Along with Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff, Thom Bell was one of the three people responsible for The Sound Of Philadelphia, a lush, orchestrated take on soul music that dominated the charts in the early to mid-70s. Using the most unusual instrumentation – harpsichords, French horns, sitars – Bell’s arrangements built the careers of the Delfonics and the Stylistics, and reinvented acts as varied as the Spinners, Dionne Warwick and Johnny Mathis.
The distinctive sound of a Thom Bell arrangement is largely down to an upbringing devoid of R&B. Growing up in a middle-class Philadelphia household, he was playing piano, drums and flugelhorn by the time he was nine. “We didn’t have any radio or anything, we were trained classical musicians,” says Bell. “From when I was five ’til I was 17, I studied two or three hours a day. First thing I heard on the radio was Little Anthony & the Imperials’ ‘Tears On My Pillow’. I thought, What kind of music is this? This is nice music!”
He became a singer in a duo with Kenny Gamble. A year later the duo expanded to a five-piece, Kenny Gamble & the Romeos, and started to pick up work as session musicians at Philadelphia’s hot Cameo and Parkway labels. It was another Little Anthony & the Imperials hit, ‘I’m On The Outside (Looking In)’, that inspired him in 1964. “[Writer and producer] Teddy Randazzo, he was my leader – ‘Outside Looking In’, ‘Hurt So Bad’ … now we’re talking. I never got to meet Teddy Randazzo, and I’m sorry about that. Randazzo and Bacharach, those were my leaders. They tuned me in to what I was listening to in a more modernistic way.”
Cameo-Parkway eventually gave Gamble, Bell and Leon Huff (Bell’s replacement in the Romeos) more of a free hand, resulting in some beautiful 45s for Eddie Holman, the Orlons, Dee Dee Sharp and the Delfonics that helped to foment the lush, atmospheric Philadelphia sound. When the label folded in 1967, Bell took the Delfonics with him, and when the group moved on a few years later, he began to work with the Stylistics and then the Spinners, creating even bigger hits. Throughout these years, he kept a close-knit team around him, and the lyricist he worked with the most was Linda Creed. They worked together for nine years – when she died in 1986, aged 37, he was at her side.
As a writer, producer and arranger, Thom Bell’s originality and the quality of his work deserves the same acclaim as that heaped on Nile Rodgers or Burt Bacharach. He prefers to stay in the shadows, though, and over the years has allowed Gamble and Huff to take the Philly soul limelight. Still, when he talks about his work, there’s an acknowledgment of lucky breaks but there is no false modesty. “Some people were like ‘Are all these strings necessary, why don’t you make regular R&B?’ Because I’m not R&B. I make music. Nobody else is in my brain but me, which is why some of the things I think about are crazy – I hear oboes, and bassoons, and English horns. But I’m lucky, I cross styles. I was enthusiated. Not enthused, enthusiated. I had my own language, and I was able to do what I wanted to do.”
Includes tracks by Archie Bell & The Drells, The Orlons, The Delfonics, Lesley Gore, Connie Stevens, Three Degrees, Jerry Butler, Dee Dee Sharpe, Dusty Springfield, The Courtship, The Stylistics, The O'Jays, Ronnie Dyson, The Intruders, Johnny Mathis, MFSB, Teddy Pendergrass, Laura Nyro & Labelle, Dionne Warwick, and The Spinners.
The first note you hear on Ambrose Akinmusire’s fifth studio album on the tender spot of every calloused moment is his own—a somber yet vibrant tone that conveys jazz and the blues in equal measure. In years past, this wouldn’t be the case; Akinmusire is a bandleader who foregrounds collective improvisation. So to hear him take the lead on “Tide of Hyacinth” is a bold leap: Akinmusire not only asserts himself as one of the best trumpeters in the world, he’s using his voice to dissect the complexity of black life in America. Yet he isn’t trying to summon gloom, he’s unpacking it all. Through his trumpet comes the breath of a black man who’s seen the best and worst of the country, and harnesses it into 49 minutes of gorgeous, shape-shifting art.
But that isn’t surprising if you’ve followed him to this point. on the tender spot of every calloused moment is the latest in a rich assembly of music he’s released, each album drawn from very real emotions and instances in his life. Where 2018’s Origami Harvest was a study in contrasts, on the tender spot is a study of the blues in a contemporary context. It continues a theme first established on his first Blue Note album, 2011’s When The Heart Emerges Glistening: On that cover, he has short hair and a cleanly shaven face. For this one, he has locks, facial hair, and a black hooded sweatshirt. “In a way, I was thinking about this as a sequel to my first record [on the label],” Akinmusire says. “I’m returning to the landmarks in my first album.”
Akinmusire grew up in North Oakland in the 1980s, in what he has called a “very black, culturally rich” neighborhood. After living in New York for 10 years and Los Angeles for three, he moved back to his hometown in 2016 and noticed how much it had changed. It simply wasn’t the same Oakland. But it’s the same thing in historically black cities throughout the U.S.; in places like Oakland, Brooklyn, and Washington, D.C., natives are being priced out of their homes due to rising rent. What’s left are new neighbors with no sense of the communities that preceded them. Akinmusire is speaking to that, to coming back home and feeling like a stranger in the place you grew up, where the newcomers see your black skin and assume you’re the one who doesn’t belong.
While on the tender spot scans as jazz, there’s a prevalent blues woven within the LP. It’s in the moonlit melancholy of “Yessss” and the gentle lullaby of “Cynical sideliners,” which, Akinmusire says, is a tongue-in-cheek ode to haters. Over light electric piano, vocalist Genevieve Artadi assures you it’s going to be fine—you’re the brave one; pay no attention to the naysayers. “You are you and they are they,” she sings. “You’ll be brave and they’ll be safe.” Then there’s a song like “reset (quiet victories & celebrated defeats),” a spacious and haunting procession doubling as a trumpet solo. Scant drums and piano chords fill the background; a complex sorrow permeates the mix. While creating this album, Akinmusire says he wrestled with conveying what the blues looks like in modern times: “The blues is about resilience.”
