Tom Aldrich - Princes (2016)

Label: Self Released

Source: Tom Aldrich

“Princes” is a cycle of pieces arranged for an electric quartet. The music is a product of several years of analyzing my personal musical influences, and each piece represents my take on a specific set of models. The investigative listener can find hidden tributes to composers such as (among others) Wayne Shorter, Henri Dutilleux, Trey Anastasio, Maurice Ravel, Frank Zappa and David Shea. Taken together, all of the models constitute what, on a basic level, I understand about musical form. At the same time, I used the composing process as a way of working out a personal approach to harmonic and modal theory, which has been a focus of mine for many years.

In arranging the music, I decided on a stripped down approach inspired by the classic popular instrumental groups of the 60’s and 70’s, as well as later developments of this format.   The elegant and earthy sound of Booker T. and the M.G.’s was definitely a touchstone in this regard. I was also inspired in this direction by acquiring a vintage Philipps Philicorda electric organ, which I used throughout the composition and recording of this music. I was very lucky to be joined on the recording by an intensely talented and versatile group of musicians: Dutch new music stalwart Wiek Hijmans(guitar), jazz guitar heavyweight Kurt Rosenwinkel (in an appearance on bass), and the gifted and powerful young drummer Théo Lanau. The result is a kind of personal testimony about my experiences in the world of creative music, but also an organic whole which has a personality beyond the influences that contributed to it.

1. Bar Island Picnic (Partially Cloudy) 02:58
2. Knitting on a Red Bull 04:40
3. The Elusive, Bespectacled Woman in the All Night Donut Shop 04:03
4. Middle Jump 09:44
5. Earth Extended 08:13
6. Hurry Up So I Can Catch Up 02:09
7. Aspirations 05:28
8. Flash-april 06:18
9. Binary Daydream 04:08 

Tom Aldrich, electric organ
Wiek Hijmans, guitar
Kurt Rosenwinkel, bass
Théo Lanau, drums  

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Nuf Said - Rise (2016)

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R&B / Jazz / Funk - from New York City

Currently based in New York City, 'Nuf Said has been bringing it's unique musical recipe on tour to audiences around the world. 'Nuf Said got it's start in 2011 as an internationally diverse group of like-minded freelance musicians that met in New York, became good friends, and started collaborating together. Since the release of their debut album entitled "My Kind", 'Nuf Said has been featured on concerts, festivals, TV, and radio stations throughout the U.S.A, Europe, Canada, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore. With a style that combines strong influences from Funk, Jazz and R&B, the band has a unique group sound that emphasizes melodic vocals, infectious grooves and spontaneous improvisation. 'Nuf Said will be releasing a second album entitled "Rise", 2/19/16, on the Ropeadope label.

Intro

Rise

Sister

On A Darker Moon

Nearness

Interlude

It's Alright

Fly

Follow

Ring My Bell

Ioana Vintu: vocals

Matthias 'Pedals' Loescher: guitar

DJ Ginyard: electric bass

Peter Kronreif: drums, percussion

Steven Feifke: piano (track 9)

Rozhan Razman: bass (track 9)

Produced by 'Nuf Said 

Mixing and additional production by Wolfgang Schiefermair 

Edited by Johannes Felscher 

All Music composed by Ioana Vintu & Andrew Gould except for Track 1 (Peter Kronreif) and Track 7 (Matthias 'Pedals' Loescher) 

Lyrics by Ioana Vintu (Track 7 partially by Cole Porter) 

All music arranged by 'Nuf Said 

Artwork design by Jose Berrio

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Phronesis - Parallax (2016)

Label: Edition Records

Source: Allaboutjazz - Roger Farbey

Parallax (noun) "the apparent displacement of an observed object due to a change in the position of the observer." This phenomenon is exactly how the listener new to Phronesis' oeuvre would perceive this, their sixth album recorded within the last decade.

"67000 MPH" for example, is a whistle stop tour of musically-defined gravitational resistance. The mad tempo changes and frequent erratic structural modulations characterise this frenetic opening number penned by Anton Eger. But in spite of this wild compositional metamorphosing the music is absolutely gripping. The initial fractured nature of Ivo Neame's "Ok Chorale" is soon resolved with undulating waves of light and shade from all three musicians playing together almost telepathically.

The tentative start to Jasper Hoiby's "Stillness," via sombre arco bass, belies its subsequent robustness propelled by Neame's florid piano and Eger's tumultuous rhythmic pulse. A breathing space is afforded in Neame's delicate ballad, "Kite For Seamus" at odds with the ensuing juddering explosions of Høiby's "Just 4 Now," his bass lines vibrantly percolating through the morass of piano and drums.

