Jared Sims - The New York Sessions (ROPEADOPE RECORDS October 12, 2018)

Jared Sims seems to often speak of places; with his 2017 release Change Of Address he brought us from the busy streets of Boston to his home in West Virginia as he took the chair heading up the Jazz Studies department at WVU. And now, Jared returns with The New York Sessions, his tribute to the places and sounds of New York City. There's something about the sax that can describe the feeling of New York, that sexy and gritty feel on the street, that energy, that flow, that feeling that you not only belong but that it's YOURS. Jared captures the heat on the street as he and the band are in absolutely top form, taking us through the city with tracks titled Tribeca Tap Bar, The Bodega, Pelham and more.

This is both a story and a journey; tune in here for pre-order info as we prepare for an October 12 release.

Jared Sims - baritone and tenor saxophone 

Chris McCarthy - piano 

Alex Tremblay - bass 

Evan Hyde - drum set

1. Tribeca Tap Bar

2. Wetlands Preserved

3. Brooklyn Tea

4. The Bodega

5. Pelham

Recorded and mixed at Engine Room, NYC 

Recording and mixing - Sasha Jankovic, chief engineer / Igor Bulovic, assistant engineer

Recording/mixing session executive producer: Darko Velichkovski, Director - Mon Hills Records and WVU Music Industry Program

Mastering - Joshua Swiger, Blues Alley Studios, Morgantown, WV

Recording/mixing session project management and assistance: Mon Hills Records managers and associates / WVU Music Industry Program students

Bright Dog Red - Means to the Ends (ROPEADOPE RECORDS October 5, 2018)

Bright Dog Red (BDR), an improvising collective from Albany, New York, fuses free improvisation, electronica, jazz, hip hop, psychedelia, and noise music into a proliferation of beats, bars, and blasts of sonic energy. 

In early 2018, BDR signed on to release an album with Ropeadope, the Philadelphia based record label. The band’s first full-length album, “Means to the Ends,” is due out October 5, 2018. Ropeadope, long at the nexus of jazz, hip hop, and electronica, seems a natural home for BDR’s innovative and psychedelic mesh of jazz, hip-hop and electronica (The Alt Weekly). 

“Means to the Ends” follows two independently distributed EPS, 2017’s “Bullet Proof Shoes” and 2015’s “Teasers.” BDR’s initial forays prompted bloggers Peck and JT to declare, Put Albany’s Bright Dog Red on your radar as this jazzy psychedelic hip hop posse has potential for some progressive golden era goodness. The UK's Emerging Indie deemed the band’s extemporised psychedelic jazz-hop worthy of repeated listening. 

BDR’s regular performances at New York destination venues like ShapeShifter Lab, Nublu, and Spectrum, have garnered the ensemble comparisons to Mahavishnu Orchestra meets Digable Planets (Paul Schulman), electronic Ahmad Jamal, (Don Lucoff), and to other psychedelic, jazz fusion, and hip hop luminaries. 

Founded by drummer and composer Joe Pignato, BDR features core members MC Cully, electronic musician Cody Davies, trumpeter Jarritt Sheel, saxophonist Mike LaBombard, and bassist Anthony Berman. 

The group’s music, all improvised, has its roots in a series of marathon jam sessions. Pignato, a professor at the State University of New York, Oneonta, explains: I was inspired by one of my teachers, Yusef Lateef, who held jam sessions with his students. I’d have students out to my cabin in the Catskills and we’d play for hours, all of it improvised. They had such singular voices, different references than I anticipated. I recorded all of it, often thinking it might become something. 

That “something” remained little more than an inkling until some 10 years later. Encouraged by recordings of those early sessions, Pignato decided to formulate a fixed incarnation of the group, reaching out to former students from the ensembles he directs at Oneonta. 

Although their time in Pignato’s groups proved excellent training for BDR’s particular brand of improvisation, the group stands apart from the members’ previous endeavors. Bassist Berman explains, It’s like spontaneous, collective meditation. We get into a trance state and ideas just flow. MC Cully notes, at its best, the music is an impossibly divided form of unity, with each participant as expressive as a soloist and supportive as a side-player. Saxophonist LaBombard echoes those sentiments, “with BDR, I can stretch, with the support of the others, melodically, harmonically, stylistically. It's the group and the individual.” Cody Davies summed up, “You have to give in. There’s an interdependency to BDR. It feels more like we push each other to be vulnerable rather than jam or play tunes.” Trumpeter Jarritt Sheel, a friend of Pignato's and a faculty member at Berklee College of Music, extolled his immersion into BDR's “heartfelt and inspired improvisational music.” 

