KIMBROUGH – 67 musicians pay tribute to Frank Kimbrough to benefit scholarship in his name (July 2021 Newvelle Records)

Introducing KIMBROUGH:

A 61 Track Collection of Jazz Composer and Teacher Frank Kimbrough’s Compositions, Featuring 67 World-Class Artists

Newvelle Records is proud to release this 61-track digital anthology of Frank’s original compositions, recorded as the New York jazz scene reopened in May 2021

Newvelle Records today is releasing KIMBROUGH, a collection of 61 original compositions by jazz artist and educator Frank Kimbrough, who passed away in December 2020. Featuring tributes from 67 of Frank’s former bandmates, students, and friends across multiple generations, KIMBROUGH was recorded over three and a half days in New York as the musical world began reawakening in May 2021. All proceeds from this definitive collection of Frank’s music, available on high-quality digital download on Bandcamp, will benefit the Frank Kimbrough Jazz Scholarship at The Juilliard School.

“Frank was a genuine ‘musician’s musician’ whose talent as a player, composer, and teacher fueled generations of artists in the New York jazz community,” said Elan Mehler, cofounder and artistic director of Newvelle Records, and a student of Frank’s at New York University in the 1990s. “There is something miraculous about attracting 67 world-class artists together in a studio, just as the world began emerging from the pandemic. Only someone of Frank’s impact could inspire such an ambitious project.”

Frank famously never practiced piano and wrote nearly all of his compositions wandering through New York. He implored students to spend less time in the practice rooms and more time on the subway platforms, bar stools, and park benches that sparked so much of his own musical inspiration. 

Blending four generations of jazz musicians – from artists who played with him in his earliest years in North Carolina, to students he taught over Zoom during the pandemic – KIMBROUGH features 55 different bands across 61 tracks. Some had begun playing together 40 years ago, while others were meeting in the studio for the first time. All volunteered their time as tribute to a man they knew for his generosity, perspective, and creativity.

“Every moment with him on the stage was just beautiful,” said Steve Wilson, who appears on tenor saxophone on four tracks. “Not only was he supporting you, he was collaborating with you in the moment.”

Clockwise from top: 1) Frank Kimbrough, Immanuel Wilkins, Dezron Douglas, Glenn Zeleski and Allan Mednard, Scott Robinson, Joe Lovano and Donny McCaslin

Photos courtesy of Newvelle Records. (c) Anna Yatskevich

1. The Call 07:34

2. C Minor Waltz 04:58

3. Kudzu 07:24

4. Elegy for P.M. 04:35

5. Falling Waltz 05:13

6. Forsythia 06:49

7. Quickening 04:04

8. Whirl 03:32

9. Wings 04:15

10. Hope 06:41

11. Clara's Room 05:34

12. For Duke (Instrumental) 04:15

13. Lullabluebye 07:26

14. For Jimmy G. 05:54

15. November 06:49

16. Adrian's Way 05:42

17. Sadness 05:13

18. Helix 05:59

19. The Breaks 05:06

20. 20 Bars 07:30

21. Ancestors 06:12

22. Kids Stuff 04:57

23. Meantime 05:37

24. Capricorn Lady 05:37

25. Waltz for Lee 04:43

26. 727 04:52

27. Beginning 04:47

28. Southern Lights 04:56

29. Regeneration 07:08

30. A & J 05:48

31. Eventualities 06:15

32. Moonflower 02:24

33. Just Suppose 05:01

34. Reluctance (Quartet) 06:55

35. Areas (Trumpet, Piano, Bass) 03:36

36. The Spins 05:31

37. Sanibel Island 05:04

38. Fubu 06:55

39. Cascade Rising 05:14

40. Over 03:57

41. Blue Smoke 03:47

42. Air 04:22

43. Affirmation 04:17

44. Quiet as it's Kept 06:09

45. TMI 07:57

46. Time Will Tell 06:42

47. Areas (Piano, Bass, Drums) 04:41

48. Noumena 05:15

49. Sloppy Seconds 05:20

50. Reluctance (Solo Piano) 04:11

51. Grass Valley 06:20

52. Questions the Answer 05:28

53. Lucent 06:06

54. No Radio 04:26

55. For Carla 03:24

56. Ode 03:40

57. St. Mark's Place 05:24

58. Ca'lina 05:56

59. Hymn 04:05

60. Svengali 11:05

61. For Duke (Vocals) 04:56

Artists

Piano: Addison Frei, Fred Hersch, Sean Mason, Elan Mehler, Samora Pinderhughes, Ben Rosenblum, Jacob Sacks, Scott Spivak, Helen Sung, Craig Taborn, Isaiah J. Thompson, Dan Tepfer, Micah Thomas, Gary Versace, Elio Villafranca, Joel Wenhardt, Glenn Zaleski

Bass: Ben Allison, Jay Anderson, Alexis Cuadrado, Dezron Douglas, Michael Formanek, John Hébert, Marty Jaffe, Rob Jost, Rufus Reid, Tony Scherr, Martin Wind, Ben Wolfe

Guitar: Steve Cardenas, Ben Monder, Todd Neufeld

Drums: Jeff Cosgrove, Billy Drummond, Jeff Hirshfield, Tim Horner, Douglas Marriner, Allan Mednard, Francisco Mela, Tony Moreno, Clarence Penn, Rich Rosenzweig, Satoshi Takeishi, Dave Treut, Jeff Williams, Matt Wilson

Clarinet: Ted Nash

Alto Saxophone: Allan Chase, Patrick Cornelius, Alexa Tarantino, Immanuel Wilkins, Steve Wilson

Baritone Saxophone: Allan Chase

Soprano Saxophone: Steve Wilson

Tenor Saxophone: Michael Blake, Evan Harris, Joe Lovano, Donny McCaslin, Ted Nash, Rich Perry, Noah Preminger, Scott Robinson

Trumpet: Dave Douglas, Noah Halpern, Ron Horton, Kirk Knuffke, Riley Mulherkar, Jesse Neuman

Trombone: Ryan Keberle

Vocals: Olivia Chindamo

Arrangement (on "Waltz for Lee" and "Svengali"): Ryan Truesdell

The album, available on Bandcamp for $20.00 and streaming everywhere , was recorded and mixed by Marc Urselli on May 10-14, 2021 at EastSide Sound, mastered by Colin Bryson at The Bunker Studios, and produced by Elan Mehler. All songs were written by Frank Kimbrough, Kimbrough Music BMI.  Executive produced by Maitland Jones, Jim Harvey, Steve Satterfield, Matt Steinfeld and JC Morisseau.