Much like his previous work, on the tender spot unpacks the feeling of “otherness” and what that means in a country with such a fraught racial history. In that way, it resembles Origami Harvest and 2014’s the imagined savior is far easier to paint. But where those records seethed, this one simmers; Akinmusire examines the past with pondering eyes and not a furrowed brow.
Indeed, on the tender spot navigates what it means to simply exist as a black person in America. Alongside drummer Justin Brown, pianist Sam Harris and upright bassist Harish Raghavan—bandmates for over a decade—Akinmusire delves into the internal strife of every person made to think they’re inferior. In a land where political leaders cater to the 1% and justice is reserved for fairer skin, there might be a notion to give up and make yourself smaller to fit in. Akinmusire is rebuking that notion: You don’t have to code-switch or conform to their rules. “You can be yourself and still be successful,” he says. “You don’t have to dance for people if you don’t want to dance.”
On the tender spot also eulogizes another great jazz trumpeter, Roy Hargrove, who died of cardiac arrest in 2018. In the late-1990s and early-2000s, Hargrove was a link between jazz, hip-hop and soul, and appeared on pivotal records by D’Angelo, Common and Erykah Badu while forming his own sonic hybrid. Hargrove’s death rattled the jazz community and Akinmusire himself. “I don’t think I would be alive if I hadn’t met him when I did,” he tweeted at the time. “I am extremely grateful I got to tell him as a grown man to his face.” In turn, the song “Roy,” which draws from the Baptist hymn The Lord’s Prayer, is an almost three-minute reflection near the album’s end. The song feels funereal—equally mournful and optimistic. “Roy was my dude!” Akinmusire says. “We’ve had so many different ways of relating from the age of 15 to 35.”
It all leads to the album’s chilling closer, “Hooded procession (read the names aloud),” which extends Akinmusire’s tradition of remembering the fallen. On When the Heart Emerges Glistening, he had “My Name is Oscar.” On the imagined savior he had “Rollcall For Those Absent,” where a child reads the names aloud: Amadou Diallo, Wendell Allen, Trayvon Martin and Timothy Russell, among others. On Origami’s “the lingering velocity of the dead’s ambitions,” the tribute was implied: In lieu of names being rattled off, the music itself expressed grief. The same goes for “Hooded procession,” where Akinmusire’s sullen keys land exquisitely. As it unfolds, the instrumental track begs for a new set of names to be spoken. That it doesn’t have words and still resonates is the trumpeter’s greatest asset: Across this and other albums, he’s able to say powerful things without saying anything at all.
With the veteran drum legend Jeff Hamilton at the helm of any ensemble swing is not just a given, it’s an imperative. United with the pianist Tamir Hendelman and the bassist Jon Hamar, Hamilton leads a trio that, as displayed on Catch Me If You Can, is committed to upholding the fundamentals of robust mainstream jazz: forthright and economical improvisation, lyricism, and, above all, uncompromising swing. Building on the foundation of Hamilton’s stirring stick and trademark brush artistry, the outfit calls attention to the durability of the enduring piano trio tradition. A reliably inspired entity for almost 30 years, the Jeff Hamilton trio confirms with this captivating new recording that it remains one of the premier ensembles of its day.
While featuring first-rate pieces by the likes of John Williams (“Make Me Rainbows”), Thad Jones (“Big Dipper”), Ralph Burns (“Bijou”) and George Cables (“Helen’s Song”), Catch Me If You Can also takes advantage of the compositional skills of the trio’s multi-talented pianist and bassist. Hendelman title track, and Hamar’s “The Barn” and “Bucket O’ Fat” (the latter highlighted by the bassist’s Ray Brown-like playing) display both the songwriting gifts and the technical chops that each of these expert players brings to the trio. As Hamilton states about the band’s “policy”, “If you want to be featured, you’d better come up with your own composition and arrangement!” Each piece, as well as the interpretations of the Artie Shaw signature tune “Moonray,” the Brazilian standard “Lapinha,” and “The Pond” by Hamilton’s mentor John Von Ohlen, is a convincing demonstration of the unity and second-sight musical telepathy that binds the trio.
As every performance on the album eloquently demonstrates, the Hamilton trio is all about the balance of band cohesion coexisting with emphatic displays of instrumental mastery. Propulsive yet subtle, as only the best virtuoso players can be, Hamilton unites an unmistakable sound on his instrument with a majestic rhythmic underpinning. His compatriots are exceptional stylists who, while displaying their own abilities, also recognize the inestimable value of a group sound. The Hamilton trio, it is clear, has an identity it can proudly call its own.
The group’s responsive interplay is evident throughout, a mark of the clear identification each has for the other’s music making. This empathy can be clearly heard on the ballad, “The Pond,” which highlights Handelman’s sensitive playing, and is an affecting example of the trio’s fellow feeling.
Both “Bijou” and “Moonray” were originally conceived for large ensembles. In the trio’s deft hands, tunes that originally featured other instruments (“Bijou,” which spotlighted trombonist Bill Harris, a star soloist of the Woody Herman band; and “Moonray” which featured bandleader Artie Shaw’s clarinet;
“Big Dipper” was a set piece for the Thad Jones-Mel Lewis Jazz Orchestra) are transformed into piano trio gems. “We enjoy the challenge of playing pieces originally made for big band,” says Hamilton, himself an acclaimed big band drummer, who had early experience in the Herman aggregation in the late 1970s.
As the Jeff Hamilton trio marches into a new decade, it has taken on a major challenge: how to keep the mainstream piano tradition fresh. With Catch Me If You Can it proves, beyond a doubt, it has succeeded.
