Mike LeDonne & The Groover Quartet - Keep the Faith (Savant 2011)

It seems likely that Alexander played Charles Earland's "Keep the Faith" during his tenure with the late organist; this interpretation percolates with energy as an uptempo cooker, with everyone on fire throughout the performance. Horace Silver's funky "Sweet Sweetie Dee" isn't one of his better-known works, but the quartet makes the most of its spacious, hip setting. LeDonne's originals are equally compelling. Bernstein's intricate playing is a highlight of the fast-paced "Scratchin'," while the laid-back groover "Big John" (a tribute to the late organist John Patton) casts a mellow mood. This potent session is easily one of Mike LeDonne's best recordings.Ken Dryden allmusic.com
savant

Pretty Monsters - Pretty Monsters (Eyesore Records 2012)

-Relief
-Patricia Highsmith
-Feldspar
-Crushed
-For Autonauts, For Travelers
-Deuterium
-Entropy



Katherine Young - bassoon & electronics
Erica Dicker - violin
Owen Stewart-Robertson - electric guitar
Mike Pride - drums & percussion

(All About Jazz) Rarely used in jazz and creative improvised music (except by individualists like Karen Borca), the unwieldy bassoon is commonly relegated to the role of a doubling horn, sparingly employed by eclectic multi-instrumentalists like Joseph Jarman and Yusef Lateef for its unusual tonal color. Brooklyn-based bassoonist Katherine Young transcends the instrument's reputation with a shrewd combination of talent and technology; she employs extended techniques and effects pedals to subtly expand the horn's range, as previously revealed on her acclaimed solo debut, Further Secret Origins (Porter, 2009). Pretty Monsters is the self-titled premier of Young's ensemble of the same name. The unconventional quartet alternates between neoclassical austerity and raucous metallic furor—a brash hybrid visualized by the album's chimerical cover art. Joining the leader are conservatory trained violinist Erica Dicker, chameleonic guitarist Owen Stewart-Robertson and veteran drummer Mike Pride, whose varied résumé includes stints with punk legends Millions of Dead Cops and Japanese noise experimentalists the Boredoms. Having studied with iconic composer Anthony Braxton and recorded with members of Faust and Einstürzende Neubauten, Young's vanguard aesthetic is anything but conventional; her non-linear compositions follow their own quixotic logic. The session opens with the cagey pointillism of "Relief," which features deft call-and-response between Young's perambulating flurries, Dicker's piercing glissandi, Stewart-Robertson's muted fretwork and Pride's scintillating percussion. The ominous dirge "Patricia Highsmith" follows, inverting the former dynamic as Pride's erratic trap set eruptions and Stewart-Robertson's flinty electric guitar work in spirited counterpoint against Young and Dicker's caustic retorts. The remaining tunes vacillate between similar extremes; the pithy assault of "Feldspar" contrasts with the atmospheric "Crushed," which slowly builds from rhapsodic violin arpeggios to a dreamy guitar-driven interlude, gradually overwhelmed by a coruscating wall of white noise. The reflective "For Autonauts, For Travelers" showcases Young's inspired virtuosity, as she weaves multiphonic bellows, oscillating trills and quavering intervallic refrains into rigorous thematic variations underscored by her sidemen's kaleidoscopic accents. The episodic "Deuterium" works a broad canvas, veering from melancholy to ardent, with a lyrical, affecting violin solo at its core. "Entropy" brings Pride's monolithic drum kit back into the fold; pitting thunderous blast beats against his band mates mesmerizingly minimalist contributions. Pretty Monsters is one of the most intriguing ensemble debuts in recent memory, a sonically audacious record documenting the development of a bold young artist whose arresting improvisations are as remarkable as her engaging compositions. - Troy Collins
Eyesore Records

Thierry Maillard Trio - Beyond the Ocean (Cristal Records 2013)