There is a considerable staccato element to Eger's "Ayu," emphasised by Eger's driving percussion, but typically there are paradoxical passages of near-tranquillity too. In contrast to the melee, Høiby's ballad "A Silver Moon" exudes sensitive fragility and a keen and haunting melody. The spaces here allow bass and piano in particular to interact magnificently.

In sections of Ivo Neame's aptly titled "Manioc Maniac" his rambunctious piano begins at times to channel Cecil Taylor whereas the concluding number, Eger's "Rabat," gradually resolves into a more coalescent form, centred around repeated chord patterns which permit some release to the built-up tension, finally drawing the piece to a relatively sedate close.

In truth, Phronesis are one of the most exciting jazz trios around. Although initially bassist Høiby's brainchild, the band is democratic both in terms of the prominence of all three musicians, each of whom are virtuosos in their own right, and also by the equal sharing of the composing duties. But crucially, the sheer energy that's generated from this album is simply phenomenal.  

67000 MPH

OK Chorale

Stillness

Kite For Seamus

Just 4 Now

Ayu

A Silver Moon

Manioc Maniac

Rabat 

Jasper Høiby: double bass

Ivo Neame: piano

Anton Eger: drums

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Julien Alour Quintet - Cosmic Dance (2016)

Label: Gaya Music

Source: Les Chroniques De Hiko

Le jazzman originaire de Quimper Julien Alour nous présente son second opus baptisé Cosmic Dance. Succédant à l'excellent Williwaw, il réunit à nouveau François Théberge au saxophone ténor, Adrien Chicot au piano, Sylvain Romano à la contrebasse et Jean-Pierre Arnaud à la batterie. Le quintet mené par le trompettiste à l'écriture subtile et inventive, nous invite à travers 9 compositions originales et un standard à pénétrer dans un jazz acoustique aux couleurs chaudes et aux mélodies rassurantes.

Si le titre éponyme semble être extrait du répertoire d'Ibrahim Maalouf avec ses reflets orientalisant si reconnaissables, "Super Lateef" et son swing hard-bop nous inonde dès les premières mesures de cette lumière radieuse et essentielle qui découle bien sûr d'une formation à l'entente parfaite, mais aussi et surtout du jeu si juste, simple et jouissif de son leader, qui alterne à l'instar de ses illustres aînés, Miles Davis et Freddie Hubbard, trompette et le bugle.

Cette impression d'être au plus près des musiciens et de vivre leur jazz incandescent en live, amplifie cet état de béatitude dans lequel Cosmic Dance nous plonge, il semble être tout entier bâti sur l'idée de partage, d'échange et d'instantanéité, abattant les frontières et les distances, se jouant de l'histoire et des styles.

"Solstice" nous berce avec ses accents latins, "Le Bal des Panthères" nous titille les gambettes avec son afro-groove hypnotique et "Black Hole in D" nous impose son tempo énergique qui déboule à plus de 100km/h manquant de nous provoquer un arrêt cardiaque… "Think Of One" est l'unique reprise de l'album, Julien l'emprunte au répertoire de Thelonious Monk et le fait sonner avec grande classe, sans fioriture ni esbroufe.

Julien Alour et ses fidèles acolytes signent une nouvelle fois un effort de grande qualité que l'on ne se lasse pas d'écouter et de réécouter, tel les grands classiques du genre !

1  Cosmic Dance
2  Super Lateef
3  Chrysalide    
4  Parisian Cocotier
5  Big Bang    
6  Solstice    
7  Le bal des panthères
8  Black Hole in D    
9  Eternel    
10 Think of One

Julien Alour - trompette
François Théberge - saxophone ténor
Adrien Chicot - piano
Sylvain Romano - contrebasse
Jean-Pierre Arnaud - batterie

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Jeremy Warren - I Can Do All Things (2016)

"Through being told I wasn't going to make it alive, would be blind, 4 cornea transplants, and in and out of the hospital I've accomplished more than half of my dreams in spite of my circumstances and handicaps." -Jeremy Warren

CD RELEASE
Street Date: June 1, 2016.  
Jeremy Warren - I Can Do All Things

CD Release Party 

Jeremy Warren & The Rudiment "I Can Do All Things" Album Release Show

Wed, Jun 1 @ 10:00 PM

Rockwood Music Hall, Stage 1, 196 Allen St., New York, NY 

"Jeremy was my student and part of my musical cohort at NYU for a semester. He is a very talented and soulful drummer who has a beautiful feel and a great musical understanding." Lenny Pickett (Saturday Night Live)

