NYC Recording Artist Valerie Ghent Salutes Dave Mason with Electrifying Remake of "Feelin' Alright"

The Multi-Talented Singer Releases NEW SINGLE !

Valerie Ghent - Feelin' Alright

Release Date: April 27, 2018

Powerhouse NYC recording artist Valerie Ghent salutes Dave Mason with the release of her new single, Feelin Alright, on April 27, 2018 - fifty years after the song’s initial release by English rock band, Traffic.

An electrifying remake of the soul-blues classic written by Dave Mason and made famous by Joe Cocker, Valerie delivers a strikingly powerful performance, heralding a band of world-class musicians recorded in New York City and France. In her full, live production complete with rock solid rhythm section, sizzling horns, a blazing piano solo and gospel-soul backing vocals, Ghent brings her multi-faceted talents (vocals, piano, organ, production, engineering & arranging) shaped by 20+ years working with music luminaries Ashford & Simpson, Nina Simone, Maya Angelou, Debbie Harry & Billy Preston to the forefront.  

Dave Mason says, “There are only two chords in Feelin’ Alright? Basically it’s an unrequited love song.” With the simplicity and emotion of Mason’s original, it’s no surprise the song has more than fifty recorded cover versions and is played all over the world.

“We’re thrilled to release our version of Feelin Alright in 2018,” Valerie says, “Feelin’ Alright is a timeless song, with a universal feeling everyone can relate to. Even though it was first released fifty years ago, to me the lyrics take on even more relevance today. Plus it’s such a fun song to play live! We had a blast putting our own NYC spin on it, while honoring the power of Joe Cocker’s version. We’ve been closing every show with Feelin Alright and audiences on both sides of the Atlantic love it. We salute you Dave Mason, and Joe Cocker, thank you both for bringing Feelin’ Alright into the world and giving us such a great song to sing.”

Feelin’ Alright features stellar performances from Valerie on piano and vocals, and top musicians you have heard on countless R+B hits including Luther Vandross/Ashford & Simpson bassist Tinkr Barfield, Average White Band drummer Rocky Bryant, Blues Hall of Fame pianist Dave Keyes, world-renowned percussionist Bashiri Johnson, Roberta Flack backing vocalists Dennis Collins, Keith Fluitt and Toto’s John James. Add to the mix a blazing horn section from Paris, Blues’Up organist Pierre Sibille, renowned French guitarist Jérôme Buigues, and Feelin’ Alright is ready to light up the world again in 2018! 

Available on iTunes, amazon, CDBaby and all streaming platforms April 27, 2018

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Concerts 2018 

March 27 - Ashford & Simpson’s Sugar Bar, NYC

April 22 - Plan B, Hyères

May 5 - Jazz Fola, Aix en Provence

Media Alert

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Playlist for Tom Ossana – The Thin Edge – March 28, 2018 MST 7:00 to 9:00p.m.

http://www.kzmu.org/listen.m3u ~ Use this link to access the show online.

Arnan Raz Quintet: Next Show

Hello dear friends. Have you heard "Chains Of Stories" already? The album is getting really nice reviews, just to include a few:

"Arnan Raz's touch on the tenor rarely is srained. Each breath is where it needs to be, and the band flows smoothly in his wake"

Sean O'Connell, Downbeat Magazine

“Chains of Stories” is a lovely recording, one which will stand the test of time. Arnan Raz continues to provide us with skilfully crafted, exquisitely executed music"

Mike Gates, UK Vibe

"Close your eyes and pick any of the nine tracks from Chains Of Stories, and you’ll feel the emotions pulsing through the piece"

Jennifer Greenberg, The Jerusalem Post

"And if jazz is the process of creating one minute’s music in one minute’s time, pleasure is certainly the process of enjoying one minute’s s music in one minute’s time – Chains of Stories is coming to you with 49 of those minutes."

Archaic Pop

I am also very happy to invite you to my next show! All the details are on this flyer. We will play music from the new album but mostly new music!

We would share the stage with the wonderful Tea Masters. Hope to see you there!

