ADRIAN YOUNGE’S THE AMERICAN NEGRO

Adrian Younge has released his most ambitious and deeply personal project to-date. The American Negro is a multimedia project release in conjunction with Black History Month, and sees the Los Angeles-based multi-instrumentalist, composer and producer share an unapologetic critique detailing the systemic and malevolent psychology that afflicts people of color.

The American Negro is a powerful, multifaceted statement that reflects perennial injustices and serves to act as a lever of change during a time of mass disillusionment: an album for the people that details the evolution of racism in America. It is insightful, provocative and necessary in our fight for equality. “The American Negro is the most important creative accomplishment of my life. This project dissects the chemistry behind blind racism, using music as the medium to restore dignity and self-worth to my people,” notes Younge. “It should be evident that any examination of black music is an examination of the relationship between black and white America. This relationship has shaped the cultural evolution of the world and its negative roots run deep into our psyche.”

The American Negro is not for the faint of heart, including the album cover art–a recreation of “Lynching Postcards” that became very popular to celebrate the murder of African Americans at the hands of White Americans as vigilante justice at the turn of the last century, with no judicial reprisals; in addition, they served as warning signs against any person of color seeking to eradicate racial inequality. Modernly, death by asphyxiation is a tool Police officers have used in killing innocent Black Americans–the lynching of the Black Americans has to stop!

The album’s title track and lead single “The American Negro” captures the poetic spirits of black luminaries like Gil-Scott Heron, Curtis Mayfield and Marvin Gaye. It cultivates a bold balance between melancholy and pure joy, with deeply poignant lyrics and melodic grooves. “The American Negro” single features The Linear Labs Orchestra with vocals performed by Loren Oden, Chester Gregory and Sam Harmonix. “The American Negro” single is available today and can be heard here: http://jazzisdead.lnk.to/AdrianYoungeTAN.  

Created as a companion to The American Negro, Younge is also releasing his brand-new podcast Invisible Blackness with Adrian Younge. The Amazon Music-exclusive podcast documents the development and evolution of racism in America. Over four episodes and a series of extended conversations, Younge analyzes the Black consciousness of America with new historical parallels to the future and the past. As part of the podcast, Younge will be joined by fellow luminaries like Chuck D, Ladybug Mecca, Keyon Harrold, Michael Jai White and more to reveal, illustrate, and make visible the dominant ideologies embedded in America’s culture. Debuting February 4th on Amazon Music, fans can listen to the series trailer here (https://youtu.be/gqg9rk88e3A) and subscribe to the podcast here: http://www.amazon.com/invisible_blackness. Amazon Music customers can access a wide selection of podcasts including new Originals like Invisible Blackness with Adrian Younge in the Amazon Music app for iOS and Android, on Amazon Echo devices, and at music.amazon.com/podcasts.

Adrian Younge is a member of The Midnight Hour and has produced for entertainment greats ranging from Jay Z, Kendrick Lamar and Wu-Tang Clan. He’s composed for television shows such as Marvel’s Luke Cage (with Ali Shaheed Muhammad), and films including Black Dynamite. He owns the Linear Labs boutique record label and analog studio, and is co-owner of Jazz Is Dead. When he’s not working on scores for major studios or networks, he’s making albums that speak to his own artistry. For The American Negro, Younge not only wrote, but played every instrument of the album’s rhythm section; he also orchestrated a 30-piece orchestra and recorded them in his analog studio. 

A true Renaissance Man, Younge wrote, directed, edited and composed the score for the upcoming short film T.A.N.–a narrative film that sees five fragile souls, confused and in a haze of consciousness and intolerance, enter an eerie dimension. Piece-by-piece, each person realizes their destiny, and the darkness they’ve left behind. The film will be available later this month via Amazon’s Prime Video and on the Amazon Music app. Look for more on the film soon. 

Ira B. Liss Big Band Jazz Machine's "MAZEL TOV KOCKTAIL!" 40th Anniversary Celebration

Mazel Tov Kocktail!, the newest recording by the Ira B. Liss Big Band Jazz Machine, is a swinging, rollicking collection of new and standard big band numbers performed by a tight-knit group of top-notch musicians. The band is well known in Southern California for its fun and engaging performances that have often featured some of the top names in jazz, like Bob Mintzer, Barbara Morrison, Wayne Bergeron, Holly Hofmann, and Eric Marienthal, to name just a few. This is the band’s 6th recording project, and like all the others, it features new compositions and newly imagined arrangements of standards. Liss says, “The band is the sum of its parts, and every chair is important. Big bands need a creative vision to push the music forward, and I like a lot of variety.” The music on this recording is indeed varied, with six arrangers contributing to the project. The Big Band Jazz Machine is a well-oiled group of musicians whose ensemble playing and solo work is sophisticated and compelling. Under the direction of conductor and producer Ira Liss, MAZEL TOV KOCKTAIL! is a high-energy, crowd-pleasing, romp through a diverse slate of tunes old and new.

Rick Margitza | "Sacred Hearts"

More than 15 years after his last release as a leader, saxophonist Rick Margitza makes his long-awaited return with the captivating new album Sacred Hearts, via Le Coq Records. The deeply personal album takes stock of the joys and tragedies that have unfolded over the last decade and a half, with new compositions dedicated to those lost along the way as well as the new life that has come into being.

Sacred Hearts also features the recorded debut of Margitza’s longstanding Paris-based quartet, in which he’s joined by pianist Manuel Rocheman, bassist Peter Giron and drummer Jeff Boudreaux. The saxophonist relocated to the City of Lights since 2013, and has enjoyed weekly gigs with the group – French native Rocheman and fellow expats Giron and Boudreaux – for a number of years, honing the tight camaraderie that can be heard throughout this set. The core band is also supplemented by guitarist and banjo player Oliver Louvel, percussionist Xavier Desandre Navarre, and vocalists Chloe Cailleton and Pierre de Bethmann.

While many of the pieces on Sacred Hearts honor people who have passed away in recent years, from family members to fellow musicians, the overall feeling of the album is far from mournful. There are certainly moments of profound melancholy and tinges of the bittersweet, but Margitza set out to celebrate lives well lived rather than to dwell on tragic losses.

“My heritage is Eastern European Gypsy,” he explains. “Our funerals are a lot like New Orleans funerals: the older men get together and play sad music, but once the person is buried we party and celebrate them. I didn’t set out to explore that kind of dichotomy on this record, but I think there's inevitably a sense of celebration intertwined with the sadness.”

The emotional core of the album is vibrantly represented by the cover painting, “Heart Forest,” by Colombian-American artist Patricia González. Margitza first encountered the image decades earlier, when his then-partner gifted him a postcard print. The tender title track is dedicated to Margitza’s nephew, Nolan Vahosky, who died at the far too young age of 13 due to medical negligence related to a heart defect. The album’s closing piece, the elegiac tenor-piano duet “Poem,” was inspired by the awful coincidence of an ex-partner’s niece, Sabrina Seelig, passing away under similarly negligent circumstances. 

“That’s the irony of life,” Margitza says sadly. “My ex and I both lost a niece or nephew due to mishandling in the hospital. They both passed away when they didn't have to, so I wrote ‘Poem’ in Paris when I heard the news. Both pieces came to me very quickly.”

The album opens with the surging “Truth Be Told,” dedicated to the late saxophonist Gerry Niewood, best known for his long association with Chuck Mangione. Niewood was lost in a plane crash in 2009 at the age of 65. “There's something in Gerry’s playing that conveys the truth,” Margitza says of the title, while his improvisation over the opening vamp includes a sly quote from a favorite Niewood solo.

“Gerry was one of my first major influences growing up,” Margitza says. “I was studying classical piano but I had an older cousin who was already into the jazz scene, and she introduced me to artists like the Brecker Brothers and Chuck Mangione. So even before I got into John Coltrane or Charlie Parker I heard Gerry Niewood’s playing on all those early Chuck Mangione records, which to me are still some of the most gorgeous saxophone improvisations ever documented.”

Michael Brecker, who passed away in 2007 from the blood disorder MDS, was also a key influence, and is honored here in an unexpected way with the eccentrically funky “Country Mike.” As Margitza explains, “There's a little part of Brecker’s playing on his earlier recordings, especially with the band Dreams, where he was definitely influenced by country-style guitar players. So instead of trying to write another Coltrane-inspired Michael Brecker tribute, I thought I’d try to capture another side of him that’s a little less well known, more of a rock and roll or boogaloo kind of feeling.”

