Saturday, February 29, 2020

USA: Watch Now: "Contemplation" from The Music of Wayne Shorter

Watch Now: "Contemplation" from The Music of Wayne Shorter

"If Wayne Shorter is something like jazz’s Pablo Picasso... then the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra works as a gilded frame to display his masterpieces." - The New York Times

Wayne Shorter plumbs the depths of his beautiful composition "Contemplation" in this performance with the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra. First recorded by Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers in 1961, "Contemplation" is one of many Shorter gems included on The Music of Wayne Shorter, his new record with the JLCO.

The album is out now on CD and digital formats. Listen to the The Music of Wayne Shorter today!


CD STORE

Friday, February 28, 2020

USA: Miles Davis - Music From And Inspired By Birth Of The Cool, A Film By Stanley Nelson (Legacy Recordings 2020)


Music From And Inspired By Birth Of The Cool, A Film By Stanley Nelson
The definitive audio companion to the critically-acclaimed new documentary directed and produced by Stanley Nelson, the soundtrack is an essential Miles Davis playlist for seasoned fans and new listeners alike, lovingly curated by the director and paired with short audio excerpts from the film for a unique listening experience.
 It brings together recordings and performances spanning labels and the artist's musical evolution--from "Donna Lee" (a 1947 Savoy master take with legendary alto saxophonist Charlie Parker) to "Moon Dreams" from the groundbreaking 1949 Capitol sessions that were ultimately collected on the album Birth Of The Cool, through the seminal 1950s pieces for Columbia that revolutionized the worlds of jazz and popular music (including "Generique," Miles' improvised soundtrack to Louis Malle's "Elevator to the Gallows" as well as tracks from Miles Ahead and, of course the most popular jazz album of all time, Kind of Blue). The album also highlights Miles's evolution in the 1960s with tracks from Sketches of Spain and Someday My Prince Will Come to his iconoclastic invention of electric jazz/fusion (exemplified in a 45rpm single edit of "Miles Runs the Voodoo Down" from Bitches Brew). Finally it documents his triumphant mid 1980s comeback (1986 s "Tutu"), while premiering a brand-new track, "Hail To The Real Chief." The new track features unreleased Miles Davis studio trumpet performances combined with music written by Lenny White, produced by White and Vince Wilburn, Jr and featuring an all-star collection of Miles band alumni and acolytes including White, Wilburn, Marcus Miller, Emilio Modeste, Jeremy Pelt, Antoine Roney, John Scofield, Bernard Wright, and Quinton Zoto.


SWEDEN/POLAND : Fire! Orchestra-Actions(2020)


 This new, extended reading by Mats Gustafsson and Fire! Orchestra of the great Polish composer Krzysztof Penderecki´s seminal "Actions For Free Jazz Orchestra" (1971) was commissioned by the Sacrum Profanum festival in Kraków in 2018.

 The idea was to place this classic piece in a contemporary setting, with a new approach and a new body of sound. However, the original score was used as a platform for the new reading, connecting history with the present. The first performance of "Actions For Free Jazz Orchestra" took place in 1971 at Donaueschingen and featured the New Eternal Rhythm Orchestra, 14 international jazz heavyweights assembled by Don Cherry for the occasion and conducted by Penderecki.

The composer had heard the Globe Unity Orchestra a couple of years earlier and was fascinated by the possibilites of working with musicians from a different background and with other perspectives than he was used to from the classical world. The challenge for all involved was to find the right balance between composition and improvisation.

The idea was initially met with some scepticism from the musicians, but this soon gave way to acceptance and even great eagerness. Fire! Orchestra´s instrumentation is almost identical to that of 1971, the main difference being a tuba replacing one of the trombones.

