Jure Pukl - Doubtless (WHIRLWIND RECORDINGS 2018)

As New York-based saxophonist and composer Jure Pukl enthuses, Doubtless is pretty much a family project/album – an exuberant, high-spirited double-tenor quartet with wife Melissa Aldana plus close friends Joe Sanders (double bass) and Greg Hutchinson (drums). 

Both saxophonists have multifarious musical interests between them – Pukl’s vibrant four-piece release, Hybrid with pianist Matija Dedić, released last year on Whirlwind; and Aldana’s four albums as leader have garnered a raft of reviews praising her indubitable invention. 

Yet here is a creative circle so organically conjoined that the entire session was captured inside three hours, live in the studio in Jure Pukl’s home country of Slovenia, on the back of workshops and tour schedules.

Spontaneity is key. “It’s very improvised – and every number sounds different at each gig,” says Pukl. “Joe can change things so much, including time signatures, so we have to react in the moment. But it’s great to switch the vibe – we go for it, and the audience feel it. Once we’ve checked out the pieces, we then purposely let them go; and I’ve found so much liberation in this – we all become transformers for where the music wants to take us.” It’s clearly an artistic marriage made in heaven: “I don’t know many saxophone couples who like to perform together; but with me and Melissa, it’s the opposite – it feels natural, we have a similar tenor vocabulary, and that energy unites us. So in this quartet we create harmony, counterpoint… and Joe has an amazing harmonic ability, too, alongside his and Greg’s deep sense of rhythm. There’s so much happening – the sound is incredibly full.” 

That drive is perceptible in an album whose extemporary freedom is complemented by attractive melodic hooks – from the flowering, canonic phrases of ebullient 'Doubtless 'to a more lyrical horn partnership in elegantly waltzing 'Doves', albeit with sparky drum-and-bass undercurrent. Ornette Coleman’s lesser-known 'InterSong' was a pleasing find for Pukl, his captivatingly intuitive explorations with Aldana widening into sizzling restlessness; and Joe Sanders’ 'Eliote' (for his newborn son) is full of leaping bass figures, perky rhythms and extended tenor intervals. Trio piece 'Compassion' – Pukl’s tender expression of the need for worldly tolerance – is contrasted with tumbling, bass-pliant Elsewhere and the swooning, almost delirious phrases of 'Mind and Soul' (Pukl seeking the fine line between artistic intellect and heart). Slow, Latin-tinged tenor-and-bass duo 'Where Are You Coming From?' reinterprets a classically-inspired number from Hybrid, whilst 'Bad Year Good Year'’s subtly Tijuana-style opening heralds deliciously cool, shared tenor improv against percussive fervor. 

The album title, Doubtless, reflects Pukl’s sure faith in this amiable though energized collaboration, as well as recalling a period of intensely personal emotion: “This record was born around the time my mom was seriously sick (she’s fine now); but I trusted the universe that her health, and this album, would all come together. When you have someone close who is ill, you learn to think differently, to let go and trust – and this also came out in the recording. I have realised how important it is to play with people you love and respect – they love you back, and it takes the music to a higher level. It’s magic being on the road with these guys. What we create is something that people – not just jazz audiences – connect with. This band brings together everything that we are, and it works. It’s kinda amazing!” 

"​Under it’s guise of artless, improvised freedom,​ ​this is highly sophisticated music, requiring an impressive level of virtuosity from all concerned​."​ 

​Jazz Views​ 

“An intense, artistic collaboration provoking organic and spontaneous exchanges... Reinventing, reinterpreting and rearranging... Masterful.” 

Radio REC

Doubtless

Doves

Intersong

Elioté

Compassion

Elsewhere

The Mind And The Soul

Where Are You Coming From?

Bad Year - Good Year

Jure Pukl - tenor saxophone

Melissa Aldana - tenor saxophone

Joe Sanders - upright bass

Gregory Hutchinson - drums

Recorded at RSL Studios, Novo Mesto, Slovenia

(February 27th 2017)

Engineered by Matej Grobec

Mixed and mastered by David Stoller & Jure Pukl at

The Samurai Hotel Recording Studios

Astoria, New York (September 2017)

Produced by Jure Pukl

Executive Producer - Michael Janisch

Cover painting by Cecile McClorin Salvant

Album artwork graphic design by Sophie Moates

Jure Pukl - Doubtless (INNER CIRCLE MUSIC 2018)

Jure Pukl was awarded with the highest national award for Arts in Slovenia (Nagrada Prešernovega sklada 2015) and is one of the most profilic and creative saxophonists of the younger Slovene jazz generation. Pukl obtained university education abroad, he studied classical and jazz saxophone at the University in Vienna as well as at the Haag Conservatory of Music. Pukl then won a scholarship to the Berklee College of Music, where he pursued his studies with masters such as Joe Lovano and George Garzone. He completed his masters degree in music at the Graz Academy of Music.

