Iiro Rantala & Ulf Wakenius - Good Stuff (ACT MUSIC 2017)

Gregory Porter - Nat King Cole & Me [Deluxe Edition] (BLUE NOTE 2017)

On October 27, 2-time GRAMMY-winning vocalist Gregory Porter will release his 3rd Blue Note album, Nat King Cole & Me, a heartfelt tribute to his idol, the legendary singer, pianist and Capitol recording artist Nat King Cole. With the help of 6-time GRAMMY-winning arranger Vince Mendoza, the London Studio Orchestra, a core band featuring pianist Christian Sands, bassist Reuben Rogers, and drummer Ulysses Owens, and special guest trumpeter Terence Blanchard on two tracks, Porter revisits some of Cole’s most cherished classics such as “Mona Lisa,” “L-O-V-E,” “Nature Boy,” “The Christmas Song,” and the lead track “Smile” which is available today to stream, download, or receive immediately with album pre-order.

For Porter, the influence of Cole on his life and music runs deep, a through-line that reaches back into some of his earliest childhood memories. “He was one of a kind. He left such great music – such beautiful things to listen to that you can’t help but be influenced by that extraordinary timbre, style, and ultimate cool,” Porter enthuses. “It’s only natural that I go to the root of my inspiration and where I come from. And that root would be my mother and gospel music and Nat King Cole,” Porter says.

“My mother said I wrote this little song when I was 5 and put it on a tape and played it for her when she came home from work,” recalls Porter. Upon hearing it his mother, Ruth Porter, exclaimed “Boy, you sound like Nat King Cole,” a compliment that sent the curious young Gregory delving into her record collection.

“I remember thinking how strange that name was, going through her records, and first seeing his image: this elegant, handsome, strong man sitting by a fire, looking like somebody's daddy. Then I put the vinyl on the player and out of those speakers came that voice, that nurturing sound. It filled a void in me. My father wasn’t in my life; he wasn’t raising me; he wasn’t showing any interest in me. So Nat’s words, ‘pick yourself up, dust yourself off, start all over again’ – all of these life lessons and words of wisdom were like fatherly advice. They were coming out of the speakers like Nat was singing those words just to me. I would listen to his albums and imagine that Nat was my father.”

Earlier in Porter’s career – after his role in the Tony-nominated musical It Ain’t Nothin’ But the Blues but before rising to international acclaim as his solo artist – Porter dramatized his deep appreciation for Cole in a semi-autobiographical musical, Nat King Cole & Me, which premiered in 2004.

“That musical was a way of me trying to find my father,” Porter explains. “I wrote it after my father [Rufus Porter] had passed. The musical was of Nat King Cole; and half of the music was of my original writing. But the story is how I came to Nat’s music in the absence of my father. So in a way, it was some self-prescribed, self-written therapy and emotional medicine for myself.”

That musical underpins Nat King Cole & Me, the follow-up to Porter’s GRAMMY-winning Blue Note albums Liquid Spirit (2013) and Take Me to the Alley (2016), which established Porter as a global superstar and his generation’s most soulful jazz singer-songwriter. The album will be available on the following formats: deluxe vinyl, deluxe/standard CD, deluxe/standard download, and on streaming services.

“I went about selecting the songs like I always do – first in a very emotional way,” Porter says. “I just gathered the songs that meant something to me over the years. There was a period in college when I had an injury to my shoulder and I needed music to soothe me at that time. So I ended up going back to Nat’s records. Then I did the same thing during the passing of my mother. In a way, there’s a familiarity and a calming effect to Nat’s music. Recording Nat’s music was very personal because I could hear and feel my mother. And I still feel myself searching for my father.”

Joshua White - 13 Short Stories (FRESH SOUND NEW TALENT RECORDS 2017)

Fresh Sound Records has been synonymous with West Coast jazz since its inception back in 1983. Through the years, we have recorded many of the men who built the scene, outstanding soloists who have become part of the jazz history we know and love. Now we are back to the roots with this new branch of our New Talent series, dedicated to today's emerging generation of stalwarts, all hailing from California.

To start this exciting stage, we are proud to present one of the young lions who is working to make it a reality, the talented pianist Joshua White. His individual style and fresh jazz conception will pull you in, and we hope you enjoy his debut album at least as much we do. Welcome to the label, Joshua!