Also worth noticing is that the new reading clocks in at 40 minutes, considerably longer than the 1971 version. Released 28.02.20

RUNE GRAMMOFON


Thursday, February 27, 2020

USA: All-female Middle Eastern Jewish powerhouse ensemble Divahn celebrates the strength of women and musical common ground on Shalhevet

All-female Middle Eastern Jewish powerhouse ensemble Divahn celebrates the strength of women and musical common ground on Shalhevet

As one of the very few groups performing Mizrahi and Judeo-Arab music in the US today, NYC-based ensemble Divahn—whose name is a word common to the Hebrew, Persian, and Arabic languages, denoting a collection of songs or poetry—has been internationally recognized for its mission to highlight the common ground between diverse Middle Eastern cultures and religions through music. 
That is the spirit behind Divahn’s latest album Shalhevet (to be released March 7, 2020), a collection of passionately original interpretations of traditional Sephardi/Mizrahi Jewish songs that blend lush string arrangements, eclectic Indian, Middle Eastern, and Latin percussion, and vocals spanning Hebrew, Persian, and Arabic.  The title of the album comes from the Hebrew word for ‘flame’ or ‘blaze’ with the intent that Divahn’s strong emphasis on the commonality between Middle Eastern cultures and religions should serve as a flaming bonfire for the sometimes darker world we find ourselves in today.
According to Divahn’s founder, Persian-American singer, composer, writer, and anthropology professor Galeet Dardashti, the all-female powerhouse is about welcoming audiences into the beautiful shared heritage of the intertwined Abrahamic peoples of the Middle East while also taking a vocal stance against the homogenizing forces of nativism that are increasingly prevalent in today’s political climate.
“We'd mostly been focused on doing a lot of live performances the last couple years, but then the Trump election of 2016 happened,” reflects Galeet. “Like so many, we were all so devastated and really wanted to respond as artists, so it became really clear that we were going to make another album. The world needs an all-female Middle Eastern Jewish album that celebrates what connects us, rather than what tears us apart.”
The album’s defiant spirit of hope is perhaps most exemplified by the track “Banu Choshech”. A familiar children’s Chanukah song sung throughout the Jewish world, the song’s simple and straightforward lyrics resonated powerfully with the band as they searched for an anthem of hope and strength in the dour aftermath of the 2016 US presidential election: “We’ve come to chase away the darkness.  We bear light and fire. Each glimmer is small. But together, our blaze is fierce.” In this version, Divahn gave the song their own unique spin, adding quarter tones, rooted in the band’s Middle Eastern musical vocabulary. Galeet then added Biblical texts to highlight the Jewish approach to caring for the stranger.  
This pairing of creative composition with deep cultural study has always been characteristic of Divahn’s music. Many of the songs on the album demonstrate the historic shared culture between Jews and non-Jews in the Middle East by highlighting the piyyut (sacred song) tradition. Beginning in the 16th century of this tradition, Jewish composers would write religious Hebrew texts to the secular songs that were popular across the Middle East and originally written in Arabic, Persian, Greek, and Turkish.
A prime example of this is the album’s first track, “Ya’alah Ya’alah,” which draws its lyrics from the language and themes of the Song of Songs, and sets them to the melody of a popular Arabic love song called “Ya Tira Tiri.” The piyyut’s author, the prolific bohemian 16th century Rabbi Yisrael Najara, is believed to have begun the practice of composing Hebrew lyrics to the popular secular songs of the day. 
Galeet points out that this practice was widespread, and that Jews were often the perpetuators of music across the Middle East because, during some periods, Islamic law prohibited Muslims from doing such work. In fact, many of the melodies that Dardashti sings on the album in Hebrew, including “Ya'alah Ya'alah,” the 20th century Syrian piyyut “Ayni Tzofiah,” and the 20th century Moroccan “Am Ne’emanay” were all originally Arabic love songs. On the album, Galeet sings “Ya'alah Ya'alah,” in both its original Arabic and as a Hebrew piyyut as an homage to the track’s musical etymology.
For Galeet, leading Divahn is as much about highlighting Arab-Jewish and Persian-Jewish culture as it is about celebrating the strength of women—a point brought to bear by the fact that Divahn performs religious songs not traditionally sung by women in the Jewish Middle Eastern world. 
As such, the all-female band’s album release is timed to coincide with Purim, a Jewish holiday with an origin story that not only takes place in ancient Persia but also celebrates two powerful women. Queen Esther is the traditional Jewish heroine of the story, who saves the Jewish people from annihilation with her wit and courage. But the other heroine for Divahn is Queen Vashti—the non-Jewish queen who stands up to the male chauvinist king when he demands that she show off her beauty to his guests.  When she refuses him, he ousts her as queen for fear that she could start a women’s revolution. “Vashti is an exemplar of standing up for your principles and fighting against patriarchy, no matter the consequences—she was ahead of her time.” says Dardashti.

