Melba Moore's produced a version of Lift Every Voice and Sing which was entered into the United States Congressional Record as the official Negro National Anthem in 1990, was just named an American Aural Treasure, by the National Recording Registry of the Library of Congress for Ms. Moore's co-produced recorded rendition of the anthem. Music is what God allows me to do declares Melba Moore.

The Mark Kelso Jazz Project - The Chronicles Of Fezziwig

Mark Kelso is an award-winning Jazz drummer who has worked with artists such as Donny McCaslin, Pat Metheny, Holly Cole, Gino Vannelli and numerous others. As the leader of the Juno nominated Jazz Exiles, Mark is no stranger to the world of music. Playing in every genre from Jazz to Pop to Latin to Orchestral, Mark has been able to finesse his technique as a drummer and composer, as well as open himself up to a wide variety of influences. The Chronicles of Fezziwig is the new solo project from Mark Kelso. Featuring all original music, this project is a departure from the Fusion styles of the Jazz Exiles, and instead explores a more traditional style. It once again shows the versatility of Mark Kelso as a musician, composer, and leader.

Big Band of Brothers: A Jazz Celebration of the Allman Brothers Band

New West Records will release Big Band of Brothers: A Jazz Celebration of the Allman Brothers Band on November 22, 2019. Released in celebration of the 50th Anniversary of the Allman Brothers Band’s debut album, the 10-song set of jazz interpretations of Allman Brothers Band favorites features Marc Broussard and Ruthie Foster on vocals on two songs each. Big Band of Brothers: A Jazz Celebration of the Allman Brothers Band also features Jack Pearson on guitar, who performed as a member of the Allman Brothers Band from 1997 to 1999. The celebrated trombonist Wycliffe Gordon of Jazz at Lincoln Center fame is featured as a soloist on “Don’t Want You No More,” and wrote the arrangement for “Statesboro Blues.” The 15-piece Big Band of Brothers was produced by Mark Lanter, Charles Driebe, and John Harvey and was recorded & mixed by Eric Bates at Bates Brothers Recording in Hueytown, AL.

While jazz interpretations of Allman Brothers Band classics might come off as a surprise to some, the genre always held great inspiration for the band and its members. Gregg Allman, recalling the band’s early days, told the journalist Bob Beatty, “Jaimoe [Allman Brothers Band drummer Jai Johanny “Jaimoe” Johanson] turned all of us on to so much neat stuff. He gave us a proper education about jazz and got us into Miles Davis and John Coltrane. Kind of Blue was always on the turntable -- Duane really got his head around that album -- and he also seriously dug Coltrane’s My Favorite Things.”

While speaking to Relix in 2013, longtime Allman Brothers Band guitarist Warren Haynes offered this about founding member Duane Allman, “It’s interesting when you think about Duane’s roots in blues and R&B. As he was growing as a musician, jazz musicians were becoming more and more important to him. He talked a lot about how important Coltrane was in influencing him. It’s almost a cliche to say that you’ve been influenced by John Coltrane these days because it’s so obvious that he’s an icon. But for somebody in the early ‘70s to actually take that influence into a rock or pop sensibility was quite a stretch. Perhaps he helped to make Coltrane a universal influence in ways he didn’t even realize, the same way that people like Duane and Clapton contributed to the rediscovery of Robert Johnson.”

Big Band of Brothers: A Jazz Celebration of the Allman Brothers Band will be available on compact disc, across digital retailers, and Peach Colored vinyl. Big Band of Brothers: A Jazz Celebration of the Allman Brothers Band is now available for pre-order via New West Records.

Big Band Of Brothers: A Jazz Celebration of the Allman Brothers Band Track Listing:

1. Statesboro Blues featuring Marc Broussard

2. Don’t Want You No More featuring Wycliffe Gordon

3. It’s Not My Cross To Bear featuring Ruthie Foster

4. Hot ‘Lanta

5. Whipping Post featuring Marc Broussard

6. Stand Back featuring Jack Pearson

7. Dreams

8. In Memory Of Elizabeth Reed

9. Don’t Keep Me Wonderin’ featuring Ruthie Foster

10. Les Brers In A Minor

New Music Releases: Joe McPhee / Graham Lambkin / Charlie McPhee / Oliver Lambkin, Javier Santiago, Yazz Ahmed