Since debuting in September of 2015, Bright Dog Red has played a number of high profile bookings, including opening for George Clinton and Parliament Funkadelic at the historic Paramount Hudson Valley Theater, opening for Hip Hop sensation Decora, sharing bills with Italian Surf Academy and with pianist Zack Clarke, and featuring guest soloists such as saxophonist Morgan Guerin and keyboardist Matt Mottel of Talibam! 

In addition, the band has become a fixture on the New York jazz and improvisation scene, playing regularly at venues such as ShapeShifter Lab, Nublu, and Spectrum. Beyond New York, the band has performed at the Berklee College of Music, twice headlined Albany’s Madison Theatre, played BSP Lounge in Kingston NY, Lilypad at Inman in Cambridge, MA, Olive’s in Nyack, NY, and the O+ Festival three years in a row.

Saxophonist Kyle Nasser's Persistent Fancy via ROPEADOPE RECORDS (October 5, 2018)

Saxophonist/Composer Kyle Nasser Strikes a Vivid Balance Between the Cerebral

and the Sensual on New Album

Persistent Fancy, out October 5, 2018 on Ropeadope, draws inspiration from literature and

philosophy as well as personal experience and struggle, with a stellar band

featuring Roman Filiú, Jeff Miles, Dov Manski, Nick Jost, and Allan Mednard

“[Nasser’s] exquisitely balanced works reflect both his ardent creativity and his urbane artistic composure.”

– Hrayr Attarian, All About Jazz

“Kyle Nasser… is intelligent and soulful, has a sense of freedom yet understands the concept of structure and is

a leader with a finely tuned sense of organization and order… vital new music.”

– Donald Elfman, The New York City Jazz Record

CD Release Dates:

• Thurs. Oct. 11 – Café 939 Berklee College of Music, Boston, MA

• Fri. Oct. 12 – Greasy Luck Brewpub, New Bedford, MA

• Sat. Oct. 13 – Cornelia Street Café, NYC

“’Tis no sin for a man to labour in his vocation.” The words of Sir John Falstaff, Shakespeare’s great

tragicomic rogue, grace the inside cover of Persistent Fancy, the latest release by saxophonist/composer

Kyle Nasser. Granted, Nasser’s passionate pursuit of jazz is more easily defensible than Falstaff’s chosen

profession of purse-snatching, but The Bard’s use of eloquent language in the mouth of such an incorrigible,

gluttonous rascal has a strong appeal for the saxophonist, who strikes his own musical balance between the

cerebral and the sensual.

Persistent Fancy, due out October 5, 2018 via Ropeadope, is highlighted by a pair of three-part suites that

straddle that boundary: the “Baroque Suite,” inspired in particular by Shostakovich’s Preludes and Fugues,

foregrounds the elegance of classical composition, while the “Eros Suite” dwells on the carnal, tracing the

stages of desire from initial attraction through consummation to reflection. As with all of Nasser’s music,

however, the intellectual and the emotional coexist vividly in both, epitomizing the same mix of impulses that

makes Shakespearean characters like Prince Hal so compellingly complex.

“Prince Hal had a very dissolute upbringing, palling around with Falstaff, this fat, comic philosopher, then has

to leave that behind to become King Henry V,” explains Nasser, who explores the prince’s maturation in his

piece “The Ascent of Henry Monmouth.” The wry wisdom of Falstaff echoes that of Svidrigailov in Crime and

Punishment, whose words provided the epigraph for Nasser’s previous release, Restive Soul. “I always find

that the best insight in literature comes from the most evil characters, or at least the characters that live

outside the mainstream.”

In assembling the ensemble to breathe life into the music of Persistent Fancy, Nasser surrounded himself

with stellar musicians who can deftly navigate the blend of intricacy and fire that these compositions require.

