Happy Holidays from Sunnyside Records!

Happy Holidays from Sunnyside Records!

We are offering 25% off our catalog at our Bandcamp store

through Monday, Jan. 1!

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Coming in the New Year:

Jan. 19 - Clovis Nicolas - Freedom Suite Ensuite

Jan. 26 - Wayne Escoffery - Vortex

Feb. 9 - John Raymond & Real Feels - Joy Ride

Feb. 23 - Adam Nussbaum - The Lead Belly Project

Sunnyside Artists Live:

Dec. 23 - Rebecca Martin & Larry Grenadier @ Stockade Guitars - Kingston, NY

Jan. 5 - Adam O'Farrill Quartet @ Spectrum - NYC

Jan. 12 - Jamie Baum Septet + @ Winter Jazz Fest - Subculture - NYC

Jan. 12 - Brandon Ross For Living Lovers @ Winter Jazz Fest - New School Jazz Bldg 2nd Fl - NYC

Jan. 12 - Sara Serpa @ Winter Jazz Fest - New School Jazz Bldg 2nd Fl - NYC

Jan. 12-13 - Aaron Goldberg @ Blue Note - NYC

Jan. 13 - Guilhem Flouzat Trio @ Winter Jazz Fest - The Bitter End - NYC

Jan. 13 - Harriet Tubman @ Winter Jazz Fest - New School Tishman Auditorium - NYC

Jan. 13 - Luciana Souza @ Winter Jazz Fest - Subculture - NYC

Jan. 14 - Laszlo Gardony Trio @ Amherst Town Library - Amherst, NH

Jan. 17 - Cristina Pato Quartet @ Walter S. Gubelmann Auditorium - Palm Beach, FL

Jan. 17-18 - John Raymond & Real Feels @ Indiana University - Bloomington, IN

Jan. 19 - John Raymond & Real Feels @ Rudy's Jazz Room - Nashville, TN

Jan. 20 - Duane Eubanks Quartet @ Candlelight Lounge - Trenton, NJ

Jan. 20 - Cristina Pato Quartet @ South Miami-Dade Cultural Arts Center - Miami, FL

Jan. 20 - John Raymond & Real Feels @ The Velvet Note - Atlanta, GA

Jan. 21 - John Raymond & Real Feels @ White Horse Black Mountain - Asheville, NC

Jan. 23 - Jay Clayton & Kirk Nurock @ Mezzrow - NYC

Jan. 26-27 - Wayne Escoffery @ Smoke - NYC - CD Release for Vortex

Jan. 27 - Camille Bertault & Dan Tepfer - Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Jan. 27 - Laszlo Gardony @ James Library - Norwell, MA

Jan. 27 - Cristina Pato Quartet @ Clark State Performing Arts Center - Springfield, OH

Jan. 28 - Randy Ingram @ Jazz Dock - Prague, Czech Republic

Feb. 1 - Cristina Pato Quartet @ Cathedral of San Fernando - San Antonio, TX

Feb. 2-8 - Benny Green @ The Jazz Cruise - Ft. Lauderdale, FL

Feb. 7 - John Raymond & Real Feels @ Jazz Standard - NYC - CD Release for Joy Ride

Feb. 9 - Dan Tepfer - Maui, HI

Feb. 10 - John Raymond & Real Feels @ The Liberty - Cincinnati, OH

Feb. 11 - John Raymond & Real Feels @ Mabel Tainter Center for the Arts - Menomonie, WI

Feb. 12 - John Raymond & Real Feels @ The Icehouse - Minneapolis, MN

Feb. 13 - John Raymond & Real Feels @ Jazz Showcase - Chicago, IL

Feb. 14-15 - John Raymond & Real Feels @ Luther College - Decorah, IA

Feb. 15 - Dan Tepfer Trio @ Blue Note - Honolulu, HI

Feb. 16 - John Raymond & Real Feels @ The Mill - Iowa City, IA

Feb. 16-17 - Abdullah Ibrahim @ Dimitriou's Jazz Alley - Seattle, WA

Feb. 17 - John Raymond & Real Feels @ Noce - Des Moines, IA

Feb. 17 - Luciana Souza @ Portland Jazz Fest - Portland, OR

Feb. 18 - Abdullah Ibrahim @ Chan Center for Performing Arts - Vancouver, BC

Feb. 21 - Abdullah Ibrahim @ Revolution Hall - Portland, OR

Feb. 21-24 - Benny Green @ Jazz Bistro - St. Louis, MO

Feb. 22-25 - Abdullah Ibrahim @ SFJAZZ Center Miner Auditorium - San Francisco, CA

