Wednesday, August 4, 2021

Antonio Adolfo - Jobim Forever (2021)

Antonio Carlos Jobim has been one of the brightest, most influential stars in the jazz firmament since his ground breaking 1964 album Getz/Gilberto won multiple Grammy Awards and introduced Bossa Nova to a wide audience, not only in the USA but internation ally as well. His music has been enjoyed by millions of people around the world and recorded countless times by musicians across many different genres. Anyone who has ever gone to a jazz concert or sat in a bar or walked through a hotel lobby has undoubted ly heard The Girl from Ipanema or How Insensitive. His songs are so ubiquitous that it is very difficult to find a fresh approach to his music. It takes an artist of the caliber of ANTONIO ADOLFO to layer Jobim s music with a new sensibility and truly transform it into a personal statement. On JOBIM FOREVE R Adolfo imbues nine of Jobim's iconic tunes from the 1960s with his own, unique artistry.

Adolfo is a pianist, arranger, composer, and band leader. He has recorded over two dozen albums as a leader in the U.S. and Brazil including a few with his daughte r, vocalist Carol Saboya. He has been nominated for several Latin Jazz Grammy Awards, including Rio, Choro, Jazz ( his solo outing O Piano de Antonio Adolfo (also 2014), Tema ( which featured all original music, Tropical Infinito ( and Hybrido From Rio to Wayne Shorter, which was nominated for a Latin Grammy in 2017 and a Grammy in 2018. More than 200 of his original compositions have been recorded by major artis ts like Sergio Mendes, Earl Klugh, Herb Alpert, Stevie Wonder, Dionne Warwick, and many others.

Adolfo first heard Jobim in 1959 on a car radio. The song was A Felicidade, written by Jobim and Vinicius de Moraes. Adolfo was immediately smitten by the s ound of this new music, Bossa Nova, and it became a foundational element for his musical maturation. He became a professional jazz musician when he was just 17 years old, leading his own trio and touring with singers like Leny Andrade, Carlos Lyra, Flora P urim, Wilson Simonal, Elis Regina, and Milton Nascimento, whose music he commemorated with his 2020 release, BruMa Celebrating Milton Nascimento which charted at #1 on the national JazzWeek chart for several weeks. All About Jazz said of BruMa, This al bum is so inviting and the performances so seductive that the entire album screams to be devoured in one luscious conceptual bite.

The players on JOBIM FOREVER are some of the top musicians in Brazil. Most of them also appeared on BruMa including JESSE SADOC (trumpet flugelhorn), MARCELO MARTINS (flutes saxes), DANILO SINNA (alto sax), RAFAEL ROCHA (trombone), LULA GALVAO (guitars), JORGE HELDER (bass), RAFAEL BARATA (drums) and DADA COSTA (percussion). The album also features guest artists PAULO BRAGA (drums) who played with Jobim for several years until his passing in 1994, and the great Brazilian vocalist ZÉ RENATO on one tune.

Adolfo had met Jobim several times over the years and describes him as captivating, witty, and knowledgeable. Jobim s children and grandson Daniel actually studied at Adolfo s school in Rio de Janeiro, located just two blocks from the famous Ipanema beach.

Adolfo chose Jobim s songs from the 1960s because he wanted to celebrate a great era of music, when Jobim's innovations helped make Rio de Janeiro an important capit a l of world culture. But performing music that is so recognizable can be fr aught with pitfalls, and Adolfo wanted to avoid anything that sounded cliché.
Adolfo explains his process, When I create arrangements for my albums, I play the music literally dozens of times on the piano until I start to feel a kind of partnership with the composer. After I thoroughly absorb the music, I can start hearing my own voice emerge, and I then can create the different harmonies, meters, phrasing, and forms that I adapt to th e instruments in my concept.

Indeed, the songs on JOBIM FOREVER are instantly recognizable, but Adolfo took these well known songs and truly made them his own. Every song is reharmonized brilliantly along with melodic improvisations and imaginative chang es of meter and phrasing that are trademarks of Adolfo s art.

The album opens with Jobim s biggest hit, The Girl from Ipanema. The band establishes the Bossa rhythm in the intro, but the song also has a swing feel throughout. The arrangement for Wave was somewhat inspired by the ones Adolfo had written for Brazilian singers Elis Regina and Carol Saboya. The tune f eatures a tasty trombone solo by Rocha. Vocalist Ze Renato establishes the motif of A Felicidade, written for the 1956 French film Black Orpheus.

