Michael A. Justice - Paths and Perspectives (July 2021)

Michael A. Justice, Multi-Genre Musician/Producer. Jazz, Hip-Hop, Funk, Blues, Trap, Lo-fi, Ambient, and Underground. All music written and recorded by yours truly. Follow me on Social and other Streaming Platforms Here

1. Little Things 05:02

2. Jet Stream 03:00

3. Left Drifting(Loose Ties) 06:24

4. The Mystery Remains 03:46

5. Blocks 03:01

6. Soul Coast 04:57

7. Night Shift Blues 04:28

8. Raku Sprites 03:49

9. BottleNecked 06:33

10. Ice Cold 03:48

11. Regrowth 04:36

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Jon Irabagon - Bird with Streams (July 2021)

The sounds of birds, deer, hikers, roaring rivers, slackliners, helicopters, motorcycles and semi-trucks.

The atmosphere morphing form the calmest, most picturesque day to torrential wind and hailstorms.

The peaceful meditation found from the utter chaos that led to this album.

My family escaped COVID-stricken New York City in March 2020, retreating to the in-laws' place in South Dakota. I started looking for a practice space away from Zoom conference calls and neighbors accustomed to a quiet life. I discovered Falling Rock-- a secluded canyon on the outskirts of town that offered peace, solitude, fresh air and an opportunity to work on innumerable musical ideas-- all with varying kinds of reverb as a backdrop, depending on where I chose to open the saxophone case that day. Our weeklong stay extended into a month, then eight. Thankfully, this ravine became my home away from home away from home, with unbound inspiration for composition, exploration, study and introspection to be-- in hindsight-- thankful for.

You have in your hands just one of the outcomes from these isolated experiments-- a work that would not have been made otherwise. Charlie Parker's centennial birthday came and went during my time at Falling Rock; his music, ideas and meaning were consistently bubbling up to the surface of my thoughts and practice. This album represents a fight against nature, both viral and atmospheric. Recording this album was my attempt to grow and learn while the world went haywire and lost its damn mind. Thank you for taking this journey with me, six feet away.

Jon Irabagon

1. Anthropology 01:32

2. Sippin' at Bells 03:27

3. Bebop 05:11

4. Ornithology 03:56

5. Now's the Time 04:03

6. Donna Lee 02:45

7. Hot House 04:23

8. B. Schwifty 05:29

9. Mohawk 03:11

10. KC Blues 03:10

11. Get Schwifty 01:36

12. Segment 03:22

13. Moose the Mooche 02:25

14. Blues for Alice 03:31

15. Quasimodo 05:42

Recorded in different locations in Falling Rock, South Dakota, at the edge of the Black Hills National Forest, over the late summer/early fall of 2020.

Produced, recorded and edited by Jon Irabagon

Mixed by Ben Rubin at House of Cha Cha, Brooklyn

All tracks by Charlie Parker (Atlantic Music Corp) except

Sippin' at Bells by Miles Davis (Screen Gems-- EMI Music Inc.),

Bebop by Dizzy Gillespie (Universal-- MCA Music Publishing),

Anthropology by Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie (Atlantic Music Corp/Music Sales Corp),

Ornithology by Charlie Parker and Benny Harris (Atlantic Music Corp),

Hot House by Tadd Dameron (WB Music Corp) and

B. Schwifty and Get Schwifty by Jon Irabagon (F Magellan Music, ASCAP)

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The Zone - The Zone (July 3, 2021 STUDIO III RECORDINGS)

The Zone is a concept album written by Italian composer Daniele Del Monaco for a band of performers fom New York City who are usually affiliated with avant-jazz and free improvisation.

Through the interaction of the five musicians, guided by Del Monaco’s experimental sensibility on keys and sound generators, this recording turns out a unique and ambitious combination of Fay Victor’s urban jazz vocals, Marco Cappelli’s guitar, combining elements of classical music and free improvisation, the at times extreme dynamics of Satoshi Takeishi’s performance on the drums, and the virtuosity of bassist Ken Filiano.

Del Monaco’s radical approach to creating music is rooted in a slow process of working through a score with classical musicians and free improvisers, balancing meticulous compositions with the setting of parameters for free improvisation.

In his lyrics, Del Monaco appropriates the words of Persian poet and mystic Farid al-Din‘Attar’s epic ‘The Conference of the Birds’ and Andrei Tarkovsky’s ‘Stalker’ to create a narrative in which the ideas and imagery of poets and philosophers interact. Byron, Keats, Diogenes, Thoreau and Buddha all meet within the framework of ‘Attar’s journey in search of truth and the Stalker’s journey through ‘The Zone’. The search for the mythical room within is capable of granting a person their innermost desires. The result is a set of seven songs filled with allusive and symbolic imagery, exploring the relationship between beauty and possession.

The majority of the album was recorded between 2018 and 2019 by Alessandro Benedetti in Rome, Italy. Benedetti tragically passed away before the sessions were finished, at which point Martin Bisi in Brooklyn, NY took over the recording work. The album’s journey then continued on to Sheffield UK, where it was completed and mixed by producer Thomas Lebioda for Studio III Recordings in 2020.

Throughout its development, a number of guest musicians have accompanied Del Monaco for live performances of The Zone: Blixa Bargeld, Theodosii Spassov and Marco Ariano joined the LCP Percussion Quintet in October 2014 for a first performance at Centro Campania in Caserta, IT. In November 2018, Marc Ribot joined the Band for a rendition at the Auditorium Parco della Musica in Rome, IT, organised and produced by RomaEuropa festival. 

