Bobby McFerrin -][- The Voice [Elektra Musician/Nonesuch]

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African American, Bobby McFerrin, Jazz, Male Jazz Vocalist

The charismatic vocal style of virtuoso Bobby McFerrin exceeds the limits we usually find in music regardless of genre. His performance here captures the profound sensibilities generated by his predecessors as he is truly one of the greatest jazz vocalist and improvisers of our time. The Voice, his second album as a soloist ranked among the best recordings in the modern era as it served as springboard to sent his career into the hemisphere of stardom. I’m delighted to get re-engaged myself with this classic and take this gem on a weekend spin. —Rob Young | The Urban Flux

Bobby McFerrin - The Voice

Bobby McFerrin -][- The Voice – [Elektra Musician (1984) Nonesuch, 1990]

The vocalist’s 1984 solo album has proven in many ways to be the blueprint for the iconoclastic career to come. Following his more mainstream debut, 1982’s Bobby McFerrin, The Voice is a daring idea: an unaccompanied, live solo vocal album. Although there’s little here that augers the explicit interest in classical music that would later be apparent, The Voice showcases McFerrin’s remarkable vocal abilities, unabashedly optimistic personality, and willingness to take risky ideas to their logical conclusion.

The son of opera singers, McFerrin is grounded in the vocalese style of King Pleasure, Jon Hendricks and Eddie Jefferson, but is only nominally a jazz singer. Rather, his omnivorous interest in music becomes obvious here with covers of James Brown’s “I Feel Good,” the Beatles’ “Blackbird,” Duke Ellington’s “Take the A-Train,” and a medley that manages to incorporate both Charlie Parker’s “Donna Lee” and the Tin Pan Alley standard “We’re in the Money.” As a stylist, McFerrin makes bold use of effects to create a panoply of sounds that stands the notion of pop vocals on its head. —Fred Goodman

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

Sleep Walker -][- Into the Sun [Module]

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Jazz, Sleep Walker

Are you looking for contemporary jazz anchored with infectious vibes, or maybe a mix of grooves evenly sliced with delicious international flavors. Perhaps you savor music that’s raw and tenuous with lots of soul wrapped around the body of music. Then look no further, because you’ve found one of Japan’s hottest bands in the mist of their beloved nation called Sleep Walker.

The fact remains, once you hear them you’ll immediately recognize that this fearless quartet resides well within the pulse of creating an appetizing blend of old school voicing’s stirred purposely to perfection with style, grace and lots of creativity to boot. —Rob Young | The Urban Flux

Sleep Walker - Into the Sun

Sleep Walker -][- Into the Sun – [Module, 2010]

2009 French compilation from the jazzy Japanese combo containing tracks from their Japanese releases plus two exclusive cuts: ‘Brother Hood’ and ‘Resurrection’ (Tokyo Night Mix). Sleep Walker were one of the first of their scene to move into classic Jazz territory — getting past the beats and programs of other contemporary combos, and moving into straight acoustic modes that are filled with spirit and soul.

There’s a very righteous vibe to their music — one that’s informed by the best post-Coltrane modes of the Impulse Records generation, particularly Pharoah Sanders, who plays with the group on one track here, lending his horn to the group’s own searing tenor sax, keyboards, bass, and drums.

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

Israeli Saxophonist-Composer Shauli Einav Makes Impressive Debut with Opus One on Plus Loin Music

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Jazz, Saxophonist, Shauli Einav

Stateside release on French label due out in January 11, 2011 and currently available at iTunes
Catch Shauli Einav Quartet at Miles Café Nov. 11 and at Small’s Dec 3

Shauli Einav

Opus One marks the emergence of a promising new talent on the jazz scene, saxophonist-composer-arranger and bandleader Shauli Einav. On his startling debut, to be released on the French Plus Loin Music label, the gifted young musician is accompanied by a stellar crew that includes pianist Shai Maestro, trombonist Andy Hunter, bassist Joseph Lepore and drummer Johnathan Blake. Together they interpret this richly rewarding music with rare chemistry and a collective sense of purpose that elevates the proceedings to some lofty peaks. “I was really trying to make something meaningful and full of essence,” says Einav. “And while some of the tunes remind me of my homeland, I don’t see this as an Israeli album, it’s just music per se.”

A protégé of the late Arnie Lawrence, a Brooklyn-born saxophonist and educator who moved to Israel in 1997 and founded the International Center for Creative Music in Jerusalem, Einav was exposed to the concept of music operating on a deeper level than just notes on a page from the time he was a teenager. “Arnie influenced almost every new Israeli jazz musician that has come to New York since the ‘90s. And his main thing was that when you play, you have to play the truth and you have to play so it swings. It’s not about just having fun, it’s about delivering a message to the world, whether it will be the most beautiful ballad or the most uptempo, swinging thing ever. Whatever you play, it has to have meaning and a strong sense of urgency behind it. And I think that’s a common thing among all of us who have gone through the Arnie Lawrence school. People like Eli Digbri and Avishai Cohen the trumpeter and Omer Avital and many others…they all play with something that really burns inside of them. And that’s one thing that I am trying to convey on this new album.”

Bassist-Composer Matthew Rybicki Debuts with Driven

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Bass, Jazz, Matthew Rybicki

Pianist Gerald Clayton, Saxophonist Ron Blake
& Drummer Ulysses Owens Jr Featured on February 8 Release

Matthew Rybicki - Driven

At age 37, bassist-composer Matthew Rybicki may have waited longer than most to make his first recording as a leader. But from a cursory listen to Driven, his auspicious debut as a leader, it would seem that he picked just the right time. “Sometimes people get pushed out there too fast, but I really just wanted to marinate a little bit,” says the Cleveland native and longtime New York City resident who has apprenticed with the likes of Wynton Marsalis, Wycliffe Gordon, Nnenna Freelon, Victor Goines and Terell Stafford. “Obviously I wanted it to be something that I was going to be proud of but also I wanted to feel like there was some real weight behind it, that I believed in what I was doing enough to share it with people. I’m just at the beginning part of sharing that weight now with this record and I look forward to sharing more in the future.”

Joining Rybicki on his impressive first outing are such stellar players on the New York jazz scene as pianist Gerald Clayton, drummer Ulysses Owens Jr., saxophonist Ron Blake, trumpeter Freddie Hendrix and trombonist Michael Dease. Together they demonstrate an indelible chemistry and intuitive sense of risk-taking on Rybicki’s thoughtfully crafted compositions, along with two well chosen covers. The bassist reveals a strong sense of groove throughout while his swing factor is undeniable. “It’s definitely critical for me to be trying to swing all the time, and I think we did pretty good job of representing that on the album,” he says. “It’s a high priority for me to be thinking about the dance aspect first in playing our music.”