The Bogie Band (featuring Joe Russo) - The Prophets In The City (March 25, 2022 Royal Potato Family)

The Bogie Band featuring Joe Russo is a new collaboration between old friends. Stuart Bogie's fiery arrangements meet Russo's dynamic drumming with a ten-piece ensemble utilizing only wind and percussion instruments. Bogie and Russo are joined by a cadre of players whose resumes run through some of New York City’s most beloved bands, including Antibalas, The Dap-Kings, Red Barat, Budos Band, St. Vincent and David Byrne's American Utopia. The nine tracks constructed on their debut album, The Prophets In The City, are riotous and jubilant, pushing the boundaries of wind music.

“The music we’ve created here revels in the human mysteries that unfold in New York City, basking in its connections, ironies, and myths,” explains Bogie. “Through observing its humanity, we hope to invoke the underlying world of the spirits.”

Indeed, The Prophets In The City presents a soundtrack to life in NYC that is at once ancient and immediate. The music paints images of crowded streets, joy and fury together on the sidewalk, golden light shining through scaffolding, and characters that carry mysteries and truths in their hearts. The dynamic arrangements are built on the propulsion of Russo’s drumming, alternating through transcendental minimalism, raucous humor and revelatory wonder; passages of bold gleaming brass ring back and forth in overtone rich harmonies, conjuring new melody in the listener’s imagination.

The group debuted at Winter Jazz Fest in 2020, shelving the possibilities for live appearance until the summer of 2021 when they performed at their most beloved club, NuBlu - for a sold out warm-up show for The Newport Jazz Festival. In a review of their performance, JazzTimes wrote, “…it was simply incredible. Mesmerizing waves of harmony and rhythm overlapped each other, like a mashup of Fela Kuti, Sun Ra, and King Crimson with (more) tuba! And (sometimes) multiple flutes.”

Stuart Bogie has worked with artists such as Arcade Fire, TV On The Radio and Iron & Wine, though he's best known for his time as member/conductor of Antibalas. He wrote the score for the Oscar nominated film, How to Survive a Plague. Russo's career has included performing and recording with Furthur, Gene Ween Band and Benevento/Russo Duo. He also leads his own group, the highly-regarded Joe Russo’s Almost Dead (JRAD). 

1. The Prophets in The City (Arrival, Balance, Discipline, Joy)

2. The Witnesses

3. We Met Them By The Water

4. Walking With The Holy Fools

5. Take Them On

6. We Organize

7. Joy

8. The Struggle

9. God in Us

Drums, Timpani, Mallet Percussion: Joe Russo

Percussion: Mauro Refosco, Joe Russo, Korey Richey, Stuart Bogie, Jeff Citron

additional commotion: Karyn Starr, Arthur Lee Johnson, Louis Thebeau Starr Johnson

Sousaphone: John Altieri

Trumpets: Jordan McLean, Michael Leonhart, Dave Guy, Billy Aukstik, Eric Biondo

Trombones: Raymond Mason, Adam Dotson, Dave Smoota Smith

Saxes: Cochemea Gastelum (Bari), Matt Bauder (Bari, Alto), Ian Hendrickson-Smith (Alto), Colin Stetson (Soprano), Stuart Bogie (Tenor, Bari)

Flutes: Domenica Fossati, Stuart Bogie

Choir/Claps: Korey Richey, Jeff Citron, Stuart Bogie, Domenica Fossati, Matt Bauder

7pm field recorders: Scott Gibson and Steve Brienza in Manhattan, Jeff Citron, Aaron Gittleman, Gunnar Olsen, and Stuart Bogie in Brooklyn, Lucy and Simon from Llanaran, South Wales, Tom from Neath, South Wales, Kirstie from Cardiff, South Wales, and Lucy Bright in London, England

Recorded at Future Sounds, Red Hook, Brooklyn, NY and Sear Sound New York, NY

Engineered by Jeff Citron, Additional engineering by Jeff Dynamite, Korey Richey, Stuart Bogie

Sear Sound session assisted by Justin Berger

Additional recording at:

SuperLegal, Brooklyn, NY

Hive Mind. Brooklyn, NY

Joe’s House, New Jersey, USA

Karyn’s basement, Brooklyn, NY

Korey’s house, Brooklyn, NY

Matt’s house, Kerhonkson, NY

Colin’s house, Vermont, USA

Biondo’s house, Brooklyn, NY

streets of NYC, London, and South Wales

Mixed by D James Goodwin (2-9) and Craig Silvey (1)

Craig Silvey mix assistant engineered by Dani Bennet Spragg

Mastered by D James Goodwin

Cover Art By Scarlett Cussell

Photo by Taylor Sesselman

Design and Layout By Gregory J Del Deo

Label Management By Kevin Calabro

Joe Russo plays Ludwig Drums, Morfbeats Metal Percussion, Istanbul Agop Cymbals, Evan’s Drumheads, ProMark Sticks

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Scott Metzger - Too Close To Reason (March 4, 2022 Royal Potato Family)

Scott Metzger's debut album, Too Close To Reason, presents 12 solo-acoustic guitar recordings of pastoral and ambient beauty. Fans of Metzger's work with bands like Joe Russo's Almost Dead, WOLF! and The Showdown Kids will be captivated by an entirely reimagined side of his range and vision as a guitarist.

1. Appropriate Wattage

2. Don't Be A Stranger

3. Asking For A Friend

4. Talk Like That

5. Damage

6. Dream Room (Part One)

7. Dream Room (Part Two)

8. Waltz for Beverly

9. When Katie Smiles

10. Cafe Hidalgo

11. Only Child

12. At Your Service

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Steven Bernstein's MTO (feat. Catherine Russell) - Good Time Music (Community Music, Vol. 2) January 2022 Royal Potato Family

Good Time Music began when a promoter from Portugal asked Bernstein if Butler and the Hot 9 would like to play there. Butler couldn't make the show but Bernstein suggested this great singer he'd worked with at the Barn, Catherine Russell, who had cut the Harry Nilsson tune "Poli High" with Sexmob back in 2009. Bernstein built a book of arrangements around her, they played the show and it was a hit. The Community sessions with Russell were originally intended as a calling card for getting more shows, but after hearing Andy Taub's mixes, it was obvious that Good Time Music was a bona fide album.

The title comes from Lou Reed, who had just seen Levon Helm's triumphant 2007 show at New York's Beacon Theatre. Bernstein was in the band and recalls that "the audience went crazy." But Reed's summation was a bit more laconic. "Oh, you know," he told his friend Hal Willner, "it was good time music.”

"When Hal told me that story, I thought it was a put-down," says Bernstein. "But later I learned that Lou loved good time music — the kind where you just tap your foot and nod your head with a smile on your face — because he knew how important that is in the world. And with Levon, I learned how beautiful it was to play that kind of music. I always thought it would be great to make a record of good time music. So here it is.”

And once again, there's that sense of music as healing. "Absolutely," Bernstein agrees. "It's _always_ healing to play good time music — even if you haven't experienced loss. Playing good time music feels good: the band feels good, the audience feels good, everything feels good." Of course, Bernstein and the MTO had no way of knowing how much the world would soon need music such as this.

All these tunes were Bernstein arrangements that got played once or even not at all. And most of them happen to be written by residents of New Orleans: Percy Mayfield ("River's Invitation"), Earl King ("Come On"), Allen Toussaint ("Yes We Can") and Professor Longhair ("Baby Let Me Hold Your Hand"). New Orleans music runs deep in Bernstein's bones: he's worked extensively not just with Henry Butler but with Allen Toussaint and Dr. John; he was originally taught trumpet in the style of Louis Armstrong, and, like Satchmo, he funnels his charisma and genial sense of humor into a compelling stage presence.

Louis Armstrong is just one connection to Cat Russell: her father Luis Russell was Louis Armstrong's musical director in the '30s and early '40s; he also played with another New Orleans jazz originator, King Oliver. (Russell's mother Carline Ray, a Juilliard grad, played with the famed International Sweethearts of Rhythm.) In their roles as "go to musicians" Cat and Bernstein have also collaborated on recordings with Levon Helm and Little Feat.