The tune climaxes with nine separate overdubbed tracks of Margitza soloing – an acknowledgement, he says, that “it would take at least nine of me to make up a little fraction of Michael’s playing.” Margitza also layers multiple sax tracks on the playful “Muse,” an idea that he traces to his early love of the Charlie Parker tribute group Supersax. “Muse” is dedicated to the many artists who’ve influenced him as well as the elusive nature of inspiration itself. 

“When I’m composing,” he says, “I try to put myself in a state where I just let things come through without judging. Sometimes I get really lucky and I'm able to grab a melody like that out of the air. To me, that comes from the grand muse, whatever you want to say that is.”

The freewheeling “Place To Be” takes its name from a Seinfeld reference while recalling the impromptu dance parties that would break out among Margitza’s Gypsy relatives, whether during the holidays or even around the release of a new Motown record. “Crying,” whose title is captured in Margitza’s weeping tenor lines, sums up his feelings for the various family members lost in recent years, while the high-spirited “12-123,” with guest clapping and counting by a host of relatives, welcomes a number of new births into the fold. 

Louvel’s silky guitar sets a romantic mood for “Leading Lady,” dedicated to the women who have graced the composer’s life, while the wistful “Far From Home” was penned after a holiday visit, reflecting the bittersweet feelings inherent in setting down roots in a country other than one’s own. And “Trails of Tears” is dedicated to those souls killed at the hands of social injustice, from Margitza’s Gypsy heritage to the Native Americans forced off of their ancestral lands, to those still fighting for justice whose deaths make all-too-frequent headlines today. Whether family, friends, mentors or inspirations, Margitza concludes, “This record goes out to all these hearts that were sacred to me.”

Todd Mosby Explores Natural Elements with Concept Album: Aerial Views

If the music on guitarist and composer Todd Mosby's newest release, Aerial Views, seems to take flight and soar, that's not coincidental. From the time he was six years old, Mosby has been in love with flying-now, on this collection of a dozen towering tracks, he conveys that sensation through his music.

"I had early childhood experiences piloting my father's plane; he was a professional aviator," Mosby says, "and we spent a lot of time in the air, feeling a special freedom and independence whenever we took to the sky. As I grew older, that freedom evolved into an ever expanding musical and spiritual journey. Music became integral to my sense of centeredness, allowing my spirit to take flight through rhythm and melody. Practice was like a meditation and prayer, performance allowed my soul to soar. "

That freedom is evident throughout Aerial Views, the third in a series of concept albums that highlight the natural elements. It follows Eagle Mountain, a tribute to earth, and Open Waters, dedicated to the seas. In conceiving the music for Aerial Views, Mosby focused on strong melody and a unique form of harmony inspired by the Imrat guitar; the bulk of the tracks feature Mosby interacting in instrumental settings with some  "A" list, heavy hitting musicians. "I had an abundance of material to pull from," he says. "Each tune had to survive the production process while remaining engaging enough for each musician to bring their best forward." Mosby says.

Produced by the legendary Will Ackerman and Tom Eaton team, Aerial Views takes off with "Gliding," featuring a cast of world-class musicians: bassist Tony Levin, drummer Jerry Marotta, percussionist Jeff Haynes, multi-instrumentalist Premik Tubbs on soprano saxophone and Eaton playing the Fender Rhodes keyboard. Mosby plays both the standard Gibson ES275 guitar as well as acoustic and electric Imrat guitar, an 18-stringed sitar-guitar hybrid bridge instrument created by Ustadt Imrat Khan, Kim Schwartz and Mosby. Imrat guitars are utilized on four of Aerial Views' tracks in all.

The award-winning Mosby is considered a rare master of both North Indian raag and Western composition and improvisation. Mosby's immersion in Indian music has long given him a distinctive sound, and is once again explored in great depth on this new release. "I started listening to Indian music when I was 10," Mosby says. "It sat in the background of my life until I heard that Imrat Khan was coming to St. Louis to teach and live." Mosby, who resides in that midwestern city, monitored a class Khan was teaching and afterwards, asked to study with him on guitar. That initial contact led to a 13-year disciplined study of classical North Indian technique, raag, philosophy and history of music in old school Imdad Khan gharana tradition. After seven years Mosby began performing concerts with the great Ustad.

"My studies in classical North Indian music have had a profound influence on my concept, technique, composition, performance and standards of musical excellence," he says. "Tonal music is some of the most difficult to perform well. My understanding of raag, tal, bebop, modal music and composition combined with the Imrat guitars offer a bridge between the Western and Indian music cultures." Mosby is the only guitarist to become a member of the famed Imdad Khani Gharana of musicians, India's most prestigious family of sitar musicians dating back 500 years.

"Across America," the second track on Aerial Views, introduces the virtuoso violinist Charlie Bisharat, who returns periodically; other contributors on the album include pianist and vocalist Lola Kristine (an upcoming young artist and natural in the studio as well as stage) and veteran bassist Michael Manring. Ackerman, the legendary founder of Windham Hill Records and a Grammy-winning guitarist in his own right, contributes acoustic guitar to "Aether," another standout track, which according to Mosby is a reminiscent rendition of John Coltrane's "Naima."

Each successive track-bearing titles such as "Blue Horizons," "Earth & Sky" and "Between the Clouds," and of course the title track-further expounds on the album's overt theme, with various combinations of instruments providing the ever-shifting coloration. Mosby credits Ackerman and Eaton with setting the highest standards for each musician and helping to flesh out their best work via their high standards, superb production and musical insight. In addition, one solo acoustic guitar track and one lyric track fill out the program.

"Will has the "golden ears" of a true producer, and I trust him 100 percent," he says. "He knows how to make music live in a track forever. He knows what sounds right. The combination of Will, Tom and myself makes for a nice balance as far as musical choice goes. I stay out of the way as much as possible and always default to their insight unless I feel really strongly about something. [The lyric track] ‘Shining Lights' is an example where I pushed for a choir sound on the last verse. Eventually, Will and Tom were on board and then took it to a whole other level. And Tom Eaton is a rare engineer/musician who lives easily in both worlds. He is the Van Gogh of recorded music. Tom's ability to communicate, set mics, edit and mix along with an exquisite sense of musicianship, makes him unique. Together they bring clarity, focus and a sense of musicality to every project. This is my third album with this team so we have developed a nice synergistic relationship. Each recording gets more expansive and better."

Among the musicians who appear throughout Aerial Views, Manring, Haynes, Tubbs and Kristine are the core group of the New Horizons Ensemble, one of Mosby's regular performing groups. The tracks "Aether," "Into Starlight" and "Solo Flight" feature that ensemble, while the others feature the current expanded group. The album was recorded at three studios, with basic guitar and subsequent guitar parts cut at Imaginary Roads Studio in Windham, Vermont, overdubs done at Dreamland Studios in Woodstock, N.Y., and the mastering and mixing handled at Eaton's Universal Noise Studio in Newburyport, Mass.

Amazingly, the final creation was pieced together from an initial 500 complete and incomplete ideas over a two year period. Mosby honed this down to 32 tunes submitted to Will and then further pruned for the final selection. The compositions were written specifically for this album, Mosby explains. "The tunes started appearing shortly after the Open Waters album was complete. I had also toured some of these tunes during our last set of concerts in January 2020. When composing for this genre, I like to start with interesting chord progressions which are fun to improvise over. I am able to create some pretty deceptively lush progressions on the acoustic Imrat guitar. This guitar offers a special kind of tonal integrity not found in any other chordal instrument. Melodies evolve pretty quickly, usually within a few passes."

Once the chords, melody and form were complete and the instrumentation laid out, it was time for Aerial Views to take flight. "There is an ability to see beyond land-based vision. Your perspective changes from above." Mosby says in summation. "As such, this music allows entry into the realms of flight and spirit which serve as a cohesive point of departure for this concept album."