Throughout his studies Pukl performed and recorded extensively, being engaged in his own projects, as well as working with a number of great musicians such as Branford Marsalis, Dave Liebman, Esperanza Spalding, George Lewis, Vijay Iyer, Jeff “Tain” Watts, Damion Reid, Darius Jones, Doug Hammond, Gerald Cleaver, Adam Rogers, Melissa Aldana, Rodney Green, Charles Altura, Joe Sanders, Aaron Goldberg, Marcus Gilmore, Gregory Hutchinson, Johnathan Blake and orchestras like Big Band RTV Slovenia, European Jazz Orchestra, European Movement Jazz Orchestra, Vienna Saxophone Quartet, Nouvele Cousine and many others.

He has been touring extensively throughout USA, Asia and Europe performing in venues such as Blue Note Milan, Smalls Jazz Club, The Jazz Gallery, Ronnie Scotts, The Vortex, Pizza Express, Porgy & Bess, Stadtgarten and festivals like Moers Jazz Festival, Vienna Jazz Festival, Pori Jazz Festival, Berlin Jazz Festival, Jazz a Vienne, Cairo Jazz Festival, to name a few. His music has won him many awards; among others the 2005 first Jury Prize and Best Composition Audience Award at the Jazzon International Music Workshop and Festival in Novo mesto, Slovenia.

In his auctorial projects, such as the Virus quintet, Abstract Society or Sound Pictures (receive rave reviews, among others on the influential Downbeat, Jazzwise, Jazzpodium and Allaboutjazz Web portal) Pukl dedicates himself to modern interpretations of jazz. What he creates is a unique type of modern jazz, avantgarde, free jazz and impressionistic contemporary music performed with a great deal of knowledge and love, giving prominence to the interplay between band members. He already published 8 CD’s under his own name recieved rave reviews all over the globe. He is featured on more than 50 other projects as a sideman.

"Jure Pukl & Melissa Aldana play as one throughout and with the support of Joe Sanders and greg Hutchinson the music is rich with a passionate expression taht is timeless... Jure put together a beautiful recording taht flows like the wind" - Joe Lovano

“Jure Pukl is a brilliant saxophonist who is forging an honest and original path in contemporary improvised music. His playing and compositions evoke a humanistic quality that is, full of expression and spirit. If a spirited, well defined, singular voice is what you’re looking for, Jure is the answer.” - Greg Osby

“…Pukl combines the skill, soul, and appetite for adventure that has fuelled jazz evolution from the beginning, and he’s a rising star of a creative new generation that is energetically driving the music on into its second century.” - John Fordham | The Guardian

1. Doubtless

2. Doves

3. Intersong

4. Eliote

5. Compassion

6. Elsewhere

7. The Mind and the Soul

8. Where Are You Coming From

9. Bad Year Good Year 

Jure Pukl - tenor saxophone

Melissa Aldana - tenor saxophone

Joe Sanders - doublebass

Gregory Hutchinson - drums

All music composed by Jure Pukl except Elsewhere composed by Melissa Aldana, Elioté by Joe Sanders and Intersong by Ornette Coleman.

Recorded at RSL Studio Novo mesto, Slovenia in March 2017. Mixed and mastered by David Stoller at the Samurai Hotel Recording Studio in Astoria, NY in September 2017.

Kinga Glyk – Dream (2017)

Kinga Głyk is 20 years old. She’s said to be the best Polish bass player of the new generation and a rising star of the Jazz Blues music. She began her adventure with music at the age of 12 playing in a family band called Głyk P.I.K. TRIO. Despite her young age she has already given a lot of concerts not only in Poland but also in countries such as Indonesia, Austria, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Portugal, Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Ukraine.

In March 2015 she released her debut album „Rejestracja”. The CD has received positive reviews from Trójka – Polskie Radio and magazines like „Jazz Forum” and „Twój Blues”.

In an annual survey called JAZZ TOP and BLUES TOP she’s been nominated in the following categories: NEW HOPE, BASS GUITAR and DISCOVERY OF THE YEAR.

In February 2016 Kinga recorded LIVE her second authorial album „Happy Birthday”.

In June 2016 a video of Kinga performing Eric Clapton’s „Tears in heaven” has been posted by BASS PLAYER UNITED on Facebook reaching the amount of 20 million views.

