Reinhardt Winkler - Lets Face the Music (September, 3 2021 Challenge Records)

Reinhardt Winkler ft. Harry Allen, Simone Kopmajer, John Di Martino, Boris Kozlov and Wolfgang Puschnig!

Reinhardt Winkler: I’ve known most of the songs of my new album for a long time. As a child, I got my first jazz records and all the songs were on it. I fell in love with this music, the sound, the instruments, the vibe, I just liked everything. Over the years I’ve always stayed tuned to these particular songs and some of them have become my absolute favorites. So I decided to record these songs with musicians I appreciate so much.

Reinhardt Winkler is a jazz drummer, composer and music educator.

Teaching experience: Since 1993, he has taught at the music school in Kirchschlag i.d. Buckligen Welt. He has also led many workshops in Austria, as well as other countries. Since 2013, he has taught drumming at the Wimmer Gymnasium in Oberschützen in cooperation with the Kunstuniversität Graz.

As a performing jazz drummer, he has toured for many years throughout Europe, the USA, and Asia, and worked with cutting edge artists such as Wolfgang Puschnig, STS, Terry Myers, Jamaaladeen Tacuma, to name just a few.

1 Don't Be That Way 04:22

2 Let's Face the Music and Dance 04:22

3 Let the Drums Speak I 01:59

4 Mr. Bojangles 04:32

5 Beatrice 04:17

6 Lucky Mojo 03:44

7 Emily 05:19

8 Let the Music Speak II 01:42

9 Idaho 04:35

10 Poinciana 04:50

11 Flamingo 04:35

12 Why Should I Care? 03:48

Simone Kopmajer, voice

Harry Allen, tenor sax

Wolfgang Puschnig, sax

John di Martino, piano

Boris Kozlov, bass

Reinhardt Winkler, drums

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Renee Rosnes | "Kinds of Love" | Available September 3 via Smoke Sessions Records

On Her Upcoming Album, Kinds of Love,

Pianist and Composer Renee Rosnes

Honors and Celebrates Love Through

Nine Brilliant New Compositions

The Recording Features a Stunning All-Star Band

with Some of Her Favorite Collaborators,

Chris Potter, Christian McBride, Carl Allen and Rogério Boccato

Kinds of Love is Set for Release September 3

on Smoke Sessions Records

This strange last year has been a time of reflection and contemplation for many of us, cut off from the people and the things that we love. Pianist and composer Renee Rosnes has emerged with a reinvigorated appreciation for the many different shapes that love can take. Her breathtaking new recording, Kinds of Love, is both a celebration of and a meditation on the myriad forms it’s taken in her own life – romantic love, love of family, of nature, of the arts and of close relationships she’s forged with many of her fellow musicians (including the critically acclaimed ARTEMIS, the international all-star group of which Rosnes serves as musical director).

Due out September 3 via Smoke Sessions Records, Kinds of Love is in itself a manifestation of a few of those ideas. The staggering all-star quintet that Rosnes assembled for the occasion – saxophonist Chris Potter, bassist Christian McBride, drummer Carl Allen, and percussionist Rogério Boccato – represent a deep web of friendships and collaborations stretching back decades in some cases. And for many of them, the recording date marked one of their first times back in a studio after the long dry spell of 2020. Rosnes seized the opportunity to craft a full album’s worth of new compositions, conceived with these particular voices, and their singular combination, in mind.

“I’ve tried to look at the pandemic as a gift of time, and the knowledge that I would soon be recording with my friends inspired much of the music,” Rosnes says. “It was thrilling to experience the humanity of making music again in the moment. Each of these musicians are profound, humble virtuosos and, on a human level, enlightened spirits.”

For Rosnes, Potter and McBride, Kinds of Love is a reunion of sorts; the three last recorded together on Rosnes’ acclaimed 1997 Blue Note release As We Are Now. The new album marks Potter’s fifth recording with Rosnes, including 1995’s Ancestors, Life on Earth (2002), and the 2018 Smoke Sessions release Beloved of the Sky. While she’s performed with Allen many times over the years, she was thrilled to have him join her on this project. Boccato is the pianist’s most recent acquaintance, a meeting facilitated by their shared experience with the tenor saxophonist Jimmy Greene.

“We are longtime friends who share a lot of history and camaraderie,” Rosnes says. “Having an unusual amount of quietude to work kept me creatively motivated during the past year. As I composed, I thought about each musician’s essence, and was truly inspired by all the possibilities.”

The love of family and the finer things are showcased on the album’s vibrant cover photo. Rosnes is seated on a raffia-upholstered club chair created by her nephew Aaron Aujla, the celebrated designer and co- founder of Green River Project. She’s also wearing a one-of-a-kind garment made from antique textiles, created by the award-winning Menswear designer and founder of BODE, Emily Adams Bode, who is Aaron’s fiancée.

The respect and love that these five musicians feel for one another and for the act of making music together is abundantly, joyously clear throughout Kinds of Love; just witness the boisterous groove laid down by McBride, Allen and Boccato on the fervid opener, “Silk,” or the playful back-and-forth between Rosnes and Potter on “The Golden Triangle.” The latter was named in honor of the Village Vanguard, whose iconic stage has seen its fair share of such vivid interplay.

“Silk” is a dedication to the pianist and composer Donald Brown, with whom Allen worked for a number of years. Rosnes’ longstanding fondness for Brown’s work is evident in the fact that she recorded his piece “Playground for the Birds” on her 1990 self-titled leader debut. “Donald’s music is extremely lyrical and harmonically complex but at the heart of it is always the dance of the drums,” Rosnes points out. “Carl, Christian and Rogério’s hookup drove the band from beginning to end.”

But fittingly given the album’s title, that infectious exuberance is far from the only mood explored on this rich album. The past year has also brought troubling aspects of modern life into stark relief, and Rosnes has spent her fair share of time pondering those unresolved issues. The fact that many of them are deeply rooted in people’s inability to recognize, honor or respect other kinds of love influenced her as well.