Guitarist Mike Scott's "COLLECTING THINGS," feat. Joe Bagg, Darek Oles & Jake Reed

Collecting Things, the newest recording by guitarist and composer Mike Scott, is a pastiche of music styles mostly penned by Scott and performed by some of the top jazz musicians in Southern California. Scott has performed around the United States and abroad in jazz clubs and concert halls. He has also recorded for television and film soundtracks, played as a sideman on numerous CD projects, and performed with well-known names in jazz. A mainstay on the Los Angeles jazz scene for over 20 years, Scott is also a founding member of The Los Angeles Jazz Collective. A jazz guitarist with classical training, Scott is known for his lyrical and soulful approach. Scott says, “Classical guitar playing involves extensive use of your right hand. Each finger plays a different sound, allowing you to control the dynamics and expressive quality of each note individually.” His writing is influenced by swing, classical music, and the blues. Scott composed all of the tunes on this album except for “On a Clear Day.” He is an engaging, versatile guitarist and composer with a style that is distinctly his own. From swing to classical to blues and rock, the compositions on Collecting Things reflect the many musicians and musical styles that have inspired Scott over the years. The music is beautifully crafted and the performances by these top-notch artists are assured and full of heart.

Barra Brown - LFT:RT

Across his work in acoustic jazz with his Barra Brown Quintet and as one half of creative beat-making duo Korgy & Bass, Portland-based musician and producer Barra Brown’s thematic ambition and fearless merging of electronics with improvisational forms reaches a climax on the his debut solo LP LFT:RT.

The diversity of Brown’s musical experience is the driving force of LFT:RT. The album’s title represents Brown’s attempt to break down the binary thinking so often used to sort complex human life into simplified categories. “I say I’m left-handed, yet I’m extremely ambidextrous,” Brown says. Realizing his drumming “was not left- or right-handed, but a continuous circle that connects at points of contact,” his ideas and phrasing themselves became more fluid, more flexible. 

Featuring mostly remote-recorded contributions and co-writes from ERYST artist ePP, guitarist Jack Radsliff, Brubeck Institute Fellow Tree Palmedo, Oregon Music Hall of famer Dan Balmer, and more, this 11 track album is a rollicking exploration of instrumental music through the lenses of hip-hop, nu-jazz and ambient music (just to name a few). LFT:RT serves both as a sampling of the Portland jazz scene’s brightest young heavyweights and a perfect introduction to Brown as a solo artist of strikingly eclectic, forward-thinking style.

The opening track, “RIDE (feat. ePP)” is an explosion of huge drums and driving synth ostinatos. ePP’s voice lands somewhere between singing and rapping as he calls attention to issues of police brutality. On “CYRUS”, we hear Brown on flute doubling Nabipoor’s trumpet melody. Bleeps & bloops surround DnB style drums in the exploratory sound-scape of “Whoa Hey!” (one of 4 tracks with trumpet leads). “SAM” uses a six-string bass as the lead instrument while “GULLS” is a soaring three section piece with multi-layered guitars. The penultimate track, “WASTED TIME (feat. Alexander Mackenzie)” is a deep groove and hook based hip-hop cut. The closing track, “rhetorical,” is the most ballad-like track and is reminiscent of both Miles Davis & Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah’s harmon tone. 

In 2019, following an impressive catalog of releases (two quintet records & a large ensemble commission with Portland Jazz Composer’s Ensemble), Brown co-composed the album Remote -- a sonic journey from industrialization to the modern-day tech industry --  with his project Korgy & Bass in collaboration with NOLA trumpeter Cyrus Nabipoor. This remotely made album landed on KMHD Jazz Radio’s “Top Ten Albums of 2019”. In 2020, Barra & Co. released Agrocrag into the world -- a bombastic and genre-transcendent album featuring a track with Oregon Poet Laureate Anis Mojgani. This creative beat-making exploration culminated into a multisensorial performance in the Oregon Museum of Science & Industry (OMSI) planetarium show.

Barra has shared the stage with Ani DiFranco, Gregory Alan Isakov, Robert Glasper, and Makaya McCraven among others. He has worked with Tucker Martine, Michael Curry, OMSI, PNCA, Alan Jones, Radiation City, Ages and Ages, Shook Twins, Morning Ritual, Old Wave, and the Portland Jazz Composer’s Ensemble & performed at notable venues like The Fillmore West and Red Rocks Amphitheater.

Vincent Herring | "Preaching to the Choir"

Saxophonist Vincent Herring speaks for nearly all of us when he writes, “2020 into 2021 was a morbid nightmare.” Herring has experienced the effects of the pandemic firsthand, contracting COVID-19 while suffering the same loss of performance opportunities befalling every musician during this trying year. That’s only meant more time spent at home, watching the turbulent presidential election and its violent aftermath. 

Despite the prevailing darkness, Herring insists on seeing a silver lining in the looming storm clouds overhead. On his latest album, Preaching to the Choir (due out April 30, 2021 via Smoke Sessions Records), he delivers a sermon of optimism and hope to the jazz faithful, aided by as fervent a congregation as a swing disciple could pray for: pianist Cyrus Chestnut, bassist Yasushi Nakamura, and drummer Johnathan Blake. 

“We have to have hope for the future,” Herring insists. “I’ve been in a constant state of disbelief with so much going on that is negative in the world, but I try to look at the positive side of everything. Fate is written with all kinds of twists and turns, and in the end the only thing you can do is realize that as bad as things are – and they are bad –the promise of tomorrow is going to be special.” 

Herring’s story has undergone more than its fair share of twists in recent months. Last August, he traveled to Las Vegas to take part in a centennial celebration for one of his heroes, Charlie Parker, with conductor Justin DiCioccio leading a string orchestra. The saxophonist now believes that it was on the flight back to New York that he contracted COVID. “It felt like the flu,” he recalls. “I was tired all the time, but I wasn’t coughing, and I didn’t have any respiratory problems. After less than a week, I felt totally fine.” 

Despite the relatively minor effects, though, the virus wasn’t done with Herring yet. A few weeks later he began feeling pain in his joints. “I remembered some comedian talking about when you get to be over 50 you get aches and pains, and when you tell the doctor they're just like, ‘Yeah, it happens.’ So, I didn't think anything of it, but then it got progressively worse. My doctor had me do a blood test and she told me I had rheumatoid arthritis – and it was a gift from COVID.” 

Chronic joint pain can be a death knell for a musician – it has ended careers, especially for pianists – so Herring entered the studio feeling strong but unsure of his future. “I knew it was a possibility that this would be my last record,” he says. “I wasn't saying that to other people, but the thought was constantly in my mind.” 

“Fear” and “trepidation” are hardly words that come to mind when listening to Preaching to the Choir, however. The buoyant, robust music never sounds like the work of a man in pain, and not once does it take on the solemn character of a swan song. Since the recording, Herring—with the help of specialists—has managed to get the pain under control. And despite the disheartening news of injustice and political divisions, Herring is uplifted by the rallying of young people in support of protest efforts like the Black Lives Matter movement. 

The saxophonist’s refusal to let the anxieties surrounding the recording pervade his music is evident from the outset of Preaching to the Choir. The album opens with the relaxed stroll of “Dudli’s Dilemma,” an original tune dedicated to the Swiss drummer Joris Dudli, who the composer calls “a great musician and a true friend.” The warmth of that personal relationship lights up Chestnut’s sprightly solo as well as the gentle precision of Blake’s rhythmic foundation. 

Nakamura kicks off the well-worn standard “Old Devil Moon” by crossbreeding it with the famed bass line of Benny Golson’s classic “Killer Joe,” shifting the emphasis to the sly devilishness of the song. “Ojos de Rojo” comes from the prolific pen of the legendary pianist Cedar Walton, in whose band Herring played for more than two decades. The saxophonist feels utterly at home as he unfurls an effortlessly eloquent solo, juggling equal parts intensity and lyricism. The quartet then wrings every ounce of emotion from Lionel Richie’s “Hello,” Blake’s ethereal brushwork embracing the heartfelt yearning of the leader’s keening alto. 

The mood turns a complete 180 with the gutbucket groove of guitar great Wes Montgomery’s “Fried Pies.” One can almost smell the sizzling grease during the raucous blues, propelled by the window-rattling bravura of Nakamura and Blake. Chestnut contributes the self-explanatory “Minor Swing,” along with a fleet, explosive solo that leaps around the keyboard with bristling spirit. Herring’s breathy, elegiac tone crafts a haunting atmosphere for Duke Ellington’s immortal “In a Sentimental Mood,” matched by the delicate sensitivities of his bandmates. 