Much Love,

Arnan

Chamber 3: Christian Eckert / Steffen Weber / Matt Jorgensen - Transatlantic (ORIGIN RECORDS 2018)

Chamber 3 is an ongoing international collaboration between Seattle drummer Matt Jorgensen and guitarist Christian Eckert and saxophonist Steffen Weber from Germany. Since meeting in New York at the New School for Jazz & Contemporary Music in the early '90s, Jorgensen and Eckert have continued their musical relationship through the years with multiple projects, including the organ trio NY3 and tours in the U.S. and Europe. Adding Steffen Weber's dynamic musical voice in 2014, the trio convenes in Southern Germany or the U.S. for explorations through compositions and musical sketches that highlight their mesmerizing group aesthetic. Seattle bassist Phil Sparks joins the trio on "Tranatlantic," a collection of ten originals plus a Weber arrangement of the classic "When You Wish Upon a Star" from Pinocchio.

1. The Sparks (6:05)

2. Chillaxed (5:08)

3. Cosmic Cow (4:03)

4. Hesitant Spring (5:47)

5. Costa del Sol (4:29)

6. Black Forest Sound (6:51)

7. Naughty Boy (4:29)

8. Lu Channel (5:52)

9. Minor Moods (4:31)

10. Man Kann Sein Herz Einmal Verschenken (5:48)

11. When You Wish Upon A Star (4:27)

Chamber 3:

Christian Eckert - guitar

Steffen Weber - saxophone

Matt Jorgensen - drums

Phil Sparks - bass

Produced by Chamber 3

Recorded by Don Gunn at Studio Litho, Seattle, WA

August 1-2, 2016

Mixed by Don Gunn at The Office, Seattle, WA

Mastered by Floyd Reitsma at Resonant Mastering, Seattle, WA

Cover Design & layout by John Bishop

David Liebman | John Stowell - Petite Fleur: The Music of Sidney Bechet (ORIGIN RECORDS 2018)

"...a conversation between masters of their craft...sensitive and sublime...a marvelous collection of melody, harmony and joie de vivre."

JAZZ WEEKLY

Though a legendary figure from his monumental contributions to the clarinet and soprano saxophone's role in jazz, it was the compositions of Sidney Bechet that inspired master saxophonist David Liebman and guitarist John Stowell to dig deep into his catalog to compile and explore this set of rarely heard gems. Each possessing singular voices themselves that have inspired generations of other performers, Liebman & Stowell have created a very personal and intimate duo project celebrating another giant's work, their conversations making for compelling listening. "Guitarist Stowell and saxophonist Liebman find simple ways to express their expansive lexicon, and raise the intensity without shattering the resultant peaceful ambiance." - EMUSIC.

1 Petite Fleur (Duo) 2:33

2 Daniel 5:09

3 When the Sun Sets Down South 5:24

4 Premier Bal 5:46

5 What a Dream 4:09

6 Petite Fleur (John Solo) 3:50

7 Passport 5:56

8 Creole Blues 5:49

9 Nous Deux 5:19

10 Si Tu Vois Ma Mere 5 57

11 Summertime 6:44

12 Petite Fleur (Dave Solo) 2:36

David Liebman - Soprano Saxophone, Wood Flute, Piano

John Stowell - Steel and Nylon-string Guitars, Fretless Baritone Guitar

Produced by John Stowell

Recorded by Kent Heckman at

Red Rock Studio, Saylorsburg, PA

Recorded in April 2017

Mixed by Mike Doolin at

House of Doolescu, Portland OR

Mastered by Dan Dean at

DDP Productions, Mercer Island, WA

Photography by Melvin Bishop

Cover design & layout by John Bishop

Satoko Fujii Orchestra Berlin - Ninety-Nine Years (LIBRA RECORDS 2018)

Satoko Fujii’s Orchestra Berlin bursts with energy and excitement 

on their second recording, Ninety-Nine Years

“Satoko Fujii is the Ellington of free jazz.” – Cadence Magazine

“Satoko Fujii is a brilliant and inspiring jazz genius. There is just no other way to say it.”