Divahn got its start, years ago, when Dardashti was an anthropology graduate student at the University of Texas at Austin, studying Middle Eastern Jewish musical trends in Israel. Galeet’s musical and academic inspirations came from her own family history, as her father is an accomplished and widely renowned cantor, and her grandfather was one of the most famous singers of Persian classical music in Iran during the 1950s and 1960s. As an Iranian Jew, however, Galeet didn't grow up really connected to Middle Eastern Jewish Music. Instead, both her anthropological research and her career in music sprouted from a later desire to discover her own cultural heritage and musical traditions.
Divahn formed quite organically out of that mix as Galeet met fellow musicians in the Austin music scene. The band went through several emanations before solidifying with the current membership in New York City in 2015. The diverse musical backgrounds of the current band members contribute to a unique collaboration and sound: Eleanor Norton (cello, vocals), Elizabeth Pupo-Walker (cajon, congas, diverse percussion, vocals), Sejal Kukadia (Indian tabla, vocals), and Megan Gould (violin, kamanche, vocals). Between them, the impressively accomplished crew has performed with the likes of Natalie Merchant, Adele, Alan Cuming, John Legend, David Byrne, and the late Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings, to name only a few, and also perform in many Broadway shows.
Divahn’s Shalhevet release show will take place at Joe’s Pub in NYC on March 7, 2020.


USA/MALI: BÉLA FLECK AND TOUMANI DIABATÉ RELEASE NEW SONG "KAUONDING SISSOKO” OFF UPCOMING DUO ALBUM, THE RIPPLE EFFECT


BÉLA FLECK AND TOUMANI DIABATÉ RELEASE NEW SONG
"KAUONDING SISSOKO”
OFF UPCOMING DUO ALBUM, THE RIPPLE EFFECT

SINGLE AVAILABLE NOW ON ALL STREAMING SERVICES 

THE RIPPLE EFFECT TO BE RELEASED AS 2-LP, IN TANDEM WITH AN EXPANSIVE
3-CD/1-DVD COLLECTION,
THROW DOWN YOUR HEART: THE COMPLETE AFRICA SESSIONS
(ALSO INCLUDING THE RIPPLE EFFECT IN ITS ENTIRETY)

BOTH TITLES AVAILABLE MARCH 27th

Click here to stream/download the advance single “Kauonding Sissoko” and pre-save the album
Click here to pre-order The Ripple Effect (2-LP)
Click here to pre-order Throw Down Your Heart: The Complete Africa Sessions (3-CD/1-DVD)
Click here for online media kit and click here to download cover art/product shots


Los Angeles, CA (February 21, 2020)—World-renowned banjoist Béla Fleck and accomplished Malian kora master Toumani Diabaté debut a new song today (2/21), titled "Kauonding Sissoko,” off their upcoming new duo album The Ripple Effect. Available March 27th from Craft RecordingsThe Ripple Effect will be available as a 180-gram 2-LP gatefold vinyl and also as part of a 3-CD/1-DVD collection, titled Throw Down Your Heart: The Complete Africa Sessions, which documents Béla’s remarkable journey across Africa to explore the banjo’s roots.

Click here to stream/download the instant grat. single “Kauonding Sissoko” by Béla and Toumani and pre-save the Throw Down Your Heart: The Complete Africa Sessions deluxe digital album.