Guitarist Jeff Miles and keyboardist Dov Manski return from Restive Soul; drummer Allan Mednard has

worked with the likes of Kurt Rosenwinkel and Melissa Aldana, bassist Nick Jost swerves between acoustic

jazz virtuosity and powerhouse electric playing with heavy metal band Baroness, and Cuban-born alto

saxophonist Roman Filiú is an innovative voice who has performed with Henry Threadgill, David Murray,

and Chucho Valdés.

Much as Shakespeare’s young prince changed paths to follow his life’s true calling, Nasser switched gears

at a key moment in his own life – albeit somewhat less dramatically. Where Hal left behind a misspent youth

to rule a kingdom, Nasser changed his focus from Economics and Political Philosophy, which he studied at

Harvard, to pursue his love of jazz after crossing paths with iconic pianist Hank Jones. He went on to

Berklee College of Music and hasn’t looked back since, though he’s never wholly turned his back on his

intellectual and literary interests.

Persistent Fancy, in fact, takes its title from an idea posited by the poet and philosopher Samuel Taylor

Coleridge (best known for “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner”), who contrasted the invention of new concepts

(imagination) versus the assembling of pre-existing thoughts or notions (fancy). Nasser comes down on the

side of 20th century critic T.E. Hulme, who countered that modern art should thrive on fancy as it relates to

familiar experience rather than high-flown fantasies.

“I was thinking about the way that thoughts tend to recur over and over again,” Nasser says. “Even if they’re

not the deepest thoughts in the world, they can be insistent and keep coming back so that you can’t shake

them. That’s not imagination, it’s not earth-shattering, it’s fancy – persistent fancy.” The title track is built on

that sort of insistent recurrence, with recurring melodic lines over a cyclical ostinato.

Playing from the gut is one way of praising impassioned musicality, but it became a very literal struggle for

Nasser during the writing of this album. Persistent pain prevented him from playing for a time, until a

physical therapist finally discovered that scar tissue in his abdomen was the cause; it was during Nasser’s

recovery that several of the pieces on Peristent Fancy were composed, including the opening piece, “Split

Gut,” which celebrates the recovery of his voice in dialogue with Roman Filiú’s alto.

The surging “Arrival” was initially written for a trio gig in Chile, where Nasser was collaborating with his

bandmate in the collective quartet Beekman, Chilean drummer Rodrigo Recabarren. Miles is given free rein

to shred over the bombastic grooves of Jost and Mednard on “Sticky Hipster,” named in homage to the rockinclined

denizens of Nasser’s Brooklyn neighborhood.

Despite following the “Eros Suite,” Nasser’s “3-Way” takes its title from a radio term, not a sexual innuendo.

On the air it refers to a conversation between three people, reflecting the tripartite melodic voices of the

composition. The album’s sole non-original tune is “Arioso,” an excerpt from German composer Paul

Hindemith’s “Ludus Tonalis.” Finally, the ebullient “Coffee and Cannabis” ends the album on a joyful note,

finally giving in to those minor vices that may not provide a vocation but can make life that much more

enjoyable.

Kyle Nasser

A Massachusetts native and graduate of both Harvard and Berklee, Kyle Nasser has been described as

possessing "superlative musicianship as a performer, writer and a bandleader…ardent creativity and urbane

artistic composure” (All About Jazz). Since moving to New York City in 2010, he has played at some of the

city's most prestigious venues – including the Blue Note, Smalls, Iridium, 55 Bar, and Cornelia St. Cafe –

and has toured the U.S. and South America. Nasser has shared the stage with jazz luminaries such as Jim

Hall, Hank Jones, Joe Lovano, Dave Douglas, Rich Perry, Ethan Iverson, Michael Formanek, and Ben

Monder, among others. In addition to leading his own group, he also plays with and composes for the

international collective Beekman, whose sound has been described as "a joyful and continued speculation

flowing in almost all facts with surprising ease” (Jazz, ese ruido). Nasser's 2015 debut, Restive Soul,

features his quintet presenting "a collection of sophisticated and complex modern jazz originals" (Jazz

Weekly). The album's songs weave together sonata forms, baroque to 20th century counterpoint, and

modern rhythms with modern jazz vocabulary. "The saxophonist's debut is knotty with a contrapuntal weave

of voices, bumpy mixed meters, and alternating rhythmic currents that nonetheless groove, sometime with a

rocking edge" (Boston Globe).