– Travis Rogers Jr., The Jazz Owl

On Ninety-Nine Years (March 23, 2018 via Libra Records), composer-pianist Satoko Fujii premieres her first compositions written expressly for Orchestra Berlin. The ten-piece ensemble responds with a full-throated, buoyant performance that makes the album one of the most exciting in her large catalog of big band releases.   

Fujii convened Orchestra Berlin in 2015 to record Ichigo Ichie, a commission from the Chicago Jazz Festival, written for and originally performed by a ten-piece ensemble of Chicago musicians. Fujii, who was living in Berlin at the time, wanted to record the piece, so she asked German saxophonist Gebhard Ullmann, for whom she’d written arrangements heard on his 2004 Soul Note CD, Big Band Project, to put together a group to record her new composition. She had never heard or played with most of them. “I really didn’t know how they would play together or how the music would sound,” Fujii says. “I didn't expect them to play so hot, with so much energy.” 

Although composer-conductor and orchestra hadn’t worked together before, they clicked immediately. In his 4-star review of the album in All About Jazz, Budd Kopman wrote, “This is edge-of-the-seat music that has a palpable central line of energy flowing through it… frequently astonishing in its impact...” 

“Their sound made me want to write this project,” Fujii says. “I probably wouldn’t have written these pieces if I hadn’t done Ichigo Ichie with them.”

On Ninety-Nine Years, Fujii digs deep to bring out the special character of the band and its soloists. Her compositions call on the uninhibited energy of the group and leave plenty of room for soloist to contribute their own ideas. Her insightful conducting heightens the drama of each piece, setting off both writing and improvising to best effect. 

The album opens with “Unexpected Incident” (the Japanese government’s euphemism for the Fukushima nuclear disaster), a showcase for the band in all its bold, energized glory. The composition features the steamrolling power of the band’s tenor saxophonists, with Ullmann plowing ahead over the ensemble early in the piece, Matthias Schubert locked in a fierce duet with trombonist Matthias Müller, and concludes with Ullman’s growling, raving unaccompanied solo. 

In an unaccompanied solo, bassist Jan Roder opens “Ninety-Nine Years,” a dedication to Fujii’s late mother-in-law, with his strong sense of line and development. Drummers Peter Orins and Michael Griener and baritone saxophonist Paulina Owczarek enter one by one, building to an ebbing and flowing collective improvisation. Then Ullmann once again powers up, launching long flexing lines that erupt into contoured waves of pure sound. Fujii cues in an affecting, melancholy melody from the ensemble, contrasting sorrow and compassion with Ullmann’s unquenchable vitality. 

The percussionists display their close rapport and command of rhythm, groove, and texture in duets at the beginning of “On the Way,” before trumpeter Natsuki Tamura lightens the mood with a hilarious solo utilizing vocal sounds and odd-ball mutterings. 

Tamura suggested the title of “Oops,” whose tricky rhythms initially gave the horn players problems. Schubert once again brings excitement and grandeur to the proceeding in his wild, almost operatic solo. “Follow the Idea” brings the album to a close with another burst of white hot energy and wild swings between dead serious intensity and high-spirited humor. 

Most jazz composers work with one orchestra over time, but Fujii maintains no less than five. Each one has its distinct character, which she loves to explore. Fujii returned to Orchestra Berlin because, she says, “I think they bring out some part of me that the other bands don’t.”

Fujii’s unprecedented birthday bash continues in April with Bright Force (Libra) by Kira Kira, a quartet featuring Australian pianist Alister Spence, trumpeter Natsuki Tamura, and drummer Ittetsu Takemura. Intelsat, a duet with Spence will follow later in the year. May will see the release of Triad (Long Song Records), which showcases a one-time trio with Italian soprano saxophonist Gianni Mimmo and American bassist Joe Fonda. The summer months start to heat up in June with 1538 by This Is It!, a trio featuring Fujii with Tamura on trumpet and Takashi Itani on percussion. Fujii and bassist Fonda follow up their acclaimed 2016 duo album with a new one in July. Later in the year, a new recording by Orchestra Tokyo and the debut of a new piano-bass-drums trio will arrive. Other surprises and delights will be in store over the course of the year, in what is sure to be an unforgettable outpouring of musical riches.


