“Incisive, beautiful playing and gorgeous writing. Great record, Alan is a voice worth listening to!”
- Paul Bollenback
"Alan is a next-generation modern player/composer on the rise, from Hong Kong but with NYC pedigree. Beyond his lush harmonies, seamless rhythmic sophistication and breathy melodies, I connect with the expressiveness and honesty I hear in this array of original compositions that are beautifully recorded. It's music that will appeal to musicians who love this idiom, and to listeners new to jazz who love soothing textures and ethereal melodies. I hear the budding of a prolific composer who I think people will be excited to see/hear where he goes”
- Peter Mazza
“…The guitar artistry is exceptional, the tone is warm and rich, the technique is clear, precise and very fluid….”
- Fred Hamilton
“This album is full of his brilliancy, warmth and tenacity. The tone heals the listener.”
There’s no mistaking the message of “We’re All in The Dance,” the title track of singer Rachel Caswell’s latest album. It’s a lovely waltz that pairs the dance of life with the dance of music and somehow, through her purity of tone, intelligent phrasing, and flowing time feel, Caswell—cosigned by an ascendant solo by her younger sister, Grammy-nominated violinist Sara Caswell—navigates an alternate, bespoke pathway through a song whose simplicity and elegance pose a challenge to a singer steeped in the complexities of jazz expression.
She addresses the subject of love head-on throughout the proceedings, comprising ten songs culled from a long timeline and a panoply of stylistic genres. Caswell tells each story with equivalent levels of individualism and interpretive mojo, imparting a continuity and identity from the first track (an inflamed, incantatory reading of Sting’s “Fragile”) to the last (a mesmerizing meditation on Jon Hendricks’ bittersweet-yet-optimistic lyric to Thelonious Monk’s “Reflections”).
Along the way, Caswell puts deep blues inflections on “Drown in My Own Tears,” the Ray Charles classic, followed by a soulful guitar declamation by master blues practitioner—and album producer—Dave Stryker. She channels her inner Ella Fitzgerald and Sarah Vaughan on “A Lovely Way to Spend an Evening,” eschewing a balladic approach for a well-wrought, lightly swinging delivery of the lyric. She renders the late Bob Dorough’s “Devil May Care” with apropos vertiginous flair, developing her rhythmic ideas on an instrument-like improvisation. She applies a spacious Latin feel to Henry Mancini’s “Two for The Road,” and showcases her broad registral range and deep pocket in conveying Tom Lellis’ evocative lyrics to Herbie Hancock’s “Tell Me A Bedtime Story.” Dave Stryker’s arrangement of Rodgers & Hart’s American Songbook classic “I Didn’t Know What Time It Was” plays on the title, shifting odd meters with finger-popping swing. And Rachel scats the melody of Charlie Parker’s “Dexterity” with an idiomatic bebop feel, giving her A-list partners full autonomy to play it in their manner and responding to their postulations with a pithy scat. Another of the record’s great pleasures is an opportunity to hear how deftly each world-class member of the kinetic rhythm section locks into their task of reimagining and reconfiguring “standards.” Hopefully, Stryker’s imprimatur and this cutting-edge band will induce gatekeepers from radio and the press to listen closely to this superb album. If they do, and respond accordingly, Caswell may be moving to another level of visibility in the not so distant future.
Edited from liner notes by Ted Panken
“Rachel Caswell is that rara avis who is truly a jazz vocalist. Her intonation is impeccable, her diction precise, her jazz sensibilities above reproach, and she swings like mad!... Few improvisers – vocal or instrumental – have better ears than she possesses and she has an exceptional instrument that is immediately identifiable among a sea of other vocalists.”
David Baker, NEA Jazz Master & jazz education pioneer
1. Fragile – Sting – 7:05
2. A Lovely Way to Spend an Evening – Harold Adamson/Jimmy McHugh – 5:16
3. We’re All in The Dance – Will Jennings/Christophe Monthieux – 5:11
4. Devil May Care – Bob Dorough/Terrell P. Kirk Jr. – 6:46
5. Two for The Road – Leslie Bricusse/Henry Mancini – 5:42
6. Drown in My Own Tears – Henry Glover – 4:58
7. I Didn’t Know What Time It Was – Lorenz Hart/Richard Rodgers – 6:06
8. Tell Me A Bedtime Story – Tom Lellis/Herbie Hancock – 6:05
9. Dexterity – Charlie Parker – 6:01
10. Reflections (Looking Back) – Jon Hendricks/Thelonious Monk – 5:16
After years as an essential member of groups led by Ambrose Akinmusire, Thundercat, and Flying Lotus, – he’s also been tapped to round out the sound for Esperanza Spalding, Terence Blanchard, Bilal, Vijay Iyer, and many others – Brown is finally ready to extend his reach beyond the drumset to lead his own band, NYEUSI. Rounding out NYEUSI are Jason Lindner and Fabian Almazan on keyboards, Burniss Earl Travis on bass, and Mark Shim on electronic wind controller. Brown on drums is the engine propelling an intoxicating synthesis of varying influences that offers deep groove and charged improvisations. “I cannot think of a more highly anticipated debut by an artist right now that is also a lynchpin in today’s creative music scene,” says WBGO’s Simon Rentner.
