Tommaso Cappellato - Pioneered (July 16, 2021 Domanda Music)

The Italian percussionist-producer-composer Tommaso Cappellato will release his seventh album as a bandleader, Pioneered, on July 16, 2021. It was recorded during the artist’s month-long residency at the venerable Brooklyn contemporary arts space Pioneer Works, in 2018. Pioneered features contributions from a multicultural and sonically diverse cast of electronic, jazz, and experimental players whose own work and ideas about music communities naturally inform Cappellato’s.

The impressive list of contributors to Pioneered includes Shahzad Ismaily, jaimie branch, Val Jeanty, Afrikan Sciences, Michael Blake, Yusuke Yamamoto, Donato Dozzy, and others. Pioneered also marks the first release on Cappellato’s Domanda Music label, devoted to a global-minded eclecticism, rhythm, improvisation and joy.

For more about Tommaso Cappellato, Pioneered, and Domanda Music, read more extensive notes below..

We live in a time whose contemporary music escapes easy categorization, constantly blurring borders—genre, origin, identity, creative tradition—yearning for shared spirituality and freedom, yet bound by the requirements of Earthly description. While largely defined by the limitless availability of an entire century’s recordings, this music demands its definitions: pushed by technological, sonic breakthroughs, grounded in the classic conversations of rhythm and improvisation. Like other aspects of modern life, it needs to be both familiar and innovative.

In many ways, the Italian percussionist-producer-composer Tommaso Cappellato has been striving towards his own version of this music for two decades; and on Pioneered, his seventh album as a bandleader and the inaugural release on his Domanda Music label, he has begun achieving it. Pioneered was born from a global ecosystem of wild ideas, a longtime natural habitat for creative breakthroughs. Yet Cappellato’s work synthesizes elements that are marks of a distinctly modern world of a global culture, and the joys and tragedies that inform it.

Tommaso hails from Northern Italy, and began playing drums at a young age. It drove him towards a jazz studies degree at New York’s New School, where his mentors included Pharoah Sanders’ drummer Michael Carvin, and where he studied with a who’s who of improvisation giants (drummer like Billy Hart, Joe Chambers and Jimmy Cobb, and bassist such as Reggie Workman, Cecil McBee, and Buster Williams). By night, he played in the house band at the world famous Rainbow Room—with, among others, the late Harry Whitaker, pianist with Roy Ayers’ Ubiquity in the ’70s—and soaked in the city’s rap and house music. This resulted in a turn-of-the-century love affair with the sounds of the Big Apple, from hip-hop to hard bop, which, mixed with his homeland’s forever-roots, cemented the permanent multicultural aspirations of Tommaso’s music.

Cappellato never stopped playing what is often regarded as “jazz” (see his spiritual ensemble, Astral Travel), less as its traditionalist minder than a conductor of great Black American music’s ideas to far-flung contexts, often invoking a love of electronic production. He’s found himself in collaborative situations with techno and house producers like Donato Dozzy and Khalab, Egyptian composer Maurice Louca, UK broken-beat multi-instrumentalist Kaidi Tatham, London’s massive saxophonist Shabaka Hutchings, and genius vocalists Dwight Trible and Roba El-Essawy, among many others across four continents. Like his oft colleague, the New Zealand keyboards/synths wiz Mark de Clive Lowe, Cappellato is regarded as a rhythmalist and an improviser, shaping the art of the electronic dance from a large arsenal of spontaneous, optimistic creation.

The borderless culture that sowed the seeds for Pioneered also gave rise to the institution where Cappellato brought the album it's kinda named after into being. Pioneer Works is a multi-purpose arts space (gallery venue, studio, clubhouse) in Brooklyn’s Red Hook neighborhood; and in September of 2018, Cappellato participated in its highly respected music residency program. The program’s timing was perfect (a long-term relationship in Italy was hitting a rocky path), and for Tommaso the faraway opportunity “came as a breath of fresh air.” Arriving at Pioneer Works with no predetermined creative ideas, Tommaso choose to be guided by chance, spending a month recording tracks with a variety of old friends (reed player Michael Blake, vibraphonist Yusuke Yamammoto, flautist Mariano Gil), new acquaintances (bassist Shahzad Ismaily, trumpeter jaimie branch, electronic producer Afrika Sciences, guitarist Nico Soffiato, saxophonist Francesco Germiani), and those he encountered via circumstance (turntablist Val Jeanty, violinist Justine Celafù). The resulting sounds deeply hinted at the shifts that were shaping all society at the time, imbued with a natural sense of personal and global loss, yet also a strange hope based in the community-building that Cappellato’s music often aspires to.

Though every track on Pioneered rests upon Tommaso’s drums and percussion ideas, what gives the album meaning and a novel depth are contexts shaped by collaboration. Call it fusioneering! This idea is exemplified in the sounds by the two players besides Cappellato who add parts to multiple tracks. Ismaily’s electric bass and Moog bring elements of the future and the funk (“Bikes, Rides & Tides” is a percussive powerhouse, a low-key electronic dub excursion); while Blake’s bansuri flute and layered tenor saxophone elevate the music heavenward (“Angels in Space” splits an intense difference between jazz spirituality and new age mood). Both appear on “Legend of the Bringer,” the album’s jazz-dance stand-out, built on an organ lick that harkens to Stax instrumentals, while a bevy of textures (vibes, woodwinds, light strings) percolate between historicity and modernity, all in the spirit of profound fun.

At other times, sample-based abstraction is the flavor of the day. “The Elite,” with branch’s echo-heavy trumpet and Jeanty’s turntable scratches and vignettes, is the clarion call of a thoroughly modernist, triumphalist trio. On “So Hard to Be Apart,” Cappellato and Afrikan Sciences create a smokey noir scene out of classic piano samples, playing with the emotions of lovers navigating separate darknesses. Raw emotions are also central to the tracks where Tommaso goes it alone, especially “Green Is the Color of the Heart,” a psychologically reflective post-rock moment.