Russell sang backup with Steely Dan and David Bowie for years, as well as other blue chip artists such as Paul Simon, Madonna and Al Green. Later in her career, she became an acclaimed solo artist, with seven albums and two Grammy nominations to her credit. "She's just the best," Bernstein marvels. "She's got a perfect mixture of science [technique] and intuition. She's an excellent musician: listen to her rhythm, every note she sings, it's perfect. There is no one else like her." 

1. Rivers Invitation 06:41

2. Yes We Can 06:29

3. Good Old Wagon 06:09

4. Careless Love 06:34

5. Come On 05:05

6. Baby Let Me Hold Your Hand 05:33

Steven Bernstein — Trumpet, Slide Trumpet

Catherine Russel — Vocals

Curtis Fowlkes — Trombone

Charlie Burnham — Violin

Doug Wieselman — Clarinet, Tenor Saxophone

Peter Apfelbaum — Tenor & Soprano Saxophone

Erik Lawrence — Baritone Saxophone

Matt Munisteri — Guitar

John Medeski — Organ (track 6)

Ben Allison — Bass

Ben Perowsky — Drums

Produced & Arranged by Steven Bernstein

Recorded at Brooklyn Recording

Recorded and Mixed by Andy Taub

Mastered by Gene Paul for G&J Audio

Artwork and Design by Victor Melamed

Additional Design by Gregory J. Del Deo

A&R + Label Management by Kevin Calabro

Project Coordination by Tinku Bhattacharyya

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Allison Miller & Jane Ira Bloom - Tues Days (September 2021 Royal Potato Family)

In March and April of 2021 soprano saxophonist Jane Ira Bloom and drummer Allison Miller came together on five Tuesdays in March and April of 2021 to record some improvised sax and drum duets to see what might happen. They didn’t set out to make an album - they just wanted to play because they needed to improvise any way that they could. They played with complete abandon, performing remotely from their home studios in New York City in the reality of the world of 2021. Tues Days is the result of those recordings that now appear on Bloom’s Outline label and are available through Miller’s Bandcamp site, mixed and mastered by bassist Mark Helias with breathtaking fidelity. It’s a musical duet saturated in a kaleidoscope of color. The music is spontaneous composition at its best by two masterful improvisers – energetic, tactile, and alive. 

Miller’s multi-colored array of percussion augments her drumset in exquisite counterpoint to Bloom’s signature tone on the soprano sax. The music is both rhythmic and deeply lyrical - drum and sax dancing around one another until their song is sung. The compositions are Bloom and Miller making-it-up live and in the moment, taking you on a wild ride through their musical universe. From the adventurous journey of “The Wild Frontier” to the unpredictable “A & J’s Test Kitchen,” get ready for Tues Days - a story for your ears that will have your head spinning in wonder.

1. Tues Days 04:43

2. Technicolor 05:36

3. Rowing In The Dark 05:26

4. This Is It 03:16

5. Five Bells 02:16

6. The Wild Frontier 08:30

7. Light Years Away 05:59

8. A's & J's Test Kitchen 04:16

9. Crayola 06:13

10. On Seeing JP 04:19

11. Walk Alone 06:08

Allison Miller drums, percussion

Jane Ira Bloom soprano saxophone

Jane Ira Bloom Outline Music/ BMI

Allison Miller Supaphine / ASCAP

Produced by Jane Ira Bloom & Allison Miller

Recorded by Allison Miller & Jane Ira Bloom on March 2,9, 16, 25 & April 6, 2021 in NYC.

Mixed & mastered by Mark Helias

Cover Illustration Leo Holder ©2020, All rights reserved, used by permission.

Cover Design Christopher Drukker

Artist photography Erika Kapin

All compositions by Allison Miller & Jane Ira Bloom except “Rowing in the Dark,” “Light Years Away,” “On Seeing JP” and “Walk Alone” by Jane Ira Bloom (Outline Music/ BMI)

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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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Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey - Lil Tae Rides Again (Expanded Edition) July 2021 Royal Potato Family

'Lil Tae Rides Again (Expanded Edition)’—JFJO’s ethereal masterwork—returns after being out of print for years. The expanded edition includes 11 live performances from the subsequent tour supporting the album.