Available for the first time as a complete film and music set, Throw Down Your Heart: The Complete Africa Sessions includes a DVD of the acclaimed documentary film Throw Down Your Heart, with commentary from Fleck and his brother, director Sascha Paladino, along with 14 bonus performances and the 3x GRAMMY®-winning albums Tales from the Acoustic Planet, Vol. 3—Africa Sessions and Africa Sessions Part 2: Unreleased Tracks.

Simply put, the project was a sensation when it was released in 2009. There were, of course, raves from the press — “traditional African music turns out to suit him beautifully” pronounced The New York Times— but fellow musicians were equally awed. “Béla Fleck's amazing film Throw Down Your Heart makes me want to go to Africa,” said acclaimed jazz pianist Chick Corea. “The genuine warmth, affinity, respect and love between Béla and the amazing African musicians he met are beautifully captured.” Banjo player and actor Steve Martin added, “With Throw Down Your Heart, Béla Fleck has contributed significantly to the history of the banjo, as well as inventing a style of music never before played on this great instrument.”

A virtuoso on his instrument, he has over the last four decades taken the banjo far afield from its traditional roles in bluegrass and old-timey music, embracing an extraordinarily broad range of musical styles. Not only has he won 15 GRAMMY®s, but he did so across nine different categories, earning honors in the Country, Pop, Jazz, Instrumental, Classical, and World Music fields through his work with the fusion group Béla Fleck and the Flecktones; double bassist and composer Edgar Meyer; his wife, Abigail Washburn, and others. 

The original “Dueling Banjos,” recorded by Eric Weissberg and popularized by the film Deliverance, was one of the things that first attracted Fleck to the banjo, so there’s a sense of coming full circle with that performance. But then, the whole Throw Down Your Heart project was, in a sense, about scratching an itch Fleck had long felt regarding the African roots of his instrument. “I knew that my beloved instrument had originally come from West Africa,” he writes. “And from time to time I found tantalizing tidbits of African acoustic music that gave me the confidence to know that there was a phenomenal amount of incredible stuff going on under the radar.”

What brought that general interest into focus was when Flecktone saxophonist Jeff Coffin played Fleck a recording by the great Malian singer Oumou Sangare. “I was literally stunned,” Fleck recalled. “I’d had this reaction only a few times — when music was so compelling that everything had to stop while I listened. Earl Scruggs’ banjo did it to me. Chick Corea’s music did it to me. And so did this.”

In a bit of kismet, it turned out that Sangare was managed by an old friend from Fleck’s early bluegrass days. A meeting was arranged, some jamming was done, and Sangare invited Fleck to visit Bamako, Mali, and play with her and some of her friends. The seed was planted. Within months, Fleck and Paladino had worked out a three-nation itinerary, one that would rely on friendship and happenstance to experience the music and culture of Africa. It was, Fleck writes, “a nonstop set of intense, powerful and joyful musical interactions. Every day for five weeks, I was meeting musicians, and filming pieces with them in their homes, other unconventional locations, and even on rare occasions — recording studios. We recorded/filmed over 30 pieces so it came out to something like a tune per day while we were there.”

Originally issued as individual titles, beginning with Rounder Records’ 2009 release of Tales From the Acoustic Planet, Vol. 3—Africa SessionsThrow Down Your Heart: The Complete Africa Sessions will be one of several special reissues commemorating the legendary roots label’s 50th anniversary. Throughout 2020 Rounder will be celebrated with box sets, live events, an original podcast series, curated playlists, exclusive merchandise and much more. Stay tuned for forthcoming announcements regarding Rounder’s 50th anniversary.

Both titles are available to pre-order now. Click here for The Throw Down Your Heart: The Complete Africa Sessions, or here for The Ripple Effect. Special bundles are also available through the official Béla Fleck store.


