Ben Tankard -][- FULL TANK – [Tribute Records, 2012] –

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Ben Tankard, CDBaby.com, Gerald Albright, Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, Mark Kibble, Tribute Records

Ben Tankard, FULL TANK

Ben Tankard -][- FULL TANK –Mp3– [Tribute Records, 2012] –

Tankard’s sixteenth studio album, the highly anticipated ” Ben Tankard / Full Tank ” on his revamped Tribute Records (Ben-Jamin’ Universal Music & Film) label. It features music from legendary producer-songwriters, Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, and special guest appearances by Mark Kibble / Take 6, & Gerald Albright and others. This is the launch pad release that marks his return to the corporate executive chair.

Tribute/Ben-Jamin’ imprint label is also the home to several TV and Film projects Tankard has in development including, ” Ben Tankard’s Faith & Family”, a new reality show that showcases Tankard’s family life, music career, business ventures, passion for aviation, and his role as a motivational speaker with the National Basketball Association (NBA).

::: SOURCE: CDBaby.com :::

Brooklyn Jazz Underground Records To Release JESTER from Bassist/Composer ARTHUR KELL

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Arthur Kell, Bass, Brad Shepik, Brooklyn Jazz Underground Records, Composer, Loren Stillman, Mark Ferber, Michael Blake, Red Cat Publicity

Jester features Arthur Kell (bass, compositions), Loren Stillman (alto saxophone), Brad Shepik (guitar) & Mark Ferber (drums)

CD RELEASE CELEBRATION!
Tuesday, June 19 @ 8:30 PM
Arthur Kell Quartet +1
@ The Cornelia Street Cafe
Featuring Michael Blake, tenor sax; Loren Stillman, alto sax; Brad Shepik, guitar; Arthur Kell, bass; Mark Ferber, drums

Arthur Kell , JESTER

Bassist/composer Arthur Kell is one of the most original voices on today’s New York jazz scene. For the past twenty plus years, he has played with an amazing cross-section of the most influential contemporary jazz musicians in NYC and around the world, including Thomas Chapin, Bobbie Previte, Marc Ribot, Billy Bang, Bill McHenry, Guillermo Klein, Christian Howes, Art Baron, Bruce Barth, the Finnish singer, Sanni Orasmaa, Bernard Purdie, Matt Wilson, Allison Miller and many others.

Franz von Chossy -][- When the World Comes Home – [Jazz Sick Records, 2012] –

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Amazon, European Jazz, Franz von Chossy, Jazz Sick Records, Piano

Franz von Chossy Quintet, When the World Comes Home

Franz von Chossy -][- When the World Comes Home –Mp3– [Jazz Sick Records, 2012] –

Franz von Chossy was born in Munich, where he started playing the piano as a six-year-old. Through his mother he came to know classical music and his Ukrainian grandmother encouraged him to play folk music on the accordion.

Von Chossy moved to the Netherlands to study at the conservatory of Amsterdam with Rob Madna, Karel Boehlee and Rob van Bavel in 1999.

Brian Culbertson -][- DREAMS – [Verve Records, 2012] –

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Alex Al, Brian Culbertson, Composer, John Jubu Smith, Keyboadist, Noel Gourdin, Rex Rideout, Rob Bacon, Stokley Williams, Verve Records, Vivian Green

Brian Culbertson, DREAMS

Brian Culbertson -][- DREAMS – [Verve Records, 2012] –

In the gentle lull of sleep, we re often enraptured in a vivid sequence of thoughts, images, and sensations. A lifelike realm where radiant colors, sounds, and illusions intersect, creating the most vibrant experience. This spring, prolific R&B/Jazz musician Brian Culbertson invites you to close your eyes, open your ears, and fall deep into a lush world of musical fantasy with his breathtaking thirteenth album Dreams. With the help of lauded guest vocalists Noel Gourdin, Vivian Green, and Stokley Williams of Mint Condition, Dreams masterfully melds jazz sensibility with an R&B flair in a wondrous mélange of enchanting grooves.

Last summer, I just started having these really vivid dreams, Culbertson says. I started waking up inspired to get into the studio and write songs. Songs that made me feel like those dreams. It s really strange for me, because I ve never written songs about being inspired by dreams. That s why this record is quite different.

BFM Jazz Presents Steve Smith and Vital Information “Live! One Great Night” – Available Now

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Baron Browne, BFM Jazz, Composer, Drummer, Steve Smith, Tom Coster, Vinny Valentino

Steve Smith & Vital Information LIVE! ONE GREAT NIGHT -(CD+DVD)-30th Anniversary Tour (May 31-June 27)

Steve Smith and Vital Information, LIVE! One Great Night

LIVE! One Great Night – a CD + DVD set to be released May 29, 2012 on the BFM Jazz label – captures Vital Information in their natural habitat: A packed club with an audience of music lovers and the band in high gear, pulling out all the stops for the entire set. The all-star lineup of keyboardist Tom Coster (Santana/Gabor Szabo), bassist Baron Browne (Jean-Luc Ponty/Billy Cobham), guitarist Vinny Valentino (Bill Evans/Jimmy McGriff) and drummer Steve Smith (Journey/Hiromi /Steps Ahead) serve up a veritable banquet of sounds, from slamming funk and syncopated second-line grooves to seriously swinging, up-tempo B-3 burners, South Indian inspired jams and sizzling fuzoid romps. Steve Smith has this to say about Vital Information’s philosophy, “Our music allows for individual expression and re-invention. We thrive on swing, groove, and creativity. We want to surprise each other every night on the bandstand with new ideas and in the process keep our audience ‘in the moment’ with us.”

