Bert Van Den Dungen Quartet - 2 Sessions (2017)

I am happy with this band. It is a combination of musical personality’s what is working perfectly for me and the music we want to play.

After a tour in Argentina we did the first session. There was not much time to prepare the recording but I didn’t mind. I felt that it was right no matter what I prepared. The previous recordings I had the feeling to direct it in a way. This one I just want to let it happen. All the tunes were new for us and after playing them through a couple times we recorded them.

The second session was after the Christmas break and we did it the same way as the first session. However there was a different mood. You can hear it clearly in the tune named Two Sessions. I liked them both so they are both on this record. I hope you like this recording as much I did making it.

01. Mating Call

02. Hackensack

03. Two Sessions 2

04. I Am a Little Bit Disappointed in Your Attitude so Far

05. Stay on It

06. The Legends Returns

07. Two Sessions 1

08. Situation on Easy Street

09. Prisoner of Love 2

10. African Ascension: The Sun God of the Masai

11. Prisoner of Love 1

Bert van den Dungen – tenor & soprano sax

Miguel Rodriquez – piano

Marius Beets – double bass

Gijs Dijkhuizen: drums

Dr. Mint - Voices in the Void (ORENDA RECORDS 2017)

Voices in the Void, the fifth release by LA/NYC electronic jazz-rock outfit DR. MINT presents the band’s most evolved and exciting work to date. Each tune is spontaneously conceived, as the band employs a potent combination of skeletal composition, extensive improvisation, and rhythmic themes from a multitude of genres; improvisation, electronica, and heavy rock influences lay the foundation for the horns to shape winding melodies and dynamic solos. As a whole, the album’s arc weaves a rich musical-tapestry born of the band’s decade-long association and collective musical experience. 

DR.MiNT formed in 2007 when Los Angeles musicians Daniel Rosenboom (trumpets), Gavin Templeton (saxophones), and Alexander Noice (guitar and electronics), joined New York City rhythm section Sam Minaie (bass and electronics) and Caleb Dolister (drums). They instantly forged a signature sound through their collective synergy towards pure long-form improvisation. In fact, their first album, Visions and Nightmares (pfMentum), was recorded in two complete, unedited takes just moments after Rosenboom and Noice were introduced to Dolister, a long time friend of Templeton and Minaie. A few short months later, the band quickly followed up with 2008’s A New Symphony (SNP Records), recorded as a single, continuous improvisation in a five-movement symphonic form. 

The project later evolved with their next release, Ritual (ORENDA), as frontmen Daniel Rosenboom and Gavin Templeton integrated a series of hand cues and started writing melodic material in real time while performing and recording. This new strategy opened up an unexpected gateway to produce a much more intelligent recording as new and repeating thematic ideas propelled the music. 

With their 2013 follow-up, Kingsize Sessions (ORENDA), the band experimented for the first time with short-form improvisations. It was also the first album that the band did not record in a live concert setting, opting instead to discover a different kind of creativity in a studio environment. Read more...

01. Kingdom in the Middle

02. Spacerobot[Dance]

03. Down To One

04. The (Two)(Three) Sun Erupts

05. Fanfare Mécanique

06. A Bird, An Assassin

07. Nymbists

08. Empyrean

09. N-Drift

10. Anathema

Daniel Rosenboom: trumpet

Gavin Templeton: saxophones

Alexander Noice: electric guitar & FX

Sam Minaie: electric Bass & FX

Caleb Dolister: drums

Jazz Is Phish - He Never Spoke a Word (2017)

The all-star Phish tribute band will take their new music on the road this spring with a series of unforgettable performances – celebrating a beloved, 30-year catalog – beginning with a show at Brooklyn’s adored Brooklyn Bowl on February 16th. The Jazz Is PHSH live show collects a rotating cast of esteemed musicians, fully embraced by the phan community and known to impress – information regarding additional tour dates (below) and featured musicians can be found HERE.

Jazz is PHSH is a collective of innovative jazz and jam musicians, who re-invent the music of Phish into a jazz-inspired, improvisational, instrumental soundscape. The group celebrates the music of Phish through a jazz filter, with an intense focus on legitimacy and un-matched musicianship. Jazz is PHSH’s authenticity is underscored by its lineup – featuring musicians who have toured with Phish and Trey Anastasio Band. The group has included such renowned musicians as Jeff Coffin (Dave Matthews Band), DennisChambers, Kofi Burbridge (Tedeschi Trucks Band), Chris Bullock (Snarky Puppy),Carl Gerhard (Phish’s Giant Country Horns), Michael Ray (Phish’s Cosmic Country Horns), Holly Bowling, Scott Flynn (Pretty Lights Live Band), among other powerhouse musicians – with the Chase Brothers at the helm.

