Monday, September 30, 2013

Aaron Parks-Arborescence (ecm 2013)

Arborescence is the word for the way something grows, seeking and adaptive, like a tree its roots and branches moving under and around things wherever they need to go toward water, toward the sun. Prize-winning young American pianist Aaron Parks titled his ECM debut Arborescence because the albums music is the fruit of a session of solo studio improvisation in which little was predetermined; the pieces developed in the moment like living things, in the artists words. The music felt as if it were coming into being and going where it had to go, in that sort of arboreal way. Its possible to hear fleeting echoes in this music of Arvo Part and Paul Bley, Erik Satie and Kenny Wheeler; but Arborescence is ultimately something deeply individual and intimate, recorded with the lights down low in the warm, clear acoustics of Mechanics Hall in Worcester, Massachusetts. Listen close and one can hear Parks whispering part of a melody along with the piano, as if he were playing at home alone, for himself. This is contemplative instrumental poetry that often felt less like conscious intention, he says, and more like something half-dreamed, half-remembered.
http://aaronparks.com

Sunday, September 29, 2013

Jász András Kultúrfunk - Lulu a moziban (NarRator 2013)

I consider myself a specially rhythm and blues, funk saxophonist. At the same time I attempted to break free of the limitations of the traditions, and tried to handle these forms freer than usual. I was propelled forward by the legendary Orszáczky Jackie, whose Hungarian tour I was part of, and whose last Hungarian concert I took part in. We were also on stage in Transylvania. Uncle Jack was only willing to play slow songs in Nagyvárad, – he was in the mood. After six or seven concerts I realized that he played the same blues song in six or seven completely different ways. I realized that blues, which everyone considers to possess extremely tight rules, can be played in any way. This is the road I try to tread with my own capabilities.
András Jász: soprano and alto saxophone, flute, voice, background singing
Áron Sebestyén: keyboards, background singing
Tamás Szabó: drum, voice, darbuka, background singing
Guest Artists
Zsolt Bartha: electric and acoustic guitar
Péter Bede: tenor saxophone, clarinet
Ernő Hock: double bass
Boglárka Csemer: voice, background singing
Barna Pély: voice, guitar
narrator 
http://www.facebook.com/pages/J%C3%A1sz-Andr%C3%A1s-Kult%C3%BArfunk/179511155482692
 

Friday, September 27, 2013

Arve Henriksen-Places Of Worship (Rune Grammofon 2013)

With Places Of Worship Arve Henriksen moves into the front rank of world class musicians. The Norwegian trumpet player has made his mark over many years, not only as the horn player with the consistently challenging and long lived group Supersilent, but also as the purveyor of exquisite and distinctive solo work that stretches to four solo albums since 2001, three of which are released on Rune Grammofon. Deeply rooted in the sublime geology of his Norwegian homeland, Henriksen’s music has developed into something beautifully at one with natural habitats and reflecting the hybrid, cosmopolitan environments of the twenty-first century. On Places Of Worship, he inhabits the space between these two worlds, in a series of tone poems and mood pieces located around religious buildings and ruins. These still, silent quarters and abandoned houses of the holy can be where we experience our deepest moments of reflection, silence and occasionally fear. Making the aura of these places audible, Henriksen’s haunted horn and idiosyncratic treble vocals carry an air of treading on forbidden territory, stirring up the dust of forgotten spirits. As well as suggesting the creaking timbers and salty tang of North African ports (‘Alhambra’) and the whiff of Gallic scirocco (‘Le Cimitière Marin’), it stirs fond memories of fellow musical souls, both alive and dead: the Miles Davis of Sketches Of Spain and Aura; the Fourth World exotica of Jon Hassell.
Rune Grammofon 
http://www.arvehenriksen.com/

MILES DAVIS: THE ORIGINAL MONO RECORDINGS (Legacy 2013)

For nearly half a century, Miles Davis (1926-1991) was arguably the preeminent innovator in jazz - rarely staying in the same place twice, experimenting with the most cutting-edge styles and ideas he could imagine. This year, some of Miles' most enduring works for Columbia Records are collected the way they were originally heard: MILES DAVIS: THE ORIGINAL MONO RECORDINGS.

Here, Miles Davis' first nine 12-inch albums for Columbia will be collected in one package - all in impeccable mono mixes for the first time on CD. Seven of these albums - 'Round About Midnight, Miles Ahead (both 1957), Milestones (1958), Porgy And Bess, Kind Of Blue (both 1959), Sketches Of Spain (1960) and Someday My Prince Will Come (1961) - are familiar classics which saw Miles rise to prominence as an architect of the hard bop style of jazz before revolutionizing the genre with ventures into modal jazz. Of these, Milestones and Kind of Blue remain among the most universally recognized jazz recordings in the world.