1. A Loud Noise 11:05

2. Look At The Stalker 07:16

3. Into The Zone 05:28

4. We Are Lost 05:01

5. Seven Valleys 12:08

6. What Am I Doing Here 06:55

7. The Room 09:35

recorded by Alessandro Benedetti at Loadistrict, Rome, Italy

and by Martin Bisi at BC Studio, Brooklyn, NY

mixed by Thomas Lebioda at The Laundry Rooms, Sheffield, UK

mastered by Karsten Deutschmann at Gentle Art, Hamburg, Germany

lacquers cut by Noel Summerville, London UK

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The Changes Sessions Vol.2 - La Gran Trompetada (July 3, 2021 The Changes Music)

When he opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour. And I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and seven trumpets were given to them. Another angel, who had a golden censer, came and stood at the altar. He was given much incense to offer, with the prayers of all God’s people, on the golden altar in front of the throne. The smoke of the incense, together with the prayers of God’s people, went up before God from the angel’s hand. Then the angel took the censer, filled it with fire from the altar, and hurled it on the earth; and there came peals of thunder, rumblings, flashes of lightning and an earthquake.

Then the seven angels who had the seven trumpets prepared to sound them. The first angel sounded his trumpet, and there came hail and fire mixed with blood, and it was hurled down on the earth. A third of the earth was burned up, a third of the trees were burned up, and all the green grass was burned up. The second angel sounded his trumpet, and something like a huge mountain, all ablaze, was thrown into the sea. A third of the sea turned into blood, a third of the living creatures in the sea died, and a third of the ships were destroyed.

The third angel sounded his trumpet, and a great star, blazing like a torch, fell from the sky on a third of the rivers and on the springs of water— the name of the star is Wormwood. A third of the waters turned bitter, and many people died from the waters that had become bitter.

The fourth angel sounded his trumpet, and a third of the sun was struck, a third of the moon, and a third of the stars, so that a third of them turned dark. A third of the day was without light, and also a third of the night.

As I watched, I heard an eagle that was flying in midair call out in a loud voice:

- “Woe! Woe! Woe to the inhabitants of the earth, because of the trumpet blasts about to be sounded by the other three angels!”

Revelation 8:1-13 

1. El Corn de l'Abundància 03:50

2. In the Land of Oo-Bla-Dee

3. Barry Harris

4. Propietat Intel·lectual

5. Pay Day

6. Warm Valley

7. Jeannine

8. The Last One

Side 1

EL CORN DE L’ABUNDÀNCIA (Oriol Vallès)

IN THE LAND OF OO-BLA-DEE (Mary Lou Williams)

BARRY HARRIS (Oriol Vallès)

PROPIETAT INTEL·LECTUAL (Oriol Vallès)

Side 2

PAY DAY (Pol Omedes)

WARM VALLEY (Duke Ellington)

JEANNINE (Duke Pearson)

THAT LAST ONE (Joan Casares)

Pol Omedes, Joan Mar Sauqué, Oriol Vallès - trumpet

Xavi Torres - piano

Giuseppe Campisi - upright bass

Joan Casares - drums

Recorded at Vertigo Studios el 12 de gener de 2021

Sound Engineer - Ferran Donatelli

Mix & Mastering - Quim ‘Kato’ Puigtió

Cover art - Joan Casares

Photography - Joel Codina

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Riopy - Bliss (July 3, 2021 Warner Classics)

Riopy

Nouvel album Bliss

Sortie le 02/07/2021 chez Warner Classics

Dans la même lignée que Max Richter, Nils Frahm, ou Olafur Arnalds, Riopy impose ses mélodies inspirées et captivantes grâce à son jeu de piano hors norme.

Son univers musical lui a permis de toucher une très large audience à l’international à travers le cinéma, la télévision ou la publicité. Sa musique a des vertus physiques autant que mentale. La méditation et composer à cet effet est d'ailleurs un des moteur artistique de Riopy.

"Jouer du piano est un besoin physique et mental pour moi. Je crée toujours de la musique, et quand j'entends quelque chose dans ma tête, je dois le sortir et mon piano m'aide à le faire, combinant les notes jusqu'à ce que je trouve la mélodie parfaite."

A chaque clip, Riopy nous entraîne dans un nouveau voyage. Après Sky Opus Fire, Epiphany, et La Vernatelle, le pianiste nous mène avec Sweet Dream, nouvel extrait de l'album Bliss, dans un nouvel éveil aux frontières de l'inconscience.

Rejetant les artifices d’une musique sur-produite, leur préférant la pureté et la puissance d’un extraordinaire piano Fazioli, Riopy s’est inspiré pour cet album des héros discrets de la vie quotidienne. Il leur rend hommage avec une collection de miniatures qui laissent dans la mémoire de l’auditeur de profondes traces d’un calme et d’un bonheur sereins : le Bliss.

200 Millions… 200 millions de fois un être humain a pris le temps d’écouter un morceau de piano composé et joué par le pianiste français Riopy sur une plate-forme de streaming. Cette audience lui permet de se maintenir au top des meilleures ventes classiques aux Etats-Unis, comme en atteste Billboard depuis plusieurs mois, audience qui s’étend au monde entier et en particulier en Chine, où il s’est produit plusieurs fois.

Incarnation de la maxime selon laquelle nul n’est prophète en son pays ? Peut-être car s’il a signé des musiques pour des marques aussi prestigieuses qu’Armani, Samsung ou Peugeot, Riopy suit sa voie en dehors des sentiers battus, de toutes les écoles, et en marge du mouvement néo-classique dont il ne fait pas vraiment partie. Jaillie du cœur, forgée par sa pratique de la méditation, sa musique immédiatement visuelle et cinématique est reçue de par le monde comme une force réparatrice bienvenue dans la période que nous vivons, comme en atteste son titre Méditation 66 déployé avec un immense succès sur l’application Calm.

C’est l’histoire inouïe d’un artiste que le monde entier écoute mais que son propre pays connaît très peu que son nouvel album, Bliss, invite à découvrir.