The call and response head of the title track is straight out of a roof-raising church service, but the choir being preached to in this instance is multi-denominational, united by the simple love for Herring’s lively brand of swing. “I wrote this song as a tribute to my fans,” he says, recalling the messages of love and support he received throughout his recent ordeal. “During a time like this you need to hear kind words. Thinking this would be my last recording was depressing but hearing from people what my saxophone voice meant to them was very rewarding.” 

The band simmers on Joe Henderson’s “Granted,” before bursting out for an incendiary run from Herring and a shimmering turn by Chestnut, capped off by a round of trading with Blake’s effusive outbursts. The album closes on a lovely, tender note with Stevie Wonder’s “You Are the Sunshine of My Life,” which Herring aptly describes as “a classic song played with love.” 

That spirit of love, appreciation and, most of all, hope colors every tune on Preaching to the Choir, which arrives as a much-needed salve after such a divisive and disheartening period in history. “In spite of everything,” Herring declares, “even though I’m in constant pain and discomfort, I still feel grateful because it could have been worse. So, I do count my blessings.”

Three Pines Records Launches

In March of 2021, Three Pines Records (TPR) was proud to introduce their new label with the releases from TuneTown (the all-star combination of Kelly Jefferson, Artie Roth and Ernesto Cervini) and vocalist Sarah Jerrom’s Dream Logic (Harley Card, Rob McBride, Jeff Luciani).

The JUNO Award-winning, Grammy-nominated team of drummer Ernesto Cervini, vocalist Amy Cervini and composer/producer Oded Lev-Ari are combining to create a new media company dedicated to the promotion and preservation of Canadian music, with a specific focus on Jazz and improvised music. TPR is committed to creating a safe and supportive space where musicians can focus on creating and sharing their work with a growing fan base they help create. Between them, Cervini, Lev-Ari and…Cervini have extensive experience in the business of music not only as musicians but as entrepreneurs, label-owner, manager, publicist…the list is long. They are combining these unique skill sets to help artists find their fan base and create a sustainable career and mostly to share great music with fans across Canada and the world. TPR will be working with artists across Canada and across the spectrum of jazz…the focus will not be on a specific style of music, but rather on good music! 

First up was the March 19th release of Entering Utopia from celebrated jazz trio collective, TuneTown.  This is a follow up to their debut album, There From Here which came out in the fall of 2019 to rave reviews across the globe:  “Seamlessly assimilating elements from the avant-garde, funk and jazz worlds, There From Here is a stimulating addition to the saxophone trio canon” - Jazz Journal

On March 26th, Three Pines Records released Sarah Jerrom’s Dream Logic, an artsy folk-jazz album from the other end of the spectrum.  The ensemble consists of four highly-skilled Canadian musicians who each actively explore and play in a variety of musical projects and genres: Harley Card on guitar and vocals, Rob McBride on acoustic bass, Jeff Luciani on drums, with Jerrom on vocals and piano.

Ryan Dugré Releases "Old Hotel"

Written in January of 2019 during a song-a-day exercise, the instrumental pieces on Three Rivers produce a captivating calmness with shadowy undertones, melodically tending towards introspection. Guitar is at the forefront supported by piano and synth, strings, and sparse percussion. Elements of film music, pastoral jazz, and Americana create a meditative mood which is enhanced by the underlying pulse of each song. This is music that rewards patient, active listening.

As part of the songwriting exercise that produced Three Rivers, Dugré churned out a new piece of music each day. The purpose was to build a routine of writing and creativity. The only rule was to submit something daily — an improvisation, loose sketch, or fully orchestrated piece. Everything counts.

The benefit of this deliberately fast pace is that it leaves little time for second-guessing. By forcing you to commit to an idea quickly, this method eliminates overthinking and presents a more honest depiction of the original thought. This is also the challenge — at the end of the day, you must live with your output, and allow yourself to be vulnerable as your colleagues listen to your work.

Using a barely functioning laptop and one microphone, Dugré embraced the limitations of this process. “My usual approach to writing is to methodically work out a solo guitar arrangement; melody, harmony, and bass all intertwined and performed simultaneously,” he says. “It takes a week or so to get it right.” This time, he started with a rhythm part on guitar or piano, and then added melody after. For many of the pieces he imagined someone singing the melody, and tried to get close to creating that with slide guitar, piano, or synth.

Dugré came away with a batch of new song ideas and spent the following months finishing the arrangements at his home studio. These songs were then re-recorded in October 2019 in Brooklyn at Trout Recording with engineer Adam Sachs. Three Rivers features string arrangements from Ian Mcllelan Davis (Relatives), and contributions from Brett Lanier (The Barr Brothers), Sean Mullins (Wilder Maker), Adam Dotson (Slavic Soul Party), and Will Graefe (Okkervil River, Star Rover), who co-wrote Shining. The album was mixed by Leo Abrahams (Brian Eno, Sam Amidon).

Ryan Dugré is a New York based multi-instrumentalist and composer from Holyoke, MA. Since graduating from New England Conservatory in 2007 he has been an active freelancer, having performed and/or recorded with Rubblebucket, Joan Wasser, Eleanor Friedberger, Cass Mccombs, Landlady, Jesse Harris, Ran Blake, and many others. Ryan has performed internationally at festivals including Le Festival d’été de Québec, Bonnaroo, Haldern Pop Fest, as well as NPR's Tiny Desk Concert series and BBC 6 Radio with Marc Riley. He has been a featured guest artist at the Afghanistan National Institute of Music in Kabul, Afghanistan, and Eliot Fisk's Boston GuitarFest at New England Conservatory of Music. Three Rivers, out on 11A records, marks his third solo release. His second record The Humors, mixed by Sam Owens (Sam Evian), was named best album of the month in March 2019 by Paste Magazine.

“Ostriconi” is the first full length album from French multi-instrumentalist Jean Dasso

”Ostriconi” is the first full length album from French multi-instrumentalist Jean Dasso, better known as Yeahman, and its release is guaranteed to kick the new year off with dreamlike finesse. "Baixi Baixi" is the second single from the album, which sees Liane and Vera - sisters and singers behind “Aluna Project" - join forces with Yeahman and guitarist Kino B. to create a lush and emotional chiller. Their lyrics convey not only the ways in which nature speaks to us, but also of the untold wealth nature provides us that we must protect, enjoy and be grateful for. All of these elements combine into crisp and tropical ecstasy on “Baixi Baixi”.

Jean Dasso (Yeahman) began his musical career with a clear desire and vision to gather different sounds and rhythms from all around the world. While his first EP “Transborda” (Frente Bolivarista, 2017) was more focused on latin-american vibes, his next project and first full length album “Ostriconi” promises to expand his musical universe. His single “Miniyamba” (Shika Shika, 2018) performed with Mina Shankha and Hajna, quickly reached millions of streams and garnered interest from national radio broadcasts that propelled his career to the next level. He's now identified as an artist in the vanguard of the global-electronic scene, alongside other exciting artists such as Nicola Cruz, Chancha Via Circuito and El Buho. It is thus no surprise that he has been invited to perform on stages and at festivals around the world, in diverse areas such as Colombia, Brazil, Mexico, the United States, Canada and of course around his native Europe.

 

Dan Bonsanti and The 14 Jazz Orchestra's "CARTOON BEBOP," feat. Peter Erskine, Mark Egan, Lindsey Blair and Ed Calle

Cartoon Bebop, the newest release by composer and arranger Dan Bonsanti's band, The 14 Jazz Orchestra, is a swinging, contemporary take on jazz compositions by modern masters. The 14 Jazz Orchestra is a 13-piece jazz ensemble under the direction of arranger and producer Dan Bonsanti. The group comprises 13 outstanding jazz musicians who have recorded and performed with many of the top names in jazz and pop. Bonsanti was the Associate Director of Jazz Studies at the University of Miami, and the album features mostly players originally from South Florida with just a few notable exceptions. Bonsanti is a sax player who performed with big bands like the Stan Kenton Orchestra, Jaco Pastorius’ Word of Mouth Orchestra, and Doc Severinsen. He also wrote charts for The Jaco Pastorius Big Band, a tribute band to Jaco’s legacy, and the Atlantean Driftwood Band. The compositions on the album represent a variety of styles, with compositions by Chick Corea, Wayne Shorter, Herbie Hancock, Airto Moreira, and others, including two tunes by Bonsanti. Although Bonsanti has written extensively for large ensembles, he prefers smaller configurations for his own recordings. “My goal is to ‘not’ sound like a big band. I like the lightness and colors you can get with less instrumentation,” says Bonsanti. “I prefer to get orchestral flavors by mixing instruments from different sections of the band. It allows for a softer, more fluid and less strident sound.”