MILES DAVIS: THE ORIGINAL MONO RECORDINGS also includes two exciting rare albums:

1958's Jazz Track features 10 compositions recorded for a French film, L'Ascenseuer Pour l'Echafaud, and three selections from an acclaimed session recorded shortly after the release of Milestones. (These sessions served as a prelude to Kind Of Blue, starring Davis, John Coltrane, Cannonball Adderley, Bill Evans, Paul Chambers and Jimmy Cobb. These are the only other studio sides by Davis sextet before recording what would become the best-selling jazz album of all time.)

Miles & Monk At Newport, released in 1964, features selections from two separate live performances at the Newport Jazz Festival: Davis' leading the same sextet from Jazz Track in 1958, and a 1963 set from pianist Thelonious Monk, just recently signed to Columbia Records from the Riverside label.

Each CD, newly remastered, will be housed in a mini-LP replica jacket, faithfully replicating the original LP sleeves. They will be packed in a casemade slipcase which will also hold a 40-page booklet with a brand-new essay. This is the true genius of Miles Davis as most people first heard it, the way it was intended to be heard: in mono.

Albums-

'Round About Midnight
Miles Ahead
Milestones
Jazz Track
Porgy And Bess
Kind Of Blue
Sketches Of Spain
Someday My Prince Will Come
Miles And Monk At Newport

Wednesday, September 25, 2013

Stephan Crump's Rosetta Trio - Thwirl ( Sunnyside 2013 )

1. Ending
2. Reclamation Zone
3. He Runs Circles
4. Whiteout
5. Thwirl
6. Still Stolid
7. Conversate (Talking-Wise)
8. Flotsam
9. Palimpsestic
10. Steel Skin And Sky

When it feels right, stick with it…and keep digging.
Rosetta Trio has done just that, and on Thwirl they achieve a breakthrough of their own.

Crump brought together Rosetta Trio for the first time in 2005 to record an album of pieces written in the aftermath of 9/11. That “engaging and sublime meeting” (Signal to Noise) of Crump on acoustic bass with guitarists Liberty Ellman and Jamie Fox, produced Rosetta (2006), which was greeted enthusiastically by fans, radio, and the press. “Here is a string ensemble for the new century!” raved All About Jazz NY. Their second album, Reclamation (2010), declared “a low-key marvel” (JazzTimes) and noted for its “bareness in emotion” (NPR), was much more than a follow-up effort, though it was the earlier album that gave the trio its name and its mission: to inhabit the dynamic and rhythmic flexibility of a drumless ensemble and embrace its challenges and expanded responsibilities; to reject restrictions of genre; to explore different territories of feel, texture, color; to groove. Recorded after eight years of collaboration and on the heels of a two-week European tour, Thwirl captures Rosetta Trio not only at peak telepathy, but charting new territories of shape and feel.

http://stephancrump.com/albums/thwirl/

Monday, September 23, 2013

AVAILABLE NOW: Vocalist HALIE LOREN Celebrates Love and Life on New Justin Time Records Album, "Simply Love"

new logo
Justin Time Logo   
AVAILABLE NOW:
Vocalist HALIE LOREN Celebrates Love and Life on 
New Justin Time Records Album, Simply Love

Halie Loren - Simply Love Artwork
 
"...the next big thing among jazz vocalists."  - JazzTimes


The soul of vocal artistry is to distill the essence of a song and make it personal, finding something unexpected yet exactly right. The outstanding jazz vocalist Halie Loren does just that, as her latest Justin Time Records release, Simply Love, vividly demonstrates.

Released last June in Asia, Simply Love spent two weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard (Japan) jazz albums chart and landed five tracks on the jazz singles chart at iTunes Japan. Her Japanese tour in July culminated in six sold-out shows at the famed Cotton Club in Tokyo. Closer to home, recent appearances at Upstairs Jazz Bar in Montreal, Birdland in New York, Yoshi's jazz club in San Francisco and Seattle's historic Jazz Alley have cemented the Eugene, Oregon-based artist's growing status as a breakthrough, emerging artist in North America.

There is an intimacy in her voice that makes listeners feel she is singing directly to them. Now, with three sparkling new originals and 10 radiantly re-imagined classics, Loren accomplishes what every singer strives for - to make every song, regardless of who wrote it or performed it previously, entirely her own.