01. The Ignoble Paradox of Modernity / West 7:33

02. CG3 4:31

03. Curiosity Landing 10:17

04. Particles 3:53

05. CG5 4:14

06. Scarlet Tanager 6:04

07. CG4 1:49

08. Memories of Motian 5:30

09. A Million Daze 6:11

10. CG1 5:17

11. Morning 6:30

12. CG 2 3:49

13. The Lower Case 7:43

All compositions by Joshua White

Joshua White (piano)

Josh Johnson (alto sax)

Dean Hulett (bass)

Jonathan Pinson (drums)

Or Bareket - Ob1 (FRESH SOUND NEW TALENT RECORDS 2017)

Born in Jerusalem and raised in Buenos-Aires and Tel-Aviv, Or Bareket is currently one of the most in-demand and versatile bassists on the NYC jazz scene Winner of the 1st prize at the International Society of Bassists' jazz competition in 2011, Or’s diverse heritage is clearly present in his playing.  His approach to improvisation is informed by Mediterranean, South American, and North African folklores, all interpreted through his deep knowledge and appreciation of the American Jazz tradition.

Since moving to New York in 2011, Or has performed, recorded, and toured with a wide array of artists all over the world. Notable collaborations include Ari Hoenig, Jean-Michel Pilc, Aaron Goldberg, Sam Yahel, Jacques Schwartz-Bart, Leon Parker,Chris Potter, Yotam Silberstein, Eli Degibri, Cyrille Aimee, Banda Magda, and Camila Meza among others.

Or's debut recording as a leader, "OB1",  is out this fall on Fresh Sound New Talent records.

01. Patience 6:01

02. Snooze 8:40

03. Shosh 6:14

04. Elefantes I 4:42

05. Elefantes II 3:13

06. Misdronoth 5:55

07. Joaquin 5:18

08. La Música y la Palabra 3:47

09. Shir elo Shem 3:13

All tracks composed by Or Bareket, except #8 by Carlos Aguirre, and #9 by Shalom Hanoch

Or Bareket (bass)

Shachar Elnatan (guitar)

Gadi Lehavi (piano)

Ziv Ravitz (drums)

Guests:

Vitor Gonçalves (accordion)

Keita Ogawa (percussion)

Recorded at Bacque Recording, Roselle, NJ, December 21 & 22, 2015

Carlos Saunier - Inminente (2017)

This album corresponds to a set of compositions of instrumental jazz with multiple contemporary influences. Contains elaborate and complex language in quartet format with tenor sax, guitar, electric bass and drums.

1 Inminente 06:52

2 28 05:26

3 El Espiritu de la Escalera 07:04

4 Franky 07:22

5 Z 05:27

6 Tocino 06:27

Carlos Saunier - Guitar and Composition

Maxi Alarcón - Tenor Sax

Francisco Barahona - Bass

Felix Lecaros - Drums

Nicolás Vera - Mitos del Sur (ACONCAGUA RECORDS 2017)

“En 'Mitos del Sur', el innovador trío Genovese, Vera y Lecaros se suscribe a la idea de que la música de vanguardia no necesita ser abrasiva, iconoclasta o frenética. De hecho, puede ser hasta hermosa. Nada satisface como una actuación musical bien ejecutada y, a lo largo de esta excursión, el trío crea con gusto y estilo. Vera y Genovese alternan en asumir la prominencia que tradicionalmente incumbe al pianista. Sin embargo, hay mucho espacio para que todos se expresen en su momento, tanto en acompañamiento como en solitario. Una serie de improvisaciones cortas del percusionista Lecaros en duetos con Genovese o Vera encajan perfectamente en la secuencia de las pistas, con vivos contrastes en la densidad, que agregan una capa de drama.” –Roberto Barahona

Mitos del sur es una confraternidad sonora chileno-argentina que desde la improvisación busca la verdad radioactiva, la luz mala y nuevas dimensiones en las leyendas de nuestros abuelos. Inspirados por el futuro presente, las realidades sociales, la música sin reglas, el barrio, las creencias de nuestro sur y el vuelo del condor, los poetas silenciosos son impulsados por la fuerza del mayor centinela continental, el Aconcagua, para compartir desde la nada un repertorio original que habla de sus ambientes de viajeros, bailadores y amantes de las artes ocultas. Algo así como una flor para los ciegos.

Nicolas Vera (37), is a guitarist and composer born in Concepción (Chile). 

Since 2003 he has published 5 albums as a leader as well as many collaborations: “Chile Finlandia Connection”, “La Resistencia” among others.

He has toured/played with Greg Osby, Aaron Parks, Drew Gress, Melissa Aldana, Leo Genovese, André Sumelius, Glenn Zaleski, Jure Pukl, Gianni Gagliardi, Rodrigo Recabarren...