Tracklist - Throw Down Your Heart: The Complete Africa Sessions
Disc One: Throw Down Your Heart, Part One
1. Tulinesangala – Nakisenyi Women’s Group (Uganda)
2. Kinetsa – D’Gary (Madagascar)
3. Ah Ndiya – Oumou Sangare (Mali)
4. Kabibi – Anania Ngoliga (Tanzania)
5. Angelina – Luo Cultural Association (Uganda)
6. D'Gary Jam – D'Gary, Béla Fleck, Oumou Sangare, Richard Bona, Baba Maal, Vusi Mahlasela, Afel Bocoum, Anania Ngoliga, Toumani Diabaté, and friends (Madagascar, Uganda, Mali, Senegal, South Africa, Tanzania, Cameroon)
7. Throw Down Your Heart – Harouna Samake Trio and Bassekou Kouate (Mali)
8. Thula Mama – Vusi Mahlasela (South Africa)
9. Wairenziante – Muwewesu Xylophone Group (Uganda)
10. Buribalal – Afel Bocoum (Mali)
11. Zawose – Chibite – The Zawose Family (Tanzania)
12. Ajula/Mbamba – The Jatta Family (The Gambia)
13. Pakugyenda Balebauo – Warema Masiaga Cha Cha (Tanzania)
14. Jesus Is the Only Answer – Ateso Jazz Band (Uganda)
15. Matitu – Khalifan Matitu (Tanzania)
16. Mariam – Djelimady Tounkara (Mali)
17. Djorolen – Oumou Sangare (Mali)
18. Dunia Haina Wema/Thumb Fun – Anania Ngoliga (Tanzania)

Disc Two: Throw Down Your Heart, Part Two
1. Spirit Song – Haruna Walisimbe, Okiror, and Ronald Mabandha (Uganda)
2. Salam Aleikum – Afel Bocoum, Hama Sankare, Yoro Cisse, Barou Diallo, and Zoumana Tereta (Mali) 
3. Chant – Masai Warriors (Tanzania)
4. The Rights of Man / Ya Fama – Harouna Samake, Madou Sanogo, and Habib Sangare (Mali)
5. Kamungoro – Albert Bisaso Ssempeke Jr. (Uganda)
6. Kandjo – Bassekou Kouyate, Ami Sacko, and Alou Coulibazy (Mali) 
7. Obughangwa - Muwewesu Xylophone Group (Uganda)
8. Soumauro – Djelimady Tounkara and Alou Coulibazy (Mali)
9. Furaha –Tanzania (Anania Ngoliga)
10. Mar Rano – D’Gary, Xavier-Martial François, and Roy “FutureMan” Wooten (Madagascar) 
11. Jesus of Banjul – Jesus Jah Jarju (The Gambia)
12. Mali Jam – Free Jam: Djelimady Tounkara, Harouna Samake, Bassekou Kouate, Lassana Diabaté, and Alou Coulibazy (Mali)
13. Kayi Ni Wura – Oumou Sangare, Souleymane Sidibe, Zoumana Tereta, Benogo Diakite, Sékou Bah, Sékou Diabaté, and Nabintou Diakate (Mali)
14. Old Joe Jatta – Remi Jatta, Naser Sambou, Phgusiteh Sambou, Frederick Jatta, Sega Jatta, Joseph Sambou, Abdoulie Saine, and Samba Bah (The Gambia)

Disc Three: Toumani Diabaté and Béla Fleck — The Ripple Effect, Throw Down Your Heart Part 3
1.     Bamako
2.     Nashville
3.     Snug Harbor
4.     Elyne Road
5.     Matitu/Buribalal
6.     Manchester
7.     Throw Down Your Heart
8.     Kauonding Sissoko
9.     Katmandu
10.  Dueling Banjos

Disc Four
Throw Down Your Heart DVD


Tracklist - The Ripple Effect LP

Side A
1. Bamako
2. Nashville
3. Snug Harbor

Side B
1. Elyne Road
2. Matitu/Buribalal

Side C
1. Manchester
2. Throw Down Your Heart
3. Kauonding Sissoko

Side D
1. Katmandu
2. Dueling Banjos


About Rounder Records:
Rounder Records is one of the world's most historic Americana and bluegrass record labels. Rounder’s rich catalog includes critically-acclaimed offerings by iconic artists like Gregg Allman, Alison Krauss, and Steve Martin as well as rising stars Samantha Fish, Sierra Hull, I’m With Her, Sarah Jarosz, Ruston Kelly, the SteelDrivers, Billy Strings, and The War And Treaty.