Joe McPhee / Graham Lambkin / Charlie McPhee / Oliver Lambkin - Live In The Batcave

The legendary Joe McPhee is back in his home turf of upstate New York – working in a mode that really goes back to his heritage in the avant scene – and at a level that's something of a family affair for all the members of the group! The music is a collaboration between Joe and his brother Charlie McPhee – and label owner/preservationist Graham Lambkin and his son Olivier Lambkin – recorded on the spot in Charlie's "Batcave", with a freewheeling sonic approach that takes us back to some of the earliest days of Joe's music. Instrumentation includes lots of odd reed moments – the notes don't list any specific details – but there's also vocalizations, offbeat percussion, and lots of elements from found objects and found sonic sources too – a real improvisatory party, in the best way possible. Titles include "High Above The Batcave", "IO Stand Accused", "Eulogy To The Paddock", and "Cable Flow".  ~ Dusty Groove

Javier Santiago - Phoenix B-Sides

We loved the Phoenix album by keyboardist Javier Santiago – and although this set bills itself as if it's a relation to that record, it's more of a completely different effort – but one that's equally fantastic as well! Santiago is a tremendous up-and-coming talent – a hell of a pianist, and also great on Fender Rhodes – working in that sense of rhythm that's been unlocked in the 21st Century by a few key figures in jazz – and which a new generation of players like Javier is taking in some wonderful directions of their own! The core group features really inventive rhythms from Corey Fanville on drums and Zach Brown on bass – and the work features an guest performances on a few tracks each from Dayna Stephens on tenor and soprano, Nir Felder on guitar, and Ben Flacks on soprano and tenor. Titles include "Change Is The Only Constant", "For Unity", "Cedar Avenue", "A Second Chance", "Aries' Peace", "A Day In The Life Of A Tree", "Beautiful Love", and "King Klave's Return".  ~ Dusty Groove

Yazz Ahmed - Polyhymnia

A spacious second set from British/Bahraini trumpeter Yazz Ahmed – a record that features dedications to feminist inspirations on every single track – but which has a soaring, righteous quality that marks Ahmed as an inspirational force of her own! The songs are long, and the music is rich in textural elements – strong trumpet solos from the leader, but also a globe's worth of contributions from other members of the contemporary London scene in which Ahmed's been making waves for the past few years – with a level of expression that maybe matches some of our favorite recent jazz releases on the Brownswood label! If you know the charms of the London scene in recent years, you'll have plenty to love here – and will find yourself adding Yazz to a list of artists to keep your ears on. And if you don't, this album's a great place to begin your musical discovery – on titles that include "Ruby Bridges", "Barbara", "Lahan Al-Mansour", "One Girl Among Many", and "Deeds Not Words". ~ Dusty Groove

The Nick Fraser / Kris Davis / Tony Malaby Trio release 'Zoning"

The Nick Fraser / Kris Davis / Tony Malaby Trio is a group featuring compositions by Nick Fraser and improvised pieces by the trio. They released their debut, Too Many Continents on the Portuguese Clean Feed Records label in 2015. 

"This album rewards repeated listenings. It’s wholly musical, well paced, and there’s not a wasted note within. There’s an undeniable bond between the three, and this kinship results in a totally organic, balanced session. Nick Fraser’s Too Many Continents is a grand slam. " ~ Peter Gough, freejazz.org

"Fraser allows his collaborators free rein in a program that combines three of his charts with four cooperative creations, the borders between the two modes remaining deliciously unclear. Malaby delights in blurring and obscuring his conceptual impulses with impetuous and unpredictable blowing. With her patented amalgam of minimalist gesture invoking the likes of Morton Feldman and the dash of Cecil Taylor, Davis brings a sense of structure to even the most off-the-wall settings. Fraser harnesses both these talents in a wonderfully edgy set packed with contrapuntal interplay." ~ John Sharpe, New York City Jazz Record

  

Nick Fraser (leader, drums, compositions) has been an active and engaging presence in the Toronto new jazz and improvised music community for over twenty years. He has performed with a veritable "who's who" of Canadian jazz and improvised music and with such international artists as Marilyn  Crispell, Anthony Braxton and David Binney. For ten years, he co-led the group Drumheller, who released four critically acclaimed recordings. "Fraser not so much plays the drums as hurls himself whole body and soul against skin and metal... truly talented." ~ Bill Stunt, CBC Radio

