Colin Dean ][- Shiwasu [Review]

Tags

Bassist, Colin Dean, Jazz

Colin Dean - Shiwasu

Colin Dean ][- Shiwasu – [Roots and Grooves Music, 2010] – Review – Street Date: October 5th, 2010

At first sight of this new recording by Long Island, NY native composer acoustic bassist Colin Dean titled “Shiwasu” I was moved by what was to come musically but unaware of what to expect simply because I hadn’t heard his music before …. that’s of course until now.

As you know, for those of you that have frequent this spot I get a rush when new music by unexpected artists arrives in my mail box. As usual, I’m excited with anticipation as I crack open the seal to see who’s performing on this project and then at a glance I noticed one of my favorite pianists the indelible Rachel Z appears throughout. Also playing here, are unfamiliar voices like Sean Nowell on (Tenor & Soprano Saxophones), Colin Stranahan (Drums) and of course Colin Dean on acoustic bass rounds out the ensemble.

With his debut project “Shiwasu,” Dean labored diligently to score seven relevant compositions to unleash his passion on Roots and Grooves Music. However, to my dismay, I was initially disappointed with the total playing length of this record. Nonetheless, all worries aside playing time in this case does not hinder the possibly of greatness that awakens from within the body of the music regardless of time.

2010 Thelonious Monk International Jazz Vocals Competition and Gala Concert

Tags

African American, Jazz, The Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz

The Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz 2010

Featuring All-Star Tribute to Great American Songbook
at Kennedy Center October 4
Aretha Franklin to receive 2010 Maria Fisher Founder’s Award

The Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz today announced the 2010 Thelonious Monk International Jazz Vocals Competition and Tribute to the Great American Songbook Gala Concert will take place at the Kennedy Center Eisenhower Theater at 7:30 p.m. on Monday, October 4. The 2010 Competition is made possible through generous support from the Northrop Grumman Corporation. Air transportation is provided by United Airlines, the Official Airline of the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz.

A special feature of this year’s Competition, the Tribute to the Great American Songbook Gala Concert will bring together the biggest names in jazz, including Terence Blanchard, Terri Lyne Carrington, George Duke, Kevin Eubanks, Herbie Hancock, Jimmy Heath, T.S. Monk, Wayne Shorter, Clark Terry, and many others. The concert will shine a spotlight on some of the most beloved songs and songwriters of all time.

President Barack Obama and Mrs. Michelle Obama will serve as the Honorary Chairs of the Thelonious Monk International Jazz Vocals Competition and Tribute to the Great American Songbook Gala Concert.

Kevin Eubanks Signs with Mack Avenue Records

Tags

African American, Guitar, Jazz, Kevin Eubanks

Kevin Eubanks (Photo Credit: Raj Naik)

Mack Avenue Records is proud to announce the signing of guitarist Kevin Eubanks. The former leader of the Tonight Show Band is set to release Zen Food on November 23, his debut for the label and first project since his Tonight Show departure.

“It’s so refreshing to find a record label that feels ‘right’ from so many aspects,” reflects Eubanks, who completed his final and 18th season of The Tonight Show in May. “Mack Avenue Records is the company I’ve been hoping to find to release the music I’ve been wanting to play.”

“When Kevin first announced that he was departing the Tonight Show with a desire to record and tour again I knew he would be an ideal artist for us,” says Mack Avenue Records President Denny Stilwell. “He is a musician of uncompromising artistry who has chosen an opportune moment to re-establish his roots in jazz and Mack Avenue is honored to be working with him.”

Over the course of his 30-year career, Eubanks has performed with esteemed musicians such as Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers, Roy Haynes, Slide Hampton, Sam Rivers, Dave Holland, Greg Osby, and Jean Luc Ponty, among others. In 1992 Eubanks moved to the West Coast to assume the guitar spot in the Tonight Show Band and become the band’s leader from 1995 – 2010.

Hailing from a musical family- with distinguished uncles, pianist Ray Bryant and bassist Tommy Bryant, and brothers, trombonist Robin Eubanks and trumpeter Duane Eubanks- the Philadelphia native and Berklee College of Music alumni has appeared on over 100 albums, with releases on Elektra, GRP and Blue Note; as well as founding his own record label, Insoul Music.

..:: Source: DL Media ::..

