GERMANY: Rain Sultanov-Influence (OZELLA 2020)

The medicine the world needs today is delivered by Rain Sultanov: The name is INFLUENCE.

Each of the seven epic ballads owes to one of his creative influences. Some of them became companions. Some remained “virtual friends” forever. But all of them took him further in his development.

Vinyl-Fan.de Review:

Bei dieser Schallplatte von Rain Sultanov, dem großartigen Saxofonisten aus Aserbaidschan, kann man erleben, wie Musiker in eine andere Welt abdriften. Fern der Wirklichkeit, dem hier und jetzt, entstanden Melodien von betörender Schönheit. Und sie zeigen uns, welche Einflüsse dabei eine Rolle spielten – die LP „Influence“ in der Review.

Rain Sultanov – Influence (LP, 180g Vinyl)

Begriffe wie gefühlvoll, voller Hingabe und emotional wirken in Rezensionen oftmals abgedroschen oder abgenutzt. Mit der Schallplatte „Influence“ bekommen sie allerdings nicht nur eine gerechte Bedeutung, sondern kulminieren zu einem sinnlichen Erlebnis, welches auch den exzellenten Klang einschließt. Rain Sultanov und seine Mitspieler haben ein Werk geschaffen, das für sich betrachtet einzigartig ist: die innere Verbindung zu den Musikern, die für diese sechs Stücke als Inspiration dienten.
Buy CD  |  Buy Vinyl  |  Listen on Spotify

USA: Jazz at Home: A new video series; a full JLCO concert; your 2020 Hall of Fame inductees; & more!

Watch: "Who Is Joe Williams?"

In this week's concert from the vault, the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra celebrates the life and music of baritone vocalist Joe Williams, whose legendary voice and powerful sense of swing helped define the sound of the Count Basie Orchestra. Hosted by trombonist Vincent Gardner, this show's perfect for young and old alike—we hope you enjoy!

Watch the Concert

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In these trying times, we plan to continue entertaining, enriching, and expanding the global community for jazz through online education and our social platforms. Please consider supporting Jazz at Lincoln Center at whatever level you can. 

Donate Now

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USA: Watch: The JLCO & Special Guests Celebrate Ella at 100

Watch: The JLCO & Special Guests Celebrate Ella at 100

Three years ago this week, the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra commemorated what would have been the 100th birthday of one of jazz's leading lights: Ella Fitzgerald. Joining them were special guests Joe Lovano, Roberta Gambarini, and Kenny Washington. Now, we're releasing that concert from the vaults so you can celebrate the "First Lady of Song" from home—enjoy!

Watch the Concert

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In these trying times, we plan to continue entertaining, enriching, and expanding the global community for jazz through online education and our social platforms. Please consider supporting Jazz at Lincoln Center at whatever level you can. 

Donate Now

Donate via PayPal

USA/ARGENTINA: A milonga orchestra of two: Duo Ben & Winnie celebrates tango’s creative treasons with the release of La Próxima Traición

A milonga orchestra of two: Duo Ben & Winnie celebrates tango’s creative treasons with the release of La Próxima Traición

Billboard Top 10 musicians and tango composer/educator team Ben & Winnie is masterful at taking the raw energy and complex interpretive pathways of the full tango orchestra and distilling them down to the intimate interpersonal connection of a duo performance. Whether tracing stylistic developments throughout the genre’s history with unique arrangements of traditional tango pieces or suggesting innovative musical disruptions with their own fiery original compositions, the duo’s music is always about human connection and inspiration.

With their latest album La Próxima Traición (to be released May 15th, 2020), Ben Bogart (bandoneon) and Winnie Cheung (piano) pay homage to tango’s tradition of revolutionary innovation at the pinnacle of their musical expression.  In the process, tango becomes the vehicle to transport audiences from wildly disparate walks of life to the musical common ground of the global citizen -- with a message to galvanize positive social change and climate awareness with a call to action to do everything we can to leave the planet in better shape than we found it.

Recorded in the heart of Buenos Aires at Fort Studios (the studio historically known for its role in the counterculture element of Argentina) and mixed and mastered at El Jardin del Furor, the album’s tracks range from traditional Argentine tango pieces of the 1920s, superbly stripped down and rearranged for bandoneon and piano, to the newest title track number composed specifically with Ben & Winnie’s piano, bandoneon, and banter-filled creative dynamic in mind.

