Janelle Headley

Tags

Female Vocalist, Jazz, Soul Music

Janelle Headley - Photo by Joel Brooks

For those of you who enjoy vocal artists like India.Arie, Jill Scott, Liz Wright and Rachelle Ferrell then I’m sure you’ll gladly envelope the voice of songstress Janelle Headley. She’s a delightful messenger of lyric and song.  – The Urban Flux

Born and raised on the island of Barbados, as a young girl Janelle Headley would grab every opportunity to sing in school assemblies or at church. Composing and arranging also came easily to her; and friends and family still recall the lyrics to songs she wrote when she was six. It was only at the age of 17, however, that Janelle decided Music was her passion. Before then she had struggled to convince herself that traditional academic pursuits were best. Once the decision was made, Janelle made her way to The Kings University College, Edmonton Alberta.

As a singer, songwriter and poet, she believes the message is as critical as the melody: To narrate my stories, and be able to connect with the audience through lessons learnt, inspiring their own introspection and reflection, would be priceless … Janelle Headley\MySpace.com

Eldredge Jackson | Listening Pleasure

Tags

African American, Saxophone, Smoothjazz

Eldredge Jackson

A dynamic blend of the jazz, R&B and gospel influences that have inspired and defined the saxman’s life and career, Listening Pleasure marks Jackson’s long awaited emergence onto the national scene. Among the collection’s 13 powerhouse tracks are soulful, passionate covers of two iconic R&B songs, Lionel Richie’s “Hello” and Michael Jackson’s “Rock With You,” which are produced by Brian Jones and famed R&B/urban jazz producer Preston Glass.

Beyond these crowd pleasers, the core of Listening Pleasure is the full-on collaboration between Jackson and his fellow Tulsan, superstar bassist Wayman Tisdale, on ten cuts that brings their personal and professional association full circle. – EldredgeJackson.com

e.s.t. (the Esbjorn Svensson Trio) | Leucocyte

Tags

Jazz, Piano, Trio

Esbjorn Svensson Trio e.s.t. | Leucocyte – [Emarcy / Pgd, 2008]

Esbjorn Svensson Trio, Leucocyte

The new album from the international jazz trio e.s.t (the Esbjorn Svensson Trio) serves as their ultimate legacy after the sudden accidental death of the Swedish jazz pianist and composer Esbjorn Svensson while scuba diving near Stockholm at the age of 44. Leucocyte, pays tribute and carries on the memory of one of the most innovative jazz trios of this era.

Dexter Gordon | Go [Classic Jazz]

Tags

African American, Jazz, Saxophone

Dexter Gordon

Just before heading off to a 15-year stay in Europe, the stately Dexter Gordon waxed a pair of records for Blue Note in August 1962: this classic and, two days later, A Swingin’ Affair. It’s been widely reported that Gordon himself considered Go! his greatest achievement, and (if so) it’s easy to hear why. Brimming with conviction and poise, Gordon’s gentle-giant sax carries itself with a sort of graceful edge that is difficult to emulate. He’s always quick with a humorous quote, yet it always seems to fit just right. He’s always languishing behind the beat, yet he never seems late. He possesses an enormous tone, yet he never overwhelms the songs or the listener. He sounds unhurried at any speed. His song selection is typically creative, holding little-known ballads close to his brawny chest like a big, cuddly bear. A stellar rhythm section of the elegantly funky pianist Sonny Clark plus Butch Warren and Billy Higgins doesn’t hurt either. –Marc Greilsamer/Amazon.com

Robert Glasper | In My Element

Tags

African American, Jazz, Piano, Robert Glasper

Robert Glasper | In My Element [Blue Note, 2007] | Music Review]

Robert Glasper

As jazz pianist come and go in the last few decades, I’ve heard my fair share of talented players. In recent years, I’ve been blessed to hear this amazingly gifted young jazz pianist from Houston, TX. – Robert Glasper. Since graduating from college, he’s played with the talented Christian McBride, Kenny Garrett, Roy Hargrove and Hip-Hop artist Mos Def. Subsequently, my next encounter was back in 2005 with his critically acclaimed Blue Note Records debut entitled “Canvas.” In some jazz circles, the artistry of this poised musician has been compared to his colleagues Jason Moran, Bill Charlap, and Brad Mehldau.

Hiromi (Uehara) | “XYZ” [VOTW]

Tags

Jazz, Jazz Fusion, Keyboards, Piano

Are you ready for a mind blowing audio/visual experience? From the realm of fusionology 101, we’re enthralled to present pianist Hiromi Uehara captured live in Japan …

James Denmark | Natural Beauty [AOTW]

Tags

African American, Art, Culture

James Denmark, born in Winter Haven, Florida in 1936, is part of an artistic family. He was exposed to color and form at an early age by his grandmother, a wire sculptor and quilt artist.

Denmark earned his Master of Fine Arts Degree at Pratt Institute of Fine Arts in New York. During this period he was heavily influenced by the abstract expressionists Jackson Pollock, Clifford Still, and William deKooning.

Denmark’s collages, watercolors, woodcuts and reproductions are consistently and eagerly sought by galleries and collectors worldwide. James Denmark lives and works in Brooklyn, New York. – Grandpasart.com

James Denmark | Natural Beauty [Giclee]

James Denmark

Yaniel Matos | En Movimiento

Tags

Culture, Jazz, Piano

Yaniel Matos

En  Movimiento is a disc that shows a walk between the cultures of  two countries, Brazil and Cuba. Long  before living in Brazil, Yaniel already felt as a part of the excellent melody and harmony that the Bossa Nova brings to music, of the cults and indigenous rituals and of a city like São Paulo, where we find a wide variety of miscegenation. In this record Yaniel presents his sextet, giving us a summary of this Cuban experience in Brazil in a jazz language filled with colors and descriptive sounds, looking for new trends.

“Yaniel Matos can elevate the mind of the listener to the most noble dimension of pleasure in a context far from our ultra coded caged minds.” This is the critical set of Enzo Pavoni, from Jazz Magazine (Italy). – CDBaby.com

SMV [Clarke, Miller & Wooten – EPK]

Tags

African American, Bass Guitar, Heads Up Records, Jazz Fusion

Stanley Clarke, Marcus Miller and Victor Wooten each a powerful force of nature in his own right have done

SMV

more in recent decades to redefine the electric bass and push the limits of its potential than any other musician alive today. When these three titans collectively known as S.M.V. converge on the low frequencies, the results are no less than earth shaking.

Thunder, their debut collaboration on Heads Up International was released on August 12, 2008. SMV is a high-energy project that’s guaranteed to resonate throughout every corner of the jazz world. – Heads Up International

SMV Tour Dates: MarcusMiller.com

Herbie Hancock | V.S.O.P. [Classic Jazz/Fusion]

Tags

African American, Funk, Jazz, Keyboards, Piano

Herbie Hancock, 77

V.S.O.P. is a landmark album in the history of jazz, though not at all in the way it was intended. George Wein organized a Herbie Hancock retrospective concert at the 1977 Newport Jazz Festival in New York where three bands from Hancock’s past and present — the 1965-1968 Miles Davis Quintet with Freddie Hubbard deputizing for the indisposed Miles, the 1969-1973 sextet, and Hancock’s then-current jazz-funk outfit — would share the stage. As things turned out, it was the Miles band reunion that grabbed most of the attention, leading to several tours which in turn inspired a whole generation of young musicians (led by Wynton Marsalis) to turn their backs upon electronics and make bop-grounded acoustic jazz the lingua franca of jazz for the rest of the 20th century.