Key to her popularity is the central quartet, the members of which have appeared with Loren on every Justin Time Records release since 2008's They Oughta Write a Song: pianist/arranger Matt Treder, bassist Mark "Mo" Schneider, and percussionist Brian West. As on last year's Heart First, winner of Jazz Critique magazine's award for best vocal jazz album, they are again energized by the band's newest addition, guitarist William Seiji Marsh, and sterling support from accordionist Sergei Teleshev.

Sonically, Simply Love achieves a new level of technical sophistication, enhancing her trademark melodic inventiveness and lyrical sensitivity. Over 13 tracks, she interweaves themes of sun and sand, earth and sky, wistful dreams and happy endings, each successive song adding a layer of perspective to the earlier ones.

"With Simply Love, I wanted to meet the mood of the season," the Eugene, Oregon-based singer says. "What kind of soundtrack would I want to listen to in the warmer months?"

With her late friend and frequent co-writer Larry Wayne Clark, Loren has produced exquisitely crafted songs before, including two that became album titles for her. Still, "Cuando Bailamos" may be their masterpiece, a lilting bossa nova wrapped in the cocoon of a soaring string orchestra. The strings appear again on "I've Got to See You Again," and on a rediscovered French song. Delicate and exquisite, "Le Premier Bonheur du Jour" draws the string quartet in closer for a chamber orchestration perfectly matched to pianist Treder's deft arranging touch.

Inspired by tours in Hawaii and Palermo, Italy, where she headlined with the Orchestra Jazz Siciliana, Loren again teamed with friend and Grammy® Award-nominated producer Rick Chudacoff to write "Bare Feet," her ode to simplicity and rejuvenation. Infusing the song with its irresistible bounce took the artistry of two Oregon-based masters of ukulele, Ali Heyer and Craig Chee. Loren closes with the title track, which she penned with songwriter Benita Hill - a swirling, filigreed jewel set in waltz time, accompanied only by acoustic guitar, accordion, and felt-draped piano. It's as stripped down as jazz gets, as intimate as a whisper.

With Simply Love, Loren concludes that she was "striving for positivity, celebratory love and life." She clearly hit her target square on. 


Halie Loren·  Simply Love
Justin Time Records ·  Release Date: September 10, 2013 
 
For more information on Halie Loren, please visit: halieloren.com

For more information on Justin Time Records, please visit: Justin-Time.com

    
For media information, please contact:
DL Media ·  610-667-0501
Matthew Jurasek ·  matthew@dlmediamusic.com
 
Information and press materials (including album covers, promotional photos
and bios) on all DL Media artists can be found at our new website: dlmediamusic.com

The Claudia Quintet -September (Cuneiform Records 2013)

Rich with ambition and empathetic interplay...the Claudia Quintet doesn't...sound like anybody else.
Which is exactly what makes them worth seeking out. --Los Angeles Times

...creates gorgeous blends of melody and texture that blur the lines between jazz and contemporary classical. --Chicago Reader

Claudia Quintet has managed to make each successive release somehow different than its predecessor while not losing sight of the markers that define this eclectic and stylistically defiant chamber ensemble. --All About Jazz

The hugely respected and ultra-hip 'jazz and beyond' group The Claudia Quintet are one of the most influential jazz group in existence today. September is the seventh album by this award winning,
longstanding five-piece that is, in the words of Duke Ellington, a band 'beyond category'.
Led by composer and drummer John Hollenbeck, Claudia have quietly but firmly and definitively recast jazz into shimmering new shapes inflected by classical minimalism, new music, progressive rock and postrock.
Celebrating 15 years of work together with the release of September, this NYC ensemble's sound continues to explore the edge without alienating the mainstream, proving that genre-defying music can be for everyone.
http://claudiaquintet.com

Sunday, September 22, 2013

Alexandre Côté - Portraits d'Ici (Effendi Records 2013)

1. Nord perdu 10:08
2. Rangs de Garnottes et Espaces Vides 8:29
3. Les Hautes-Gorges 5:41
4. Interlude 1 0:58
5. À l'est du Bic 7:11
6. Interlude 2 00:45
7. L'île d'entrée oubliée 5:33
8. Jarrets noirs 4:25
9. Paysages Laurentiens 6:13
10. Interlude 3 1:30
11. Métropole 8:26


Alexandre Côté - alto sax
David Bellemare - tenor sax
Bruno Lamarche - baritone sax
Aron Doyle - trumpet
Dave Grott - trombone
John Roney - piano
Dave Watts - acoustic bass
Richard Irwin - drums

PORTRAITS d’ICI is a “Quebec suite” to 8 “paintings” inspired by travel memories of Alexandre Côté; places, landscapes, regions and people all in music.