Chris Parrello + Things I Wonder Release Sophomore E.P. Concrete Cradle The Follow-Up to their 2010 Self-Titled Debut

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Chris Parrello, Composer, Fully Altered MEDIA, Guitarist, Popopomo Music

Out June 19, 2012 on Popopomo Music

Chris Parrello, THINGS I WONDER

New York City has long been the proving ground for jazz musicians, but for all its opportunities it can be a harsh, unforgiving metropolis. Guitarist/composer Chris Parrello has been confronted with all of those same challenges, but with one advantage: as a native New Yorker, he’s always been able to count on a strong support system – what he refers to, in the title of his new EP, as a Concrete Cradle.

“It’s hard here in the city,” Parrello admits, “and it’s hard trying to be an artist generally. When people who aren’t from here go through difficult times, they’re on their own. I’m thankful for the fact that when things got tough, my city and my family and friends were here.”

Shana Tucker -][- SHINE – [Shana Tucker, 2011] –

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African American, Cellist, Female Vocalist, Shana Tucker

Shana Tucker, SHINE

Shana Tucker -][- SHINE –Mp3– [Shana Tucker, 2011] –

Transcending genre distinctions, SHANA TUCKER is a “ChamberSoul” cellist and singer/songwriter from New York who’s set on blazing a trail for herself down in North Carolina. Her music is a sultry pastiche of acoustic pop and soulful, jazz-influenced contemporary folk. “It’s different, yet comfortably familiar…I love 80’s music and I’m a sucker for jazz. Many of the grooves have a bossa-nova/latin heartbeat, translated through percussive vocal phrasing. I can’t deny the classical training; it inspires my cello sensibilities…but I like the thump of walking blues & old-timey bass lines. It’s like a delicious coffee blend: bold and robust, with subtle undertones of bittersweet…and something you can’t quite place, but it’s still good!” she says with a smile.

Eric Erhardt -][- A BETTER FATE – [Tapestry Records, 2012 | Review] –

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BKMusic, Clarinet, Composer, Dan Willis, Eric Erhardt, Flute, James Shipp, Linda Oh, Mike Davis, Nick Paul, Russ Johnson, Saxophone, Sebastian Noelle, Tapestry Records

Eric Erhardt, A BETTER FATE

Eric Erhardt -][- A BETTER FATE –Mp3– [Tapestry Records, 2012 | Review] –

The multi-faceted Eric Erhardt arrives with a harmonious palette of eight flavorful and astute originals pushes the envelope of his voicing’s on what is described as “acoustic fusion” on his debut album “A Better Fate.”

Based in the Mile High City (Denver), Eric was mentored by the legendary sax giant Dave Liebman. Erhardt a veteran in his own right is a notable band leader who wrote and arranged all compositions on this recording. This elegant tapestry consists of a blanket stitched and colored with the fibers of Brazilian, Afro-Cuban, rock and 20th century classic.

JD Allen -][- The Matador & The Bull – [Savant Records, 2012] –

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African American, Composer, Gregg August, JD Allen, Rudy Royston, Savant Records, Saxophone

JD Allen, THE MATADOR & THE BULL

JD Allen -][- The Matador & The Bull – [Savant Records, 2012] –

For his Savant Records’ debut, tenor saxman JD Allen went back in the studio with colleagues Gregg August and Rudy Royston, both of whom have been his regular partners on the bandstand and in the studio since 2008.

They go about their business with a robust and focused melodic articulation propelled by great rhythmic drive. You will not find this trio beating a dead horse into submission.

The original tracks are short, they get in, make a statement, essay some variations, and get out–short and sweet and intense. An interesting, exciting and thought-provoking release from JD Allen and company. -[Editorial Review | Amazon]- | Song listing below

Urban Flux presents: featured artist of the week Maurice Evans

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Abstract Art, African American, Artist, Maurice Evans

Greeting’s art enthusiasts, I’m delighted on this gorgeous day to feature one of the hottest, talented and most gifted artist in the world of art Maurice Evans. Amoebuzzcyte, is a stunning abstract piece on exhibit is one of many intoxicating paintings from Evans amazing art gallery which features a variety of styles and media formats currently on display.

Maurice Evans | Amoebuzzcyte – [Original Acrylic /mixed media on Wood] –

Maurice Evans, Amoebuzzcyte

::: SOURCE: Maurice Evans.com :::