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Klaxon Gueule - Klaxon Gueule (​+​3) 2010 (July 2, 2021)

This album is a live multitrack recording of the concert Klaxon Gueule gave at l'Envers on November 5th 2010

1. impression d'enjambement 04:37

2. excroissances plâtreuses 04:30

3. PET-scan glucose 05:27

4. Ours Debout Raide 03:42

5. assouvissement BINGO 04:50

6. stupeur bras ballants 05:57

7. formes de vies non montrables en l'état 04:05

8. JUMP-cut hors jouissance 06:38

Klaxon Geule

Bernard Falaise, guitare électrique

Alexandre St-Onge, basse électrique & électronique

Michel F Côté, batterie

+

Jean Derome, sax alto, flûte, petits instruments (4, 5, 6, 7, 8)

Ellwood Epps, trompette (4, 5, 6, 8)

Philippe Lauzier, clarinette basse, sax alto (4, 5, 7, 8)

Recording : Dom Girard

Mixing & mastering : Côté

Cover design : Michel & Fabrizio

UFO.Ω

© 2021, UFO.Ω (UFO.w67.p406)

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David Boykin - Transolo (July 2, 2021)

Transolo

Solo explorations across time, space, and place from Potolo to the pyramids to Port-au-Prince to the projects to the penultimate

from the primordial to the present to the future infinite

from the cosmic to the diasporic

spanning across the earth (transglobal)

spanning across the omniverses (transomniversal)

A conversation between oneselves on two instruments

bass clarinet and drumset

Trading Fours

four corners of the earth/globe

four quadrants of space

1. Track 1 06:14

2. Track 2 07:41

3. Track 3 08:35

4. Track 4 08:36

5. Track 5 04:13

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Kevin Hays / Ben Street / Billy Hart | "All Things Are" | CDs Available July 2 via Smoke Sessions Records

Kevin Hays, Ben Street, and Billy Hart

Collaborate on Strikingly Telepathic Performances,

Which Resonate Profoundly After Months of

Pandemic-Induced Isolation

Recorded in December 2020 at Smoke Jazz & Supper Club

to Commemorate Billy Hart's 80th Birthday

On June 4th, Smoke Sessions Records proudly releases All Things Are, a collaborative encounter between pianist Kevin Hays, bassist Ben Street and drummer Billy Hart. Performed on the bandstand of an otherwise empty Smoke Jazz Club, the album features seven pieces, six composed by Hays, who contributes three original melodies and three ingeniously crafted contrafacts of canonic standards.

The proceedings transpired on the first weekend of December 2020, when Smoke proprietors Paul Stache and Molly Johnson – who have made herculean efforts to sustain the club as a viable venue during the COVID-19 pandemic – booked the trio for two livestream concerts in celebration of Hart’s 80th birthday. “The setting and the circumstances were unique, and the guys were eager to play again,” Stache says. “The music was so incredible that we all thought we should cut a record from these tracks.”

These jazz all-stars from different generations, convening for the first time as a unit, achieved this sublime recital in an empty room, after a single rehearsal. That they were able to coalesce so fruitfully in this environment stems not only from their rarefied musicianship, but also mutual trust built on long-standing relationships.

Street’s been a first-call bassist for everyone who’s anyone in New York’s progressive jazz circles since the late 1990s, when he and Hays first intersected on a private gig at Ahmet Ertegun’s Long Island house. They’ve subsequently worked together with Kurt Rosenwinkel and other ensembles led by luminaries of their generational peer group. He’s played alongside Hart in Hart’s working quartet with Ethan Iverson and Mark Turner since 2006.

Hays – whose c.v. includes 16 albums as a leader, a host of collaborative duos and trios, and consequential side artist work with such luminaries as Eddie Henderson, Sonny Rollins, John Scofield, Chris Potter, and Roy Haynes (and an engagement at Smoke Jazz Club in March 2020 with Ron Carter and Al Foster that was attenuated by the onset of COVID restrictions in New York) – first played with Hart in 1987.

Then 18, Hays was in Madrid, on tour with [drummer] Tony Moreno, who brought him to a club where Hart was playing with Dave Liebman, Richie Beirach and Ron McClure. “Tony introduced me to Billy, and without skipping a beat, Billy said, ‘I’m curious about you. You want to play?’ It was an amazing experience. He didn’t know me, and he didn’t have to do that, but if you know Billy Hart, he does stuff that he doesn’t have to do.”

On All Things Are, Hart decisively imprints his personality on the flow. “It seemed like Billy was playing with Kevin like a singer, which inspired me to think of Kevin that way and guided everything,” Street says, perhaps thinking of Hays’ mid-career choice to showcase his considerable singer-songwriter chops on albums like the eponymous trio recital New Day (2015), the Hays-Lionel Loueke duo Hope (2017), and a duo with vocalist Chiara Izzi titled Across the Sea (2019).

Street continues: “Playing next to Billy, there’s a feeling that he’s searching again and again for this thing he already knows, that could be out of reach but is worth reaching for. This beautiful human drive is inspiring. It takes you out of the mundane self-judgment process of ‘am I playing well or not?’”

Hays concurs. “Every time I’ve played with Billy, it sounds like everything is freshly minted in that moment, even though, of course, there’s such history behind it,” he says. “He’s constantly listening and responding to you; there’s a tremendous amount of conversation going on.”

Hart regards All Things Are as an opportunity “to play with two of my favorite players.” He describes Street as “unique – my epitome of a contemporary bassist; what he takes as normal, I think is extraordinary.” He continues: “I love the way Kevin plays. I played with Herbie Hancock and McCoy Tyner and Richie Beirach, and I don’t use the word ‘love’ lightly. Kevin reharmonizes on that level, and I love his touch.”

