Tal Mashiach - Tiyul (March 3, 2022 Anzic Records)

“Tiyul” means travel in Hebrew, was recorded in 7 days at a cabin in the woods of Harashim, Israel, where I grew up. I decided to record this album, and disconnect from the outside world for one week to fully dedicate myself to the music. The music in this album was inspired by my experiences while traveling, each composition was written in a different place in the world. Only when coming back home I was able to reflect, process and document my journeys with the guitar.

Tal Mashiach

1. Sheleg

2. Cachi

3. Kaitz

4. Mirrors

5. Merrengue Mediterráneo

6. Goats

7. Vv & Zaco

8. The Old Guitar

All Compositions by Tal Mashiach (BMI)

Tal Mashiach, Guitar

Oded Shoub, Guitar (6)

Aviva “Vv” Mashiach, Vocals (7) Dana Herz, Vocals (7)

Keren Tenenbaum, Violin (7) Galia Hai, Viola (7)

Maya Belsitzman, Cello (7)

Produced, Recorded & Edited by Tal Mashiach at “Cabin in the woods", Harashim IL, April 2021. Assisted by Dana Herz

Mixed & Mastered by Rafael Cohen at “Raf Recording” Nashville US, April 2021

Artwork & Design by Yitzhak Yitzhaky

Photo by MUPERPHOTO

*Track 6 recorded at Hemdat Yamim by Tal Mashiach, Mixed by Tomer Cohen

*Track 7 recorded at “Felicja Blumental Music Center” by Ron Gavrieli, Mixed By Alon Lotringer

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Gian Correa - O Abismo Da Prata (January 2022 Anzic Records)

Sao Paulo-based 7-string guitarist and composer Gian Correa and Graffiti artist Apolo Torres join forces in social activism to create a project with recorded and visual components which update Choro music with a new timely and contemporary voice.

Choro, literally to “cry” in Portuguese, is a traditional Brazilian style born in the late 19th century in the urban landscape of Rio de Janeiro. It combines traditional western forms and harmony with African rhythms, in a similar fashion to the North American Ragtime, or the Argentinian Tango. In his latest recording "O Abismo da Prata", Correa updates it with a contemporary cry for social justice, bringing forth social issues plaguing Brazil today, and the world at large.

Each track on the album inspired the creation of a graffiti work on the streets of Sao Paulo painted by Apolo Torres, a leading exponent of the Brazilian contemporary muralism movement. Each work illuminates a different aspect of struggle, from generational discrimination and consumerism to freedom from tyranny and poverty. To realize his vision, Correa gathered a group of young, like-minded Sao Paulo-based musicians, who bring a contemporary edge to the old tradition of Choro, and superstar pianist Shai Maestro as a special guest on Fender Rhodes.

Gian Correa

 

Gian Correa | 7 string guitar

Cainã Cavalcante | 6 string guitar

Enrique Menezes | flutes

Henrique Araújo | Cavaquinho, Bandolim, Violão Tenor and Tamborim

Rafael Toledo | Panderia, Pandeiro, Adufe, Caixa, Caixeta, Reco-Reco, Pratos

Guests:

Renato Braz recorded by Mário Gil at Studio Dancape (track 8)

Juliana Amaral recorded by Gian Correa at Usina Telecoteco Studio (track 8)

Shai Maestro recorded by himself (track 4)

Recorded by Thiago Big Rabello at Da Pá Virada Studio, 25th and 26th of November, 2020

Assisted by Frederico Pacheco

Mixed by Gian Correa at Usina Telecoteco Studio

Mastered by Rodrigo Castro Lopes

Artwork by Apolo Torres

Design by Maria Birba

Band Photo by Thamires Mulatinho

Produced by Gian Correa

Executive production by Giovani Correa

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Anat Cohen - Reconvexo (October 15, 2021 Anzic Records)

In their second duo album, following the Grammy-nominated release Outra Coisa: The Music for Moacir Santos, Brazilian 7-string guitar player Gonçalves and New York-based clarinetist Cohen turn their attention to music from the Música Popular Brasileira (MPB) songbook.

Artists responded to the forced isolation brought about by the 2020 pandemic in various way across the globe. In Brazil, superstars such as Caetano Veloso, Milton Nascimento and Gilberto Gil shared performances from their homes, sharing their hit songs intimately with their fans, from one living room to another. Performing in this new format further strengthened the already deep impact these melodies and lyrics had on Brazilian culture.