[Featured Album of The Week] … Rudresh Mahanthappa & Bunky Green -][- Apex

Tags

Bunky Green, Jazz, Rudresh Mahanthappa, Saxophone

Featured Album of the Week

Greetings my fellow jazz enthusiasts, I’m enthralled to return with two of the most influential and innovative voices in modern jazz … composer / saxophonist Rudresh Mahanthappa and Bunky Green. With Apex, both artists combine their prolific voices to create a unique marriage that accentuates the energy, creativity and dexterity realized only through the soundscape of where global music meets jazz and how it accurately impacts those who truly love music. —Rob Young | The Urban Flux

Rudresh Mahanthappa and Bunky Green - Apex

Rudresh Mahanthappa & Bunky Green -][- Apex – [Pi. Recordings, 2010]

Apex is a blazing collaboration between alto saxophonists Rudresh Mahanthappa and Bunky Green that puts on display a fifty-year continuum of state-of-the-art saxophone playing. Featuring the all-star band of Jason Moran on piano, François Moutin on bass and switching off on drums, the dynamic Damion Reid and the great Jack DeJohnette, Apex shines a much-deserved spotlight on Bunky Green, a hugely influential but under-recognized original in jazz.

Mahanthappa, a 2007 Guggenheim Fellow, is widely recognized as one of the most important jazz musicians today. At 39 years old, he has perennially been on the Down Beat Critics Poll as alto saxophonist and composer and has been named Alto Saxophonist of the Year the last two years by the Jazz Journalist Association. His prior release Kinsmen (Pi 28), which masterfully combined jazz with South Indian music, was named the runner-up album of the year in the Village Voice Jazz Critics Poll in 2008 and hailed as one of the top jazz albums of the year by numerous publications. Read more …

..:: Source: FULLY ALTERED MEDIA ::..

New Releases [Jazz] … for the Week of 9/28/2010

Tags

Bunky Green, Cassandra Wilson, Gospel Music, Jazz, Lizz Wright, New Releases, Paul Brown, Rudresh Mahanthappa

Releases”]

Greetings jazz aficionados, thanks for stopping by The Urban Flux at WordPress.com as I’m here along with you to explore the intricate sounds of stimulating and innovative jazz that awaits us on this massive canvas in cyberspace. With each visit you’ll discover a montage of new jazz releases featured that encompasses a generous diet of nuances which includes a wealth of complex and distinctive styles, textures, melodies, and rhythms exalted by a host of definitive and creative voices in the world of jazz.

New Jazz Releases this week at The Urban Flux:

New Releases for 9-28-2010

-))- Fellowship by Lizz Wright – (Audio CD – 2010)
-))- Love You Found Me by Paul Brown – (Audio CD – 2010)
-))- Playing The Piano by Ryuichi Sakamoto – (Audio CD – 2010)
-))- Apex (Dig) by Rudresh Mahanthappa and Bunky Green – (Audio CD – 2010)
-))- Silver Pony by Cassandra Wilson – (Audio CD – 2010)
-))- In Stride by Oregon – (Audio CD – 2010)
-))- Silent Movies (Dig) by Marc Ribot – (Audio CD – 2010)
-))- Ipsissimus by John Zorn – (Audio CD – 2010)
-))- Unknown Angels by Tony Grey – (Audio CD – 2010)
-))- Warriors by Cookers – (Audio CD – 2010)
-))- Introducing Triveni by Avishai Cohen – (Audio CD – 2010)
-))- Tango Jazz: Live at Jazz at Lincoln Center by Paquito D’rivera – (Audio CD – 2010)
-))- Israeli Song by Eli Degibri – (Audio CD – 2010)
-))- Cosmo by Jesse Harris – (Audio CD – 2010)
-))- Boss Guitar by Wes Montgomery – (Audio CD – 2010) – Original recording remastered
-))- Talented Touch by Hank Jones – (Audio CD – 2010) – Import
-))- Clube Da Esquina by Milton Nascimento – (Vinyl – 2010)
-))- Porgy And Bess by Hank Jones – (Audio CD – 2010) – Import
-))- Uh Huh by Jazz Crusaders – (Audio CD – 2010) – Import
-))- Don’t Think Twice by Tamco – (Audio CD – 2010)
-))- The Cusp by Robert Mitchell’s Panacea – (Audio CD – 2010)
-))- Radio Yonder by Mats Eilertsen – (Audio CD – 2010)

Visit Amazon.com, for more details about Imports, Vinyl, Soundtracks, and Re-issues.

