Our October UPLIFT track supports Lamda Legal and their important work on behalf of LGBTQ legal and civil rights.
We've posted some excerpts and complete tracks on Bandcamp and Soundcloud so you can preview the entire subscribers series featuring Dave Douglas, Joe Lovano, Mary Halvorson, Julian Lage, Bill Laswell and Ian Chang.
Rudy Royston introduces Flatbed Buggy
This special edition of the podcast features Rudy Royston previewing tracks from his upcoming album Flatbed Buggy, discussing the inspirations for his compositions and giving an insider's view on how the record came together.
We've also released the third single from the album, Hourglass, ahead of the release date on October 26. Check it out here.
Crossroads – a new international perspective on Dutch Jazz. Stretching the boundaries of contemporary big band music. The Jazz Orchestra of the Concertgebouw is extending its limits, in more ways than one. The band developed its identity in the late 1990s with the bi-weekly concerts at the Amsterdam Bimhuis. Since then it has literally conquered the world, not only touring all over Europe but also playing in Latin America, South Africa, Indonesia, Japan and China. Musically, too, the band is evolving all the time. The starting point was the classic 1950s idiom, but from the beginning, the orchestra was challenged by guest soloists and composers from a wide range in jazz styles. With the album Crossroads the Jazz Orchestra takes another step forward. Conducted by Dennis Mackrel and Rob Horsting (who has been arranging for the group since the beginning), the orchestra presents nine compositions by various band members, Martijn van Iterson, Joris Roelofs, Ilja Reijngoud, Simon Rigter and Jorg Kaaij, and Rob Horsting. The arrangements were written by Dennis Mackrel, Rob Horsting, Henk Meutgeert, and three international guest arrangers: Michael Abene and Ed Partyka (U.S.A.), and Vellu Halkosalmi (Finland).
"Along with their future-oriented American colleagues of the Maria Schneider and Darcy James Argue orchestras, with this CD the JOC marks a new century in the development of the jazz big band."
Music collides with art as a collective of Impromptu musicians respond to two folding screens painted by artists Daniel Kerrison Stock and Ethan Reeves, in an improvised hour-long set. Accompanied by an exhibition of selected works.
Screen changes:
Cousin Bill's Great Thrill II starts around 20:53
3 Folds in 2 Wholes II starts around 14:40
Impromptu band members:
Billy Leach (Guitar)
Jesse Doniach (Piano)
Joe MacLaren (Bass)
Jordan Hadfield (Drums)
Tara Cunningham (Guitar)
Alex Dmochowski (Saxaphone)
1. Cousin Bill's Great Thrill (I+II) - Daniel Kerrison Stock 27:38
Huntertones brings people together around the globe with fun, imaginative and fearless music. Their high energy, horn-driven sound fuses inspired improvisation and composition melding jazz, funk, rock, and soul. Adding depth and contrast to their live set, Huntertones shift from a six-piece ensemble to a trio featuring saxophone, sousaphone, and beat-boxing.
Ill considered are a band comprising four musicians interacting with each other to create freely improvised music, based loosely around simple pre-written themes or composed on the spot. Deep grooves and plaintive melodies ranging from whispered chants to monstrous climaxes, the group react to the mood of the audience and the sonics of the room to create music that is unique to the moment.