Jeff Hamilton: A living legend with an international fan base, drummer Hamilton is both the leader of his own trio as well as well as one of the founders of the Clayton/Hamilton Jazz Orchestra, and the Akiko-Hamilton-Dechter trio. Hamilton has also performed with, among many others, such greats as Oscar Peterson, Ray Brown, Ella Fitzgerald, Diana Krall, Count Basie, Lionel Hampton and Woody Herman,
Tamir Hendelman: Israeli native Hendelman, a graduate of the Eastman School of Music, has been heard with the Clayton-Hamilton Jazz Orchestra, Diana Krall, John Pizzarelli, Natalie Cole, and Barbra Streisand, among others. He is also the leader of his own trio.
Jon Hamar: A graduate of the Eastman School of Music, where he studied with Harold Danko and others, Hamar is best known for his four-year association with the vocal legend Ernestine Anderson. Hamar is currently on faculty at the Natalie Haslam School of Music at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville.
https://hamiltonjazz.com/
“Once upon a time” has to start somewhere. On his last album, 1954, guitarist/composer Ricardo Grilli chose to begin his own story in the year of his father’s birth – a date that also coincided with the dawn of the Space Age and the height of bebop in New York City. With his inviting yet evocative follow-up, 1962, Grilli shifts perspective by leaping forward to a new starting point: this time, his mother’s birth year.
Less than a decade separates the inspirations behind the two halves of Grill’s musical diptych. Yet the eras are markedly distinct: with 1962 the guitarist cast his mind back to a time when bebop had fused with R&B to create the more raucous sounds of hard bop; rock and roll was evolving from its freewheeling origins to take on the rich complexities that would lead to the British Invasion and psychedelia; and his native Brazil was undergoing a tumultuous time period that would soon culminate in the 1964 coup d’état ushering in two decades of military rule.
All of that was on Grilli’s mind, but as on 1954 he avoided explicitly referencing the sounds and styles of the past when composing the music for its sequel. Instead, he focused on the idea of evolution and change that characterized the 1960s and imbued his own music with those themes. Then he enlisted a remarkable quintet with the ability to fluidly explore the guitarist’s modern concepts while harkening to the lessons of the past. Bassist Joe Martin and drummer Eric Harland return from 1954, joined here by saxophone great Mark Turner and pianist Kevin Hays.
Reflecting on the past, Grilli explains, doesn’t necessarily mean looking backwards. In his view, framing his own origins through the lifespan of his parents has allowed him to take a wide perspective of the present day while recognizing the recurrent echoes of history. “With both albums, I wanted to create connections between the past and how the future looks from there. It’s always interesting to think about what was going on back then, the context that my parents grew up in and how their taste in music passed on to me. This music takes those aesthetics and tries to modernize them through my own voice.”
Though 1962 is far from a protest record, it does take a slightly darker view from both ends of its timeline. Grilli’s own birth in 1985 coincided with the end of Brazil’s military dictatorship and the country’s first direct elections. In 2020 things seem to have come full circle with the far right’s rise to power in Brazil along with uncomfortably authoritarian tendencies in Grilli’s adopted home in the U.S. “It’s amazing to see how short people’s memories,” he laments. “It’s a pretty tricky political scenario in Brazil; we went through a few calm years and now it seems like we’re in another edgy period. It makes for more hectic, turbulent times for everybody, and I think that influenced my music.”
Whether it’s those political parallels or simply his concern for his family back home, Grilli found the influence of Brazilian music emerging much more strongly in his music for 1962 than it has in the past, though again the influences are subtle and filtered through his own singular vision. “Coyote,” for instance, is at its core a slow samba, while “Lunàtico” is built on the foundation of a maracatu groove, albeit slightly bent, as the title suggests. The name is also a reference to Brooklyn’s Bar Lunatico, a beloved venue close to the guitarist’s home.
The atmospheric intro “1954-1962” bridges the two albums, with Grilli playing alone through effects-laden guitar tones to suggest a journey through time. The band then enters on “Mars,” which continues the composer’s fascination with astronomy through a soaring piece inspired by the Red Planet. That theme also appears on “Voyager,” another title with a double meaning – in addition to suggesting the exploratory spacecraft launched in the late 70s, Voyager is also the name of Harland’s adventurous band. “Eric’s approach is to have very minimal written material and then just let the music happen. I decided to try that with this tune as my nod to Eric. It’s a fun one to play, and I feel it really takes advantage of his energy.”
In his liner notes, recently retired Smalls Jazz Club founder Mitch Borden writes, “Every decade creates its own Bird, Bud or Monk. But it becomes the goal to be not of an age but for all time.” That idea resonates with Grilli’s thoroughly modern reimagining of the jazz idioms of the past, and for his own generation Smalls was a beacon. “183 W. 10th St.” remains the club’s address, and the piece is Grilli’s take on the forward-looking bop vibe that found a home there for musicians like Mark Turner. It was also a home base for guitarist Peter Bernstein, to whom Grilli pays homage on “Signs.”
“E.R.P.” looks farther back into that lineage, its title both a dedication to bop pioneer Bud Powell (whose birth name was Earl Rudolph Powell) and a callback to “E.S.P.,” the classic Wayne Shorter piece originally recorded by Miles Davis’ second quintet (whose existence roughly coincides with this album’s timeframe, as the first quintet did with 1954). “The Sea and the Night” finds inspiration in the isolation and darkness found adrift in the limitless ocean, while “Virgo (Oliver’s Song)” was written for the birth of Grilli’s cousin’s first son.
Beyond the two timelines suggested by the album titles, Grilli sees this pair of recordings as the two halves of an interstellar journey – if 1954 launched listeners into the stratosphere, 1962 brings them home, wiser but still marveling at the vast expanse of the universe. “This album to me feels to me like we’ve gone way out there, but we’re able to make the trip back. I like to divide the journey into those two periods, with both being equally here and out there but in an inverse basis. I think it provides a nice closure for this project, at least for now.”