Pre-order

Pianist/Composer Fred Hersch earns multiple DownBeat Critics Poll accolades, tours Europe, and announces new album

Fred Hersch: Refuge, due out January 7, 2022 via Palmetto Records, features Hersch with Drew Gress, Jochen Rueckert & The Hudson String Quartet

 

“Fred Hersch belongs to the jazz piano aristocracy, that small elite called to leave a lasting mark.”

– Louis-Julien Nicolaou, Télérama, June 2021

 

“Fred Hersch is always on target. Right in the heart. By playing ‘Songs from Home.’ Fred Hersch makes Bal Blomet his home. The audience's silence is worthy of that of the forest that surrounds the house where this album was recorded…. Fred Hersch makes the piano sing…. The public does not want to leave. Fred Hersch either.”

– Guillaume Lagrée, Le jars jase jazz, June 2021

Iconic pianist/composer Fred Hersch – one of the first to find a new way forward in the pandemic both through his Facebook Tune of the Day performances and via his reflective solo album Songs from Home – heads to the studio in August to record Fred Hersch: Refuge, his first-ever album with rhythm section and string quartet.  It will be released January 7, 2022 via Palmetto Records.

 

Featuring Hersch with Drew Gress, Jochen Rueckert and the all-female NYC-based Hudson String Quartet: Joyce Hammann and Laura Seaton-Finn, violins; Lois Martin, viola; and Jody Redhage Ferber, cello, the album was inspired by Hersch’s Buddhism and his 20-year insight mindfulness meditation practice. The bulk of the album is an eight-movement suite that reflects on different aspects of that practice

 

“In Buddhism, there are the three refuges: refuge in the Buddha, refuge in the sangha (community of practitioners) and refuge in the dhamma (the teachings),” says Hersch. “At this time of global impermanence, I have found some degree of comfort in these refuges – places that I can turn to and feel somewhat less affected by it all of the suffering and toxicity around me. And these refuges also give me some strength to stay in the present and know that there are many things that are out of my control – but I can call upon my practice to be with my experiences instead of reacting to them.”

Hersch recently earned accolades in DownBeat Magazine’s 2021 Critics Poll as #2 Jazz Artist, #3 Pianist, and #4 Jazz Album of the Year for Songs From Home. Hersch also earned a spot as one of the best pianists of 2020 in the JazzTimes Readers Poll.  He is currently on tour in Europe where he’s earning wide critical acclaim for his over a dozen shows – his first concerts before an audience in 14 months. Reviewing his concert in Paris, Guillaume Lagrée wrote “Fred Hersch is always on target… The public does not want to leave. Fred Hersch either.” Hersch also performed in Recklinghausen, Rome, Carpi, Vicenza, Pescara, Bari, Perugia, Umbria, Montreux, and Brescia – as a solo pianist, with trio and duo in a new partnership with Italian jazz legend trumpeter Enrico Rava. 

 

Hersch will continuing touring both the U.S. and Europe throughout the fall. His dates include a week at the Village Vanguard in a duo with Julian Lage October 19-25, and a series of duo shows in Europe with Enrico Rava in October and November. Click HERE for upcoming tour dates.

fredhersch.com      facebook

Wandering The Sound Quintet - What Is...? (2021 Not Two)

The first Wandering The Sound album in 2018 was the trio of Argentinian reedist Guillermo Gregorio, Spanish drummer Ramón López and Polish bassist Rafał Mazur, here extended to a quintet with pianist Satoko Fujii and trumpeter Natsuki Tamura for a 2019 concert at Alchemia in Poland, a masterful example of free improv based on a poem by Ikkyu Sojun, a Zen master from the 15th century.

"The joint project of Argentinian clarinetist, saxophonist and composer Guillermo Gregorio, Spanish drummer and composer Ramón López and Polish bassist Rafał Mazur resulted in the album Wandering The Sound in 2018. The LP, released by Fundacja Słuchaj!, was recorded in the B&B Records studio in Niepołomice. Piotr Wojdat writes about the album on the Jazzarium website: "Wandering The Sound will surely disappoint those who want to hear motifs, melodies or artistic stylizations tailored to their needs. Rafał Mazur on acoustic bass guitar, Guillermo Gregorio on clarinet and Ramon Lopez on drums take us into the unknown and do they do not pretend otherwise. They improvise, interact, but do not plan their next steps. They listen to each other and wander through sounds together, get to know them in a spontaneous creative act and bring the listener closer to what's playing in their souls." Considering that the album was a record of the first meeting of these three brilliant improvisers, it will probably not be that difficult for them to expand their line-up with new bold personalities. On stage at Alchemia they will be joined by the extraordinary Satoko Fujii and Natsuki Tamura.

Satoko Fujii is one of the most renowned and recognized figures in contemporary jazz. She graduated from the prestigious Berklee College of Music in Boston and the New England Conservatory of Music. Fujii leads many ensembles in Japan, Europe and the United States. Her collaborators include Tatsuya Yoshida, Joe Fonda, Carla Kihlstedt, Myra Melford, Christian Pruvost and Peter Orins. Together with her husband, Natsuki Tamura, she has recorded a series of duets. The two also collaborated on numerous other projects, including big bands and orchestras. Tamura was probably best summed up by François Couture at Allmusic: "Now we can officially say there are two Natsuki Tamuras: The one playing angular jazz-rock or ferocious free improv and the one writing simple melodies of stunning beauty. How the two of them live in the same body and breathe through the same trumpet might remain a mystery."