Effendi Records 


Saturday, September 21, 2013

Jake Hertzog Band CD Release Shows Boston & NYC

Jake Hertzog Band
CD Release Shows
Boston & NYC

Boston

November 6th 2013  8pm Set

Jake Hertzog Band

Jake Hertzog -guitar
with Harvie S - bass and Victor Jones - drums

at Scullers
 

NYC

November 21st 2013 8 to 9:45 pm
  
 @ 78 Below  
380 Columbus Ave  New York, NYC
Featuring Harvie S and Victor Jones


NEW CD
Jake Hertzog "Throwback"
(Zoho ZM201314)
Street Date November 12, 2013  
Jake Hertzog-Guitar
Randy Brecker-Trumpet and Flugelhorn (except # 3, 5 & 8)
Harvie S - Acoustic and Electric Bass
Victor Jones-Acoustic and Electric Drums


On his previous three trio outings – 2009’s Chromatosphere, 2010’s Patterns and 2011’s Evolution, young guitar slinger Jake Hertzog established himself as a force to be reckoned with in the six-string world. Guitar Player magazine called him a “blazing wunderkind” and lauded him for his unorthodox intervallic maneuvers, unique hybrid picking technique and startlingly fresh approach to the fretboard. Other critics followed suit in heaping praise on the rock-inflected jazz player who successfully combined the visceral and cerebral into one compelling package. With Throwback, the six-string sensation with unlimited potential takes things up a notch.

Jake’s regular rhythm tandem of veteran bassist Harvie S and multi-directional drummer Victor Jones is back on board for his fourth as a leader. But this time out he’s added a new voice to that solid chemistry that resounds with rare authority. It belongs to jazz-rock pioneer and iconic trumpeter Randy Brecker, who blazed the fusion trail during the mid ‘70s, alongside his tenor sax playing brother Michael, in the Brecker Bros. Band.

“I was really lucky to get Randy on this project,” says Hertzog, who at age 27 was born four years after the Brecker Bros. Band broke up. “He is one of those guys who not only really gets the jazz thing but the rock thing as well. For my music it’s a prerequisite to have that dual musical personality, so to speak. Victor and Harvie can kind of float in both of those universes with equal legitimacy and Randy is the same way. And of course, he knocked it out of the park.”
Hertzog envisioned a very specific role for Brecker in enlisting him for "Throwback". “What I value most in musicians is people who have an original voice and something to say with their instrument, and Randy certainly qualifies on both counts. He’s been at the top of that game for longer than I’ve been alive, and it really shows. Every note he plays means something, and I really admire that. So for this project I wanted him to be almost more like the lead singer in a rock band than a trumpet player, like Bono in U2, Kurt Cobain in Nirvana, Eddie Vedder in Pearl Jam or Chris Cornell in Soundgarden. So I arranged it so he could just kind of float above and do whatever and it would sound great as long as the rhythm section is cooking.”

And Brecker rises to the occasion with heroic playing throughout while contributing harmonic ideas that subtly tweak the proceedings in unpredictable ways.

The writing on Throwback is deeper, more nuanced and accomplished than Hertzog’s previous outings, as exemplified by the zen-delicate Is It Summer, the beautifully lyrical opener All Over Now and the dramatic Sending Home, which begins as a fragile ballad showcase for Brecker and gradually builds to an ecstatic crescendo that has the great trumpeter wailing over the top in vocal fashion. “I feel like that’s our ‘Joshua Tree’ moment,” says Jake of that powerful number. “I was wanting to make a jazz version of ‘Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For’ or ‘With Or Without You,’ a tune like that where it starts really mellow and gets nuts at the end, where the tension just builds and builds. Randy totally understood that concept from the get-go and he just destroyed it.”

The relaxed trio number First to Rise shows great maturity in Jake’s writing and is imbued with the kind of heartland feel often heard in the music of Pat Metheny and Bill Frisell. “I think there’s something about that Midwestern thing,” says the native of Champaign/Urbana, Illinois. “It just must be in the DNA because it’s certainly deep in Metheny’s music, it’s deep in Frisell’s music and it’s definitely something I find myself coming back to, either consciously or unconsciously. I’m sure that if we took a geographic survey of all the jazz musicians from the so-called ‘flyover states’, you’d find that heartland quality in a lot of their music. It seems to be part of what you hear when you’re growing up there.”

But Jake also shows that he’s lost none of his edge, as he so forcefully demonstrates on more aggressive numbers like the intense, high-energy “Cleared to Fly,” the slamming “Entropy” and the dynamic title track that closes the album with a visceral flurry. Hertzog points out that he was thrilled to go toe-to-toe with Brecker in their call-and-response exchanges on “Entropy.”

