Enrico PIERANUNZI / André CECCARELLI / Diego IMBERT - Monsieur Claude (A travel with Claude Debussy) BONSAÏ MUSIC 2018

Monsieur Claude - [A Travel with Claude Debussy] réunit onze titres composés essentiellement par Enrico Pieranunzi à partir d’œuvres majeures de Claude Debussy, telles que Valse Romantique, Ballade, La fille aux cheveux de lins qui deviennent respectivement Bluemantique, L’autre ballade et C]]>Enrico Pieranunzi est certainement le seul pianiste de la scène musicale à pouvoir revendiquer une double filiation jazz et classique. Aux cotés de André Ceccarelli et de Diego Imbert, il publie en 2016 son album « ménage à trois » qui illustre la coexistence de sa femme (la musique classique) et de sa maîtresse (le Jazz).

Après le succès international de « ménage à trois », il était donc tout naturel, que Enrico Pieranunzi, entouré de ces mêmes complices musiciens, se penche sur l’œuvre de Claude Debussy à l’occasion de la commémoration du centenaire de la disparition ce dernier le 25 mars prochain. Pour cet hommage jazz, le trio de Enrico Pieranunzi a souhaité également la participation sur certains titres de deux autres artistes de grande qualité : David El Malek au saxophone et Simona Severini au chant.]]>Monsieur Claude - [A Travel with Claude Debussy] réunit onze titres composés essentiellement par Enrico Pieranunzi à partir d’œuvres majeures de Claude Debussy, telles que Valse Romantique, Ballade, La fille aux cheveux de lins qui deviennent respectivement Bluemantique,

L’autre ballade et Cheveux.]]>Formidablement illustré par une œuvre de l’Artiste Emiliano Ponzi qui cultive le mystère et le romantisme de ce compositeur culte, Monsieur Claude - [A Travel with Claude Debussy] est certainement le projet jazz le plus original dédié à Claude Debussy, projet que les artistes présenteront pour la première fois en concert à Paris (Sunside) les 24 et 25 avril prochains.

1. Bluemantique (d’après Valse Romantique de Claude Debussy)

2. Passepied nouveau (d’après Passepied de Claude Debussy)

3. L’autre ballade (d’après Ballade de Claude Debussy)

4. Romance (Paul Bourget / Claude Debussy)

5. Rêverie (Claude Debussy / arrangement Enrico Pieranunzi)

6. Cheveux (d’après La fille aux cheveux de lin de Claude Debussy)

7. Blues for Claude (Enrico Pieranunzi)

8. Nuit d’étoiles (Théodore de Banville / Claude Debussy)

9. Mr. Golliwogg (d’après Golliwogg’s Cake-Walk de Claude Debussy)

10. My Travel with Claude (Enrico Pieranunzi)

11. L’adieu (Guillaume Apollinaire / Enrico Pieranunzi)

Soweto's BCUC (Bantu Continua Uhuru Consciousness) share video to 'Nobody Knows', an afropsychedelic mix of deep afro free jazz and funk rock

Ahead of the release of their new album, the Soweto band are pleased to share the video to ‘Nobody Knows’, taken from ‘EMAKHOSINI’, released 6th April via Buda Musique

Singer Jovi said, ‘The song and the video are talking about the resilience that we need to have in these hard times (politically). We already have been through the hardest times and we can’t give up now. We can’t be busy attacking each other, we need to keep the eyes on the ball.’


“BCUC will come correct with their energetic, unique and magic formula; the voices of their ancestors, mixed with funk, punk-rock vibrations, hip-hop, Fela-inflections and much more in between.” Gilles Peterson, BBC Radio 6 Music/Worldwide FM

A stone’s throw from the church where Desmond Tutu organised the escape of the most wanted anti-Apartheid activists of Soweto, BCUC rehearses in a shipping container-turned-community restaurant, where their indomitable outspokenness echoes in a whole new way. 

Make no mistake, this buzzing township has lost none of the creative, rebellious energy it had when the “Rainbow Nation”, with its now less-than-vibrant colours, emerged twenty years ago. Like its elders, Bantu Continua Uhuru Consciousness sees its music as a hedonistic trance, but also as a weapon of political and spiritual liberation.

The seven-piece band has been mesmerising audiences both locally and globally with its indigenous funk and high-energy performances that have fast made it one of South Africa's most successful musical exports. Artistic heirs to Philip “Malombo” Tabane and Batsumi, they seek to give a contemporary voice to the ancestral traditions of indigenous peoples. Jazz sounds of 1970s and ‘80s productions have been replaced by hip-hop influences and a punk-rock energy.

