Chinchano - Un Cambio (2016)

Label: Skiptone Music

Source: Cdbaby 

Chinchano, Chicago's exciting original music ensemble that fuses Peruvian folk rhythms with modern jazz, is presenting their second album, "Un Cambio". Rich in both intricate improvisation, and flowing, through-composed arrangements, the music is heart-warming and thought-provoking, and may even move your heels. The new album is available and features compositions by percussionist/bandleader Juan Pastor, and pianist Stu Mindeman. "Un Cambio", which follows the critically-acclaimed self-titled first album, explores new territory for Chinchano, featuring Marquis Hill on trumpet, Rich Moore on saxophone, and Patrick Mulcahy on bass.

“The tunes feature continuously evolving structures and shimmering harmonies fueled by joyous Peruvian grooves not commonly encountered by Northern ears”
(Downbeat).

"...created a music of considerable textural complexity, but also unmistakable lyrical grace"
(Chicago Tribune).

1. Marea Alta 05:26
2. El Plebeyo 04:48
3. Festejo Desaparecido 06:59
4. Canchita 05:32
5. Vals (El Miedo a la Luz) 03:34
6. Pisando Tierra 06:12
7. Bluestejo 04:15
8. Micaela 07:22
9. Anhelando un Cambio 04:23

Juan Pastor, drums and percussion
Stu Mindeman, piano and keyboards
Rich Moore, alto saxophone
Marquis Hill, trumpet
Patrick Mulcahy, bass  

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Wycliffe Gordon With The Dimartino/Osland Jazz Orchestra - Somebody New (2015)

Label: Blue Back Records

Source: Jazz Times

The first album that Wycliffe Gordon has made leading a big band, Somebody New is also an advertisement for the trombonist’s skills as a composer and arranger. The disc’s inside card states plainly, just below the credits, that all the charts used here are available for purchase. High school and college band directors should seriously consider the offer, as these are well-built arrangements of the Duke-via-Wynton variety, with occasional hints of New Orleans funk, particularly in “What You Dealin’ With” and the infectious baritone sax riff of “Herkie Jerkie.”

That there’s a deep Louis Armstrong fixation on display too—not least in Gordon’s half-dozen très Satchmoesque vocal turns—is hardly a surprise, given that five of these songs appeared previously on his 2011 album, Hello Pops! But those earlier versions didn’t feature the DiMartino/Osland Jazz Orchestra of Lexington, Ky., which performs impeccably. Trumpeter Vince DiMartino, alto saxophonist Miles Osland and pianist Raleigh Dailey deserve special praise for their pithy, thoughtful solos.
As for the leader, when he’s not singing or moonlighting more than credibly on trumpet or tuba, he’s busy making the trombone sound like a breeze to play. He is, it must be said, something of a showboat. In the middle of “Wishing Well,” a vaguely Latin-feeling original piece in 6/4 time, the action pauses for a minute-plus cadenza during which Gordon imitates a didgeridoo, a Tuvan throat singer, a Theremin and a horse flapping its lips—all of it gratuitous and mood-killing. And yet, as a lyrical run through “That Old Feeling” shows, he’s just as capable of high sensitivity. On the whole, a long but fun collection that rarely strays far from basic jazz truths.   Mac Randall

01. Herkie Jerkie
02. I Got Rhythm
03. What You Dealin' With
04. Somebody New
05. That Old Feeling
06. If
07. Wishing Well
08. Pops For President
09. Mood Indigo
10. This Rhythm On My
12. Hello Pops
13. Grease Bucket 

MILES OSLAND, LARRY NELSON, alto sax
GORDON TOWELL, DOUG DREWEK, tenor sax
LISA OSLAND, baritone sax
RICK BYRD, RICK COOK, DAVID HUMMEL, ANDREW McGRANNAHAN, trumpet
BRADLEY KERNS, JOSH DARGAVELL, BILL KITE, trombone
LOUIS "HAP" BOURGOIS, bass trombone
RALEIGHT DAILEY, piano
ROSS WHITAKER, guitar
DANNY CECIL, bass
PAUL DEATHERAGE, drums

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Pete & Will Anderson - Deja Vu (2015)

Label: Gut String Records

Source: Jazz Times

On this thoroughly entertaining quintet session, twins Will and Peter Anderson team up with one of the most renowned and beloved siblings in jazz history, drummer Albert “Tootie” Heath, who turns 80 on May 31. No surprise, then, that the young reedmen sound as if they’re fully enjoying the cross-familial connection here, buoyed by Heath’s rhythmic joie de vivre. Of course, given the Andersons’ bop-rooted influences and Heath’s obvious compatibility, who would have expected anything less?

