Les Petits Nouveaux - Stockholm

Les Petits Nouveaux’s sophomore release is an exciting breath of fresh air in a genre that is often mired in traditionalism. The album’s namesake is a tribute to both Django Reinhardt and the group’s connection to the Swedish capitol through band member, Mikko Hilden. Half recorded in Toronto and half in Stockholm, it captures the musical journey of a Jazz Manouche ensemble that is set on pushing the envelope while respecting the traditions. Fusing Django Reinhardt’s infectious swing and the modern advancements of the post-war jazz era, Stockholm is a record that sounds nostalgic yet current.

The group collaborated with many of Canada’s well-established personnel to produce this record; including virtuoso vibraphonist, Michael Davidson, award-winning mix engineer, Don Kerr (Ron Sexsmith, Bahamas, Rheostatics), and Canadian Jazz Manouche ambassador, Denis Chang. The album is released with support from the Ontario Arts Council.

About the band:

Les Petits Nouveaux is a Jazz Manouche collective based in Toronto. The band's founder, Mikko Hilden, joins Aline Homzy, Andy Mac, and Tak Arikushi and overcome geographic challenges (Mikko now lives in Stockholm and Andy lives in Monteral) to create music. The band's name means "A little bit of new" in French, and they continually strive to introduce bits of modern influences while respecting the traditions of the genre. Influences as diverse as Astor Piazzolla, Julian Lage, and even Dr. Dre can be found in their repertoire.

The album's official release date is April 6th, and will be celebrated with a concert at the Burdock Music Hall, a renowned microbrewery/music hall in the heart of Toronto. 

1. Neptune 03:15

2. Catnip 03:10

3. Leapsheep 04:08

4. Bluie 05:09

5. Stockholm 04:19

6. Si Tu Savais 05:42

7. King's Garden 02:43

8. Tango Sobremesa 04:28

9. Morning Brew 04:03

10. BrZ 03:21

11. Blue Jasmine 04:41

12. Depaysment 04:09

This album was made over two years. It is made up of mostly original materials from the members of Les Petits Nouveaux.

Aline Homzy / violin (composer trax 2, 4, 7, 10)

Andy Mac / guitar (composer trax 1, 9 & 11)

Mikko Hilden / guitar (composer trax 8 &12)

Tak Arikushi / guitar (composer track 3)

Jim Sexton / bass (trax 1-6)

Marten Korkman / bass (trax 7-12)

Django Reinhardt - composer track 5

George Ulmer - composer track 6

Special thanks to the Ontario Arts Council for making this project possible, Michael Bourgeois and Marilyn Legge for your continued support, La Rev for helpin us grow as musicians and compsers, and providing a space for art to happen, Rolf Pilotti for lending us your room, and to Django Reinhardt for your eternal inspiration.

Concerto de Lançamento: - Demian Cabaud - Astah (PORTA-JAZZ / CARIMBO)

Demian Cabaud "Astah"

Gonçalo Marques - trompete

João Pedro Brandão - saxofone e flauta

Xan Campos - piano

Demian Cabaud- contrabaixo

Jeff Williams - bateria

Iago Fernandez - bateria

Este projecto é o sexto e mais recente álbum do Cabaud , “Astah”.

É uma experiência intensa e fresca , já que as duas baterias trazem uma grande quantidade de possibilidades tanto em dinâmicas quanto em direções musicais , liderados pela experiência de uma verdadeira lenda do jazz ,  Jeff Williams .

As composições tem sempre aquel fator de abertura que caracteriza a música do Cabaud , deixando espaço para que cada elemento expresse o seu ponto de vista e deixe impressa a sua própria personalidade , o resultado é sempre fresco e nunca se repete .

A essência da música está enraizada no jazz tradicional , com muitos momentos livres / improvisados e um “cheirinho”  de música tradicional da Argentina .

Este é a 42ª edição do Carimbo Porta-Jazz

O Ciclo "FEUP Lança Porta-Jazz" trata-se da parceria entre a Associação e o Comissariado Cultural da FEUP, e reúne os mais recentes projetos editados pelo Carimbo Porta-Jazz numa série de concertos de lançamento dos novos discos. Todos os concertos decorrem no auditório da FEUP e são de entrada livre.