Among those fans were Anat Cohen and Marcello Gonçalves, quarantined in Rio. As Marcello puts it: “I've been dreaming of Anat singing those words through her clarinet, imagining how her unique way of interpreting melodies would powerfully convey the message of the lyrics to anyone familiar with them, even when played instrumentally.” When listening to these quarantine-time performances “each one of these concerts reminded me of songs that I could play with Anat, so this project made even more sense to be done at this moment.”

And against the backdrop of a country and a world turning inward, distilling the importance of music in the lives of so many, the duo set out to record an album inspired by the beauty of Brazil, and the spirit of its people. The result is at once intimate and virtuosic, mournful and hopeful, soaked with the feeling expressed uniquely in the Portuguese language as saudade – bittersweet, at once deeply happy and sad, and full of emotion. 

1. Reconvexo

2. Ânima

3. O que é que a baiana tem?

4. Andar com Fé

5. Maria Maria

6. Correnteza

7. Paula e Bebeto

8. El Diablo Suelto video

9. Never Dreamed You’d Leave in Summer

Mixed by Brian Montgomery, New York, May 2021

Mastered by Mark Wilder, Battery Studios, New York, June 2021

Artworks by Ernesto Neto (Cover: Horizonte de eventos, 2001 / Inside: Acontece no horizonte de eventos. O jardim, 2001)

Design by Liliane Kemper

Cover photo by Mark Ritchie (Archivo fotográfico CGAC, Santiago de Compostela) / Inside photo by Vicente de Mello

Produced by Anat Cohen, Marcello Gonçalves & Oded Lev-Ari

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Jared Schonig - Two Takes Vol. 2: Big Band (September 24, Anzic Records)

Jazz soars with rhythmic, harmonic and melodic luminosity in a variety of settings—solo, duo, trio, quartet, quintet and so on— but there’s nothing like being swept into the frothy tides of an instrumental community in which upwards of 18 members assemble to embrace and exchange notes.

Today’s jazz scene flourishes with upstart big bands propelling the tradition forward. For his Two Takes Vol. 2: Big Band album, Jared taps into the deep well of renowned New York- and Miami-based arrangers and composers—Alan Ferber, Jim McNeely, Mike Holober, Miho Hazama, Darcy James Argue, Laurence Hobgood, Brian Krock and John Daversa explore where they could take his compositions. (He also showcased these tunes with his smaller band on Two Takes Vol. 1: Quintet.)

1. Sabotage

2. White Out

3. Climb

4. Sound Evidence

5. Tig Mack

6. NUTS

7. Eight Twenty

8. Gibbs St.

Reeds: Jon Gordon, Charles Pillow, Dave Pietro, Ben Kono, Donny McCaslin, Donny McCaslin, Troy Roberts, Quinson Nachoff, Carl Maraghi

Trumpets: Tony Kadleck, Jon Owens, Brian Pareschi, Jonathan Powell, Scott Wendholt

Trombones: Michael Davis, Marshall Gilkes, Keith O’Quinn, Alan Ferber, Jeff Nelson

Bass: Ike Sturm, Matt Clohesy, Dan Loomis

Piano: Adam Birnbaum, David Cook

Guitar: Nir Felder

Drums: Jared Schonig

Conducted by Matt Holman

Recorded by James Farber at Oktaven Studios, Mixed by Brian Montgomery, Mastered by Mark Wilder

Produced by Mike Holober and Jared Schonig

Jared Schonig - Two Takes, Vol. 1: Quintet (September 24, 2021 Anzic Records)

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Jared Schonig - Two Takes, Vol. 1: Quintet (September 24, 2021 Anzic Records)

When at home in New York City, Schonig is a fixture in both the jazz and Broadway scene- he recently held the drum chair for the critically acclaimed Tony, Grammy and Emmy-award winning Broadway Revival of The Color Purple and is currently playing drums and percussion for Moulin Rouge! The Musical. He also is an in-demand drummer/percussionist for studio recordings, jingle sessions and other commercial music recordings. 

Jared is releasing not one but TWO impressive solo albums - his first as a band leader - featuring his own compositions. One in a quintet setting, the other with big band realizations penned by some of today’s leading arrangers including Jim McNeely, Darcy James Argue, John Daversa and Miho Hazama. This is a stunning, ambitious debut.