The Chase Brothers – Adam and Matthew Chase – have worked tirelessly to pull this incredible act together. No strangers to the touring and session circuit, Adam and Matthew have performed and collaborated with a variety of world renowned artists including Santana, Aerosmith, Kiss, Crosby Stills and Nash, Derek Trucks, Dicky Betts, Victor Wooten, Oteil Burbridge, Kofi Burbridge as well as members of The James Brown Band, Bootsy Collins Band, Galactic, Lettuce, Trey Anastasio Band, Victor Wooten Band, Snarky Puppy, Trombone Shorty, Break Science, Pretty Lights Live Band, Aretha Franklin Band, Saturday Day Night Live Band, Cage The Elephant, The Word, Aquarium Rescue Unit, Jazz is Dead and many more.

01. Ghost

02. Cars Trucks Buses

03. Weight

04. Foam

05. 46 Days

06. Dog Log

07. Lawn Boy

08. Meat

09. Camel Walk

10. Magilla

11. Alumni Blues

12. A Letter to Jimmy Page-Alumni Blues

Matthew Chase: guitar

Adam Chase: drums

Anthony Wellington: bass

Chris DeAngelis: bass

Lenny Pettinelli: piano, organ

Holly Bowling: piano

Josh Thomas: keyboards

Jonathan Scales: steel pans

Carl Gerhard: trumpet

Michael Ray: trumpet

Scott Flynn: trombone

Derrick Johnson: trombone

Chris Bullock: tenor saxophone, flute

Jeff Coffin: tenor saxophone

Kofi Burbridge: flute

Tini Thomsen - The Long Ride (KUDOS RECORDS 2017)

As Tini Thomsen (youngest of 5 children) likes to get a lot of attention, her beloved bariton saxophone  enjoys the same characteristics ....in terms of sound. To let her instrument come to its full potential (and not just increase the volume)  skills are  required in the field of compositions and arrangements. But these are the kind of challenges she loves and brought her succes in Germany  where she was rewarded with the Jazzbaltica price (2015) and in 2016 with the GEMA music 'autor preis' in the Jazz / Crossover category. 

Back to the challenge.The succes of MaxSax wth all the great reviews, awards and non stop touring yielded new material.The music on The Long Ride was written especially for this strange instrument but never forgets the catchy melodies and rocking jazz.

Bassist and guitarist Mark Haanstra Tom Trapp have been specialists in playing baritone
supporting grooves, earwig melodies, delicate ballads and energetic solo passages. Looking up extremes proved to be the solution.

The sound was found, and then the following happened: On a Jazzfestival Thomsen met  her old childhood hero alto saxophone player Nigel Hitchcock (among others, Mark Knopfler, Incognito and Tom Jones).

Tini and Nigel got on really well and shortly afterwards they played together during the reunion of the legendary saxophone quartet 'Itchy Fingers'  with of course Tini on baritone sax. It became clear, Hitchcock had to join the MaxSax band .

Thomsen always used to shout "Fuck the alto sax! Well, it is human to make mistakes as the big supersax sound of Hitchcock and Thomsen is divine.

On the new album "Long Ride" you can find typical catchy melodies, larger arcs, longer build-ups and more space for solos. The new CD, reflects the live sound of the band pretty well . Thomsen about this progress: The first album was fully produced in the studio around the baritone sax, but "The Long Ride" puts the whole band in the spotlight.

Tom Trapp contributed three compositions to the repertoire.His energetic and extroverted solos can be heard in his compositions "Lightning Girl" and "Equalizer".'Chicago' is a piece that certainly lingers.  'Say It Quietly 'is the ballad with alto sax feature and Tini's favorite moment during the
performances .

'Petals' made it also to the the album: Looped Baritone grooves that have been developed  from a solo performance into a duo style performance between  Hitchcock and Thomsen: dreamy moments with grooves á la "Itchy Fingers'.

With this album "The Long Ride" Thomsen wants to fulfill what was written in the German newspaper 'Hamburger Zeit: "She will play on stages around the entire world."

