Ruben Samama | Hotaru

Tags

Bassist, Culture, Jazz, Modern Jazz

What a surprisingly versatile and strong band bass player Ruben Samama brought together here for his debut album. There is really a lot to be discovered and enjoyed in this dynamic recording.

Ruben Samama

Ruben Samama | Hotaru [Jazz/ O.A.P. Records/2007] Nu-Voices

What a surprisingly versatile and strong band bass player Ruben Samama brought together here for his debut album. There is really a lot to be discovered and enjoyed in this dynamic recording.

There is really a lot to be discovered and enjoyed in this dynamic album of Ruben Samama: the inescapable structures of the arrangements, the exciting and frenetic movement of ‘Ji’, the touching way a classic like Gordon Jenkins’ ‘Goodbye’ is handled, the inspired and to-the-point soloing, this is a band with a sound of its own.

Rosalia De Souza | D’Improvviso

Tags

Brazilian, Culture, Female Vocalist, Jazz

Rosalia De Souza

Rosalia De Souza | D’Improvviso [Brazilian/Schema (Italy)/2009]

Beautiful bossa from Rosalia De Souza — and a set that’s got a sweet little difference from some of her earlier Schema albums! This time around, the sound is warmly acoustic throughout — very jazz-based, and wrapped around Rosalia’s vocals wonderfully — sometimes with a groove that’s right in club jazz territory, other times with a mellower vibe that really fits the bossa spirit of the material! De Souza’s vocals somehow sound even more beautiful in this setting — with soulful jazz inflections, and a maturity we might not have heard before — and the great trumpeter Fabrizio Bosso adds his talents to the core group for the session, working alongside tenor, trombone, piano, and lots of live percussion. Toco duets with Rosalia on a few tracks, and titles include “Banzo”, “Candomble”, “D’Improvviso”, “Carolina Carol Bela”, “Sambinha”, “5 Dias De Carnaval”, “Luiza Manequim”, “Amanha”, “Bossa 50”, and “Samba Longe.” ~ Source: DustyGroove.com

Quasimode | Mode in Blue

Tags

Culture, Japan, Jazz, Modern Jazz

Quasimode | Mode in Blue [Modern Jazz/Blue Note/2009] Import

The Blue Note debut of one of our favorite contemporary combos — a set that has Quasimode taking on a host of classics from the label’s catalog of the 60s! Given the already-soulful sound of Quasimode on other records, the setting is a perfect one — tunes that are a perfect showcase for their mix of modal rhythms and sharp-edged solo sounds! The group’s expanded a bit on some tracks by the presence of guests — but the core instrumentation features tenor, trumpet, piano, and lots of great percussion — all used to come up with a host of great club jazz-styled rhythms. Valerie Etienne sings guest vocals on a version of “Little B’s Poem” — and other titles include “No Room For Squares”, “Congalere”, “Ghana”, “The Loner”, “Afrodisia”, “On Children”, “Night Dreamer”, “African Village”, “Sayonara Blues”, and the group’s own “Mode Of Blue”.  ~ Source: DustyGroove.com

Terrence Brewer | Groovin Wes

Tags

African American, Guitar, Jazz, Terrence Brewer

“Grooving Wes A Musical Expression of Admiration for Wes Montgomery”

Terrence Brewer

Terrence Brewer | Groovin Wes [Contemporary Jazz/Strong Brew Music/2009]

‘Lots of guitarists can imitate Wes Montgomery, I wanted to pay tribute to him with my own voice’…Terrence Brewer

Following “QuintEssential,” his third album for the Strong Brew Music label, San Francisco based jazz guitarist Terrence Brewer pays homage to the man who set the standard for modern jazz guitar Wes Montgomery.

After receiving both regional and national acclaim for his all original albums, The Calling: Volume One and Volume Two (2006) and QuintEssential (2008 – 12 weeks on the JazzWeek album charts peaking at #17), Brewer is set to light up the jazz scene once again with Groovin’ Wes, music written and popularized by one of jazz guitar s greatest heroes, Wes Montgomery. ~ Source: Amazon.com

Release Date: 3/3/2009

Steve Jobs a music visionary? Judge for yourself

Tags

Apple, Internet, Technology

Steve Jobs is a Bob Dylan fan because the folk singer is, in the words of Apple’s CEO, a “clear thinker.”

Jobs’ own lucid and careful contemplation of the music industry is apparent in a 2003 interview he gave to Rolling Stone magazine’s Jeff Goodell. My colleague Tom Krazit pointed me to the story after stumbling on to it recently. We were bowled over by the preciseness of Jobs’ assessment of what the future held for digital rights management, music subscription services, the four largest recording companies, and Apple. The interview in retrospect is a fascinating read.