"The quintet perform[ed] a comprovisation (composition for improvisers) by Rafał Mazur based on a poem by Ikkyu Sojun, a Zen master from the 15th century." -Krakow Jazz Autumn listing

1. ...Sound 44:11

2. ...Wind 11:57

3. ...Mind 8:45

Satoko Fujii - piano

Guillermo Gregorio - clarinet

Natsuki Tamura - trumpet, voice

Rafal Mazur - acoustic bass guitar

Ramon Lopez - drums

Pre-order

Michael Marcus - Stone Jump (July 2021 Not Two)

Michael Marcus composed these lyrical jazz works to create a message about "New York City realities", recorded in two studio sessions with Marcus on soprano & tenor sax, octavin, A clarinet & tarogato, along with Denton Darien on piano, John Austria on Fender Rhodes, Tyler Mitchell on bass, Warren Smith on drums & percussion, and Lawrence Feldman on alto flute.

01. Stone Jump

02. The World Street

03. Dawn at Qumran

04. Fusion Anatomy

05. Baja

06. Involution

07. Flowering Optics

08. The T Man

09. Foreverness

10. Where Flamingos Dance

Michael Marcus - soprano saxophone, tenor saxophone, octavin, "A" clarinet, tarogato

Denton Darien - piano

John Austria - Fender Rhodes piano

Tyler Mitchell - acoustic bass

Warren Smith - drums, percussion

Lawrence Feldman - alto flute

Pre-order

 

Natsuki Tamura - Koki Solo (July 2021 on Libra Records)

Trumpeter-composer Natsuki Tamura Celebrates his 70th Birthday with striking new album, KOKI SOLO 

“Tamura tempers his avant-garde antics with an innate lyricism.”

— Steve Smith, Time Out New York

“You’ll never fit trumpeter Natsuki Tamura into any pre-fab category, he creates his own, then pulls you into them with him.”

—Dan McClenaghan, All About Jazz 

Album available July 2021 via Libra Records

Trumpeter-composer Natsuki Tamura has spent more than five decades doing the unexpected with a sense of adventure, good humor, and lyricism. His latest album KOKI SOLO (July, Libra Records), which gets its title from the Japanese term for one’s 70th birthday, is no exception. His fourth recorded excursion into unaccompanied music-making naturally features his dazzling trumpet technique and imagination, but he throws in a few surprises, making his recorded debut on piano and playing a percussion set up consisting of pots and pans from his kitchen. The result is quintessential Tamura—by turns whimsical, focused, lyrical, abstract, and always surprising.

“When I play, I enjoy myself first. I am even more happy if the audience enjoys it, too,” Tamura says. “I don’t analyze what I do or what I think, I just pursue my feelings. I’m just like a child.”

Indeed, a child-like sense of playfulness and curiosity seems to underlie even the most moody and serious moments of the album. Tamura pushes ideas to see what he can do with them, to see if anything unexpected crops up. He deliberately interrupts and sidetracks himself, so see if a digression turns up something new. There’s a whimsical quality to the experimenting, but there’s always a serious intent to discover and explore, to express something in a new way. During the trumpet piece,“Sekirei,” Tamura interrupts fast, rippling lines with more spacious ones. He plays melodic lines with a clear, pure tone, then with a growling, buzzy sound. Another trumpet solo, “Sagi” is an abstract sound piece that is similarly diverse. Working with a sound pallet of strangled cries, buzzes, shrieks, hisses, and raspberries, Tamura challenges himself to create new sounds.

As Tamura explains in the liner notes to the CD, as a young musician, he would play drums in a band during last set when their regular drummer had to leave early. And at one time he was practicing piano every day as he prepared for music school entrance exams. These memories prompted him to return to those instruments for this CD. However he couldn’t fit a drum kit into the room in the apartment where he recorded the disc, so he substituted a wok and some other pots and pans. “My skill on the piano and percussion is poor compared to the trumpet, Tamura says. “But after more than 50 years playing as a professional musician, I thought that I could express my own music without any technique.”

Tamura’s musical personality and intelligence comes through loud and clear on the percussion and piano tracks. On “Karugamo,” for instance, he playfully explores the sonic potential of his assembled kitchen implements, curiously examining and combining high hollow rings, repeated taps, and dry scrapes into sequences of odd, but lovely, sounds. At the piano on “Bora,” he creates a wandering rumination as he moves thoughtfully between long rambling single note lines and carefully placed chords and note clusters, and uses the sustain pedal to create color and texture. 

In Japan, the 70th birthday is a milestone. The word for it, “koki,” derived from a Chinese poem written in the eighth century, when reaching the age was uncommon, is roughly translated as “rare in ancient times.”  Today, it’s not rare to reach one’s seventh decade, but Tamura still says, I'm surprised that I got to 70 years old.” To celebrate, he says, “I want to do only what I like to do without doing anything I don't like.” This CD is evidence he’s doing exactly that. 

Japanese trumpeter and composer Natsuki Tamura is internationally recognized for his unique musical vocabulary blending extended techniques with jazz lyricism. This unpredictable virtuoso “has some of the stark, melancholy lyricism of Miles, the bristling rage of late ’60s Freddie Hubbard and a dollop of the extended techniques of Wadada Leo Smith and Lester Bowie,” according to Mark Keresman of JazzReview.com. 

Throughout his career, Tamura has led bands with radically different approaches. Peter Marsh of the BBC had this to say of the 2003 Natsuki Tamura Quartet release Hada Hada: “Imagine Don Cherry woke up one morning, found he'd joined an avant goth-rock band and was booked to score an Italian horror movie. It might be an unlikely scenario, but it goes some way to describing this magnificent sprawl of a record.”

In contrast, Tamura has focused on the intersection of European folk music and sound abstraction with Gato Libre since 2003. The band’s poetic, quietly surreal performances have been praised for their “surprisingly soft and lyrical beauty that at times borders on flat-out impressionism,” by Rick Anderson in CD Hotlist. Originally a quartet that featured Tamura with Fujii on accordion, Kazuhiko Tsumura on guitar, and Norikatsu Koreyasu on bass, after the tragic passing of the group’s original guitarist and bassist, Gato Libre morphed into its current configuration, a trio with Tamura, Fujii, and trombonist Yasuko Kaneko. 