In 2008, Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey re-awoke with their most idiosyncratic album to date, 'Lil Tae Rides Again.' Featuring pianist Brian Haas, bassist Reed Mathis and drummer Josh Raymer, the band had appeared for only a handful of tour dates and summer festivals the previous year. Rumors swirled among fans regarding the reasons for such scarcity. JFJO s intent, however, was never in question. They simply went underground to create music on their own terms, in their own universe, on their own timetable.

The trio enlisted eccentric electronic music futurist Tae Meyulks to produce. He shared in the trio s vision to record an album awash in sprawling soundscapes, minimalist melodies and subliminal themes.

Lil Tae Rides Again achieved its intent through an Eno-esque vision that offers a sustaining aura of ethereal splendor. As on previous efforts, JFJO defined themselves as a mercurial musical force in a constant state of re-imagining their creative horizons. The beauty in JFJO s self-definition is that they are utterly un-definable.

Unavailable for years on streaming platforms, this experimental jazz/electronic classic now returns in an expanded edition featuring a live version of each of the 11 songs from the subsequent tour in support of the album. 'Lil Tae Rides Again,' but better still, Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey rides again. 

1. Autumnal 04:14

2. Winter Clothes 02:57

3. Tetherball Triumph 04:46

4. Carpool 02:48

5. Tae Parade 05:18

6. Santiago Lends A Hand 05:13

7. Waking The Reluctant Genius 02:24

8. Scuffle In The Hallway 02:41

9. The Votes Are Counted 02:20

10. Recovering The Time Capsule 03:15

11. Goodnight Ollie 07:31

12. Autumnal (live) 05:08

13. Winter Clothes (live) 03:35

14. Tetherball Triumph (live) 06:50

15. Carpool (live) 04:54

16. Tae Parade (live) 04:36

17. Santiago Lends A Hand (live) 03:50

18. Waking The Reluctant Genius (live) 03:43

19. Scuffle In The Hall (live) 05:07

20. The Votes Are Counted (live) 02:18

21. Recovering The Time Capsule (live) 04:05

22. Goodnight Ollie (live) 04:44

Brian Haas: Piano, Rhodes

Reed Mathis: Bass, Guitar

Josh Raymer: Drums

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Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey - Winterwood Revealed (Live Vipers & Studio Doves) July 2021 Royal Potato Family

Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey ‘Winterwood Revealed (Live Vipers & Studio Doves)' is a companion piece to ‘Winterwood,’ JFJO's final studio album with bassist Reed Mathis. It contains live performances from the tour prior to recording the album, as well as, studio outtakes and alternate mixes from the 'Winterwood' sessions.

1. Song Of The Vipers (live) 07:13

2. Hover (live) 07:34

3. Goodnight Ollie (live) 04:39

4. Skeeball Over The Ocean (live) 07:39

5. Oklahoma Stomp (live) 09:34

6. Twinstar (live) 07:42

7. Bumper Crop Of Strange (live) 07:22

8. Sean's Song (live) 10:25

9. Julia (rehearsal) 04:07

10. Happiness Is A Warm Gun (live) 07:53

11. Santiago (live) 11:11

12. Vernal Equinox (live) 13:12

13. Dove's Army Of Love (live) 06:24

14. Oklahamo Stomp (dirty mix) 06:43

15. Twinstar (dreamy mix) 05:43

16. Song Of The Vipers (raw mix) 05:42

17. A-Bird (piano) 06:22

18. Crazy Fingers (piano) 04:48

19. Earl Hines (piano) 03:14

20. Goodnight Ollie (piano) 04:26

21. The Slip (piano) 07:18

22. Twinstar (piano) 05:41

23. Vernal Equinox (piano) 07:34

Brian Haas: Piano, Rhodes

Reed Mathis: Bass, Guitar

Josh Raymer: Drums

Produced by Reed Mathis

Out Now on Royal Potato Family

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