Jobs correctly predicted that attempts by the major labels to find a technological solution to piracy would fail. When it came to subscription music services, he said the public would reject them. He foresaw a day when iTunes would sell 1 billion tracks a year–a bold statement, considering that at the time, iTunes had only sold 20 million songs. ~ Source: news.cnet.com

Read the complete article here …

balam | 4 Floors Up

Tags

Contemporary Jazz, Keyboards

balam

balam | 4 Floors Up [Contemporary Jazz/balam/2009] Nu-Voices

A journey through the land of instrumental groove. mixing acoustic & electronic jazz funk flavors with vocal treasures along the way to chill out your warm bits.

balam (aka) Fred is currently writing and touring with the UK based band, Acoustic Alchemy. His first involvement was on ‘The Beautiful Game‘ album back in 2000, Co-writing tracks such as ‘Hats of Magic’ and ‘The Last Flamenco‘.

Floors up is a journey through style.. groove.. vocals.. Horns.. All tied together by stunning musical performances from the likes of Miles Gilderdale (Guitar), Greg Grainger (Drums), Julian Crampton (Bass), Suzanna Dee (vocals), Fred White (Keys/Horns), plus some more bad company behind the scenes. Produced by Fred White aka balam. ~ Source: CDBaby.com

Common Knowledge | Well Kept Secret

Tags

Bass Guitar, Female Vocalist, Smoothjazz

Common Knowledge

Common Knowledge | Well Kept Secret [Urban Jazz/Smooth Soul/2008] Nu-Voices

One of the most innovative and stylistic bassists in traditional jazz and contemporary music, releases his debut CD that contains music for the mind, body and spirit.

A native of Washington, DC, Yusef Chisholm is one of the most innovative and stylistic bassists in traditional and contemporary music.  In 1995, Yusef formed Common Knowledge, a contemporary jazz ensemble. His studio (of same name) has provided a venue for local musicians to record their projects.  He has been a member of Collaboration, a Washington-based jazz group of music educators since 1986.  He has performed in many venues in the United States and abroad, sharing the stage with many prominent musicians. ~ Source: CDBaby.com

Chick Corea & Hiromi | Duet

Tags

Chick Corea, Culture, Hiromi, Jazz, Piano

Chick & Hiromi

Chick Corea & Hiromi | Duet [Jazz/Concord Records/2009]

Grammy-award winning pianist Chick Corea will release Duet, a 2-CD live performance with up-and-coming virtuosic Japanese pianist Hiromi, on February 3rd via Concord Records.

Originally released in Japan in 2007 on Universal, Duet became the top-selling jazz album of the year. The 12-track, 2-CD release marks Chick Corea’s first recorded piano duet album since 1978’s An Evening With Herbie Hancock & Chick Corea: In Concert.

The first CD features an original by each pianist as well as four covers, including Thelonious Monk’s “Bolivar Blues” and Lennon-McCartney’s “Fools On The Hill.” The second disc features two originals from Corea and Hiromi, and the two adventurously meld Joaquin Vidre Rodrigo’s classic “Concierto de Aranjuez” with one of Corea’s best-known tunes, “Spain.”

Molly Johnson | Lucky

Tags

Culture, Female Vocalist, Jazz, Molly Johnson

Molly Johnson

Molly Johnson | Lucky [Jazz/2008] Jazz Vocals

By saying that Molly Johnson knows all the other idioms of popular music today, one might nearly lose sight of the fact that she is a jazz singer. Here she is coming home again, with a dozen major standards: compositions by the greatest jazzmen, tunes from musical comedy that have become playing fields for the great voices, but also a few surprises which say quite a bit about the taste and the sense of humor of this beautiful Canadian woman of mixed race origins. ~ Source: Mollyjohnson.com

Also, look for Molly Johnson’s “Live In Montreal – DVD” on Emarcy Records coming: 3/24/2009.

iPhone and iPod touch 2.2.1 Update Available, Fixes Bugs

Tags

Apple, iPhone, Technology

iPhone Update

Apple has just released the 2.2.1 update for iPhones and iPod touches today, complete with various bug-fix promises for Safari, Mail, and the Camera app.

The update applies to all versions (iPhone and iPhone 3G) and most likely to both generations of the iPod touch. (Just plug in your device and hit Update to find out for sure.) It’s not a terribly exciting update, so don’t expect any cool new features. (Sorry to all you unreasonable folks wanting MMS and copy-and-paste.) If you’ve jailbroken your iPhone, you should hold tight on the upgrade until we see whether or not 2.2.1 is jailbreakable. ~ Source: Lifehacker.com