Damien Cabaud “Astah“

19 de Abril - FEUP

20 de Abril - Ciclo de Jazz de Valença - Quinta do Caminho

21 de Abril - Ciclo Porta-Jazz em Famalicão - CRÚ: Espaço Cultural

Yuri Honing's single After All (CHALLENGE RECORDS 2018)

Great news for Yuri Honing. His single Aftel All, which was released in December 2017, has been played over 1.3 million times on Spotify. This makes it a true hit, a rarity in the jazz and classical music scene.

This week, the accompanying video clip was presented on YouTube and Facebook. After all, is there a better way to bring attention to a new release? This is all the result of Honing’s successful 2017 release Goldbrun, with his Acoustic Quartet (with Wolfert Brederode on the piano, Gulli Gudmundsson on the bass and Joost Lijbaart on drums). Goldbrun is a timeless musical document, using his capabilities to their full extent. Artistically, everything from his career is combined on this album: music in the broadest sense of the word, combined with different forms of art en even history.

Later this year, Honing will make himself heard again. From September 22nd, there will be an exhibition with Mariecke van der Linden in the Fundatie in Zwolle (The Netherlands). Also, a documentary about Honing is being produced, which will be released later this year. Furthermore, his album Goldbrun will be released on white vinyl, in the autumn of 2018

You can watch Yuri Honing Acoustic Quartet’s new music video here.

€ 19.95   BUY 

GOLDBRUN 

Yuri Honing Acoustic Quartet

The Detroit Bop Quintet - Two Birds (Friday, April 20th 2018)

Is it possible to recreate a classic Jazz recording in modern times? The answer: with some hard work, a little luck and a great band - Yes! 

On Two Birds, TQM Recording Co. and Detroit Bop Quintet pay tribute to the great Charlie Parker and his quintet made up of Miles Davis, Max Roach, Tommy Potter and Duke Jordan and the legendary recording they made at United Sound Systems in Detroit on December 21st 1947. 

Parker was in Detroit to perform with his quintet and back Sarah Vaughan at the El Sino Club.  With a recording strike looming, Savoy Records got them into the closest studio to record some sides.

As one of the world’s first independent recording studios, United Sound Systems has a wonderfully rich history, serving artists from John Lee Hooker to Jackie Wilson, Bob Seger to MC5, The Rolling Stones to Aretha Franklin, Issac Hayes to Parliament-Funkadelic to Red Hot Chili Peppers. It was founded by Jimmy Siracuse in the 1930s and has been at its current location, 5840 Second Avenue since the early 1940s. 

The Detroit Bop Quintet was assembled specifically for this United Sound Systems session in Detroit. The band is made up of four of Detroit's best Jazz musicians and Saxophonist Pete Mills from Columbus, Ohio that says he is proud to be called an honorary “Detroit-er”.

Here's an article written by Producer Ron Skinner about the impetus behind this project, and the recording process

Dwight Adams is a soul-inspired, R'n'B trumpeter. He has played and recorded with Marcus Belgrave, Rodney Whitaker, James Carter, Shawn Wallace and Donald Walden, and tours with Stevie Wonder. He has served as a jazz trumpet instructor at both Ohio State University and Michigan State University.

A native of Toronto Canada, critics have called saxophonist Pete Mills playing “virtuosic” and “gorgeous” (David Franklin, JazzTimes) and The Columbus Dispatch writes of Mills’ compositions as being “impressive with solos that are ear opening…with a tone that is big and rich”. Mills has received Jazz Performance Grants from the Canada Council and was a recipient of the North Carolina Arts Council Jazz Composer’s Fellowship.

Rick Roe is Assistant Professor of Jazz Piano at Michigan State University. Roe won First Place in the Great American Jazz Piano Competition in 1994, was twice a Semifinalist in Thelonius Monk International Jazz Piano Competition, in 1993 and 1999, and has been a featured performer in the Jacksonville (Florida) Jazz, Savannah (Georgia) Onstage International Arts, Montreaux/ Detroit Jazz, Birmingham Jazz, Lansing Jazz, Flint Jazz, and Hawaii Jazz (with Frank Morgan) Festivals.