When he was done recording at Pioneer Works, Cappellato took the music back home—first to Italy, then his new home in Los Angeles—where he began shaping it towards finality. He did some mixing on his own before enlisting Dave Vettraino, best known as the in-house engineer for Chicago’s great International Anthem Recordings; then shared the results with his trusted old collaborator Dozzy, who transferred the sounds to tape. Two-plus years and one pandemic later, Pioneered speaks to that month Tommaso spent in Brooklyn, “a story about the experience of recording, about the people who came through during that time, the interesting encounters and conversations, my deep learning and understanding.” Yet Pioneered transcends that finite period to get at something universal, “A desire to tell a different story to the world, another history of the world.” Categories of story-telling be damned.

Liner notes by Piotr Orlov

1. To Be Born And Forget

Tommaso Cappellato (drums, sensory percussion)

2. Legend Of The Bringer

Shahzad Ismaily (electric bass, moog)

Yusuke Yamamoto (electric vibes)

Mariano Gil (flute)

Justine Cefalù (violin)

Michael Blake (bansuri)

Tommaso Cappellato (drums, organ)

3. The Elite

Jaimie Branch (trumpet, synths)

Val Jeanty (turntables)

Tommaso Cappellato (drums)

4. So Hard To Be Apart

Afrikan Sciences (synths, programming)

Tommaso Cappellato (drums)

5. Green Is The Color Of The Heart

Tommaso Cappellato (drums, synths, sensory percussion)

6. Angels In Space

Michael Blake (tenor saxophone)

Tommaso Cappellato (drums, synths, percussion)

7. Bikes, Rides & Tides

Shahzad Ismaily (moog)

Nico Soffiato (guitar)

Tommaso Cappellato (drums, programming)

8. In Need To Slow Down

Yusuke Yamamoto (synths, vibes)

Francesco Geminiani (ewi)

Tommaso Cappellato (drums, synths, percussion)

Mixed by Tommaso Cappellato & Dave Vettraino

Tape Transfer by Donato Dozzy

Mastered by Max Trisotto

Original Artwork by Giorgio Pasini

Art Direction by Raimund Wong

Design by Mattia Tono

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Sarah Wilson's 'Kaleidoscope' – July 16, 2021 on Brass Tonic Records

Singular trumpeter, vocalist, and composer Sarah Wilson pays tribute to her mentors on Kaleidoscope, a gorgeous all-star sextet project 

featuring Myra Melford, Matt Wilson, Charles Burnham, Jerome Harris and John Schott

”…one of the most intriguing and promising composers and trumpeters on the contemporary music scene.“ – Derk Richardson, San Francisco Chronicle

At its best music is an act of generosity that flows from creative camaraderie. Slated for release on July 16, 2021 via Brass Tonic Records, Sarah Wilson’s third album Kaleidoscope results from that kind of rarified communion. The San Francisco Bay Area trumpeter, vocalist, and composer wrote and recorded the music in a spirit of gratitude inspired by some of the key figures in her creative life. She’s joined by a nonpareil cast of improvisers, including pianist Myra Melford, drummer Matt Wilson, violinist Charles Burnham, bassist Jerome Harris, and guitarist John Schott. 

While deeply shaped by jazz, Wilson’s music owes as much to avant pop, Afro-Latin grooves and indie rock as the post-bop continuum. Evidencing her profound gift for musical storytelling, Kaleidoscope reflects Wilson’s background composing scores for puppet shows and theatrical productions. Not every piece is dedicated to a mentor or creative beacon, “but this record is about the people who have supported me,” says Wilson, who like so many musicians has gone more than a year without performing. “At a time when putting out an album is a minor miracle, this is music about buoying each other up.”

As the name implies, Kaleidoscope embraces multiple views, approaches and personalities. The album opens with “Aspiration,” a gently descending melody that seems to defy gravity as Burnham’s violin doubles Wilson’s gleaming horn. Dedicated to Renee Baldocchi, who was Director of Public Programs at San Francisco’s de Young Museum, the piece was inspired by the Aaron Douglas painting that provided the creative blueprint for Wilson’s score for “Off the Walls,” the aerial dance production that concluded her fellowship at the de Young. If “Aspiration” serves as the album’s benediction, “Presence” is a joyous, calypso-tinged tune that announces that the celebration is underway. Written for Carla Bley, the piece was inspired by “Major,” the opening track on her 1999 album of duets with bassist and partner Steve Swallow, Are We There Yet?

Wilson’s winsome song “Young Woman” features her beguiling vocals and evocative lyrics. It’s one of several pieces inspired by Myra Melford, a close friend and mentor. The quietly majestic “With Grace” is another piece written with Melford in mind. Composed while Wilson was on a Djerassi artist residency, the melody conjures the rugged California coast south of San Francisco. She was listening to Melford’s music in a very different setting, the possibly haunted 19th century resort Stags’ Leap Winery in Napa, when she wrote “Night Still,” a mysterious theme that features Burnham’s achingly beautiful violin. 

“It wasn’t long after I heard about Myra in the early 1990s that she became my hero,” Wilson says. “She was such an inspiration. I loved her composing and I had a few lessons with her studying Threadgill’s technique. We’d go on walks in Prospect Park. But I had quit the trumpet and was hardly playing at all. She said ‘You have to play your music. This needs to be performed as concert music.’ I’m not sure if I would have had the strength without her support. That was so important.”