1. Long Ride

2. Lightning Girl

3. Petal #1

4. Imaginary Friend

5. Chicago

6. Petal #2

7. Say It Quietly

8. Equalizer

9. Petal #3

Laurent Coulondre - Gravity Zero (SOUND SURVEYOR MUSIC 2017)

«De Ceccarelli à Cyril Atef, le fer de lance de la nouvelle génération d’un jazz décomplexé!» La Révélation Jazz aux Victoires de la Musique de l’année, est le parangon de cette généra tion sans complexe. Plus de catégories, plus de clans, primauté donnée au son et au plaisir, avec son nouveau duo (keys & drums !), le claviériste convoque la fine fleur des batteurs hexagonaux.

Sans se démonter il convoque sur le même morceau André Ceccarelli, figure tutélaire du swing français et Cyril Atef, le trublion de la batterie (Bumcello)… et ca marche! Un disque «toutes oreilles» qui ne laissera pas indifférent et devrait se frayer un joli petit chemin dans le sillage du phénomène Snarky Puppy.

01. Nitro (feat. Martin Wangermée)

02. Absolutely Not (feat. Martin Wangermée)

03. Gravity Zero (feat. Martin Wangermée, Yoann Serra)

04. Ballade sous les pommiers (feat. André Ceccarelli, Yoann Serra)

05. Sticky Brushing (feat. Martin Wangermée, André Ceccarelli, Yoann Serra, Cyril Atef)

06. Egyptian Queen (feat. Yoann Serra)

07. Swingy Pencil (feat. André Ceccarelli)

08. Koowang (feat. Martin Wangermée)

09. Vamos Tío (feat. Martin Wangermée)

10. Suspension Bridge (feat. Martin Wangermée, Cyril Atef)

11. Song for DD (Bonus Track)

Laurent Coulondre / Keyboards, Organ & Piano

Martin Wangermée / Drums (1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 9, 10)

André Ceccarelli / Drums (4, 5, 7)

Yoann Serra / Drums (3, 4, 5, 6)

Cyril Atef / Drums & Percussions (5,10)

Siks Haedo - Ready to Travel (2017)

Siks Haedo, the project of the guitarist and composer, Hispano-Argentine, Diego Lipnizky. Installed since 2012 in Paris.

Only 2 years and a great talent allow him to convince the public and the professionals of the show with his first album "Influencias" during the 15th edition of the Jazz Festival of Saint Germain de Pres.

This recognition comforts the guitarist to launch himself in the realization of a second album, "Ready to travel" in the colors of a metropolitan diversity that is the city of Paris.

1. Dernier Train 6:39

2. Brian de Nice 4:17

3. 20 Km Avant L'Andalousie 6:59

4. News from Maghreb 7:46

5. Chasing Bona 7:39

6. Welcome to Sotolongo 5:19

Diego Lipnizky - guitar and compositions

Olivier Bridot -trumpet / flugelhorn

Carlos Mejías - alto sax

François Faure  - piano

Laurent Salzard  - bass

Gaetn Diaz- drums

Glenn Zaleski - Fellowship (SUNNYSIDE RECORDS 2017)

Through the act of improvisation, the jazz musician is continually composing. When it comes to formal composing of pieces for a jazz ensemble, the jazz musician must be able to not only write a good melody but also to provide a “springboard” for the ensemble to communicate and improvise. Pianist Glenn Zaleski’s second recording for Sunnyside, Fellowship, reconvenes his trio, featuring bassist Dezron Douglas and drummer Craig Weinrib, to play a program of original compositions and a couple of insightfully arranged standards. 

Zaleski’s first trio recording for Sunnyside, My Ideal, came out in 2015 and was a collection of standards and cover songs performed in a highly individual and energetic manner. For Fellowship, Zaleski wanted to bring the same musical approach to compositions from his own pen, challenging his trio mates to new creative heights on new, unfamiliar pieces. 

In writing these new pieces, Zaleski paid special attention in crafting compositions that walked a fine line, as he says: “Overwriting can stifle improvisation, but underwriting can result in monotony or chaos.” His ideal composition being one that is both tuneful and a good harmonic/rhythmic vehicle for inspired solos from him and his band mates. The program is accentuated by two pieces by legendary jazz composers, Duke Pearson and John Coltrane, that help illustrate the continuum in the development of jazz composition and improvisation from the 1950s until now. 

The recording begins with the highly interactive and inventive “Table Talk,” named for the pie company based near his hometown of Boylston, Massachusetts. The ruminative “Westinghouse” is a poetic tribute to composer Billy Strayhorn, while Duke Pearson’s toe tapping “Is That So?” is played to a quietly stirring effect. The title track is a wonderfully composed (both in form and esthetic), a true meditation in music. 