Born in Sao Paulo, Brazil, and based in New York City, guitarist and composer Ricardo Grilli is one of the most prominent voices of the modern guitar. He has performed with such renowned musicians as Chris Potter, Chris Cheek, Will Vinson, John Escreet and EJ Strickland, among others. In 2013, he released his debut album, If On A Winter's Night, a Traveler, followed in 2016 by 1954, which featured Aaron Parks, Joe Martin and Eric Harland. Grilli holds a bachelor's degree in guitar with honors from Berklee College of Music and a master's degree in Jazz Studies from New York University.
ricardogrilli.com
Bassist, composer, and bandleader Eva Kess unveils a remarkable expanded sonic palette on Sternschnuppen: Falling Stars, to be released August 28 on Neuklang Records. The Swiss/German musician heads a septet that also features pianist Simon Schwaninger, violinists Vincent Millioud and Susanna Andres, violist Nao Rohr, cellist Ambrosius Huber, and drummer Philipp Leibundgut—a wholly original take on the concept of chamber jazz.
It’s no mere matter of semantics that Kess calls her ensemble a septet, as opposed to the more common “trio plus string quartet.” The bassist did not simply fuse two working ensembles together but assembled the group from scratch especially for Falling Stars—whose nine tracks she always performs in the same sequence as is programmed on the album. The music is a complex program that depends not on strings accompanying a jazz band, but on all seven members listening to and following each other with as much care as they give to playing Kess’s written notes.
“This is highly contrapuntal music,” she explains, “where every player holds a high degree of melodic and rhythmic responsibility.”
There can be no doubt about that. Whether in the kicky bossa nova of “Porto Alegre,” on which the violins play as integral role in the groove as does the drummer; the bassist’s dramatic enmeshing with the other strings on the pianoless “The Subsequent Use of Yesteryear and Futility”; the every-which-way syncopation of “Experimental Dreaming”; or the bold interactions of “Penta Piece,” it’s clear that Kess’s conception is one that makes great demands on each of her musicians and gives none priority over any others.
This includes Kess herself. Except in her compositional voice, the bassist is no overweening presence on Falling Stars herself: she can emerge from the ensemble with a lustrous solo or powerful obbligato, then disappear again into the groove. “As a double bassist I’m in a team providing rhythmic as well as harmonic information,” she says. “For me it’s about the music as a whole, not only the bass.”
In the case of Falling Stars, the music as a whole is both a reimagination of strings as jazz instruments, and of the fuller possibilities of a jazz ensemble. More than that, it is a scintillating work of art.
Eva Kess was born Eva Patricia Kesselring on April 10, 1985, in West Berlin and grew up in Bern, Switzerland (after spending a few years in Porto Alegre, Brazil). As a child she played piano, advancing enough that as a young teenager she was able to perform a Bach concerto with a symphony orchestra. At 17, however, her world shifted radically. First, she fell in love with the double bass after hearing a street performance by a bass quartet; soon afterward, a friend took her to her first jazz concert, where she fell in love once again.
Taking lessons with bassist Lorenz Beyeler—the bassist she had heard at that first jazz show—and later with fellow Bern bassist Thomas Dürst, Kess made the rounds of the local jazz scene, acquainting herself with both Bern’s musicians and the American and European artists who passed through the Swiss capital. She was soon able to form her own trio. After studying at the Music Academy of Basel, she returned to her hometown where she entered the University of the Arts Bern’s prestigious master’s program in music composition and theory. Among her teachers were pianist/composers Django Bates and Guillermo Klein, both of whom became her mentors.
In 2010, Kess won a scholarship to study in New York, adding the U.S. to Germany, Brazil, and Switzerland in her array of musical and cultural experiences. That same year she also recorded her debut album, Wondering What Is Coming. After seven years came her long-awaited second recording, Flying Curly, followed by last year’s unaccompanied album Bassexperiment and, now, Sternschnuppen: Falling Stars.
“Usually, I am an optimist, so I try to see the pandemic as a time found instead of time lost,” says Kess. “A time in which it is very important to keep going no matter what. At the start I’ve been asking myself: What can I do now for my future? And then I’ve decided to write some music, going for long walks in the forest or at the river, talking more with my parents, watching movies and reading some books. Of course the jazz aspect of interactive music is not possible during social distancing, so the communal experience is missing; many things have become a bit abstract lately. Music live and music online is not the same experience. As humans we are social creatures, it is a deep human need to be around others. Yet compositional processes are still the same and composition is pretty solitary and needs a lot of patience anyway.
“So many things are happening at the same time everywhere around the globe. As creators we take and we convert outside influences as well as inside feelings, experiences, convictions, beliefs, etc. All in all it is a very unique time for creators in which it is very important to stay inspired and to be compassionate with yourself and with others.”
Rising UK neo-soul star Poppy Ajudha has released “Watermelon Man (Under The Sun),” her new version of Herbie Hancock’s “Watermelon Man,” which the legendary pianist first recorded for Blue Note Records on his debut album Takin’ Off in 1962, and later re-imagined on his 1973 jazz-funk classic Head Hunters. The song is the fourth single to be revealed from Blue Note Re:imagined, a forthcoming collection of classic Blue Note tracks reworked by a selection of the UK scene’s most exciting young talents. Previous singles include Skinny Pelembe’s take on Andrew Hill’s “Illusion,” Ezra Collective’s cover of Wayne Shorter’s “Footprints,” and Jorja Smith’s rework of St Germain’s “Rose Rouge.”
Poppy Ajudha: “Herbie’s Watermelon Man was my first thought when asked to imagine a track from the Blue Note catalogue. It’s an iconic song and one that has been with me throughout my life.
I based the lyrics on my research of Watermelon Men in America, aiming to capture what it may have been like to be a black man in America at that time – newly emancipated but still heavily oppressed – and the race relations that had brought him to this point.
I wanted to broaden the concept of the Watermelon Man to the way that black people in the US and UK throughout history have been denied an understanding of where they came from and the truth of a violent history within the western world. It feels ever more relevant today with the BLM movement coming to the forefront of our lives and was an important direction for me to take the song in.”