Jared Schonig

1. Intro to White

2. White Out

3. Climb

4. Nuts

5. Drum Interlude #1

6. Eight Twenty

7. Drum Interlude #2

8. Tig Mack

9. Sound Evidence

10. Drum Interlude #3

11. Sabotage

12. Gibbs St.

Marquis Hill - trumpet

Godwin Louis - alto saxophone

Luis Perdomo - piano

Matt Clohesy - acoustic bass

Jared Schonig - drums & compositions

Recorded by Owen Mulholland at Sear Sound on September 17-18, 2019 Assisted by Grant Valentine Mixed by Chris Allen at The Mud Room on February 4-5, 2020 Mastered by Mark Wilder at Battery Studios in May, 2021 Artwork and Graphic Design by Madeline Sturm Band Photo by Amy Crawford

Produced by Jared Schonig and Amy Crawford

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Introducing Joel Frahm - The Bright Side (Friday, June 25th on Anzic Records)

The Joel Frahm Trio is a new band featuring Frahm on tenor and soprano saxophones, Dan Loomis on bass, and Ernesto Cervini on drums. The Bright Side is their debut recording for Anzic Records, and is the culmination of a musical partnership that has developed over the course of many tours and recording sessions spanning the last decade.

Frahm first encountered the chord-less trio format as a teenager, and says he was "mesmerized by the music they created and hooked by the feeling of freedom and space the “chordless” trio provided me as a listener.” He was part of several bands that fit that description: In the 1990s, Matt Wilson’s Quartet with Frahm and Andrew D’Angelo playing their musical version of Abbott and Costello with Wilson and Yosuke Inoue facilitating the antics on drums and bass, respectively. The millennium brought a seven year trio residency at Bar Next Door in Greenwich Village featuring Joe Martin on bass and Bill Campbell on drums. There were many nights at Smalls Jazz Club and later at Wilson Live featuring Frahm's trio with bassist and composer Omer Avital and drummer Anthony Pinciotti, another band that continues to work consistently. In fact, Frahm’s debut recording Sorry No Decaf was initially envisioned as a trio CD before David Berkman was added on piano.  This recording marks Frahm’s return to this formative trio format, this time as a bandleader.

The trio was born at a masterclass at the University of Toronto, as an offshoot of Cervini’s band Turboprop. In the ensuing years, Loomis and Cervini took the reins and began to book gigs for the ensemble, and on their first European tour a repertoire began to take shape, comprised almost entirely of recently penned original songs by each member of the band. The music runs the gamut: from X-Friends, Dan Loomis’ knotty re-imagining of the Klenner/Lewis standard Just Friends, to Frahm’s title tune The Bright Side, which was inspired by the opening riff of Lou Reed’s Walk On The Wild Side. Cervini contributes The Beautiful Mystery, a pensive and emotional tone poem that contrasts beautifully with upbeat tracks like Frahm’s Beeline, a new melody written on the chord changes of My Shining Hour.

The Joel Frahm Trio is dedicated to playing original music with humour, emotion, blues spirit and all of the elements that people love about jazz. This  record is the first offering from a formidable band you’ll be hearing more from soon.  Also, you might be interested to learn that Frahm, a veteran of the New York City jazz scene , will be moving to Nashville mid-July.

The Bright Side will be released worldwide on Friday, June 25th on Anzic Records

1. Blow Poppa Joe (Frahm) 4:22

2. Thinking of Benny (Frahm) 7:35

3. Boo Dip Dip (Frahm) 6:17

4. Silk Road (Loomis) 7:33

5. Omer’s World (Frahm) 4:55

6. Qu’est-ce Que C’est (Frahm) 6:48

7. X Friends (Loomis) 5:18

8. Beeline (Frahm) 4:27

9. The Beautiful Mystery (Cervini) 5:15

10. The Bright Side (Frahm) 8:58

Joel Frahm - Tenor & Soprano Saxophone

Dan Loomis - Bass

Ernesto Cervini - Drums

Amy Cervini - No One Ever Tells You (AMZIC RECORDS 2018)

I'm really excited to share this music with you and I hope you like it. I hope you'll consider giving it a rating and review on your favorite site. It's very helpful and lets people know that they should check it out.  Hope to see some of you tonight at SubCulture in NYC.