1. Keops (T. Maillard)  Listen
2. Etretat le Donjon (T. Maillard)
3. Beyond the Ocean (T. Maillard)
4. Budapest (T. Maillard)
5. Le Jardin des Rêves (T. Maillard)
6. Icon (T. Maillard)  Listen
7. La Côte Sauvage (T. Maillard)
8. La Ligne Transatlantique (T. Maillard)
9. Ireland Song (T. Maillard)  Listen
10. The Secrets (T. Maillard)
11. Le Petit Hôtel du Grand Large (T. Maillard)
12. La Vallée des Reines (T. Maillard)
13. Anyway (T. Maillard)
14. Without You (T. Maillard)
On a pu découvrir le pianiste virtuose Thierry Maillard en 1998 avec « Paris - New York », un premier album enregistré à New York avec John Patitucci et Dennis Chambers. Une technique sans faille, une surprenante fougue rythmique auxquelles s'ajoute une très grande sensibilité harmonique et mélodique dans l'écriture font de Thierry Maillard un des musiciens français les plus talentueux. Composé de Yoann Schmidt à la batterie (Biréli Lagrène, Sylvain Luc, Jean-Pierre Como.) et du contrebassiste hongrois Matyas Szandaï (Gabor Gado, Chris Potter, Hamid Drake, Flavio Boltro.) le trio a spontanément su trouver une parfaite cohésion et dégagent une belle énergie au service des compositions exigeantes du pianiste. L'écriture romantique et l'amour des ballades qui le caractérise conduisent Thierry Maillard à créer une musique qui évoque une sorte de folklore imaginaire d'inspiration traditionnelle tout en étant moderne à la fois. Le violon de Débora Seffer, le duduk de Didier Malherbe et le oud de Dejmai Abdenour sur plusieurs titres contribuent à instaurer ce climat coloré, tout en brillance, qui donne une belle cohérence à l'album et procure à l'auditeur un réel bonheur.
http://www.thierrymaillard.com
http://www.cristalrecords.com

Available Tomorrow: Alto Saxophonist/Composer RUDRESH MAHANTHAPPA's New Quartet Album - "Gamak" - via ACT Music