Christian Sands – Be Water
Christian Sands’ third recording for Mack Avenue Music Group captures and establishes him as a forceful leader in composition and conceptual vision. With Be Water, the music is akin to the element which has no form of its own, taking on the structure of whatever musical composition and performance in which it finds itself and is a universal necessity. For this recording, Sands has reunited with bassist Yasushi Nakamura and saxophonist Marcus Strickland, and is joined by trumpeter Sean Jones, trombonist Steve Davis, guitarist Marvin Sewell, and drummer Clarence Penn.
Nicole Mitchell & Lisa E Harris - Earthseed
Very powerful work from the great Nicole Mitchell – the third of her albums to be based on the work of Octavia Butler, and the first to be done in collaboration with vocalist Lisa E Harris! The music was commissioned by the Art Institute of Chicago, and recorded in a large open space in that august institution – which gives the spare moments this wonderfully echoey sound, and the fuller passages a real sense of spontaneous urgency! As with most of Mitchell's music, there's a powerful message within – one that's showcased even more by the vocal contributions by Harris – and in addition to flute, Mitchell also adds in some electronics – as does Harris, plus theremin as well. Other musicians include Zara Zaharieva on violin, Ben Lamar Gay on trumpet and electronics, Tomeka Reid on cello, and Avreeayl Ra on percussion. Titles include "Ownness", "Moving Mirror", "Whole Black Collision", "Elemental Crux", "Fluids Of Time", "Purify Me With The Power To Self Transform", and "Biotic Seeds". ~ dustygroove.com
Brian Auger – Introspection
Tremendous work from the legendary Brian Auger – a huge collection of work, a good deal of which is previously unreleased – and a package that makes a fantastic addition to his legendary catalog of organ and keyboard grooves! There's not much here in the way of notes – we would have loved some dates and details – but we can definitely say that our Auger-loving ears found plenty to enjoy here, as the music is from Brian's archives, put together by the man himself – and mixes some bigger hits with a lot of lesser-known material – a collection of 35 tracks that moves through all the jazzy, funky, and soulful modes that always made Brian Auger such a standout of his generation. Titles include "Isola Natale", "The Lady's In Love", "Ella", "Pavane", "Sundown", "Second Wind", "Planet Earth Calling", "Sea Of Tranquility", "Butterfly", "Whenever You're Ready", "Somebody Help Me", "I've Gotta Go Now", "Dawn Of Another Day", and "Voices Of Other Times". ~ dustygroove.com
Marcos Valle’s career started with the end of bossa nova. A lifelong surfer, he expertly rode out the final wave of the waning international fad, landing in the U.S. for a short stay before returning to Brazil to continue his career. A proud Carioca (Rio de Janeiro resident), Valle couldn’t stay away from his beloved hometown. This seminal artist is no stranger to Los Angeles, though. Back in the mid-to-late sixties he recorded a solo album (Samba ‘68) and was a featured member of an early, short-lived line-up with Sergio Mendes right before he landed the Brasil ‘66 deal with A&M records. He would try his luck in the U.S. again a decade later, spending a half-dozen years here, mostly in L.A. where he befriended members of Chicago and developed a prolific songwriting partnership with R&B icon Leon Ware. Valle never recorded his own music during those years, though. This historic collaboration with Jazz Is Dead’s Ali Shaheed Muhammad and Adrian Younge marks the first time he has recorded music in the U.S. in nearly 50 years.
Younge and Shaheed Muhammad started by mining Valle’s back catalog for direction and inspiration. Unlike most artists of his stature, Valle is still actively recording and releasing music, but Marcos Valle JID003 is different from all of his others. If spontaneity and improvisation are trademarks of jazz music, then this album stands out in the maestro’s lengthy discography as the closest thing to a jazz album. Valle impressed Shaheed Muhammad with his professionalism and confidence in this new environment with limited time to capture the music: “Marcos is so focused on getting it right. A couple of songs he sat down in the moment and wrote some lyrics about what was actually happening, and that’s how free and open he is.”
Valle’s mellifluous vocals adorn seven of the eight tracks with his wife, Patricia Alvi, adding textures to a few tracks and dueting with Valle on “Viajando Po Aí” (“Travelling Around”), a lush bossa nova layered with synths and guitar, sounding like Stereolab en português. Loren Oden joins Valle in a vocalese duet on the silky-smooth Quiet Storm groove “Gotta Love Again.” “Não Saia da Praça” (“Don’t Leave the Square”) is bossa with an edge, sounding like an outtake from Valle’s early-‘70s masterpiece Garra. The final two songs wear their references to Valle’s famous collaboration with another Jazz Is Dead featured artist, Azymuth, from their 1973 collaboration, Previsão do Tempo. Swirling synthesizers dominate the dancing instrumental, “Our Train,” and “A Gente Volta Amanhã” (“The People Return Tomorrow”) closes out the album with a moody psychedelic waltz.
Throughout the album Valle sings in his trademark percussive and melodic style (“wa-di-do-bem, ba di da we da bem”), a distinctly Brazilian take on vocalese. Like the sweet and foreign sounds coming out of his mouth, Marcos Valle is able to create an entirely different sound and feel using the exact same palette. “It was really interesting how we can play the same instruments, listen to the same music and Marcos can still have his distinctly Brazilian flavor that we admire so much…and to just hear our influences mix with his and to make something brand new is a dream come true.”