The title track aches with a fragile beauty illuminated by Allen’s cloud-like brushes and Boccato’s shimmering percussive touches; “Evermore,” which began as an improvisation on a Bach Sarabande, is an elegiac, graceful ballad as intimate as a silent prayer.

Passionately introduced by Boccato’s deft percussion, “Life Does Not Wait (A Vida Não Espera)” ponders the fleeting nature of life with an elegant pas de deux between Rosnes’ piano and Potter’s flute. And “Blessings in a Year of Exile” tenderly expresses the gratitude for what we have in light of the things so many have lost.

Love of nature has been a key element in much of Rosnes’ music, and the pandemic afforded her the opportunity to reaffirm her reverence for the flora and fauna surrounding her home. “In Time Like Air” is one result, inspired by the song of a persistent yet stubbornly unidentifiable bird that became a frequent visitor to her backyard. The Brazilian-hued piece also marks the first time that Rosnes has recorded on Fender Rhodes and on vocals, as she intones the wordless melody with Boccato.

“Passing Jupiter” moves from the earthbound to the cosmic, launching off from a phrase that Lester Young played on his 1957 Newport Jazz Festival performance of “Polka Dots and Moonbeams.” The celebratory mood returns on “Swoop,” with musical ideas bandied back and forth between the players like a bouncing ball. “It was a great feeling to be able to make music in the moment again,” describes Rosnes. “I think this recording reflects an explosion of creativity. You can feel the energy of our connectedness, and I think maybe there was an extra spark of love in the music too.” 

"Kinds of Love" was produced by Paul Stache and recorded live in

New York at Sear Sound's Studio C on a Sear-Avalon custom console

at 96KHz/24bit and mixed to ½" analog tape.

Available in audiophile HD format.

Renee Rosnes · Kinds of Love

Smoke Sessions Records · Release Date: September 3, 2021

For more information on other Smoke Sessions Records releases, please visit:

SmokeSessionsRecords.com | Facebook | Instagram

Steven Bernstein - Tinctures In Time (Community Music, Vol. 1) September 3, 2021 Royal Potato Family

Tinctures in Time is the first original music Bernstein has ever written for the MTO, which from the beginning had exclusively been a vehicle for his arrangements of other people's songs, from Count Basie to Prince. Most of the album was composed in 2019, a tough year for Bernstein: Henry Butler had recently passed, and there were serious injuries and death in his immediate family. Like a lot of people do, Bernstein got through it by working. "I was spending a lot of time on planes, going to visit people in hospitals," he says. "So what else am I going to do with my time? I ended up with all this music."

"The tincture of time" is a phrase Bernstein's father, a doctor, uses for when there's nothing to be done but wait for something to heal; the relevance of time as healer for Bernstein himself is clear. He altered the phrase so it makes a little reference to a favorite Sly Stone tune. And "tinctures," Bernstein says, also refers to "things that people take to give feelings of euphoria." It's why he calls this "cannabis music."

"Cannabis music" is part of a tradition that extends back to the very beginning of jazz: what was known in the 1920s as "viper music." But the influences here include not just jazz but funk, various kinds of African music, and Minimalism. It adds up to "a sense of music not of this world," Bernstein explains, "an altered state that you can kind of lose yourself in. Tinctures in Time is in the tradition of trance music."

"One of the things that Henry and I really bonded on," he continues, "was we both felt that music was not just notes and rhythm — when we play music it's really about transformative experiences: that was our goal." Or, as Fran Lebowitz once said, "music is like a drug that doesn't kill you."

So Tinctures in Time doesn't have to resort to the usual trippy signifiers like weird sound effects and tons of reverb — although if you want a classic psychedelic sound, look no further than Charles Burnham's mind-bending wah-wah violin on the majestic and mysterious "High Light." With its interlocking parts and inexorable rhythmic undertow, "Show Me Your Myth" is slow-motion funk, with a sleek pulse that harks to In a Silent Way and On the Corner. Ever-changing and richly hued, "Quart of Relativity" is fodder for vivid mind-movies.

The Millennial Territory Orchestra had never featured the guitar prominently, but Bernstein had just come back from working with Los Lobos, and David Hidalgo's guitar was fresh in his mind. Here, for the first time in the MTO, Matt Munisteri's guitar is often front and center, or even all by itself: note his face-melting solo on "Planet B."

The album's emotional center is "Angels," as moving as anything Bernstein has ever done. It's a song that needs no words, with lyrical solos that speak as clearly as any voice. "This is who I am," Bernstein says. "I've been through a lot of stuff. But I don't think this song is sad, necessarily — it's just emotional." And the MTO is right there with him, sharing the load — there might not be any moment in all of the Community Music series that more clearly shows how this band is truly a community, a powerful expression of all those years of friendship and music-making.

Bernstein had also recently worked with the great Senegalese musician Baaba Maal and then Little Feat, powerful experiences that influenced a still-evolving musician. You can hear elements of those artists as well as Duke Ellington, Fela, and the Band but Tinctures in Time is indisputably, as Bernstein's longtime friend and co-conspirator Hal Willner once put it, "Bernstein music.” 

1. Planet B

2. Quart Of Relativity

3. Angels

4. Show Me Your Myth

5. High Light

6. The Gift

7. Satori Slapdown

8. Angels Too

Steven Bernstein - Trumpet, Slide Trumpet & Flugelhorn

Curtis Fowlkes - Trombone

Charlie Burnham - Violin

Doug Wieselman - Clarinet, Tenor Saxophone

Peter Apfelbaum - Tenor Saxophone

Eric Lawrence - Baritone Saxophone

Matt Munisteri - Guitar, Banjo

Ben Allison - Bass

Ben Perowsky - Drums

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JK Group - What's Real EP (September 3, 2021 La Sape Records)

JK GROUP IS:

A collective of forward-thinking "jazz" musicians from Australia. We owe our thanks and gratitude to the founding mothers and fathers of the music people call jazz. We respect and continuously study their legacy whilst embracing our current surroundings in making music that honestly reflects our time and space.