Another essential supporter and music mentor was Paul Caputo, and Wilson dedicates the bright, delicately filigreed tune “Color” to the widely esteemed Schoenberg scholar. The piece features Schott, a brilliant guitarist who has created a vast array of music outside of the near-legendary Grammy-nominated post-bop/funk band T.J. Kirk. He also contributes a tightly coiled, stinging solo on the title track, which Wilson dedicated to Peck Allmond, Tony Scherr and Kenny Wollesen, key collaborators during her New York years. She brings luminous intensity to her vocal rendition of M. Ward’s “Lullaby + Exile,” and closes the album with “Go,” a celebratory Cuban-inflected tribute to Laurie Frink, the late, legendary trumpeter and brass teacher. 

A project many years in the making, Kaleidoscope is a creative dispatch from an artist on an unlikely path. A lapsed high school trumpet player, Wilson didn't come to music through the usual channels. As an undergraduate anthropology major at the University of California, Berkeley, Wilson took a strong interest in theater. A visiting artist from Vermont's globe-trotting Bread and Puppet Theater inspired her to move east to work on their spectacular giant-puppet productions after graduation. She spent two years as a member of the troupe as her responsibilities expanded to encompass conducting, arranging and performing music for their shows. In 1993, she moved to New York City to concentrate on music, studying with trumpeters John McNeil and Laurie Frink.

Through her affiliation with Bread and Puppet Theater she soon found herself musical director and composer of Lincoln Center's Out of Doors Festival's annual puppet program. "At the time, I didn't really have any formal training or experience composing," Wilson says. "I didn't know much harmony, so I would just write these melodic bass lines and layer contrapuntal melodies on top of them. I was really into Afro-Cuban music and Henry Threadgill and Steve Coleman, so everything had a really strong rhythmic base, sometimes with odd meters. I've formally studied music since then, but my basic composing approach hasn't changed much."

Wilson absorbed other sources of inspiration from the eclectic downtown New York new music scene of the 1990s, while connecting with plenty of open-minded musicians. "I was fortunate to find these amazing musicians, like Kenny Wollesen, Peck Allmond, Tony Scherr, and others who liked my work precisely because it was different and original."

To further blur stylistic boundaries, Wilson began singing and writing her own songs in 2000. "My mom died that year, and I gave up the trumpet,” she says. “I listened to the radio a lot and I started writing songs. It was distracting, soothing as I was dealing with this terrible loss in my life.” She introduced the new material at Performance Space 122, realizing afterwards “that singing gave me this intimate connection with the audience and I felt relaxed doing it,” Wilson says. “It is another avenue for my music to travel down.”

She released her first album, Music for an Imaginary Play (Evander Music), in 2006, earning sterling reviews with her picaresque compositions. Featuring Wilson on trumpet and vocals, Peck Allmond on tenor sax, Steve Cardenas on electric guitar, Jerome Harris on bass and Kenny Wollesen on drums, the project was drawn directly from her many years of writing music for puppet theater.

She followed up with 2010’s Trapeze Project (Brass Tonic Records), an album inspired by a sense of dislocation and freedom after moving from New York to the Bay Area in 2005. Drawing on a far-flung array of sounds from Balkan and Persian folk music to New Orleans jazz, marching bands, blues, and pop music, she developed tunes that sounded utterly personal and unmoored to prevailing jazz fashions. Once again she convened an inimitable cast, including Melford, Harris, clarinetist Ben Goldberg and drummer Scott Amendola. 

Wilson has spent the past decade developing programs for a variety of museums and institutions. Her latest project is a music production for The Tenderloin Museum. Collaborating with Larkin Street Youth Services, a long-standing non-profit organization serving homeless youth based in one of San Francisco’s most poverty-stricken, challenged neighborhoods, “Tenderloin Voices” brings their stories to life through writing workshops and musical performance.

The music on Kaleidoscope was created with support from the de Young Museum Artist Fellows program with commission funding from Wallace Alexander Gerbode Foundation and The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, Center for Cultural Innovation, Zellerbach Family Foundation and many generous donors. At a time when the music scene is facing an unprecedented crisis, Wilson offers a candle in the darkness. “The theme of this music is that it makes me happy,” she says. That’s a view that works from any angle. 

1. Aspiration

2. Presence

3. Young Woman

4. Color

5. Kaleidoscope

6. Felta Road

7. Quiet Rust

8. Night Still

9. The Hit

10. Lullaby + Exile

11. With Grace

12. Go

Sarah Wilson (trumpet/vocals)

Charles Burnham (violin)

John Schott (guitar)

Myra Melford (piano)

Jerome Harris (bass)

Matt Wilson (drums)

All compositions written by Sarah Wilson, Sasstone Music (ASCAP) except her arrangement of “Lullaby + Exile” by Matthew Ward, Kobalt Music Publishing America, Inc./Obo Crooked Spine Music.

Produced by Hans Wendl

Recorded June 12 & 13, 2012 by Mike Marciano at Systems Two, Brooklyn, NY

Mixed & additional recording by Adam Munoz at Fantasy Studios, Berkeley, CA

Mastered by Gene Paul at G&J Audio, Union City, NJ

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Mike Clark and Michael Zilber - Mike Drop (July 16, 2021 Sunnyside Records)

Sometimes there are musicians who seem to be fated to collaborate. They can come from different places and, even different generations, but their connection will be immediate and deep. This is the type of relationship that has developed between legendary drummer Mike Clark and stellar saxophonist Michael Zilber. Their friendship and musical cohesiveness can be felt immediately upon hearing their new recording, Mike Drop.

Originally from Northern California, Mike Clark has been one of the most celebrated drummers of his generation. Having made a name through his tenure with Herbie Hancock and the Headhunters, Clark left his home base in the Bay Area in 1979 to pursue opportunities in New York City and beyond. It proved to be the best move of his life, as this allowed him to play with his heroes, the true New York City cats.

Michael Zilber grew up in Vancouver, Canada but always felt deeply connected to New York City, coming from three generations of New Yorkers, including his parents, who met and fell in love in Manhattan. Zilber pursued his musical path in Boston before settling in the Big Apple for almost a decade. In 1992, a teaching opportunity shifted the saxophonist’s attention to California, where he relocated and has been a fixture in the Bay Area jazz scene ever since.