kylenasser.com

David Cieri: The Mayo Clinic - Unity of Forces (ROPEADOPE RECORDS 2018)

Once again David Cieri translates life into music. His recent release - Notes From The Underscore show his work on a variety of documentaries with Florentine Films. His previous work with Yusef Komunyakaa and Mike Brown captures the intersection of poetry and music just as if you were wandering by a downtown club and heard it live. And now, David returns with the soundtrack to the new documentary - The Mayo Clinic: Unity Of Forces. Here David composes for the unique film, with the great Bill Frisell on guitar. He describes the documentary in this way:

‘Talk surrounding our current health care crisis needs to step away from the divisive, un-nuanced, and essentially useless binary modes of I’m right and you’re wrong. The Mayo Clinic model is actively shifting this conversation away from political gridlock and into the realms of discovery and earned possibility.

The music is striving to represent this ideal - historically and into the future. This is perhaps an uncommon story because it offers real hope and prescription rather than description of our ills, which too often get inordinate attention.  My intent was to bake the church pew and Wagner and Americana into the compositions; it’s the most moral music I’ve made to date.  The sessions were challenging; it’s one thing to give the darkness due weight in music but it was another challenge altogether to make very positive gestures have real and earned gravity too.  And the musicians! 

Listening back to Bill and Putnam dialoguing on a few of these cuts is to feel immense love and joy in being here to witness, to watch, to pry, to learn, to become something better than we have imagined.

Bill Frisell – guitars

Putnam Murdock – guitars

Dan Brantigan – flugel horn and trumpet

Jay Frederick – drums and percussion

David Cieri – piano

Rubin Kodheli – cello

Yoko Waynen – violin

Mike Brown – bass

Engineer – Bryan Pugh

All music composed by David Cieri except -

I’ll Twine Mid the Ringlets - Maud Irving and Joseph Philbrick Webster

Wagoner’s Lad – Traditional British Broadside Ballad

Shenandoah – Traditional American Folk Song

Give to the Wind Thy Fears – Paul Gerhardt

Concerto for Two Mandolins – Antonio Vivaldi

Hard Times – Stephen Foster

Slane – Irish Traditional Folk Song

Be Thou My Vision – 8 th century Irish Traditional Folk Song

All music produced by Erik Ewers and David Cieri

1. Unity of Forces 02:21

2. I’ll Twine Mid the Ringlets 02:33

3. Yoko's World/Wagoner's Lad 02:37

4. Shenandoah 01:35

5. Will 02:08

6. Sisters 02:25

7. Give to the Wind Thy Fears 01:53

8. Concerto for Two Mandolins 01:32

9. Charlie 02:36

10. Sister Alfred and the Handshake 02:42

11. April is the Cruelest Month - little variations on Rite of Spring 01:10

12. Hard Times 01:47

13. Give to the Wind Thy Fears (Alt Take) 03:26

14. Slane 03:11

15. Sister Generose In the House 01:20

16. Be Thou My Vision 02:12

17. Henry Plummer's Dream 02:13

18. Unity of Forces in Motion 02:33

Drums & Tuba - Triumph! (ROPEADOPE RECORDS 2018)

Drums and Tuba was originally formed sometime in 1995. Tony Nozero (drums) and Brian Wolff (tuba) were working at an unhealthy health food store in Austin, Texas making smoothies together when they came up with the idea of creating a stripped-down marching band (the best laid plans often go astray). Tony had played drums for many years in a variety of rock, punk, and jazz bands. Brian had just recently discovered the tuba (having played trumpet and trombone previously), and was just beginning to explore the possibilities of the instrument. 

Initially going by the moniker "Just Drums and Tuba," the two young men took their creation to the streets of Austin performing weekend nights on downtown sixth street for tips, pocket change, and other assorted odds and ends. Brian and Tony soon realized that their ensemble was missing some important element. The addition of Neal McKeeby on guitars was the essential ingredient needed to complete their trio. The band decided to drop the "Just" and to go by the simple name "Drums and Tuba." 

