Hot Club Of Detroit To Release “It’s About That Time” on Mack Avenue Records

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African American, Jazz

HOT CLUB OF DETROIT BRANCHES OUT ON NEW CD IT’S ABOUT THAT TIME SET FOR APRIL 27 RELEASE ON MACK AVENUE RECORDS

Hot Club of Detriot - It's About Time

The family tree that traces its roots to the Quintette du Hot Club de France has sprouted countless branches across the globe in the seventy years since Django Reinhardt first jammed with Stéphane Grappelli. It seems like a new city lays claim to its own Hot Club on a virtually daily basis, but the Hot Club of Detroit is undoubtedly the apple that has fallen farthest from that tree.

The blistering fretwork on the opening track of the group’s third CD, It’s About That Time, pays explicit homage to one of their six-string heroes – just not the one you might think. “On the Steps” is based on the chord changes of Pat Martino’s “On the Stairs” (with a brief borrowing from John Coltrane’s “Giant Steps” to complete the pun), and states at the outset what fans of these gypsy jazz revisionists have long known – that Django Reinhardt is far from the beginning and end of the Hot Club of Detroit’s vocabulary of influences.

Cassandra Wilson | Glamoured

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African Ameircan, Blues, Cassandra Wilson, Female Vocalist, Jazz, Pop

Within the next couple of months the wait for new music is nearing and end by one of the most substantial, celebrated, and provocative voices in jazz composer and musician Cassandra Wilson has a new album for her fans on Blue Note Records. Now, until this manifests lets take a moment and revisit “Glamoured” by the Jackson, Mississippi native to rejuvenate our spirit and encompass an intricate collaboration of vocal, and lyrics equaling in a tone of near perfection. —Rob Young | The Urban Flux

Cassandra Wilson | Glamoured – [Blue Note Records, 2003]

Cassandra Wilson - Glamoured

One of the simple pleasures of life is putting a Cassandra Wilson disc into the player and hitting “start“. Her voice takes me to a spot that few singers know how to reach…and “Glamoured” proves, once again, why Cassandra is one of our most important performers.

This release is a great mix of brilliantly conceived covers and incredible originals. One of the fascinating things about being a CW fan is following the growth of her talents as a songwriter. While the promise was always there (think “Redbone“), with each new release, her songwriting skills have grown stronger, to where we now have originals that rival the covers she chooses. No where is this more evident than on the toe tapping “I Want More“, with an outstanding drum contribution from Terri Lyne Carrington, and “On This Train” where that haunting smoky voice just shines through – this is the type of song that reminds you why you love Cassandra’s vocals.

Bill Mays The Inventions Trio | Fantasy

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Bill Mays, Jazz, Piano

Bill Mays The Inventions Trio | Fantasy – [Palmetto Records, 2007]

Bill Mays - Fantasy

The list of recording artists who have successfully rendered both jazz and classical idioms is short, but remarkable. Some that come to mind are Eddie Daniels (clarinet), Bill Watrous (trombone), Wynton Marsalis (trumpet), and Holly Hofmann (flute). Add to that list two more names: Bill Mays (piano) and Marvin Stamm (trumpet & flugelhorn). Joined on five of the nine tracks by the talented Alisa Horn on cello, they have given us an album that is hard to categorize. I puzzled over which iPod playlists to sort the tunes into – jazz? classical? easy listening?

The material is an ear-catching mix of jazz standards (“Baubles, Bangles, & Beads,” Charlie Parker’s “Ah-Leu-Cha“); adaptations of themes from Bach, Rachmaninoff, Debussy, and Gershwin; and Mays’ composition “Fantasy for Cello, Trumpet, and Piano” in three movements. All are executed with classical precision and contemporary feeling. I reacted with joy when I heard how cleverly Mays and Stamm merged Bach’s Two-Part Invention with Parker’s “Ah-Leu-Cha.” Suffice it to say that if you have any interest at all in the intermingling of jazz and classical, you’ve got to hear this. —James A. Vedda

..:: Source: Amazon.com ::..

Robin Duhe | Life

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African American, Bass, Maze, Robin Duhe, Soul Music

Robin Duhe | Life – [Blaise Two Enterprises, 2009]

Robin Duhe - Life

Bassist/Composer Robin Duhe has emerged to the forefront after performing for three decades with the R&B group, Maze Featuring Frankie Beverly. Duhe took an unexpected turn in 2004 with the release of his first solo CD, Do It Duhe. He has now launched is second CD, Life.

Duhe was born in Oakland, California. He came from a large musical family. In the third grade, Duhe learned to play the trumpet. In high school, he switched to the French horn and performed in various school orchestras and bands. The best moment of Duhe’s high school band experience was performing at the New York World’s Fair. Eventually, Duhe changed from wind to string instruments. This occurred when his mother gave him a four-string guitar. He strummed that guitar like a bass and found his niche, the bass guitar.

Ironically, during the writing of Life, Duhe suffered the devastating illness of cancer. He wrote the title tune, Life (Gets in the Way), after his recovery. That song echoes Duhe’s personal experiences in dealing with the disease. The opening line of the title tune is straightforward and honest. It says, “Sorry, I can’t make it today; suddenly my world has changed.” As a whole, the Life CD is stirring music that is filled with the emotions and the life experiences of a true artist.

..:: Source: CDBaby.com ::..