Until now Kinga has performed with: Tim Garland, Nitai Hershkovits, Greg Hutchinson, Jnr Robinson, Bernard Maseli, Ruth Waldron, Natalia Niemen, Apostolis Anthimos, Leszek Winder, Paweł Tomaszewski, Grzegorz Kapołka, Joachim Mencel, Arek Skolik, Mateusz Otremba (Mate.O), Marek Dykta and Piotr Wyleżoł.

In October 2017 the latest studio album „Dream” has been released. The CD has been recorded in the company of the world’s most famous musicians such as Greg Hutchinson (drums), Tim Garland (saxophone), Nitai Hershkovits (grand piano). The album has been launched by one of the world’s most renowned music publishing companies WARNER MUSIC GROUP COMPANY. Concerts promoting the newest album will take place in countries like USA, Canada, Norway, France and many others.

01 Freedom

02 Difficult Choices

03 Dream

04 Song for Dad

05 Circle

06 Walking Baby

07 Tears in Heaven

08 Teen Town

09 Silence

Kinga Głyk - bass

Gregory Hutchinson - drums

Nitai Hershkovits - keys & piano

Tim Garland - sax & bass clarinet

Peter Bernstein (with Brad Mehldau, Christian McBride, Gregory Hutchinson) – Signs Live! (SMOKE SESSIONS RECORDS 2017)

Guitar-Virtuoso Peter Bernstein Reunites

Classic Quartet from Sophomore Release

for Live Recording, Signs LIVE!

Quartet Features Brad Mehldau,

Christian McBride, and Gregory Hutchinson

Available July 28 via Smoke Sessions Records

“Still studying, inventing and respecting after all these years…“

— The New York Times

A record release party two decades in the making, Signs LIVE! reunites the four master musicians who came together 20 years earlier to record the acclaimed Signs of Life, the second album by guitar-great Peter Bernstein. Recorded live at Jazz at Lincoln Center, the album captures the long-awaited live debut of Bernstein’s once-in-a-lifetime quartet featuring pianist Brad Mehldau, bassist Christian McBride, and drummer Gregory Hutchinson.

Bernstein’s second release for Smoke Sessions Records, Signs LIVE! (available July 28) allows audiences around the world to share the experience of the lucky few who were in the room for this summit meeting with four of modern jazz’s most revered artists. The two-disc set documents both sets of the quartet’s third and final night, with each soloist given the space to work out – an opportunity which each of these musicians seizes brilliantly.

When they originally came together to record Signs of Life for Criss Cross in December 1994, only the most psychic of jazz fans could realize the impact that the members of Bernstein’s quartet would end up having on the shape of the music over the next two decades. Mehldau had only recently formed his soon-to-be landmark trio, and had apprenticed alongside Bernstein in legendary drummer Jimmy Cobb’s band. McBride had garnered notice along with Mehldau in Joshua Redman’s quartet and had only a few months prior released his leader debut for Verve. Hutchinson was just beginning to make waves as a member of Roy Hargrove’s band.

Bernstein thought these rising stars would make the perfect band for the follow-up to his Criss Cross debut, Somethin’s Burnin’. “We were all young dudes,” he recalls. “I wanted to do more original tunes and thought these guys would play them well even though it wasn’t a working band. It was just an easy afternoon in the studio, but since then I’ve met a lot of younger players who were excited about this album, hearing those guys at the beginning of their illustrious careers.”

The fame that each member of that unbelievable band achieved speaks for itself. Bernstein, of course, went on to be one of the most prominent guitarists in jazz, in demand among his peers as well as an older generation of masters. Over the next twenty years he worked extensively with such legends as Sonny Rollins, Dr. Lonnie Smith, Jimmy Cobb, Lee Konitz and Lou Donaldson as well as a generation of stars that includes his Signs of Life band-mates, Joshua Redman, Diana Krall, Nicholas Payton, Larry Goldings and Bill Stewart.

The four hours the quartet spent in the studio that day would end up being the only time they would ever play together – until this reunion 20 years (give or take 18 days) later. The one-off session grew in status over the intervening years, however, becoming something of a cult classic that compelled Bernstein to start thinking about reuniting the quartet to investigate the music in front of a live crowd for the first time.

“It felt great to finally play in front of an audience,” Bernstein says.”I brought in some new tunes and we didn’t end up having a full rehearsal, but given the level of musicianship of those guys it was no problem to not only play the music but to get inside it and open it up, which is what I was hoping for.”