Critics and fans alike hail pianist and composer Satoko Fujii as one of the most original voices in jazz today. She’s “a virtuoso piano improviser, an original composer and a bandleader who gets the best collaborators to deliver," says John Fordham in The Guardian. In concert and on more than 80 albums as a leader or co-leader, she synthesizes jazz, contemporary classical, avant-rock, and Japanese folk music into an innovative music instantly recognizable as hers alone. Over the years, Fujii has led some of the most consistently creative ensembles in modern improvised music, including her trio with bassist Mark Dresser and drummer Jim Black, the Min-Yoh Ensemble, and an electrifying avant-rock quartet featuring drummer Tatsuya Yoshida of The Ruins. Her ongoing duet project with husband Natsuki Tamura released their sixth recording, Kisaragi, in 2017.

“The duo's commitment to producing new sounds based on fresh ideas is second only to their musicianship,” says Karl Ackermann in All About Jazz. Aspiration, a CD by an ad hoc band featuring Wadada Leo Smith, Tamura, and Ikue Mori, was released in 2017 to wide acclaim. “Four musicians who regularly aspire for greater heights with each venture reach the summit together on Aspiration,” writes S. Victor Aaron in Something Else. She records infrequently as an unaccompanied soloist, but Solo (Libra), the first of her projected 12 birthday-year albums, led Dan McClenaghan to enthuse in All About Jazz, that the album “more so than her other solo affairs—or any of her numerous ensembles for that matter—deals in beauty, delicacy of touch, graceful melodicism.” As the leader of no less than five orchestras in the U.S., Germany, and Japan, Fujii has also established herself as one of the world’s leading composers for large jazz ensembles, leading Cadence magazine to call her, “the Ellington of free jazz.” 

www.satokofujii.com

Introducing Robert Diack - Lost Villages (Friday, April 13th, 2018)

The Lost Villages were a collection of nine communities and townships in Southern Ontario. The people therein were forcibly removed to make way for the St. Laurence Seaway, a 1950’s project which linked Southern Ontario to the Atlantic Ocean by a collection of waterways. The houses are submerged underwater, as the places where there once was human community there are now lakes. 

The album Lost Villages, which shares its name with the communities discussed above, was written with that inspiration of upheaval, however, the composition is grounded in and inspired by its own local geography; it is a product of the environment it was created in (largely composed in Southern Ontario, and Toronto). The writing of the album is extensively inspired by “post-rock” elements, and uses large scale repetitions and layering. These elements, when blended with those of jazz (and post-bop) synthesize into wholly new formulation of musical style. Citing influences from Godspeed You Black Emperor, Aaron Parks, and Philip Glass, the material is a fluid and flexible musical exploration.

Using acoustic and electronic instruments, this recording pushes boundaries in the jazz anthology, building off tradition to create something new. This recording has embraced post-production editing, allowing for techniques and influences from different genres to proliferate into the contemporary jazz moment. Some tracks feature editing, creating sounds which are impossible otherwise, and some tracks feature no editing at all.  The thematic material that this recording draws on is that of loss and submersion, set in the capitalist machine of society, and mirrors the namesake event. 

Featuring Patrick O’Reilly on Guitars, Jacob Thompson on Piano, Brandon Davis on Bass, and Robert Diack on drums, this recording showcases the next wave of talent in Canada.

Robert Diack is a drummer and composer from Toronto Canada. Robert has studied music extensively in Toronto, with over fifteen years of learning in various institutions across the city. Robert studied jazz at the University of Toronto and is a student of Nick Fraser. Composing for many years, he draws his influence from jazz and post-bop, to folk and traditional, to post-rock and pop music. As a drummer Robert has recorded and played over Canada, especially in Toronto. Recordings include two indie pop albums with Reenieband, large-scale informal releases with the musical collective Luscar, and an upcoming folk-rock album by David Madras. 

Lost Villages will be officially released internationally on Friday,  April 13th, 2018

Upcoming

CD RELEASE:

Monday April 16th @ the Rex Hotel

Robert Diack Website