Without any master plan, the trio pursued some kind of amalgamation of their extremely varied tastes and backgrounds. Wolff is from New York, Nozero is from Madison, Wisconsin, and McKeeby is from Knoxville, Tennessee. The three musicians never intended to create something original or different or unique. For all their pyrotechnics, they are not a novelty act. They simply create music with a strong emphasis on songs and structure as they hear it. The result is music that is not easily described or categorized, but which is extremely accessible to a wide and varied audience. At a show, punks, dead heads, and indie-rockers, both young kids and old folks will find themselves standing together listening to a music which makes them feel both confused and happy. They may not know quite what it is or what it's called, but they do know that they like it. 

Drums and Tuba has played in all kinds of venues and all kinds of situations from tiny shows to crowds of over six thousand and to the continuous surprise of Tony, Brian, and Neal the music always goes over well. An old union worker in Providence, Rhode Island will even praise the band. Says Wolff, "the kind of person who I expect to tell us 'what the hell are you guys doing up there and whose dumb idea was it anyway' will tell us, 'that was nothing like I expected but I really dug your sound.' And that's the kind of thing that makes me realize we're on to something-- when someone who is completely not into experimental music of any kind enjoys what we do simply because it's good music, not because it's impressive or complicated, but just because it sounds good." 

The band plays a variety of different sounding music, encompassing rock, funk, punk, electronica, and other styles. All the music is extremely rhythm-oriented, with Nozero's drums taking front and center. All three instrumentalists will at one time or another play both rhythmically and melodically. Sometimes the guitar is a rhythm instrument and sometimes it carries the melody, and often it does both at the same time. Either McKeeby will play two guitars at once or Wolff will sample him live. The band does a lot of live sampling (nothing is prerecorded), using a variety of digital delay machines. For instance, McKeeby will start a song with a riff and before you know it he's been sampled and has moved on. With the addition of more live samples, the group is able to create songs with dense layers of sound. The tuba can lay down a bass line and then, with the use of a variety of guitar pedals and delay machines, play a swooping melody over the top of the ensuing groove. In addition, this frees up Wolff to play the trumpet as well. Thus, the band is far more than the sum of its parts. All this is done with the express purpose of serving the song. It is all founded in the basic fundamental principles of music. Drums and Tuba is not a gimmick. 

Drums and Tuba has played hundreds of shows all over the United States opening for such acts as Ani DiFranco, Galactic, uze Jsme Doma, Daniel Johnston, and Spaceheads. They have completed four full length cds, one cd ep, one vinyl seven inch, one music video, a whole slew of compilations, and a variety of movie soundtracks.

Tony Nozero - Drums and Percussion

Steve Garofano - Drums and Percussion

Ben Ellman - Saxophone

Jonathon Freilich - Guitar on Boubakar

Francesca Wolff - Vocals on Se Malule

Brian Wolff - Tuba, Vocals, Drums, Percussion, Beatbox, Trumpet, Trombone, Flute

Engineered, Produced, and Mastered by Andrew “Goat” Gilchrist and Brian Wolff

Artwork by Theresa Behnen

Photograph of Boubakar by Paul Widdowson

1. This is the Point 05:44

2. Se Malule 04:24

3. Drowning 06:42

4. Instrument of Brass Destruction 04:12

5. Kevin Essence 04:50

6. Boubacar 04:37

7. On My Own 05:24

8. The Dj Set 05:00

9. A Hard Man 04:52

10. The Triumph of Delusion 05:54

11. True To You 04:42

12. Higher and Higher 06:12

13. Drowning Radio Edit 03:56

Dred Scott - Rides Alone (ROPEADOPE RECORDS 2018)

The incomparable renegade pianist who co-founded the ground breaking hip- hop jazz group Alphabet Soup. The musical director for AMFAR's Cinema Against Aids gala at The Cannes Film Festival. Composer and performer in six San Francisco Mime Troupe productions. Film and commercial composer, solo artist, and all around player with celebs too numerous to mention.

And the super subtle and not-as-subtle piano player at Del Posto in New York. dred has graced us with three albums thus far; a live recording from his long running Live At Rockwood residency, and the simultaneous releases Going Nowhere and Prepared Piano. It's been a minute since the maestro of the maelstrom has recorded, and now he returns to the studio to record ALL of the musical parts to his new album - dred scott Rides Alone.