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

[Classic Jazz Revisited] … ‘Intensity’ by organist Charles “The Burner” Earland

Tags

African American, Charles Earland, Jazz, Organ

Flux Classic Jazz Revisited

From my perspective, jazz is arguably beyond the scope of the ordinary soundscape in return disturbs the flow, energy and principles of novice, naysayers and critics alike desire to lock this beloved music into exile. With that said, I’m motivated to pursue these eternal images of legendary artists and their unpredictable yet compelling recordings at a time when cool jazz and be-bop collided to infuse a provocative template reign supreme as the new, hip and progressive sound to this day beckons jazz enthusiasts to embrace and savor these timeless treasures. No doubt, it’s an honor to be allowed the opportunity to pay homage to these powerful, and beautiful voices who made their unmeasurable imprint in the fabric of our culture as the cornerstone of this phenomenal movement in jazz. –Rob Young | The Urban Flux

Charles Earland - Intensity

Charles Earland -][- Intensity – [OJC, 1972]

Lee Morgan’s trumpet cuts through and adds so much bite to these songs. There is a version of the tune, “Happy Cause I’m Goin Home” (by the band Chicago)that is simply brilliant music! A lively, happy, upbeat and very bright version. Throughout all of the songs included on this record the drummer fuels a unique, powerful high-energy. The Hammond B-3 playing by Charles is plentiful here: Lots of long solos where Charles stretches out … over and over again; against the heavy backdrop of a barnburner.

I kept looking at this CD in a display bin in the big music retail store downtown for months before I took the plunge. Then I ordered many CD’s by Charles that followed this one; one of the all-time great Charles Earland CD’s. A different sound here; not merely the run-of-the mill organ combos with these names. No way. Powerful, driving ensemble playing backing up burning B-3.

..:: Source: Amazon.com ::

[Flux Music Essentials] … features Hiromi, Muhammad, Mehldau & Jones

Tags

Brad Mehldau, Hiromi, Idris Muhammad, Jazz, Quincy Jones

Flux Music Essentials

Greeting’s jazz connoisseurs, I’m back with yet another intriguing palette of creative music from some of today’s most unique, adventurous and inspiring voices known and unknown artists alike in the world of jazz.

Hiromi - Brain (Telarc, 2004)

Hiromi -][- Brain – [Telarc, 2004]

She’s got prodigious piano technique, brains and beauty (as six full-page photos included with the CD make abundantly clear), incredible energy, and lots of “mo” (is there any young instrumentalist who is bigger at the present moment?). All of which may raise some suspicions among closer followers of the jazz scene, past and present.

Admittedly, I was impressed but not captivated after a first listen. The tracks with synthesizer, the all-original program of “descriptive,” “programmatic” titles, the packaging–it smacked of commercialism and new-age aesthetics. But I recall having a similar reaction to Ahmad Jamal the first time I heard him. He didn’t employ harmonies like Art Tatum, swing like Oscar, fill up the space with complex melodic lines like Bud Powell. But over time it became clear that Ahmad was the master colorist of them all, a painter of musical tone poems that could be infinitely suggestive if not mesmerizing. Hiromi, who was “discovered” and first produced by Ahmad, has the same affinities.

Listen to “Desert on the Moon.” It ‘s a bubbling piece, more suggestive of a mountain stream in its progress through a variety of moods, tempos, textures, and dynamic contrasts. Every moment is alive and purposeful, as Hiromi takes us on a journey from rippling, impressionist passages to sharply-defined pointillism (she has some musical karate chops!) to unabashed romantic lyricism (an unapologetic allusion to “My One and Only Love”), finally bringing the force of the whole to an explosive, climactic conclusion, then just as seamlessly providing a tranquil, restorative coda.

