Now Available — Ramsey Lewis’ Concord Jazz Debut

Tags

African American, Jazz, Piano, Ramsey Lewis

Ramsey Lewis | Songs From the Heart: Ramsey Plays Ramsey – [Concord Jazz, 2009]

Ramsey Lewis

Today, September 29, Concord Jazz releases Songs From the Heart: Ramsey Plays Ramsey, the debut Concord Jazz CD from iconic pianist/bandleader Ramsey Lewis. At the age of 74, Ramsey Lewis has not only continued to be active in the jazz world, but he’s also forging ahead with a newly inspired creative instinct as a composer. This re-envisioned artistic sensibility is showcased on his new album, which is a remarkable, refined collection of 12 new originals that he composed over a period of two years. The collection includes music from two commissioned world premiere performances at the Ravinia Festival in Highland Park, Illinois, just north of Chicago. Eight songs come from the score of 2007’s ballet To Know Her…written for the Joffrey Ballet Company and four pieces come from 2008’s Muses and Amusements suite performed with the Turtle Island Quartet.

Songs From the Heart, Lewis’ first trio recording in five years, features eight pieces with bassist Larry Gray and drummer Leon Joyce, and four piano solo performances. To Lewis, the CD marks a turning point in his storied career: he’s found new life as a composer.

Bakithi Kumalo | Transmigration

Tags

African, Bass, Funk, Jazz

“While we’re only six years into it, ‘Transmigration‘ may very well be the most important jazz album of the 21st century thus far.” —Ray Ellis –

Bakithi Kumalo | Transmigration – [Bakithi Kumalo Music, 2007]

Bakithi Kumalo, Transmigration

A native of Soweto Township outside Johannesburg, South Africa, Bakithi Kumalo (Paul Simon’s “Graceland“) creates a singular electric fretless bass sound that teems with double stops that sound like human voices and the African grooves of his homeland and has garnered him a stellar reputation as a sideman.

In addition to touring with Simon on his current North American tour, he’s also recorded and/or toured with the likes of Gloria Estefan, Chaka Khan, Harry Belafonte, Gerald Albright, Miriam Makeba, Josh Groban and Chris Botti. Kumalo breaks fertile new ground with his latest CD, ‘Transmigration,’ on Guru Project.

Source: CDBaby.com

Manuel Valera | Currents

Tags

Jazz, Manuel Valera, Piano

Greeting’s my fellow music aficionados, you say that you dig Latin Jazz?? … then do your ears a favor and feed your ongoing taste for this amazing style of music and discover and incredible voice of Afro-Cuban pianist Manuel Valera and his latest “Currents. Available on October, 6th from MAXJAZZ.” ~ The Urban Flux

Manuel Valera | Currents – [MAXJAZZ, 2009]

“He leaves no doubt that he’s destined to play a role in the future of jazz. Valera shows a keen jazz vocabulary, a gift for creating grooves that invite stellar solo flights from his collaborators and the nerve to romance a melody when it suits him.” —Billboard Magazine

Manuel Valera, Currents

Cuban pianist, composer and arranger Manuel Valera is at the forefront of contemporary modern jazz. He represents the next generation of great performers and composers. On his new MAXJAZZ release, “Currents,” his sound is fresh, inviting and evocative, and his musical ideas bring a vitality and newness to the idioms of jazz and Latin jazz.

Joining Valera on this date is bassist James Genus and drummer Ernesto Simpson. “Currents” features five original compositions as well as a number of standards by the likes of Monk, Gershwin and Berlin.

Source: Amazon.com

Guitarist, Vocalist, and Composer Clay Ross Celebrates the Release of His New Album Matuto

Tags

Guitar, Poetry, Vocals

Guitarist Clay Ross not only celebrates the coming of his latest album “Matuto” but he also takes the blending musical genres into a place many of us might not traveled before. Perhaps, it’s time to explore a unique and distinctive new voice in music! Be sure and check out the video and be blown away!~ The Urban Flux

Celebrates the Release of His New Album Matuto With Two Evenings of Brazilian Carnaval Meets Appalachia in NYC at NUBLU on October 15th and at RODEO BAR on October 20th.

Clay Ross

“Clay Ross thinks like a poet, writes like a novelist, and plays the guitar like a master.” – Jambase

Matuto (ma-two-toe) is Brazilian slang for country bumpkin. Imagine the sound of a Brazilian Carnaval in the Appalachian Mountains. A sound where exotic percussion instruments rumble beneath blues drenched vocals, Telecaster twangs, and folksy fiddle tunes. Now, imagine these sounds in the hands of some of NYC’s finest young improvisers as they light up club and festival stages world wide.

