Dayramir Gonzalez - The Grand Concourse (2018)

My Album The Grand Concourse is Digitally Released on March 2nd, 2018

It features Pedrito Martínez, Raul Pineda, Yosvany Terry, Nadia Washington, Oriente López and String Bembe

THE VISION

Dayramir Gonzalez's latest album The Grand Concourse is defined by the voyage of a young artist from Havana, whose creation of musical works shines a light on the gems of traditional Cuban sentiments, contemporary Afro-Cuban jazz and the vanguard sounds of New York City. In his through-composed song "Situaciones en 12/8", the compulsive bass motif is the engine that drives the layering melodies, while "Sencillez" is a modern commentary on Cuban musical history of the late 19th century. A Tribute to Buena Vista Social Club, Mozart, and John Coltrane mixed with Dayramir's spices.

“This is an ambitious project that presents me not only as a pianist or improviser, but also as a composer, arranger, orchestrator, and bandleader. For me, making an album is always about creating a full and complete piece of art, where I have a palette of different colors to choose from and can paint all those sounds that float in my head."

THE ALBUM TITLE

The Grand Concourse is the main thoroughfare that runs through the Bronx. When I first moved to New York, I made the South Bronx my home, and it's where I created most of the songs included in this album. It was where I struggled to rise above the challenges that came with starting a new life in a city that could swallow me up in no time. But "The Grand Concourse" also has a meaning that inspires. It is the broad road that leads to new journeys. It is at the concourse where people connect in an open space and encounter the expected and unexpected. And my album is the meeting place for the world to enter that space of diverse musical experiences.

"The Grand Concourse is an album for dreaming, for falling in love and for sharing with your close ones. Cheers."

Dayramir Gonzalez

1 Smiling

2 Moving Forward

3 Sencillez

4 Iyesa Con Miel (feat. Pedrito Martinez & Yosvany Terry)

5 Blood Brothers (feat. String Bembe)

6 Camello Tropical (feat. Nadia Washington)

7 Lovely Time with My Dear

8 Linear Patterns in Havana (feat. Raul Pineda)

9 Two Makes the Difference

10 West Coast Exchange

11 Hand in Hand, You and I

12 Situaciones En 12/8

Dayramir González: Steinway Grand Piano, Fender Rhodes and synthesizers (2, 8, 9) and coro (2, 3, 10, 12); Antoine Katz: electric bass (1, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12); Alberto Miranda: electric bass (2); Carlos Mena: contrabass (3); Zwelakhe Duma-Bell Le Pere: contrabass (5, 7, 9); Zack Mullings: drums (1, 4, 6, 10); Keisel Jimenez Leyva: drums (2); Jay Sawyer: drums (5); Willy Rodriguez: drums (5); Raul Pineda: drums (8); David Rivera: drums (12); Paulo Stagnaro: congas (1,, 3, 6, 10), batá drums: (6), surdo, cajón, güiro, pandeiro and miscellaneous percussion (1, 5, 7, 8, 9) ; Marcos Lopez: congas (2); Mauricio Herrera: congas (12), batá drums (2); Pedrito Martinez: batá drums (4) and lead vocals (4); Gregorio Vento: miscellaneous percussion and lead vocals (12); Yosvany Terry: alto saxophone (1, 4, 8, 10), shekere (10); Marcos Lopez: timbal (10); Harvis Cuni: trumpet (1); Oriente Lopez: flute (1, 3, 4, 8, 10); Kalani Trinidad: flute (12); Rio Konishi: alto saxophone (12); Dean Tsur: alto saxophone (7), tenor saxophone (1, 4, 8, 10); Edmar Colon: tenor saxophone (12); Ameya Kalamdani: electric and acoustic guitars (1, 6); Tatiana Ferrer: coro (2, 3, 10, 12) and viola (1, 3, 5, 7); Jaclyn Sanchez: coro (2, 3, 10); Nadia Washington: lead vocals (6) and coro (3, 10); Ilmar Lopez Gavilan: violin (1, 3, 5, 7); Audrey Defreytas Hayes: violin (1, 3, 5, 7); Jennifer Vincent: violoncello (1, 3, 5, 7); Caris Vesintin Liebman: oboe (5); Amparo Edo Biol: French horn (5)

Scott Robinson's Heliosonic Toneways, Vol. 1

ScienSonic Laboratories releases historic large ensemble recording, made on the 50th anniversary of Sun Ra's classic Heliocentric Worlds

Heliosonic Toneways, Vol. 1 now available

The Heliosonic Tone-tette featuring Sun Ra Arkestra members Marshall Allen and Danny Ray Thompson plus Scott Robinson, Philip Harper, Frank Lacy, Tim Newman, Pat O'Leary, JD Parran, Yosvany Terry and Matt Wilson

On April 20, 1965, one of the most adventurous and far-reaching recordings in jazz - or music - history was made in New York City. The great Sun Ra and his Solar Arkestra convened in engineer Richard L. Alderson's RLA Studio and crafted The Heliocentric Worlds of Sun Ra, an amazing and enigmatic recording that continues to astonish listeners to this day. Somewhere between outer space chamber music and avant-garde jazz, it introduced listeners to sounds not normally heard in improvised music. The album's boundary-stretching jazz sounded like no other record made by anyone, ever.