AMY CERVINI vocals

JESSE LEWIS guitar

MICHAEL CABE piano

MATT ARONOFF bass

JARED SCHONIG drums 

Special guest: 

GARY VERSACE Hammond B3 Organ (1, 2, 8, 9) 

1. I Don't Know 05:10

2. God Will 03:22

3. No One Ever Tells You 06:38

4. Surrey With The Fringe On Top 06:44

5. Please Be Kind 03:47

6. A Good Man Is Hard To Find 05:15

7. You Know Who 05:24

8. Country Boy 05:37

9. One For My Baby 04:02

10. Hit The Road Jack 03:47

Recorded and Mixed by James Farber

Recorded December 2016 at Sear Sound NYC – Assistant Engineer

Owen Mulholland, Mixed at Shelter Island Studios NYC – Assistant Engineer Myles Turney, Additional recording by Oded Lev-Ari at Wooden Bird Productions NYC

Edited by Brian Montgomery | Mastered by Mark Wilder at Battery Studios NYC Photography by Shervin Lainez, Hair and makeup by Lakesha Charles

Graphic Design by Christopher Drukker

Jared Schonig proudly endorses Vic Firth Sticks, Paiste Cymbals and Protection Racket Cases

Jesse Lewis plays D’Addario Strings

Produced by Oded Lev-ArI

Ernesto Cervini’s Turboprop - Abundance (ANZIC RECORDS October 5, 2018)

Worldwide Release Date: October 5th, 2018 on Anzic Records

Ernesto Cervini is a Canadian jazz drummer and leader of his own band, Turboprop, in addition to acting as a promoter of other Canadian jazz artists through Orange Grove Publicity. He is, in addition, a nice man and a musicians with “open ears,” as they say, since he promotes a wide range of jazz styles (some of which, and he knows this, I don’t care for), but within his own band there’s a big but imaginary sign hanging up that says, “True Jazz Spoken Here.”

His newest album, due for release on October 5, is a typical example of the high artistic standards he sets for himself and his musicians.

The opener, written by the band’s reed player Tara Davidson, is a wild piece in asymmetric rhythm, with Cervini’s drums churning in the background as the horns play the opening theme statement before moving quickly into a brilliant piano solo by Adrean Farrugia, followed by the composer herself on alto sax. This band not only swings, they’re highly creative soloists who feed into each other with aplomb. Cervini’s own solo is exciting and equally inventive, using cross-rhythms with apparent ease.

I was delighted to see a composition here by Tadd Dameron, the brilliant but self-destructive jazz composer-arranger from the late 1940s/early ‘50s. The original version was by bop legend Theodore “Fats” Navarro in 1949, issued under the title Sid’s Delight (as a tribute to legendary jazz club announcer and DJ “Symphony Sid” Torin). This one really jumps, with tight, excellent solos all round. Two other “old-timers” make an appearance next: Harold Arlen, next to Johnny Mercer the jazziest of jazz-influenced pop tune writers, and Charles Chaplin, who didn’t have a jazz bone in his body.

Turboprop predictably makes a nice soufflé of Arlen’s My Shining Hour, with imaginative rhythmic displacements, embellishments on the original theme, unusual harmonic shifts and quick little solos by Davidson on soprano sax, Carn, Frahm and Farrugia, while Cervini pounds the percussion happily in the background. Chaplin’s Smile (a theme for the Muscular Dystrophy Association’s annual telethons for decades) is played lyrically by Carn on trombone while the reeds provide nice little fills behind him. Carn then gets the bulk of the solo space, doubling the tempo and expanding on Chaplin’s theme.

Dan Loomis’ whimsical Abundance Overture begins with Cervini playing a sort of tap dance on the rims of his snare drum, with the flute, saxophone and trombone entering in a sort of Irish jig tempo. Loomis’ bass then “toughens up” the rhythm with some tight jazz playing in tandem with the leader, and Farrugia’s piano leads us into solo-land. A bit of handclapping backs up a two-part fugue played by the alto and tenor saxes before leading back into the ensemble. What a nifty arrangement!

Although written by pianist Farrugia, The Ten Thousand Things is centered around the bass, which plays the opening chorus and remains a strong presence under the reeds when they perform the theme. When Farrugia does enter, it is after a pause, and the tempo drops down to a slow ballad while he plays a sort of fantasia. The tempo eventually picks back up again and  the whole band plays interesting scored figures, with Frahm on tenor coming out of the ensemble for an excellent solo.

A free-form, wild jam ends it. Cervini’s Gramps, a ballad, opens with some soft brush work by the leader, with the two reeds and arco bass playing the simple theme. Eventually a sort of canon is set up between the tenor sax and trombone behind Davidson on alto. The finale, Song for Cito, is a relaxed 6/8 sort of piece backed by the leader’s enthusiastic drums. Pianist Farrugia is the solo star of this one, however, and he connects the musical material very well. A sort of quick “ta-da!” tag ending closes the piece, and the CD.