Jazz string bassist Paul Keller wears many hats: He is a well-respected master of his instrument; he is a prolific composer and an outstanding arranger of music for small and large ensembles; he is an educator, an entertainer and impresario; he is a lover of, a student of, and a proponent of The Great American Songbook; he is a successful bandleader of several different groups and he is an in-demand sideman who has performed all over the world with a myriad of jazz luminaries. 

A consummate musician, Nathaniel Winn discovered his passion for the drums in church at the age of 4. Since then, the Detroit, Michigan native has never looked back. Nate has had the pleasure to work with many well-known musicians such as Danilo Perez, Robert Hurst, Pat Metheny and Joshua Redman. Nate's versatile, but unique style has earned him the opportunity appear on numerous albums.

Ron Skinner began his career as a musician in Southwest Ontario. Growing up a stone's throw from one of the world's greatest music cities, Detroit had a major impact on his musical tastes and sensibilities.  After attending the Music Industry Arts program at Fanshawe College in London, ON Skinner began working as a recording engineer and producer in Toronto.  Building on this experience, Skinner opened Heading North Mastering in 1999. Since then, he has mastered projects for a wide range of musicians, including Canadian indie artists Dan Mangan, Amelia Curran, The Once and Elliott Brood. Beyond the indie world, Ron has mastered projects by the Juno nominated Dave Young, Blues great Jimmy Bowskill and the Grammy-nominated jazz artist Jane Bunnett, to name just a few.  

In 2015 Skinner started his dream project and opened the Jazz label, TQM Recording Co. The mission of TQM is to record acoustic music in unique acoustic environments while telling interesting stories about the history of recorded music. 

Two Birds will be officially released worldwide on Friday, April 20th 2018.

Playlist for Tom Ossana – The Thin Edge – April 18, 2018 MST 7:00 to 9:00p.m.

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

Jake Mason Trio - The Stranger In The Mirror (SOUL MESSIN' RECORDS May 11, 2018)

The Stranger in the Mirror is the debut album from the Jake Mason Trio. Stepping out from the drivers seat of Cookin’ On 3 Burners, Mason dives firmly into the 60’s organ trio sound making a record that is both delicate and fiery. 

Featuring James Sherlock (Guitar) and Danny Fischer (Drums) the trio weave their way through bluesy soul-jazz, blazing vigour and soundtrack-esque territory. “I love the place where Jazz and Soul meets” says Mason. “It has a simplicity that is so warm and welcoming combined with a complexity that is exciting and makes you move” 

Recorded on the east side of Melbourne, the trio captured the moment in the tradition of the classic Jazz recordings on labels such as Prestige and Blue Note playing live in the room, using vintage recording techniques and adding a pinch of modern inspiration. The result is a dynamic sound that has space and transparency but with just the right amount of grit and crunch. While this is the first official recording of the trio, Mason, Sherlock and Fischer are no strangers, having played together for over 20 years in many guises; Melbourne - a melting pot for great music and culture.

1. The Grain Store

2. The Stranger In The Mirror

3. Rib Eye 04:45

4. Please Please Please

5. People Two & One

6. Smile Awhile

7. Butter Melt

8. Sunfall

9. Lemon Twist

10. Candy Smack

Jake Mason - Hammond Organ

Danny Fischer - Drums

James Sherlock - Guitar

Paul Williamson - Saxophone (Tr 3, 4 & 10)

Produced, recorded and mixed in Melbourne Australia by Jake Mason

Mastered by Lachlan Carrick

Jake Mason published by ORiGiN Music

Photography by Michelle Grace Hunder

Image editing by Ash Pritchard

Cover design by the-unknown.co.uk

© & ℗ Soul Messin’ Records 2018

www.jakemason.com.au

Alan Braufman - Valley of Search (Reissue) THE CONTROL GROUP June 29, 2018

The first ever reissue of the 1975 free jazz album originally released on India Navigation. 

What we know of Downtown New York comes from the countercultural and creative flowering that emerged in lower Manhattan in the 1960s, attributable to cheap live-work spaces called lofts. These were often abandoned and disused small manufacturing spaces and they became a nexus for artistic practice and life. From a jazz perspective, lofts were alternatives to the club scene, and they gained notoriety in the 1970s. Places like Studio We, Studio Rivbea, The Ladies’ Fort, Ali’s Alley, and Environ became central in the development of the new music. But even the underground had an underground, and the happenings at 501 Canal Street on the West Side were a point of activity in which a small but dedicated number of people took part. 