New York City has a natural pull for jazz players and so it was for Zilber, who continued to visit the City regularly, playing gigs and sessions, immersed in that fierce and focused environment. It was during one of these trips that he was introduced to Clark by their mutual friend, Michael Barsimanto. Their appreciation for each other’s skill sets was immediate, as Zilber’s New York City hard driving style fit well with Clark’s impeccably swinging and focused drum approach. Their sessions were also conversational and fun, not to mention a good hang.

In early 2018, Clark was booked to play the San Jose Winter Jazz Festival and capitalized on the opportunity to return to his old stomping grounds in the Bay by finding a number of gigs and clinics. Zilber joined Clark on the San Jose gig and they received a tremendous response. In addition, the booked a week’s worth of gigs with a mutual friend bassist Peter Barshay and the talented pianist Matt Clark.

The situation was so opportune that Zilber suggested getting the quartet into 25th Street Recording in Oakland for an old school recording session, where they eschewed separation for a more live and relaxed feeling. The pieces that the group played were pieces they had played over the previous week, along with a couple of originals and arrangements by Zilber.

The recording begins with Zilber’s ode to their virtuoso bass player, “Barshay Fly,” which takes a bass line Barshay played on a gig as inspiration and creates a grooving piece for the ensembles’ solo flights. Zilber reimagines elements from Sonny Rollins’ iconic solo on “Tune Up” and a four-note motif from Thelonious Monk’s “If I Were a Bell” and a bit of the bridge from “Ruby My Dear” to create “Sonny Monk (If I Were A),” a hard swinging piece that allows for a bit of solo trading between Clark and Zilber. Clark introduces McCoy Tyner’s “Passion Dance” with an emphatic drum solo, setting the tone for a true quartet workout.

The quartet shows its romantic side on Duke Pearson’s “You Know I Care” with wistful solos from all and Clark’s warm, gauzy brush work. The Beatles are one of Zilber’s passions, as he even leads a Fab Four centered funk band called John & Paul Reimagined. Here Zilber presents his tremendous arrangements of “Blackbird” and “Norwegian Wood,” the former with a bouncing pulse, harmonic reworking and Zilber’s poignant soprano while the latter finds the meditative tune traversing through six keys. These prove to be Clark’s first attempts at playing the Beatles material and he owns them.

Wayne Shorter’s gorgeous “Miyako” is haunting with Zilber’s mournful soprano, Matt Clark’s thoughtful keys and Mike Clark’s sparkling cymbal work. Barshay’s playful arrangement of Monk’s “Monk’s Dream” makes clear the joyous feel the quartet could blossom and provides a showcase for the bassist’s outstanding solo voice. The recording concludes with Rodgers and Hart’s “Falling In Love with Love,” the well-loved standard taken at an infectious up-tempo swing only cementing the quartet’s effervescent character.

The moving performances on Mike Clark and Michael Zilber’s Mike Drop show that kindred spirits can be found no matter the distance. Though both Clark and Zilber came from the West Coast, they found their connection in a love of the serious soul of one of New York City’s distinctive styles: a seriously swinging, free range jazz. 

1. Barshay Fly

2. Sonny Monk (If I Were A)

3. Passion Dance

4. You Know I Care

5. Blackbird

6. Norwegian Wood

7. Miyako

8. Monk's Dream

9. Falling In Love with Love

Mike Clark - drums

Michael Zilber - tenor & soprano saxophones

Matt Clark - piano

Peter Barshay - bass

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Dennis Mitcheltree - Nevermind The Circus (July 16, 2021)

Recorded in Los Angeles directly before the pandemic hit, Nevermind The Circus is a reunion of the original Dennis Mitcheltree Trio from New York City.

Maturity and passion are words that describe the music performed by the trio and the compositions within.

The trio has now been together for nearly thirty years - that strong bond of familiarity results in a musical cohesiveness that shines bright and deep.

1. Strummin' While Nawlins Swims

2. 911

3. Recount

4. Olivia

5. Twinkle Toes

6. Dark Days

7. L.A. Blues

8. Tararyzm

9. Sasayaki

10. Tune for Tai

Dennis Mitcheltree - tenor saxophone, compositions

Jesse Crawford - bass

Bill McClellan - drums

Recorded and mixed by Nolan Shaheed

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Francesco Ciniglio - The Locomotive Suite (July 16, 2021 Whirlwind Recordings)

Born in Naples, educated in New York and now residing in Paris, drummer Francesco Ciniglio combines spotless drumming facility with substantial compositional flair, and has the capacity to move, reflect and express through his music. An in-demand sideman, Ciniglio has collaborated with Wynton Marsalis, Shai Maestro, Aaron Parks, Dayna Stephens, Seamus Blake and Tony Tixier.

Following his debut solo release (Wood, with Parks and Joe Sanders), Ciniglio returns as leader for his Whirlwind debut, The Locomotive Suite, a set of compositions for sextet that combine a personal metaphor of resilience with snapshots of his formative familial influences. Barcelona- based Raynald Colom (trumpet), fellow Paris emigrée Matt Chalk (alto) and Matteo Pastorino (bass clarinet) take the frontline duties, with Frenchman Alexis Valet on vibraphone and rising star Felix Moseholm on double bass.

“It’s a straight metaphor,” says Ciniglio of the suite. “Every one of us should be our own locomotive, sturdy and reliable, because crazy times can come; if we don't react right away, and don't keep going, we're going to sink.” Composed for sextet, the collection began as reflections on the Ciniglio’s intense experiences of New York. They found another life in Paris and were recorded in May 2020 during one of the city’s brief lockdown respites, which saw the ensemble descend on the capital from all across Europe.