Feb. 24 - Laszlo Gardony @ Spire Center for the Performing Arts - Plymouth, MA

Feb. 25 - Dan Tepfer w/ Eric Harland @ Jazz Nights Princeton - Princeton, NJ

Feb. 28 - Benny Green @ San Jose Winter Jazz Fest - San Jose, CA

Don't forget the Mingus Big Band every Monday @ Jazz Standard in NYC!

Anders Bergcrantz - Soulfully Yours (VANGUARD MUSIC BOULEVARD 2017)

Di certo Anders Bergcrantz non è cristallizzato nel suo lavoro di jazzista. Ne fa – e ne sa – una più del diavolo, così da poter mettere mani al repertorio mainstream tradizionale, a quello della classica contemporanea, alle diverse declinazioni storiche del jazz, fino ad arrivare a "Soulfully Yours", che impila un po' tutto questo, aggiungendovi una bella dose di avant-garde rock-fusion con spruzzate di progressive. E tanto si ascolta solo al primo dei sette brani in scaletta, dove Bergcrantz fa urlare la sua tromba al fianco della dinamitarda chitarra di Lindval: e ciò solo per i 2/3 di "Spirit Of Life", che nella residua parte, dopo un vorticoso balletto di batteria e percussioni, si vesta da discoteca anni Ottanta, bellamente sciogliendosi in un soul danzabile che destabilizza il tutto.

Copernicano cambio di scena in "Childlike" con il jazz classico che balza all'orecchio, e la chitarra di Olsson che si divide la scena con la tromba di Bergcrantz, dal gusto espressionista e i timbri moderatamente caldi, per una hardboppistica soluzione ritmico-armonica. Eleganza esecutiva, orchestrale d'antan che si ascolta in " Mr. B.F." nella quale si ritaglia spazio il forte, caldo e carezzevole tenore di Franck che fa coppia con il trombettista svedese che scolpisce ogni nota. Giù con la bluesy "Oliphant" che assume contorni filmici, per poi scontrarsi con le infuocate corde di Lindval e il piano Fender Rhodes ben amministrato da Sven Erik Lundeqvist.

Poi, come nei migliori film, il coupe de theatre arriva – nuovamente – con "Saraswati", che prende in mano le musiche del Mediterraneo per portarle a passeggio nel giardino del jazz e lasciarle giocare con i balocchi della classica contemporanea, con mutamenti ritmici e stravolgimenti armonici che la spingono in una fase visionaria-onirica, con il suggello delle voci di un coro da anime del Purgatorio e con gli algidi sintetizzatori che rendono ancora più affascinante la policroma composizione.

" It Freezes Now" è una ballad soave, ma non tradizionale, sarà per le voci accattivanti, calde e avvolgenti, in perfetta antinomia, di Rebecca e Iris Bergcrantz, oppure per l'arrangiamento impresso e il passo che oscilla verso altre suoni e altre terre. La chiosa è un memo dell'inizio, con altra scansione temporale scandita dalla falcata africana, sventagliate bebop, e ritmo forsennato. 

In nuce, Anders Bergcrantz sa come trattare la materia jazzistica, senza offendere il passato, ma anche senza rimanerci imbrigliato.