Rudresh Mahanthappa  Gamak     Release Dates:   U.S. - January 29, 2013 International - January 7, 2013     DL Media ·  (610) 667-0501 Jordy Freed jordy@dlmediamusic.com          Last Day for Full Album Stream as  Part of NPR Music's Exclusive "First Listen" Series Thirteenth Album Continues Mahanthappa's  Multi-Directional Evolution as a Leader   Gamak Receives Early Critical Recognition: "Integration of Indian music, 'three seconds and you know who's playing' saxophone, double-necked guitar and all that it implies, homegrown approaches to composition: It's all here. But the alto saxophonist's new album surfs on this information overload without drowning in it." - NPR "First Listen" "...Gamak, which uses the long phrasing of Indian and Indonesian music, the shred-power of electric fusion and the deep, heavy beats of funk and metal. That sounds pretty theoretical, but on Saturday at Le Poisson Rouge it wasn't a hard proposition to sell. Bracing and physical, it dislodged the realest crowd roars I'd heard at an improvised music concert in a while."  - The New York Times   "Brilliant 21st century jazz." - The Buffalo News    "Terrific stuff that you want to spin again the moment it's done, and no doubt a band that will melt you in a live setting." - Dusted Magazine  The idea of hybridity has been central to the music of alto saxophonist/composer Rudresh Mahanthappa throughout his career. Most prominent, of course, has been his highly original fusion of east and west, jazz mixed with the sounds of his Indian heritage. But that's too easy and linear a depiction of this open-eared and inventive composer, who has absorbed an enormous variety of music into his thinking and amalgamated it into a singular vision. On his new ACT release, Gamak, Mahanthappa continues that multi-directional evolution with a bold, striking set of music that melds leading-edge jazz with innovative reinterpretations of traditional Indian and Middle Eastern approaches, shot through with an electric jolt of prog-rock complexity. Mahanthappa's distinctly personal sound hybridizes progressive jazz and South Indian classical music in a fluid and forward-looking form that reflects the composer's own experience growing up a second-generation Indian-American. Just as his personal experience is never wholly lived on one side of the hyphenate or the other, his music speaks in a voice dedicated to forging a new path forward. Gamak, Mahanthappa's thirteenth album as leader or co-leader, marks the debut of a new band that is both a reprise and a reinvention. The album reunites the saxophonist with bassist François Moutin and drummer Dan Weiss, the rhythm section from his long-running quartet, which was last recorded for the 2006 album, Codebook. But the group takes on a radically different sound with the addition of David "Fuze" Fiuczynski, a master of microtonal guitar whose eclectic virtuosity offered Mahanthappa a vast new territory to explore. Photo Credit: Jimmy Katz "Dave has checked out so much music,"Mahanthappa says of Fiuczynski. "A lot of eastern music, whether it's Chinese or Indian or Arabic, and a lot of 20th and 21st century classical music. Not to mention that he has this rock/punk aesthetic that's evident in his band the Screaming Headless Torsos. And Dan and Francois come from a really wide perspective as well. Dan is just as much into Rush as he is Max Roach or Zakir Hussain. So I knew those guys were going to really bring this stuff to life." The name Gamak is derived from the word for ornamentation in Indian classical music, an element that is far more central to that culture than the English word implies. "In South Indian music particularly," Mahanthappa explains, "melodic ornamentation isn't random. It's very specific and stylized and studied." As for the word's relevance to his current ensemble he says, "In recontextualizing these things, Gamak can refer to any sort of melodic ornamentation. It's as applicable to Indian classical music as it is to R&B singers riffing or anything in between." While his quartet had always been completed by a pianist, most notably longtime compatriot Vijay Iyer, most of Mahanthappa's recent projects have utilized guitar, from the Dakshina Ensemble that recorded his groundbreaking 2008 album, Kinsmen, to the collective Indo-Pak Coalition to his most recent ensemble, the electro-acoustic ensemble Samdhi. The instrument's fluidity is key to his current compositional approach. "I was looking to get back to that quartet setting with Dan and Francois again," Mahanthappa explains."But doing something with piano was out of the question, because of the way that I've been thinking about melody and ornamentation and the fact that I wanted to delve into the use of alternate tunings." Fiuczynski offered an idiosyncratic versatility different from any other guitarist, formed over years of studying wildly disparate forms of music and bringing them together in his own blend of shrieking rock, burning jazz, multi-cultural fusion and head-scratching complexity. He and Mahanthappa had been discussing a potential collaboration for years when they were both hired for legendary drummer Jack DeJohnette's most recent band, a gig that not only afforded them the opportunity to play with one of jazz's giants, but to forge their own partnership on stage night after night. "Dave and I got a chance to play a lot together and develop something within Jack's group that gave me a better insight into how I wanted to write for this group," Mahanthappa says. The album kicks off with the wiry prog-rock tension of "Waiting Is Forbidden" and ends with the hurtling punk screamer "Majesty of the Blues." Fiuczynski is at his slipperiest on "Aboghi," based on a raga that Mahanthappa describes as "one of the rare ragas that's treated in very similar ways in both North and South India." In the quartet's interpretation, it's transformed into a rubbery, feel-good boogaloo. Gamak as recorded ten years after Mahanthappa's breakthrough sophomore release, Black Water, which he revisits directly and indirectly on two tracks. "Are There Clouds In India" was originally recorded on that album, and recently arranged for big band by Jim McNeel Rudresh Mahanthappa's new group - "Gamak" - Photo Credit: Zak Shelby-Szyszko y, which revived Mahanthappa's own interest in the piece. "We'll Make More" is a new piece built upon the same raga and beat cycle as "Balancing Act," the opening track from Black Water. Most of the titles stem from Mahanthappa's love of language, a theme that has arisen repeatedly in his work - most memorably on his 2004 album Mother Tongue, which was inspired by the many languages of India. Here, many of the titles were simply evocative combinations of words that the composer saw or heard: "Waiting Is Forbidden" came from a piece in the Brooklyn Museum, while "Wrathful Wisdom" is a concept from Buddhist philosophy. The piece to which it's attached is one of Mahanthappa's most challenging inventions, requiring awkward, counterintuitive alternate fingerings. Perhaps the most profound title on the album came from an accident of roadside disrepair - a sign on the New Jersey Turnpike where "Stay In Lane" had been truncated to the koan-like "Stay I." Mahanthappa was struck by the phrase, interpreting it to mean, "Make sure you always try to be yourself and remember your individuality. Which is very difficult to do. I think it's been difficult across history, but maybe even more so now because we have so much information at our fingertips." Despite the depth and breadth of his influences and his restless imagination, one thing which Mahanthappa has managed to do throughout his career is remember to "Stay I." It's a lesson that has continually resulted in strikingly individual statements, and Gamak is certainly no exception.   Rudresh Mahanthappa's Gamak - EPK Upcoming Rudresh Mahanthappa Appearances: All dates to feature "Gamak" unless otherwise noted.        January 31 / WDR 3 Jazzfest / Köln, Germany    February 1 / Bim-Huis / Amsterdam, Netherlands February 2 / Birdland / Neuburg, Germany February 7 / Wexner Performing Arts / Columbus, OH February 9 / Fontana Chamber Arts / Kalamazoo, MI February 22 / Yale University - Sprague Hall / New Haven, CT February 26 & 27 / Dazzle / Denver, CO February 28 & March 1 / Outpost Performance Space / Albuquerque, NM * March 2 / Royce Hall / Los Angeles, CA March 3 / Athenaeum Music and Arts Library / La Jolla, CA  March 12 / Hnita Club / Heist-op-den-Berg, Belgium March 13 / CC Maasmechelen / Maasmechelen, Belgium March 14 / Unterfahrt / München, Germany March 15 / Spielboden / Dornbirn, Austria March 16 / Antoniersaal / Memmingen, Germany March 17 / Porgy & Bess / Wien, Austria March 18 / Treibhaus / Innsbruck, Austria  March 19 / Château Palmier / Cenon, France March 20 / Paradox / Tilburg, Netherlands March 22 / JazzIt / Salzburg, Austria March 23 / Alte Kaserne / Winterthur, Switzerland March 24 / Cheval Blanc / Schiltigheim, France   April 4 & 5 / Blues Alley / Washington, D.C. April 6 / Montgomery County Community College / Blue Bell, PA April 11 / Le Poisson Rouge / New York, NY April 24 / Scullers / Boston, MA May 26 / Atlanta Jazz Festival / Atlanta, GA June 8 / Pittsburgh Jazz Live International Festival / Pittsburgh, PA June 27 / Xerox Rochester International Jazz Festival / Rochester, NY *Gamak + Indo-Pak Coalition   For more information on Rudresh Mahanthappa, please visit: rudreshm.com For more information on Act Music, please visit: actmusic.com  Information and press materials (including album covers, promotional photos and bio's)   on all DL Media artists can be found at our new website:   dlmediamusic.com  ###