Pianist Yaniv Taubenhouse Releases MOMENTS IN TRIO VOLUME THREE – ROADS

Pianist and composer Yaniv Taubenhouse once again assembles his mighty trio, going on seven years of creating music together, of Rick Rosato on bass and Jerad Lippi on drums, to craft their third tour-de-force, Moments in Trio Volume Three – Roads (available on April 9, 2021 on Fresh Sound/New Talent). The trio’s camaraderie and solidarity is unmistakable and saturates their work together. In the face of the long, storied history of the piano trio in jazz, Taubenhouse, Rosato and Lippi endeavor, and succeed, in finding new roads on their creative journey.  

Moments in Trio Volume Three: Roads is comprised of music influenced by the many crossroads we face in life, and in music, the effect of the choices we make, and the journey we find ourselves on with each decision, both monumental and mundane. Taubenhouse elaborates that, “although we think we might know which path to follow to a specific destination, we often end up in a completely different place, and the artist's goal or vision is continually shaped by his/her experiences along the way. It is crucial for artists to stay focused on their vision, but also to remember that the magic often happens when least expected and one should remain open and receptive to those moments when they arrive. In music, the magic happens between the notes and in jazz, especially in a trio, it’s the subtext of the conversation between the three musicians that creates those special moments. If the road is the musical journey, then perhaps the song is the vehicle that transports us. Or if the song is the road, then the musical instruments might be the vehicle. It’s really up to the imagination to decide but either way, there are no journeys without roads and without journeys the roads would be empty. As we move forward on our path, the contour of our journey is revealed, and the map of our unique path unravels.” 

When Taubenhouse formed this trio (about seven years ago), there was already a strong connection both musically and personally, and it was very humbling and inspiring for Taubenhouse to see how this connection has been gaining strength over the years. He explains, “as our friendship grows, it only solidifies our musical connection and brings more trust and creativity on the bandstand. When I compose new music for this trio, I have Rick and Jerad’s sounds in mind, and when we get together to play new material for the first time, I prefer not saying too much, but rather letting the guys bring their own personalities and ideas to the music. It’s very important to me that each member of the trio will be able to find their own space within the material and that a musical vision will be developed collectively (even if I am the one who wrote that particular composition or arrangement). Both Rick and Jerad are incredibly musical and great listeners and when we play together there’s always a sense that at any given moment each one of us can come up with a musical idea/direction and the other two will be there to listen and interact. This keeps the music fresh and every time we play together it’s a new journey. In addition to being amazing musicians, Rick and Jerad are truly good human beings. The human aspect is so important when playing with the same guys over a long period of time and when guys are on the same page on a personal level, it only helps elevating the music.”  

CHANGUI - The Sound of Guantanamo

In Guantánamo, changüí means party. The very word changüí is derived from the Congolese word for party and it’s easy to hear why: This living musical tradition is a joyful bundle of hooks, riffs and foot-stomping choruses played for the sole purpose of celebration, togetherness and inclusivity. CHANGÜÍ - The Sound Of Guantánamo, a 3-CD box set from Petaluma Records, is the first comprehensive collection of changüí music and intimate photographs, bringing a rarely documented living culture and its people out from the shadows.

It has been stated many times, that Cuban culture starts East and moves West, and Guantánamo Province is just about as far East as you can go. This area is the source of much of the Cuban music we’re familiar with. 

Independent producer and music journalist Gianluca Tramontana, whose roots music expertise has been featured in numerous pieces for MOJO Magazine, Rolling Stone, NPR and BBC, has been visiting Cuba since the 1990s. On one trip in 2017 to the Guantánamo Province, he observed that of the precious little documentation there is of changüí, almost nothing had been recorded on location in the countryside or villages where the music continues to be performed, danced to, and enjoyed to this day. Through 2019, Tramontana spent several months in this area of Cuba that's mostly known for its geo-political issues and immersed himself in a largely overlooked 150-plus year-old culture of rural, riff-based, mostly improvised music. He traveled around Guantánamo capturing the music of changüiseros from the mountainous areas of Yateras, where changüí is said to have been born, to Guantánamo City, where it drifted in from the mountains in the early 1900s.  

Back in New York, Tramontana shared some of the recordings with an old friend and colleague, four-time GRAMMY® Award-winning producer Steve Rosenthal. Rosenthal, known for his archival and restoration work of Alan Lomax, Woody Guthrie and Les Paul, immediately recognized that Tramontana’s digital recordings were special — that they managed to capture the energy and excitement of the festivities happening in areas of the country not often explored. “Gianluca spent months in the countryside getting to know the people of the Guantánamo province,” producer Rosenthal points out, “so the musicians were completely at ease. We’re listening to a real snapshot of a unique gathering which makes any listener feel like they’re actually there.”

With support from Petaluma Records, mix engineer Ed McEntee and three-time GRAMMY® Award-winning mastering engineer Michael Graves worked with Rosenthal and Tramontana to complete the production of this 50 track, 3 CD collection, curated from well over 200 recordings made in Guantánamo. GRAMMY® Award-winning graphic designer Barb Bersche created the physical design and layout for the packaging and the extensive booklet that accompanies this extraordinary box set, CHANGÜÍ - The Sound Of Guantánamo.

Mike Freedman - Into The Daybreak

Into The Daybreak is guitarist Mike Freedman’s debut album as a bandleader. Inspired by 30 years of experience on the Toronto music scene, months of extensive touring in the US and Europe, and  collaborations with the likes of Tia Brazda, Barbra Lica, Steven Taetz, and The Willows, Freedman was ready to strike out on his own with his first solo statement, channelling all of his creative energies into his original music.

The album features nine of Freedman’s   compositions, which blend his love for many disparate styles of music, ranging from jazz and blues, to latin and ambient music. These nine contrasting and colourful tunes glimmer with inspired, vibrant performances. A strong melodic thread runs through these songs, displaying a depth and feel that are both natural and very memorable.

With assistance from Grammy nominated engineer Jeremy Darby and his masterful mixing and recording capabilities, Freedman was able to capture a clear snapshot of this top notch band in action: this session is a musical masterclass, full of catchy melodies, beautiful solos, and heartfelt ensemble playing. Into The Daybreak is a highly listenable album, driven by stellar performances and polished production. Freedman maintains a balance of accessibility and originality with this gem of a record, shining brightly into the year 2021.

Dan McCarthy - A Place Where We Once Lived

Recorded in Brooklyn, NY the day before permanently returning to Toronto, Dan gathered with two of the most in-demand improvisatory musicians in New York to present an introspective look at his 15 years living in the jazz Mecca of the world.

“A Place Where We Once Lived” is a reflective and brooding collection of eight impressionistic original compositions, three “short stories” which act as interludes, and one cover of the beautiful Steve Swallow piece “I’m Your Pal."  Though each musician is accomplished individually, the result of this recording is certainly greater than the sum of its parts, and exemplifies the definition of musical unity.

Dan McCarthy is a Canadian jazz vibraphonist based in Toronto. After graduating top of his class from the prestigious jazz program at Humber College, he moved to New York City in 2004, giving him the chance to play and record with some of the top jazz musicians in the world, such as George Garzone, Myron Walden, Ari Hoenig, and Gerald Cleaver.  In March 2019, Dan’s first major-label release “Epoch” came out on Origin Records. The record features jazz icon Steve Swallow on bass, as well as giants Ben Monder on guitar and Mark Feldman on violin. It received glowing international reviews.

Al Muirhead Quintet - Live From Frankie's & The Yardbird

The first recording trumpeter Al Muirhead was ever involved in was recorded in 1953. He was 18 years old, playing in a small dance band at the Waterton Lakes Dance Hall. A gentleman at the venue had just purchased a new direct to disc recording unit, and wanted to record the band live.

Al still treasures that live recording experience to this day. Now here we are, 67 years later, as Muirhead releases his first vinyl LP as a bandleader - recorded live to disc at two of Canada’s finest jazz clubs. As Al recalls, LP's were his preferred way to listen to music in his younger days, and he is happy to see them gaining in popularity again.