“One of my goals was to see if we could have a little bit of a gun battle moment together,” he says. “I was feeling very fortunate to be in the studio with Randy, so I figured, ‘Why not?’ And that tune, since it’s very open-ended, seemed like a natural form where we could do whatever the hell we wanted and it would work.”

The lone ‘jazzy’ tune here is a kind of tongue-in-cheek uptempo number entitled Hands On, a briskly swinging trio romp fueled by Jones’ supple brushwork and Harvie’s walking bass. Says Jake, “One of our references with this trio is what I call ‘drunken Thelonious Monk.’ It’s a slightly off-kiltered, Monkish thing that we occasionally like to do in an almost comical way; somewhere between a jazz tune and a parody on a jazz tune. Goofiness has always been a part of jazz through cats like Dizzy Gillespie and Monk and Fats Waller…all these guys that were a little wacky in a funny, adorable way. And when I’m at a concert, I love moments like that where you can see a little bit more of the lighter side of the musicians, where they don’t take it too seriously.”

The album title, Jake explains, has to do with both his attitude toward the music and the method in which it was recorded. “From the inception of this project, the idea was to go a little bit back-to-basics and make a very classic one-day, four-microphone, one-take type of jazz record, in contrast to my other albums that were really more done like rock albums with overdubs and sound changes and things like that. This one is really a throwback to a 1960s conception of a jazz record. You get four dudes in a room, you put up a couple of mics, you got one day, you hit the record button and that’s the record. And it was kind of a natural way to do this particular record because we didn’t have a lot of rehearsal time, we didn’t have a big tour leading up to the recording session. So it was strictly a whatever happens, happens scenario in the studio.”

And with four such stellar players and risk-takers, the results are scintillating.
– Bill Milkowski



Artist Website: www.jakehertzog.com

Label Website: http://www.zohomusic.com/

ZOHO ® is distributed by Allegro Media Group, Portland, OR.







For Interviews and Promos Contact:
Jim Eigo
Jazz Promo Services
T: 845-986-1677
E-Mail:
jim@jazzpromoservices.com
http://www.jazzpromoservices.com/

Geir Lysne - NEW CIRCLE (Act 2013)

"Its now time to meet new people, make new music and create new circles. If you miss my old stuff, try listening carefully to these new tracks. Between the layers you’ll find a lot of lines you’ve heard before. But not in the way you might expect. New Circle is an electro acoustic recomposition production, based on my previous recordings on ACT" (Geir Lysne)

Geir Lysne / saxophones, flutes, jews harp, voice, keys, ballaphone, kalimba, programming, perc.
Reidar Skår / keys, programming
Eckhard Baur / trumpet, flugelhorn, voice
Gjermund Silset / bass
Olav Torget / electric guitars, acoustic guitar
Knut Aalefjær / drums, percussion

Act

 

Friday, September 20, 2013

Jim Beard-Show Of Hands (Sunnyside 2013)


Grammy award winning pianist/composer Jim Beard is set to release his next album, Show of Hands. Since his arrival on the New York music scene in the late 1980s, Beard has accumulated a staggering array of credits: from composing for John McLaughlin and Michael Brecker to producing Grammy nominated recordings for Mike Stern, Bill Evans and others. He has performed on world tours with Wayne Shorter, Pat Metheny and Steely Dan, and also recorded television scores with artists as disparate as Dizzy Gillespie and John Mayer.


Beard’s latest effort is something most followers would consider unique for him: a solo piano recording. The talented pianist is widely known for his work in the studio and on stage with ensembles of great variety, from small ensembles to orchestras and from acoustic settings to electric.  Beard is also known for entering “dangerous yet rewarding territories” musically (as per Pat Metheny) on his previous solo outings.


Why a solo piano CD? Beard says: “This was the next thing for me to do that would feel a little bold and risky, yet gratifying. Plus, there have been countless fans and artists who have been pestering me for years to do this.”

sunnyside
http://www.jimbeard.com/

Pete York & Young Friends - BASIECALLY SPEAKING (ACT 9101-2)

Basie’s old hits are grooving and swinging, making Basiecally Speaking a true pleasure. Or, as York puts it in his funny Denglish when things go well together: “Uh, what a Geschmack!”