La Próxima Traición could be translated literally as "the next treason” or “the upcoming betrayal" and the title speaks to Ben & Winnie’s attraction to the revolutionary nature of how tango has developed over time. The genre’s process of evolution has always been instigated by rebel artists breaking through the baseline. It is an aesthetic transformation via periodic creative ruptures in the paradigm of the time; artistic upheavals that often mirror cultural or political discord in society.

Ben & Winnie notes that current trends in tango are indicative of what is currently happening in Argentina, where the tango is getting a little rough, a little loud, a little heavy in the bass. Surface elements of Ben & Winnie’s music are resonating with what is new in tango, and what is being created in Argentina now. The time is right for the next traición.

The duo describes it as a ‘dumping out of the drawer’ to reorganize or declutter, socially, politically, and artistically.  “To us, the most important part is turning the everyday upside-down,” says the duo. “You take the drawer out and you dump everything. Not always just to throw everything away. You can sort it, you can reorganize it, you can take out the crap and put back what you need, or you can create a whole new system to organize. There are many things you can do ...but the one thing we have to do is periodically turn the drawer upside down.”

As artists, both have been deeply inspired by those giants of tango history whose work is featured on the CD, including Aníbal Troilo, Osvaldo Pugliese, Juan D'Arienzo. Though initially at creative odds with their contemporaries, each is now celebrated for having taken some social or musical element of the tango of their time and revolutionizing it.

“They embraced the tango they loved and then did something new, maybe even scandalous to it,” reflects Ben. "They were all courageous and unapologetic, and they initiated changes that were focused and piercing in their genre. Each believed in their path, and executed their beliefs with charisma and personality.  We want to do the same.”

That disorderly spirit of creation is the defining thematic thread stitched so skilfully through La Próxima Traición and is perhaps most explicit on the album’s title track. Penned specifically for the duo by contemporary composer and Indiana University professor Aaron Travers, “La Próxima Traición” is a piece that reflects their vision of a new tango sound for today. Ben & Winnie breathes easily in the traditional tango elements of the song, yet incorporate with vigor the new tango inspirations that inform the traición that is their latest work.

One of the many creative ways the duo has devised to make their tango a participatory collective experience, is to fit “La Próxima Traición” with optional parts for amateurs, young children, or beginning instrumentalists to join Ben & Winnie in playing what is a rather difficult piece. They endeavor to support and encourage musicians of all levels and ages to participate in tango, and this is one of their many efforts to showcase that support.

Connecting with their audiences on a deeply human level around the causes that are important to them is a central element of Ben & Winnie’s philosophy. Whether making conscious efforts on their tours to achieve a negative carbon footprint or raising funds for climate action and positive social change, Ben & Winnie always gives their all -- when playing for dancers and listeners who can attend their shows, and for those who cannot. With a mission to make tango accessible and to share artistic expression with people whom they might not otherwise encounter in life, the duo regularly puts on voluntary shows and educational workshops at prisons, schools, hospitals, dementia homes, and assisted living facilities.

“Ben and Winnie should not even know each other, but in fact we know each other quite well, all because of tango. We want to share this with audiences and bring everyone together -- children, seniors, Argentines, non-Argentines -- whoever you are.  We are in this "traición" together, whether you want it or not.  There are urgent and sweeping matters -- like saving the planet -- that require you to immediately leave the inertia you live in, and indulge in your own traición, now.”

LINKS:

• Facebook
• VIDEO: "La Próxima Traición"
• FUNDRAISER: "Feed Tango back to Tango Artists Now"
• "La Próxima Traición" CD pre-sale link
• Download Album Booklet Here
• Tiny Footprint Tango Tour EPK
• Tiny Footprint Tango Tour

WORLD MUSIC MIX: Alessandra Giubilato(Italy)

Alessandra Giubilato(Italy) – Vento di Tempesta/Kiki
Album: La poesia di una donna ( anche sotto un vestito)

La poesia di una donna” celebrates the female universe. The title comes from the verse of a song dedicated to the unconventional and controversial personality of Kiki de Montparnasse, muse and tormented lover of many avant-garde artists, the true queen of Paris of the 20s. Other than her, the album contains songs of other extraordinary female figures such as the dancer Isadora Duncan, forerunner of modern dance; the Italian poetess Alda Merini, with a life lived between genius and madness; the actress Maria Montez, once the brightest star in Hollywood. There are also themes that tell dramatic situations, such as the tragic reality of child brides or the importance of freeing yourself from an abusive and possessive relationship. Finally, the album closes with a remastered version of the autobiographical song “La rosa del deserto”, which celebrates the artist’s decision to be simply herself, to write with her heart and soul, free from commercial schemes.