After such a long and storied career, it was high time to capture Muirhead’s playing - and the music he loves - live in concert. The idea was to plan a setlist of jazz standards ahead of time, while also allowing for organic, real-time improvisation and in-the-moment decision making - after all, some of jazz history’s best performances have been spontaneous, single takes! And with his 2020 JUNO-nominated quintet on hand, the sessions were sure to include some magical moments.

This recording project speaks to the concept of legacy. It captures the organic nature of live jazz, where each performance is unique from one night to the next. This is an in-the-moment recording that couldn’t be replicated, quite different than a produced studio recording. There is no option for overdubs or retakes here. It’s a pure representation of the musicianship that Al and his bandmates have brought to the Canadian cultural landscape for so many years. What you are hearing on this recording is the result of two evenings from that 2018 tour at the Yardbird Suite in Edmonton, Alberta  and at Frankie’s Jazz Club in Vancouver, British Columbia.

Roots Trio DELGRES New Album "4:00 AM"; Fuses Gritty Blues Rock with Afro-Caribbean and New Orleans Spirit

The music in 4:00 AM, the new recording by the Paris-based power roots trio Delgres, sounds gritty and full of energy. It's a brand of Creole blues built on strands of African and French Caribbean culture, Mississippi blues storytelling, and New Orleans grooves. The lyrics, sung mostly in Creole, address issues such as poverty, slavery, and the struggles of the immigrant searching for a better life. It's a powerful combination that conjures the spirit of the blues to speak up, but also celebrate and heal. 

"The blues is not sad music," says singer, songwriter, and guitarist Pascal Danae, the founder, and leader of Delgres. "They might be talking about terrible conditions, about terrible losses, but the bottom line is hope." 

4:00 AM, scheduled for release April 9 on [PIAS] Records, is the follow-up to the trio's potent 2018 debut release Mo Jodi (I’ll Die Today), and its music and themes, says Danae, are a reaffirmation of the group's origins. 

"It is linked to the name of the band," explains Danae, whose ancestors were slaves on the French Caribbean island of Guadeloupe. The trio is named after Louis Delgrès, a Creole officer in the French Army who died in Guadeloupe in 1802, fighting against Napoleon's army, which had been sent to reinstate slavery in the French Caribbean. "Here's a guy who actually decided to give his life rather than go back to slavery. Once you have that in the background, you understand the themes in the songs. Our first album was linked to what Louis Delgrès did in his fight for freedom. Now in this second album, it's about our times."

New Release from Pino Palladino, Blake Mills "Ekuté"

Initially conceived as a solo record for Palladino, Notes With Attachments quickly evolved into a fully collaborative work centered around the two artists’ love for experimentation. “Ekuté” follows debut single “Just Wrong,” which Stereogum praised as “a warm, hazy jazz instrumental that takes its time and gives Palladino’s bass plenty of room to move” and Aquarium Drunkard called “the sort of song that tempts you to restart it before it even finishes,” along with live recordings of “Just Wrong” and “Man from Molise.”

Palladino notes that “Ekuté” began as an idea he had at home in London with drummer Chris Dave, a fellow “huge fan” of Afrobeat pioneer Fela Kuti. “It just came from a one-chord jam that I liked the feel of,” he says. “The next thing we did on it was in New York, with Ben Kane, an engineer friend of mine who worked on some of D’Angelo’s stuff. We had Marcus Strickland come in, who had the idea for that multitracked bass-clarinet horn section.”

Not long after, Palladino invited Mills to add something to the track. The experience was Mills’ first encounter with Palladino’s original music and a seed that led to their collaboration on Notes with Attachments. “It was eye-opening to hear something that was repetitive, but still had so many different [directions] that it went in,” says Mills. “It was kind of a revelation, to work on the song on those terms.” That process touches every song on the record, which typically began with Palladino’s own melodic and rhythmic language and developed outward with references shared by the two musicians from West African and Cuban music, funk, jazz, and English folk.

Recorded in stages over two and a half years, Notes With Attachments brings together a preeminent group of musicians from the worlds of jazz, R&B, pop, and beyond: the drummer Chris Dave (D’Angelo, Anderson .Paak); the innovative saxophonists Sam Gendel, Marcus Strickland, and Jacques Schwartz-Bart; the keyboardist Larry Goldings (James Taylor, John Scofield); and others. It is both a producers’ album and a players’ album, exploring bits of musical vocabulary common to the two musicians, then defamiliarizing them.

Two-time Grammy Awards Producer of the Year nominee Blake Mills has released four solo albums and produced and recorded with artists such as Alabama Shakes, Fiona Apple, Bob Dylan, John Legend, Perfume Genius, Jim James, Moses Sumney, Laura Marling, Phoebe Bridgers, Cass McCombs, The Killers, Sara Bareilles, Weyes Blood and Randy Newman. His most recent album Mutable Set, released last year, was praised by Pitchfork as “a hushed collection that floats through the subconscious like a tender dream” and earned their Best New Music title.

Pino Palladino is a Grammy Award winning songwriter, producer and bassist who helped create the rhythm-section sound of D’Angelo’s Voodoo and Black Messiah, and over a four-decade career has worked with artists including Keith Richards, Erykah Badu, Eric Clapton, Nine Inch Nails, Questlove, John Mayer, Paul Simon, Jeff Beck, Herbie Hancock and Adele.

Dan Wilson | "Vessels of Wood and Earth"

In today’s society, perception over reality influences everyday life. Grand offerings of seemingly luxurious lifestyles flood social channels, offering a glimpse of false security and achievement that rarely lie on a strong foundation. Just as a beautiful house is finished with vessels of silver and gold, underneath lies wood and earth. 

On his marvelous new album, Vessels of Wood and Earth, guitarist/composer Dan Wilson takes the title to mean that we as a society tend to look at the shiny exteriors that attract us in an instant, rather than appreciate the less readily apparent structures that actually support the house. Through 11 joyfully dynamic compositions ranging from takes on classic songs from Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye and Ted Daffan mixed with a nod to the spiritual master John Coltrane as well as five original compositions, Wilson builds a foundation rooted as much in tradition as it is in moving the music irresistibly forward into the modern world. 

That structural integrity was front of mind when Wilson set out to craft his label debut for bassist/composer Christian McBride’s new imprint Brother Mister Productions — the label’s second release. “In 2014, I was Artist-in-Residence at the Tri-C Jazz Festival in Cleveland, Ohio,” reflects McBride. “I was involved in numerous performances and outreach events over the course of maybe four days. Terri Pontremoli, Director of the festival, has been one of my closest confidants and collaborators over the course of 20-plus years. One thing she had never done during the course of our friendship was the old, ‘I got someone you need to hear’ bit. For that reason, when she did it that year, I was quite surprised. The person she wanted me to hear was guitarist Dan Wilson. When I got to Mahall's that night and heard him playing solo guitar, I was quite impressed. He was coming straight from that Montgomery, Benson, Burrell, and Martino bag that Terri knew I would like. After it was over, I knew that I'd just met someone I should have met a long time before. Dan Wilson is an absolute monster! He has an enviable technique that comes so seemingly easy to him and his pocket is very deep. Now it's my honor to introduce you to him as a Brother Mister artist. In the words of Terri, ‘I got someone you need to hear.’” 

Joined by pianist Christian Sands, bassist Marco Panascia, drummer Jeff “Tain” Watts and guest vocalist Joy Brown, the virtuosic guitarist’s broad musical roots inspired by Motown, gospel and jazz tradition result in a remarkable feel for arrangements. Wilson’s musical explorations allow the band to elevate each passage, aided by his fluid and melodic expression. 

Due out April 23, the vividly expressionist recording finds Wilson in the purest of creative strides. “I try to elicit the same kind of visceral response to the music that I get in my gut while making it,” comments Wilson. “I want to convey the joy I get out of making the music.” That joy is deeply rooted in his musical beginnings in the church community, where he was quickly immersed in the rich gospel tradition. But at home, he was exposed to a wealth of music from his father, who played drums and bass, and his mother, a gifted singer. 