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Sam Crockatt Quartet - Mells Bells (2016)

Source & Label: Whirlwind Records

British tenorist Sam Crockatt brings the energy and immediacy of his quartet to Whirlwind on Mells Bells,​ an album of peppy live-feel studio performances which illuminate and elaborate on the leader’s eight original compositions. Crockatt (a member of London-based Loop Collective) collaborates with many of today’s increasingly successful contemporary jazz and improvisational artists, particularly revelling in the focus of this empathetic working quartet with colleagues Kit Downes (piano), Oli Hayhurst (double bass) and James Maddren (drums). Recorded over a single day off the back of a couple of successful concerts, newly-birthed concepts merge with older themes-in-waiting to create a distinct and exciting spontaneity.

Title track Mells Bells offers a glimpse into the saxophonist’s creative process. The initially cacophonic

and then swirling beauty of church bell peals, witnessed from a vantage point above his Somerset home village, provided the inspiration for an outing which highlights this ensemble’s creative vibrancy and free spirit; clanging and chiming with both celebratory and audacious ebullience, it loudly proclaims the heartiness of the current British jazz scene.

Sam Crockatt’s robust and characterful tenor voice – stemming from an appreciation of the sound worlds of (amongst others) Dexter Gordon, Joe Henderson and Lee Konitz – is authoritative yet synergetic, his writing frequently inviting the freedom for musical diversions to flourish. Brightly swinging opener "Canon" illustrates well the openness of the improvisational landscape, with

Crockatt readily passing the baton to pianist Downes who mesmerises with a chameleonic, broad-sweeping presence across the keyboard; yet the whole is upheld by the saxophonist’s solid, memorable melodic hook and the rhythmic assuredness of Hayhurst and Maddren.

That same confidence pervades the entire album – as in "I Found You In The Jam", where bassist and drummer converse intimately before opening the discussion to all, engineering the most fabulously bold yet romantic of interactions; and James Maddren’s constant percussive diversity is a delight. Crockatt’s elongated, Shorter-like phrases in "Breath", supported by the Debussyian wonder of Downes’ piano, reveal shimmering watercolor hues; and purposeful "A Stroll On The Knoll" combines the buoyant accessibility of a classic compositional Herbie Hancock riff with the scintillating, gruff tenor abandon of Sonny Rollins.

With this recording project, the satisfaction for Sam Crockatt has been the ability of his personnel to build on initial (sometimes sparse) compositional threads to weave together an album which coruscates with improvisational clarity and which melds so incisively: “I like to think as texturally as I can – hearing various melodies over and over in my head – to achieve as many combinations of sound as I can. And I know these guys will take my ideas off into new areas.” It’s clearly that musical trust, and the collective ingenuity, which ignites the magic of this quartet.

1. Canon
2. The Masterplan
3. I Found You ​I​n ​T​he Jam
4. Mells Bells
5. Breath
6. A Stroll ​O​n ​T​he Knoll
7. Tiny Steps, Top ​O​f ​T​he Mountain
8. The Land ​T​hat Time Forgot

Sam Crockatt – tenor saxophone
Kit Downes – piano
Oli Hayhurst – double bass
James Maddren – drums  

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Eduardo Cardinho Quinteto - Black Hole (2016)

Label: Self Released

Source: Universidade Do Porto

O Comissariado Cultural da Faculdade de Engenharia da Universidade do Porto (FEUP) e a Porta-Jazz convidam toda a comunidade a assistir ao concerto de apresentação do CD “Black Hole” de Eduardo Cardinho Quinteto, que irá acontecer no próximo dia 4 de abril (segunda-feira), às 21h30, no Auditório da FEUP.

O quinteto vencedor do Prémio Jovens Músicos 2013, liderado pelo vibrafonista Eduardo Cardinho, é um dos grupos promissores do jazz português, segundo Mário Laginha: “Há relativamente pouco tempo fiz parte do Júri da 27.ª edição do Prémio Jovens Músicos e fui surpreendido pela performance do Quinteto de Eduardo Cardinho. Arranjos elaborados e muito bem feitos, bem como uma evidente procura de uma linguagem própria, numa faixa etária a rondar os vinte anos, levam-me a pensar – e dizer – que devem ser seguidos com muita atenção!”.
Para além do vibrafonista Eduardo Cardinho,  o quinteto é composto por José Soares (saxofone), Mané Fernandes (guitarra), Filipe Louro (contrabaixo) e Pedro Almiro (bateria).
Os cinco estarão em palco para a apresentação do CD “Black Hole”, editado pela Carimbo-PortaJazz. Cinco jovens reunidos e movidos pela questão: “todas as coisas que poderias ser por esta altura se a tua mãe fosse a mulher do Sigmund Freud”, que daí partem e, através dos seus instrumentos, inocência e garra, se dedicam à ousadia de fazer boa música, numa reunião íntima com o público de profunda reflexão e energia faiscante e com um repertório de música original.