BOB WOLFMAN BAND Appearing 3/12 @ Sahara Jazz Club & 3/16 @ The Purple Pit Jazz Club + New CD "Transition"

BOB WOLFMAN BANDAppearing  Tuesday, March 12, 2013 8:00pm Sahara Jazz Club 34 Bates Street  Methuen,MA 01844 978-683-9200 Saturday, March 16, 2013 8:00pm "Best Jazz Lounge in New Hampshire...NH Magazine 2012"   The Purple Pit Jazz Club 3 Pleasant Street Extension Concord, NH 03301 US   New CD Bob Wolfman "Transition" Bob Wolfman ~ Guitar/Vocals Larry Coryell ~ Guitar Kenwood Dennard ~Drums/Percussion Victor Bailey ~ Bass Ferdinando Argenti ~Piano  Track listing: 1. LISTEN 5:20 (Bob Wolfman)  2. TRANSITION 3:37 (Larry Coryell)  3. TREES 4:03 (Bob Wolfman)  4. GUESS WHO I SAW 5:41 (M.Grand,E.Boyd)  5. SEEDS 5:02 (Bob Wolfman)  6. SIRENS 4:41 (Bob Wolfman)  7. BORN UNDER A BAD SIGN-3 6:08 (Jones, Bell)  8. PENULTIMATE-3 5:40 (Larry Coryell)  9. BAILEY’S BOUNCE-1 7:12 (Victor Bailey) Produced by Larry Coryell  Recording Date: Dec. 29, 2011   Street Date: Nov.5, 2012  CD is available from: WOLFMAN MUSIC/Jasper Dog Publishing, iTunes, CDBaby, Amazon.com, Rhapsody.com