THIS RECORD IS:

The second batch of tunes we hit record on, though the sessions could not have been more different to the first. Where The Young Ones was meticulously planned, this recording was made on a whim as the busy touring musicians happened to line up their respective touring schedules at the same time. Many of the songs were just sketches, musical experiments that were leaping off out of the territory of the first record and pushing the sound in a number of different directions at once. Some tunes were still in progress right up until the moment of recording, and one was written on the spot in the studio. There was no focus or talk of outcomes for a future release. As with all experiments, some songs did not make the cut. But the selections that have made it onto this vinyl really capture the magic and spontaneous energy of the session with the musicians in full flight, in sync. We welcome Phil Stroud to the collective to offer up a rework of one of these tracks, and further deepen the dialogue between jazz and electronic music.

THIS MUSIC IS:

Conceived, written, recorded, and printed on land that historically belongs to the Wurundjeri people of the Kulin Nation. We acknowledge the traditional owners and pay our respects to Elders, past, present, and emerging.

THIS LABEL IS:

Contributing to healing our natural world through planting trees and reforesting land back to rainforest in Australia in conjunction with Reforest NOW.

1. What's Real?

2. Kempton

3. Overflow

4. Kempton (Phil Stroud Remix)

5. Levannah

Josh Kelly - Alto Saxophone, Bass Clarinet, Flute

Erica Tucceri - Flute (Kempton & Kempton Remix)

James Bowers - Rhodes (What's Real?)

Lewis Moody - Rhodes & Synthesiser

Matt Hayes - Bass

Zeke Ruckman - Drum Kit

Oli Savill - Percussion (Kempton)

Phil Stroud - Production on Kempton Remix

Mixed by Lewis Moody

Produced by Lewis Moody and Josh Kelly

Engineered by Ari Rose and Carl Lindberg

Mastered by Jack Prest

Artwork and Graphic Design by Luke Ebert

All tracks composed by Josh Kelly (JK Group).

Recorded on October 14 & October 15 at Plug Seven Studios, Collingwood.

Additional tracking at various home studios

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Rachel Eckroth - The Garden (September 3, 2021 Rainy Days Records)

Pianist, composer and singer Rachel Eckroth’s first release on Rainy Days Records unveils fresh sounds from her evolving artistry. Steeped in synth orchestration, The Garden reflects a nuanced exploration of sonic impulses and inquiries alongside Eckroth’s signature layered compositions and glimmers of trance-inducing vocals. With contributions from acclaimed guitarist Nir Felder, saxophonists Donny McCaslin and Andrew Krasilnikov and modular synth master Austin White, and a core band featuring bassist Tim Lefebvre and drummer Christian Euman, The Garden emerged conceptually while Eckroth was writing new music during the pandemic. “Everything on the album has a different feel to it — different colors and textures,” says the West Coast artist. “It felt like a garden. So we just rolled with it.”

Eckroth revels in new experiences across rich, diverse musical settings. The multifaceted artist continually refines her expression, frequently collaborating as a featured guest with creative visionaries who have included Rufus Wainwright, St. Vincent, KT Tunstall, Donny McCaslin, Tia Fuller and Chris Botti. But composing during the pandemic afforded Eckroth and partner Lefebvre unique opportunities to compose and perform together. From their home in Arizona, they dug in to each other’s expressions and began developing a duo sound. “Especially during Covid, we were making music pretty much every day together,” says Eckroth. When Eugene Petruhanskiy greenlit a possible release from Eckroth for Rainy Days, she and Lefebvre considered what they might create around a synth-forward recording. 

The textural-minded musicians began soundscaping across familiar territory and new domains. Almost immediately, the Prophet 6 emerged as a key element for record’s sound. “It ends up on a lot of my live gigs,” says Eckroth. “I’ve used it on all the tours I’ve played with other people. I’m a pianist, but the record doesn’t have a lot of piano. The Yamaha CP 70 served the ‘meat’ of some of the songs. And the Korg minilogue is an instrument I use really well for some reason; it’s very intuitive.

"Multifaceted artist Rachel Eckroth releases textural, mood-casting new music on Rainy Days Records “Eckroth explores difficult emotions with a deft touch, letting her soul-baring performance and swelling instrumentation form the heartfelt emotional core of the track ”

— Under the Radar

“Breathtaking vocals”

— PopMatters

“[Eckroth and Lefebvre] are two in-demand musicians who elude categorization”

— NPR Music’s Jazz Night in America

1. Dracaena

2. Under a Fig Tree

3. Low Hanging Fruit

4. Dried Up Roots

5. The Garden

6. Black Eyed Susan

7. Vines

8. Oil

Rachel Eckroth - Piano, Voice, Yamaha CP70, Prophet 6, Mellotron

Tim Lefebvre - Electric Bass, Guitar

Christian Euman - Drums

Donny McCaslin - Tenor Saxophone

Andrew Krasilnikov - Soprano Saxophone

Nir Felder - Electric Guitar

Austin White - Modular Synth

Written by Rachel Eckroth

Produced by Tim Lefebvre

Executive producer – Eugene Petrushanskiy

Mixed by Jason Kingsland at Frenchtown Sound

Mastered by Ed Brooks at Resonant

Mastering Recorded at Sonic Ranch - Studio A in Tornillo, TX

Recording engineer - Felipe Castaneda

Additional recording at Big Orange Sheep, Brooklyn, NY by Christopher Benham

Overdubs made at Blackbird Sessions in Tucson, AZ

Additional recording made in Moscow, by Sasha Mashin

Album art – Vika Kogai

Photography by Eugene Petrushanskiy

Video by Eugene Petrushanskiy and Rachel Eckroth

Package design by – Dimitri Komedea, 271dsgn

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pettereldh - Projekt Drums vol. 1 (September 3, 2021 Edition Records)

Drums vol. 1” which embraces his love of heavy beats, psychedelic sounds and musical collaboration. This first volume is made of six diverse tracks from some of the most exciting drummers working on the scene today: Savannah Harris, Eric Harland, Nate Wood, James Maddren, Gard Nilssen and Richard Spaven.

The music is hard-hitting and mesmerising, it’s full of complexity and sonority but at the heart are the drums: the beat and groove alongside a kaleidoscope of sounds and effects. The arrangements include a total of sixteen instrumental collaborators comprising harpists, french horn and marimba players and a plethora of keyboards and unique synths. It’s original and highly engaging. No single listen will do it justice!