The suite is a collection of substantial, knotty harmonies, rhythmic shifts and spacious textures. But it also experiments internally, with chordal horn textures giving bass and vibraphone more melodic freedom. The unusual scoring is inspired by the soundworlds of Pat Metheny and Ben van Gelder, bridging the gap between music for large ensemble and harmonically focused trio music. Or, as Ciniglio puts it, it’s all about "finding an ensemble that’s not too big or small.”

The Locomotive Suite expands on that resilient ‘locomotive’ metaphor, coupled with ‘wagons’ – ‘personal experiences that nobody can take away from you’. The opener ‘Laura Martina’ is dedicated to Ciniglio’s late grandmother, a charismatic entertainer who helped raise him – a warm chorale sits above a pulsating drum texture. The darting rhythms of ‘Locomotive’ are the most closely related to train travel, but are actually derived from the Neapolitan tarantellas of his youth. Constructed in a series of windows, each new section is “a landscape which a train might pass through.” ‘Arlene’s March’ trots towards the Lower East Side and Arlene’s Grocery, famous for its hip-hop jam nights.

Three personal postcards follow (‘Capitano’ for his Dad, ‘Self-Made Man’ for his Neapolitan ‘Uncle’ who chased the American Dream, and ‘The Turtle’, a tender dedication to bassist Moseholm), followed by two darker pieces (‘Concern in the Background’ and ‘945 St Nicholas Avenue’), before the sweetly melancholic duet ‘Mon Ange’ aptly ends the album with, and in, love.

“This album is all about movement – getting a train here, marching there,” summarises Ciniglio. But it also reflects on people and places, and on the personal growth that helps make The Locomotive Suite a significant compositional statement.

1. Laura Martina

2. Loco-motive

3. Arlene's March

4. Capitano

5. Self-Made Man

6. The Turtle

7. Concern In The Background

8. 945 St. Nicholas Ave.

9. Mon Ange

Francesco Ciniglio - drums & composition

Raynald Colom - trumpet & flugelhorn

Matt Chalk - alto saxophone & arrangements

Matteo Pastorino - bass clarinet

Alexis Valet - vibraphone

Felix Moseholm - double bass

Recorded on July 5th & 6th 2020 at Studio Ferber, Paris

Mixed by Valentin Couineau & Dave Darlington

Mastered by Dave Darlington

Produced by Francesco Ciniglio

Liner Notes by Wynton Marsalis

Photography & Video by Audrey Radas

Graphic Design by Dave Bush & Audrey Radas

All Compositions by Francesco Ciniglio

Executive Producer - Michael Janisch

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Joshua Cavanagh-Brierley / Joy In Bewilderment (July 16, 2021)

From a string quartet to a 12-piece horn section led ensemble, (including three drummers), to solo piano to vocal-led storytelling. This album roams through a multitude of colour with all original compositions that span from heavily arranged to heavy improvisation. It accommodates an incredibly versatile ensemble and features guest performers Chris Potter, Caoilfhionn Rose and the Amika String Quartet.

1. Joy In Bewilderment

2. Brew

3. I'll Do As I Please

4. Forbidden Words

5. Attachment

6. Ophelia's Arrival

7. You Can't Whistle a Haircut

GAVIN HIBBERD - Trumpet

SAM HEALEY - Alto Sax

KYRAN MATTHEWS - Tenor Sax

CHRIS POTTER - Tenor Sax

ANTHONY BROWN - Baritone Sax

ELLIE WHITLEY - Tenor Trombone

RICH McVEIGH - Tenor Trombone & Bass Trombone

CAOILFHIONN ROSE BIRLEY - Vocals

DANIEL BREW - Guitar

DANIEL WELLENS - Piano & Keys

JOSHUA CAVANAGH-BRIERLEY – Bass, Double Bass & Piano

ALAN TAYLOR - Drums

GRANT KERSHAW - Drums

CRAIG HANSON - Drums

Strings – THE AMIKA QUARTET

SIMMY SINGH - Violin

LAURA SENIOR - Violin

LUCY NOLAN - Viola

PEGGY NOLAN - Cello

All tracks composed and arranged by JOSHUA CAVANAGH-BRIERLEY

Recorded at Low Four Studios in Manchester, UK on 2nd February 2018.

Recording Engineer / Producer / Mixed & Edited by JOSEPH REISER

Mastered by GEORGE ATKINS at 80 Hertz Studios

Executive Producer: MARTIN HUMMEL

Cover artwork by AMY BROCKLEHURST

Photography by DAN WIEBE

Design by RUMNEY DESIGN

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Ishmael Ensemble - Visions Of Light (July 16, 2021)

Bristol experimental jazz collective Ishmael Ensemble reveal their expansive new album "Visions Of Light". The follow-up to their critically acclaimed 2019 debut "A State of Flow", praised by the likes of The Guardian, MOJO, The WIRE and tastemakers across BBC 6Music, this sophomore record sees the group reimagine what an ‘ensemble’ can do: expanding into a shifting collective, where human relationships between artists underpin far-ranging, stunningly ambitious and emotionally-heavyweight compositions.

1. Intro

2. Feather

3. Wax Werk

4. Soma Centre

5. Empty Hands

6. Looking Glass

7. Morning Chorus

8. Visions Of Light

9. The Gift

10. January

Produced & arranged by Pete Cunningham

Recorded by Ali Chant at The Playpen, Bristol as well as various homes in Bristol, Frome & Polzeath

Additional production & mixing by Ali Chant at The Playpen, Bristol

Mastered by Shawn Joseph at Optimum Mastering, Bristol

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Superklang - Superklang (July 2021 Umlaut Records)

…Then they both stopped on the side of the road…

While dusting their coats to remove the dust of the path, they looked back towards the fertile meadows from which they had picked flowers. Already fifteen years playing together! Sylvain Lemêtre and Frédéric Aurier, trained in classical school, committed to the contemporary cause, curious of musics from around the world, Fred and Sylvain wanted to write the score that would resemble them. Interpreters, composers and improvisers, they gathered the seeds that they had patiently grown : musical theater and electro pop, bourrées with five or seven beats, Ligeti and Machaut, what is below as well as what is above…They grabbed the zarb and the violin, the nyckelharpa, the frame drum and the Tibetan bowls, they also found on the mound a threaded rod and a Newtonian pendulum : SuperKlang was born!