Consider Hart’s remarks as you absorb Hays’ ingenious melodic formulations on the contrafacts “Unscrappulous” (“Scrapple from the Apple”), “All Things Are” (“All the Things You Are”) and “Twilight” (“Stella by Starlight”); or the lovely melody and beautiful chord changes of “Elegia” (which debuted on Modern Music, Hays’ two-piano recital with old friend Brad Mehldau) and “Sweet Caroline.”

Then consider how “the sound of surprise” suffuses this iteration of “New Day,” the anthemic leadoff track. “After we finish the head, we’re suddenly in outer space,” Hays says. “Ben somehow knew it was time to go somewhere else, and he stopped playing, then Billy took it – and we were off. I wouldn’t have expected it to go completely left. But at that moment, BOOM, this ‘big bang’ happened, and we now had to evolve.”

That telepathic interplay, which these exemplary improvisers perhaps might have regarded as their quotidian norm before COVID, resonated deeply after months-long pandemic-imposed isolation. “I’ve been practicing more than maybe ever, which I enjoy – but it’s me alone at home,” Hays says. “Perhaps I’ve improved, but I’d also fallen out of practice of playing with other musicians. For this date, I was excited to interact with other musicians again, that it wasn’t just me and my own musical thoughts.

“This is the way I like to play. As someone who loves improvisation, I do my best to not repeat myself. I like the unplanned and I tend not to be directive – these musicians already have a direction, which tends to be open. This isn’t a free trio; we’re not playing free jazz. But we’re playing with the tabula rasa spirit, with as little as possible figured out other than the bare bones.”

"All Things Are" was produced by Paul Stache and Damon Smith,

recorded live at Smoke Jazz & Supper Club, NYC on December 4-6, 2020 and

mastered to ½” analog tape using a Studer mastering deck.

Kevin Hays, Ben Street, Billy Hart · All Things Are

Smoke Sessions Records · Release Date: June 4, 2021

For more information on other Smoke Sessions Records releases, please visit:

SmokeSessionsRecords.com | Facebook | Instagram

Vince Mendoza | "Freedom Over Everything" | Available July 2 via Modern Recordings

Celebrated Multi-GRAMMY® Award Winning Arranger,

Composer and Conductor Vince Mendoza

Brings Forth a Life Affirming Cross-Genre Collaboration

Freedom Over Everything,

a Revelatory and Politically Charged Album Set

for July 2 Release on BMG’s Modern Recordings Imprint

Guest Artists include

Joshua Redman, Antonio Sanchez, Derrick Hodge,

and The Roots' MC Black Thought

Six time GRAMMY® Award-winner, and 34-time nominee, Vince Mendoza is considered the foremost arranger of his generation, working with legends such as Björk, Elvis Costello, Sting, and Joni Mitchell. In a new star-studded release, Mendoza returns to his roots as a composer and conductor with a remarkable collaboration—highlighting the Czech National Symphony Orchestra, soprano Julia Bullock, guest artists Joshua Redman, Antonio Sanchez, Derrick Hodge, and The Roots' premier MC Black Thought—for his forthcoming album, Freedom Over Everything, on BMG’s Modern Recordings label imprint.

The album opens with Mendoza’s Five movement “Concerto for Orchestra” which was commissioned by the Czech National Symphony Orchestra, with whom Mendoza has had a working relationship for the last several years. The collaboration aimed to create a work that would feature soloists in the orchestra but to somewhat forge a new direction in this revered form. “My approach is a departure from the traditions of an orchestra concerto. For me it was more about having an arc that tells a particular story but also incorporates rhythmic and melodic aspects of African American music and improvisation.” explains Mendoza. 

“Coinciding with the composition of the concerto was the 2016 [American] saga of the election of ‘45’ and the resulting tremendous discord in the U.S. during that time. While writing this piece, the events happening in our country invaded my artistic space. For the first time I felt I couldn’t really write music and be removed from what was going on in our environment. I started seriously considering the importance of an artist to reflect the times and how I could make my music a reflection not only of what I was witnessing but what I hoped would occur. So that’s when the arc of this concerto started to take shape.” 

Mendoza, as a skilled practitioner of the classical-jazz fusion that Gunther Schuller once called third stream, was and is ideally suited to meet this challenge. “I sought to design the structure of the concerto to be inspired by M.L. King’s remarks on the moral universe, that the arc is long, but it bends toward justice. The beginning of the concerto (the first movement is called ‘American Noise’) reflects the discord that began leading up to the 2016 election. Of course, it pales in comparison to what we dealt with in 2020 and now 2021,” says Mendoza, “but the arc of the composition goes through that process of pure noise, much needed consolation and the need for ‘hitting the streets’. The end of the concerto seeks to reflect justice and the hope for a peaceful resolution to what we were only entering in 2016. Arguably in 2021 we still haven’t quite gotten there.” 

Throughout the “Concerto for Orchestra,” drummer Antonio Sanchez provides rhythmic  textures using color, placement and variation accenting the various motifs and ideas expressed in Mendoza’s score. “Antonio thinks and plays like a composer,” says Mendoza. “He was the perfect person to step into this music. He was very sympathetic to what I wanted to achieve, while never losing his voice in the process.” Joshua Redman’s saxophone performance in “Meditation” provides an important improvisational voice to the movement. Mendoza points out that the piece was not originally conceived to have improvised commentary in it. “Once we recorded it, I thought that the music asked for Joshua’s dialog with the orchestra. Joshua understood the purpose and the mood that was needed in that moment, and he played so beautifully.” 