Over the years, Petter has been garnering praise for his versatility and the diversity of his work. He’s worked with the Dutch producer Jameszoo, including a remix for his latest record on the Brainfeeder label, he’s produced albums for Otis Sandsjö/Y-Otis and ex-Phronesis drummer Anton Eger and he leads the raucous collective Koma Saxo that features another innovative drummer, Christian Lillinger. Alongside this, he’s also regarded as one of Europe’s leading bassists having recorded with Django Bates (ECM), Kit Downes (ENEMY), Lucia Cadotsch Speak Low and Gard Nilssen Acoustic Unity. However, this new album marks a new chapter in his career, cementing his identity as a producer first and foremost. 

1. LORIMER feat. Savannah Harris

2. HAWK MOUNTAIN feat. Eric Harland

3. GOODS YARD feat. Richard Spaven

4. GREEN STREET feat. Nate Wood

5. GIMSØY feat. Gard Nilssen

6. EAST CROYDON feat. James Maddren

Mixed by Petter Eldh at Koma Industries, Berlin, 2020

Mastered by Martin Ruch at CONTROL ROOM BERLIN, October/November 2020

Lacquer cut by Sidney Claire Meyer at Emil Berliner Studios, Berlin, December 2020

Music composed by Petter Eldh except Green Street, by Petter Eldh and Otis Sandsjö

Produced by Petter Eldh

Executive producer Dave Stapleton

Synths used at Koma Industries:

Korg Poly6, Moog Matriarch, Moog Grandmother,

Oberheim SEM-2, Make Noise, MPC 1000.

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Lady Blackbird - Black Acid Soul (September 3, 2021 Foundation Music)

The highly-anticipated and debut album Black Acid Soul, due for its long awaited release on September 3rd via Foundation Music/BMG.

With a voice that has stopped critics in their tracks, Lady Blackbird is a revelatory new talent with music that transcends the jazz scene through which the LA-based artist is rooted. Reflecting influences as varied as Billie Holiday, Gladys Knight, Tina Turner and Chaka Khan, with critics drawing comparisons to Adele, Amy and Celeste, Lady Blackbird’s distinct and beguiling talent is not one to be missed.

Honouring the great's has come as a musical process to Lady Blackbird, having recorded her highly anticipated debut album Black Acid Soul in legendary Studio B (Prince’s room) in Sunset Sound, produced by Grammy-nominated Chris Seefried.

Minimal yet rich, classic yet timely, the album connects backwards to Miles Davis (his pianist, Deron Johnson, plays Steinway Baby Grand, Mellotron and Casio Synth throughout) and forwards to Pete Tong (he made the Bruise mix of ‘Collage’ his Number Two Essential Selection tune of 2020) and, yes, Victoria Beckham – Matthew Herbert’s remix of second single ‘Beware The Stranger’ soundtracked the designer’s Spring/Summer 2020 Fashion show.

Its 11 tracks have a sound, feeling and attitude that speak of Lady Blackbird's deep experiences in music.

1. Blackbird

2. It's Not That Easy

3. Fix It

4. Ruler Of My Heart

5. Nobody's Sweetheart

6. Collage

7. Five Feet Tall

8. Lost And Looking

9. It Will Never Happen Again

10. Beware The Stranger

11. Black Acid Soul

Produced by Chris Seefried

A&R by Ross Allen

Deron Johnson playing Steinway Baby Grand, Mellotron, Casio Synth

Jon Flaugher playing Double Bass

Jimmy Paxson playing Drums, Percussion

Chris Seefried playing Electric Guitar, Acoustic Guitar

Troy “Trombone Shorty” Andrews playing Trumpet

Recorded and Mixed By Seth Atkins Horan

Mastered By Bernie Grundman, At Bernie Grundman Mastering LA CA

Recorded at Sunset Sound LA CA

Mixing at Gnu Gnome LA CA

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Dominique Cravic - Paris Cinema (September 3, 2021 Sunnyside Records)

Paris is a city that has been immortalized in arts of all mediums. From poetry to painting and song to shutter, the City of Light remains one of the most romanticized and beloved cultural centers of the world. Dominique Cravic and friends have put together the recording Paris Cinema, a tribute to Paris’s forays into classic French film and film music from the 1930s to the 1970s.

Cravic has established himself as an expert in the field of French popular music from the early 20th century, including chanson and musette. As the leader of the fabulous ensemble, Les Primitifs Du Future, he has developed long relationships with other connoisseurs in the field, including accordionist Daniel Colin and vocalist Claire Elzière.

Over the past ten years, Cravic, Colin and Elzière have been enlisted for a range of projects commissioned by Japanese record producer Kenichi Takahashi of Respect Record Ltd., resulting in nearly a record each year focusing on different aspects of French musical culture. Takahashi brought the three, plus a number of tremendous French musicians, together to record these classic songs from composers as well known as Charles Trenet, Georges Brassens and Serge Gainsbourg, thereby capturing the spirit of Paris through the spirit of French cinema.

During his college years in Paris, Cravic was introduced to the vast repository of French cinema. As he began to explore film more and more, he was led to older cinémathèques that continued to show the vintage Art et Essai type films of the 1930s and 1940s, not to mention the numerous film festivals where he could absorb the many examples of these classics, including film noir and musicals.

When approaching the Paris Cinema project, Cravic and company wanted to present the music in the landscape of time and place, namely the neighborhoods of Paris as they changed during the 20th Century. Cravic compiled and submitted a list of pieces to Takahashi, who narrowed the list and also provided some suggestions. Cravic was also responsible for the majority of the arrangements of the music but, as the musicians involved were all long time collaborators, there was a good deal of flexibility as the pieces worked themselves out during performance.