On his Ropeadope debut, Matuto, Clay Ross offers us a peek into his diverse and dynamic musical world. Composer, singer-songwriter, and producer, this South Carolina native has become an in-demand guitarist on the NYC jazz, world, and roots music scenes. In the last four years, Ross has submerged himself in Brazilian music as a member of Cyro Baptista’s world-renowned percussion ensemble “Beat the Donkey.” He has completed four international tours as a U.S. Jazz Ambassador and currently performs at bluegrass festivals across North America with rising folk star April Verch.

Ignacio Berroa | Codes

Tags

African American, Afro-Cuban, Drums, Jazz, Percussion

“Ignacio plays with intelligence, taste, fire, and soul. His playing combines the finest aspects of Afro-Cuban and American styles of drumming (…) When you hear him play it just makes you feel good, just like a good hot bowl of gumbo!” – Wynton Marsalis

Ignacio Berroa | Codes – [Blue Records, 2006]

Ignacio Berroa, Codes

Ignacio Berroa has been recognized by many as one of the greatest drummers of our times. His numerous contributions to the American music scene have earned him a place among a very selective group of artists known to have set new musical trends for the 20th century. Jazz Legend Dizzy Gillespie best defined Ignacio as:…”The only Latin drummer in the world, in the history of American music that intimately knows both worlds; his native Afro-Cuban music as well as Jazz…”Highly respected among his peers, Ignacio’s musicianship and versatility have enabled him to build a successful career by gaining the recognition of some of the most important artists in the business.

As an educator he first made his mark by becoming an Adjunct Faculty Instructor at Florida International University from 1991 to 1994. Later in 1995, he released his video “Mastering The Art of Afro-Cuban Drumming” under Warner Bros Publications , deemed by Downbeat magazine as the best instructional video of the year. His books, “Groovin’ In Clave” and “A New Way of Groovin”, distributed by Carl Fischer are great tools to learn independence, Afro-Cuban grooves as well as mixing the Rumba clave with other styles like Rock, Funk and Brazilian. – Biography

Source: www.ignacioberroa.com/

The Manhattan Transfer | The Chick Corea Songbook

Tags

Chick Corea, Jazz, Vocal Group

The Manhattan Transfer | The Chick Corea Songbook – [Four Quarters Entertainment, 2009]

The Manhattan Transfer

ONE OF THE GREATEST VOCAL GROUPS OF ALL TIME, THE MANHATTAN TRANSFER, CELEBRATE THEIR 4OTH ANNIVERSARY WITH THE RELEASE OF THEIR LONG AWAITED STUDIO ALBUM – THE CHICK COREA SONGBOOK THIS GROUNDBREAKING AND AMBITIOUS PROJECT IS SURE TO REKINDLE THE ENTHUSIASM OF THEIR COUNTLESS FANS AND ONCE AGAIN WIN CRITICAL AND POPULAR ACCLAIM WITH A STELLAR PERFORMANCE THAT WILL RE-AFFIRM THE REASON WHY THE MANHATTAN TRANSFER IS AN INSPIRATION AND THE STANDARD BEARER FOR VOCAL GROUPS ALL OVER THE WORLD. THE CHICK COREA SONGBOOK FEATURES FRESH AND EXCITING VOCAL INTERPRETATIONS OF SOME OF THE CLASSIC, POPULAR AND BRILLIANT CHICK COREA COMPOSITIONS, AND INCLUDES A NEW COMPOSITION, “FREE SAMBA” WHICH HAS BEEN WRITTEN SPECIALLY FOR THIS ALBUM BY CHICK COREA. THE ALBUM ALSO FEATURES GUEST APPEARANCES BY SOME OF THE FINEST MUSICIANS IN THE WORLD INCLUDING CHICK COREA, AIRTO, ALEX ACUNA, CHRISTIAN MCBRIDE, FRED HERSCH, EDSEL GOMEZ, LOU MARINI……TO NAME A FEW.

IN THE COURSE OF THEIR LONG AND SUCCESSFUL CAREER MANHATTAN TRANSFER HAS SOLD MILLIONS OF ALBUMS IN NORTH AMERICA ALONE, AND HAVE WON MULTIPLE GRAMMY AND OTHER MAJOR AWARDS.

Source: Amazon.com … go here,to hear samples from this stunning tribute to “The Chick Corea Songbook.”

Jaleel Shaw | Optimism

Tags

African American, Jaleel Shaw, Jazz, Saxophone

Jaleel Shaw is a relatively new yet powerful voice on the modern jazz scene. Get this, once you’ve heard his infallible release titled “Optimism” you will undoubtedly want to hear more from this dynamic performer. Jaleel’s warm and expressive timbre burns passionately from the core of the cold steel of his saxophone. ~ The Urban Flux

Jaleel Shaw, Optimism

Jaleel Shaw | Optimism [Changu Records, 2008]

Jaleel Shaw’s second CD as a leader, the award-winning alto saxophonist and composer further solidifies his position as one of the most distinctive writer/arrangers and imposing instrumentalists on today’s international jazz scene.