The fifth movement of the concerto, “Justice and the Blues,” is a sly reference to two famous quotations from philosopher and public intellectual Dr. Cornel West: “Justice is what Love looks like in public,” and "The Blues responds to the catastrophic with compassion, without drinking from the cup of bitterness." “When we recorded this piece last year in July (of 2019) in particular that last movement – the middle section of that piece that has the groove and the vamp, was originally going to be an instrumental solo,” Mendoza recalls, “I thought we should really have a message there through rap instead. Listening to the recordings of Black Thought, his work seemed to reflect a certain awareness of message I wanted to bring out in this piece. When he agreed to record, Covid hit the U.S. and we were delayed. And then (the death of) George Floyd happened – and then the reaction to George Floyd happened. And so, the shift of consciousness of what we thought was going to be in Black Thought’s performance was entirely different. Then he came up with this amazing heartfelt text,” Hodge provides a foundation of groove for the music and Black Thought’s text of Freedom Over Everything.

“In a way, my plan for a long, constructed arc was interrupted by reality. That’s sort of Jazz sensibility. You can plan your structure but then somebody comes in with their voice and completely changes your point of view. And I love that part of it – things are going to change when the human spirit gets put into it. Improvisation gives us that,” says Mendoza. He is uniquely suited to address these challenges with the ability to speak in the language of the composer and the language of the improviser. It is this denouement which allows for the transition from the end of the “Concerto for Orchestra” to “The Edge of Longing.”

When Mendoza finished writing the concerto the years of turbulence portrayed in the narrative arc of the music seemed to cry out for a piece that might serve as consolation communicating that ‘it’s going to be okay.’ “I wanted it also to be somewhat of an encouraging text that was going to bring people together and bring light into our situation,” Mendoza explains. “To The Edge Of Longing” is an extraordinary art song setting composed by Mendoza for Julia Bullock with orchestral accompaniment, based on verses from the “Book of Hours” by the late 19th, early 20th century poet and novelist Rainer Maria Rilke. 

Ms. Bullock described her approach to the material this way: “Vince wrote a poignant setting of an English translation of the German text by Rilke, which is what first got me excited about the project. There’s an intimacy in what is said, but the intensity of the words makes the scope far reaching, and Vince’s music follows that framework. The singers and interpreters I most respect and admire have clear intentions in the delivery of whatever music they share, and I aim for that same kind of immediacy—whether it was music written centuries ago or with my voice in mind. As long as there’s a message to be communicated and a genuine connection to that message, I find no reason to limit how to use my voice, or in which context. So, in that respect, it’s wonderful to participate in a project that is also uninhibited.”

There’s a through line music lovers can identify from Mendoza’s body of work as an arranger and from his previous long form orchestra works as a composer; especially Epiphany (1999) and Constant Renaissance (2019.) “New York Stories,” a Concertino for Trumpet and Orchestra, was commissioned by the Czech National Symphony featuring trumpeter and orchestra founder Jan Hasenöhrl.

As with the artists and the orchestra, Mendoza selected a co-producer and engineer with the capability and experience to be able to work in both the jazz and classical idioms equal to his own whom he knew from his work with the Metropole Orchestra. Jonathan Allen — formerly the chief engineer at the most famous recording studio in the world, Abbey Road — was responsible for the recording, mixing and mastering of this album. If it is true, as Aristotle once said, that “Music has the power of producing a certain effect on the moral character of the soul,” then Vince Mendoza’s Freedom Over Everything is sure to be received as a welcome addition to the times in which we live.

Vince Mendoza | Freedom Over Everything

Modern Recordings | Release Date: July 2, 2021

For more information on Vince Mendoza, please visit:

vincemendoza.net | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram

For more information on Modern Recordings, please visit...

Jeff Lorber Fusion / Space-Time (July 2nd, 2021 Shanachie Entertainment)

GRAMMY WINNING JEFF LORBER FUSION BLASTS FAST FORWARD ON INTERGALACTIC JAM SPACE-TIME OUT JULY 2nd!

The Stars Align on Anticipated New CD Featuring Special Guests Hubert Laws, Bob Mintzer, Paul Jackson Jr., Gerald Alright & More

“I’m incredibly lucky to spend my time doing something that I love. When you are doing things that you enjoy, it is easy to spread those good vibes around,” shares Jeff Lorber. The down to earth and humble trailblazing Grammy-winning pianist, composer and producer has built an impressive four-decade career, transcending musical boundaries and honing his own uniquely identifiable sound. A groundbreaking Fender Rhodes pioneer along with Herbie Hancock, Joe Sample and Bob James, Lorber is also one of the most in-demand producers in Contemporary Jazz. Maintaining a busy schedule during the pandemic this past year, Lorber worked on projects with Herb Alpert, Richard Elliot, Norman Brown and Alexander Zonjic, just to name a few. 

“While working on all of these projects,” explains Jeff, “I was sending my manager Bud Harner stuff that I was writing and he was particularly enthusiastic when I sent him my now new single “Back Room” in demo form. His reaction really inspired me to want to focus on making my own record.” July 2, 2021 Jeff Lorber continues to affirm why he is a magnetic force of nature with the release of the anticipated Space-Time. In selecting an album title, Jeff Lorber alludes to his affinity for science and physics. With all the recent chatter about Government confirmed UFO sightings and potential extra terrestrial life, Lorber muses, “If there are aliens, they are probably watching I Love Lucy right now and maybe jamming to early Miles Davis and John Coltrane or listening to some Sun Ra!”

Space-Time is a supersonic odyssey with longtime Jeff Lorber Fusion trio-mates drummer Gary Novak (who has worked with everyone from George Benson to Chick Corea) and bassist/Yellowjackets founding member Jimmy Haslip. “I first met Jimmy and we worked together in the early 80s but we really started working closely in 2010 after a tour we did together in Russia,” recalls Lorber. “He’s a good partner to have and he keeps the big picture in mind, when I sometimes tend to be more detail oriented about things. Gary became part of the core rhythm section around 2010. He’s a good friend and good hang. We have a lot of fun together besides making music.” The album also enlists some help from flutist Hubert Laws, guitarists Paul Jackson, Jr., Michael Landau and Robben Ford, saxophonists Bob Mintzer, Dave Mann, Gary Meek and Gerald Albright (who actually plays electric bass on a track). Space-Time showcases new and original material including a track that was penned for Jeff’s friend and towering piano giant Chick Corea, shortly after his passing.

