Max Wild -||- TAMBA (ObliqSound)

Tags

Afrojazz, Jazz, Max Wild

Max Wild - TAMBA

Max Wild -||- TAMBA – [ObliqSound, 2010]

There’s a very good reason why Max Wild’s debut release for ObliqSound is called Tamba. In Shona – the predominant language spoken in Zimbabwe, where Wild spent his youth – Tamba means “dance,” and it’s virtually impossible to be within listening distance of this music and not comply. The relentlessly exhilarating Tamba, which releases June 29 on ObliqSound, blurs the lines between jazz, funk and the indigenous African sounds Max Wild began absorbing even before he first picked up a saxophone at the age of 12. Surrounding himself with an intercontinental cast of characters, Wild fuses the rhythmic and melodic traditions of southern Africa with the sophisticated harmonies and inspired interactivity at the core of contemporary jazz. Tamba is an ecstatic, intensely kinetic celebration that bridges cultural and stylistic divides while keeping feet on the move.

JUSTIN TIME PRESENTS A UNIQUE HOMAGE TO FRENCH SONGWRITER LÉO FERRÉ, F. – À LÉO, TO BE RELEASED ON AUGUST 10

Tags

European Jazz, F - à Léo, Jazz, Léo Ferré

F - à Léo

F – à Léo, an exquisite recording by Italian jazz musicians performing the songs of Léo Ferré, has already been accorded rave reviews, extensive airplay and strong sales in Europe and Canada. Now Justin Time is confident this gem of a record can find success across the USA, as it holds appeal not only for fans of jazz trumpeter Paolo Fresu, but also people interested in Léo Ferré, fans of contemporary Italian music, and devotees of Gianmaria Testa, an singer/songwriter whose own highly personal and richly melodic songs – that at times recall Paolo Conte – are imbued with intoxicating accents of tango, bossa nova, habañera and jazz, and who sings and plays guitar on eight of the album’s 12 selections.

ABOUT LÉO FERRÉ

Léo Ferré (1916-1993) was one of the greatest French artists of the 20th century, acclaimed as a composer, a poet, singer and instrumentalist. With Brassens and Brel, Ferré is considered one of the greatest writers of French songs (both as a lyricist and composer).

RUFUS REID’S OUT FRONT – On The Checkout TONIGHT, and at The Kitano This Weekend!

Tags

African American, Bass, Jazz, Rufus Reid

Listen to The Rufus Reid “Out Front” Trio featuring Steve Allee – piano and Duduka Da Fonseca – drums

Rufus Reid - Out Front

TONIGHT – Tuesday, June 29th, at 6:30pm on WBGO 88.3 FM on “The Checkout,” hosted by Josh Jackson

After the broadcast the performance will be archived at The Checkout website – a wonderful site that is well worth your time.

This Weekend, July 2 & 3 – The Kitano
Park Avenue at 38th Street, NYC
The “Out Front” Trio returns to The Kitano with the NYC CD Release for “Out Front” (Motema)!

“Reid is the man to call for any musical situation that demands both the utmost skill and impeccable taste…his luscious sound and buoyant swing can levitate an ensemble clear off the bandstand.”- The New Yorker

“His work is a virtual catalog of modern bass technique, tempered by his infallible musicianship. The man has taste…he consistently offers up an earthy tone, flawless intonation, and fluid fingerwork. Plus, you can set the clock by his impeccable time.“- DownBeat

John McLaughlin and the 4th Dimension -|- To The One

Tags

Guitar, Jazz, John McLaughlin

John McLaughlin and the 4th Dimension - To The One

John McLaughlin and the 4th Dimension -|- To The One – [Abstract Logix, 2010]

With his new album To The One, iconic guitarist, composer and 2010 Grammy Winner John McLaughlin looks backwards and forwards simultaneously. The six original songs are hauntingly evocative – with roiling rhythmic swells, modal expanses, and telepathic group interaction echoing the profound influence of John Coltrane’s 1965 spiritual jazz masterpiece A Love Supreme. The music of To The One was set down in the studio with very few overdubs, by McLaughlin’s current performing outfit, the Fourth Dimension: Gary Husband (keyboards, drums), Etienne M’Bappe (electric bass), and Mark Mondesir (drums).