The compositions are sublime, perhaps dred's most accessible and gentle writing and playing in his storied career. dred scott rides alone stands as a mature and melodic statement of life and love.

Yak Attack - Safety Third (ROPEADOPE RECORDS 2018)

Yak Attack is real, organic electronica. Rowan Cobb (The Hill Dogs, Giraffe Dodgers), Dave Dernovsek (Manimalhouse, Emulator) and Nick Werth (GALAXE, Ghost-Note) have combined forces to create a full, lush, danceable sound far beyond what most trios can produce. Using live loops, well-placed samples, thick grooves, and expansive soundscapes, Yak Attack keeps the dance party at full blast. 

1. Pump and Dump 09:22

2. Rule 1 00:32

3. U + Me (+Us) 08:08

4. EYE2EYE 04:11

5. Hear the Sound 07:01

6. Rule 2 00:46

7. Eighth Wonder 06:55

8. Safety Third 07:52

Pianist Frank Kimbrough and his quartet release six-disc set of entire Thelonious Monk oeuvre (SUNNYSIDE RECORDS November 23, 2018)

 Frank Kimbrough Quartet

Monk's Dreams: The Complete Compositions of Thelonious Sphere Monk

  

A six-disc boxed set of the entire Thelonious Monk repertoire by a quartet led by pianist Frank Kimbrough will be released November 23, 2018!

A celebration of this release will be held Nov. 27th and 28th at the Jazz Standard in New York City!

The genius of pianist and composer Thelonious Monk is unassailable. Since his death in 1982, he has become recognized as one of the greatest composers of jazz – and of the wider world of music. The year 2017 was the centennial of Monk’s birth, and brought scores of tributes, including a well-received stay of pianist Frank Kimbrough’s quartet at the Jazz Standard club in New York City.

Like many jazz pianists, Kimbrough found Monk’s music a revelation when he first heard it. From the outset of his career, Kimbrough has returned time and again to Monk’s compositions. After nearly four decades of study, reflection, and performance, Kimbrough has established a relationship with these pieces and found a way to express himself through the prism of Monk.

When the Standard approached Kimbrough to put together a quartet to play Monk’s music, he picked the brilliant rhythm section of bassist Rufus Reid and drummer Billy Drummond. His choice for lead horn voice was the multi-instrumentalist Scott Robinson, with whom he has played for many years and in many combinations, most notably with the Maria Schneider Orchestra.

© Marielle Solan

After the first set of the October 17th, 2017 performance at the Standard Kimbrough’s friend Mait Jones urged that the group record Monk’s entire oeuvre, a feat that Kimbrough had never considered. A jazz fan and co-presenter of his own Princeton series JazzNights Jones began a lifelong appreciation of Monk when he heard the master live at the Five Spot in New York City in 1957 .

Over the next few days, Jones doubled down on his intent to make the project reach fruition, bringing in his friend and fellow jazz head, Dr. Dorothy Lieberman, to help co-produce the effort.

The musicians began the intensive work such a project demands. Finally, in April of 2018 Kimbrough led a trio and then the quartet at Jazz at the Kitano, polishing 30 new tunes on the way to the full Monk catalog of 70 pieces.

For the recording, Matt Balitsaris provided his renowned Maggie’s Farm studios and an optimistic plan of recording a disc’s worth of material each day for six days. The musicians recorded each day from 11 to 5 or 6 in two three-day intervals broken up by a three-day respite. Miraculously this ambitious plan succeeded, with most tunes needing only one or two takes. Robinson picked his axe of choice on the spot, from the standard (tenor sax and trumpet) to the exotic (bass saxophone, echo cornet, bass clarinet, and contrabass sarrusophone). The resultant tracks are fresh, varied, and inspired.

Highlights of the group’s takes on these classic pieces include Robinson’s juggling of trumpet and tenor sax on “Thelonious” and the ensemble’s free-wheeling energy on “Skippy.” “Locomotive” is the picture of peaceful beauty, whereas “Jackie-ing” is all jumps and starts. Reid and Robinson play beautifully on “Reflections” and a lovely solo performance of  “Crepuscule with Nellie” showcases Kimbrough’s command of the piano and Monk’s language.