Earnest Walker Jr. - Ifatoba
If you enjoy your Smooth Jazz with exciting touches of African exotica, Earnest Walker, Jr’s Ifatoba (meaning “the king has arrived” in an ancient West African language) is your gateway to multi-cultural adventure. The versatile saxophonist blends fast paced funk, deep, soulful slo-jams and intoxicating ethnic vibes with cool musical and spoken word interludes to paint a narrative celebrating glorious family bonds and the foundational culture and rhythms of his African heritage. The lighthearted joy he brings to the mix is the perfect way to convey his belief that the best of this universe is expressed through dance and music. ~ smoothjazz.com
Ridiculous Trio - Ridiculous Trio Plays The Stooges
The cover looks a lot like the front of the legendary Funhouse album by The Stooges – and that comparison is there for a reason – as this crazy instrumental trio serve up some really wild versions of their music! The instrumentation is spare – just heavy drums, trombone, and tuba – instruments used in a way that's surprisingly different than any sort of brass band modes – leaner, and even more on the rhythm – with some odd sort of fuzz in there somewhere that we can't place at all, but which definitely helps bring about a classic Stooges mode – as does some of the vocal phrasing through one of the horns – not singing, mind you, but this weird sort of replacement! Titles include "I Wanna Be Your Dog", "TV Eye", "No Fun", "Down On The Street", "Scene Of The Crime/Death Trip", "Not Right", and "We Will Fall". ~ dsutygroove.com
Solex - Smooth Ride
Launching his musical career with his family’s gospel ministry and serving as a Minister of Music for over 25 years, Solex has been blending gospel, classic R&B, neo-soul, jazz fusion, urban jazz and funk influences as a solo artist since 2010. The versatile keyboardist/composer celebrates all those glorious elements once again on Smooth Ride, a 16-track, hour long journey designed to lift the soul and speak to the dreams of his listeners. Creating a fresh sonic universe, Solex fills the ride with moments of meditation and deep grooving, bright and trippy sonic invention. It’s a world where a George Duke inspired mix of lush solo piano and trippy synth invention rolls freely with slick and infectious contemporary urban jazz textures. ~ smoothjazz.com
Theo Hill - Reality Check
We really love the music of Theo Hill more and more with each new record – and here, the pianist is working in a quartet with Joel Ross on vibe – a player who makes a perfect partner for his music! Both Hill and Ross have this open sense of sound and timing – often using the spaces between the notes as much as the notes themselves – even when things are moving at a more full-on level, which they do often – thanks to contributions from Rashaan Carter on bass and Mark Whitfield on drums! Yet it's the sonic interplay between the vibes and keys that really blow us away – maybe especially at the few points when Theo picks up Fender Rhodes, and balances out the record with even more warmth next to his acoustic tracks. Titles include a version of the Stevie Wonder classic "Superwoman" – plus originals "Guardians Of Light", "Afrofuturism", "Scene Changes", "Mantra", "Swell", and "Song Of The Wind". ~ dustygroove.com
Ken Fowser - Morning Light
A brilliant record from tenorist Ken Fowser – a player who seems to grab our attention more and more with each new record – both as a soloist and as a rock-solid leader who always brings something special to a session! Ken dedicates this record to the inspiration of pianist Harold Mabern – and you can really feel a lot of Mabern's warmth and soul flowing through the record – as the tunes bristle with the kind of soulful imagination that we always loved in Mabern's music from years back – even though they're all originals by Ken, with piano handled beautifully by Tadatka Unno! This might be the first time we've ever heard Unno on record, but we're already in love – and the rest of the group features Josh Bruneau on trumpet and flugelhorn, Vince Dupont on bass, and Joe Strasser on drums. Titles include "This That & The Other Thing", "Moving Forward", "Three For Leathers", "Morning Light", "Firefly", "The Instigator", and "Without Saying". ~ dustygroove.com
Don Bryant - You Make Me Feel
The mighty Don Bryant never got the chance to record much back in the day – save for one fantastic album and a set of singles on Hi Records – but he's really returned to form lately, and gets the chance to show the world his Memphis soul pedigree in all of its glory! Scott Bomar produced the set, plays bass, and gives the record some of those funky soul styles that made his work with the Bo-Keys so great – in a group that's heavy on organ lines and riffing guitars, and which also features backup singers behind Don on a number of the tracks. Yet the whole thing is clearly Don's showcase – with great vocals on titles that include "Your Love Is Too Late", "99 Pounds", "Is It Over", "Your Love Is To Blame", "I'll Go Crazy", "Cracked Up Over You", and "Walk All Over God's Heaven". ~ dustygroove.com
Art Hirahara - Balance Point
A really lovely album from pianist Art Hirahara, and a set that maybe draws its title from the careful balance on the record between Art's lyrical approach to the piano, and the overall energy of the group when they really move together! Hirahara continues to develop fantastically as a pianist with each new record – with a touch that's very personal, but always soulfully swinging – and here, the quartet emphasizes those latter modes when they really pick up – thanks to bass from Joe Martin and drums from Rudy Royston – on a record that also features some well-placed tenor contributions from Melissa Aldana, whose sound adds in just the right amount of color. Titles include "Like Water", "Ascent", "Lament For The Fallen", "Mother's Song", "Blessed Son Mr Weston", and "Fulcrum". ~ dustygroove.com
Farnell Newton - Rippin' & Runnin'
A tremendous trumpeter, set up here in his best format to date – a really heavy duty quartet that features tenor from Brandon Wright, drums from Rudy Royston, and Hammond from Brian Charette – who blows us away even more than usual with his skills on both the keys and the pedals at the bottom! Royston's drums are always great – and here, he's got this snapping, crackling energy that seems to light a fuse right from the very first note – which Charette fans into full flames of sound, topped by these bold lines and soaring solos from Newton and Wright – two horns that have a really rich power together, before breaking off into really wonderful solos. The whole thing's great – a cut above for even the always-great Posi-Tone label – and titles include "Holding Still", "The Roots", "Another Day Another Jones", "Gas Station Hot Dog", and "The Five AM Strut". ~ dustygroove.com
Susan Tobocman – Touch & Go
Touch & Go,the newest release by Susan Tobocman, is a showcase for the admired vocalist’s considerable talents as a composer, lyricist, and arranger. The album is a collection of Tobocman’s original compositions, well-known standards, and tunes off-the-beaten jazz track. This is Tobocman’s fourth CD as a leader. With her warm and flexible voice and unique interpretation of songs, Tobocman has been making a name for herself for the last twenty years with audiences and musicians alike on both the New York City and Detroit jazz scenes, performing and collaborating with some of the top jazz musicians around. Touch & Go is not the typical release from a jazz singer. Five of the album’s 12 tunes were written by Tobocman. Highlighting her flair for composing, she includes two instrumental numbers, including “Leaves of Absence,” which has a straight-8th Latin feel, and the uptempo title track, “Touch & Go.” A multi-faceted artist, Tobocman is also superb arranger who turns well-known songs into personal statements. Touch & Go is the manifestation of Susan Tobocman’s endlessly creative mind and talents.