Compositional devices clearly inspired by Coltrane are fused with elements of McLaughlin’s own multifaceted approach, all delivered with a group empathy and shared vision that harkens back to Coltrane’s fearless mid-’60s quartet of Elvin Jones, McCoy Tyner, and Jimmy Garrison. The effect of Jones’ kaleidoscopic approach to rhythm and drumming is especially felt, brilliantly recast and explored via McLaughlin’s gift for complex metrical structures.

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

Musical Force / Master Keyboardist Joel Gaines Stirs Up Emotions with New CD “Just The Way I’m Feeling”

Tags

African American, Joel Gaines, Keyboards

Joel Gaines - Just The Way I'm Feeling

Los Angeles -Singer/ songwriter/ master keyboard artist, Joel Gaines has dipped his musical ladle deep into an enchanting kettle of melody and is stirring up our emotions with the torrid release of his new CD, “Just The Way I’m Feeling,” on JG Music Group. A tantalizing gumbo of adult contemporary, jazz and swaying gospel even, “Just The Way I’m Feeling” is a joyous celebration of sound!

An internationally renowned musician and performer, Gaines captures the fiery passion he displays while entertaining live on stage and re-releases it on this 10 track CD release. Reflective lyrics, rhythmic refrains and hypnotic rifts all coalesce to create a melodious sanctuary of harmonies tempered with grace on the new release.

Manu Katche -|- Third Round

Tags

Drums, European Jazz, Jazz, Manu Katche

Manu Katche - Third Round

Manu Katche -|- Third Round – [ECM Records, 2010]

Third ECM album by French-African drummer Manu Katché, following the best selling ‘Neighbourhood‘ and ‘Playground‘. ‘Third Round‘ features a completely revised ensemble line-up, but is faithful to a group concept that The Guardian described as “beautifully mutated grooves and jazzy themes”, with all participants elevated by the physical presence of Katché’s beats and drum patterns.

Once again, all music is written by Manu, and his insinuating melodies testify to parallel lives in pop and jazz. The album was recorded in the South of France with producer Manfred Eicher.

Claudia Hayden -|- ‘Abstract’

Tags

African American, Claudia Hayden, Flute, Jazz

Claudia Hayden - Abstrac

Claudia Hayden -|- Abstract – [Claudia Hayden, 2010]

New York City based flautist, composer, and songwriting producer Claudia Hayden and her band, The Claudia Hayden Project, continue to move audiences to standing ovations at venues throughout the U.S. Possessing a sound that ranges from funky and sassy to sublimely smooth, the sheer power of the music is evident in the new release of her debut Jazz CD, “Abstract.”

True to her Louisiana roots, Ms. Hayden, a publisher member of ASCAP, has developed a velvety yet energetic style with a hypnotic tone nearing vocal quality. “Abstract” showcases soul stirring original songs written by Ms. Hayden, and The Hayden Project delivers fiery licks generating from Jazz, World Music, and Funk.

New Releases [Jazz] … for the Week of 6/28/2010

Tags

Eric Darius, Jazz, Lee Ritenour, New Releases

Greetings’ jazz aficionados, I’m back with an intricate canvas of what’s -cool- and maybe not so –cool– from a optimistic perspective we don’t usually find in the diet of the chromatic pop music culture. The origin of new music featured each week encompasses various branches of jazz, which exudes a wealth of complex and distinctive styles, insinuating textures, immaculate melodies, and relentless rhythms exalted by the definitive voices of creative artists serves up sounds to quench our immutable thirst for quality music.

Featured Album of the Week-6

Lee Ritenour - 6 String Theory

Lee Ritenour -|- 6 String Theory – [Concord Records, 2010]

It’s hard to believe that 2010 marks 50 years since Lee Ritenour starting playing the guitar, setting in motion a career that legends are made of. A career that has earned him 19 GRAMMY® nominations, a GRAMMY Award, numerous #1 spots on guitar polls, A Lifetime Achievement Award from the Canadian SJ Awards, and the prestigious “Alumnus of the Year” award from USC. During his illustrious career, he has recorded over 40 albums, with 35 chart songs and was a founding member of the group Fourplay, considered the most successful group in contemporary jazz.