Now, fifty years later, ScienSonic Laboratories has created Heliosonic Toneways, Vol. 1, an historic new recording in the intrepid spirit of the original Heliocentric Worlds. On April 20, 2015, original participant Marshall Allen (now 93 and still highly active as leader of the Arkestra) and longtime Arkestra member Danny Thompson joined an incredible cast of some of New York's most creative musicians at the behest of ScienSonic's founder, multi-instrumentalist Scott Robinson.


Along with trombonist Frank Lacy, trumpeter Philip Harper, bassist Pat O'Leary, saxophonist Yosvany Terry, bass trombonist Tim Newman, drummer Matt Wilson and bass clarinetist JD Parran, Robinson and the Arkestra vets reentered the orbit of that landmark recording created a half-century earlier.

Heliosonic Toneways is not a recreation or remake of Heliocentric Worlds; instead of duplicating the original music, Robinson's goal was to use the extraordinary sonic template of the original recordings - the same instrumentation and distinctive sounds - to create new and imaginative music that would honor the spirit of the original sessions while also setting off into new and completely uncharted terrain. This is ScienSonic's most ambitious project yet, and the results are remarkable. 

One of the unique facets of Heliocentric Worlds was the album's use of an expanded palette unprecedented in even the most experimental jazz, incorporating such unusual instruments as timpani, piccolo, and the haunting bass marimba. Some months later, Volume Two followed with the addition of chromatic sets of "tuned bongos" and the eerie, electronic Clavioline. The distinctive aural environment of these two recordings, along with an offbeat musical methodology which blurs the lines between composition and improvisation, makes for utterly singular music which truly lives up to the admonition on the back of the original LP jackets: "YOU NEVER HEARD SUCH SOUNDS IN YOUR LIFE."


Robinson's ScienSonic Laboratories was the most fitting locale in which to record these extraordinary sessions; his converted garage houses one of the world's most extensive collections of obscure musical instruments, the fruits of years spent combing flea markets and junk shops. Among the lab's treasures is the original bass marimba that Sun Ra played on Heliocentric Worlds, heard here in the hands of Scott Robinson and Marshall Allen himself.

Also returning from the 1965 recording is original engineer Richard Alderson - who had not worked with Allen since the Heliocentric sessions but was tracked down and recruited to engineer the date. This made for a truly historic three-way reunion - fifty years later to the day! - between Allen, Alderson, and the original instrument that figured so prominently on the 1965 LP. A strange twist was added when news arrived during the sessions of the passing of Bernard Stollman - whose ESP label had issued the original Heliocentric LPs - on the very same day.

The results include Marshall Allen's first-ever recordings on piano and bass marimba, in addition to his customary alto sax and EVI. It was captured in a marathon session, resulting in enough material for two releases - look out for Volume Two in 2018. Despite many setbacks including pouring rain, technical difficulties, and long delays in the mixing process, the results of this massive effort can finally be heard. 


This is startling and unforgettable music, captured with extraordinary clarity and sonic detail - music that could only have taken place at ScienSonic Laboratories, with these musicians, these sounds. This is music that takes you somewhere... somewhere utterly unfamiliar, yet strangely inviting. Or, as Sun Ra used to say, "Somewhere there." From an audiophile standpoint, Alderson calls it "the best recording I have ever made." And while it is unlike any other Laboratory production to date, this music certainly lives up to the ScienSonic motto, "Worlds of Tomorrow Through Sound."

Please visit www.sciensonic.net to learn more about our previous releases with Julian Thayer, Marshall Allen, Roscoe Mitchell, Henry Grimes and more. Become a Laboratory Member!

Yosvany Terry & Baptiste Trotignon - Ancestral Memories (OKEH / SONY MUSIC 2017)

“This is a special opportunity to express my grandmother’s Haitian heritage with people who speak the same language.”  —Yosvany Terry

With grant support from the French-American Jazz Exchange Program, Cuban-American saxophonist Yosvany Terry and French pianist Baptiste Trotignon present a unique and exciting program inspired by the rich and diverse musical traditions that emerged from the African Diaspora in the United States and former French colonies in the Americas. Named Ancestral Memories, the project captures the rhythms, melodies, and harmonies of the Caribbean, New Orleans and French Louisiana, re-imagined through 21st century aesthetics and a jazz sensibility.