This is another fine outing for this talented band, and I highly recommend it to your attention.

© 2018 Lynn René Bayley

Tara Davidson – Alto/Soprano Saxes, Flute

Joel Frahm – Tenor Sax

William Carn – Trombone

Adrean Farrugia – Piano

Dan Loomis – Bass

Ernesto Cervini – Drums

www.ernestocervini.com

Anat Cohen / Fred Hersch : Live In Healdsburg (ANZIC RECORDS 2018)

1. A Lark Fred Hersch (8:23)

2. Child's Song Fred Hersch (7:21)

3. The Purple Piece Anat Cohen (8:27)

4. Isfahan Billy Strayhorn (8:05)

5. Lee's Dream Fred Hersch (5:19)

6. The Peacocks Jimmy Rowles (10:25)

7. Jitterbug Waltz Fats Waller (8:19)

8. Mood Indigo (Encore) Duke Ellington (5:13)

Anat Cohen clarinet

Fred Hersch piano

This song will be on the forthcoming duo record from Fred & Anat Cohen, “Live In Healdsburg”, which comes out soon on Anzic Records. Stay tuned for more info!

Anat Cohen Tentet - Happy Song (ANZIC RECORDS 2017)

The excellent new album by the Anat Cohen Tentet is the result of a diverse, remarkably talented cast of players, composers and arrangers. Cohen—winner of the Clarinet category in the 2017 DownBeat Critics Poll—wrote or co-wrote three of the tracks here, and the musical director for the project was Oded Lev-Ari, who arranged much of the program, including a tear-jerking rendition of Gordon Jenkins’ “Goodbye.” The centerpiece of the album is “Anat’s Doina,” a three-movement piece in which two of Cohen’s compositions bookend Lev-Ari’s arrangement of the traditional klezmer tune “Der Gasn Nigun.” Elsewhere, Cohen explores Brazilian rhythms (one of her areas of expertise) with a lively reading of Egberto Gismonti’s “Loro,” arranged for the tentet by Lev-Ari. Cohen’s clarinet work is consistently compelling throughout the program, whether she’s exploring fusion on a version of Lev-Ari’s “Trills And Thrills” (featuring a fierce electric guitar solo by Sheryl Bailey) or unleashing the toe-tapper “Oh Baby” (a swing tune that Benny Goodman recorded for Columbia in 1946). On Cohen’s arrangement of Neba Solo’s “Kenedougou Foly,” the clarinetist and her horn players engage in a wondrous dialogue, with the accompanists delivering a consistent, killer riff, and the leader responding with potent commentary. The lineup for the album includes Bailey (guitar), Rubin Kodheli (cello), Nadje Noordhuis (trumpet, flugelhorn), Nick Finzer (trombone), Owen Broder (baritone saxophone, bass clarinet), James Shipp (vibraphone, percussion), Vitor Gonçalves (piano, accordion), Tal Mashiach (bass) and Anthony Pinciotti (drums). Cohen’s Happy Song, her most ambitious album yet, gloriously accomplishes her goal of uniting people through music. She’ll take the tentet on the road for concerts in Chicago (Oct. 7), Decorah, Iowa (Nov. 4), Northridge, California (Nov. 30), San Francisco (Dec. 3) and Olympia, Washington (Dec. 4).

1. Happy Song 03:57

2. Valsa Para Alice 04:42

3. Oh Baby 08:36

4. Anat's Doina 12:16

5. Loro 06:51

6. Trills And Thrills 06:52

7. Goodbye 04:30

8. Kenedougou Foly 05:40

Anat Cohen - Clarinet

Oded Lev-Ari - Musical Director

Rubin Kodheli - Cello

Nadje Noordhuis - Trumpet & Flügelhorn

Nick Finzer - Trombone

Owen Broder - Baritone Sax & Bass Clarinet

James Shipp - Vibraphone & Percussion

Vitor Gonçalves - Piano & Accordion

Sheryl Bailey - Guitar

Tal Mashiach - Bass

Anthony Pinciotti - Drums

Recorded by Brian Montgomery at Avatar Studios, NYC, August 2016

Mixed by Brian Montgomery, NYC, January 2017

Mastered by Mark Wilder January 2017

Cover Artwork by Milton Glaser

Additional Design by Steve Skladany

Band Photo by Aline Muller