As a young guitarist his diverse musical style became the foundation of over 3,000 sessions, covering a broad spectrum of artists ranging from his first session at 16 with the Mamas and Papas, to Pink Floyd, Steely Dan, Dizzy Gillespie, Sonny Rollins, Simon & Garfunkel and Frank Sinatra. On his latest endeavor, 6 String Theory, Ritenour celebrates the instrument that has allowed him this blessing, the guitar; -by producing and assembling a star-studded tribute with the greatest and soon- to- be greatest guitarists of our time. —Concord Records

Flux Music Essentials … [Davis, El Movimiento, McFerrin, Parks & Washington]

Tags

Aaron Parks, Bobby McFerrin, El Movimiento, Grover Washington Jr., Jazz, Miles Davis

Greeting’s jazz enthusiasts, I’m back with another tasty mix of jazz that’s undoubtedly shaken and well stirred from the shelves of the “Flux Music Essentials.” As can you see, the titles below may or may not fit in the category of hot selling artist/recordings. Nevertheless, they’re personal favorites that I’ve met and grown to love.

Flux Music Essentials

Miles Davis - Nefertiti

Miles Davis -|- Nefertiti – [Sony, 1967]

The fourth studio album by the second great Miles Davis quintet, and the second comprising material recorded in the pivotal year of 1967, NEFERTITI marked yet another metamorphosis in the career of a great musician noted for welcoming change. While Davis (1926-1991) did not make wholesale, far- reaching alterations on NEFERTITI, as he had on KIND OF BLUE and E.S.P and would on BITCHES BREW, one could say that the pace-setting trumpeter-bandleader modified his approach to the freebop that had for two-and-and-half years been his group’s bread and butter, at least for recording purposes.

On the title selection, and to a lesser extent on “Fall” (another indelibly aching piece) and “Pinocchio,” all high water marks in the catalog of tenor saxophonist Wayne Shorter, the group’s principal composer, Davis had the front line and rhythm section reverse their traditional roles. While the horns repeated the theme again and again, pianist Herbie Hancock, bassist Ron Carter, and drummer Tony Williams shifted the beat’s emphasis, stretched the time, and offered a full dynamic/emotional range. The effect was like a series of time lapse photographs of a particularly beautiful scene, with light and color and shadows subtly, but continually changing, thus shifting the focus of one’s eye – or, in this case, ear. This made for some of Davis’ most mesmerizing music since KIND OF BLUE and SKETCHES OF SPAIN.

Expanded significantly to almost 66 minutes by the the inclusion of four consistently enthralling alternate takes, NEFERTITI presents Miles Davis’ second great quintet at the peak of their hypnotic, roiling, poetic powers. —Amazon.com

[Classic Jazz Revisited] … featuring John Coltrane -|- Plays the Blues

Tags

African American, Bebop, Jazz, John Coltrane, Saxophone

Flux Classic Jazz Revisited

And epiphany occurred last week as I was prompted to pay homage to the quintessential voices in jazz from their prosperous and influential years as recording artist during the later fifties, sixties and early seventies. I’m honored to feature this new segment titled “Classic Jazz Revisited,” which spotlights the finest musicians and recordings from legendary music labels like Blue Note, CTI, Riverside, Verve, and Prestige Records etc … as always your recommendations are welcome!

John Coltrane - Plays the Blues

John Coltrane -|- Plays the Blues – [Atlantic / Wea, 1960]

The recordings here come from the same October 1960 sessions that produced My Favorite Things, and while the all-blues album is far less famous, it’s an equivalent document of John Coltrane’s work in his earliest recordings of the quartet with drummer Elvin Jones and pianist McCoy Tyner. The all-blues format emphasizes Coltrane’s personal relationship to the form, both his emotional depth and his capacity for harmonic extension on essentially modal materials. His soprano on “Blues to Bechet” is a summoning up of the blues form’s original power, also apparent in the slow and moving “Blues to Elvin.”

“Blues to You,” played with just Jones and bassist Steve Davis, is a hot coil of sound, Coltrane’s convoluted lines twisting into new shapes while he and Jones catch every possible nuance of the beat. “Mr. Knight” would later turn into “India,” but it’s already a floating modal figure for his tenor. This edition includes the alternate takes previously available only in the box set The Heavyweight Champion. —Stuart Broomer

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