The compositions covered on the recording are vast and varied. The program tries to capture the impression of traveling through time and place, from arrondissement to arrondissement over a span of some 50 years. The listener can hear the range of the ensemble on three versions of Maurice Jaubert’s floating “L’Atalante” from the aquatic 1934 film of the same name, the last especially enhanced by Fay Lovsky’s musical saw. Elzière’s vocals can be heard to good effect on Auteur Agnès Varda’s dancing “La Joueuse” from the 1962 film Cléo de 5 à 7. Even the legendary Serge Gainsbourg gets a loving, guitar driven rendition of his “L’Eau À La Bouche” from the 1960 film of the same name.

Dominique Cravic, Daniel Colin and Claire Elzière have come together to create a fabulous recording in Paris Cinema of music from classic French cinema that showcase the true kaleidoscopic diversity and beauty of the iconic city on the Seine.

1. L'Atalante (opening credits)

2. La Romance De Paris

3. Un Homme Et Une Femme

4. La Joueuse

5. Les Quatre Cents Coups

6. Les Lilas

7. Sous Les Toits De Paris

8. Le Dernier Tango à Paris

9. À La Belle Étoile

10. L'Atalante (orchestration)

11. Charlie

12. Le Tourbillon

13. Démons et Merveilles

14. Touchez Pas Au Grisbi

15. L'Eau à la Bouche

16. Sur Deux Notes

17. La Parisienne

18. Sans Toi

19. Comment Voulez-Vous?

20. Trois Jours

21. Paradis Perdu

22. L'Atalante (msette)

Claire Elzière - voice (except 1, 3, 5, 7, 8, 10, 13, 15, 17, 19, 22)

Daniel Colin - accordion (except 4, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 15, 17, 18, 20) and bandoneon (8)

Dominique Cravic - guitar and voice (except 10, 11, 18)

Grégory Veux - piano (except 1, 3, 5, 6, 7, 10, 12, 13, 15, 16, 17, 19, 20, 21, 22)

Mathilde Febrer - violin (except 1, 6, 7, 9, 11, 12, 17, 18, 22)

Jean-Philippe Viret - double bass (except 1, 7, 9, 12, 17, 22)

Jean-Michel Davis - drums and percussion (except 1, 6, 7, 9, 10, 12, 13, 17, 18, 22)

Bertrand Auger - clarinets, C medley saxophone & tenor saxophone (except 1, 6, 7, 9, 11, 12, 17, 18, 19, 20, 22)

Adèle Viret - cello (10)

Hervé Legeay - guitar (6, 17, 20)

Fay Lovsky - musical saw (7, 19, 22), timple (5, 12), vibraphone (19) and glockenspiel (12)

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Logan Strosahl with the Charles Rosen Ensemble - Book II of Arthur: Sir Gawain and The Green Knight (September 3, 2021 Sunnyside Records)

Arthurian tales have captured the imaginations of artists for centuries. In the late 12th-century, the floodgates of Medieval Arthurian literature burst open, and across Western Europe, works about the fictional deeds of individual knights of the Round Table were written. These were tales of mistaken identity, switched births, giants, ceremonial duels, and forbidden love, that portrayed the different knights as flawed upholders of what came to be known as the Chivalric Code.

Saxophonist and composer Logan Strosahl has reanimated one of the most influential of those works through his own idiosyncratic music. Like the protagonist, Sir Gawain, Logan Strosahl took his own musical quest and learned much along the way. The amazing work the young composer created with his Book II of Arthur: Sir Gawain and the Green Knight shows a commanding new level of artistry.

Book II of Arthur: Sir Gawain and the Green Knight moves on from Strosahl’s Book I of Arthur, a musical retelling of Arthur’s ascendancy, to focus on the alliterative Middle English poem from the late 14th century. In the poem, Gawain attempts to fulfill an impossible oath made with a spectral foe—The Green Knight. Somewhere between man and specter, the Green Knight seems to blaze out of the pagan past to remind the Christian knights that the ancient power of that old world is still capable of gripping the new one. Ambiguity pervades the work: games, theatre, illusion, and cycles structure the plot, and characters have different sides that co-exist. Christian morality, pagan figures and symbolism, magic, romance, horror, and adventure are all synthesized in a story that in 2021 is still difficult to categorize.

“Difficult to categorize” could with equal justice describe Strosahl’s music. Informed by many channels but dominated by none, influences operate as elements in a fully integrated, personal language rather than pastiche. While the music in Book II obviously contains a good deal of “classical” craft ranging from the Wagnerian to polyphonic fantasias and to 21st-century composition; it also contains the Blues, various grooves, improvisation, and common-language materials.

Book II is a three-movement work. Act I begins with daydreaming among the Knights of the Round Table, gathered for a Christmas meal, when an incendiary figure clad head-to-toe in green bursts in, goading the Knights to behead him on the condition that, in one year’s time, he can return the dare. After being harangued, Sir Gawain agrees to the wager and lops off the Green Knight’s head…but is shocked when the Knight collects his head and reminds him of his oath. Strosahl’s musical language for the Green Knight is satirical, semi-baroque, distorted by huge gestures and asymmetrical phrases and underpinned by a Courante rhythmic pattern.

Act II begins with the description of the crest on Sir Gawain’s shield, “The Endless Knot”. The knot is a five point star drawn with one continuous line…representing the five points of perfection of Gawain’s character, which is musically explored through a contrapuntal fantasia that recalls the music of the English renaissance. “Pared from Paper” describes the castle that Gawain encounters on his journey to meet the Green Knight. There he meets Lord Bertilak, the enticing Lady Bertilak, and a mysterious older woman. At the castle, Gawain is invited to enter another wager. Bertilak promises to trade the spoils of his hunt to Gawain for whatever the knight might gain during the day while the Lord is hunting. While the Lord is away, Lady Bertilak tries to seduce Gawain—torn between two tenets of the Chivalric code (not refusing a lady and not betraying trust), he accepts only a kiss as a courtesy. This he awards to the blustery lord of the house on his return. In exchange, he receives the dressed carcass of the lord’s prey. This cycle happens three times.

“The Deer”, “The Boar”, and “the Fox” are sections of the piece based around Strosahl’s improvisations, that put him inside Gawain’s head and allude to the animals (probably symbolic representations of Gawain). “The Final Boon” refers to the Lady’s final offer of a magic girdle that will protect Gawain from harm, which he takes and lies to the Lord about receiving when he is offered the dismembered carcass of the fox.