 Pete York / drums & vocals
Torsten Goods / guitar & vocals
Gabor Bolla / tenor sax
Andi Kissenbeck / Hammond organ

ACT



Thursday, September 19, 2013

Philanthropist Bringing Jazz Back to Pakistan - Speakeasy - WSJ

Philanthropist Bringing Jazz Back to Pakistan - Speakeasy - WSJ

Read the Full Story HERE

New Release
Sachal Studios Presents
"JAZZ AND ALL THAT"
In Memory of Dave Brubeck

Live Appearance with
The Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis collaborates with the Sachal Jazz Ensemble
Friday, November 22nd 8PM Rose Theater

Official YouTube Video

Everybody Hurts (Ya Rab) - Sachal Studios' Orchestra 

Watch It HERE




“Listening to this exotic version of “Take Five” brings back wonderful memories of Pakistan where my Quartet played in 1958. East is East, and West is West, but through music the twain meet. Congratulations!”

“This is most interesting and different recording of “Take Five” I’ve ever heard.
—Dave Brubeck

Live Appearance
The Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis collaborates with the Sachal Jazz Ensemble, master musicians from Pakistan who incorporate ancient instruments, such as sitar, sarod, tabla, and dholak into the sounds and rhythms of iconic jazz repertoire. This collaboration is JALC’s latest installment in a string of cross-cultural investigations, which have paired the JLCO with musicians from Ghana and Spain, among others, as the organization actualizes its mission to make jazz available globally by interfacing the sounds of jazz, grounded firmly in American values of blues and swing expression, with an international array of musical languages and configurations. 2012 Oscar-winning director Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy is currently filming this remarkable ensemble for a documentary that will be released in 2014, which will conclude with the Sachal Jazz Ensemble’s highly anticipated collaboration with the JLCO.
 

Artist: Sachal Studios Orchestra
Title: JAZZ AND ALL THAT
Label: Imagine Music
Catalog Number: SM026
Release Date: September 10, 2013

Track Listing
1. You’ve Got It Bad Girl (Wonder) 4;49
2. If You Go Away (Brel) 4:39
3. Moonlight In Vermont (Suessdorf/Blackburn) 4:40
4. Monsoon (Afzal) 5:14
5. The Pink Panther (Mancini) 5:07
6. Ponteio (Lobo) 6:02
7. Eleanor Rigby (Lennon/McCartney) 3:41
8. Blue Rondo A la Turk (Brubeck) 4:12
9. Kafi Jazz (Five Rivers) (Abbas) 4:36
10. Everybody Hurts (R.E.M.) 5:50
11. Wave (Jobim) 5:26
12. To The End Of The World (Metheny/Mays) 6:29
13. Morning Has Broken (Traditional) 5:33

Musicians:
Sachal Studios Orchestra
Sitar: Nafees Ahmed Khan
Tabla: Ballu Khan
Dholaks & Percussion: Rafiq Ahmed and Najaf Ali
Cello: Umar Draz, Ghulam Abbas and Waqas Ali
Violin: Saleem Khan, Altaf Hydar, Javaid Ali, Akbar Noushad,
Kaleen Khan, Mukhtar Hussain, Mohammed Ilyas,
Kahwar Hussain, Akbar Abbas, Sakhawat Ali, Babar Baila, Nadeen Ahmad, Fazal Hussain, Aqeel Anwar, Chand, Ghulam Hussain,
Ghulam Ali, Riasat Hussain, Mubarak Ali, Abid Ali, Akram Farooqi, Amjad Ali, Basharat Ali and Nijat Ali.

UK Musicians:
Trumpet/Flugel: Derek Watkins Percussion: Chris Wells
Piano: Steve Lodder Bass/Harmonica: Philip Achile
Harp: Sally Price Sarod: Soumik Datta
Guitar: John Parracelli Ghatam: Bangalore Prakash
Moorsing (jewsharp): Kandiah Sithaparanatha

Chorus:
Abbie Osman, Alice Fearn, Claire Henry, Joanna Forbes, Mary Carewe,
Rachel Weston, Sarah Ryen, Soophia Foroughi, Yona Dunsford.
Metro Voices- Choir Master Jenny O’Grady

Studio Credits:
Original Recording by Munir Kokab
Assisted by Samuel(Pinku) Suleimen-Waheed Sachal Studios, Lahore, July 2011-Feb 2013
Additional Recording ‘Monsoon’ Sam Okell, Abbey Road Studios- London 2010
Additional recording by Christoph Bracher Assisted by Sameer Khan & Drew Smith, Assault & Battery Studios, London. March-April 2013
Final Mixing by Christoph Bracher Assisted by Sameer Khan, Assault & Battery Studios, London. May 2013
Mastering by Sam Okel, Abbey Road Studios, London May 2013
All tracks arranged by Izzat Majeed, Assisted by Nijat Ali
UK session & studio work coordinated by Jay Visvadeva
Artwork Concept by Izzat Majeed, Artwork & Graphics Kikuchi
This album carries lasting memories of the late maestro Riaz Hussain

Track Listing Info:

01   You’ve Got It Bad Girl
(Stevie Wonder)


The track is intended as homage to the genius of Stevie Wonder.  This version creates fresh sounds of the flute, sitar, harmonica and piano. Balu Khan’s tabla and rhythm further enhance the uniqueness of the arrangement with the string section bringing a swing to the track.  Ever since I heard this song in the early 19702, I remained glued to Stevie Wonder’s heart aching melody and Quincy Jones’ arrangement soon after.  I have arranged it with both masters in mind.