1 Silent Poets 02:17

2 Mitos del Sur 02:44

3 Ella 07:01

4 Aguas Radioactivas 02:46

5 (anti) Law Writers 02:39

6 Nuevas Dimensiones 01:57

7 Luz Mala 12:37

8 Futuro Presente 02:46

9 Bichos Groove 02:22

10 Bellavista 01:53

Nicolás Vera, guitarra

Leo Genovese, piano & teclados

Félix Lecaros, batería

For Grammy Consideration: Best Vocal Jazz Album (and more) – Katie Thiroux "Off Beat"

For Grammy Consideration: Best Large Jazz Ensemble – Brian Landrus "Generations"

Saxophonist/composer Brian Landrus's new orchestra recording Generations has been submitted for the first round of Grammy voting.  It's in Field 10 – Jazz, Category 24 – Best Large Jazz Ensemble.

This stunning project features a 25-piece all-star orchestra. Far from a standard big band project and unlike any orchestral jazz ensemble that's come before it, The Brian Landrus Orchestra incorporates inspiration from classical music, hip-hop, soul, funk, jazz, reggae and world music – with "inspiration" being the key word. In Landrus' inventive hands these diverse genres are deconstructed and absorbed, emerging in startling and unrecognizable ways to conjure a dramatic and thrilling sonic landscape.

“This is really like nothing I've ever heard before.  It's going to be amazing and I can't wait to hear the final product!” – Joe Locke

“To be part of Brian's vision is enlightening.  It causes me optimism." – Billy Hart

"With Generations...[Landrus] takes the jazz big band tradition into the mesosphere." – Giovanni Russonello, The New York Times

"★★★★★....a composer of great strength and substance... Generations brings together a twenty-five piece jazz orchestra to realize Landrus' broad-minded, wide-eyed compositions in stunning fashion. We use terms like 'breathtaking' and 'awe-inspiring' with far too much ease these days, but both tags truly fit here. And you can add 'brilliant' to the list....  It's an aural amalgam of incredible beauty, extensive thought, and intricate design, brought to life by a to-die-for cast with a skillful and charismatic leading man....  Landrus' next level thinking, strong writing chops, and instrumental prowess, coupled with the contributions of his all-star assemblage, put Generations into a category all its own. It's a nonpareil work of high art destined for many a 'best of' list." – Dan Bilawsky, All About Jazz

"★★★★.  Ambitious in scope and vision....Generations is, no doubt, just the beginning for a player-composer who is well-versed and right at home painting on a big canvas." – John Ephland, DownBeat

Monumental in creative ambition, imaginative scope, and artistic achievement – not to mention sheer scale – Generations is the breathtaking debut of the Brian Landrus Orchestra, a 25-piece all-star ensemble stocked with a stunning array of the most inventive musicians in modern music. These adventurous virtuosos have congregated to realize the extraordinary, sweeping music of composer, baritone saxophonist and low woodwind master Brian Landrus, whose work combines a lifetime’s worth of wide-ranging listening and playing into an arrestingly bold, radiant and singular vision.

Far from a standard big band project and unlike any orchestral jazz ensemble that’s come before it, the Brian Landrus Orchestra incorporates inspiration from classical music, hip-hop, soul, funk, jazz, reggae and world music – with “inspiration” being the key word. In Landrus’ inventive hands these diverse genres are deconstructed and absorbed, emerging in startling and unrecognizable ways to conjure a dramatic and thrilling sonic landscape.

The title Generations carries multiple meanings for Landrus – including influences that span centuries from Bach to Ellington to Motown to Led Zeppelin to J Dilla; the family members that inspired Landrus and his music, from his father to his children; and the generations of musicians who’ve come together to breathe life into these deeply personal compositions. The drum chair alone features a four-decade difference in age, from the legendary Billy Hart to rising star drummer Justin Brown.

The awe-inspiring ensemble also features Jamie Baum, Tom Christensen, Darryl Harper, Michael Rabinowitz, Alden Banta and Landrus himself on woodwinds; Debbie Schmidt, Ralph Alessi, Igmar Thomas, Alan Ferber and Marcus Rojas on brass; harpist Brandee Younger and a string section featuring Sara Caswell, Mark Feldman, Joyce Hammann, Meg Okura, Lois Martin, Nora Krohn, Jody Redhage and Maria Jeffers; vibraphonist Joe Locke; and bassists Jay Anderson and Lonnie Plaxico. The Orchestra is conducted by bandleader JC Sanford, who has also held the baton for the John Hollenbeck Large Ensemble and the Alice Coltrane Orchestra. Landrus co-produced the album with fellow composers Robert Livingston Aldridge and Frank Carlberg.

