El Movimiento -|- The Movement

Tags

El Movimiento, Giovanni Rodriguez, Imer Santiago, Jazz, Rahsaan Barber

El Movimiento - The Movement

El Movimiento -|- The Movement – [Nueva Nota Records, 2010]

El Movimiento (The Movement) has quickly become a sensation in Nashville’s jazz scene, boasting an all-star collection of Music City’s finest Latin-jazz performers. The band’s powerful and original sound and original repertoire are the result of a unique multi-cultural partnership between a trio of accomplished young musicians – saxophonist and native Nashvillian Rahsaan Barber, Dominican percussionist Giovanni Rodriguez, and Puerto-Rican trumpeter Imer Santiago.

“Elmo”, as the band has come to be known by its fans, has, even since its very beginnings, been committed to both building on the heritage passed on by traditional Latin-jazz giants (such as Tito Puente and Eddie Palmieri) and also to incorporating the contemporary influences of modern jazz, rock and other popular American styles. The result of these two pursuits is a unique musical expression capable of satisfying both die-hard fans of Latin-jazz as well as enchanting a younger generation of listeners who are more familiar with the newer sounds of contemporary jazz, soul music and Latin pop.

New Releases [Jazz] for the Week of 5/24/2010

Tags

African American, Dr. Lonnie Smith, Jazz, New Releases, Organ, Palmetto Records

Greetings’ my beloved jazz aficionados, the month of May continues in week four with another palette of distinctive, and insinuating sounds, immaculate melodies, relentless rhythms with the opulent flavors embedded in jazz is here to quench our ongoing thirst for quality music. We’ve got a melting pot of jazz in the mix this week including two artist who are synonymous in jazz pianist Keith Jarrett and Charlie Haden on their collaborative effort titled – “Jasmine.” Also, “Solo Piano Improvisations / Children’s Songs by the phenomenal Chick Corea on piano … we’re honored to showcase “”Dr. Groove”” – Dr. Lonnie Smith and his latest “Spiral” on Palmetto Records as our “featured album of the week.” The aforementioned artist along with a host of other jazz recordings are scheduled for release this Tuesday 5/25/2010.

Featured Album of the Week

Dr. Lonnie Smith - Spiral

Dr. Lonnie Smith -|- Spiral – [Palmetto Records, 2010]

Internationally known as one of the premier jazz keyboardists in the history of the idiom, Dr. Lonnie Smith is a dominant talent and pace-setting proponent of the Hammond B3 Organ and widely recognized and gifted pianist. “Dr. Lonnie Smith is a phenomenal B3 burner who can light up a room with visceral intensity or lay down some of the nastiest funk ever played on an organ,” states Bill Milkowski in JazzTimes. Lonnie has been at the forefront of the jazz scene since he was named “Top Organist” by Downbeat Magazine in 1969. —Palmetto Records.

Flux Music Essentials … [Childs, Coltrane, Hiromi, e.s.t. & Ritenour]

Tags

Billy Childs, e.s.t., Hiromi, Jazz, Lee Ritenour, Ravi Coltrane

Flux Music Essentials

Whass up jazzy people, it’s great to be back in the groove with a few more titles from the shelves of Flux Music Essentials … on today, I’ve got one of my favorite pianist Billy Childs and his Grammy Winning masterpiece titled “Lyric.” As you know, fruit doesn’t fall far from the tree, saxophonist Ravi Coltrane stirs up the pot with the infallible “In Flux” his 2005 project. A fascinating pianist/keyboardist from Japan named Hiromi rips the eighty-eights like nobodies business on her mind numbing release “Time Control.” Europeans jazz enthusiast sorely misses one of the finest innovative pianist in the world named Esbjörn Svensson and his Trio release “Viaticum.” Finally, a gentleman who’s synonymous when it comes to modern guitar Lee Ritenour and his 1993 tribute – “We Bound” on GRP Records to the most influential guitarist in the world Wes Montgomery.

Billy Childs Ensemble - Lyric

Billy Childs Ensemble | Lyric (Jazz Chamber Music Vol-1) – [Lunacy Music/ArtistShare, 2002]

After about two decades of releases as a leader, Billy Childs continues to produce cutting edge performances of his compositions and arrangements at the highest level of musicianship. This latest recording is his most solid work as a leader. It is worth a listen for anyone who is interested in serious music with lyric qualities.

For the past several years, Billy has not released any CDs with himself as a leader that primarily feature his own compositions, but “In Carson’s Eyes” gets things off to a hypnotically beautiful start by telling a musical story that is full of brilliant intricacies. “Goodbye, Friend” and “Prelude in Bb Major” both demonstrate his uncanny ability to move effortlessly between classical music and jazz while at times seeming to give a nod of acknowledgement to Pat Metheny. “Into the Light” is a Grammy Award winning composition that demonstrates a torrent of virtuosity and unpredictable intensity that would be worthy of an artist whose skill reminds the listener of Chick Corea without sounding like Chick Corea in any way.