Having broken his chivalric oath by lying, Gawain goes on to confront the Green Knight and accept his fate. “He cometh forth like a flower, and is cut down” looks into the forlorn feelings of Sir Gawain as he goes to accept his likely death (“The Doleful Charge”). To aurally illustrate the fatalistic resolution, Strosahl writes the last Act with a modified Blues form—a music that has helped the oppressed gain agency and dignity within their fate through song.

Once meeting the Knight, and after an initial sally, Gawain presents his neck and the Knight swipes once, coming close and causing Gawain to flinch, prompting mockery from his verdant foe. The Knight strikes again, swerving at the last second. This is the last straw for Gawain, who, in a fury, tells the Green Knight he better make good on his word or prepare for a fight. The final, third strike ends with a paltry nick to Gawain’s neck, at which Gawain leaps back in a rush of adrenaline and relief, his oath fulfilled and his head still attached to his shoulders.

It is then revealed that the Green Knight and Lord Bertilak are the same person/specter. He informs Gawain that it had all been a ruse conjured by Morgan, the sorceress—an important figure in Arthurian lore and Arthur’s half-sister—disguised as the old woman at the castle. The Green Knight lets Gawain know that he handled himself well, except for two things: He should have trusted God, and he shouldn’t have lied to his host. At this point, the mood of the piece changes to jubilation, with a motoric Blues and plaintive alto solo. A grateful Gawain (he’s alive, after all) returns to the Round Table where the rest of the knights poke fun at him.

Strosahl’s suite is intricately woven, with abundant leitmotifs that characterize many symbols and themes from the story. These, and other aspects of the piece, will be discussed in his forthcoming liner notes. 

1. Act I: The Wager

2. Act II: The Endless Knot

3. Act II: Pared from Paper

4. Act II: The Deer

5. Act II: The Boar

6. Act II: "of love, its grief and grace"

7. Act II: The Final Boon

8. Act II: The Fox

9. Act II: The Wager (reprise)

10. Act III: "he cometh forth like a flower, and is cut down"

11. Act III: The Doleful Charge

Logan Strosahl - alto saxophone, flute, clarinet

The Charles Rosen Ensemble:

Julija Bojarinaite - 1st flute

Aliya Vodovozova - 2nd flute

Sarah Young - oboe

Constance Morvan - clarinet

Laura Lorx - bassoon

Gil Barak - horn

Manuel Abreu - trumpet

Yezu Woo - 1st violin

Daniel Cho - 2nd violin

Julia Palecka - viola

Nina Behrends - cello

Francisca Sá Machado - bass

Leo Gerstner - drum set

Khadim Ndome - glockenspiel

Michael Cohen-Weissert - conductor

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Nala Sinephro - Space 1​.​8 (September 3, 2021 Warp Records)

Caribbean-Belgian composer, producer and musician Nala Sinephro fuses meditative sounds, jazz sensibilities, folk and field recordings.

Her musical practice is rooted in the study of frequency and geometry and guided by the premise that sound moves matter.

1. Space 1

2. Space 2

3. Space 3

4. Space 4

5. Space 5

6. Space 6

7. Space 7

8. Space 8

Space 3

Performed by

Nala Sinephro, Edward Wakili-Hick, Dwayne Kilvington

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Lisa Hilton | "Transparent Sky" | Available September 3

Lisa Hilton and her Trio

with Rudy Royston and Luques Curtis

Masterfully Blend Traditions

in an Inspiring New Recording

Lisa Hilton's Transparent Sky

is Available September 3 / Preorder Aug 3

As America and other countries re-emerge from the limitations of 2020, Lisa Hilton and her trio with Rudy Royston and Luques Curtis, enthusiastically embrace the moment with a vibrant new jazz offering titled Transparent Sky, that will inspire, uplift and motivate us all. Rich with glorious harmonies and unique compositions, Hilton’s swinging band radiates a sun bleached aura to listeners. Throughout the album Hilton, Royston and Curtis develop a surprisingly wide range of rhythmic ideas from a variety of genres, masterfully blending classic traditions with new approaches and upbeat style.

The recording jumps in with the Latin tinged "Santa Monica Samba," quickly following with the equally energetic "Random Journey" on this collection of nine originals, plus one cover. “What developed this year was a LOT of movement and richer chords and harmonies – which makes sense when you consider how static last year was. As musicians we need to challenge and also entertain ourselves, so I think that’s why I subconsciously wrote in so many rhythm changes and multiple harmonic directions,” says Hilton. "Living In Limbo," "Chromatic Chronicles," "Fall Upon a Miracle" and "Infinite Tango," highlight the multiple creative rhythms of Hilton’s compositions and showcase ample opportunities for Curtis’s agile bass, and the delightful details of Royston’s drums.

Hilton has a way with ballads, and "Nightingales & Fairy Tales" is no exception. With its slight nod to Bill Evans in the sixties, this has the making of a jazz classic for a twenty - first century audience. In the same vein, a cover of "God Bless The Child," co-written by Billie Holiday and Arthur Herzog Jr, is a charmer, and like all the tracks here, is skillfully and originally presented without being forced. “For a long time I’ve been trying to record cover songs by women who were composers, because there is very little attention paid to them in jazz. I think it’s important to give women recognition for their range of talents, and by promoting them, maybe we will see less discrimination in music”, Hilton muses. 

Photo by Leigh Shane

Slowing towards the album’s end, "Extraordinary Everyday Things" is a calm and expressive soundscape, but with a surprise twist, Hilton finishes up with the title track, "Transparent Sky" as a sonorous piano solo. “The melody is beautiful and has a bit of swing, but the harmonic ideas are quite chromatic and dissonant with overlapping/lingering sonorities between bar lines.” She says. “This piece needs to be played sensitively or it will sound harsh, but that is like our lives today - we are living in sensitive times and need to be aware of how we connect and communicate. The solo piano clearly delivers those delicate harmonies along with the emotions. It’s about accepting our world as it is, whatever may be happening at that moment. Tomorrow will bring what it will, but there is still beauty to be found if we look for it, amid the dissonance of our times.” Hilton explains.