1. Jupiter's Giant Red Spot 01:48
2. Lesson 1: DANCE 02:31
3. Lots for Nothin' 04:00
4. Waiting (DUSK) 01:18
5. Waiting on Aubade 06:23
6. At Peace (DAWN) 01:02
7. Lesson 2: PLAY 02:27
8. Entering Purgatory 05:18
9. Replenish 02:44
10. FYFO 03:31
11. Circa 45 06:07
12. Burniss 00:32
13. Lindner's in your Body! 02:37
Justin Brown | Drums, Fender Rhodes, Synths, Yamaha DX7
Mark Shim | Wind Controller
Jason Lindner | Moog Synth, Prophet, Mopho, Schoenhut Piano
2018 USA Fellow and five-time Grammy-winning trumpeter/composer Terence Blanchard has been a consistent artistic force for making powerful musical statements concerning painful American tragedies – past and present. With his band The E-Collective he addresses the staggering cyclical epidemic of gun violence in America with the April 20 release of his new album Live, 7 powerful songs recorded live in concert that both reflect the bitter frustration of the conscious masses while also providing a balm of emotional healing. With a title that carries a pointed double meaning, the album is an impassioned continuation of the band’s GRAMMY-nominated 2015 studio recording, Breathless. Hear the lead track “Dear Jimi” now via NPR Music. The music of Live was symbolically culled from concerts performed at venues in three communities that have experienced escalating conflicts between law enforcement and African American citizens: The Dakota in Minneapolis (near where Philando Castile was pulled over and shot by a cop on July 6, 2016); The Bop Stop in Cleveland (near where 12-year-old Tamir Rice was shot by police on November 22, 2014); and the Wyly Theatre in Dallas (near where police officers Lorne Ahrens, Michael Krol, Michael Smith, Brent Thompson and Patricio Zamarripa were assassinated while on duty covering a peaceful Black Lives Matter protest on July 7-8, 2016). The E-Collective’s Live project condemns gun violence of all manner whether against profiled citizens of color or targeted members of law enforcement. Experimental, electric and exotic, E-Collective consists of Blanchard on trumpet, Charles Altura on guitar, Fabian Almazan on piano and synthesizers, Oscar Seaton on drums, and new addition David “DJ” Ginyard on bass. Discussing the origin of E-Collective, Blanchard states, “I didn’t put this group together to be a protest band. We started out wanting to play music to inspire young people... However, while we were on tour in Europe, Mike Brown got shot. Trayvon Martin had already been murdered. And back then it seemed like these shootings were happening every month. That’s when I felt we had to stand up and make a statement with our 2015 album, Breathless [named in honor of Eric Garner who pleaded in vain to a pile of police officers with their knees in his back that he could not breathe]. After touring that music for two years, we couldn’t just let it go.” “This band represents the best of America's ideals,” says Blanchard. “We're five very different personalities with different visions who play together for a common goal: creating music that hopefully heals hearts and opens minds. Live is an album for these troubled times yet it's also an album filled with hope. We want to encourage listeners to speak out and talk to those around them, discuss with those around them and heal with those around them.”
“Alcanza (Spanish for “reach”) is a nine movement suite of music that deals with those brief moments in our lives in which within a blink of an eye, everything changes- or at least gives us a remarkable new perception of our condition. It also deals with the process of finding our own path as we go from childhood into adulthood; reflecting the beauty, frustrations and paradoxes of modern-day life and not giving up on reaching for everything in life that brings us joy and love.” -Fabian Almazan “Alcanza” by Fabian Almazan has been made possible with support from Chamber Music America’s 2014 New Jazz Works: Commissioning and Ensemble Development program funded through the generosity of the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation.