02   If You Go Away/ Ne Me Quitte Pas
(Jacques Brel)


The arrangement is based on the flute that carries the sadness of the song.  Yet as the sarangi swells along with the orchestra there comes the promise of hope.  I always remember when I first heard Shirley Horn’s version and she has inspired me to make this track.

03   Moonlight In Vermont
(Karl Suessdorf/ John Blackburn)


The origins of this track may well be inspired by the U.S. State of Vermont, but in the arrangement of this well loved song I call it the Moonlight in Lahore!

04   Monsoon
(Wazir Afzal)


Monsoon is based on the classical music of South Asia.  It is inspired by raga Shankara.  All of us who made this album are deeply saddened at the death of Derek Watkins who was a great musician (trumpet, flugel) and a mentor to me.  Sachal Studios dedicates this composition in his memory.

05   The Pink Panther Theme
(Henry Mancini)


Need on say more?  At the first notes of this track the audience cheered when the Sachal Studios Orchestra played it at the Alchemy Festival (Queen Elizabeth Hall, London, April 2012.

06   Ponteio
(Edu Lobo)


Ponteio’s structure sounds close to the traditional music and songs of the Punjab.  The harmonica plays a wonderful reminiscence of Toots Thielemans in his collaboration with Edu Lobo.

07   Eleanor Rigby
(Lennon-McCartney)


An ode to loneliness.  The beauty of the arrangement is the minimal instrumentation.  It is a new take on an evergreen classic.  I was thrilled with the vigour with which the Sachal Orchestra played the original song.  The chorus is singing the ‘sargam’ known in the West as solfège (sol-fa in English).

08   Blue Rondo à La Turk
(Dave Brubeck)


A masterpiece of music.  Dave Brubeck went round the world to listen to all forms of music in different cultures and come back with global rhythms which he used uniquely to give jazz a new world.  His compositions will be eternal jazz.  Dave Brubeck was pleased with Sachal Studios’ ‘Take Five’ and sent his congratulations when it topped the charts globally.

09   Five Rivers
(Kafi Thaat)


It is composed in Kafi Thaat and carries a mix of ragas just like the five rivers of the Punjab (which translates as “Five” and “Rivers”).  A Thaat is a musical scale, conceived of as a Western musical scale might be, with the seven notes presented in their order of ascent (arohan).

10   Everybody Hurts
(REM)


Sad, full of pathos, about us, not always able to deal with hurt.  The chant “Ya Rab” means O Lord.

11   Wave
(Antonio Carlos Jobim)


The arrangement of this track combines the subtle beauty of Bossa Nova with an eastern interpretation that is fresh and unique.  The flute balanced with the guitar, harmonica and piano provide a sensuousness and charm that is enhanced by the string section and the Brazilian-tinged percussion accompaniment. Antonio Carlos Jobim’s most successful album brought global success to his Bossa Nova.  Oscar Peterson’s mesmerizing interpretation and Frank Sinatra’s rendition is amazing.

12   To The End of the World
(Pat Metheny)


The sitar is a magical tribute to Pat Metheny’s guitar.  The strings of Sachal Studios are full of life.

13   Morning Has Broken
(Traditional)


A tune composed in the Scottish Highlands became a hymn and Cat Stevens helped it to become popular.  The sarangi, sarod and the flute make it a universal hymn.

-       Izzat Majeed











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GABRIELA FRIEDLI OBJETS TROUVÉS - Fresh Juice (Intakt 2013)

Gabriela Friedli: Piano
Co Streiff: Alt- & Soprano Saxophone
Jan Schlegel: E-Bass
Dieter Ulrich: Drums