James Carney Sextet - Pure Heart
Pianist James Carney has some might heavy help here on horns – a really bold lineup that features Stephanie Richards on trumpet and flugelhorn, Oscar Noriega on bass clarinet and alto, and Ravi Coltrane on tenor, soprano, and sopranino saxes – all musicians who do a wonderful job of matching the bold energy and rich sounds of Carney on the piano! Most tracks are nice and long, and have a brashness that's got us dipping back into Carney's catalog all over again – given superb rhythm encouragement from Dezron Douglas on bass and Tom Rainey on drums – the last two parts of the puzzle for this crackling sextet. Titles include "Inharmonicity", "Throwing Shade", "Gerrymandered", "Forty Year Friend", and "Mayor Of Marcellus". ~ dustygroove.com
Gary Meggs - Life's Little Changes
A onetime member of the orchestras of Glenn Miller and Harry James, saxophonist Gary Meggs calls the release of his latest album Life’s Little Changes a “lifelong dream, a chance to help place my own footprint in the Smooth Jazz scene,” inspired by the West Coast Jazz of the 80’s and 90’s. Collaborating with rock/fusion guitarist Bryan Jeffries, who produced the collection, Meggs’ brings a bold and brash horn energy to an exciting, stylistically eclectic collection that includes spirited Latin influences, innovative arrangements of pop standards and re-imagined versions (complete with new titles) of a gospel and seasonal classics. ~ smoothjazz.com
Tony Davis - Golden Year
Tony Davis is a jazz guitarist with a difference – an artist who's not out to revolutionize his instrument in jazz, but who still finds a way to play with a very distinct approach! Tony's quality isn't easy to put in words – he's not working the fret in a weird way, or using any sort of effects or gimmicks – but he does get a very specific sound out of the instrument, one that's full of shimmering colors and light – often quite chromatic, but usually with a dexterity that might match more sharper-toned musicians! Davis' sound springs into life from the very first note on the set – given nice direction from David Bryant on piano, Dezron Douglas on bass, and Eric McPherson on drums – and the record also features work from Steve Wilson on flute and alto on two tracks, and Steve Davis on trombone on two as well. Alina Engibaryan sings on two of the album's tracks – "Lake Sebago" and "Orange Feathers", both originals by Davis – and other tunes include "Night Ride", "Braeburn", "El Gran Birane", "Hypnagogia", and a nice version of "Con Alma". ~ dustygroove.com
Jazz clarinetist Eddie Daniels’s (http://eddiedanielsclarinet.net) last album earned him his sixth GRAMMY nomination and launched a trilogy paying homage to legendary Brazilian composers. Looking for a way to top 2018’s “Heart of Brazil: A Tribute to Egberto Gismonti,” Daniels came up with an historic first for “Night Kisses: A Tribute to Ivan Lins,” which was released on August 7. He got GRAMMY and Emmy winner Bob James and GRAMMY and Academy Awards winner Dave Grusin to record together for the first time. Also special is that the clarinetist-saxophonist plays flute for the first time on a record in 30 years.
Producer George Klabin conceived the series and when he sent Daniels the music, initially Daniels was overwhelmed trying to figure out how he could use his horns to capture the heart, beauty and soul of Ivan Lins’ impassioned singing and songbook. He decided to tackle the material by allocating his lead instrumental voice equitably thus there are four songs each fronted by clarinet, tenor saxophone and flute. In addition to utilizing the same core trio that appears on “Heart of Brazil” to anchor the acoustic jazz tracks, “Night Kisses” features lush strings by The Harlem Quartet. James and Grusin each scripted an arrangement for the collection and James authored the album’s only song not penned by Lins, a piece titled “Ivante” that he was inspired to write for his longtime friend, Lins. Grusin, whose association with Lins dates back to having the Brazilian icon perform on his 1985 album “Harlequin,” plays acoustic piano on “Ivante” while James plays electric piano.
Daniels has begun learning the music of Milton Nascimento for the final chapter of the trilogy. The New York City transplant who has lived in Santa Fe, NM for over 30 years hopes that people will listen to “Night Kisses” as a “uniquely whole work.” He feels that the entire album works to provide calming along with a connection to our hearts, both of which are much needed during these challenging times.
ARTEMIS—the jazz supergroup comprised of pianist and musical director Renee Rosnes, clarinetist Anat Cohen, tenor saxophonist Melissa Aldana, trumpeter Ingrid Jensen, bassist Noriko Ueda, drummer Allison Miller, and featured vocalist Cécile McLorin Salvant—has announced their debut album ARTEMIS, which will be released September 11 on Blue Note Records.
The group is distinctive not only for bringing together seven singular artists, each renowned for their own remarkable solo career; but for its multi-generational and globe-spanning line-up with members hailing from the US, Canada, France, Chile, Israel, and Japan. ARTEMIS conjures a powerful collective voice from seven of the most acclaimed musicians in modern jazz. “Each member of ARTEMIS is a unique character which is what a band needs – versatility,” says Cohen. “That’s what makes life interesting and that’s what makes music fascinating – the personalities.”
ARTEMIS is a superb nine-song set that features material composed and/or arranged by each of the band’s six instrumentalists. ARTEMIS unfurls with a dynamic flow, stunningly eclectic yet entirely cohesive. “The group identity emerged organically,” Rosnes says, and ARTEMIS discovered a thrilling collective vision early in its lifespan. “We are seven leaders, each with our own vision and personal point of view, but we play with a unified conception.”