They then turned their gaze forward... the horizon was far away... they set off again!

1. Fred et moi (Bonjour) 01:42

2. Trois Totems 05:32

3. Horloge 1 01:36

4. Sucre d'Orge 05:21

5. Retro passacaille 04:50

6. Rage de Danse 03:00

7. Horloge 2 01:35

8. Sans Additif 07:13

9. Horloge 3 01:40

10. Retour aux Chazeaux 05:41

11. Sylvain et moi (Au revoir) 02:06

Frédéric Aurier : violin, nyckelharpa and voice

Sylvain Lemêtre : zarb, percussions and voice

Compositions : Frédéric Aurier - Sylvain Lemêtre

Sound engeneering and mastering : Adrian' Bourget

Recorded in July 2020 at Studio l’Artscène

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Thomas Agergaard Quartet - Green Cities (July 2021)

Classic Jazz with a nordic approach

1. JIVE 05:24

2. RING FREE 05:54

3. STELLA BY STARLIGHT 07:59

4. GREEN CITIES 05:11

5. THIS MORNING 05:04

6. RUNNING AROUND THE BLOCK 04:46

7. DO WALK 05:22

8. ASK YOURSELF 05:34

9. THE GREAT BELONING 06:11

Thomas Agergaard: Tenor sax

Lars Jansson: Piano

Anders Kjellberg: Drums

Lennart Ginman: Double bass

All compositions by Thomas Agergaard except Stella by Starlight By Victor Jung and The Great Belonging By Lars Jansson

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Matías Formica / Jonatan Schenone - Aislados (2021 Numeral)

Although this music is a photo, it reflects the creative process in the middle of 2020. This project arises as an excuse to travel the global pandemic in a creative way.

During eight months of introspection, a lot of study, many compositions and no space to test them, I propose to Jona (almost a neighbor), that we prepare a duet album with my compositions where the hierarchy of improvisations give identity to each of the music. .

And so, building this transition, we achieved for several months: AISLADOS.

This work is the result of trying to capture a language generated at this time, experimentation and exploration, in addition to the years of shared music, friendship and understanding.

The album is made up of his own compositions (tracks 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11 Formica) and free improvisations (tracks 2, 4, 6, 8,10).

1. Big Fish 05:48

2. Impropia 01:46

3. Elegía de un imaginario 08:43

4. Improbable 02:25

5. Aislados 09:09

6. Improductivo 01:35

7. Ludus 06:31

8. Improrrogable 01:20

9. Ishiro 06:49

10. Improperios 02:23

11. Narcisa 05:38

Matías Formica - tenor and alto sax, flute and alto flute. Composition

Jonatan Schenone - doublebass

Recorded 27th of february and 13th of march, in the city of La Plata, Buenos Aires. 2021

Recording, mixing and mastering - Pablo Formica

Photo - Jorge Formica

Cover art - Jorge Vimercati

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Asaf Sirkis - Solar Flash (July 15, 2021)

The new album SOLAR FLASH celebrates music from drummer Asaf Sirkis and a stellar line-up consisting of British keyboardist extraordinaire Gary Husband, Scottish bassist Kevin Glasgow, Israeli-born Asaf Sirkis on drums with special guests: Polish vocalist Sylwia Bialas and U.S.A-born guitarist Mark Wingfield.

Expect some haunting ‘outer space’ electro-acoustic sounds with a wide range of dynamics ranging from Erik-Satie-like gentle ballads all the way to high energy electric Prog-jazz-improv and everything in between.

In the words of Mr. Robert Wyatt:

“I’ve known Asaf’s gifts for years, certainly enough to say that as far as I can see, there’s NOTHING he can’t do when he puts his mind to it.

Of course on this innovative record his kit skills just keep expanding but what really gets to me here are his ethereal, haunting compositions, which take the soloists into uncharted territories, guiding them but allowing them freedom to dip and dive through their solos in their own sympathetically idiosyncratic ways.

So this is a remarkable recording which, with its very distinct individual voices, has nevertheless the feel of a single living organism: Quite a combination!”

1. Kinship 06:35

2. Under The Ice 05:44

3. Aquila 05:20

4. Polish Suite, part one 04:06

5. Polish Suite, part two 04:06

6. For Eric 08:57

7. Solar Flash 06:05

8. Polish Suite, part three 04:57

GARY HUSBAND, PIANO, KEYBOARDS

KEVIN GLASGOW, ELECTRIC BASS

ASAF SIRKIS, DRUMS, CROTALES

WITH SPECIAL GUESTS:

SYLWIA BIALAS, VOCALS (TRACKS 1, 3 & 4)

MARK WINGFIELD, GUITAR (3, 5 & 8)

ALL COMPOSITIONS BY ASAF SIRKIS

© 2021 ASAF SIRKIS

RECORDED AT LA CASAMURADA STUDIOS (SPAIN)

MIXED BY CHRISTOPH REISS (GERMANY)

MASTERED BY ALEX KLEBL AT MARELL MUSIC GROUP (GERMANY)

COVER ARTWORK BY SYLWIA BIALAS

STONEDBIRD PRODUCTIONS ALBUM CREATED IN ASSOCIATION WITH MOONJUNE RECORDS

SERIAL NUMBER: MJR117

*FOR ERIC IS DEDICATED TO DRUMMER ERIC KAMAU GRAVATT

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Lorraina Marro - Love Is For All Time (July 15, 2021)

A delightful singer from Los Angeles, on Love Is For All Time, Lorraina Marro performs a set of standards from the jazz, r&b and Latin music worlds.

