Jazz Supergroup, THE COOKERS, Celebrate Their Fifth Anniversary With Stellar Third Release, BELIEVE, Available June 12 on Motéma Music

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African American, Billy Harper, Billy Hart, Cecil McBee, Craig Handy, David Weiss, Eddie Henderson, George Cables

Featuring Billy Harper, Eddie Henderson, David Weiss,
Craig Handy, George Cables, Cecil McBee, and Billy Hart

LISTEN TO STREAMING TRACKS FROM BELIEVE

The Cookers, BELIEVE

“Player for player, there’s no better working band in jazz than The Cookers.” – Andy Gilbert, Boston Globe

“Rich with a mix of classic elegance and exploration, the group might reference the past by name, but it never sounds less than current.” – Chris Barton, Los Angeles Times

In an interview, drum great Billy Hart summed up his attitude toward The Cookers succinctly but emphatically: “Believe in us,” he insisted (tacking an expletive onto the end that served to press the point home). Over the course of two albums, The Cookers have given jazz audiences plenty of reason to believe, and their Motéma Music debut, bearing the simple but eloquent title Believe, finds the all-star septet continuing to keep the faith in swinging fashion – their third release, celebrating their fifth anniversary as a working ensemble.

Japanese Pop Icon SENRI OE Makes Long-Awaited Jazz Debut Boys Mature Slow

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Composer, Piano, Senri Oe

To Be Released July 31st 2012 on PND Records

SENRI OE, Boys Mature Slow

Walking past a shop window one day in 2008, Senri Oe caught a glimpse of his reflection in the glass. What most people would have seen looking back at them was an enormously successful musician and actor. Over the course of his 25-year career, Oe has released 45 hit singles and nearly 20 albums, more than half of which the Japanese Gold Disc Award; he has written songs for more than 30 J-Pop artists, including the winner of the 1999 FNS Pop Music Award for Best Song; and he hosted a talk show on Japan’s national broadcasting network, NHK.

David Benoit -][- CONVERSATION – [Heads Up, 2012] –

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Composer, David Benoit, David Pack, Jeff Golub, Pat Kelley, Piano, Tim Weisberg

David Benoit, CONVERSATION

David Benoit -][- CONVERSATION – [Heads Up, 2012] –

Pianist and composer David Benoit has something to say. It s clear from his multi-dimensional body of work across three-and-a-half decades, and his deep jazz roots that still allow room for forays into classical, Latin, pop, world music and a range of other sounds. The connections and associations he has made along the way have resulted in a fascinating and ongoing interplay between musics, musicians and musical philosophies. Simply put, Benoit is engaged in a conversation a dynamic and ongoing act of communication that results in a sound that s consistently engaging and entertaining.