Ancestral Memories also comprises Terry’s longtime rhythm section of his brother, bassist Yunior Terry and Power House drummer Jeff “Tain” Watts, the most influential drummer of his generation. The quartet will toured the US in the Fall of 2015 and in France during June 2016.

Nominated for a Grammy for Best Latin Jazz Album, New Throned King, Yosvany Terry’s most recent album, was based on a similar concept and seamlessly blended modern jazz with the ceremonial music of the West African and Cuban Arara culture.

Bohemian Trio - Okònkolo (INNOVA RECORDINGS 2017)

Few groups live up to their name as well as Bohemian Trio, whose debut album Okónkolo speaks to the true voice of America: a cacophony of cultures that together forge a new identity that transcends Old World boundaries. Their original blend of classical lyricism, jazz harmony, Latin dance and Afro-Cuban beats reflects their diverse cultural and musical backgrounds.

Saxophonist/composer Yosvany Terry and pianist Orlando Alonso were born and trained musically in Cuba, while French-American cellist Yves Dharamraj is also part Trinidadian. Sax, piano and cello? This unique configuration was a conscious choice by the group to eschew traditional instrumentation for an improvising group, and it pays dividends in the sound of Okónkolo, at once refined and edgy.

The album’s title track is named for the “baby” or smallest member of the Batá drums used in Yoruba religious ceremonies. The okónkolo traditionally serves as timekeeper while the “father” itótele and “mother” iyá drums converse, improvise and entertain. In Terry’s “Okónkolo,” this drumming tradition is both a metaphor for the interaction between saxophone, cello and piano, and a reflection of the cultural diffusion that embodies the Bohemian Trio and its music.

Also on the album are works by Pedro Giraudo and Manuel Valera, some of which use Latin and jazz idioms while dovetailing classical sounds and techniques. Giraudo’s “Push Gift” is a relentless Argentinean milonga that borrows Baroque imitation and Impressionistic harmonies. Valera’s “Impromptu” is a breezy piece that pays homage to George Gershwin.

As Adam Parker writes in the liner notes, “We might think of Bohemian Trio as a commingling of various musical styles and lived experiences, and this can help us as we seek to explain the group’s generous display of talent. Or we can just listen and marvel at the beauty of it.”

“This chamberlike improvising trio specializes in music of traditional Latin American origin, though its methods are cosmopolitan.” – The New York Times

“Alonso and Terry, Cuban-born and trained, and the French-American Dharamraj are paving a new course, one that wholly relies on their refined abilities while embracing that dangerous, edgy quality one finds in complex jazz and lots of contemporary classical music.” – Adam Parker (The Post and Courier)

“I have listened to the trio before and they brought me a big surprise, what I expect is to once again be surprised.” – Larry Blumenfeld (Wall Street Journal)

“Terry’s sound is most distinctive on soprano, and “Tarde en La Lisa” was the best example of the exuberance and plenitude of his ideas. Alonso’s backing had steely force as the composer played the line, a perfect launch pad for the soprano rant that followed. Then the piano was an island of calm, setting us up for a full round of vigorous Bohemian solos before Terry circled back to the melody. “Hiroshima,” the placid finale on the Giraudo Jazz Orchestra’s 2009 El Viaje release, was not radically altered at all as the Bohemians’ valedictory. Dharamraj eloquently played the line before Alonso and Terry, still on soprano, paid their soulful, subdued respects.” – Perry Tannenbaum (Jazz Times Magazine)

“The Trio opened with a piece influenced by traditional Latin American sounds, called “Bohemia: Memories from Childhood,” by Yosvany Terry. (Not only does Terry play numerous instruments throughout the performance, he also composes half of the music). The piece began in an uneasy tone sad, haunting, and dissonant. Alsonso’s hands swept the piano like leaves fluttering and Terry’s soprano sax was hypnotic as the Pied Piper.” – Celeste McMaster (Charleston City Paper)

01. Tarde en la Lisa 7:21

02. Push Gift 7:03

03. Impromptu No. 1 for Gershwin 5:58

04. Bohemia (Recuerdos de Infancia) 7:41

05. The Invisible Drummer: Prelude No. 5 13:31

06. Hiroshima 3:08

07. Piano Trio in A Minor: III. Passacaill 7:24

08. Okònkolo (Trio Concertante) 8:50

Yosvany Terry, saxophone

Yves Dharamraj, cello

Orlando Alonso, piano