The title and opening cut, one of eight tunes penned by the Andersons for this outing, is emblematic of the album’s virtues. The frontline—Peter on tenor saxophone, Will on alto—introduces a vibrant, spiraling theme that soon gives way to a series of fluid turns from the reedmen and pianist Jeb Patton. All the while Heath is in delightful form, nimbly accenting, prodding and interjecting, before fashioning a crisply syncopated break. “Presque Vu,” the following performance, is more melodically stealthy, but again the saxes add colorful contrasts, and the rhythm section, fortified by bassist David Wong, is lifted by Heath’s always-salutary presence. “Belfast Blues,” its title notwithstanding, is actually a burner that also reveals the band’s cohesiveness and spirit. When Heath sits out on several cuts, drummer Phil Stewart prevents lulls from settling in, though he quietly enhances the mood during an insinuatingly lyrical, alto-limned performance of “A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square.” Like “Lover Man” and “Rachel,” a woven ballad composed by Peter for his wife, it’s yet another reminder that when it comes to elegantly embellishing and resolving a romantic theme, the Andersons excel. Mike Joyce

1. Déjà vu
2. Presque vu
3. Belfast Blues
4. Devil's Advocate
5. A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square
6. Deja entendu
7. Rachel
8. Jamais vu
9. Lover Man
10. Cats in New York City
11. Just One of Those Things

Peter Anderson (tenor sax)
Will Anderson (alto sax)
Jeb Patton (piano)
Dave Wong (bass)
Phil Stewart & Albert "Tootie" Heath (drums)

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Janek Gwizdala - American Elm (2016)

Label: Self Released

Source: Janek Gwizdala

London born US based Bass player and record producer Janek Gwizdala has been on the international music scene for over a decade. He has been touring as a band leader and working as musical director or sideman with some of the most respected names in the industry. These include: Randy Brecker, Hiram Bullock, Mike Stern, John Mayer, Airto Moreira, Chuck Loeb, Peter Erskine, Flora Purim, Pat Metheny, Billy Cobham, Bob James, John Patitucci, Bob Mintzer, Marcus Miller, Jojo Mayer, Paul Shafer, Dennis Chambers, Gary Novak and Wayne Krantz. As a recording artist and band leader Janek has released 7 albums as a leader, as an author published two critically acclaimed books,  and toured the world extensively, while also touring as a lecturer and clinician at the world's leading educational establishments.

1. Poets Walk 04:14
2. Manhattan - Part 1 01:16
3. American Elm 10:47
4. Indian Lake 04:38
5. Manhattan - Part 2 01:30
6. West Village Walk 06:49
7. Mount Rushmore 06:48
8. Coming Home 07:20
9. God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen 04:33
10.Day Tripper 06:01

Janek Gwizdala - Electric Bass & Loops 

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Bill Hart - Touch Of Blue (2016)

Label: Blue Canoe Records

Source: Bill Hart 

Bill Hart was born and raised in Ontario, Canada and began playing guitar at the young age of nine years old. Hart immediately felt drawn to the instrument and would find every opportunity to covertly rendezvous with his guitar. A lifelong connection was formed.

Hart started taking lessons when he was thirteen. Initially, he played rock, influenced by the diverse guitar styles of Jimi Hendrix, David Gilmour, and Jimmy Page. One day, in a music store, he saw a jazz musician playing guitar and doing the most incredible things. Bill wanted to know how the guitarist played that amazing music. Thirty years later, Hart modestly says he is still trying to figure it out. Currently, Hart is the one playing the amazing music, while always keeping it accessible to one and all.

Hart's early training was fairly non-traditional. As a teenager, he spent time playing in theater's performing “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” and “Little Shop of Horrors”, where he was the designated musician, providing live music for the shows. Fascinated by the mathematical precision of music, Bill attended the Guitar Institute of Technology in Hollywood, California, graduating with honors.  Bill has studied under master guitarists, Gary Starling, Mike Stern, Don Mock, Steve Khan, Wayne Krantz and Scott Henderson. Bill's true joy comes from playing his original compositions.  Bill Hart has opened for jazz greats such as Herbie Hancock, Marcus Miller, Lou Rawls, Yellow Jackets, Acoustic Alchemy, Joey Defrancesco, Norman Brown, Rippingtons and Mike Stern.