In 1973 a cadre of free improvising musicians relocated from Boston to lower Manhattan: pianist Gene Ashton (now known as Cooper-Moore), bassist Chris Amberger, and saxophonists David S. Ware and Alan Braufman. All had studied at Berklee College of Music, though they stood apart from most collegiate musicians. Ashton secured the building at 501 and the rent for the each of the four usable floors was $140 a month. The first floor became a performance space, while Ware and Braufman took the front and back of the second floor, respectively. Ashton was on the third floor with his young family, and Amberger was on the fourth. Later, drummer Tom Bruno and his partner, vocalist Ellen Christi would take Amberger’s spot. Along with bassist David Saphra and drummer Ralph Williams, the Braufman-Ashton unit became the house band, rehearsing regularly and performing in the storefront. 

Braufman was born in 1951 in Brooklyn and raised on Long Island, moving to Boston to attend Berklee in 1968. In his own words, he “started playing clarinet at eight; my mom was deeply into the music, so she would play Mingus, Eric Dolphy and Coltrane. It grabbed me – there was something exciting about it that I didn’t hear in other music, so no matter what I was going to be a musician. When I was thirteen I got my first saxophone. I had a teacher who could teach me how to play but not how to improvise (which is what I wanted to do) so I had to figure it out. I didn’t know changes, but I could pick out the patterns that were happening in free music and I could figure out what to do. I would teach myself patterns and scales, figure out some harmonics – I was self-taught until I got to Berklee.” 

Braufman's sound — “Alan had a huge sound on alto and voice that was his, and that was rare in a town where you had lots of young players coming up” (Cooper-Moore) — was immediately appealing and rooted in such forebears as Jackie McLean. In Boston, he made other connections, including drummer David Lee Jr.’s wife-to-be who ran the coat check at the Jazz Workshop. The saxophonist parlayed that into working lights at the venue and, more importantly, a friendship with Lee that resulted in the percussionist’s place on this album. Braufman also sat in at the Jazz Workshop, which is how he met future mentor and collaborator Cecil McBee, whose partner Lucia, an artist, was also living in Boston — in this case, on the bandstand when the bassist was coming through town with Pharoah Sanders. Braufman later played on McBee’s debut Strata-East LP Mutima, recorded in New York in May of 1974 and a precursor to the bassist’s role in Valley of Search.

As Cooper-Moore tells it, “when we moved to 501 Canal Street… that’s when I got to really play with Alan. When we started putting on concerts, we used the same musicians but [depending on the day it] would be either his band or my band. It was around that time Cecil Taylor did a concert at Carnegie Hall with his orchestra, and Gary Giddins, who was writing for the Voice, wrote very badly about David S. Ware. Tom Bruno was living at Canal Street then, along with Ellen Christi. Philip Polumbo, a bass player and painter, was living on the top floor, and they were all working at the Village Voice. Tom said, you know, ‘we gonna get back at this guy Gary Giddins,’ so they mimeographed these posters, little sheets about how Gary was an idiot and he couldn’t hear, he really didn’t know the music and he should come down to Canal Street sometime and hear what’s going on there. So one week when it was Alan’s band, Giddins showed up and reviewed us, and we got good press. He thought that the space was loud but the headline read ‘Taking Chances at 501 Canal’ and then people started coming.” The article, in the June 13, 1974 issue of the Voice, discusses the music as it relates to figures like Taylor and Don Cherry, and notes the programs’ “kaleidoscopic densities” and that Ashton and Braufman’s linkage is what pushes the music forward. 

Valley of Search is a document of the music at 501 Canal, but it’s also a document of relationships — people who lived or worked together and were humanly close. Braufman met Bob Cummins, the founder of India Navigation Company, at a party at McBee’s apartment in Harlem. The label had just been conceived, and Braufman would be its second artist. McBee, Lee, and Williams were obvious foils for their place in the saxophonist’s work and life, the latter providing a bevy of instruments that he would later apply to work with trumpeter Wadada Leo Smith. In late 1974, Cummins set up microphones in the building’s storefront, documenting two short sets by the band with no alternate takes or additional cuts. 