With new album ‘EMAKHOSINI’, released 6th April via Buda Musique, BCUC take the listener on an intriguing epic journey, sharing their controversial yet interesting views on modern Africa. They tackle the harsh realities of the voiceless, especially the plight of the uneducated workers at the bottom of the social food chain. BCUC taps into the elusiveness of the spirit world of ancestors by which they are inspired. The Africa portrayed by BCUC is not poor, but rich in tradition, rituals and beliefs.

Recorded at Back To Mono studios in Lyon, France in the summer of 2017, the band’s music derives from a blend of genres across the ages and they draw inspiration from indigenous music that is not exposed in the mainstream. The music refuses to be formatted and that’s the essence of “Africangungungu”, the name they’ve given to their “afropsychedelic” music. Their “incantations” in Zulu, Sotho and English and their funky modulations extend over twenty minutes in a whirlwind of sound reminiscent of Fela’s Afrobeat. "We bring fun and emo-indigenous Afro psychedelic fire from the hood,” says vocalist Kgomotso Mokone.

BCUC’s willingness to look at social and identity questions in the face has already led to the banning of one song from their only self-produced EP, which points the finger at a national idol. But neither this event, nor the criticism to which they are exposed by their refusal to belong to a specific movement, can change their minds. “Music for the people by the people with the people” –  a people they refuse to box into one community, to circumscribe to one skin colour.

BCUC toured Europe extensively in 2017 with an unforgettable performance at the Roskilde Festival, Denmark alongside the likes of Foo Fighters and A Tribe Called Quest. They were also the highlight of Gilles Peterson’s Worldwide Festival, receiving critical acclaim for their performance with their hypnotic afro-psychedelia.

The band will perform at Gilles Peterson’s Worldwide Awards at KOKO, London on the 20th January. They will also perform a headline show at the Total Refreshment Centre, Stoke Newington on the 22nd.

Giampiero Locatelli "RIGHT AWAY" (AUAND AU3016) out on February 23

Giampiero Locatelli

"RIGHT AWAY"

(Auand piano series AU3016, distr. Jazzos.com/Believe - 8031697301622)

“Right Away” is Italian pianist’s Giampiero Locatelli debut album. Out for Auand Records on February 23rd (distributed by Goodfellas / Jazzos.com), the recording features Gabriele Evangelista on double bass and Enrico Morelli on drums. Choosing to work with a trio proves to be the best way to fully accomplish his vision of music: it’s the ideal, logical result of Locatelli’s composition approach and music manipulation. Evangelista and Morello’s contribution is key to let the music take its final shape.

A mixed music education – never limited to a specific music field, but rather open to contemporary and improvisation – takes the band far away from the ordinary piano trios and shapes their music as innovative. The trio is conceived as the operating center in a music idea that swings between improvisation and written music.

Even with no strictly melodic background, Locatelli’s gift is a special outgoing ability, which always grants his compositions’ complex layers a touch of spontaneity. Among the 8 originals are tracks inspired by Bach (Inspire me) and Escher (Toward Backward), minimalist and jazz ballads (From the last Frame and Like a Gentle Mood), and the complete upheaval of the very idea of a piano trio, as in the title track Right Away.

The recording will be presented live on April 16th at Jazz Club La Sosta in Villa San Giovanni (RC, Italy).

01 Fizzle, Deed Slow, Whistle

02 Path

03 Toward Backward

04 From Last Frame

05 Inspire Me

06 Right Away

07 Like A Gentle Mood

08 From Afar

Giampiero Locatelli piano

Gabriele Evangelista double bass

Enrico Morello drums

Produced by Giampiero Locatelli

Executive Producer: Marco Valente

Recorded at Artesuono, Cavalicco (UD) – Italy on march 11 and 12, 2017

Engineer: Stefano Amerio

Cover Photo: Luca A. D’Agostino ©Phocus Agency

Direct link for CD distribution through Jazzos.com or through major platforms

Ornithopter - Tordenkaffe (JAEGER COMMUNITY 2018)

The Danish, Aarhus-based quartet Ornithopter attempts to fly the distance between, early, raw and swinging New Orleans-ian jazz and the more freer and improvised terrains of Ornette Coleman. «Tordenkaffe!» (Thunder coffee in Danish) is the sophomore album of the quartet, following its self-titled debut from 2014, and features trombonist Jens Bang, trumpeter Scott Westh, bass player Jakob Retz and drummer Daniel Sommer.