Two women and two men form this quartet – all distinctive individualists, ranking among the most distinguished musicians on the Swiss scene. Gabriela Friedli is the top-class pianist who penned all these compositions. Her playing shows a mastery of ingenious twists and turns, journeying from delicate, dreamy elegies to powerful rolling thunder. Saxophonist Co Streiff plays with panache, warmth and spirit. In her strongly melodic solos one note evolves from another with an almost logical consistency. Percussionist Dieter Ulrich moves with elegance and agility through a kaleidoscope of sound spaces. Jan Schlegel provides a solid foundation with his eloquence on the six string bass guitar, but he also imports into the otherwise purely acoustic proceedings an entirely different world of electronic sounds. Whether he's attaching clips or springs to strings, or foot-stamping on his collection of distortion boxes, Schlegel's electronics repeatedly paint different colours on the music, making it sizzle with electric energy.
Founded in 1999, the group has been refining its concept continuously over the years. Fresh Juice is the third CD of Objets Trouvés.
Intakt

Wednesday, September 18, 2013

Jeff Richman - Big Wheel (Nefer Records 2013)

The much anticipated new release, Big Wheel is now out in stores and available for download at iTunes, Amazon and other music websites.
This new release features Jeff Lorber on keyboards, Steve Gadd on drums and Jimmy Haslip on bass.
Jeff Richman






Tuesday, September 17, 2013

Leo Genovese -Seeds (Palmetto 2013)

 In less than a decade’s time, Argentinian pianist Leonardo Genovese has already established a solid reputation as an instrumentalist and composer who is not afraid to explore the lesser known corners of the musical landscape. Genovese’s new album, Seeds showcases his ability to move effortlessly between the melodic and the chromatic and celebrate the inherent mystery and beauty in each. Since 2005, he has toured with Grammy winning bassist and vocalist Esperanza Spalding throughout the U.S., South American, Europe, Asia, Africa and elsewhere. Spalding returns the favor by providing vocals on numerous tracks on Seeds. In addition, she also assists with the songwriting on “Portuguese Mirror” one of the most satisfying tracks in the 11-song set. Genovese is also accompanied by his core trio of tenor saxophonist Dan Blake, acoustic bassist John Lockwood and drummer Bob Gulloti – a collective whom the keyboardist and bandleader affectionately refers to as the Chromatic Gauchos. The one song recorded separately from the other ten is the placid “Portuguese Mirror,” a piece co-written and sung by Spalding, with instrumental help from an alternate crew of players: tenor saxophonist George Garzone, electric guitarist Ricardo Vogt and drummer Francisco Mela. What starts out soothing works it way into a thundering crescendo that maximizes the potential of everyone in the studio.
Palmetto
    1. PPH   
    2. Father Of Spectralism   
    3. Left Hand Words   
    4. Our Historic Future   
    5. Los Ejes De Mi Carreta   
    6. Letter From Wayne   
    7. A Minor Complex   
    8. Let's Get High   
    9. Posterior Mode   
    10. Portuguese Mirror   
    11. Chromatic Hymn   


Baltimore Chamber Jazz Society 2013-2014 Season Tickets Now On Sale

2013-2014 Season

Tickets on sale NOW! Click here or call 410-704-ARTS.
Don't forget...all concerts are now held at Towson University!
For more information, visit baltimorechamberjazz.org.

Dave Stryker and Blue to the Bone

Sunday, October 6, 20135:00 p.m.
$32 General Admission | $30 Seniors/BJA Members | $10 Students

BUY TICKETS
 

Dave Stryker, guitar | Freddie Hendrix, trumpet | Steve Slagle, alto sax | Vincent Gardner, trombone | Gary Smulyan, baritone sax | Jared Gold, Hammond B3 organ | McClenty Hunter, drums

The Heath Brothers

Sunday, November 10, 20135:00 p.m.
$38 General Admission | $36 Seniors/BJA Members | $10 Students

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Jimmy Heath, tenor saxophone | Tootie Heath, drums | Jeb Patton, piano | David Wong, bass

The Dave Liebman and Ravi Coltrane Quintet featuring Phil Markowitz, Cecil McBee, and Billy Hart

Sunday, February 9, 20145:00 p.m.
$38 General Admission | $36 Seniors/BJA Members | $10 Students

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Dave Liebman, sax | Ravi Coltrane, sax | Phil Markowitz, piano | Cecil McBee, bass | Billy Hart, drums
move

Donny McCaslin Group

Sunday, March 9, 20145:00 p.m.
$32 General Admission | $30 Seniors/BJA Members | $10 Students

BUY TICKETS
 

Donny McCaslin, saxophone | Rhythm Section TBD
move

The Roni Ben-Hur Sextet: Tribute to Wes Montgomery and Grant Green

Sunday, April 27, 20145:00 p.m.
$32 General Admission | $30 Seniors/BJA Members | $10 Students


BUY TICKETS

Roni Ben-Hur, guitar | George Cables, piano | Jeremy Pelt, trumpet | Steve Nelson, vibes | Santi Debriano, bass | Victor Lewis, drums