Invoking with a dulcimer and bowed bass drone undergirded by flits of percussion, Ashton chants the Bahá’í prayer “God sufficeth all things above all things, and nothing in the heavens or in the earth but God sufficeth, verily he is in himself the knower, the sustainer, the omnipotent. God sufficeth all things above all things…” granting the music’s higher search a stirring, declaratory shout amid mountain strings. Soon, liquid alto keen, harried screams, and rhapsodic piano chunks edge a dense fracas toward the sharp, sinewy groove and foamy crests of the following movement. One would imagine that the music on this recording reflects the overall feel at 501; the compositions are among those that were in their book at the time, fleshed out with a powerful array of percussion, whistles, and cries, McBee’s bass steadily thrumming and in counterpoint to burred, throaty alto and briskly twined piano. 

When Bruno and Christi moved from the fourth floor down to the first, that was the end of performances as they had been at 501 Canal; Ashton relocated to his home state of Virginia soon after, before returning to New York in 1985 as Cooper-Moore. Braufman would go on to work with drummer William Hooker and his own more commercially-leaning groups (as Alan Michael) before relocating to Salt Lake City, where he resides today. Valley of Search has enjoyed a cult status among followers of this music, and it captures a unique and very alive historical slice of New York’s creative improvised underground. 

Clifford Allen, Brooklyn | March 2018

1. Rainbow Warriors

2. Chant

3. Thankfulness

4. Love Is For Real

5. Forshadow

6. Miracles

7. Ark Of Salvation

8. Little Nabil's March

9. Destiny

Alan Braufman – Saxophone

Cooper-Moore – Piano, dulcimer, recitation

Cecil McBee – Bass

David Lee – Drums

Ralph Williams - Percussion

Originally released in 1975 on India Navigation

Recorded by Bob Cummins

Albert Morrison - The Perfect Curve (2018)

Originally hailing from the Blue Mountains Australia, Sam "Albert" Morrison currently resides in Melbourne. He is a multi- instrumentalist within his own music, playing the guitar, bass, drums and singing primarily. His 2018 debut EP "The Perfect Curve" sees him blending his love for finger-style acoustic guitar with a more modern jazz approach and orchestration.

1. Garden 04:21

2. Alone In Treetops 04:33

3. The Perfect Curve 05:06

4. Violet (Out of Luck) Feat. Jace XL 02:57

5. Luano 04:10

Sam “Albert” Morrison - Bass and Guitars, Lap-steel, Drums on 1,2 and 5, Percussion

Jace XL - Vocals on 2 and 4

Isaac Walker - Keyboards on 1,2,3 and 5

Louie Michael - Drums on 4

David Tufano - Drums on 3

Bonnie Emerson - Violin, Viola on 1 and 2

Silent Jay - Soprano Saxophone on 3 and 5

Jimmy Bowman - Trombone on 3 and 5, Trumpet on 3

Jono Napoli - Tenor Saxophone on 5

Taylor Crawford - Kalimba on 2

All Tracks Written and Arranged by Sam “Albert” Morrison except:

The Perfect Curve, written by Sam Morrison and Luka Baptista. Perfect Curve horn parts by Sam Morrison, Jimmy Bowman and Silent Jay

Vocals on Alone in Treetops and Violet Written by Jace XL

Engineered by Louie Michael and Sam Morrison

Mixed by Louie Michael and Sam Morrison

Mastered by Simon Russell

Joe Baer Magnant Trio - Tarnation (May 25, 2018)

With a twangy ethereal improvisation style, Joe Baer Magnant presents dystopian original compositions and arrangements of songs by Bob Dylan and Gillian Welch. With Chris Lujan on Bass and Michael Reed on Drums.

1. Tarnation 07:19

2. Borrowed Invitation 06:16

3. My Morphine 05:24

4. The Congregator 04:40

5. Lines of a Child 06:47

6. Masters of War 04:36

Joe Baer Magnant: Guitar

Chris Lujan: Bass

Michael Reed: Drums

Anker · Pat Thomas · Flaten · Solberg - His Flight's At Ten (ILUSO RECORDS April 19, 2018)

Iluso Records presents His Flight’s At Ten, a stunning live concert recording by free music luminaries Lotte Anker (saxophones), Pat Thomas (piano), Ingebrigt Håker Flaten (double bass) and Ståle Liavik Solberg (drums and percussion). 