Her piano technique extends beyond mere virtuosity. She gets a bright, pure and round sound from the instrument that is absolutely consistent in all registers and at soft as well as loud volumes. Moreover, this recording is probably the best that I’ve ever heard a piano sound on CD. If you have any sort of half-way decent stereo system, Hiromi and her Yamaha Concert Grand will be bigger than life in your living room. Better make room because from the evidence on this disk, she’ll be around for a long time to come. —Samuel Chell | Amazon.com

Liam Sillery -][- Phenomenology [OA2, 2010]

Tags

Jazz, Liam Sillery, Trumpet

“…an extraordinary session of creative ensemble interplay and free-wheeling improvisations.” —All About Jazz

Liam Sillery - Phenomenology (OA2 Records)

Liam Sillery -][- Phenomenology – [OA2 Records, 2010]

With his 4th OA2 release, trumpeter Liam Sillery continues in the direction of his most recent album “Outskirts,” challenging both the musicians and the listener with intricate compositions and compelling improvisation. On “Phenomenology,” the band is reactive and supportive, while maintaining their individual personalities to constantly compliment the music.

Liam’s exploration of the sonic landscapes suggested by his compositions create a sense of melodic intrigue on the Kenny Wheeler-inspired “Koi” and the horn lines cartwheel through the backbeat of “Intentionality.” This recording no doubt helps solidify Sillery as “an important voice in 21st Century jazz” (Scott Yanow).

..:: Source: Origin/OA2 Records ::..

[the weekend spin] … hangin’ out with vocalist Cassandra Wilson’s – ‘Sings Standards’

Tags

African American, Cassandra Wilson, Female Vocalist, Jazz

... the weekend spin

Greetings jazz enthusiast, as always I appreciate you for stopping by the The Urban Flux. While thumbing through some CD’s to spend time with this weekend I stumbled into and amazing recording titled “Cassandra Wilson – Sings Standards“. Fortunately, this jewel fell into my hands at the right moment to reassure me why she is undoubtedly one of my favorite jazz vocalist. With this compilation, you’ll discover Wilson’s gracious, intimate and impressive vocal presence expressive, unique and refreshing. As I hear it, Wilson is expressive and soulful .. she’s a bonified musician and composer at heart. Cassandra brilliantly uses her voice much like a sculpture to shape, bend and articulate these lyrics like no other as she engraved her exquisite signature into this marvelous collection of music. If you love vocals, then do yourself a favor and seriously consider picking it up this classic by Ms. Wilson … you’ll definitely be satisfied with what you hear. —Rob Young | The Urban Flux

Cassandra Wilson - Sings Standards (Verve)

Cassandra Wilson -][- Sings Standards – [Verve, 2002]

I doubt many of Cassandra Wilson’s numerous fans knew her pre-Blue Note (New Moon Daughter and Blue Light Till Dawn) recordings. They were, like the Brooklyn-based approach to jazz from which her and her musicians grew, challenging. The sound was raw with jagged edges exposed and consisted of original material with some standards and eventually an album of them (probably to increase her mainstream exposure). These standards include some of the more challenging arrangements from that period as well as the more traditional jazz quartet arrangements. However, all take on the style of the singer not as deconstructions of the standards but solid interpretations of old friends. If you like Ms. Wilson you will like this collection.

If you prefer some other jazz singer don’t buy it, and if you think no one sings like Ella or Sarah or Carmen or Betty, then you should not be reading this, but please check out the numerous ladies who are doing their own thing and doing it well (too many to list here).

This standards collection is one of the good ones, even if she has moved on in recent recordings to interpret a new set of songs. Check this out — and then check out her new one, Belly of the Sun, for a nice take on what music free of simple labels sounds like. I will have some of that! – –Jeremy S. McElroy | Amazon.com

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

Eli Degibri -][- Israel Song [Review]

Tags

El Degibri, Jazz, Saxophone

Eli Degibri - Israeli Song

Eli Degibri -][- Israel Song – [Review]

Composer, tenor and soprano saxophonist Eli Degibri from Israel is about to bless jazz aficionados worldwide in a big way with his latest endeavor on Anzic Records titled “Israeli Song” features the incomparable Brad Mehldau on piano, legendary bassist Ron Carter and the renowned Al Foster on drums joined their talents to record this mesmerizing session. Am I exaggerating? Perhaps, … nonetheless for those of you that crave jazz shaken and slowly stirred with sonic signatures clothed with a rich tradition of the sixties jazz then you’re bound to be ecstatic as I am about the music on this incredible project by Eli Degibri!

Degibri effectively communicates with his original ground breaking material recorded with fervor on these eleven splendid compositions on “Israeli Song.” Most are ingrained deep in the cavity of traditional jazz as he steps out with the opener “Unrequited” a superbly stated composition by none other than pianist Brad Mehldau to begin the journey.