“My parents loved Motown,” states Wilson. “My father only played at church, never at home, but my mother’s influence on me was amplified by her knowledge of standards and incredible memory for recalling lyrics and God-given natural talents as a singer.” Wilson’s parents exposed him to the great singers like Dinah Washington, Gloria Lynn, Sarah Vaughan and Ella Fitzgerald, which he credits for his arioso approach to solos.  

This strong sense of familial leadership continued when Wilson’s uncle introduced him to the world of jazz through the music of Wes Montgomery and his duets with jazz organist Jimmy Smith. “I was maybe 14 or 15,” Wilson reflects, “and my uncle took me into his basement and played me Wes and Jimmy and I was like, ‘Oh, this is it for me. I want to do that! I just want to do that forever.” 

Wilson’s career took him on an exploratory journey into those foundations laid down by the guitar/organ tradition, eventually leading to an invitation to perform with jazz great Joey DeFrancesco’s quartet with which Wilson went on to earn a GRAMMY® Award nomination for DeFrancesco’s Project Freedom album (Mack Avenue Records, 2017). This collaboration allowed the guitarist to insert his own dialect into the musical prowess and respect that DeFrancesco had earned throughout his journey. Wilson had been playing with DeFrancesco for a few years when he met bassist, composer, arranger, Christian McBride. “It was just like the first time I met Joey – magic. We played three tunes and from note one, it was like ‘Yeah, we were born to play together.’” From there, Wilson went on to tour with McBride’s trio Tip City, eventually leading McBride to serve as producer on Vessels of Wood and Earth and release the album on his newly formed imprint Brother Mister Productions through Mack Avenue Music Group. 

“He’s the same as a producer as he is as a person – what you see is what you get,” laughs Wilson. “Christian understands what it means to be both a band leader and sideman, so he’s got that unique musical perspective. I’m grateful to experience both the shock and the honor of being on Christian’s label.”

Growing up in Akron, Ohio, Dan Wilson spent the majority of his youth within the church community, where his musical path began. Traces of his major guitar influences – including Wes Montgomery, Charlie Christian, Joe Pass, and George Benson to name a few – can be discerned through his playing, but his musical identity has been shaped by everything from gospel and blues to traditional jazz, hip-hop and horn players like Sonny Rollins and Joe Henderson. After graduating from Hiram College, Wilson made his recording debut with pianist Joe McBride and performed to worldwide acclaim with Joey DeFrancesco and Christian McBride’s Tip City, eventually recording his debut as a leader To Whom It May Concern. Wilson has had the honor of sharing the stage with jazz greats including Eric Marienthal, Russell Malone, Les McCann, René Marie, Jeff Hamilton, David Sanborn and Dave Stryker. He also teaches jazz guitar and music theory through private lessons.

Benito Gonzalez | "Sing to the World"

With propulsive pulse and Afro-Latin percussive drive, Benito Gonzalez places rhythm at the core of his exhilarating new album, Sing to the World, set for a May 14 release. All of the ten songs on his fifth album, and first released on the St. Petersburg, Russia label Rainy Days Records, combine to create a sense of wonder and enchantment as Gonzalez takes a stellar step into the future of his jazz journey. He’s assembled an impressive team of collaborators, including Christian McBride, Essiet Okon Essiet, Jeff “Tain” Watts, and Nicholas Payton as well as rising stars Russian drummer Sasha Mashin, trumpeter Josh Evans and saxophonist Makar Kashitsyn.

Sing to The World is a musical exploration into the concept of freedom that recognizes the dignity of us all as individuals. Music is the most powerful tool we have to make a change in the world, uniting as one outside of cultural or religious differences. We are living in a world where all are searching for freedom because its inherently valuable role in human progress. Sing to the World is about this universal search for freedom, about being present, being aware, and trying to allow the moment to come to us. 

The title track of Sing to the World, with its harmonic invention and pianistic power, is influenced by two McCoy Tyner tunes, “Fly with the Wind” and “Song of the New World.” “McCoy played with so much energy and with such a depth of harmony. If you hear that kind of harmony, you can push the music to its limit. It’s open to infinity. That’s my concept for the whole album—play with openness and trust. That’s what I want to give to the world,” says Gonzalez.  

As for enlisting jazz powerhouses in the new album, Gonzalez says McBride and Watts embrace the rhythmic core. “They hear the way I perceive the music. They understand where I’m coming from and execute brilliantly. I like strong beats rooted in Africa which is where my father’s ancestors came from. I like it when people dance to this music. Tain and Christian come from the same place. You can hear the dance beats when they play,” says Gonzalez. "The African sensibility and relationship with the drums has usually permeated the best of jazz and American music. Benito embraces that language as part of his commitment to the spiritual, healing part of the music. As a drummer, it's really fun to play with and bounce off of, in order to get to a vibration that's vital and always in style." explains Watts. 

As for bringing Payton on board, Gonzalez says, “Nicholas is the best trumpet player today, and I thought he would be a great addition for my album giving his direction in the music,” says Gonzalez.  

Highlights on Sing to the World include Gonzalez’s dazzle of keys on “Sounds of Freedom” which he says is inspired by “the troubling situations in our world today. People are looking for freedom in places like my home Venezuela, in Russia, the U.S. People are searching, fighting for freedom,” says Gonzalez. 

Others include “Views of the Blues,” an energized outing inspired by Coltrane’s open-sound sensibility of playing the blues, and the moving, lyrical “Offering,” featuring a terrific McBride solo. “When I was seven years old in Venezuela, I played the organ at church. I was playing beautiful melodies. This song is based on that. It’s not a hymn but a reminder of the hymns I played as a kid. It’s a story. It’s my interpretation of that period in my life,” says Gonzalez. 

In addition to his slow-to-upbeat originals, Gonzalez adds to the set list two compositions that have never been recorded by their composers: Roy Hargrove’s soulful “Father”and Jeff “Tain” Watt’s beauty “412.” Benito singles out ”Father” as one of his favorite songs on the album. “It’s about my personal relationship to Roy. In 2006, we attended jam sessions every Thursday night. He sat down at the piano one night and taught me the changes to this song. We played it often, but he never recorded it” he says.  

As for the Tain tune, Gonzalez learned it when the two were both teaching summer jazz camp at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC ). "Having known Benito for years, it's been a pleasure to witness both his growth, and his love and respect for the music in notes and spirit. His seriousness and focus were apparent years ago in the young man I'd chat with during trips; always friendly and seeking, never pushy. I'm proud to see him today as a bright light and leader in the music" says Watts. “I was messing around on the piano one day, and Tain gave me the chart. I’ve always loved this ballad. He’s played it on occasion but never recorded it,” says Gonzalez about “412.” 

What’s impressive about Gonzalez is that he’s not willing to sit still for too long. He’s already got future projects in mind. Recently named a Steinway & Sons artist in 2020, emerging piano talent Benito Gonzalez continues to reveals himself as an inspired and versatile artist on his fifth album, Sing to the World. 

Benito Gonzalez was born in Maracaibo, Venezuela to folk musician parents who played traditional Venezuelan music. It became embedded in their son’s rhythmic sensibility. As a youngster Gonzalez played the guitar, drums and organ at church. It wasn’t until someone gave him a cassette of John Coltrane’s Afro Blue that he discovered Tyner and decided to become a pianist. “I knew I couldn’t play like that, but I identified with him. I started studying hard. I went to college, but I quit because of the music. I practiced for endless hours—10 to 12 hours a day,” says Gonzales. 

When Gonzalez moved from his hometown to the national capital Caracas, he tuned into the only local radio station for jazz and discovered the music of Herbie Hancock, Chick Corea and Keith Jarrett, among others. But he also plunged into his country’s unique music styles. He played with master musicians like Jose Velasquez who was the bass player for the legendary pianist Aldemaro Romero—who contributing to increased visibility of innovative Venezuelan music on the international scene with the onda nueva (new wave) rhythm derived from joropo and bossa nova. 

Gonzalez made his way to U.S. by a serendipitous route when an American cultural ambassador caught one of his trio gigs and later invited him to come to Washington, D.C. to play shows with Ghanaian master drummer Okyerema Asante that led to a recording. “After my first six months here, I decided to stay in this country to learn the music right. I was seeing shows by McCoy, Bruce Barth and Gonzalo Rubalcaba and others and falling in love with jazz on a whole new level,” Gonzalez says. 