Rounder has consistently demonstrated a commitment to nurture and develop careers over the long haul—a number of artists who got their start at Rounder are still recording with the label today, including Jerry Douglas, Béla Fleck, and George Thorogood. A leader in the preservation of precious historic recordings, Rounder has brought the music of the Carter Family, Woody Guthrie, Lead Belly, and Jelly Roll Morton back to vibrant life and released epic anthologies from the Library of Congress and the Alan Lomax Collection that have been universally acclaimed.


About Craft Recordings:
Craft Recordings is home to one of the largest and most prestigious collections of master recordings and compositions in the world. Its rich and storied repertoire includes legendary artists such as Joan Baez, Ray Charles, John Coltrane, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Miles Davis, Bill Evans, Vince Guaraldi, John Lee Hooker, Little Richard, Nine Inch Nails, Thelonious Monk, Otis Redding, R.E.M. and Traveling Wilburys, to name just a few. Renowned imprints with catalogs issued under the Craft banner include Concord, Fania, Fantasy, Milestone, Musart, Nitro, Prestige, Riverside, Rounder, Specialty, Stax, Sugar Hill, Vanguard and Vee-Jay Records, among many others. Craft creates thoughtfully curated packages, with a meticulous devotion to quality and a commitment to preservation-ensuring that these recordings endure for new generations to discover. Craft Recordings is the catalog label team for Concord Recorded Music. For more info, visit CraftRecordings.com and follow on FacebookTwitterInstagram, YouTube, and Spotify.

###

Contact for Béla Fleck:
Carla Parisi
Kid Logic
973-563-8204

Contact for Craft Recordings:
Aaron Feterl
Chummy PR
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Wednesday, February 26, 2020

SPAIN: Sara Zamora Do it(2020)

Sara Zamora (Spain)
Album: Do it
With a distinctive clear voice Sara Zamora sings with heartfelt emotion on ten delightful original songs combining a wide range of rhythms and elegant arrangements written by pianist and composer, Ángel Valdegrama, The songs are well chosen, her voice soars with grace rising from sensitive and dreamy to passionate and powerful tones. A beautiful album to discover!


USA: Wolfgang Muthspiel Trio Feat. Scott Colley, Brian Blade - ECM Release and US Tour Upcoming!


Wolfgang Muthspiel, whom The New Yorker has called "a shining light" among today's jazz guitarists, returns to the trio format with Angular Blues, his fourth ECM album as a leader, following two acclaimed quintet releases and his trio debut. Like Driftwood - the 2014 trio disc that JazzTimes dubbed "cinematic" and "haunting" - Angular Blues finds the Austrian guitarist paired with long-time collaborator Brian Blade on drums; but instead of Larry Grenadier on bass, this time it's Scott Colley, whose especially earthy sound helps imbue this trio with its own dynamic. Muthspiel plays acoustic guitar on three of the album's tracks and electric on six more. Along with his characteristically melodic originals - including such highlights as the bucolic "Hüttengriffe" and pensive "Camino" - he essays the first standards of his ECM tenure ("Everything I Love" and "I'll Remember April"), as well as his first-ever bebop rhythm-changes tune on record ("Ride"). Angular Blues also features a single guitar-only track, "Solo Kanon in 5/4," with Muthspiel's electronic delay imbuing the baroque-like rounds with a hypnotic glow.

Muthspiel, Colley and Blade recorded Angular Blues in Tokyo's Studio Dede after a three-night run at the city's Cotton Club. The album was mixed with Manfred Eicher in the South of France at Studios La Buissonne, where Muthspiel had recorded his two previous ECM albums, Rising Grace and Where the River Goes (both of which featured pianist Brad Mehldau and trumpeter Ambrose Akinmusire). Each of the groups that Muthspiel has put together for his ECM recordings has had a special rapport. About his new trio, the guitarist says: "Scott and Brian share my love of song, while at the same time there is constant musical conversation about these songs."