Since 1997, Tamura has recorded seven CDs with his ongoing duo with pianist (and wife) Satoko Fujii and won accolades from critics and audiences alike. In addition to their intimate duo performances, Tamura collaborates on many of Fujii’s own projects, including her big bands in New York, Tokyo, Nagoya, Kobe, and elsewhere.

Tamura has released three CDs as an unaccompanied soloist, including Dragon Nat (2014). He and Fujii are also members of Kaze, a collaborative quartet with French musicians, trumpeter Christian Pruvost and drummer Peter Orins.

1. Sekirei 6:15

2. Karugamo 8:17

3. Kawau 6:36

4. Bora 9:43

5. Sagi 5:18

6. Kamome 7:14

7. Chidori 8:24

8. Isoshigi 2:46

natsukitamura.com

Pre-order

Roy Brooks - Understanding (July 23, 2021 Cellar Live)

Understanding, a blazing 1970 concert recording featuring the Detroit-born master percussionist Roy Brooks leading a gifted quintet through its spirited paces at Baltimore’s Famous Ballroom, will be released by Cellar Music Group's archival imprint, Reel to Real Recordings on July 17 as a limited edition 3 LP set exclusively at independent record stores for Record Store Day and as on 2 CDs/digital on July 23.

Comprising more than two hours of expansive performances averaging 20 minutes in length, the potent date was recorded by Left Bank Jazz Society and stars trumpeter Woody Shaw, tenor saxophonist Carlos Garnett, pianist Harold Mabern, and bassist Cecil McBee.

All proceeds from the release — produced with the cooperation of McBee and Garnett and the estates of Brooks, Mabern, and Shaw — will go directly to the Detroit Sound Conservancy, a non-profit organization founded in 2012 and devoted to the preservation, education, conservation, and place keeping of the Motor City’s musical heritage.

Born in 1938, Roy Brooks is perhaps best known as a sideman. He spent five years with pianist Horace Silver’s storied hard bop combo, appearing on the popular Song for My Father, and also worked behind Chet Baker, Yusef Lateef, and Charles Mingus, and alongside Max Roach in the percussion ensemble M’Boom.

Beyond his formidable, gale-force attack on the traps, Brooks — who died in his hometown in 2005 — delighted audiences with flights on the musical saw (heard on the present recording) and even invented a device, the “breath-a-tone,” with which he could change the pitch of his drums as he played. Sadly, the musician’s career was thrown off track in later years by severe mental illness. But the Famous Ballroom date displays him at the height of his considerable powers.

In his comprehensive liner notes for the collection, historian Mark Stryker, author of Jazz from Detroit (University of Michigan Press, 2019), writes that Understanding “shines a long-overdue spotlight on Brooks. A product of Detroit’s mid-century jazz explosion, Brooks was a deeply swinging drummer of uncommon creativity, flexibility, fire and conceptual imagination.”

Led off by a 42-minute performance encompassing the Brooks-composed prelude and title track, Understanding roars through compositions by Shaw (“Zoltan,” first heard on organist Larry Young’s 1965 classic Unity) and Garnett (“Taurus Woman”) and a furious take on Charlie Parker’s “Billie’s Bounce” before an involved, vocal audience. Projected at a fever pitch, the music operates on the cusp between the ‘60s quintet innovations of Miles Davis (whose “The Theme” closes the gig) and the free-form explorations of John Coltrane and his acolytes.

Understanding is filled out by intimate written remembrances by a pair of Brooks’ classmates at Detroit’s Northwestern High School, journalist Herb Boyd and alto saxophonist Charles McPherson. 

1. Introduction 00:25

2. Prelude To Understanding 21:34

3. Understanding 20:10

4. Billie's Bounce 21:06

5. Zoltan 23:18

6. Taurus Woman 32:25

7. The Theme 04:31

Roy Brooks – drums

Carlos Garnett – tenor saxophone

Woody Shaw - trumpet

Harold Mabern – piano

Cecil McBee – bass

Recorded Live at The Famous Ballroom in Baltimore, MD on November 1, 1970

Produced for release by CORY WEEDS and ZEV FELDMAN

Executive Producer: RAYMON TORCHINKSY

Associate Producer: RAYMON TORCHINKSY and JOHN FOWLER

Project Assistance: ZAK SHELBY-SZYSZKO

Sound Restoration by CHRIS GESTRIN

Original Recording Engineer: VERNON WELSH

Cover Photo by BOB CRAWFORD

Art Direction and design: JOHN SELLARDS

Album Package Editor: SHARON MCINNIS

Production Manager: CORY WEEDS

Photo Research: ZEV FELDMAN and CORY WEEDS

Extra special thanks to Carlos Garnett, Cecil McBee and Raheem Brooks.

Dedicated to the memories of Roy Brooks, Woody Shaw and Harold Mabern

Pre-order

Kyle Asche Organ Trio - Five Down Blues (July 2021 Cellar Live)

Beginning his professional career in Chicago in 2001, Kyle has appeared extensively throughout the city and beyond. He has performed with Wynton Marsalis and Jazz at Lincoln Center, Melvin Rhyne, “Killer” Ray Appelton, Chris Foreman, Victor Goines, George Fludas, Ben Paterson and many others. While Asche is a versatile guitarist adept and comfortable in many different genres, the tenets of his style often find him in the company of many of Chicago’s premier jazz vocalists and Hammond organ bands. Now nearly 20 years into his tenure in Chicago, Asche continues to perform around the city on a weekly basis and can be found at many of the city’s jazz rooms regularly. As an active and caring music educator, he has held the jazz guitar faculty position at Loyola University Chicago since 2010.

Mr. Asche's highly anticipated third CD as a leader, Five Down Blues places him in the company of of working band of Pete Benson on organ and drummer George Fludas. This swinging album includes original compositions by Kyle Asche as well as tunes by Horace Silver, John Patton, Melvin Rhyne and others. The set honors the classic Hammond B-3 organ trio tradition while updating it with his own modern aesthetic.