Copenhagen-based Lotte Anker is a saxophone player and composer of unsurpassed reputation in the creative music world. She works in the field between experimental jazz/improvisation and contemporary music and leads acclaimed trios with Craig Taborn/Gerald Cleaver and Sylvie Courvoisier/Ikue Mori. Anker has performed with Tim Berne, Okkyung Lee, Joelle Leandre, Raymond Strid, Sten Sandell, Andrew Cyrille, Phil Minton and many others. 

Electronic experimenter and piano player Pat Thomas is a unique voice in the UK/European creative music scene. Embracing improvisation, jazz and new music, his significant contribution has included performances and recordings with Derek Bailey, Tony Oxley’s Quartet and Celebration Orchestra, Lol Coxhill, Steve Noble and Alex Ward. 

Ingebrigt Håker Flaten is an internationally sought after double and electric bassist in the jazz, free jazz, and improvised music worlds. He is most known through his work in the hard-hitting bands The Thing, Atomic and Scorch Trio. Flaten has worked with Joe McPhee, Mats Gustafsson, Paal Nilssen Love, Neneh Cherry, Thurston Moore, and Ken Vandermark. 

Drummer Ståle Liavik Solberg is a central part of Oslo's thriving improvised music scene. Working with ensembles VCDC, Will it float? (with John Russell, Steve Beresford & John Edwards), Silva-Rasmussen-Solberg trio and in duos with Fred Lonberg-Holm and John Russell. His endlessly creative drumming is renowned in the world of free jazz/creative music. 

His Flight’s At Ten comprises three long form pieces of spontaneously improvised music by this quartet of acclaimed improvisers in an encapsulating concert performance at the 2016 Blow Out! Festival in Oslo. 

Departure begins as a cacophony of crash cymbals and sustained cluster chords. Anker’s growling entry bulldozes through the clutter, lifting the band to a dizzying height of frenzy. Long tones segway into a sparse and lineal movement of minimalism and delicately suggestive interspersions before Anker’s multiphonic experiments inspire a pedalling down beat and oozing groove. Thomas’ succinct piano solo offers sparse resonating statements before barrelling drums and bass and tongue-slapping reeds morph the music into a closing hypnotic rumble underlying short motivic statements spat from Anker’s saxophone. 

In Flight commences cautiously with each performer delicately layering plink plonking statements in a swiftly rousing conversation. Anker’s short bursting phrases reach across the group-talk before a series of impromptu stop-start moments begin a passage of gleeful expressions realised through virtuosic extended technique. Thomas’ unhinged montuno inspires long notes and scattering drums at which point the band are truly in full flight. Dissipating squeeks and short running phrases by Thomas on piano lead into a Solberg cymbal solo. Piano and saxophone join with high scraping glissandi, this delightful interplay carrying the group through to the end. 

Arrival, the third and final piece, begins with percussively bowed bass joined by breathes, whistles and intricate dealings from within the bowels of the piano. A stunning suspense is patiently created by the group’s innate spatial awareness. Gentle and ghostly, Thomas and Flaten dance in synchronised wave-like motion luring the band into the same before together embracing a violent and thrashing dance that cascades gracefully to a final moment of reflection. 

All the energy and nuance of this captivating convert are captured in this stunning live recording. Both exhilarating and hypnotic, the album is a cutting edge release traversing the worlds of contemporary classical music and avant-garde jazz by a group of improvisers at the forefront of the creative music world.

1. Departure 16:59

2. In Flight 14:50

3. Arrival 10:40

Lotte Anker (saxophones)

Pat Thomas (piano)

Ingebrigt Håker Flaten (double bass)

Ståle Liavik Solberg (drums and percussion)

Recorded by Stig Gunnar Ringen at Blow Out! Oslo on 1 March 2016. Mixed by Lasse Marhaug. Mastered by Sardi at Sugarland Studios

All music by Anker / Thomas / Flaten / Solberg (KODA/PRS/TONO)

Artwork and design by Adam J Bragg