«Tordenkaffe!» was recorded on the island of Fanø, west of the coast of the town Esbjerg in Jutland. Thunder coffee was and still is the popular local drink that helps all to keep awake and make sure that the lightnings will not strike the old thatched houses. This old costume, along the long recording nights, the sounds of the creaking floorboards i and the echoing rooms of the island houses, inspired the atmosphere of this album. The colorful, evocative cover of Astrid Jaekel captures this unique atmosphere beautifully.

Bang and Westh have developed an almost telepathic frontline. Both offer a nuanced melodic interplay and keep trading playful solos inside and outside this melodic envelope, extending and expanding each other’s ideas. Both rely on the loose yet propulsive rhythm section of Retz and Sommer. Ornithopter refined recipe works impressively on «Tordenkaffe!», even on pieces that sound as not charged by coffee overdose. «Møgelø» swings with an intoxicating rhythm; «What’s Your Currency» cleverly incorporates Coleman’s harmolodics concept; «Straight 8’s» has a catchy, anthem-like, funky theme; «Svendestykket» has a mysterious story-like narrative and the last, touching «Nu er festen slut» that sounds like a modern-day folk song.

Eyal Hareuveni

1 Chinatown 3:04

2 Jeff Town 3:36

3 Møgelø 3:16

4 Home Boy 3:39

5 Slørhat 3:36

6 What's Your Currency 3:41

7 Straight 8's 4:38

8 Mr. Alexander 3:27

9 On the Shady Side Of The Street 4:05

10 Hey Joe 1:34

11 Svendestykket 2:33

12 Nu Er Festen Slut 4:17

Suspensão - Physis (2018)

1. Physis 32:54

Ernesto Rodrigues - viola

Miguel Mira - cello

Hernâni Faustino - double bass

André Hencleeday - psaltery, zither

Abdul Moimême - prepared electric guitar

Rodrigo Pinheiro - piano

Nuno Torres - alto saxophone

Eduardo Chagas - trombone

Carlos Santos - electronics

Nuno Morão - percussio

Suspensão - Théatron (2018)

1. Théatron 57:55

Ernesto Rodrigues  viola

Yu Lin Hum  cello

Hernâni Faustino  double bass

Nuno Torres  alto saxophone

Eduardo Chagas  trombone

Rodrigo Pinheiro  piano

Emídio Buchinho  electric guitar

Flak acoustic guitar

André Hencleeday  tenor psaltery

Carlos Santos  electronics

Nuno Morão  percussion

Nubya Garcia - When We Are (March 9, 2018)

Saxophonist, composer and bandleader Nubya Garcia is back with the eagerly awaited next chapter to her musical unfolding, When We Are. Enabled with the support of the prestigious Steve Reid Foundation’s InNOVAtion award, and with Eglo records co-founder Sam Shepherd (Floating Points) as her mentor, this self-released EP features two newly recorded compositions from the much-lauded artist. The record also comes with B-side remixes from two generations of London’s finest producers, K-15 and Maxwell Owin. 

Following on from her scorching sophomore release, Nubya’s 5ive (jazz:refreshed), When We Are sees the trailblazing player take typically self assured steps into new territory with electronic experimentation. “I’ve been inspired a lot by the producers around me at the moment, people like Ben Hayes, Tom Misch, Joe Armon- Jones, Jake Long and Maxwell Owin”, said Garcia. “There’s an electronic vibe in there that I wanted to explore more, and this release feels like a positive evolution from the last EP.” 

Much like the celebrated Brownswood release, We Out Here, where Garcia features on five of the nine tracks, When We Are offers a snapshot of the artist she is today and the organic musical languages she continues to form with her long term collaborators Femi Koleoso, Joe Armon-Jones and Daniel Casimir. 

The title track opens with the easy cascading of Armon-Jones on keys, Garcia’s signature erudite tone dancing against the drummer Koleoso’s boxy, afro-tinged hip hop runs; all three riding on Casimir’s beautifully subtle, abetting bass. Crisp and clean, the track’s sweet inflections are carried into spacious territory by light touch pedal effects. Source comprises of shape-shifting, Tetris-like grooves. It’s a characteristically sophisticated sound from the band, where each player is able to shine around the trademark fusion of gospel, soul, broken beat, Afro-Caribbean and Latin styles that Garcia has deftly crafted into her own. 