1. Five Down Blues 07:02

2. Dorothy 06:45

3. Pretty Eyes 07:30

4. Delirium 05:28

5. Light, Life, Love 07:57

6. Never Let Me Go 05:44

7. Dirty Fingers 07:04

8. Dig Deep 06:34

Kyle Asche – Guitar

Pete Benson – Hammond Organ

George Fludas – Drums

Executive Producer: Cory Weeds

Produced by Kyle Asche

Recorded at Reliable Recorders, March 4th and 5th, 2020

Engineered, Mixed and Mastered by Alex Hall

Cover Photography by Zoe Rain @zoerainphoto

Design and layout by John Sellards

Pre-order

SFJAZZ High School All​-​Stars 2020​-​2021 (July 23, 2021)

The SFJAZZ High School All-Stars is a jazz training program. Participants are chosen by audition each year from schools throughout the greater Bay Area. The All-Stars program is comprised of two ensembles: the Big Band, led by Paul Contos, and the Combo, led by Dann Zinn. Both ensembles take part in performances, recording sessions, competitions, and festivals throughout the U.S.

1. SFJAZZ High School All-Stars Big Band - Pistachio 08:50

2. SFJAZZ High School All-Stars Combo - Jacke Due Bow 05:58

3. SFJAZZ High School All-Stars Combo - Água Mais Quente 07:42

4. SFJAZZ High School All-Stars Big Band - Imagine My Frustration 08:41

5. SFJAZZ High School All-Stars Combo - A Branch In The Pool 08:48

6. SFJAZZ High School All-Stars Big Band - Mas Que Nada 06:18

7. SFJAZZ High School All-Stars Combo - Caravan 05:57

8. SFJAZZ High School All-Stars Big Band - See The Pyramid 05:54

9. SFJAZZ High School All-Stars Combo - Castle 07:04

10. High School All-Stars Combo - Bay Bridge At Night 09:13

11. SFJAZZ High School All-Stars Big Band - Whisper Not 06:53

12. SFJAZZ High School All-Stars Combo - Zipline 05:49

13. SFJAZZ High School All-Stars Combo - Sleep With The Sun, Wake With The Moon 06:57

Pre-order

José Lencastre Nau Quartet + Pedro Carneiro - Thoughts Are Things (July 23, 2021 Phonogram Unit)

" I´m very happy to share with all of you “Thoughts are Things “ the new release by Nau Quartet.

This time we invited master marimba player Pedro Carneiro. I first heard about Pedro maybe some 15 years ago and I kept this name in my mind as someone I admire and would like to work with. A few years later I spent a trimester in Rochester, where I would attend the performances by the Percussive Department at Eastman School of Music. These always blew my mind, much more than the jazz ones I must say! The marimbas, vibes, and other percussive instruments were playing amazing contemporary compsitions like I have never witnessd before.

The title of the album has to do with the manifestation in the direction of materializing our ideals, goals, etc. Edward Walker, the author, defends that we create our own character and personality by the thoughts we originate, or accept from others. We are, each of us, the result of what we have thought in the past; we will be the result of what we are now thinking.

Thoughts are mental Things, and tend to become material Things. The Ideal becomes Real. Our dreams come true.

I sincerely hope you enjoy it!

Last but not least, a huge thanks to Rodrigo, Hernâni, and my brother João, for their beautiful friendship and music."

José Lencastre

1. One Way to Cultivate Courage 11:17

2. Thought Atmospheres 08:14

3. Your Latent Powers 13:16

4. The Magnet of Thought 16:24

Pedro Carneiro - Marimba

José Lencastre - Tenor and Alto Sax

Hernâni Faustino - Double Bass

Rodrigo Pinheiro - Piano

João Lencastre - Drums

All music by Nau Quartet + Pedro Carneiro

Recorded by João Sousa at OCP - Orquestra de Câmara Portuguesa, Algés ( PT ) on March 7th 2021

Mixed and Mastered by Luís Delgado

Cover Illustration by João Lomelino

Artwork by João Lomelino

Band photo by Nuno Martins

Produced by José Lencastre

Executive Production by Phonogram Unit

Pre-order

Slowly Rolling Camera - Where the Streets Lead (July 23, 2021 Edition Records)

Where the Streets Lead is the new album from Slowly Rolling Camera, following on from their acclaimed 2018 album, Juniper. Colliding the worlds of jazz, trip-hop and cinematic soundscapes, their music blends strong melodies, big grooves and surprising turns of phrase, infused with expansive emotional gravitas. With this album, recorded throughout 2020, the music takes on a greater scale which includes an 8-piece string section and a list of world-class guests including Mark Lockheart, Jasper Høiby, Verneri Pohjola, Chris Potter and Sachal Vasandani, as well as the band’s regular guitarist Stuart McCallum.

This is an album about opportunity, about embracing unknowns and seeing what life throws at you. It’s a reflection on searching for balance, a sense of purpose and identity in everyday life. For the core group of Dave Stapleton, Deri Roberts and Elliot Bennett, it’s a unified take on the journey and the influences that have shaped them all individually and as a collective.

Where the Streets Lead is emphatic in its purpose to communicate the joy of collaboration and to communicate through an audio-sensory landscape their vision of the world. There is a boldness and simplicity in its conception balanced with the attention to detail in its production. With Juniper, their new pathway was set. Where the Streets Lead, is a natural progression and development of the bands’ exploration.

1. You Are the Truth 04:39

2. Where the Streets Lead 05:43

3. Lost Orbits 04:44

4. The Afternoon of Human Life 07:03

5. Widest Possible Aperture 05:55

6. Illuminate 04:30

7. Feels Like Fiction 06:58

8. A Force for Good 06:38

Dave Stapleton Fender Rhodes, Piano, Prophet, Moog

Elliot Bennett Drums

Deri Roberts Sound Design & Production

Mark Lockheart Soprano and Tenor Saxophone

Stuart McCallum Guitar

Jasper Høiby Double Bass

Verneri Pohjola Trumpet

Chris Potter Tenor Saxophone (The Afternoon of Human Life)

Sachal Vasandani Vocals

Jon Visanji violin

Jenni Curiel violin

James Toll violin

Victoria Stapleton violin

Linda Kidwell viola

Rob Tuson viola

Phil Daish-Handy cello

Lionel Handy cello

String arrangements by Dave Stapleton

Recorded remotely at various locations

Vocals on Illuminate recorded at Sear Studios, NYC on Sunday 17th January 2021 by Jeremy Loucas