Alceste Ayroldi per Jazzitalia

1. Spirit of Life

2. Childlike

3. Mr. B.F.

4. Oliphant

5. Saraswati

6. It Freezes Now

7. Resistance

Anders Bergcrantz - tromba, percussioni, voce, scacciapensieri, cetra da tavolo

Thomas Franck - sassofono tenore

Anders Chico Lindval - chitarra elettrica, voce

Linus Olsson - chitarra elettrica

Robert Tjäderkvist - piano elettrico, sintetizzatore

Sven Erik Lundeqvist - piano elettrico

Mats Ingvarsson - basso elettrico, voce

Lasse Lundström - basso elettrico

Stefan Bellnäs - basso elettrico

Pa Tollbom - batteria, darbuka

Niclas Campagnol - batteria

Victor Lewis - batteria

Leif Jonsson - percussioni

Johan Börgesson - tablas

Iris Bergcrantz, Edvard Bisof, Anne Bech Hald, Anna-lena Lurin Bregcrantz - voce, hohner string performer, pianoforte

Rebecca Bergcrantz - voce solista

Olli Ahvenlahti - Thinking, Whistling (WE JAZZ RECORDS 2017)

The legendary Finnish pianist/composer Olli Ahvenlahti returns with his first new jazz work in decades! The new album "Thinking, Whistling" will be released 1 Dec by Helsinki's We Jazz Records, and the first digital single "Minor Minor" is available 3 Nov. 

The new record finds Ahvenlahti team up with the Jaska Lukkarinen Trio, one of the most highly-regarded ensembles in Finnish jazz. From funk-influenced acoustic jazz to heartfelt ballads, the band are delightfully in a world of their own, drawing from Ahvenlahti's effortless pianism and the trios natural swing.

1. Thinking, Whistling 05:31

2. Minor Minor 04:32

3. Miles Away 04:37

4. Say It Again 03:50

5. Black Forest Air 05:19

6. Late Night 03:56

7. A Piano Song 03:59

8. Saturday 04:16

9. Little White 06:22

Composed by Olli Ahvenlahti

Arranged by Olli Ahvenlahti New Quartet

Olli Ahvenlahti, piano

Jussi Kannaste, tenor sax

Antti Lötjönen, bass

Jaska Lukkarinen, drums

Produced by Olli Ahvenlahti, Jaska Lukkarinen & Matti Nives

Jazz Calls: Best of Australian Jazz 2017 (AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION MUSIC)

To celebrate AusMusic Month, ABC Jazz presents a collection of the finest jazz performances of the past 18 months, as recorded by the ABC in live performances and in the studio.

The recordings span the length and breadth of the country, and showcase a who’s who of the Australian jazz scene at the moment, from established names like vocalist Trish Delaney-Brown, bassist Sam Anning and pianist Mark Fitzgibbon, to rising stars Joe O’Connor, Matthew Nicholls and Olivia Chindamo.

ABC Jazz has long supported the development of new talent, and this album showcases some of the recordings made as celebrations of significant award wins. The Jazzgroove Mothership Orchestra perform Kelly Ottaway’s Donald English, the winning piece from the 2016 National Big Band Composition Competition; Matthew Nicholls celebrates his James Morrison Scholarship with two studio tracks; Emma Stephenson records hot on the heels of her Jann Rutherford Memorial Award; and Sam Anning can be heard celebrating his National Jazz Awards win.

01. Able Able (Matthew Nicholls Septet)

02. Birds (Trish Delaney-Brown Quintet)

03. Fusion, No Confusion (Sorcha Albuquerque Trio)

04. All Of Me (Olivia Chindamo, Sam Anning)

05. Boubacar (James McLean)

06. Nigeria (Australian National Jazz Orchestra, Mat Jodrell, Roger Manins)

07. And Away (Steven Magnussen, Frank DiSario)

08. Love Is Patient (Gian Slater and Hieronymus Trio)

09. Mr Knight (Mike Rivett)

10. Time To Be Still (Spirograph Studies)

11. Hitchcock (Movement 9)

12. Elena (Mark Fitzgibbon Trio)

13. OK Compupid (Shannon Barnett Quartet)

14. Donald English (Kelly Ottaway, Jazzgroove Mothership Orchestra)

15. Sarabande (Joe O'Connor Trio, Scott Tinkler)

16. Sunflowers (Sam Anning Sextet)

17. Ruby (Trish Delaney-Brown Quintet)

18. Wall Of Jericho (Matthew Nicholls Septet)

Andrew Bain - Embodied Hope (WHIRLWIND RECORDINGS 2017)

New routes in musical exploration are at the heart of drummer Andrew Bain’s episodic suite, Embodied Hope – a project with pianist George Colligan, saxophonist Jon Irabagon and bassist Michael Janisch. An influential percussionist and educator based in Birmingham, England (and a first-call sideman both in the UK and the States), Bain’s own research has led him to study a concept which seeks to link improvisation with the increasingly topical issues of human rights, community and social transformation. Taking jazz as a metaphor for positive change in the world, and based on seven aspects – listening, surprise, accompaniment, practice, responsibility, trust and, ultimately, hope – this work is defined both by its distinct flexibility of expression and the quartet’s ongoing appraisal of what it progressively achieves. 