Shaw’s nine originals and arrangements of two standards on Optimism, which he produced himself and is the first release on his new label Changu Records, continue to explore the ruggedly individualistic sonic landscapes the saxophonist first featured on his recording debut as a leader – 2005’s Perspective (FS New Talent 222) which was named one of that year’s top CDs by All About Jazz and Jazzwise. Writing in The New York Times, Nate Chinen praised that album as “…a showcase for Mr. Shaw’s stout, self-assured alto saxophone playing and his smartly conceived original compositions.” Chinen added that Shaw’s …”sound [is] brawny and full-bodied, but capable of quicksilver actions – and his improvisational method is surefooted and exploratory.” Shaw, then 27, won his first ASCAP Young Jazz Composers Award for “Heavyweight Champion” on Perspective.

Source: CDBaby.com

Steve Khun Trio | Mostly Coltrane

Tags

Jazz, Piano, Saxophone

Steve Khun Trio | Mostly Coltrane [ECM, 2009]

Steve Khan Trio, Mostly

A celebration of the magisterial music of John Coltrane. In 1960 Steve Kuhn was the original pianist in John Coltrane’s quartet, preceding McCoy Tyner. The album is an homage to Coltrane’s music and influence, focusing on music either written by him or strongly associated with him. Particularly fascinating is the scope of material selected, which not only includes tunes Kuhn once played with Coltrane – “Central Park West“, “The Night Has A Thousand Eyes“, “I Want To Talk About You” – but goes right through Coltrane’s life, including pieces from the very final months, such as “Configuration” and “Jimmy’s Mode“…

These tremendous group performances, with Kuhn joined by Joe Lovano, a musician many critics believe to be the world’s premier tenor player right now, effectively retrace Coltrane’s last decade.

Source: Amazon.com

Digging: The Afro-American Soul of American Classical Music

Tags

African American, Amiri Baraka, Classical, Jazz

Digging: The Afro-American Soul of American Classical Music
(Music of the African Diaspora) by Amiri Baraka

Amiri Baraka, Digging

“As lively and compelling as his strongest work of the past.”–The Oregonian

For almost half a century, Amiri Baraka has ranked among the most important commentators on African American music and culture. In this brilliant assemblage of his writings on music, the first such collection in nearly twenty years, Baraka blends autobiography, history, musical analysis, and political commentary to recall the sounds, people, times, and places he’s encountered. As in his earlier classics, Blues People and Black Music, Baraka offers essays on the famous–Max Roach, Charlie Parker, Miles Davis, John Coltrane–and on those whose names are known mainly by jazz aficionados–Alan Shorter, Jon Jang, and Malachi Thompson. Baraka’s literary style, with its deep roots in poetry, makes palpable his love and respect for his jazz musician friends. His energy and enthusiasm show us again how much Coltrane, Albert Ayler, and the others he lovingly considers mattered. He brings home to us how music itself matters, and how musicians carry and extend that knowledge from generation to generation, providing us, their listeners, with a sense of meaning and belonging.

Source: Amazon.com

Bobbi Humphrey | Blacks and Blues

Tags

African American, Blue Note Records, Contemporary Jazz, Flute, Jazz

My, my, my it seems like only yesterday when I first heard the colorful and rhythmic flavors of Blacks and Blues. This tasty gem was adopted as a reoccurring theme often seen and heard throughout the inner city landscape, it was hip, cool and definitely vibrant and scored by the truly remarkable flutist named Bobbi Humphrey. The fabulous Mizell Brothers [Larry & Fonce] rose to the occasion by invoking their hybrid intensity as it reflected the idealism of the urban jazz sound into “Blacks and Blues.” Even today, this recording by Ms. Humphrey has virtually the same impact on the jazz culture by blending over into the universal audience as it once did back in the day. ~ The Urban Flux

Bobbi Humphrey | Blacks and Blues – [Blue Note Records, 1973] – The Weekend Spin

Bobbi Humphrey

Bobbi Humphrey scored her biggest hit with her third album Blacks and Blues, an utterly delightful jazz-funk classic that helped make her a sensation at Montreux. If it sounds a lot like Donald Byrd’s post-Black Byrd output, it’s no accident; brothers Larry and Fonce Mizell have their fingerprints all over the album, and as on their work with Byrd, Larry handles all the composing and most of the arranging and production duties. It certainly helps that the Mizells were hitting on all cylinders at this point in their careers, but Humphrey is the true star of the show; she actually grabs a good deal more solo space than Byrd did on his Mizell collaborations, and she claims a good deal of responsibility for the album’s light, airy charm. Her playing is indebted to Herbie Mann and, especially, Hubert Laws, but she has a more exclusive affinity for R&B and pop than even those two fusion-minded players, which is why she excels in this setting. —Steve Huey

Source: AllMusic.com