Lisa Hilton’s new album, Transparent Sky, is available everywhere September 3rd, 2021

For more information on Lisa Hilton, please visit:

LisaHiltonMusic.com | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Youtube

FIND LISA ON YOUR FAVORITE STREAMING SERVICE

Feeding Goats - Soft Landing (September 3, 2021 Destiny Records)

1. Soft Landing

2. A Brief Affair

3. Agree to Disagree

4. Coming to Terms

5. Unrattled

6. Routine Interruptions

7. More Questions Than Answers

8. A Long Journey Home

9. You Are Not Your Thoughts

10. Shadow Dancing

11. A Meeting, In Three Parts

Michael Hafftka - Acoustic Guitar

Cameron Mizell - Acoustic Guitar

Yonat Hafftka - Theremin

Recorded by Yonat Hafftka on September 5, 2018 in Brooklyn, NY.

Mixed and mastered by Cameron Mizell.

Cover image painting by Michael Hafftka.

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Nimbus Sextet - Helix EP (September 3, 2021 Acid Jazz Records)

Glaswegian contemporary jazz outfit Nimbus Sextet share new tracks and unreleased remixes on digital EP ‘Helix’

Following the succes of their debut album ‘Dreams Fulfilled’, Nimbus sextet are back with two new tracks ‘Helix’ and ‘Lowrider’ and two new remixes of album favourites ‘Deep Dark Blue Lights’ and ‘Trap Door’.

True to form, Nimbus are not afraid to fuse many influences into a recording. As a live prospect, Nimbus are one of the most exciting bands in the UK right now. As part of a renowned live performance, the band play a funkier more upbeat version of modern jazz-funk classic ‘Lowrider’ by Yussef Kammal. The live studio recording was bought to life with the help of Nuovi Fratelli, who incorporated the horns playing the melody line, placing the track in a more traditional structure and making it dance-floor ready.

The EP’s other brand new composition comes in the form of the eleven-minute episodic jazz tune ‘Helix’. It starts with a gospel tinged jazz-funk groove and moves to a pensive neo-soul sequence into Eastnern-European/Klezmer influenced jazz classic late-sixties fusion. The track finishes with a latin-rock ballad epilogue utilizing the Octaver effect on the guitar solo.

"The core idea for Helix was to bring together the three interlocking parts in an exciting and effective way to create an episodic jazz tune that draws on many different contemporary styles.” – Joe Nichols, Nimbus Sextet

Building on the series of remixes that have already been released from Dreams Fulfilled, Born74 has remixed the bands first single ‘Trap Door’ fusing the additional trumpet parts originally heard in part two of the original recording and found a place for them within the main groove.

Rounding off the EP, renowned DJ, promoter and remixer Chris Read reworks album track ‘Deep Dark Blue Lights’. Having been a fan of Acid Jazz since he started DJing, Chris was beyond excited to deliver his remix of the track.

“I'm thrilled to have finally done a remix for a label that meant so much to me at that important time. Nimbus's music gives a nod to the Acid Jazz of that era, but also represents the equally exciting things happening in London Jazz right now.” – Chris Read 

1. Helix

2. Lowrider

3. Deep Dark Blue Lights (Chris Read Remix)

4. Trap Door (Born74 Boogie Funk Remix)

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Dave Liebman - Selflessness (September 3, 2021 Dot Time Records)

NEA Jazz Master Dave Liebman has always declared that if he had to name one primary influence and inspiration, it would be John Coltrane. The first time he saw Coltrane at Birdland in February 1962, he was 15 years old. As he recounts in his autobiography, What It Is (as told to yours truly), that was the night he saw the light, though he didn’t realize it for years. “Once you see the light,” he explains, “you can never turn away from it, though you may try. I went to see Coltrane from then on, anytime I could.”

This new tribute is special in many ways: it’s by his working band Expansions, not a group of players brought together just to make an album. All of the pieces are newly arranged and rethought—mostly by Liebman, but also by members of the band. It also marks Dave’s return to an album entirely on soprano saxophone--the instrument with which he is most associated.

It’s beyond evident, as well, that Dave has a unique and recognizable style, a strong musical personality that is in no way an imitation of Trane’s.  Liebman is an NEA Jazz Master for good reason— his fluency, clarity and originality on soprano are mind-boggling.

Selflessness will be released on September 3rd to coincide with Dave Liebman’s 75th birthday the following day.

1. Mr. Day

2. Compassion

3. My Favorite Things

4. Ole

5. Lazy Bird

6. Peace On Earth

7. One Up One Down

8. Selflessness

9. Dear Lord

Dave Liebman - Soprano Sax, Wooden Flute (Track 4)

Matt Vashlishan - Alto Sax, Flute (6, 9) Clarinet (4), Wind Synth (2)

Bobby Avey - Piano, Keyboard/Synth (4, 2, 8, 9)

Tony Marino - Acoustic Bass

Alex Ritz - Drums, Frame Drum (4)

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Wun Two - 0ld Fruits (September 3, 2021 Mutombo Records)

Wun Two rummaged in his archives and we are very happy that "Old Fruits" is now seeing the light of day. At the production time of his well-known lo-fi classics Penthouse & Ships, his sound was heavily influenced by J Dilla. And you can also hear that clearly at this upcoming release. And now enjoy these ten old tasty fruits on the new album by wun two.

1. pomegranate

2. lemon

3. banana

4. peach

5. cherry

6. pear

7. mandarin

8. lichee

9. papaya

10. carambola

Preorder 10"Vinyl - 300 copies: fanlink.to/wuntwo

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Tim Berne / Mark Helias - Not For The Multitudes (September 3, 2021)

This music was part of the session that produced the duo album Blood From a Stone which was released on bandcamp on October 1, 2020. It comprises a twenty minute performance captured in its entirely and as it was played. Because of its length we could not include it in the original album so I am taking this opportunity to release it as a sort of EP length recording and offering it at a pro rata price.