Alongside her releases, Garcia’s reputation as a DJ is burgeoning, bolstered by her hit radio residencies on platforms including Balamii and NTS, and a growing number of live sets across Europe. The record partly draws on the energy of the club-nights that shaped her formative years. The grime and garage nights in north London, dub nights across the river in south London, and of course, the infamous Steez performance jams that have served as a rite of passage for much of the scene. “It was a night by the people for the people, bringing different audiences together – it changed our perception of what music could be,” Garcia recalled. “Watching my peers getting excited over solos - before they were over - was incredible and the energy of that space will stay with me forever.” 

The remixes on the EP offer a different of the same coin, continuing the trajectory of genre blending that has been championed by a resurgent generation of players. “I knew I wanted remixes, because I wanted this to also be on dance-floors – at nights like Touching Bass or Co-op presents in London,” Garcia shared. “Remixes open the door to new possibilities in sound.” 

On the recommendation of Sam Shepherd, house stalwart K-15 transforms When We Are into an expansive, mellow soundscape, revolving around Garcia’s mesmeric solo. Source is given a new lease of life by Maxwell Owin, whom she describes as ‘a secret puppeteer of the scene’. This rework takes on a cool, numinous opening, giving way to dance-floor fanfare and 1am baselines made for flaunting footwork. A stunning new chapter from one of London’s leading musicians.

1. When We Are 06:39

2. Source

3. When We Are (K15 remix)

4. Source (Maxwell Owin remix)

Nubya Garcia - Tenor Saxophone

Joe Armon-Jones - Piano/Wurlitzer

Daniel Casimir - Double Bass

Femi Koleoso - Drums

Remixes - K15 and Maxwell Owin

Recorded at Soup Studios

Engineer - Giles Barrett

Mixed by David Wehinm

Mastered by Cicely Balston at Air Mastering

Toshio Matsuura Group: LOVEPLAYDANCE - 8 Scenes from The Floor (BROWNSWOOD RECORDINGS 2018)

On ‘LOVEPLAYDANCE’, legendary Tokyo DJ and producer Toshio Matsuura charts a new direction. Casting musical cornerstones in a fresh light, the TOSHIO MATSUURA GROUP features Tom Skinner (drummer for Sons of Kemet and Owiny Sigoma Band amongst others) as its musical director, as well as some of the UK’s most exciting jazz-influenced musicians. Drawing on years of surveying and curating different corners of music, Matsuura deftly combines this talented pool of players into one singular, wide-ranging album. 

A co-founder of Japan’s United Future Organisation (aka U.F.O.), this new record sees Matsuura reconnect with longstanding friend and collaborator Gilles Peterson. Releasing the album via Brownswood Recordings in the UK, it’s a continuation of a relationship which started as a bridge between London’s then-blossoming jazz scene and Tokyo’s new musical vanguard of the early ‘90s. This album continues that two-way dialogue between Japan and the UK. 

The project is focused on covers, putting classic or influential tracks in a new context, spanning a cross-section of Matsuura’s taste. On ‘Black Gold of the Sun’, Cuban vocalist Daymé Arocena fronts a new take on the Rotary Connection classic, along with a band – guided by Tom Skinner – that features her prodigious Havana-based players. Elsewhere, Byron Morris and Unity’s ‘Kitty Bey’, a Dingwalls classic, is knocked into a tight, high energy new shape (by a band that includes Yussef Dayes, Yazz Ahmed and Nubya Garcia.) 

The scope of the music reflects the breadth of Matsuura’s interests. It ranges from Bugges Wesseltoft’s Detroit-influenced, dancefloor-minded jazz, stretched out into a more meditative contemplation, to Flying Lotus’ LA-rooted, Brainfeeder beatmaking, translated from laptop-to-live, given a new, equally idiosyncratic lease of life. Elsewhere, Carl Craig’s iconic ‘At Les’ is taken in a looser direction, the overtones of euphoria cast in a different hue. 

They’re touchpoints which hint at interests in the different, diffuse corners of electronic music, and how they connect to jazz and improvisation. Coming to this project from the perspective of a DJ, producer and curator, it’s an album that shows his grasp of the bigger picture. This album shows him finding the threads which connect those different scenes together, exploring a to-and-fro – between live, played instruments, and the possibilities found in laptops and samplers – which has long been a backdrop to music aimed at dancefloors.