“‘Goddess Of The Hunt’ is a sonic exploration of the powerful traits that define women,” says Miller. “We are resilient, tenacious, determined, life-giving, versatile, nurturing, elegant, mysterious, cunning, persistent, and patient. I love how each soloist clearly expresses their unique power.”
“The Greek goddess Artemis is an explorer, a torch bringer, a protector of young children, and a goddess of the hunt,” explains Jensen, who conceived of the band’s name. “I feel that her character is indicative of the energies and wide array of musical tapestries that ARTEMIS the band brings to the stage as we take our music to the moon, the stars, and beyond.”
Despite its relatively brief existence, ARTEMIS has already been featured in Vanity Fair and on NPR’s Jazz Night in America, and has performed on some of the country’s most iconic stages from Carnegie Hall to the Newport Jazz Festival.
“On a sunny August afternoon in 2018, I was among the thousands of fans attending the Newport Jazz Festival who had their minds blown by ARTEMIS,” says Blue Note President Don Was. “Although each individual member of this supergroup is a bona fide jazz titan, these incredible musicians dwell in the rarefied air of bands whose whole is greater than the sum of its already sublime parts. Their musical conversation is sophisticated, soulful and powerful, and their groove runs deep.”
Joshua Redman, Brad Mehldau, Christian McBride, & Brian Blade - RoundAgain
One of those rare cases where an all-star group is really worth the weight of its talent – as this quartet really sounds wonderful together, and make you know that you're in for a treat right from the very first note in the set! The best energy of the record might come from the rhythmic conception of drummer Brian Blade, and maybe a bit of the spirit of bassist Christian McBride – because pianist Brad Mehldau and tenorist Joshua Redman come off with all these really inventive, creative elements – very much structured around a sense of rhythm, although one that's nicely complex at most moments – a less-familiar sort of swing, and we mean that in the best way possible. Titles include "Father", "Floppy Diss", "Your Part To Play", ":Moe HOnk", "Right Back Round Again", and "Undertow". ~ dustygroove.com
Dominic Camardella - Soothe
A longtime expert on the evolving integration of music and technology, Grammy-winning pianist, composer and arranger Dominic Camardella brings a fascinating background to the sensual, easy-grooving melodic flow of his debut Smooth Jazz collection, SOOTHE. The owner and primary audio engineer of Santa Barbara Sound Design, Dominic has been a TV/Film sound designer and mixer who has worked with, among others, Ottmar Liebert, Carlos Santana, Anita Baker and Michael McDonald. Elements of soul, and electro-chill complement his soothing musical atmospheric, laid-back vibe as well as lush interactions with acoustic guitar and dreamy trumpet. ~ smoothjazz.com
Denny Zeitlin - Live At Mezzrow
There's few folks who approach the piano like Denny Zeitlin – and this beautiful live set is a perfect illustration of his deep talents and very unique sound on his instrument! Zeitlin is a master of balancing darkness and light – technical brilliance and down to earth energy – working here with his longtime trio with Buster Williams on bass and Matt Wilson on drums – two players who are instantly, innately responsive to the many-textured sounds that Zeitlin brings forth from the piano! And throughout it all, no matter what the mood, the whole thing manages to swing – even in subtle ways – on great takes of tunes that include "Intimacy Of The Blues", "Echo Of A Kiss", "I Mean You", "Dancing In The Dark", "10 Bar Tune", "Isfahan", "Paraphernalia", and "Star Crossed Lovers". ~ dustygroove.com
Shaun Escoffery - Strong Enough
We've loved the music of Shaun Escoffery for many years now – right from that time when he emerged from the UK scene as key talent in the Omar generation – the kind of strong songwriting voice and confident singer that really helped mark a difference from the world of soul in the US! Escoffery has evolved wonderfully over the course of his superb recordings – and here, he continues to grow even more – coming on strong, and maybe with more of a 60s soul inspiration than ever before – kind of a romping, vibrant approach to the music that echoes the Motown generation, while still also sounding immediately contemporary, and graced with a production style that maybe makes Shaun's vocals sound even more powerful than ever! We've been waiting decades for Escoffery to get the international fame he deserves – and maybe this record is the one that will put him over the top, given the strength of the songs and the overall set as a whole. Titles include "River", "Imagine", "Lucky", "Soldier", "Heat", "With These Eyes", "Need To Believe", "Candle", "You Remind Me", and "Surrender". ~ dsutygroove.com
Camera Soul - Existence
A great little group – and one with a wonderful talent for bringing together soulful styles in a really catchy way – using bits of funk, ala the Brand New Heavies – but also not afraid to go for a tighter hook, too – in a way that reminds of some of our favorite Japanese-only recordings by Swing Out Sister or Workshy! As with both of those groups, there's a great female singer in the lead – the lovely Maria Enrica Lotesoriere, who also wrote all the lyrics – and arrangements are handled by keyboardist Pippo Lombardo, whose sweet keys really hold together the whole thing nicely. Titles include "Colorado Sky", "Another Smile", "One More Chance", "In The City", "What I Deserve", and "Existence". ~ dsutygroove.com
Angela Munoz - Adrian Younge Presents Angela Munoz – Introspection
Adrian Younge's plastered his name on the front cover of this debut from Angela Munoz (why does he always do that?) – but the set is definitely a strong calling card for the lady herself – who steps out here with a strength that might well make her a key underground soul talent in years to come! Munoz has a voice that's clearly wonderful at the core – soulful, but very personal – with a range that might belie the individualism she brings to her music at first, but which really draws you into the captivating lyrics of the tunes. And yes, production by Younge is great, as is the musical help from Ali Shaheed Muhammad – but dang it, let the lady stand forth on the cover on her own – as she's a great singer, with plenty to offer. Titles include "I'm In Love", "Feeling The Same", "So Young", "In My Mind", "Stardust", "Can I Get Your Name", "Top Down", and "Don't Show It". ~ dustygroove.com