Multi-talented vocalist Voision Xi is well known to anyone in Shanghai jazz circles. She’s been heavily involved behind the scenes of Shanghai jazz for many years now, but DEBUT represents her stepping out to claim the spotlight – with a little help from some notable Shanghai jazz friends. In 2015, Voision founded her first band, the Little Happiness Trio (then Quartet, then Quintet), gathering together a number of outstanding jazz professionals. After playing together for the past three years, the band has honed a sound that places Voision’s natural warmth and touching vocals at its heart. Released on new independent lable Eating Music on 29th September 2018, DEBUT is a collection of covers all given the Little Happiness Group treatment, with Voision joined by young Chinese jazz pioneers Zhang Xiongguan, Li Shihai, Xiao Jun, as well as remarkable musicians Huang Jianyi, Joseph Han and Jaemin Lee. Featuring five of Voision’s favourite tracks, DEBUT sees her bring a characteristic sincerity and a personal twist to songs first made famous by Miles Davis, Stevie Wonder, and Nick Drake among others. Such names will be familiar to any music fan, but Voision’s versions contain a strong streak of originality, putting a new spin on old favourites. As guitarist, arranger and producer Zhang Xiongguan puts it, “Voision is one of the few musicians who jumps outside their comfort zone all the time.” This spirit – and Xiongguan’s guitar work – is prominent on EP opener "Slow Hot Wind" (original named "Lujon"), Herny Mancini’s classic 1961 composition which was first released on the soundtrack to Mr. Lucky Goes Latin. Xiongguan’s arrangement is an imaginative modern jazz piece, with a distinct vibrancy and warmth. Similarly, "How Insensitive" sees Xiongguan take Antonio Carlos Jobim’s original and supplement it with busy guitar playing and an impressive solo. "I once wondered if such changes would be difficult for the singer to adapt to,” admits Xiongguan of the bold covers. “But the excellent interpretation of these two pieces by Voision and the band completely dispelled my concerns. They also fully met the intention of my arrangement.” "River Man" (originally by legendary British folk singer Nick Drake) is an adaptation by saxophonist Li Shihai. In addition to the five beat rhythm and water-like texture of the original song, Li manipulates his sax and synchronises with Voision’s floating vocals to propel the track toward an emotional climax. “Boplicity / Be Bop Lives” from the famous Birth of Cool album by Miles Davis is the only fast-tempo bebop classical on the EP, and comes laced with elements of standard jazz and swing. Voision sings and scats along with the brass melody, meeting this challenge to the singer’s pitch and rhythm with aplomb. "I really appreciate the sound of Voision: warm but not boring, soft and dynamic, just like the voice of a good storyteller,” says Shihai, who arranged both these tracks. “Cooperating with her is a process full of imagination and challenges. We experimented a lot with the vocal harmony to make the singles sound different.” "Cause We've Ended As Lovers" comes from Stevie Wonder's album to his former wife Stevie Wonder Presents: Syreeta. Arranger Xiao Jun uses guitar effects to create a swirling backdrop, as Voision delivers multiple vocal harmonies that fully express the singer’s feelings of struggle and sorrow. Xiao Jun says: "I was trying my best to arrange the song according to Voision’s tone; I did it differently from the instrumental music that I usually write. And through the background sound of the guitar effects, the song captures the melancholy of the singer’s voice along with its pureness." DEBUT is not only an EP of jazz music, but also a multimedia work that attracts friends from different fields to come together as a composite of complex beauty. In addition to creating the EP cover, Voision's friend, the illustrator Garlic Sugar, produced five hand-painted works for each of the five singles based on the feelings the artist experienced while listening to them. Also, the dessert brand “HER chocolate” has made five different flavours of chocolate to go with the EP, that will be sold via Eating Music’s official channels. The packaging for each chocolate type features a QR code so that consumers can listen to the corresponding song as they munch away. DEBUT, the very first EP from Little Happiness Group, is both a challenge and a balm. It represents both the beauty of imagination and a place you can go to find inspiration.
编曲：张雄关 (第1,2,6首), 李世海 (第4,5首), 肖骏 (第3首)
人声：喜辰晨
吉他：张雄关 (第1,2,6首), 肖骏 (第3首)
萨克斯：李世海 (除第3,6首以外)
木贝司：Joseph Han (除第6首以外)
鼓：Jaemin Lee (除第6首以外)
键盘：黄健怡 (第5首)
Arrangement: Zhang Xiongguan (1,2,6), Li Shihai (4,5), Xiao Jun (3 only)
Vocal: Voision Xi
Guitar: Zhang Xiongguan (1,2,6), Xiao Jun (3 only)
Saxophone: Li Shihai (all except 3,6)
Double Bass: Joseph Han (all except 6)
Drums: Jaemin Lee (all except 6)
Keyboard: Huang Jianyi (5 only)
制作人：张雄关
Produced by Zhang Xiongguan
联合制作人：喜辰晨
Co-producer: Voision Xi
监制：张冰洁
Executive Producer: Cookie Zhang
录音棚：上海 Postape 录音工作室 (2018年3月)
Recorded at Postape Studio Shanghai, in March 2018
“ 'Particles' is a perfectly balanced Album. A fragile, intimate and personal album in which every group member flowers. The music feels strongly as a heart-warming and extreme engagement for authenticity. Those who are looking for an incredibly fine jazz album to immerse themselves completely as listeners, know what to do. Great class of Ben Sluijs & co ". (Written in Music-Ph De Cleen-5-10-2018)