Strings recorded by Andy Allan at Turner Sims, Southampton in August 2020

Mixed by Deri Roberts in January and February 2021

Mastered by Donal Whelan at Hafod Mastering in Feb 2021

Photography by Dave Stapleton

Artwork by Oli Bentley, Split Design

All music by Dave Stapleton except Illuminate by Dave Stapleton and Sachal Vasandani

Lyrics on Illuminate by Sachal Vasandani

All music published by E2 Music Publishing

Pre-order

Keith Loftis' new album 'ORIGINAL STATE' is out on July 23rd, 2021 via Long Tone Music

Jazz Saxophonist and Composer Keith Loftis Debuts New Album Original State via Long Tone Music, Due Out July 23, 2021

Long Tone Music is thrilled to announce the July 23, 2021 release of Original State the latest album by saxophonist and composer Keith Loftis. On his fourth album as a leader, the highly lyrical Loftis showcases both his virtuosic skill as a player and his adept compositional ability in the company of an ever so swinging all-star cast of New York’s finest consisting of pianist John Chin, bassist Eric Wheeler and drummer Willie Jones III. 

“The concept of Original State was to assemble a new quartet with the ability to walk in the door and breathe life into my compositions,” states Loftis. Recorded entirely acoustic as a unit in one room, this exceptional ensemble displays striking interplay and harmonious synergy with ease. The musicians were allowed the freedom to express and shape each composition on the spot, which allowed the group to move in new directions, capturing the spontaneity and looseness of the music which was vital in creating a sense of urgency. The resulting work is at once thoughtful, deliberate, robust and energetic and acts as a musical homecoming for the saxophonist, whose last album Simply, Loftis was released a decade ago. 

One of the album highlights is “Oak Cliff”, which kicks off with an eight-bar swinging drum solo from Willie Jones III. This uplifting medium swing was written for a long-time friend of Loftis: the late great  trumpeter Roy Hargrove. The tune was named for the Oak Cliff neighborhood in Dallas, Texas where Loftis and Hargrove grew up together. Another standout is “Brigitte’s Smile”, which was written for Loftis’ wife. Playful and dynamic, each musician is afforded an opportunity here to shine, as they each take to the sky on their respective solos. 

Another highlight is a retooling of the Isley Brothers’ classic “For The Love Of You” arranged by drummer Greg Searvance. A favorite of Loftis that is often performed on live gigs, this fiery waltz rises to life courtesy of what Loftis describes as “the Coltrane treatment.” “I wanted to produce a recording that felt and sounded like those that I grew up listening to,” says Loftis, pointing toward Wayne Shorter’s Ju-Ju and Speak No Evil and John Coltrane’s Crescent as markers. “When you hear those records, they immediately put a smile on your face and make you feel good.”

Original State was engineered by 2x Grammy winner Bassy Bob Brockmann, who has experienced a fruitful career with countless music greats. Upon moving to New York City in 1986, Brockmann took part in a number of Blue Note recording sessions, including five albums with the Tony Williams Quintet. “Recording Original State with Keith at the Yamaha Piano Salon in NYC was to me a similar experience to Tony’s records as far as style and playing. All of the players in Keith’s Quartet are of exceptional caliber and world class players,” said Brockmann, adding, “…Original State is a beautiful recording, and like many historic jazz recordings it represents a dynamic moment in time.”

Keith Loftis is thrilled to finally unveil his long-awaited new album to the world. “The last three years has been quite a journey in both life and music. I hope that listeners can feel the passion and energy that went into creating this project. It was such a joy assembling this new quartet and I hope this music will touch, move and inspire people,” reflects Loftis.

www.keithloftis.com

Tumi Árnason - Hlýnun (July 23, 2021)

"At the outset everything merges. Echoes from the sound sources shroud perception.

Steadily the reflections subside as we draw closer to a vital ever-changing core."

Icelandic saxophonist and composer Tumi Árnason presents high-concept sombre opus Hlýnun (Warming), a piece that addresses our current existential threat, the climate crisis, through free jazz and experimental improvisation. Accompanying Tumi are bassist Skúli Sverrisson, drummer Magnús Trygvason Eliassen and keyboardist Magnús Jóhann Ragnarsson.

Hlýnun invites the listener into a dynamic ecosystem. Four instruments orbit each other, trade ideas and create vital soundscapes. A living multiplicity that grows and flourishes, gains balance but is threatened by an ever advancing hegemony. Songs of extinct birds are unveiled through melodies and a requiem for life itself bursts out of the organ. Man’s diagrams and machinery invade the composition, rousing intensities and endangering its unity. Members are lost in the commotion, the ecosystem regresses and becomes an apocalyptic ambiance, hiss and silence.

"At the end we dissolve into dust and phantoms

amid machinery and void."

1. I - Lungu

2. II - ‘Ō‘ō‘ā‘ā

3. III - Svart haf

4. IV - Söngur úr svartholinu

5. V - Um heimsslit, VI - Suð

Composed and written by Tumi Árnason

Tumi Árnason - Tenor Saxophone

Magnús Jóhann Ragnarsson - Piano, Rhodes, Farfisa

Skúli Sverrisson - Electric Bass

Magnús Trygvason Eliassen - Drums

Recorded and Mixed by Albert Finnbogason

Mastered by Sarah Register

Album Artwork designed by Elín Edda Þorsteinsdóttir and Íbbagoggur

Artwork Layout by Elín Edda Þorsteinsdóttir

Cover Art by Þorsteinn Cameron

Texts by Brynja Hjálmsdóttir, Tómas Ævar Ólafsson and Tumi Árnason

Pre-order

Ulan Bator - 2° (IMP045) July 23, 2021 Improved Sequence

1. Polaire

2. Sea-Room

3. Silence

4. D-Press T.V.

5. Episcope

Amaury Cambuzat: Voices, Guitars, Samples, Armonica and turntables

Olivier Manchion: Bass & Bows

Franck Lantignac: Drums & Percussion

2° is the second opus (originally released as a CD-Digipak-EP) by the french trio ULAN BATOR - 1996.