Gonzalez went on to play with Jackie McLean in 2003, then joined Kenny Garrett’s quartet for seven years until 2013—during which time he garnered two GRAMMY®-Award band nominations for the saxophonist’s albums Seeds from the Underground and Pushing the World Away. During this time Gonzalez started recording his own albums, including Starting Point (2004) and Circles (2010), then continuing his solo career with Dream Rhapsody (2015) with Slavic flutist/vocalist Sisa Michalidesová, and the Tyner project Passion Reverence Transcendence (2018). After his stint with Garrett, he played with saxophonist Azar Lawrence’s band then in 2019 was enlisted by saxophone legend Pharoah Sanders to be his pianist/musical director.

Robert Walter 'Spirit Of '70' To Be Reissued

Robert Walter has announced his long out-of-print 1996 debut album 'Spirit of '70' will be reissued May 7 on limited edition 180-gram, purple smoke vinyl and digital formats via RPF Records. At the time of its recording, the eight-track LP, that JazzTimes called "can't miss funk," was the second edition in a planned series of solo albums by individual members of The Greyboy Allstars—the band Walter co-founded, and 27 years later continues to play keys, alongside saxophonist Karl Denson, guitarist Elgin Park, bassist Chris Stillwell and drummer Zak Najor. The concept for the solo recordings was to emulate the rotating personnel of the Blue Note and Prestige labels where a core cast of musicians would take turns as a leader, while drawing on the others as sidemen. The idea was further expanded by inviting a guest from the previous generation that had been influential to The Greyboy Allstars' sound to record with them. For 'Spirit Of '70,' legendary saxophonist Gary Bartz joined the line-up.

"We loved the 'Harlem Bush Music' albums by Gary Bartz," says Walter. "Somehow the idea became to have Gary on the next record, which would be mine to lead. He was a hero for us because of his lucid improvisations, deep connection to blues and heavy spiritual vibe. My contributions to The Greyboy Allstars at the time had been tending more strange and meditative, so it seemed like a great fit."

The sessions took place over a few days in producer DJ Greyboy's living room turned studio. Recording in a non-traditional space helped to create a relaxed atmosphere and forced Walter and company to play closely together without much isolation. You can hear the front door open at the beginning of "Impervious" by someone unaware that a take had begun. Elgin Park's guitar on the album was recorded through a Caliphone portable record player instead of an amplifier. Aside from instruments and recording gear, the house was filled with mid-century furniture and thousands of records. The cover photos were taken in the same space as the recordings.

"We had been touring heavily at the time so the band had an easy chemistry, but this was my first album as a leader, so I was both nervous and star struck by the presence of Gary Bartz," remembers Walter. "Before long the tension eased and the recording was fun and loose. I remember Gary playing one great solo after another while we just tried to get a mistake free take behind him. I learned from the sustained flow of invention in Gary's playing. It made me want to become a better and more true improvisor. He helped to elevate the music beyond just a throwback funk tribute. This was art being created in real time and in the present. That early inspiring experience did a lot for my confidence as a composer and arranger."

The majority of the material recorded for 'Spirit of '70' had been part of The Greyboy Allstars live sets with band members Elgin Park, Chris Stillwell and Zak Najor all receiving writing credits, while two of Robert Walter's compositions "Impervious" and "Palilalia" were written specifically for the album. Additionally, two tasty covers were served up: "Jan Jan," a song written by organist Mose Davis of underground Detroit funk stalwarts The Fabulous Counts and "Little Miss Lover," the Jimi Hendrix gem, which nods to the soul jazz tradition of reimagining popular songs from the rock music canon.

Alternating between an array of vintage keyboards, including Fender Rhodes, Wurlitzer, Hammond B3 organ, Clavinet and Mini Moog, Walter leads the band through a set of soul jazz, boogaloo and rare groove. As the album title implies, 1970's funk, in all of it varying colors and forms, was the inspiration and, accordingly, burns off the grooves. It's audibly apparent that the music is being born again in the capable hands of a new generation. Walter and company's youthful exuberance propels the record with wide-eyed innocence as elder statesman Gary Bartz clearly gives his blessing for these 20-something funk purveyors to assume the mantle.

"I remember making this album as a highlight of the early days of The Greyboy Allstars," concludes Walter. "I think it captures the band right as it is beginning to establish its own identity. We are taking the lessons learned from emulating the records we love and starting to create something unique. I’m still very proud of this one."

Jazz-Fusion Guitarist Gerald Gradwohl Releases “Episode 6”

Working at the highest international level of quality has always been a fundamental characteristic of the Gerald Gradwohl Group. He collaborated with Bob Berg, Gary Willis, Kirk Covington, Adam Nitti amongst others. Rooted in the quartet’s own unique approach to instrumental fusion, their sixth album “Episode 6” is a celebration of improvisation set within an exciting and colorful, sonic landscape of imposing compositions. As we have come to know from guitarist and composer Gerald Gradwohl, he continues to work with musicians who, aside from their extraordinary instrumental skills, also bring maturity and creative drive into both concert and recording situations.

“Episode 6” is no exception. Gradwohl’s sophisticated and stylistically diverse instrumental compositions conceptualize exciting musical interactions, and his approach not only continues to keep live recordings fresh and challenging but also fosters the intuition and spontaneity of the musicians, all consolidating the band’s highly dynamic sound. Gerald Gradwohl (g), Thomas Kugi (sax), Jojo Lackner (b) und Harald Tanschek (dr) have once again proved themselves to be an exceptional ensemble, unifying dynamic and intimate musicality with artistic intuition and emotional depth.  

Says Gerald, “Goal of the album was to capture the live sound of this steadily gigging band. We play live with this line up since years which of course influenced my writing a lot. The sound of the live band was the main inspiration, but I also tried to capture the existing vibes during the lockdown. My plan was to work on an album in 2021, but as the pandemic changed all plans and schedules, I preponed this project and finished the song ideas I already had during April/May…We recorded 2 days live as a quartet in one room and added a few overdubs later, so the result is as it would sound live. Recording live is one of my main concepts since years as all the records I made are some kind of snapshots. Moreover, I don’t like to make everything perfect - I love the idea that the listener can feel the energy and spirit of playing together as it would be onstage.”

When looking for terms and names to describe the band, the attempt will leave you with a wide spectrum between jazz and fusion music focusing on grooving funk with a strong “Rock ‘N’ Roll Attitude” mixed with Jazz harmony to fierce discharging jazz rock storms. There is no arbitrariness in this wide array of musical styles and influences, as the band selected team players from the international jazz/fusion scene – renders the stringent compositions in a committed and playfully individual manner, putting its high-quality inventive signature to the music and derives its uniqueness and independence from a sure, pro-active and listening interaction of experienced musician personalities. Gradwohl can jump into and out of the stylistic changes like a true chameleon. He has ventured further into exploratory fusion on this effort than on any of his previous efforts.  Having the support and backing of the great rhythm section has really made this venture for Gradwohl into tribal funk fusion a viable effort of world class caliber. GG pulls all the stops of his musical skills. “As much composition as necessary and as much improvisation as possible” seems to be the dogma and the point of view of fusion-music of today for this worldwide known and acknowledged composer and performer, living in Wr. Neustadt, Austria. The great variety in composition and playing will not only fascinate Jazz and Fusion lovers - watch out for exciting live gigs!  

The album “ABQ” (2003) feat. Bob Berg, Gary Willis and Kirk Covington was a big step in Gerald’s international career. Several albums and live tours have been the result of his continuous work. 2007 “Tritone Barrier” is released. On this album Scott Henderson contributes a guest solo on the track “Jeff's Back.” This album is followed by “Sally Beth Roe” in 2009 which he recorded with his Trio - this is a real guitar trio record! In 2013 Gerald released “Big Land” feat. Tribal Tech drummer Kirk Covington on drums. “RAW” (2016) is a critically acclaimed masterpiece of Jazz and Rock music and is the first release with his current band. The band is touring regularly and releases the new album “Episode 6” in April 2021! 

Says Gerald, “I hope we can present the album live as soon as possible. My main goal is to bring the Quartet to as many festivals as possible, as we really ‘burn’ onstage. My next project is already in the works - I want to prove that it is possible to do a ‘remote’ recording by sending files back and forth and still creating a live atmosphere almost as we would play together in a room. I already did a few tunes with Kirk Covington and Adam Nitti and hope that I can finish this in 2021!”