1. And Then it Begins 08:57
2. O Mar 08:50
3. Black Hole 09:45
4. Song for Ana 08:45
5. Lua 10:10
6. Canção 07:18
7. Bipolar H. 14:54

Eduardo Cardinho - Vibraphone & composition
Mané Fernandes - Guitar
José Soares - Alto Sax
Filipe Louro - Bass
Pedro Almiro - Drums

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Colin Cannon - Intermission (Farewell) 2016

Label: Self Released

Source: Allaboutjazz - Karl Ackermann

Reading the spare (and tongue-in-cheek) liner notes of guitarist/composer Colin Cannon's Intermission (Farewell), one could easily get the idea that Cannon wrote, arranged and produced the album for a relatively small inner circle of friends, family and associates. Referring to that cohort, he writes, ..."and besides you people, I don't particular care who else listens to this—it wasn't made for them." As with Mel Brooks' "The Producers," Cannon has failed to marginalize his wider audience by turning out one of the most charismatic releases in recent years.

Cannon has been leading a solid quartet for the past seven years, putting out two releases, In Summary (Self Produced, 2009) and Glenville (Self Produced, 2012). The 'Farewell' portion of the title refers to a departure from that format but that is only partially the case. Bassist Zak Croxall, drummer Tom Hartman and Manami Morita on all keys, are the same musicians appearing on the quartet albums, though Hartman shared drumming credits with Devin Collins on the latter of the two.

Japanese native, Morita, like a number of well-known jazz players from that country, began with classical piano before making the change to jazz. She later received a scholarship to Berklee College of Music and went on to win a number of competitive awards. Also a Berklee alum, Hartman studied with drummer/vocalist Terri Lyne Carrington, saxophonist George Garzone, and trumpeter Tiger Okoshi. Rounding out the all-Berklee quartet are Croxall and Cannon who at the age of sixteen was opening for the likes of Grammy-nominees Karrin Allyson and Brian Auger. He later studied with the same instructor who had tutored Pat Metheny and John Scofield. Working in tandem with the quartet is an ensemble that includes four vocalists, strings, brass and woodwind and vibraphone.

The hook is in from the opening of Part I, "Your Everyday Prelude," with Cannon's gentle picking merging with lush strings and overlaying spoken-word narratives from 1950s field recordings, moving in and out of focus. Carkner's haunting trumpet guides the transition to "Everyday" which wraps up with a swirl of soaring guitar, vocals and the sound of giggling children. Buoyant vocalese opens "La Da" but the piece ends more choir-like as anxious narratives continue to run in the background. "Mofo" begins with Morita's elegiac piano but morphs into a hard rock guitar piece. The "Intermission" half of the title track features "Let's All Go to the Lobby," the audio portion of a 1953 animated musical short that played as a trailer in cinemas, urging audiences to visit the concession stand. That piece transitions to an ethereal musical request to "check your phone; sip your drink."

By the time we get to Part II, it has become clear that the music on Intermission (Farewell) deserves not to be categorized. Themes may draw on jazz, rock or European chamber but the balance is intentionally open-ended, moving from minimal to orchestral; from simple and sweet to complex and jagged. Yet, with all these moving parts, there is a sense with each of these pieces that they are natural and undeviating from Cannon's vision. When "Reflections 3" closes the album it feels like a rich, satisfying and original musical experience has been realized.

Cannon moves listeners away from preconceived notions with Intermission (Farewell). He works multiple genres, traditions and styles to create an organic and opulent tapestry. The performances here are flawless; there are no wasted measures in this intoxicating combination of melody and surprising developments. It's early in the year but Intermission (Farewell) deserves to be on some lists when the year wraps up.