Hart has been the head of the guitar department at the Atlanta Institute of Music & Media for over twenty-five years, teaching and mentoring over 4000 students. Bill Hart has participated in numerous music clinics with seminar partners such as Scott Ambush and Joel Rosenblatt (Spyro Gyra), Mike Stern (Miles Davis Band), Adam Nitti (Steven Curtis Chapman), Shane Theriot (Neville Brothers, Hall, and Oates) and Jimmy Herring (The Grateful Dead and Widespread Panic).  Bill Hart has released five albums: "Watch the Sky", "Think About It", "Subject To Change," "This Is Why" and his most recent 2016 release “Touch Of Blue.”

Hart toured Mexico and South America with his original music performing at big venues. He was awarded a letter from the U.S. Embassy in Venezuela on behalf of the Bill Hart Band for his contribution to the students in South America. Hart was also a Grammy Award nominee. Also offers guitar clinics and lessons as part of his tour.

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Dave Douglas Monash Art Ensemble - Fabliaux (2015)

Label: Greenleaf

Source: Jazzhead

"Dave Douglas represents to me the quintessential 21^st century musician, a perpetually curious musical explorer with a panoramic overview of the various traditions of which he is a part, and which have seen him span musical worlds from Horace Silver and Mary Lou Williams to John Zorn and Shigeto. His compositional vision has resulted in many fine and unique works. When he agreed to create a new work with the Monash Art Ensemble in 2014, I knew we were in for something groundbreaking; that he chose a medieval form as the basis for this project was as intriguing as it was exciting.
"The Monash Art Ensemble (MAE) was founded in 2012 as a collaboration between the Sir Zelman Cowen School of Music at Monash University in Melbourne, Australia, and the Australian Art Orchestra (AAO), which I established in 1993. The AAO has always explored the liminal zones between notation and improvisation, between musical cultures, dialects and histories. The MAE has continued in that tradition, bringing students and staff of the School together with veteran AAO players, some of Australia's finest improvisers.
"As Johan Huizinga described so lovingly in his immortal The Autumn of the Middle Ages, the 14^th century was a time of extremes, the likes of which we can only dimly imagine now, a time when light and darkness were concepts of a physical, psychological and spiritual immediacy that defined life in all its aspects. It was a time of heraldry, of ritual, of esoteric speculation, conflict and pestilence. Rich pickings, therefore for the crafters of fabliaux, the vernacular, often bawdy verses that lie behind such immortal masterpieces as Boccaccio's Decameron and Chaucer's Canterbury Tales. It is the flavor of this literature that Dave has adopted as the platform for these nine beautiful pieces.
"Dave presents us with the 'distant mirror' as Barbara Tuchman described that period, refracting the pre-tonal harmony, hockets, polyphonic and numerical complexity and coarse timbres of medieval music through the prism of a contemporary and eclectic jazz language, by turns colorful, raucous, tender, chaotic and majestic. It has been deeply satisfying to be a part of this project; I hope you, the listener, have as much fun with Fabliaux as we did in playing it."  Paul Grabowski

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Jason Palmer - Wondaland (2015)

Label: Steeplechase

Source: Jazz Times

Trumpeter Jason Palmer’s intriguing new release is the second in his planned “series of homages to singers who have produced powerful music,” which began three years ago with his Minnie Riperton tribute, Take a Little Trip. Wondaland is more contemporary, celebrating the artistry of Janelle Monáe via jazzed-up arrangements of her songs, all but one drawn from the eclectic R&B star’s much-lauded 2010 album, The ArchAndroid.

Palmer isn’t alone among his jazz contemporaries in admiring Monáe. She featured Esperanza Spalding on the track “Dorothy Dandridge Eyes,” from her The Electric Lady, and the theatricality of Spalding’s new Emily’s D+Evolution project, as well as her singing, both suggest Monáe’s influence. But Palmer’s album makes his admiration overt, and he’s joined by an impressive young crew of mostly current or former members of his working band at the venerable Boston club Wally’s Cafe, located just up Massachusetts Avenue from his and their alma mater, Berklee College of Music.
Luke Marantz, Dan Carpel and Lee Fish make an able rhythm section on Fender Rhodes, bass and drums, respectively, with Marantz chipping in solid solos along with deft comping. Guitarist Greg Duncan’s soloing brings to mind Kurt Rosenwinkel on “Neon Valley Street,” “BaBopByeYa” and “Look Into My Eyes.” Rising-star alto saxophonist Godwin Louis shines on uptempo tunes (“Sir Greendown,” “Neon Valley Street,” the set-ending title track) and slower ones (“57821,” “Look Into My Eyes”). Palmer’s trumpet excellence is getting to be old news, and it’s on display plenty here. But he skips taking a solo turn on “Look Into My Eyes,” and overall seems more interested in building on the beauty of Monáe’s music with his arrangements than in flashing his chops. Which keeps this charming album a bona fide homage.Bill Beuttler