1. Change

2. High Noon

3. L.M. II

4. I Am The Black Gold Of The Sun

5. Kitty Bey

6. Brown Paper Bag

7. Do The Astral Plane

8. At Les

Toshio Matsuura Group - I Am The Black Gold Of The Sun (BROWNSWOOD RECORDINGS 2018)

This new Toshio Matsuura Group project single sees the return of the legendary, Tokyo-based curator, DJ and producer. One of the co-founders of Japan’s United Future Organisation, it sees him reconnect with Gilles Peterson to release this record via Brownswood Recordings in the UK. It features the likes of Nubya Garcia and Yussef Dayes, some of the most exciting players making waves with jazz-influenced music in the UK. 

1. I Am The Black Gold Of The Sun 05:01

2. Kitty Bey 06:31

Drums - Tom Skinner

Bass Guitar - Tom Herbert

Piano - Danalogue

Guitar - Mansur Brown

Percussion - Crispin 'Spry' Robinson

Vocals - Daymé Arocena

Piano - Jorge Luis Lagarza Perez

Bass - Rafael Aldama

Drums - Raul Herrera Martinez

Steve Cardenas' Charlie and Paul shipping now from Newvelle Records

Steve Cardenas' "Charlie and Paul" is a deeply personal statement about his long standing band mates Charlie Haden and Paul Motian.  Featuring other stellar alumni of Charlie and Paul's bands...  Loren Stillman on Sax, Thomas Morgan on Bass and Matt Wilson on Drums.  We are honored to have this stunning album kick off our Third Season.

"Charlie and Paul"

All Charlie and Paul tunes, a couple of which have never been recorded. These musicians came together to create something truly unique and also a testament to the genius and legacy of two towering artists.  Featuring Artwork from Maciej Markowicz and original text from Ingrid Astier.

©Anna Yatskevich

Chicagoan Andrew Zimmerman leads a stellar quartet featuring Dave Douglas on Trumpet, Kevin Hays on Piano and Matt Penman on Bass for our second record of the season.

The great Lionel Loueke returns leading a trio of Reuben Rogers and Eric Harland on his first album of standards for our third release of the season.

"If I’m beginning to sound like a broken record with my praise for the by-subscription releases from Newvelle Records, blame the people responsible for these LPs, which consistently rise to the top in terms of music and sound."

--Guy Lemcoe, The Audio Beat

Season Three:

· Steve Cardenas is releasing a record dedicated to greats Charlie Haden and Paul Motian. Recording, with a quartet built of long-time collaborators of both titans Loren Stillman on sax, Thomas Morgan on bass and Matt Wilson on drums, all Charlie and Paul tunes, a couple of which have never been recorded. (February 2018)

· The Chicagoan composer and saxophonist Andrew Zimmerman (previously featured on our first release, Frank Kimbrough’s “Meantime”) has put together a drumless quartet featuring pianist Kevin Hays (recording here on the same 9 foot Fazioli that Jack DeJohnette used), the bassist Matt Penman and the great Dave Douglas on trumpet. (April 2018)

· Lionel Loueke is releasing his first ever album of standards featuring extraordinary accomplices Reuben Rogers on bass and Eric Harland on drums. (June 2018)

· Skúli Sverrisson and Bill Frisell are releasing their first collaboration. All original music from Skúlli, much of it written for Bill. If you are familiar with Skúlli and Bill's music, you'll know what you're getting into, a record of uncommon depth and beauty. (August 2018)

· Incredible Cuban drummer Francisco Mela (McCoy Tyner, Joe Lovano, John Scofield) is releasing an album of all original material with his working band featuring Kris Davis, Gerald Cannon and Hery Paz. (October 2018)

· Boston based trumpeter Jason Palmer put together a band of his long time New York collaborators for a session of originals and original takes on standards with pianist Leo Genovese (previously featured on his own record on Newvelle), bassist Joe Martin and drummer Kendrick Scott. (December 2018)

All of our cover and interior photographs for Season three come fare by Maciej Markowicz .  Original text by Ingrid Astier,  Our Recording Engineer on all six records is the incomparable multi-Grammy winning Marc Urselli.  Mastering engineer is the brilliant Alex Deturk .  Jim Hoppin and Sarah Enid Hagey shot lovely video for us at these sessions.  All video editing is by the award-winning Ben Chace.  Anna Yatskevich shoots all our studio photos.