“Alcanza es una pieza de nueve movimientos que se enfoca en esos breves momentos de nuestras vidas en los cuales una fracción de un segundo lo cambia todo - o al menos nos da una percepción nueva sobre nuestra condición en este mundo. También trata sobre el proceso de encontrar nuestro propio camino a medida que pasamos de la infancia a la adultez… reflejando la belleza, frustraciones y paradojas de la vida moderna y no renunciar a alcanzar todo en la vida que nos trae alegría y amor.“-Fabian Almazan
The Wee Trio, James Westfall (vibes), Dan Loomis (bass) + Jared Schonig (drums), proudly announce the September 30, 2016 release of their fifth recording, Wee + 3, recorded at Systems Two in Brooklyn, NY, and featuring three musicians who are near and dear to the members of the Trio; the legendary trumpeter/composer Nicholas Payton (tracks 4, 5 & 6), guitarist/composer Nir Felder (tracks 1, 10 & 11), and pianist/composer Fabian Almazán (tracks 2, 3 & 9). Inviting guests to join this established, working group was born out of the band’s collective love of collaboration.
Wee + 3 is an album about relationships. Dan Loomis is from Middle America, Jared Schonig is from the West Coast and James Westfall is from the South. Together they have traveled to every corner of the country and the songs on this album celebrate their individual roots and their travels together. The bonds that The Wee Trio formed as a band happened very soon after they all moved to New York City and has strengthened over the years. In short, musically and personally, they are thick as thieves, and their camaraderie is fully explored and realized on the band’s previous four recordings, Capitol Diner Vol. 1 (2008), Capitol Diner Vol. 2 – Animal Style (2010), Ashes To Ashes – A David Bowie Intraspective (2012) and Live at The Bistro (2013). With Wee + 3, the fans are bearing witness to the first expansion of the trio as they welcome in three critically acclaimed, world-class musicians to the fold. Each guest artist has a unique personal relationship with the individual members of the band and all of the music on this record was composed for each of these guest artists, creating a stylistic spectrum that takes the listener through three different worlds, but all within the galaxy of The Wee Trio.
The guest artists also represent three distinct narrative points in the history of the band. Dan Loomis explains further, “Nicholas Payton is the prelude to our story as a band. We say that the trio connects so well because we had listened to so many of the same records. Mr. Payton’s music was definitely an important part of all our lives. His playing, his intention as a bandleader, and his compositions were important building blocks for all of our own musical conceptions and development. Nir Felder is the present tense in the story of the band. We all met Nir very soon after we moved to the city and played with him a lot in our first years here. Our encounter with Fabian Almazán is a look to the future. Jared has known Fabian for a several years, but James and I just started playing with him for this project. Fabian plays with relentless creativity that really brings out the best side of the band. We love to play familiar material and take a lot of risks with it – push it to see what new options we can find hidden in it. With Fabian we got a chance to expand that approach to a quartet setting and bring it some new material that we wrote especially for him. We think the results are magical!” In drummer Jared Schonig’s words, this record was, “really a dream for us to make, both compositionally and musically. We had many long discussions over two years, deciding who our guests would be, and we feel that we made such great choices. To add a fourth musical voice was like taking cake and putting more frosting on it just for the fun of it.”
More about the music on WEE + 3: “R T 3” (feat. Nir Felder) – This song is the sound of the ocean as nearly as bassist Dan Loomis can capture it. You can hear the seagull cry in the intro. “My mother grew up in California and spent a lot time exploring the Pacific coast. I was born in Redwood City but raised in the Midwest. I always loved my trips back to California and I never feel right visiting without at least one visit to the ocean,” said Loomis.
“Titan UP” (feat. Fabian Almazán) – Westfall grew up in Houston, Texas and was an avid Houston Oilers fan. In the mid 1990’s the Oilers packed their bags and relocated to Tennessee changing their name to the Titans. Since Westfall’s recent arrival to his new home in Nashville, he has re-adopted the NFL franchise that moved away from him.
“Climb” (feat Fabian Almazán) – An epic composition written by Schonig to feature both Almazán’s creativity and Loomis’ strength moving around the bass. The title represents the climb to the top that we all inevitably face daily in life.
“Sabotage” (feat. Nicholas Payton) – One of the nation’s best venues is in St. Louis, MO (Loomis’ hometown), Jazz at the Bistro. The Wee Trio played there many times and even spent a weekend recording a live album there (Live at The Bistro from 2013). Loomis explains, “The second night of the recording we went to play our first set only to discover (mid-song!!) that the microphone cables had been cut!! We never found the culprit but clearly someone set out to sabotage the band! Thus Jared had a title for his new song.”