(Part 1) Your Everyday Prelude

Everyday

La Da

“My Time to Shine” –MM

Mofo

Intermission

(Part 2) Still Thinking

Still Breathing

Collin Goes To Church

Bugs and Stuff

Farewell

(P.S.) Recollections 1

Recollections 2

Recollections 3

 Zak Croxall: electric and upright bass
Tom Hartman: drums
Manami Morita: piano, fender Rhodes, melodica
Colin Cannon: guitars, ukulele, synthesizer, vocals
Devin Dunne Cannon: vocals
Brik Olson: vocals
Madison Straton: vocals
Alex Mitchell: vocals
Tomako Omura: violins
Allyson Claire: viola
Kristine Kruta: cello
David Carkner: trumpet
Sly Onyejiaka: tenor saxophone, bass clarinet
Yuhan Su: vibraphone
 

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Cedric Napoleon - Yesterday Today (2016)

Label: Separate Entity Music

Source: Relish Philadelphia 

Genre: Jazz Soul

Cedric Napoleon is one of the Founding Members of Pieces of a Dream. Lead Vocalist/Bassist/Song Writer.

Cedric currently travels, and performs as a featured artist and has recently formed his own band known as Cedric A. Napoleon and Friends. Cedric has played with several prominent artists in his career. Grover Washington, Jr., Phylis Hyman, Gerald Veasley, Barbara Walker, Hezekiah Walker, Kurt Carr, Sharon Baptist Church, St. Thomas African Episcopal Church, and Kingdom Restoration. Cedric can be seen in performances in Philadelphia, and the Tri-State area! He has traveled from Washington, DC to Virginia Beach, and Philadelphia to Boston. Look forward to his new CD coming soon! Cedric is currently teaching Bass, Vocals, and The History of Jazz at the Philadelphia Clef Club!

1. Intro
2. Yesterday
3. Rock Steady
4. Golden Lady
5. Ordinary People
6. Stella by Starlight
7. My One and Only
8. Happy
9. Bridge Over Troubled Waters
10. Just the Two of Us
11. Cedric's Groove

 

 Cedric Napoleon - acoustic & electric bass

Line-up unknown

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Diego Pinera Trio - My Picture (2016)

Label: Octason Records

Source: Cdbaby

All good things come in threes.

The triangle is the most stable geometric construction. A three legged stool may be crooked, but it does not wobble. A square is only stable, if it is split it into two or more triangles and even a circle consists basically of infinitely equilateral triangles that run at an acute angle towards the joint center. But the natural law, which applies one hundred percent to geometry and structural analysis, is abrogated, in almost all cases, in Jazz. Usually trios are solo projects with a fixed star and two satellites. If it turns out to be different, it is godsend.

The Diego Pinera Trio is such a blessing. Saxophonist Mark Turner, bassist Ben Street and drummer Diego Pinera create a stable triangle, where the page length is not defined by the vertex but by the common enclosed area. This is all the more surprising as the fractions of the three protagonists and the intensity of the trio are variable, not only from tune to tune, but also within the tunes. Without that, the established coordinates of solo and accompaniment within the trio would manifest themselves - all three musicians play with the same passion, the creative fractions are and remain evenly distributed - constantly shifting the center of gravity and the communicative moment.

The three emanates a magic, which is used by religions, fairy tales, myths and literary figures. The Holy Trinity of Father, Son and Holy Spirit, the Virgin and Child with Saint Anne, the Three Wise Men from the East are just three examples of Christian mythology. The three theological virtues are faith, love, and hope. Three times black cat, three wishes, the three feathers, the three Musketeers, the three from the gas station, it is always three times in the one, a holistic approach resulting in a three-way split.

This one or singularity as three is what is so impressive about the trio of Diego Pinera. It is not about what different contexts Mark Turner invents, nor the long list of musicians with whom Ben Street has played with. In this particular Trinity it is only about what happens in this, and in no other moment. That is amazing, exciting, and unpredictable. The three musicians are free to use all of their imagination because they can completely trust in the stable constellation. Because each of them combines holistically what is currently played and what is expected by the two other collaborators. There are three individual musicians who bring in their whole backgrounds, but there is also the association of three intentions to a Meta impulse that is completely detached from its origins.

It is an expression of the creative force of Pinera, Street and Turner that by all spiritual poetry of their trio context they stay present and earthbound. All three are constantly transmitting and receiving between each other, but they transmit together. All this is based on the grounds of jazz and using elements of jazz. But this music embodies much more than what the categorical shortening of a genre can do. It is the uniqueness of a special and distinctively playful moment which you can only hear from this and no other context. To be a part of this moment is everything. To be a part of the fundament, the architecture of the execution, and the spirit of the continuation - a further division by three.

Wolf Kampmann
(translated by Wolfgang Frister & Eric Holland)

1. Open Window
2. Cuidado
3. New Hope
4. Evidence
5. Today
6. Bart
7. My Picture
8. The New One
9. The Song Is You

Diego Pinera - drums
Mark Turner - saxophone
Ben Street - double bass 

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