Jeff Lorber Fusion maps out all of the celestial coordinates on Space-Time, offering a wondrous galaxy of sonic delight. Lorber and company manage to create a sound and feel throughout the album that captures the essence and vibe of a live show. “All the musicians are experienced studio musicians and that’s something that studio players always aim for. The idea is to make it sound natural, grooving and relaxed and to capture the sound of playing for a live audience even though the audience isn’t physically there.” While most of the band completed the album from their own remote studio locations, Lorber and Gary Novak did have the opportunity to record together in the same studio. “Over the last number of years most of us have gotten used to tracking at home,” explains Jeff. “So from that standpoint it wasn’t that different from a normal record. One thing that was different, however was the absence of live touring, I was able to really focus on the record and this album benefitted positively from that.”

In 2018, Jeff Lorber Fusion scored their first Grammy win with the recording Prototype. Lorber reflects, “Winning a Grammy was a thrill, especially after not winning after the last six nominations. It felt very different to hear my name rather than somebody else’s after ‘the winner is…!” Jeff Lorber Fusion came to life in the 70s when the pianist attended Berklee College of Music. A true clinician, Lorber has made it a point to study the long line of modern jazz pianists since 1945. “Herbie Hancock and Chick Corea have been major influences but I had to go back and try to figure out who they listened to and were inspired by,” says Lorber. “Some of these icons that come to mind are Bill Evans, Thelonious Monk, McCoy Tyner and Bud Powell.” He adds, “I also can’t forget all of the pianists who played with Miles Davis such as Red Garland, Wynton Kelly, Tommy Flanagan and Horace Silver.” Growing up in Cheltenham, Pennsylvania offered great inspiration for Jeff Lorber. “There were a lot of home grown record labels like Cameo Parkway and Philadelphia International (Gamble and Huff) not to mention tons of home grown talent and the Dick Clark show originated from there too.”

In 1977 Jeff Lorber Fusion released their self-titled debut. Their 1980 album Wizard Island made the introduction of a then little known Kenny G. The ensemble quickly gained traction and became one of the most popular jazz acts, touring nonstop. In 1982 Lorber made his solo debut with It’s A Fact. He scored his first Grammy nomination in 1985 for his radio hit “Pacific Coast Highway” from his album Step By Step. In the 90s Lorber released a successful string of projects including West Side Stories (1994), State of Grace (1996) and Midnight (1998). During this time Lorber also stayed busy producing Michael Franks, Richard Elliot, Gerald Albright and Rick Braun, among others. The prolific pianist continued to add to his accolades with his shining recordings Kickin’ It (2001), Philly Style (2003), Flipside (2005), He Had A Hat (2007, Grammy nominated) and Heard That (2008), Now Is The Time (2010, Grammy nominated), Galaxy (2012, Grammy nominated) Hacienda (2013, Grammy nominated) and Step It Up (2015). Lorber made his first recordings for Shanachie as a member of Jazz Funk Soul with the late revered guitarist Chuck Loeb and saxophonist Everette Harp on the albums Jazz Funk Soul and the Grammy nominated More Serious Business.

Jeff Lorber has endured his own battle with Polycystic Kidney Disease (PKD) and has made it a mission to work with the PKD Foundation to raise awareness. “I was very lucky that my wife donated her kidney,” shares the pianist. “I’m very grateful for that. My sister had a transplant a couple years ago and she is doing well also. There are some solutions that are being worked on but like many genetic based diseases it could be a long time before there is significant progress. People should know that there are 800,000 people in the US with PKD and two million worldwide. It’s a huge problem that unfortunately doesn’t get a lot of publicity.”

With the release of Space-Time, Jeff Lorber continues to demonstrate that his inspiration to push his music forward is as energized as it ever was. He concludes, “Just being alive at this time with everything that’s going on and all of the developments in music technology, keeps me busy and on my toes!” 

1. Space-Time

2. Back Room

3. Sun Princess

4. Mind Reader

5. Memorex

6. Louisiana

7. Curiosity

8. Chick

9. Day One

10. The Truth

11. Memorex Reprise

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Back Room Features:

Jeff Lorber: Keyboards and Synth Bass

Jimmy Haslip: Electric Bass

Gary Novak: Drums

David Mann: Horn Arrangement/Performance

Paul Jackson Jr.: Guitar and Guitar Solo

Introducing Al Hammerman - Just A Dance (will be released Friday, July 2nd 2021)

“I love his musical sensibilities and the way he pays loving

homage to the Great American Songbook. Musically, his

sense of style and swagger are meticulous.”

Grammy Winner Steve Tyrell

“In short, love him – love his talent – I will sing one of Al's

tunes sooner than later.”

Grammy Winner Patti Austin

Just A Dance - the 5th album by St. Louis based lyricist and composer Al Hammerman - is a welcome addition to the pantheon of great pop and jazz records. Hammerman's songs enchant the ears with jazz harmonies and memorable melodies tinged with pop, blues and Latin influences.

Hammerman has assembled an all-star group of vocalists and musicians for this record. These world class arrangements and performances help make these songs instant classics. His catchy melodies and sophisticated lyrics often stay with the listener long after the song has ended.

Many listeners are probably aware of Hammerman’s music without even knowing it, having heard his award winning songs in movies like Passengers, Gotti and Kin; on TV shows like Criminal Minds, Drop Dead Diva and Dynasty; and in commercials for companies like Armani and Volkswagen.