1. Not For The Multitudes 20:43

Mark Helias - double bass

Tim Berne - alto saxophone

Recorded on September 11-12 at Chateau Beyond Studio, Cuddebackville NY

Special Thanks to Claudia Barritt and Sara Humphries. Thanks to Martin Penning for making my double bass.

Recorded, mixed and mastered by Mark Helias

All compositions ©2020 Radiolegs Music BMI and Party Music BMI

This track is available in 24 bit aiff file format for optimal audio representation.

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Manna / Mirage - Man Out Of Time (September 3, 2021)

1) What's The Big Idea

This was originally written for the Muffins' big band album, which was supposed to come out after "Mother Tongue", but the band imploded as we were finalizing it. Tom took his compositions and turned those into an album and I took mine and made the first Manna/Mirage album, "Blue Dogs". This one had not been finished at the time of Blue Dogs, so I shelved it until later. But it was time to revisit it with this CD. After I recorded it, I noticed that some Moondog had somehow slipped through. Lucky for me, I think. Stand out jazz drumming by Sean Rickman and bass punch by Jerry King. My go-to rhythm section these days. Mark Stanley's guitar solo makes this sit up and take notice.

2) World Song

This was written for DIRATZ's second album, but we disbanded before we had a chance to finish it. So again, this became the album in which to bring it back to life. (I'm starting to see a pattern here.) The lyrics by me and Carla are about emerging from the Pandemic isolation that we had all experienced and entering back into a somewhat normal world again. I like to think that it's a song of hope and rebirth. It was so good to work with the old DIRATZ band again. I miss that band.

3) In For A Penny

A new composition put together during the Pandemic. My Canterbury DNA took over here. Dereck Higgins on bass. Rich O'Meara brings the beauty to this piece with his mallet work. And yes, that's my lyric-free voice on there in the middle. I was channeling my best Brazil 66 at the time. My apologies right up front. That's Alanna Cohen Duvall on voice at the very end. Wonderful vocalist. I hope to work with her again on the next album.

4) Red Ball Express

The Red Ball Express was a convoy of trucks during WWII, staffed mainly with African American soldiers / drivers, that supplied allied forces throughout Europe after the Normandy invasion. This is all me on this one, sloppy drumming included. I wrote and recorded this one during the Pandemic and stay-at-home isolation and actually made a video of it as part of a "Stay-At-Home-Concerts" series that I posted on Facebook at the time. I had a lot of fun with this one, and I think these "Stay-At-Home-Concerts", which many musicians around the world were posting, helped a lot of people get through the isolation that we were all feeling. I think it helped connect us and bond us a bit.

5) 4 Steps Back

This was also one I started and competed during our Pandemic isolation. It was a string of Canterbury and RIO ideas that I was able to piece together so that it made a nice long complete package. Hats off to Guy Segers (bass) and Sean Rickman (drums) in particular on this one; it was very complex and long and they worked it until they mastered it. I think Sean even recorded it straight through rather than in sections, which is, if you think about it, quite impressive. Guy's bass sounds on this are both kick ass and delicate. Kudos also to Mike Potter who mixed this monster and made us all sound like proper musicians. If you listen closely, you can hear a melodic reference to an old Muffins comp called "The Adventures of Captain Boomerang". Thus the title "4 Steps Back"; I wanted to offer up a bit of an hommage to those old Muffins days of music and writing. This track has the most guest musicians on it from Gary Rouzer (cello), Forrest Fang (great RIO violin), Rich O'Meara (necessary mallet-work again), Mark Stanley (kick-it-out guitar), and Jerry King (trumpet, trombone, and crazed yelling).

6) Fred's Dream

So, this was composed just before the Pandemic isolation began. Fred Frith's great band was scheduled to appear at one of our beloved venues in Washington DC called Rhizome, and the night before I had a dream that I was at the concert. For some reason it was not at Rhizome but at a high school auditorium. We were seated in folding metal chairs looking up at the stage area with the curtains drawn closed. Suddenly, we heard a pop band start up behind us. I remember thinking to myself that that CAN'T be Fred's group, it's too normal, too poppy. So we all turned around in our chairs and looked at the back of the auditorium, and sure enough it WAS Fred's band set up and playing this wonderful pop tune! And then I woke up. And ran downstairs to the studio and recorded the chords, beat, and melody from that pop song that was still in my head. What you hear on this track is exactly what I dreamt. (Thank you, Muses!) I had Sean and Jerry add drums and bass to it and then I sent it on to Fred and told him the story. And somewhere in our back-and-forth correspondences, I asked him if he'd consider playing a solo on it (after all, it IS "Fred's Dream"), and he said yes. Needless to say, I am over the moon to have him as a guest on this song. It just had to be.

7) Silver Age

This refers to a particular age of comic book production, generally between the years 1956 and 1970, when I was reading and collecting comic books as a kid. It was written and recorded around the same time as "Blue Dogs" but never made it onto the album. I offered Mike Potter free reign to do whatever he wanted to the mix on this one. Thankfully, he did.

8) These Days

Again, I wrote and recorded this one during our Pandemic isolation and posted it as a "Stay-At-Home-Concert" video. Rich added his gorgeous vibes and marimba fairly recently. I love the melody here. Wanted to keep it stripped down and simple. "These Days" refers to something that I say when I'm meditating / chanting at night. I usually thank Buddha for "These Days" and the wonder of the world and the ability to still be here and be a part of it all. This is also a little tip-of-the-hat to Robert Wyatt, certainly not the first or last time I will do so.

Dave Newhouse - compositions, keys, woodwinds, and marching drums

Sean Rickman - drums

Jerry King - bass and brass

Dereck Higgins - bass

Guy Segers - bass

Carla Diratz - vocals and lyrics

Mark Stanley - guitar

Bret Hart - guitar

Fred Frith - guitar

Rich O'Meara - mallets

Forrest Fang - violin

Gary Rouzer - cello

Alanna Cohen Duvall - voice

Mike Potter - mixing and mastering at Orion Studios

Eric Kearns - digital layout at PhinBot Graphics

Anne Hage - cover illustraion

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