Joined by a jazz sextet with pianist Steve Rawlins, guitarist Grant Geissman, trumpeter Dr. Bobby Rodriguez, and Rickey Woodard on tenor saxophone, Lorraina Marro sings a well-rounded set of swingers and ballads.

Lorraina Marro is a powerful singer with an attractive high voice. She puts plenty of feeling into the lyrics that she interprets and has a style all her own that was originally inspired by Nancy Wilson.

On Love Is For All Time, she chose songs that deal with love on all different levels. “The promise of new love, loss of love, sassy kind of love, and love for other people in general; I’ve experienced it all. I’ve lived long enough to sing about my own truth.” For this special project, she performs with a top-notch group of top Los Angeles-based musicians. Pianist Steve Rawlins, bassist Jennifer Leitham, drummer Steve Pemberton form the core trio and are joined by three guest soloists: tenor-saxophonist Rickey Woodard, trumpeter Dr. Bobby Rodriguez, and guitarist Grant Geissman

The singer interprets such numbers as a Latinized “Stairway To The Stars,” the swinging “The Night Has A Thousand Eyes” (which has a fine tradeoff by Woodard and Rodriguez), a playful “My Baby Just Cares For Me,” and her heartfelt interpretation of “When The World Turns Blue.” She sings in Spanish during “Viajera del Rio,” sounds joyful on the Billie Holiday-associated “I Wished On The Moon,” and concludes the program by effectively vocalizing in both Spanish and English on “Yesterday I Heard The Rain.”

Lorraina Marro was born and raised in Los Angeles. She loved to sing as a child and, in addition to Nancy Wilson, she credits Barbra Streisand, Sarah Vaughan and Linda Ronstadt as some of her early influences and inspirations. She performed standards on her recording debut You Must Believe In Spring and followed it up with Mixed Emotions, a set in which she wrote the lyrics for all nine songs. In her career Ms. Marro has performed at many of Los Angeles’ top venues (including creating a tribute to Nancy Wilson at Catalina Bar & Grill), in New York (the Metropolitan Room and Danny’s Skylight Room), and Las Vegas.

A vocalist who has the maturity and depth to fully understand the words that she sings, Lorraina Marro is in top form throughout Love Is For All Time, her finest recording to date.

Lorraina Marro was named one of L.A.’s Jazz & Blues Living Legend Honorees in 2015. Living Legend’s “JazZabration” was created to celebrate International Jazz Day and to annually select artists that have dedicated 25+ years of their life to Jazz or Blues.

1. Stairway to the Stars (Mitchell Parish, Matt Malneck and Frank Signorelli) 3:53

2. I’m Not Alone (Ivan Guimaraes Lins, Victor Martins and Will Jennings) 4:55

3. The Night Has a Thousand Eyes (Jerry Brainin and Buddy Bernier) 4:02

4. Rain Sometimes (Arthur Hamilton) 4:57

5. My Baby Just Cares For Me (Walter Donaldson and Gus Kahn) 4:19

6. Viajera Del Rio (Manuel Yanez) 4:28

7. When the World Turns Blue (Joe Sample and Will Jennings) 4:43

8. People (Bob Merrill and Jule Styne) 4:19

9. I Wished on the Moon (Dorothy Parker and Ralph Rainger) 4:01

10. Esta Tarde Vi Llover (Yesterday I Heard the Rain) (Armando Manzanero) 4:21

Lorraina Marro – voice

Steve Rawlins – piano

Jennifer Leitham – bass

Grant Geissman – guitar

Steve Pemberton – drums

Dr. Bobby Rodriguez – trumpet

Rickey Woodard – tenor saxophone

www.lorrainamarro.com

Mototeru Takagi Quartet - Live at Little John, Yokohama 1999 (July 15, 2021 NoBusiness Records)

1. Yokohama Iseazaki Town 40:37

2. Yokohama Yamashita Town 12:06

3. Yokohama Yamate Town 20:34

Improvised & composed by Mototeru Takagi, Susumu Kongo, Nao Takeuchi and Shota Koyama

Recorded live on the 25th September, 1999 at LITTLE JOHN, Yokohama, Japan by Susumu Kongo and Nao Takeuchi

Mastered by Arūnas Zujus at MAMAstudios

Design by Oskaras Anosovas

Cover photo by Mitsuo Jofu 上不三雄

Booklet photos - Shota Koyama by Yutaka Narasaki 楢崎 豊 / Nao Takeuchi courtesy of Papillon / Mototeru Takagi by Mitsuo Jofu 上不三雄

Produced by Danas Mikailionis and Takeo Suetomi 末冨健夫 (Chap Chap Records)

Release cordinator - Kenny Inaoka (Jazz Tokyo)

Co-producer - Valerij Anosov

Mototeru Takagi 高木元輝 - tenor saxophone

Susumu Kongo 金剛督 - tenor saxophone

Nao Takeuchi 竹内直 - tenor saxophone, flute, bass clarinet

Shota Koyama 小山彰太 - drums

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Itaru Oki Quartet - Live at Jazz Spot Combo 1975 (July 15, 2021 NoBusiness Records)

1. Combo Session 1 14:00

2. Combo Session 2 17:05

3. Combo Session 3 05:49

4. Combo Session 4 17:11

5. Combo Session 5 15:15

Improvised and composed by Itaru Oki, Yoshiaki Fujikawa, Keiki Midorikawa and Hozumi Tanaka

Recorded live on the 7th December, 1975 at JAZZ SPOT COMBO, Fukuoka City, Japan by　Heihachiro Arita 有田平八郎 (cassette tape)