Recorded by Ulan Bator (March 1996)

Mixed by François Dietz at CCAM studio (Nancy-FR)

Mastered by Tom Meyer (Master & Servant)

Cover picture: Claire Alesse

Artwork: Francis Meslet

Released on label: Les Disques du Soleil et de l'Acier

Executive producers: Ulan Bator & Gérard Nguyen

All songs by Ulan Bator except "Episcope" by Amaury Cambuzat.

Released on CD (DSA-1996) and Vinyl (Killed by an Axe-2011).

Pre-order

NEW RELEASE: Vocalist Hilary Kole to release SOPHISTICATED LADY on July 23, 2021

Consummate Vocalist and NYC Jazz Staple Hilary Kole Announces the

Release of her Eagerly-Awaited New Album Sophisticated Lady out July 23, 2021

“Kole is about as polished as they come without losing a whit of warmth. Her vocal range and control remain astonishing.” Theater Pizzazz 

Consummate vocalist and New York City jazz staple Hilary Kole is thrilled to announce the release of Sophisticated Lady. Adorned by Kole’s soulful vocal sensibilities and a stellar band of first-rate instrumentalists, Kole’s latest release is a collection of mature, nuanced renditions of jazz classics which retain a spirit both heartfelt and adventurous. For nearly two decades, Kole has been heralded for her intimate piano and vocal performances, themed shows with her jazz ensemble, special concert hall symphony performances and critically acclaimed recordings showcasing her compositional prowess. With Sophisticated Lady, Kole lends her voice to 11 archetypal songs from the jazz idiom.

 Accompanying Kole on this auspicious release is her longtime rhythm section made up of guitarist John Hart, pianist Adam Birnbaum, bassist Paul Gill, drummer Aaron Kimmel, vibraphonist Tom Beckham and woodwinds player Chris Byars who created the thoughtful arrangements for the vast majority of the album’s tracks. Sophisticated Lady will be available worldwide on July 23, 2021, following a special release in Japan on June 25th, 2021 via Japan Victor. 

The celebrated lady of song launched her performing career as the youngest singer ever to grace the stage at NYC’s legendary Rainbow Room. For a year and a half, Kole performed 6 nights per week at the storied venue, cutting her teeth as a working musician alongside a slew of great players. Kole notes “When I was contemplating making a new record, I thought back to my days as a young singer at the Rainbow Room. Most of the standards I sang then were the songs one could always call with a pick-up band. Every musician at the time knew them. As I transitioned into more headline work and the worlds of jazz and cabaret, it became clear to me that it was important not to sing the ‘same songs’ that everybody knew. Nevertheless, the idea of going back to the basics has been calling to me lately. They are standards for a reason, after all. So, I decided to do a record of classic standards – songs I might have done at the Rainbow Room 20 years ago, or my father (acclaimed Broadway singer Robert Kole) might have done on his club dates at historic venues such as the Copa or the Maisonette Room 60 years ago.” With a refined musical sensibility, Kole returned to the very songs that marked her musical upbringing.

“Ms. Kole soars…with a voice that is at times powerful and self-assured while other moments she brings a vulnerability that touches the soul.” The Associated Press

Kole decided that she wanted to create a tapestry of sound that made this record different and unique even in its familiarity. Long a fan of Chris Byars’ playing and arranging, Kole knew that Byars would be up to the task. “When I realized I wanted a classic but unique sound,” Kole exclaimed, “I immediately thought of him – and I’m so glad I did. What Chris came up with is dark and beautiful and challenging – not your average small group charts, and just what I wanted.” 

The album begins with the title track “Sophisticated Lady”. The unhurried swing is propelled forward by the rhythmic anticipation created by Kimmel’s brushes, the flawlessly executed hits orchestrated by Byars, and Kole’s passionate refrains. A masterclass in dynamics, the melody gives way to a tasteful solo by Byars and soli section from the instrumentalists. The bright-tempoed “The Best Thing For You (Would Be Me)” is delivered here with an unrivaled zeal and exuberance. The rendition showcases Kole’s immense melodic facility while scatting as well as wonderful solo sections from the full ensemble. 

“Somebody Loves Me” and “Make Me Rainbows” provide stellar examples of Byars using the full breadth of the instrumentation to compliment Kole’s soaring vocals. Hart’s guitar and Beckham’s vibes add a softness and a fullness to the soundscape, while Birnbaum’s comping provides the perfect harmonic and rhythmic underpinnings to Kole’s voice, locking impeccably with Gill’s bass and Kimmel’s drums. Kole notes “Aaron Kimmel’s sense of swing and restraint gives the record its retro feel – he is a drummer from another time.” 

Kole adds new dimensions to Ellington’s classic “In A Sentimental Mood”, and “‘Round Midnight”, melding notes of wistfulness and resolve. “Round Midnight” offers a shift of dynamic with a pared-down instrumentation. Kole’s striking delivery of this Thelonious Monk-penned standard is complimented by guitarist John Hart’s masterful harmonic support, harkening back to the classic guitar-vocal duo of Ella Fitzgerald and Joe Pass in both interplay and timbre. The ensemble concludes the album by exploring a cleverly-orchestrated and musically-demanding rendition of Richard Rodgers’ “The Sweetest Sounds” featuring gorgeous soli performances from Byars and Beckham and soulful improvisation from Hart, Birnbaum and Kole.

Kole’s highly-anticipated Sophisticated Lady follows several critically-acclaimed releases by the renowned vocalist including 2014’s A Self Portrait which received 5 stars from The Associated Press and glowing reviews from USA Today, JazzTimes and Downbeat Jazz Magazine. 2016 saw the release of Hilary Kole: The Judy Garland Project which received high praise from Downbeat Jazz Magazine and JazzTimes as well theater publications such as Talkin’ Broadway and CabaretScenes. Sophisticated Lady goes far to cement Kole’s stature as a preeminent interpreter of song within the jazz idiom.