Website  CD Store

FINLAND: Verneri Pohjola-The Dead Don't Dream (2020)

Finnish trumpeter Verneri Pohjola is a tour de force, unquestionably a huge talent and a musician with a commanding and individual voice who is able to bring warmth and stillness to his playing as much as a vibrant intensity. His writing is strong and bold, adept at finding those hooky melodies that jump out at you as progressive, creative and individual. The Dead Don’t Dream is his fourth album on Edition and sixth in total. His recent offerings represent very different yet coherent albums. Bullhorn (2015) was entirely original and placed Verneri firmly on the European scene as the one to watch. Pekka in 2017 saw him interpreting his famous father's music, bringing a rockier approach and electronics to the party. His latest, Animal Image, was a completely improvised duo with drummer Mika Kallio. Each of these albums challenged Verneri to reach further with his playing, and explore wider soundscapes. Verneri Pohjola - trumpet Tuomo Prättälä - piano & electronics Mika Kallio - drums and gongs Antti Lötjönen - bass Pauli Lyytinen - soprano saxophone & tenor saxophone (on ‘Wilder Brother’ and ‘Suspended’) Miikka Paatelainen - pedal steel (on ‘Monograph’, ‘The Dead Don’t Dream’ and ‘Suspended’) credits released May 1, 2020

GERMANY/NORWAY: Don’t miss it: Hilde Louise Asbjørnsen with her fantastic Orchestra live from Oslo

Hilde Louise Asbjørnsen mit ihrem fantastischen Orchester präsentieren „Red Lips, Knuckles and Bones“ und mehr: wie Songs über Schuhe und andere wichtige Themen, die die Welt heute braucht … Live in einem brillanten „Corona-Konzert“ aus Sentralen, Oslo. Verpassen Sie es nicht: online bis Freitag, den 1. Mai! Hilde Louise Asbjørnsen with her fantastic Orchestra are presenting “Red Lips, Knuckles and Bones” and more: like songs about shoes and other important topics the world needs today … Live in a brilliant “Corona Concert” from Sentralen, Oslo.Don’t miss it: online until Friday May 1!Buy CD  |  Buy Vinyl  |  Listen on Spotify

Rain Sultanov – Influence

The medicine the world needs today is delivered by Rain Sultanov: The name is INFLUENCE. Vinyl-Fan.de Review: Bei dieser Schallplatte von Rain Sultanov, dem großartigen Saxofonisten aus Aserbaidschan, kann man erleben, wie Musiker in eine andere Welt abdriften. Fern der Wirklichkeit, dem hier und jetzt, entstanden Melodien von betörender Schönheit. Und sie zeigen uns, welche Einflüsse dabei eine Rolle spielten – die LP „Influence“ in der Review. Rain Sultanov – Influence (LP, 180g Vinyl) Begriffe wie gefühlvoll, voller Hingabe und emotional wirken in Rezensionen oftmals abgedroschen oder abgenutzt. Mit der Schallplatte „Influence“ bekommen sie allerdings nicht nur eine gerechte Bedeutung, sondern kulminieren zu einem sinnlichen Erlebnis, welches auch den exzellenten Klang einschließt. Rain Sultanov und seine Mitspieler haben ein Werk geschaffen, das für sich betrachtet einzigartig ist: die innere Verbindung zu den Musikern, die für diese sechs Stücke als Inspiration dienten. Buy CD  |  Buy Vinyl  |  Listen on Spotify

Bleiben Sie gesund und haben Sie eine schöne Woche! Stay healthy and have a nice week!  Dagobert Böhm and the Ozella Team

OZELLA MUSIC | OUR SENSE OF SOUND Dagobert Böhm | Geschäftsführer A: Schloss Hamborn 20 | 33178 Borchen | Germany T: +49 (0) 5251 38-509 | mail@ozellamusic.com | www.ozellamusic.com | www.facebook.com/ozellamusic

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