Mastered by Arūnas Zujus at MAMAstudios

Design by Oskaras Anosovas

Cover photo by Tatsuo Minami南達雄

Booklet photos by Tatsuo Minami 南 達雄and Heihachiro Arita / 有田平八郎

Liner noto by Akira Saito齊藤聡

Produced by Danas Mikailionis and Takeo Suetomi 末冨健夫 (Chap Chap Records)

Release cordinator - Kenny Inaoka (Jazz Tokyo)

Co-producer - Valerij Anosov

Itaru Oki 沖至 - trumpet, flute

Yoshiaki Fujikawa 藤川義明 - alto saxophone, flute

Keiki Midorikawa 翠川敬基 - bass

Hozumi Tanaka 田中保積 - drums

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Rodrigo Amado Motion Trio & Alexander von Schlippenbach - The Field (July 15, 2021 NoBusiness Records)

1. The Field 56:10

Recorded by Valdas Karpuška at the Vilnius Jazz Festival, Vilnius, October 18th, 2019

Mixed by Joaquim Monte and Rodrigo Amado

Mastered by David Zuchowski

Produced by Rodrigo Amado and Danas Mikailionis

Co-producer - Valerij Anosov

Cover photo by Rodrigo Amado

Inlay photo by Vytautas Suslavičius

Design by Rodrigo Amado

Rodrigo Amado - tenor saxophone

Alexander von Schlippenbach - piano

Miguel Mira - cello

Gabriel Ferrandini - drums

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Szilárd Mezei Tubass Quintet - Rested Turquoise (July 15, 2021 NoBusiness Records)

1. Hep 34 11:50

2. Hep 26 12:51

3. Hep 33 G 15:44

4. Osaka Blues 08:51

5. Pihent Türkiz / Rested Turquoise 14:02

6. Hep 31 ½ 07:50

7. Simfle Sonk 07:56

Recorded on 21-22nd August, 2018, KCNS, Novi Sad, Serbia

Recording engineer - Lazar Živanac.

Mixed and mastered by Szilárd Mezei & Lazar Živanac

Liner notes by Alexander Hawkins

Cover graphic by Erzsébet Mezei

Photo by Aleksandar Stojković

Design by Oskaras Anosovas

Produced by Danas Mikailionis

Co-producer - Valerij Anosov

Ervin Malina - double bass (right)

Ernő Hock - double bass (left)

Kornél Pápista - tuba (center)

Zoltán Csányi - double bass (left middle)

Szilárd Mezei - double bass (right middle)

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Joel Futterman - Creation Series (July 15, 2021 NoBusiness Records)

1. CD1 - Part One 22:04

2. CD1 - Part Two 32:19

3. CD1 - Part Three 17:26

4. CD2 - Part One 38:13

5. CD2 - Part Two 37:57

6. CD3 - Part One 32:07

7. CD3 - Part Two 13:44

8. CD3 - Part Three 11:47

9. CD3 - Part Four 01:32

10. CD4 - Part One 32:57

11. CD4 - Part Two 19:10

12. CD4 - Part Three 03:19

13. CD4 - Part Four 01:52

14. CD5 - Part One 36:15

15. CD5 - Part Two 32:11

All compositions by Joel Futterman (BMI)

Recording engineer Dr. Benjamin Tomassetti

Recorded at the Paradise Studio, Virginia Beach, Virginia

Each track is complete unedited first-take and is in the orderi n which it was recorded.

Photos by Michael Wilderman

Mastered by Arūnas Zujus at MAMAstudios

Design by Oskaras Anosovas

Producer - Danas Mikailionis

Co-producer - Valerij Anosov

Joel Futterman - piano, curved soprano saxophone

CD 1 - VOLUME ONE

1. Part One 22:06

2. Part Two 32:21

3. Part Three 17:29

Recorded 16th June, 2008

CD 2 - VOLUME TWO

1. Part One 38:18

2. Part Two 37:57

Recorded 14th August, 2008

CD 3 - VOLUME THREE

1. Part One 32:10

2. Part Two 13:48

3. Part Three 11:50

4. Part Four 1:36

Recorded 1st September, 2008

CD 4 - VOLUME FOUR

1. Part One 32:57

2. Part Two 19:10

3. Part Three 3:17

4. Part Four 1:52

Recorded 10th November, 2008

CD 5 - VOLUME FIVE

1. Part One 36:15

2. Part Two 32:10

Recorded 27th December, 2008

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Total Music Association - Walpurgisnacht (July 15, 2021 NoBusiness Records)

1. Walpurgisnacht 17:03

2. Incubus-Succubus-Pestilentia 13:34

3. Improvisation 21:20

Track 1-2 originally self-released by Hans-Jörg Hussong and the band members with the catalogue no. T.M.A.001 in 1971

Track 3 previously unissued

Transferred and remastered from the original tape. Tape transfer by Wolfgang Obrecht at Tonstudio RichArt, Munich

Original Cover Design by Manfred Vogel

Design by Oskaras Anosovas

Remastered by Arūnas Zujus at MAMAstudios

Photography of the musicians by Konstanze Vollmer

Produced by Danas Mikailionis and Ernst Nebhuth

Co-producer - Valerij Anosov

Liner Notes by Hans-Jörg Hussong / Liner Notes (translation) - Ernst Nebhuth, Alfons Mader

Track 1-2

Andreas Boje - trombone

Wilfried Eichhorn - bass clarinet & tenor saxophone

Hans-Jörg Hussong - baritone & soprano saxophone, composition

Erich Schröder - viola

Helmut Zimmer - piano

Matthias Boje - double bass

Rudi Theilmann - drums

Recorded by Martin Wieland on July 17, 1971 at Tonstudio Bauer, Ludwigsburg, Germany

Track 3

Hans-Jörg Hussong, baritone, tenor and alto saxophone

Matthias Boje, double bass

Willi Schneider, drums

Recorded July 3, 1988 at Finest Song studio in Hamm, Westfalen, Germany

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