The recordings form a fantastically diverse collection.  On the six-CD set, titled Monk's Dreams: The Complete Compositions of Thelonious Sphere Monk, Monk’s compositions are played in various configurations, most by the quartet, but others in smaller combinations, even solo piano. The package also includes beautifully penned liner notes from Nate Chinen (New York Times, WBGO and NPR) along with notes from members of the ensemble and the producers of the album.

Carli Munoz - Follow Me (2018)

Carli Muñoz latest release "Follow Me" picks up where the landmark "Maverick" left off but with even more inspired nuance and influences. Whereas "Maverick" is a straight-ahead instrumental jazz CD described as “soaring” and “drop-dead gorgeous,” Follow Me adds a layer of world beats, blues, crisp production, seasoned playing, and a conscience. It makes bold musical and social statements without being heavy handed or sanctimonious. Instead, "Follow Me" does just that – inspires the listener to join a journey that feels friendly and familiar yet erudite, knowing full well where it’s been, and where we - as collective members of Carli’s musical universe - are going. Carli artfully blends a myriad of styles, from the friendly blues of "Stranger in A Strange Land" to the delightful playfulness of the "Tujunga Waltz." Both tracks, along with "Follow Me" feature Carli’s unabashed and unvarnished vocals, expertly shaken and stirred with soaring female accompaniment. These feel like mini movies; visual storytelling placed over deft playing and insanely solid, self-assured production.

The more jazz-leaning tracks "Tere" and "The Hummingbird" are the true essence of Carli Muñoz, punctuating the “joy” perceptively recognized by reviewers on Carli’s past work. Apart from being lovingly written and played, these tracks are the badly needed kick in the pants that jazz needs right now. Further, layered over top of "The Hummingbird’s" frenetic energy, Carli blends in an environmental call to action. This socially conscious invitation is neither overbearing nor preachy, simply asking the listener to enter the conversation. 

"Wangari Maathai" then takes that conversation and places it front and center. As the standout track on "Follow Me," Carli tells the story of Wangari Maathai, author and founder of the Green Belt Movement, and a 2004 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate. It is an expansive track - cinematic in scope – defiant yet hopeful, filled with intricacies that artists half Carli’s age could simply wish for. Further, it shines a light on the precarious nature our Earth finds itself in. Carli easily pivots from Wangari’s warning: “the generation that destroyed the environment is not the generation that pays the price.” - to a place of hope - “when we plant trees we plant seeds of hope.” It is this hope - and Carli's joyous playing - that gives Carli’s latest release "Follow Me," its desirous sheen. 

Note: "Follow Me" tells a story. Read and download this story on the liner notes at Carli's website: www.carlimunoz.com.

One O’Clock Lab Band (Lab 2018) - The Rhythm of the Road (2018)

The UNT program began in the late 40s, when big bands dominated the musical landscape, and has long included a different rehearsal group for nearly every hour of the day. It is in this musically supercharged environment that talented young musicians have experienced preparing new work, collaborations with guest artists and frequent performances. Daily music nurturing at such a high professional standard has produced memorable bands over the years and this edition of the One O’Clock Lab Band is undoubtedly one of the school’s finest. Leader Alan Baylock, known for his own groups and arrangements, is co-producer and director here and he has assembled a particularly well-conceived set bristling with depth and conviction. The foundation of a great big band is the drummer and the lead trumpeter. John Sturino, whose arranging chops are also on display here, demonstrates a high level of expertise in the art of swing, as well as the sensitivity he brings to ballads. Lead trumpeter Nick Owsik knows phrasing and style, and possesses the necessary power to generate excitement when needed.

The opener, Mr. Sturino’s arrangement of Victor Lewis’ “Hey, It’s Me You’re Talkin’ To,” is a rousing invitation to join the party, showcasing each section of the band individually, as well as the group itself. 

The excitement continues on the title track “The Rhythm of the Road,” multi-instrumentalist Brandon Moore’s composition and arrangement, featuring a relentlessly swinging shuffle groove and challenging chord changes expertly navigated by soloists Brian Woodbury on trombone, lead alto Kyle Bellaire, and drummer Sturino. Moore also arranged Chris Potter’s pensive “Train,” which features him on tenor, Daniel Pinilla on guitar, and vocalist Marion Powers, who is elegantly woven into the ensemble tapestry. 