“How Insensitive is a slow Bossa. The melody is established by the piano but moves almost immediately to a solo on the flugelhorn, followed by solos on the flute and piano. Adolfo creates a fascinating soundscape by shifting the key centers for each the different solos. F avela is a Bossa lament reharmonized in a minor Blues style. The tune features straight ahead solos on the trumpet and alto sax. Inutil Paisagem, known in the U.S. as "If You Never Come to Me," is a haunting song featuring trombone, tenor sax, and piano solos.

“Agua de Beber has a driving, Bossa rhythm with extended measures in the bridge that highlight Adolfo's reimagined chords. Amparo, originally written for th e movie The Adventures, opens with the chords from another Jobim tune, Por Toda a Minha Vida performed by the piano and bass played with bow. Adolfo arranged it using Guarania style, which is known for its sonorous sounds and melancholic rhythms. Estrad a do Sol is a jazz waltz that features airy, sinuous solos on the flute, acoustic guitar, and piano.

The work of two modern Brazilian masters is on display on JOBIM FOREVER Adolfo s modern jazz sensibilities, cultural heritage, and elegant and beguiling aesthetics are the perfect ingredients for creating a new paradigm for Jobim s well travelled music.

JOBIM FOREVER
1. THE GIRL FROM IPANEMA 5:30
2. WAVE 5:09
3. A FELICIDADE 5:20
4. HOW INSENSITIVE 5:25
5. FAVELA (O Morro Nao Tem Vez) 5:20
6. INUTIL PAISAGEM 6:11
7. AGUA DE BEBER 4:04
8. AMPARO / INTRO: POR TODA A MINHA VIDA 7:00
9. ESTRADA DO SOL 4:57

JESSE SADOC trumpet & flugelhorn (4, 6, 8, 9)
MARCELO MARTINS tenor & soprano saxes, flutes (4, 9)
DANILO SINNA alto sax
RAFAEL ROCHA trombone
LULA GALVAO guitars
JORGE HELDER double bass
RAFAEL BARATA drums (1, 2, 3, 7) percussion (1, 3, 5, 8, 9)
DADA COSTA percussion (2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8)
Guest Artists
PAULO BRAGA drums (4, 5, 6, 8, 9)
ZÉ RENATO vocals (3)
Produced and Arranged by ANTONIO ADOLFO

Paul Brown & Stan Smith - Bicycle (2021)

Bicycle is a collaboration of guitarists/composers Paul Brown and Stan Smith. The recording took place between 2002 and 2005 in Columbus Ohio. The recording offers a glimpse into the broad range of influences both Paul and Stan bring to their guitar playing and composing.

Bicycle is a sonic journey through thoughtfulness, passion and humor.

PAUL BROWN – Guitars, Lap Steel
STAN SMITH – Guitars, Mandolin
JEFF CIAMPA - Bass
DAVID WEINSTOCK – Drums (Wife and Child)
PETER RETZLAFF – Drums (BIG FIVE)
JAMES BROOK CASTOE – Drums (Truth)
SETH EARNEST – Drums (Hermit Homage)
KRIS KEITH – Flutes (Hermit Homage)
ERIN GILLILAND – Violins (Bicycle)

Recoded, Mixed and Mastered by Joe Viers at John Schwab Studios 2002-2005
Produced by Joe Viers, Paul Brown and Stan Smith
Visual concepts by Paul Brown and Charles Wince Photos and
Graphic Execution by Craig McCudden

Lars Larsson / Peeter Uuskyla - Bark at Themselves (August 4, 2021 Simlas Produksjoner)

The remaining audience is a handful of listeners who think it's fun with live music in general. The atmosphere will be relaxed and pleasant, after the gig you can eat a muffin and talk to the musicians. Peeter Uuskyla told about coincidences that brought him and Peter Brötzmann to Mexico City and a ten-day gig with local musicians.

Or collaboration with Mikolaj Trzaska in Gdansk. And then he remembered the quote from Povel Ramel - "coffee with bop". Lars Larsson had been to Eksjö before, played on the city party's big stage with Caroline af Ugglas. The live market in general was quite gloomy. Playing was possible. Getting paid was harder!

The music on Monday was a long improvisation that always remained within the "imaginative" subdivision of free improvisation. Larsson tore up and sang with various melody fragments in a still cohesive and meaningful way. Uuskyla kept a few different rhythmic figures going in parallel with a great freedom of expression. Dynamic and responsive interaction!