As with so many great songwriters, Hammerman’s signature musical sound is his trademark. After listening to this album, you’ll always be able to tell ‘that’s an Al Hammerman song!

1. What Else (feat. Alan Ox) 2:22

2. Everybody Knows (feat. Erin Bode) 3:26

3. Been Through the Blues (feat. Feyza Eren) 2:54

4. Right on Riverside (feat. Brian Owens) 4:30

5. Break Out the Blues (feat. Alan Ox) 5:24

6. In LA (feat. Arvell Keithley) 4:14

7. Just a Dance (feat. Feyza Eren) 3:13

8. Maybe Be Mine (feat. Alan Ox) 4:38

9. Sad Sunny Day (feat. Erin Bode) 3:34

10. Not Sure (feat. Brian Owens) 3:05

11. Always Looking Up (feat. Erin Bode) 3:53

12. Keep Keep’n On (feat. Brian Owens) 4:49

13. Just a Dance (Country - feat. Feyza Eren) 3:30

All songs composed by Al Hammerman

Words & Music - Al Hammerman

Arrangements - Mark Maher

Featured Vocalists - Erin Bode, Feyza Eren, Arvell Keithley,

Brian Owens, Alan Ox

Background Vocalists - Valencia Branch, Amber Sweet

Keyboards - Mark Maher (solo: 9)

Guitar - Phil Ring (solo: 3)

Bass - Zeb Briskovich

Drums - Miles Vandiver

Percussion - R. Scott Bryan

Alto Sax - Jason Swagler (solo: 1), Ben Reece (solo: 2, 4, 11, 12)

Tenor Sax, Flute - Ben Reece

Trumpet - Andy Tichenor, Garrett Schmidt (solo: 4, 5, 6)

Trombone - Cody Henry (solo: 4, 8), Jim Owens

Violin - Abbie Steiling (solo: 7), Emily Rockers Bowman

Viola - William Bauer

Cello - Andy Hainz

Just a Dance will be released Friday, July 2nd 2021

Al Hammerman can be found on his website, Facebook, Youtube and Twitter

Red Light Jazz Society - Hookin' Up (June ZenneZ Records)

The Red Light Jazz Society (RLJS) is a young and energetic big band that was formed in Amsterdam. The 18 young musicians already have a considerable track record individually, working with Jazz Orchestra of the Concertgebouw, Metropole Orkest and the Danish Radio Big Band.

Their release Hookin’Up brings you all the rich colors that are characteristic for a big band’s palette. All tunes are originals and composed and arranged by members of the ensemble.

I really enjoyed listening … a great example of the “next generation” of the Dutch big band scene” – Jim McNeely

The album was recorded at Fattoria Musica (Germany), January 2020, by Chris Weeda. The band was directed by Nikolai Bøgelund.

1. Obliquity and the Elliptical Path Around the Sun 08:23

2. Gentle Woman 04:43

3. What Now 04:50

4. Illusions 05:29

5. Lazy Lady 05:17

6. Prela 06:21

7. Rumination 06:36

8. Turnaround 06:25

9. Letter to JM 05:50

10. Buster's BBQ 05:22

Reeds

Guus Janssen, Mo van der Does, Gideon Tazelaar, Stan van de Wetering, Jessie Brevé

Trumpets

Dave Vreuls, Robin Rombouts, Koen Smits, Tom Ridderbeekx, Thijs van den Geest

Trombones

Jeroen Verberne, Alex van Abeelen, Sam Thomas, Bart van Gorp

Robert Koemans - piano

Gijs Idema - guitar

Cas Jiskoot - bass

Wouter Kühne - drums

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Trio Rhizome - A.R.C. en Ciel (2021 IMR)

1. Sweet Ocean 04:39

2. For Bill 05:19

3. Quiet 05:28

4. Odusseia 03:22

5. The Shepperd's Complaint 03:39

6. Gravityless 05:34

7. Dead Whales 05:33

8. Chanson Bulgare 01:40

9. Ice Flowers 07:20

10. Kaïros 03:34

11. The dogs bark and.... 03:38

Claudie Boucau : flutes, bansuri, harmonica, calls

Richard Héry : drums, percussions, bass clarinet

Alain Blesing : guitar, electronic

Cover by Julius Baltazar

Mixing : Richard Héry

Mastering by Maurice Salaün

All compositions by Alain Blesing excepted "Chanson Bulgare" by Alain Blesing and Yves Rousseau

All arrangements trio Rhizome

With the support of the Departemental Council of Puy-de-Dôme (F63)

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LRK Trio - Memory Moment (Losen Records)

This album evokes all sorts of feelings upon listening to it. Whether it be recalling my personal experiences while traveling through an entire day with the trio on the epic first track Morning: Long Day: Evening: Run or imagining the varied faces and colorful designs of dancing Petrushka, the music on this album from beginning to end readily conjures up rapidly changing scenes as if they were being projected onto a widescreen cinema.

As with LRK recordings of the past, the natural sounds of all instruments are faithfully reproduced and clearly heard against each other. Meanwhile, the introduction of electronic sounds is done tastefully in Memory Moment, an intense composition with a wondrous progressive rock touch. Voices and natural sounds are deftly incorporated into Through The Winter, a composition that arouses courage and a strong will to endure what I can only guess as being an actual, harsh Russian winter.

The positive, inspiring sounds contained throughout this album are sure to make it one that I will choose to listen to over and over again.