Pianist-composer Kris Davis has blossomed as one of the singular talents on the New York jazz scene, a deeply thoughtful, resolutely individual artist who offers “uncommon creative adventure,” according to JazzTimes. “Davis draws you in so effortlessly that the brilliance of what she’s doing doesn’t hit you until the piece has slipped" ~ Jazz Times 

Originally from Tucson, Arizona, Tony Malaby (saxophone) has been based in New York since 1995 and has been a member of many notable jazz groups including Charlie Haden’s Liberation Music Orchestra, Paul Motian's Electric Bebop Band, Fred Hersch's quintet, and bands of his own. “One of New York City's most in-demand tenor saxophonists, Tony Malaby has become one of the most distinctive artists of his time." ~ Troy Collins, All About Jazz New York

Lina Allemano is a Canadian trumpeter, improviser, and composer based in Toronto ON since 1993. She has an active international career, performing and recording cutting-edge contemporary music primarily in free-jazz and improvised / experimental settings, but also working in a wide array of other genres. For the past several years, Lina has been splitting her time between Toronto and Berlin, with one foot in Berlin's flourishing and uncompromising art-music scene and the other foot in Toronto's vibrant but somewhat under-the-radar experimental-music scene. "(Trumpeter) Lina Allemano is one of the most exciting new voices of the last few years" [Brian Morton, Point of Departure, June 2013].

Originally from Germany, Ingrid Laubrock is a saxophonist/composer based in Brooklyn since 2009. Laubrock is interested in exploring the borders between musical realms and creating multi-layered, dense and often evocative sound worlds.She has worked with: Anthony Braxton, Muhal Richards Abrams, Dave Douglas, Kenny Wheeler, Jason Moran, Tim Berne, William Parker, Tom Rainey, Mary Halvorson, Kris Davis, Tyshawn Sorey, Craig Taborn, Luc Ex, Django Bates’ Human Chain, The Continuum Ensemble, Wet Ink and many others.

David Sanborn Presents the First Season of His New Show "Sanborn Sessions"

David Sanborn, veteran saxophonist and six time Grammy Award winner announced today that he will soon present the first episode of his new music show, Sanborn Sessions. The new series is hosted by Sanborn and features a diverse roster of accomplished artists from a variety of genres and generations. In its initial season Sanborn welcomes Kandace Springs, Terrace Martin, Michael McDonald, Brian Owens, Bob James, Jonatha Brooke, Charlie Hunter and Cyriille Aimee.

Bucking conventional presentation, the show lets viewers become voyeurs as world class musicians come together to discuss, explore and play music. "To me this show is not just about dialogue," Sanborn says. "It's absolutely essential that we keep this authentic. Because then they [the audience] get the real unfiltered stuff. This show comes out of humor and friendship and just trying to get on the same musical wavelength. It's intimate, fly-on-the-wall stuff."

While Sanborn Sessions is inventive in its lack of script, teleprompter, or studio audience, a good part of the impetus for recording the series came from Sanborn's celebrated NBC music show in the late 1980s. Called Night Music, the show paired Sanborn with such legends as Eric Clapton, Lou Reed, Dizzy Gillespie, and Miles Davis, to name a few.

Brian Owens, David Sanborn & Michael McDonald

With his new show, the holder of eight Gold albums and one Platinum continues to explore the essence of music through candid conversations and free-flowing studio sessions. Full episodes contain the deeper conversations, behind-the-scenes lead-ins to the music, and the performances themselves. Original song recordings that come from Sanborn Sessions will also be issued for individual consumption across digital audio platforms.

The series is co-produced and sponsored by music equipment juggernaut Sweetwater. "I've been a longtime fan and customer of Sweetwater," Sanborn says. "They are the ultimate destination for musicians and they have been the perfect partner for us in bringing this vision to life."

A true homegrown project, the show is executive produced by David's nephew, Noah, brother-in-law, Steve, and David himself. Episodes will be released starting on December 3rd, and can be viewed along with the trailer at sanbornsessions.com, as well as on the Sanborn Sessions YouTube channel.