“No Justice” (feat. Nicholas Payton) – This song is a tribute to Loomis’ hometown, St. Louis, and particularly the suburb of Ferguson. “We have all been angered and saddened by the senseless violence by police against so many black youth across our country. But these events take on another dimension when they happen close to home. In the aftermath of tragic events like these, one thing that we can do is come together to make our voices heard against a culture that allows such actions. My partner and young boys have been to many demonstrations protesting these events and my kids’ favorite chant at these demonstrations is ‘No Justice, No Peace!’” said Loomis.
“Belle Femme De Voodoo” (feat. Nicholas Payton) – “As a former resident of New Orleans, this piece was written as a homage to the city. I spent the better part of 15 years living there and the city’s influence will always be burned in my personality. One of the city’s biggest musical influences today is Nicholas Payton. I’ve had the privilege of sharing the stage with him about a dozen times while living there and each of those gigs was a huge learning experience that I never took for granted. Having him be a part of this record was an honor. It was only fitting that Nicholas would be featured on a song written for New Orleans. Nicholas’ style is the perfect blend of Old New Orleans and New World,” said James Westfall.
“Lola” – This is a composition by Meshell Ndegeocello that Schonig arranged for the band. Schonig says “The band originally decided against having covers on this recording, but made an exception for an exceptional artist that we all admire.”
“Sound Evidence” – The lone original trio composition comes from Schonig after he sought out to write something both rhythmically interesting yet open enough for the harmonic instruments to have complete freedom while improvising. The title comes from Schonig’s brother, who made an astute observation during a game of ping-pong with the band to prove a certain shot had hit the table!
“Redwood” (feat. Fabian Almazán) – This is a tribute to Redwood groves in Northern California. “Walking through them you can have a feeling in an endless horizontal and vertical space. This song tries capture that expansiveness,” said Loomis.
“Gibbs Street” (feat. Nir Felder) – Schonig and Loomis met at Eastman School of Music in downtown Rochester, NY. This piece by Schonig is a homage to his experience there, balancing all that life is throwing at you. “Sometimes college can seem incredibly chill and then one moment chaos can ensue; whether it be with schoolwork, gigs, relationships- I tried to encapsulate all of that in this piece,” said Schonig.
“Apparition” (feat. Nir Felder) – “Nir is one of our favorite guitarists because, like The Wee Trio, he’s not afraid to rock out. Performing the song quartet gave us the opportunity for me to personify a wraith during the melody. The composition’s simplicity gave the trio enough room to stylistically take the direction in a more organic world that is true to our influences. The composition is one big launching pad for a shredding Nir Felder solo meant to kick ass and melt faces,” said Westfall.
01. RT3 6:31 02. Titan Up 3:15 03. Climb 6:30 04. Sabotage 4:58 05. No Justice 7:20 06. Belle femme de voodoo 5:23 07. Lola 3:51 08. Sound Evidence 4:16 09. Redwood 6:31 10. Gibbs Street 6:10 11. Apparition 7:53
A determinedly straightahead alto saxophonist, Jim Snidero staffs his Main Street quartet with determinedly adventurous young musicians—and gets them swinging along with him. It’s no surprise to hear that pianist Fabian Almazan, bassist Linda Oh and drummer Rudy Royston have the meat-and-potatoes bop chops that a Snidero record requires; it is, however, invigorating.
Those musicians sneak in bits and pieces of their own conceptions, too. Snidero’s soulful blues “Post Time Saratoga” features scorchers from Oh and Snidero, and behind them, Royston’s latticework marks him as the best decorative drummer in the business. (He continues to prove it throughout, topping himself with a reason-defying solo on the closing “The Streets of Laredo.”) Almazan matches that artistry with subtle figures and note choices that fatten up his comp lines, then bursts forth with a solo that explodes both the tune’s rhythmic and harmonic framework. He does the same on “Duluth at Noon,” “Walla Walla” and “The Streets of Laredo,” making him the album’s MVP.
Oh has tricks up her sleeve, too. When Royston and Almazan ratchet up to double time in “Duluth,” she steadfastly maintains the original tempo even as it displaces her accents. She also finds new ways to express the pulse with every bar of “Las Vegas Tango,” and offers perhaps the album’s best improvisation with her nuanced light touch on “Autumn in New York.”
Snidero, meanwhile, maintains the consistent gifts that have marked his 30-plus-year career: juicy sax work crafted with soul, flawless tone and a keen sense of narrative (his solo on “The Streets of Laredo” rivals Oh for album best). His compositions are impressive, too, eking surprises out of licks in “Duluth at Noon” and building a durable melody out of a mixed meter and an R&B lick on “Born in Redwood City.” Main Street is a solid addition to his résumé.