A pleasant experience, both musically and socially! - Jan Strand / Orkesterjournalen

1. Bark at Themselves 40:57

Uuskyla Øgrim & Berg - Svuku (August 4, 2021)

Free jazz power trio Uuskyla Øgrim & Berg’s music is an oblique and deconstructed but red-hot mix of jazz, rock, and several other styles in between. It’s taut and metallic, sprung, flexed and sinuous, hitting hard on the recoil. This trio shows how much the Scandinavian scene remains vibrant and with names that deserve to be more recognized worldwide.

1. Svuku 14:11

Peeter Uuskyla drums
Tellef Øgrim guitar
Anders Berg bass

Nathan Blehar & Tony Falco - Soil (August 2021)

1. In Person 04:30
2. relative 19:04
3. lilies 06:52
4. Ghost 08:00

Nathan Blehar - saxophones
Tony Falco - drums

Produced and recorded by Nathan Blehar and Tony Falco.
Mixed and mastered by Tony Falco.
Cover art by Akinbo Akinnuoye.

Dear Prudence - Brötz Festival (August 2021 Simlas Produksjoner)

1. Brötz Festival 36:10

Recorded Live August 4, 2012

Lars Larsson saxophone
Mike Lloyd trumpet
Georgia Wartel Collins bass
Jonny Wartel saxophone
Henrik Wartel drums
Gunnar Backman guitar, live loops
Anders Berg bass

Denis Razz All Stars - Jazz By The Book 1 Wind Factory Live @ Ex libris (August 2021)

On the 29th of April 2021 the Rijeka-based jazzman Denis Razumović Razz played a live-streaming concert with some of his closest musical associates at the Ex libris bookstore as an announcement to the 2021 International Jazz Day a day later. The performance of the Razz Quartet, showcasing a fine repertoire of selected standards and original compositions, marks the first of the "Jazz By The Book" series of jazz concerts at the Ex libris bookstore.

1. Birdlike 11:07
2. Four 13:00
3. I Told You So 10:57
4. In Umbra 19:36
5. Stella By Starlight 14:22
6. Segment 15:20
7. Baby Give Me A Chance 11:15
8. Crazeology 12:07

Denis Razumović Razz - alto sax
Robert Mikuljan - trumpet, flugelhorn
Karlo Lovrić - organ
Rajko Ergić - drums

BC Jazz Studies - Jazz and Commercial Music Academy 2021

All music written, performed, and recorded by students in the first annual Jazz and Commercial Music Academy at Bakersfield College, July 26-30, 2021.

Produced by professors Josh Ottum, Kris Tiner, and Kyle Burnham.

Proceeds from sales benefit the Jazz Studies and Commercial Music programs at Bakersfield College.

1. Jonathan Diaz - Big Bang 03:39
2. Zach Spier - Sunrose 03:26
3. Carson Peters - Mentos 01:45
4. Alex Peckham - Dead of Night 01:50
5. Tremaine Jones - El Slappo 03:22
6. Cameron Raasch - Lock and Key 03:55

Big Bang (Jonathan Diaz)
Jonathan Diaz - keyboard
Christopher Porta - guitar
Fernando Sanchez - trumpet
Stafford Williams - alto sax
Zach Spier - bass
Kyle Burnham - drums

Sunrose (Zach Spier)
Zach Spier - vocals, guitar, bass
Jonathan Diaz - keyboard
Tremaine Jones - keyboard
Christopher Porta - guitar
Fernando Sanchez - trumpet
Stafford Williams - alto sax
Kyle Burnham - drums

Mentos (Carson Peters)
Noah Hall - trumpet
Anthony Fuentes - alto sax
Cameron Raasch - trombone
Natalie Wren - keyboard
Daniel Ramos - keyboard
Cavell Diaz - bass
Juan Gonzalez - drums

Dead of Night (Alex Peckham)
Alex Peckham - synth, production
Leonardo Gil - violin, production
Christopher Ramirez - synth
Gabriel Salas - synth
Nick Albiar - drum machine

El Slappo (Tremaine Jones)
Tremaine Jones - keyboard
Jonathan Diaz - keyboard
Christopher Porta - guitar
Fernando Sanchez - trumpet
Stafford Williams - alto sax
Zach Spier - bass
Kyle Burnham - drums

Lock and Key (Cameron Raasch)
Cameron Raasch - vocals, guitar
Noah Hall - trumpet
Anthony Fuentes - alto sax
Natalie Wren - keyboard
Daniel Ramos - keyboard
Cavell Diaz - bass
Juan Gonzalez - drums
Carson Peters - percussion