The selection of mostly original material on Signs LIVE! bridges past and present, including songs that were originally recorded for Signs of Life and have since become perennials in Bernstein’s repertoire (“Blues for Bulgaria,” “Jive Coffee”). The set list also features several pieces later recorded for Bernstein’s Smoke Sessions debut, Let Loose (“Let Loose,” “Resplendor,” “Cupcake”) along with other highlights from throughout the guitarist’s discography and a pair of Thelonious Monk classics.

“We wanted it to sound as much like being at the live gig as possible,” Bernstein says. “It was a really fun night.”

That’s a typical understatement for the guitarist, who insists he’s never gone back to listen to the album being celebrated on this occasion. (“They used to play it at Small’s during the break sometimes,” he shrugs, “so I heard it in passing.”) It’s not the album itself he was eager to revisit, Bernstein insists; it’s the camaraderie and chemistry represented by this band, and the unfortunate lack of opportunity to explore the music further.

“I have the memory of that afternoon in the studio, and I’m happy to have that,” he says. “That was a lifetime ago, so it felt really good that all those guys had kept right in the groove that they had started in back in the mid ’90s. They were all that much more experienced, that much deeper, that much stronger, that much more themselves. 20 years is some real passage of time.”

Given the thriving careers that all four men enjoy, it may be another 20 years before they’re able to share the stage again – if ever. Fortunately we now have more than a single afternoon’s collaboration to show for their scintillating congregation. With more than two hours of music, thrilling interactions, inspired improvisations and exquisite sensitivity, Signs LIVE! is an essential document of a band that has long since achieved – and far transcended – the overwhelming promise of their rousing first meeting.

“Signs LIVE!” was produced by Paul Stache and Damon Smith

and recorded live in New York at Jazz at Lincoln Center at 96KHz/24bit

and mixed to 1/2″ analog tape using a Studer mastering deck

Available in audiophile HD format

1. Blues for Bulgaria

2. Hidden Pockets

3. Dragonfly

4. Jive Coffee

5. Pannonica

6. Useless Metaphor

7. Let Loose

8. All Too Real

9. Resplendor

10. Crepuscule with Nellie / We See

11. Cupcake

Dan Pratt - Hymn for the Happy Man (2016)

A brand new piano-bass-drums quartet featuring Christian McBride, Greg Hutchinson, and Mike Eckroth, performing seven originals and one arranged standard.

Source: CD Baby

.Following two critically acclaimed organ group outings, New York saxophonist-composer Dan Pratt heads in a different direction on Hymn for the Happy Man, his fourth recording overall and debut for his own Same Island Music imprint. “After eight years, the organ group had a great run, and I found myself looking for something new to do,” explains the California native and longtime Brooklyn resident. “So for this record I decided to go with the piano-bass-drums-sax quartet instrumentation, which is so foundational to jazz. It was one of those things that was staring me straight in the face and I couldn’t see it, but on reflection it was such clear choice. I’d never recorded a quartet record, and to go in the direction I wanted to go, I felt I needed to explore an instrumentation that is such an essential strand to jazz’s DNA.”

Pratt assembled his “dream team” of bassist Christian McBride, drummer Gregory Hutchinson and pianist Mike Eckroth to help him realize seven well-crafted originals and breathe new life into one well-chosen standard. The saxophonist-composer, a member of McBride’s big band, heaps high praise on his stellar sidemen for this simpatico session. “McBride and Hutch are incredibly open-minded and agile musicians. Christian is one of a kind. He has a pulse that is really unimpeachable and super singular. There’s nobody who plays the bass like him. Add to that his warmth and positivity, and you have a paragon of musicianship as well as humanity. With Greg, I didn’t tell him anything except for two or three words about the concept of a piece, and he just gave me something different with every take. Often, it was hard to decide on a take because everything he did was so incredibly compelling. The kind of surprises that I got from Christian and Greg were so delightful; they were things that I could never imagine explaining or asking for. 

“And I’m super happy with what Mike played,” Pratt continues. “What he was playing behind me felt like he really understood where I was going, what I was playing, and the ideas behind the harmonies of my tunes. And the more adventurous I was, the more into it he was. It’s nice to know that I’ve got that strong ear behind me so when I want to go in a freer direction he always hears it, and he hears it in a melodic context, too.”

The foursome kicks off the program with the off-kilter, Monkish “Gross Blues,” which has Hutchinson flowing freely over the bar line while McBride keeps steady time with his inimitable groove. “I didn’t tell Greg anything but ‘Keep it loose and trashy,’ and that’s what he came up with,” recalls Pratt. Eckroth feeds the saxophonist dissonant voicings, nudging him harmonically into some passionate, upper register wailing. McBride also delivers a typically chops-laden solo on this urgent opener.