1. Sophisticated Lady 4:26

2. Old Devil Moon 5:47

3. The Best Thing For You (Would Be Me) 4:09

4. Somebody Loves Me 4:56

5. Make Me Rainbows 5:12

6. Love Dance 5:46

7. In A Sentimental Mood 5:00

8. Let’s Face the Music and Dance 6:01

9. Round Midnight 5:52

10. It’s You or No One 5:07

11. The Sweetest Sounds 5:37

Hilary Kole Website

Emma-Jean Thackray - Yellow (July 23, 2021 Movement)

1. Mercury

2. Say Something

3. About That

4. Venus

5. Green Funk

6. Third Eye

7. May There Be Peace

8. Sun

9. Golden Green

10. Spectre

11. Rahu & Ketu

12. Yellow

13. Our People

14. Mercury (In Retrograde)

Pre-order

Hank Roberts Sextet - Science of Love (July 23, 2021 Sunnyside Records)

Creation can be a lonely process. The meticulous crafting of art frequently requires isolation for focus, but the process can be aided by the spark of a change of location or meeting new collaborators. Cellist/composer Hank Roberts believes that the acts of creating and sharing music help bring positivity needed to balance the world. In essence, bringing more of a particular life-sustaining energy into the world, namely, love. How better to spread love than through enthusiastic participation with friends in artistic endeavors?

Roberts’s new recording, Science of Love, finds the longtime stalwart of the creative Downtown music scene returning to New York City, after raising a family in Ithaca, NY, in an effort to rekindle the vital, creative energy that only the metropolis can provide. Roberts discovered inspiration in droves, which allowed him to create a unique program of original music unlike anything he had done in the past.

Of course, Roberts has been well known for playing alongside music greats, like Bill Frisell, Tim Berne, and Joey Baron. He has also put together singular and celebrated ensembles of his own that cover a wealth of musical ground, including folk, rock, modern classical, gospel, and world music influences.

In the summer of 2015, Roberts decided to return to New York City. A renewed sense of urgency in creation had struck him and he felt that his burgeoning work should be heard. The pieces heard on Science of Love were already begun prior to Roberts’s arrival but they really blossomed as soon as he began to fit himself back into the rhythms of the City. Immediately, he was seized by inspiration and found himself awakening at 4AM to compose, attaining a near sensual experience as he set his ideas to paper.

It didn’t take long for Roberts to begin meeting invigorating new collaborators. Trombonist Brian Drye was one of the earliest, as Drye asked Roberts to perform with his group at a local concert. Woodwind expert Mike McGinnis and pianist Jacob Sacks were musicians Roberts had been following and with whom he quickly established ties. Drummer Vinnie Sperrazza was introduced by McGinnis, and he met violinist Dana Lynn while performing with her in another group.

The assembly of what would become the Hank Roberts Sextet was entirely organic, evolving out of chance meetings, preexisting friendships between members, and a quick understanding of the leader’s goals. All of the musicians shared similar languages, interacting comfortably between jazz, improv, and classical musical idioms. The group proved to be a perfect size for the emerging music, a reasonably sized ensemble that could sound large.

As a former trombonist, Roberts has always been attracted to the instrument’s possibilities (as can be heard on his debut solo album, Black Pastels) and Drye’s impeccable playing aligned perfectly with the composer’s ideas. The combination of trombone with cello and piano allowed Roberts to experiment with low pitch clusters, unique phrasing, and intonation, all of which brought a lot of energy to the music through their natural tension.

As the music for Science of Love began to emerge, Roberts was reflecting on the energies at work in the world and in the universe, from the wind rustling leaves in a tree to the consciousness shared between all human beings. His takeaway was that love was an important power in the universe and that artists are proponents in spreading that power through their work. These thoughts manifested in Roberts’s desires to push his work farther and to step into a more active role as a conduit for expressing these feelings.

Roberts’s initial phase of composing these pieces began by constructing series of chords or small melodies and expanding them day after day into larger frameworks. His level of focus propelled him into another level of preparation. Roberts’s move to New York and assembly of his Sextet brought the project full circle, as he had a regular outfit for rehearsals and performances where the pieces really began to bloom as he continued to sculpt them with the aid of the other musicians’ specialties.

Many of the compositions are extremely complex, the harmony and voicings meticulously arranged, extending farther and farther into organic abstractions, and balanced relative to traditional forms, as well. Even with this framework, Roberts wanted to maintain the instrumentality of improvisations. He created the materials but gave the performers the opportunity to more deeply clarify and expand their meanings.

The recording begins with “Sat/Sun Pa Tu X,” an amazing expansion of the piece “Saturday/Sunday” from Little Motor People (JMT, 1993) with a controlled added abstraction. “G” is a 14-piece suite of sorts that began as small piece that kept building. The titles reflect the codes that generated the pieces and, occasionally, descriptive elements of the pieces reflected by the performers. Among the many pieces, the leading “The Sharp Peak of The Science of Love” is a fantastic example of the breadth of the suite, with fantastic solos by Sacks and Drye that fit the drive of the music. Dynamic strings and close harmony highlight “Shifting Paradigms in Pre GLC 3,” while the slow “Shuffle of GLC Magnetic Floating Stripper” provides an intriguing dynamism for weaving the ensemble with McGinnis’s soaring soprano saxophone. The delicate “205” concludes the program with tart sentimentality.

A life change allowed Hank Roberts to undertake one of the most meaningful projects in his life. The journey may have begun as a move to New York City, but it evolved into something deeper, the fostering of new friendships and a new, collection of music. Science of Love is a testament to Roberts’s craft, perseverance, and ability to propel the power of love through music. 

1. SAT / SUN PA TU X

2. G - The Sharp Peak of The Science of Love

3. G - Human Circuits

4. G - One Floor Axis

5. G - Equatorial Conductivity

6. G - Earth Sky Realms

7. G - D23

8. G - Levity Village

9. G - Second First

10. G - Story

11. G - Shifting Paradigms In Pre GLC 3

12. G - GLC Magnetic Floating Stripper

13. G - 17

14. G - B45 L

15. G - Circular Rejuvenation

16. 205

Hank Roberts - cello

Brian Drye - trombone

Dana Lyn - violin

Mike McGinnis - clarinet, soprano saxophone

Jacob Sacks - piano

Vinnie Sperrazza - drums

Pre-order