01. Sir Greendown
02. Neon Valley Street
03. 58321
04. BabopbyeYa
05. Look Into My Eyes
06. Oh, Maker
07. Say You'll Go
08. Wondaland 

JASON PALMER, trumpet
GODWIN LOUIS, alto sax
GREG DUNCAN, guitar
LUKE MARANTZ, fender rhodes
DAN CARPEL, bass
LEE FISH,drums

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Tedeschi Trucks Band - Let Me Get By (2016)

Label: Swamp Family Music

Source: Guitar World 

Let Me Get By, the new album by Tedeschi Trucks Band, sees guitarist Derek Trucks throwing his full energy into a project.
Now that he's left the Allman Brothers Band, TTB, which also features Trucks' wife, singer/guitarist Susan Tedeschi, is clearly—and understandably—his primary focus.
Today, GuitarWorld.com brings you the exclusive premiere of the album's title track. You can check it out below.
"This song started with a single line that our keyboard player Kofi Burbridge played in soundcheck," Trucks says. "Many of the songs on the album came about in a similar way; someone in the band brought an idea or a phrase, and the rest of the group contributed their own touches to fill in the blanks.
"This one was also a natural fit as the title of the album. We’re fortunate to be a band that’s all pushing in the same direction, so when we go into the studio, it’s almost an extension of what we do on stage, and I think this track shows some of that cohesiveness that we’ve developed over the years."
Let Me Get By is completely home-grown affair, recorded in Tedeschi and Trucks' backyard studio, which left them free to lay down tracks when inspiration struck. Their two children (11 and 13) literally grew up on the road. Derek's dad sells merch on tour and his brother runs the home studio in Jacksonville, although "home studio" hardly does it justice.

1  Anyhow
2  Laugh About It
3  Don't Know What It Means
4  Right on Time    
5  Let Me Get By
6  Just as Strange
7  Crying over You / Swamp Raga for Hozapfel, Lefebvre, Flute and Harmonium
8  Hear Me    
9. I Want More
10 In Every Heart

Derek Trucks – Guitar
Susan Tedeschi – Guitar & Vocals
Kofi Burbridge – Keyboards & Flute
Tyler Greenwell – Drums & Percussion
J.J. Johnson – Drums & Percussion
Tim Lefebvre – Bass Guitar
Mike Mattison – Harmony Vocals
Mark Rivers – Harmony Vocals
Alecia Chakour – Harmony Vocals
Kebbi Williams – Saxophone
Elizabeth Lea – Trombone
Ephraim Owens – Trumpet

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Ray Vega & Thomas Marriott - Return of the East West Trumpet Summit (2015)

“...brimming with creative imagination, technical fluency, and a deep respect for the jazz tradition.”

- INTERNATIONAL TRUMPET GUILD

With a nod to the fabled trumpet duo sessions of Fats Navarro & Howard McGhee, and Freddie Hubbard & Woody Shaw, trumpeters Ray Vega and Thomas Marriott's fiery 2010 quintet release "East-West Trumpet Summit," hit #1 on the jazz charts and established the group through their festival and club appearances. Returning to the studio, the two are joined this time by George Colligan on Hammond B-3 Organ and again by drummer Matt Jorgensen as they explore a collection of originals, standards and jazz classics. Included are Wayne Shorter's "United," "Totem Pole" by Lee Morgan, and for the opener they borrow Curtis Fuller's "The Egyptian," also the lead off to Art Blakey's 1966 classic, "Indestructible."

Ray Vega - trumpet & flugelhorn 

Thomas Marriott - trumpet 

George Colligan - B-3 Organ 

Matt Jorgensen - drums

1. The Egyptian 

2. Totem Pole 

3. Misty 

4. United 

5. Firm Roots 

6. The Bourgeoloo (a/k/a At The Summit) 

7. Quasimodo 

8. What Is This Thing Called Love

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Marc Ribot & The Young Philadelphians - Live in Tokyo (2015)

The Young Philadelphians

"where deco meets disco meets decon"

Jamaaladeen Tacuma, G. Calvin Weston, Mary Halvorson, Marc Ribot:  4 professional, harmolodic noise improvisers with an uncommon love of Philly soul and hard groove. Forever young, forever Philadelphian, forever fixated on the moment before dance went digital. Stuck in the groove like a scratch in your favorite record. Ladies and Gentlemen…the hardest working musicians in punk/funk/soul/noise: The Young Philadelphians!!! 