Landrus comes to the project with a wealth of experience both as a leader and as a performer with some of the world’s most distinctive artists from a variety of genres: he’s toured the world in superstar Esperanza Spalding’s band and played in Ryan Truesdell’s prize-winning Gil Evans Project as well as working with the likes of Bob Brookmeyer, Rufus Reid, Danilo Perez, Frank Kimbrough, Gary Smulyan, Maria Schneider, The Temptations, The Four Tops, Martha Reeves, George Garzone, Bob Moses, Louis Nash, Nicholas Urie, Jerry Bergonzi, Ayn Inserto, Alan Ferber, Uri Caine and Ralph Alessi, among others.

Generations is the culmination of a long-held dream for Landrus, whose previous releases – both with his Quartet and the aptly-named Kaleidoscope – were vibrant but necessarily scaled-down interpretations of the saxophonist’s formidable ambitions. “I’ve had these colors in my head for as far back as I can remember,” he says. “I would always have to strip down what I was hearing into its raw form to use what I had available to me.”

A full-scale orchestra project began to seem more within reach once Landrus, who holds two master’s degrees (in jazz composition and jazz saxophone) from New England Conservatory, entered a PhD program in classical composition at Rutgers University. Studying the scores of the world’s greatest composers, he was compelled to allow his vision free rein, leading to the multi-hued, densely inventive music of Generations. Of course, such a mammoth undertaking is easier to fantasize than to achieve, but a combination of passion, risk-taking and determination allowed Landrus to bring the orchestra to fruition.

Landrus’ compositions incorporate his encyclopedic influences in ground-breaking, original fashion. The merger of hip-hop and jazz for instance, has become a common one; but you’ll hear no easily identifiable grooves or beats in Landrus’ music. Instead, the composer spent years transcribing dozens of hip-hop tracks, with an especial concentration on the work of pioneering producer J Dilla, and then parceled those rhythms into the strings. The result is an unconventional but invitingly complex weave of sounds and textures that converge in deft, surprising forms.

“Growing up listening to Motown and hip-hop and everything else that I loved and played with, those influences were going to creep in regardless of what I did,” Landrus says. “I just had to try to put them together as well as I could and try to imagine how it could all work. It’s a puzzle to get it to fit together properly, but it gives the music a different color that I’ve never heard before, familiar but new.”

The centerpiece of the album, and its launching-off point, is the “Jeru Concerto,” a four-movement feature for the composer’s baritone named for and inspired by his son Jeru – the namesake of bari master Gerry “Jeru” Mulligan and not yet born when Landrus began writing the piece. Propelled by the throaty churn of the orchestra’s low voices, the first movement envelops Landrus’ sinuous lines in lushly wafting strings and buoyant percussion; a solo turn for the leader initiates the gentle second movement, while the third mingles tension and tenderness, perhaps an illustration of the nervous anticipation that ushers any newborn into the world. The final movement, penned after Jeru’s birth, explodes with an infectious joy unable to contain a father’s pride.

Landrus’ family is also at the core of several other pieces. His daughter lends her name to “Ruby,” who recognized her inquisitive spirit in the music as he was writing it. The haunting “Every Time I Dream” depicts a love that proved elusive for years until finally becoming embodied. Landrus pays tribute to his father with “The Warrior,” which depicts not a ferocious fighter but a man of gentle strength and stoic perseverance.

“Orchids” began as a dream, an atmosphere evocatively suggested by the combination of Brandee Younger’s harp and Joe Locke’s vibes. The love story gradually builds to an ecstatic crescendo, but ends on an ambiguous note – like many dreams and, sadly, many romances. “Arrow in the Night,” its title taken from a Buddhist saying regarding evil people who lurk in the shadows, came to Landrus fully formed, its mesmerizing, slow surges like broad, intense brush strokes. “Human Nature” evolves from the solitary to the communal, maintaining a spiritual urgency throughout as the unsung title lyrics are passed from instrument to instrument. The rhythmic intricacy of “Arise” was inspired by a dance collaboration and imbibes elements from Electronic Dance Music (EDM) and Latin jazz, though as always in transformative ways.

MONTRÉAL EN LUMIÈRE: Ten new concerts added to the program!