Pratt affects a singing quality through the rich harmonic terrain of “New Day,” and for good reason. “I wrote it after I met the woman who is now my wife, and I just felt this incredible elation,” he explains. “It’s different than when you meet someone you’re smitten with. It’s a feeling when you meet somebody and you realize that there is this life-partner potential; a person who brings out the best in you, who inspires you to be the best that you can be, and that inspiration happens by her being who she is.” Hutchinson’s playing on this breezy, uplifting number is lively and highly interactive. “He totally elevates the piece throughout the whole thing,” says Pratt. “What he’s playing has this wonderful arc that really fits the spirit of the tune.”

Hutchinson’s sparse mallet work helps set the darkly delicate tone of “River,” which is cast in the vein of such ruminative classics as Wayne Shorter’s “Fall” or Miles Davis’ “Flamenco Sketches.” As the composer explains, “Most of my tunes can be sort of active, and I wanted to write something that was more patient; a tune whose activity lived within its patience. So I was thinking of the reflective nature of watching a river, not really being in the flow of the river but rather reflecting on the river’s flow itself, that staid kind of strength but also fluidity.”

The effervescent “Warsaw” has Pratt switching to alto sax and burning a blue streak over Hutchinson’s highly-charged pulse as McBride’s contrapuntal lines add layers of intrigue. “Alto is very new for me,” says Pratt, who started on baritone saxophone in eighth grade before switching to tenor later in high school. “I just got the alto not even a year before this recording session and I was so enamored with the sound that I decided to record a couple tunes with it. I just thought for range and timbre it provided something a little different on this tune.”

Pratt returns to tenor for the loose second line vibe of “Junket” and the moody, alluring “Riddle Me Rhumba” before pulling out the alto again on the buoyant “Hymn for the Happy Man,” a title which fits his own personal philosophy. “It was written in tribute to the humanity that chooses to strive toward deeper happiness; not circumstantial happiness but happiness from within,” he explains. “It’s to celebrate espousing happiness and a forward-thinking kind of mentality and spirit.” 

The collection closes with Pratt’s unique interpretation of the Kurt Weill-penned jazz standard “Speak Low,” which incorporates some clever rhythmic devices to break things up in intriguing ways. “I realized that I’m increasingly interested in playing with space and form, and I want to carry that same sense of joy and play in the music that I write through my arrangements as well,” he explains. “So this arrangement is an example of that kind of playfulness. It starts out like any other standard arrangement of ‘Speak Low’ in a count-it-off-at-a-jam-session kind of way, but there’s a lot of very specific and subtle treatments done to the form and chord progression that just basically open up places where you wouldn’t necessarily normally have them opened up. I’m really just looking for opportunities for the unexpected to occur.”

Those kinds of surprises are prevalent throughout Hymn for the Happy Man, which stands as Pratt’s most ambitious and fully-realized recording to date.

1. Gross Blues

2. New Day

3. River

4. Warsaw

5. Junket

6. Riddle Me Rhumba

7. Hymn for the Happy Man

8. Speak Low

Dan Pratt (ts, as)

Christian McBride (b)

Gregory Hutchinson (ds)

Mike Eckroth (p)

Dan Pratt Website

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Fredrik Kronkvist - Monk Vibes (2015)

Alto saxophonist Fredrik Kronkvist releases album with Thelonious Monk’s music along with three American superstars.

When Kronkvist releases his new album MONK VIBES he continues cooperate with some of the hottest names on the jazz scene with Jason Marsalis on vibraphone, Reuben Rogers on bass and Gregory Hutchinson on drums. This time they dedicate themselves to interpret the genius composer Thelonious Monk’s music and spirit. The unusual constellation with alto saxophone, vibraphone, bass and drums create a different, challenging sound without the piano and gives the group wide open spaces for colorful improvisations. MONK VIBES reflects Thelonious multidimensional universe where simplicity and complexity come together in a beautiful, danceable and contrasting music.The album contains wild conversations, humor, calypso beat, odd time signatures, blues, beautiful ballads and a tonal language that sounds as skewed as obvious.

01 Skippy

02 Misterioso

03 Teo

04 Brilliant Corners

05 Trinkle Tinkle

06 Round Midnight

07 Evidence

08 Kronk’s Monk

09 Four in One

10 The Virtue of Patience

All tracks by Thelonious Monk except tr.8 by Fredrik

Fredrik Kronkvist – alto sax

Jason Marsalis – vibraphone

Reuben Rogers – bass

Gregory Hutchinson – drums

BUY THIS ALBUM!!!

Domi