1. Morning - E.Lebedev - 6.14

2. Long Day - E. Lebedev - 1.51

3. Evening - A. Revnyuk - 3.22

4. Run - I.Kravtsov - 7.03

5. If - A.Revnyuk - 0.43

6. Memory Moment - I.Kravtsov - 7.57

7. Through The Winter - E. Lebedev - 9.24

8. To - A.Revnyuk - 0.39

9. Petrushka - E. Lebedev - 6.30

10. Return - A. Revnyuk - 1.13

Evgeny Lebedev piano, synth

Anton Revnyuk upright bass, electric bass, programming

Ignat Kravtsov drums, sampling pad, percussion, metallophone

Guests:

Grech Piotrowski soprano sax, track 9

Ensemble Alyunoshka vocals, track 7

Recorded in December 2019 by Yakov Zakhvatkin at Cinelab Studio, Moscow, Russia

Mixed and mastered by Yan Perchuk, Los Angeles (CA), USA

Cover design by Vitalia Zvereva

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Amara - Amara (June 30, 2021 Sola Terra)

Responding to their environment, Amara’s sound is greatly influenced by the cold and dark months of autumn and winter in Glasgow, a city which can be unrelenting in its greyness. It is a product of that. After sifting through hundreds, perhaps thousands, of hours of recordings, a narrative slowly formed and Amara began to revisit some ideas. It is these ideas that make up this album. The album is the narrative.

Amara was formed from a jam, and the music in this album came from many months of improvisation. At gigs, at rehearsals, out and about on the streets, Amara would freely improvise with one another, weaving themselves and their spirits together so that, no longer individuals, the musicians became one.

1. Intro 02:55

2. Blue 08:56

3. Ruby 07:02

4. Spirits 10:15

5. Psychedelic Potato 04:00

6. Rotations 06:17

7. Street Lamp 04:10

+ All compositions by Amara

+ Tracked & mixed by Luigi Pasquini

+ Mastered by Mark Dobson

+ Artwork by Rebecca Ashton

+ Design & Layout by C.O.Turner

+ Sola Terra STR005

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Have You Heard? Min Xiao-Fen "White Lotus" (feat. Rez Abbasi) June 2021 via Outside In Music

VISIONARY PIPA SOLOIST, VOCALIST AND COMPOSER MIN XIAO-FEN SET TO RELEASE WHITE LOTUS VIA OUTSIDE IN MUSIC

Co-produced by multi-Grammy winning recording engineer Jim Anderson, original soundtrack features acclaimed guitarist Rez Abbasi

White Lotus is multi-instrumentalist, singer and composer Min Xiao-Fen’s original soundtrack to The Goddess, a 1934 silent film from China’s cinematic golden age. Best known for her genre-breaking performances on the four-string pipa, Min has collaborated with artists like Wadada Leo Smith, Randy Weston, John Zorn and Bjork. White Lotus also features the work of acclaimed guitarist Rez Abbasi, co-producer and multi-Grammy winning recording engineer Jim Anderson, and Grammy-nominated immersive sound producer Ulrike Schwarz.

Min Xiao-Fen arrived in the United States in 1992 feeling a “need for something new.” She had grown up in Nanjing, where her father was a pipa master. He taught her his instrument, and also to sing Beijing Opera. The family also knew the music of Bach, Beethoven, and Mozart. Min’s sister became a prominent erhu virtuoso and her brother a symphonic conductor. When Min graduated from high school in 1977, the Cultural Revolution had not quite subsided – music conservatories remained closed. Min successfully auditioned for Nanjing’s leading traditional music ensemble and wound up playing eighty concerts a year, including European tours. Meanwhile, Min began singing in Chinese clubs, backed by saxophone, electric guitar, and drums. Min’s voice proved adaptable to cooler Western styles. Some of her father’s colleagues were not pleased.

A turning point came in New York City when John Zorn invited Min to improvise – which she had never attempted. That led to performing Thelonious Monk tunes for Jazz at Lincoln Center. She thought Thelonious Monk “was actually a monk. My contact with his music felt physical,” she recalls. Her transformational Monk renditions remain a Min Xiao-Fen signature.

This Chinese-American fusion is one of the highest achievements in present-day world music. It is wondrously explicable. China’s seismic political and cultural upheavals produced an earthquake of creativity. Conservatory-bound composers wound up in the countryside, absorbing folk music styles exploring timbre in ways they had never imagined. And – following Chinese speech, in which tonal infections impart meaning – Chinese folk tunes subtly manipulate pitch, sliding between notes that are separately voiced by keyed Western instruments. A generation of important Chinese composers, paradoxical beneficiaries of enforced rural relocation, wound up studying in the West. For many, Bela Bartok became a lodestar for his way of retaining the spontaneity and savage beauty of folk elements. And so Chinese composers discovered a middle ground between Chinese and Western instrumental performance – a musical kaleidoscope sounding “Asian” to American ears for its sighing speech-song and taut percussion patterns, yet equally foreign, in harmonic idiom, to Chinese audiences.

This new music spawned a virtuosity of which Min is a peak exemplar. Her musical adventures have led in many directions. The present collaboration with Rez Abbasi, whose virtuosity is as protean as Min’s, is special. Born in Karachi, raised in Southern California, Rez is a keen student of jazz, ethnic, and classical music. The resulting combination of pipa, guqin, ruan, and sanxian – all plucked instruments – with acoustic and electric guitars produces a limitless range of juxtaposition: of similarity and imitation; of dialogue and contradiction. The strumming physicality, the skittish passagework, the delicacy of inflection accessible to both players yields a veritable lexicon of East/West fusion. To this are added the complex melismas, shifting vibratos, and rapid-fire ornamentation of Min’s vocalism, as rooted in scat as in timeless Chinese tradition.

The ethnomusicologist Marc Perlman once remarked that “musical borders can be crossed, but the value of crossing them depends on the degree to which you respect them.” Some hybrids are slapdash. The intermingling of styles in White Lotus is complete and comprehensive.

From the liner notes by author, concert producer, and teacher Joseph Horowitz

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