Andrew Bain explains that, rather than counting himself as a composer, he’s a writer of music for improvisers: “Like all good music written with improvisation in mind, Embodied Hope starts with an idea and a vibe, as well as melodies, chord sequences, solo sections and as many boundaries as I want to provide. But apart from that, it’s all in flux and very much up to the band, even in terms of suite order, solo order, etc. I trust these guys with where they take things – an experimental journey evolving on the road, night after night”.

The approach is melodic and full of singable melodies originally conceived at the piano. Each movement is developed from a different perspective, with Bain’s intricate though powerful percussion subtly directing group improvisation; so rather than a stated theme and variations, there’s individual symbolism in each piece. ‘Surprise’ begins with a drum spotlight (so a surprise in itself), and then the solos from three written cues start to arrive – not in a traditional way, but by interrupting each other, challenging more conventional song formats. The free, opening section of ‘Listening’ sounds largely improvised, yet isn’t, because it grows out of ten specific lines of melody written in a similar key center (albeit with no set tempo); and the drummer reveals that ‘Accompaniment’ was originally intended as the ballad, a moment of solace: “But as we rehearsed, it became this classic Coltrane rumble-and-tumble, elevating it with some kind of higher energy. So, importantly, I realised that together we had decided this was something different, and it became the opener to the suite.” 

Recorded on the twelfth day of a two-week tour of workshops, masterclasses and performances, the session presented its own challenge – after all, how is it possible for improvisers to decide on the definitive version of a constantly evolving work? But it’s precisely that captured moment in time from which the sparks of originality fly, whether through Jon Irabagon’s rapid sax invention in feverishly-swinging ‘Practise’, George Colligan’s typically artful Steely Dan quote in the solid groove of ‘Responsibility’ or a theme-tune-like amiability woven into ‘Trust’. 

Echoing the album title, driving, anthemic ‘Hope’ synopsizes what has become important to the band in this process – how they have made it relevant to themselves through their social interaction; how the concept has literally been embodied as they have memorized the music; and the positivity arising from what they fashion and develop together. “The best music that I play is with musicians I really trust”, says Bain. “Not that it’s cosy and we all know what we’re going to do, but that we’re comfortable to push each other, over and over, with every performance. When you’re in that space, there are so many things the music could be… and that’s as good as it gets”.

“His own [Bain's] playing is a revelation as he combines power with detail and precision in a bright, busy, colourful and imaginative display behind the kit.” 

★★★★ The Jazz Mann 

"Bain is always a vital driver behind the kit, ever engaged and urging his fellow players on.​.. and as a composer brings a strong melodic sense to his tunes.​" 

London Jazz​ 

"Funky piano, paint-stripping tenor from Irabagon, sound bass (as ever) from Janisch and amazing drumming from Andrew Bain" 

Bebop Spoken Here 

“Uplifting solos and mature musical dialogue from these top notch, virtuoso musicians.” 

Jazzma (HU)

1. Accompaniment 06:05

2. Hope 12:12 video

3. Practice 06:43

4. Responsibility 06:54

5. Surprise 06:01

6. Listening 09:27

7. Trust 11:01

8. Hope (Reprise) 01:37

Andrew Bain - drums

George Colligan - piano

Jon Irabagon - tenor saxophone

Michael Janisch - double bass

Recorded 11, November 2016 (Wincraft Studios, England)

Engineer - James Towler

Mixed by Alex Bonney

Mastered by Peter Beckman (Technology Works Mastering)

Artwork by Diana Mackie

Graphic Design by Elaine Crouch

Produced by Andrew Bain

Executive Producer - Michael Janisch