In a nutshell, “TRANSITION” represents Bob Wolfman’s diverse/eclectic tastes in music from one style to another, and his stylistic versatility both as a guitarist/vocalist and as a composer.   The concept that Larry Coryell brought to the table for this project was to show Bob’s vocal talent and range as well as his “chops” and chameleon-like proficiency on the guitar. Coupled with an absolutely stunning, rock solid rhythm section of heavyweights such as Victor Bailey, Kenwood Dennard and Ferdi Argenti, Coryell feels that this album will be a smash hit with audiences and critics alike.   Bob Wolfman grew up in New York City during the musical renaissance of the late 60’s and into the 70’s in a very musical neighborhood. He began playing guitar at the age of 11 and began to seriously develop and hone his skills playing all around the New York tri- state area during his teens. Doing studio work and club dates in Manhattan helped to further develop Bob’s unique versatility and professional sensibility both as a performer and recording artist/composer. Bob is an extremely versatile musician, well versed in Blues, Rock and Jazz. He has performed with such greats as keyboard genius - Chick Corea, the “Godfather “ of Jazz/Rock Fusion - Larry Coryell, New York studio session icon/producer - Joe Beck, legendary bassist for Weather Report - Victor Bailey, one of the world’s top drummers - Kenwood Dennard, Bassist for Ahmad Jamal - James Cammack, sax giant for Van Morrison - John Payne, Blues vocalist Toni Lynn Washington, Blues/Jazz harmonica icon - Mike “Turk” Richards, and many more. He has played on several hundred recordings as a session guitarist.   Bob Wolfman is a legendary guitarist/vocalist in and around the Boston and New England area. A graduate of the prestigious Berklee College of Music, Bob earned a Performance Degree and thus rounded out his many years on the road touring and recording with a formal education in music. Bob performs regularly fronting his own Bob Wolfman Band throughout New England and he plans to tour throughout the U.S. this year.   “Simply one of the best guitarists in the U.S. today!” —Boston Globe

http://bobwolfman.com

National Radio Campaign KATE SMITH PROMOTIONS of Chicago www.katesmithpromotions.com Email: katesmithpromotions.kate@gmail.com Cell: 814.482.0010

Bob Wolfman Media Contact: Jim Eigo Jazz Promo Services T: 845-986-1677 E-Mail:jim@jazzpromoservices.com http://www.jazzpromoservices.com/

Latest addition to the JazzWorldQuest Free Mp3 & Play Lists: Dino Fiumara (Jazzboy) - I Will Wait For You (JAZZBOY 2013)

Musician: Dino Fiumara (Jazzboy) Track: I Will Wait For You Composer: Dino Fiumara (Jazzboy) Musician website Album: JAZZBOY Year: 2013 CD Store New Pop Jazz Love Song by: New Artist Dino Fiumara (Jazzboy) More entries with Dino Fiumara (Jazzboy) More mp3 to download Musicians & Labels: Promote your music through the Free Mp3 List on JazzWorldQuest  Click here to submit tracks

Chico Alvarez El Montunero: Country Roots/Urban Masters - With the Palomónte Afro-Cuban Big Band (Mafimba 2012)

(Featuring Edy Martinez, Ruben Rodriguez, Wilson “Chembo” Corniel, Luis Mangual Jr., Johnny Rodriguez, Mauricio Smith Jr., Oscar Hernandez, Sergio Rivera, Eddie “Guagua” Rivera\


ESTA NOCHE
MACHO’S LATIN SATIN
YO SOY EL SON CUBANO
ARSENIO Y LINDA
SABROSO MAMBO
AUTUMN LEAVES
JUMPIN’ WITH SYMPHONY SID
EL INDIO CAONABO
DEL TIRANO Y DEL ERROR
LOS NIÑOS DE LA NOCHE
TONIGHT
THE RHYTHMS OF MY LIFE
LET’S MAKE LOVE

Musicians:
CHICO ALVAREZ, Lead vocalis, coro, claves and guiro
Edy Martinez, piano
Ruben Rodriguez, Carlos Del Pino, bass
Wilson “Chembo” Corniel, tumbadoras
Nelson Diaz, timbales
Luis Mangual Jr., bongó & cencerro
Diego Lopez, drums
Roberto Rodriguez, Steve Gluzband, Ray Vega & Guido Gonzalez, Trumpets
Peter Branin, Enrique Fernandez, Al Acosta & Octavio Ponce, Saxophones
Rafi Malkiel, Noah Bless & José Leonardo Freyre, Trombones
David Oquendo, Ray Viera, Leonel “Papo” Ortega, Luis Mangual Jr., Viviam Ara, Ronnie Baró, Luis Mario Ochoa, Coro
Guests: Johnny Rodriguez, tumbadora & bongó
Gene Golden, Hiram Diaz, tumbadora
Mauricio Smith Jr., flute
Chiemi Nakai, piano
Raphael Cruz, shékere
Oscar Hernandez, Sergio Rivera, piano
Hector Torres, timbales
Tony Cruz, cencérro
CD Store