The Louisiana-born Blade has been a member of the Wayne Shorter Quartet since 2000, along with recording with artists from Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell, Daniel Lanois and Norah Jones to Charlie Haden, Herbie Hancock, Chick Corea and Joshua Redman. Since the mid-'90s, Blade has also co-led the gospel-infused Fellowship Band. Regarding the subtly virtuoso drummer, Muthspiel says: "Brian is famous for his sound and touch, that floating way of playing, how he creates intensity with relatively low volume. It's also a great pleasure for me to witness how sensitively Brian reacts in his playing to whether I play acoustic or electric guitar. I've done a lot of concerts and productions with him over the years, including in our guitar-drums duo, Friendly Travelers, as well as on Driftwood and Rising Grace. He always offers complete interaction and initiative, as well as his individual sound. To play uptempo swing on something like ‘Ride' with Brian was really luxurious, a gift."

After being mentored by Charlie Haden, Colley was the bassist of choice for such jazz legends as Jim Hall, Andrew Hill, Michael Brecker, Carmen McRae and Bobby Hutcherson, along with appearing on albums by Herbie Hancock, Gary Burton, Pat Metheny, John Scofield, Chris Potter and Julian Lage. Colley, a native of Los Angeles, has released eight albums as a leader. "Scott and Brian have also played a lot together over the past few years, so they know each other well," Muthspiel notes. "I performed with Scott in New York in the '90s, and I've always felt that he was an extremely giving musician, who - with his warm tone and his flexible, dancing rhythm - simultaneously animated and supported the music. I wrote the bass melody of the new album's first tune, ‘Wondering,' especially for him. His sound develops a flow and harmonic movement that is inviting to play on."

After "Wondering" - which includes extended soloing by Colley that embroiders on Muthspiel's melody beautifully - comes the album's title song, the highly trio-interactive "Angular Blues," so titled for its "rhythmic modulations and strange breaks," the guitarist explains. "Somehow Chick Corea's album Three Quartets was an association, but so was Thelonious Monk." Those first two tracks, as well as the album's third, "Hüttengriffe," feature Muthspiel on acoustic guitar, his sound on the instrument both warm and extraordinarily fluent. After that - on "Camino," "Ride," "Everything I Love," "Kanon in 6/8," "Solo Kanon in 5/4" and "I'll Remember April" - he plays electric. Muthspiel's ever-liquid electric phrasing buoys both an emotionally rich original such as "Camino" and the two different turns on his kaleidoscopic "Kanon," the trio version in 6/8 and the solo, mostly improvised rendition in 5/4.

About his first-time inclusion of jazz standards on one of his ECM albums, Muthspiel says: "I was inspired to record standards with this trio because everything about the way the group plays feels so free, open and far from preconceived ideas, but at the crucial moment a jazz language is spoken, what we do does justice to these tunes. I learned ‘Everything I Love,' the Cole Porter song, from an early Keith Jarrett album, and I first came to know ‘I'll Remember April' from a Frank Sinatra recording. In that latter song, I hardly play solo. It's more about the head and the vamp-like atmosphere that prevails from the start and is savored again in the end. As in many moments with this trio, it's about playing with space: leaving it, creating it, filling it."

TRACKS
1. Wondering 7:20
2. Angular Blues 5:55
3. Hüttengriffe 5:15
4. Camino 7:42
5. Ride 3:50
6. Everything I Love 6:52
7. Kanon in 6/8 7:41
8. Solo Kanon in 5/4 3:34
9. I'll Remember April 5:40

PERSONNEL
Wolfgang Muthspiel - guitar
Scott Colley - double bass
Brian Blade - drums


Wolfgang Muthspiel, Scott Colley and Brian Blade on tour:
April 14-15 New York, NY Jazz Standard
April 16 Cambridge, MA Regattabar 
April 17-18 Los Angeles, CA Blue Whale
April 19 Berkeley, CA Freight and Salvage
April 20 Santa Cruz, CA Kuumbwa Jazz


RELEASE DATE ANGULAR BLUES: MARCH 20, 2020