The Young Philadelphians pays tribute to twin legacies: The mind-blowing harmolodic punk-funk of Ornette Coleman's first Prime Time band and the sweet, optimistic pulse of 1970s Philly Soul. Ribot enlists bassist Jamaaladeen Tacuma and drummer G. Calvin Weston, both Prime Time alumni and Philadelphia natives, along with guitarist Mary Halvorson plus a newly added 3-piece string section** to do the job.

Set list includes classics such as The Hustle, Love Rollarcoaster, You Are Everything

**This project can be booked using local or conservatory level string section.

"There are things you want at WJF, and then there are things you didn't know you wanted. Few but guitarist Marc Ribot would have the gusto to put a group together to recreate the soulful, sweeping funk of Gambel and Huff's Sound of Philadelphia. The groundwork was pure, unadulterated TSOP [The Sound of Philadelphia] - the cinematic strings, the funky propulsions by bassist Jamaaladeen Tacuma and drummer Calvin Weston, the shouts of "gettin' down" - but the layers on top were more unique. The twin-guitar attack of Mary Halvorson's spiky excursions and Ribot's No Wave rock stylings kept everything just on edge enough to perk ears up. With this in mind, it gave standbys like the Ohio Player's "Love Rollercoaster" and even Van McCoy's "The Hustle" new life."  

- Dan Lehner, Feast of Music Review at Winter Jazz Fest 2015

The Young Philadelphians are:

Marc Ribot - guitars, vocals 

Mary Halvorson - guitars 

Jamaaladeen Tacuma - bass 

G. Calvin Weston - drums

Takako Siba - viola

Yoshie Kajiwara - violin

Recorded live July 28, 2014 at Club Quattro - Tokyo, Japan

1.Love Epidemic (The Trammps) - 5:30

2. Love TKO (Teddy Pendergrass) - 6:47

3. Fly, Robin, Fly (Silver Convention) - 9:05 

4. TSOP MFSB (Mother, Father, Sister, Brother) - 9:22

5. Love Rollercoaster (Ohio Players) - 7:22

6. Do It Anyway You Wanna (People’s Choice) - 6:46

7. The Hustle (Van McCoy) - 9:07

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Luis Muñoz - Voz (2015)

Percussionist/keyboardist Luis Muñoz has produced an elegant album of nine original songs. You wouldn't think this was a drummer's album, though, because of his sparing use of his own instrument, with the accent on almost chamber music settings. Indeed, he does not even play on either ""Journey of Saint Augustine" (a lovely instrumental with bass, guitar and trumpet only), nor the final three songs. The opening track "Preludio y Fin" is a case in point. Magos Herrera's soft, breathy voice, along with Adam Asarnow's delicate piano, is all that's heard for the first minute-and-a-half. It's not until "Pasión," the fifth song, that there's more overt rhythmic work, a lilting Brazilian piece with Téka Penterich singing. One song, the lilting "Quisiera," features Chilean singer Claudia Acuña, perhaps the best known of the three singers here. The album closes with the delicate "Amanecer Luminosa." with Herrera singing the poetry of Osvaldo Sauma (National Poetry Award Winner 2014 in Costa Rica), set to music by Muñoz. This is an album of beauty and spirit. I wish there had been a lyric sheet translating the songs into English, but their emotional content shines through my language barrier.

Preludio y Fin

Manatial

Argentina

Journey Of Saint Augustine

Pasión

Testamento/Más Allá

Amarilis

Quisiera

Amamecer Luminoso

Luis Muñoz: drums, percussion, keyboard, melodica

Jonathan Dane: trumpet, flugelhorn

Brendan Statom: acoustic bass

Magos Herrera: lead vocals (1, 3, 6, 9)

Ramses Araya: bongo, congas (2)

Tom Etchart: electric bass (2) acoustic bass (6)

Ron Kalina: chromatic harmonica (2, 5)

Lois Mahalia: vocals (2)

Téka Penteriche: lead vocals (2, 5, 8)

Narciso Sotomayor: electric guitar (2)

Andy Zuñiga: vocals (2)

Adam Asarnow: piano (3, 5, 9)

Daniel Zimmerman: acoustic guitar (4, 7)

Jana Anderson: vocals

Chris Judge: acoustic guitar (5, 6, 8)

Victor Marten: vocals

Randy Tico: bass (5)

Kevin Winard: percussion (5)

George Friedenthal: piano (6)

Claudia Acuña: lead vocal (8)

Released September 15, 2015

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