Douglas’s tremendous intro bass solo on “Out Front” leads to the harmonic underpinning of the cyclic and longingly propulsive “Homestead,” a song about the frustrations of being on the road. Zaleski’s dynamic blues piece “Lifetime” is dedicated to a club in Shizuoka, Japan of the same name, the piece as joyful and warmhearted as his recollections of the club. The wonderful take on John Coltrane’s “Central Park West” puts the trio’s sensitive artistry on full display. The program concludes with the abstractly grooving “P.S.,” a knotty dedication to friend, vibraphonist and composer Peter Schlamb. 

Pianist Glenn Zaleski continues to show his maturity and expertise as an instrumentalist and bandleader. On Fellowship, he proves his meddle as a composer of note, one who is capable of bending ears toward beautiful melodies and intriguing compositional ideas.

1. Table Talk - (G. Zaleski)

2. Westinghouse - (G. Zaleski)

3. Is That So? - (Duke Pearson)

4. Fellowship - (G. Zaleski) 

5. Out Front - (G. Zaleski)

6. Homestead - (G. Zaleski)

7. Lifetime - (G. Zaleski)

8. Central Park West - (John Coltrane)

9. P.S. - (G. Zaleski)

Glenn Zaleski - piano

Dezron Douglas - bass

Craig Weinrib - drums

Renaud Garcia-Fons - La vie devant soi (E-MOTIVE RECORDS 2017)

Il fallait bien qu’un jour l’infatigable voyageur Renaud Garcia-Fons repasse par sa ville natale, Paris, capitale cosmopolite. A cette cité-carrefour, point de rencontre d’artistes de toutes nationalités, le contrebassiste franco-espagnol consacre son nouvel album « La vie devant soi », le titre même du livre d’Ajar-Gary qui conte « ce lien extraordinaire entre un petit orphelin arabe et une mamma juive ».

Pour ce projet, Renaud Garcia-Fons, s’est entouré de David Venitucci (accordéon) et Stephan Caracci (vibraphone et percussions), deux complices en innovation, avec comme fil conducteur cette idée, fondamentale pour lui, de « créer une sorte de musique de chambre, jouer ensemble, chercher les nuances, les textures de sons, en partant de l’acoustique ».

Connu pour sa maîtrise du flamenco, ses échappées vers l’Inde ou l’Orient, son amour du bassin méditerranéen, Renaud Garcia-Fons avait envie d’autre chose, en remontant ainsi le temps d’une ville aux multiples facettes, en délaissant la géographie pour privilégier la chronologie, de l’école française de la fin XIXe au jazz parisien. « Ce serait réducteur de dire que je ne fais que des musiques méditerranéennes, orientalisantes. Mon bagage n’est pas fait que de ça. J’ai écouté Satie et Debussy avant d’écouter Munir Bashir… » 

La preuve avec ces onze scènes subtilement parisiennes, en autant de clins d’œil à Prévert, Doisneau ou Michel Simon, du trépidant Montmartre en courant à l’élégance nostalgique de Le long de la Seine. Un voyage entre groove et poésie, gouaille et nostalgie… une ode à l’humain.
Jean-Stephane Brossé

Photo: Roberto Domínguez / Fotografiando el Jazz

01. Les rues vagabondes (feat. David Venitucci, Stephan Caracci)

02. Revoir Paris (feat. David Venitucci, Stephan Caracci)

03. Je prendrai le métro (feat. David Venitucci, Stephan Caracci)

04. Montmartre en courant (feat. David Venitucci, Stephan Caracci)

05. Le long de la Seine (feat. David Venitucci, Stephan Caracci)

06. La vie devant soi (feat. David Venitucci, Stephan Caracci)

07. Apres la pluie (feat. David Venitucci, Stephan Caracci)

08. Monsieur taxi (feat. David Venitucci, Stephan Caracci)

09. Si ça te dit (feat. David Venitucci, Stephan Caracci)

10. Les écoliers (feat. David Venitucci, Stephan Caracci)

11. Élégie de novembre (feat. David Venitucci, Stephan Caracci)

Renaud GARCIA-FONS : Contrebasse 5 cordes

David VENITUCCI : Accordeon

Stephan CARACCI : Vibraphone, Batterie

Renaud Garcia-Fons Website