“Blues for Kazu,” composed and arranged by Brandon Moore, was written for trumpeter Kazunori Tanaka, a native of Tokyo. Mr. Tanaka is an old musical soul whose heart lies deeply in the blues, his plunger work recalling Cootie Williams. Jazz is played all over the planet these days and this edition of the group includes musicians from the US, Canada, Colombia, Cuba, Japan and Taiwan, proving once again that our homegrown art form has a message that resonates globally.

The band also includes vocalist Marion Powers, whose silky take on “A Flower is a Lovesome Thing” is a tasteful contrast to the group’s more hard-driving, brilliantly crafted arrangements.

 Professor Rich DeRosa, who comes from a family of jazz educators, contributed his composition “Birds of a Feather…,” and in addition to his teaching chops, Mr. DeRosa’s flair for robust composing and his world-class arranging acumen have few peers. Pianist Paul Lees really shines here, pulling the rhythm out of the big band, taking us to new musical ground.

Alan Baylock’s demanding “Without a Doubt” is a marvel, with a “take no prisoners” absolutely cooking alto solo from Sam Cousineau. “Bachianas Brasileiras No. 5,” a Heitor Villa-Lobos composition arranged by lead trombonist Brian Woodbury, is a fascinating blend of musical styles which showcases trombonist DJ Rice. 

The set closes with Brandon Moore’s arrangement of John Coltrane’s moody “After the Rain.” In a 10/8 time signature, it’s an introspective way to close the recording that broadens the set’s expressive range. 

Featuring noteworthy, perfectly executed arrangements and soloists who play far beyond their years, Lab 2018 | The Rhythm of the Road demands repeated listening. Although skeptics have long believed big band jazz is no longer relevant, this recording offers proof that the big bands are alive, well and flourishing.

www.jazz.unt.edu     www.theoneoclock.com

Hannah Horsfall, Nick Smith, Mark Wastell & Rhodri Davies - Subdivisions with Morton Feldman (CONFRONT RECORDINGS 2018)

Richard Sanderson asked me to present a piece at his Micro-Classical festival, an annual event that favoured contemporary composed music. I’ve often credited Morton Feldman as a considerable early influence and this was an attempt to assimilate Feldman’s sound world. 

Subdivisions with Morton Feldman was performed once. There was no rehearsal: Nick and Hannah handled the intention of the piece superbly from a few spoken instructions prior to performance. Rhodri was unable to make the concert so we prerecorded his contribution, the harp part from Feldman’s Durations V. Nick, Hannah, and I improvised our parts. The fifth element was a recording of Art Lange reading from Give My Regards to Eighth Street: Collected Writings of Morton Feldman. It is a pleasure finally to make the piece available. 

Phil Durrant performed a live electronics piece dedicated to David Tudor at that same concert. The New York School was celebrated well that sunny afternoon in Stoke Newington, twenty years ago. 

— Mark Wastell

Confront Archives 1: Subdivisions with Morton Feldman (1998)

Hannah Horsfall: flute

Nick Smith: percussion

Mark Wastell: violoncello

Rhodri Davies: prerecorded concert harp

1. Subdivisions with Morton Feldman 16:58

Recorded at Micro-Classical, Stoke Newington Library, London, 1998-04-04.

The Confront Archives are for those who pay more attention to music than to tape hiss. Not every performance that was captured survives in perfect sound. Confront Archives releases tell the story of the music through previously unreleased recordings.

Various Artists - Live @ Sound 323 [Complete] CONFRONT RECORDINGS 2018

1. Derek Bailey and Simon H. Fell - 15 August 2001 (1) 09:24

2. Derek Bailey and Simon H. Fell - 15 August 2001 (2) 11:57

3. Keith Rowe - 29 October 2001 21:02

4. Cremaster (Alfredo Costa Monteiro & Ferran Fages) - 23 November 2002 20:28

5. Sakada (Mattin & Eddie Prévost) - 30 November 2002 21:25

Recorded in concert at Mark Wastell’s Sound 323 record shop and originally issued as a series of four 3" mini-CDs — each in a limited edition of 300 — on Confront’s Sound 323 imprint.

Recorded by David Reid (Keith Rowe) and Tim Fletcher (all others). 

Original CD colour schemes by Damien Beaton.