Jean-Luc Ponty | The Acatama Experience

Tags

Jean-Luc Ponty, Violin, World Fusion

Jean-Luc Ponty | The Acatama Experience – [Koch Records, 2007]

Jean-Luc Ponty, The Acatama Experience

This is a very pleasant album! It’s a bit of a departure for Jean-Luc, in that it is much more of a straightforward free-form jazz album than any of his previous works. And, he did it in fine style! His performances on this album are excellent, as usual. And his personality (which has made most of his work shine in the past) is very clear and present in this work. It was nice to hear his old friend, British guitarist Allan Holdsworth perform with him again for the first time in over 20 years.

Even though Holdsworth only played on one song in this work, his original sound, touch and talent rang true in his performance. One pleasant surprise on this album was the inclusion of jazz guitar legend Phillip Catherine on 2 or 3 songs. I don’t think Catherine has ever played for Jean-Luc before. But, his cool, smooth electric guitar work added a saucy jazz flavor to the album. It was great to hear! Some of the songs could have been longer. The solos could have been a bit more extended.

But overall, this album is a refreshing and tasty release that is a necessary addition to anyone’s collection if you are a Jean-Luc Ponty fan! It is not a classic on the status of “Cosmic Messenger” or even the inventive “Individual Choice“….but believe me! This is an album you will enjoy very much! —D. Gorman

Source: Amazon.com

LIONEL LOUEKE RETURNS FEB. 9 WITH “MWALIKO”

Tags

Blue Note Records, Guitar, LIONEL LOUEKE, Male Vocals, World Fusion

Lionel Louke - Mwaliko

On February 9, 2010, Blue Note Records will release Mwaliko, the new album from acclaimed vocalist/guitarist Lionel Loueke. Mwaliko (pronounced mwah-LEE-koh) is Swahili for “invitation,” and the album comprises a series of searching, innovative, intimate duets with special guests vocalist Angelique Kidjo, vocalist/bassist Esperanza Spalding, vocalist/bassist Richard Bona and drummer Marcus Gilmore, as well as three new tracks featuring his longtime trio with Massimo Biolcati on bass and Ferenc Nemeth on drums.

Originally from the small West African nation of Benin, Loueke has enjoyed a meteoric rise over the past several years. Praised by his mentor Herbie Hancock as “a musical painter,” he has appeared on numerous standout recordings such as Hancock’s Grammy-winning River: The Joni Letters (2008) and Terence Blanchard’s Grammy-nominated Flow (2005). Loueke’s 2007 Blue Note debut, Karibu, established him as a one of the brightest new stars on the scene, and prompted The New York Times to declare him “a startlingly original voice” and “one of the most striking jazz artists to emerge is some time.”

..:: Source: Lionel Loueke.com ::..

Babatunde Lea | UMBO WETI – A Tribute to Leon Thomas

Tags

African American, Drums, Percussion, World Fusion

In Stores Today… [9/8/2009]

Babatunde Lea’s UMBO WETI | A Tribute to Leon Thomas [Motéma, 2009]

Babatunde Lea's, Tribute

Percussion virtuoso Babatunde Lea first envisioned a tribute to legendary jazz vocalist and composer Leon Thomas shortly after the singer passed in 1999. His efforts reach fruition on Lea’s fourth and latest release for the Motéma label, UMBO WETI. Featuring a stellar band of improvisers: Dwight Trible (vocals), Ernie Watts (tenor sax), Gary Brown (bass), Patrice Rushen (piano), and Lea on drums and percussion, UMBO WETI is a labor of love.

UMBO WETI finds Lea, and his “dream team” of musicians exploring pieces associated with Thomas’ blend of a spiritually passionate and socially conscious worldview with deftly inventive musicality and progressive vision. They re-imagine Thomas’ version of John Lee Hooker’s primal “Boom Boom Boom Boom,” his new lyrics for Horace Silver’s “Song for My Father,” and the timeless “The Creator Has a Master Plan” – the latter which inexplicably turned into an FM radio hit for Sanders and Thomas. “It was the kind of post-bop thing that happened, kind of the spiritual thing that [John] Coltrane started,” Lea explains. “It was a post-bop spiritual jazz that originated with Coltrane in the late ’60s and that lasted through the ’70s and early ’80s,” Lea explains. “Leon was a big part of that style and really moved it forward.”

Fahir Atakoglu | Faces and Places

Tags

Contemporary Jazz, Jazz Fusion, Keyboards, Piano, World Fusion

Listen up, contemporary jazz and fusion jazz lovers I’ve just discovered and awesome keyboardist from Turkey named Fahir Atakoglu. You’re gonna want to feast your ears on this gem, I believe you’ll love it! Also check out, “Istanbul In Blue” from 2008. Don’t you dig music with an international flavor??

Fahir Atakoglu

Fahir Atakoglu | Faces and Places [Far&Here LLC, 2009]

As a follow up to his hard-hitting fusion offering, 2008’s Istanbul in Blue (a guitar-intensive project that featured the dazzling six-string work of Mike Stern and Wayne Krantz), the accomplished Turkish-born pianist-composer-arranger Fahir Atakoglu casts a wide stylistic net on Faces and Places, deftly incorporating musical elements from Spain, Brazil, the Middle East and New York City into the compelling mix. On board for this dynamic outing are such world-class players as trumpeter Randy Brecker, guitarists Wayne Krantz and Romero Lubambo, Yellowjackets saxophonist Bob Mintzer and the outstanding rhythm tandem of bassist John Patitucci (a longstanding member of the Wayne Shorter Quartet and a composer-band leader in his own right) and the great Cuban drummer Horacio “El Negro” Hernandez. Together, with the addition of some challenging and highly interactive string arrangements, they make a potent statement on what stands as Fahir’s most impressive and ambitious outing to date.

..:: Source: CDBaby.com ::..