Uli Lenz - Rainmaker’s Dance (February 2022 Arkadia Records)

“He is a magician.” – Rolling Stone

The discovery of renowned German Jazz pianist Uli Lenz’s Arkadia Records CD, “Uli Lenz: Rainmakers Dance”, is a thought provoking and moving event. Rarely will you hear a Jazz album with a combination of such power and grace. From the spellbinding delicacy of A Perfect Couple to the stormy heights of Traumatic Experiences with Bavarian Trapdoors, Uli Lenz unique sound and writing style make him a rising star on the Jazz horizon. His songs, One Year After and Umbrella Indoors, were featured on the soundtrack of the award-winning film “Sideways”, starring Paul Giamatti.

““…capable of dizzying solo flights but is also adept at the use of space… colorful and respected presence.”

 – David R. Adler, All Music Guide

Already renowned internationally, Lenz is joined on his U.S. debut by music masters Ira Coleman on bass, Horacio “El Negro” Hernandez on drums, with Arkadia label mate alto saxophonist T.K. Blue on several cuts as well. With a formidable command of the keyboard, composition and style, “Uli Lenz: Rainmakers Dance” not only represent the best of Jazz’s past, present and future, but masterfully displays the pianist’s playful sense of time and melody on this impressive album.

“…the precision with which Uli Lenz actually seems to imprint those racy, intense figures into the piano keys is almost unbelievable.” 

– Rheinpfalz Magazine

“The breadth of Lenz’s pianistic and compositional skills are astounding. He swings.”

– F. Norman Vickers is Executive Director of the Jazz Society of Pensacola FL 

1. Traumatic Experiences with Bavarian Trapdoors 04:37

2. Rainmaker’s Dance 06:01

3. Umbrella Indoors* 04:55

4. 1, 2, 3 Cuckoo! 05:01

5. RIP (Rest In Peace) 06:37

6. Subway to Vanilla City 04:14

7. A Perfect Couple 05:45

8. Brake for the Wild Boar Blues 05:03

9. One Year After* 04:22

10. Orange Coalition 05:07

11. My Foolish Heart (Victor Young, Ned Washington) 06:24

12. Little Ostrich* 04:53

(* featured in the Fox Searchlight film, “Sideways”, starring Paul Giamatti)

Al songs composed by Uli Lenz, except as indicated.

Uli Lenz: Piano

Ira Coleman: Bass

Horacio “El Negro” Hernandez: Drums

T.K. Blue: Alto saxophone on tracks 1, 4, and 8

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T.K. Blue - Another Blue (December 2021 Arkadia Records)

In every context, T.K Blue asserts himself as one of the brightest talents in jazz today.” – Geoffrey Hines, The Washington Post

Arkadia Records recording artist, saxophonist and composer T.K. Blue (Talib Kibwe) leads this exhilarating ensemble of 14 Jazz notables, such as Randy Weston & Eddie Henderson, in a special album, entitled T.K. Blue: Another Blue. Full of superb originals and classic standards, the album showcases both Blue’s extraordinary musical chops and the sounds of his impressive band, that includes pianists James Weidman & Michael Cochrane, bassists Santi Debriano & Calvin Hill, drummers Cecil Brooks III & Greg Bufford, percussion master Guilherme Franco, trumpeter Tony Branker, Bob Ferrel on trombone, Lenny Argese on guitar, and special guests pianists Randy Weston and Onaje Allan Gumbs, as well as Eddie Henderson on trumpet

“Blue’s voice on alto is highly distinctive. Whether on his main horn, soprano or flute, he inflects everything he plays with ebullience.” – James Hale, Downbeat Magazine

In this all-acoustic session by the accomplished saxophonist, flutist, composer, and arranger, T.K. Blue presents an exciting program of five of his original compositions, five re-interpretative arrangements of iconic standards, plus a tune by Tony Branker from the Spirit of Life Orchestra. T.K. plays with fire and imagination on his full arsenal of instruments, joined by an impressive collection of Jazz stars with whom he has intersected during his twenty-plus years as an active, vital performer and Musical Director for pianist Randy Weston.

“Saxophone virtuoso T.K. Blue, imbues his playing with so much elation that even classics come to life with new vitality… He has developed an emotional immediacy in his playing that utterly transports an audience…T.K. Blue’s tone is both muscular and malleable. When he improvises, his contoured passages obtain the logic of a Slinky stretched to full length…The saxophonist also has a delightful rhythmic agility that enables his solos to dance.” – John Murph, The Washington Post

Whether playing compositions from Miles Davis, Bud Powell, or Dizzy Gillespie, or TK Blue’s originals that reflect on his West Indian heritage and the longstanding influences of his travels around the world, “T.K. Blue: Another Blue” showcases the impressive young reed player reflecting on the history and future of Jazz music.

“Saxophonist/Flutist/Composer T.K. Blue’s musical exploits, on the bandstand and in the recording studio, shout and scream ‘artist deserving wider recognition’.” – Willard Jenkins, Jazz Times 

1. Chant for Peace Eternal 06:11

2. This is for Albert 05:16

3. Evening Prayer 07:11

4. Hallucinations 03:41

5. Another Blue 05:18

6. You Go to My Head 07:08

7. It’s Really All About Love4:27 04:26

8. Night In Tunisia 05:21

9. Crossings 05:34

10. Pileau 03:53

11. Solar 04:34

T.K. Blue: Saxophones, flutes, and kalimbas

James Weidman: Piano

Santi DeBriano: Bass

Cecil Brooks III: Drums

Guillermo Franco: Percussion

Onaje Allen Gumbs: Piano

Michael Cochrane: Piano

Calvin Hill: Bass

Greg Bufford: Drums

Tony Branker: Trumpet

Bob Ferrel: Trombone

Lenny Argese : Guitar

With special guests:

Eddie Henderson: Trumpet

Randy Weston: Piano

Produced by: T.K. Blue and Bob Karcy

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