Sunday, February 28, 2021

World Music Mix: Children Of Adam Band(USA)-Come Together

  


Children Of Adam Band-Come Together

Composer: Ahmad Kenya
Album: Bilal-positive Message Music Vol.1 (2019)
Label: Images of the motherland
“CHILDREN OF ADAM BAND” (COA) hails from Philadelphia, a “Sanctuary City” and the “City of Brotherly Love”. “COA” is a 14 member “New World Music” band that performs it’s own original “PMB Music”. (PMB=Positive Message Bearing Music) “PMB Music” is a unique “self created” genre of music created by “COA”. “PMB Music” means no profanity, gangsta rap, misogyny, drugs, violence, or verbal abuse. “COA’s” music is a hybrid fusion of Jazz, Funk, R & B, Soul, Latin, African, Middle Eastern, and Spoken Word, all blended with a touch of the “American Experience”. Songs are multi-lingual with English, Spanish, Hebrew, Arabic, Wolof, Fulani, and other languages. “COA” speaks to the world about social issues like self respect, self esteem, respect for others, inclusion, diversity, respect for parents and many other universal concepts. “COA” celebrates the musical diversity of humanity with songs addressing racial discrimination like “Skin I’m In”, or songs extolling the profound gratitude for motherhood like “Mama”. The song “Come Together” is our “Global Anthem”. Music is the “universal language” and “COA”brings light to the world by sharing a platform of music building human bridges of understanding and appreciation. “COA’s” greatest accomplishment was being judged in 2019 by 6th ANNUAL PHL LIVE CENTER STAGE as TOP WORLD MUSIC BAND in Philadelphia, created by Philadelphia Councilman David Oh. The band has received an official City of Philadelphia Citation and numerous other awards. “COA’s” debut CD, PMB, Positive Message Bearing Music Vol. 1: BILAL on Oct 2019. Eight tracks of original “PMB Music” written by Baba Kenya and produced by Images of the Motherland. Available from your favorite digital music platform.
Our 2021 special CD release “TIMBUKTU” PMB Music Volume 2, features 15 original songs and is hopefully scheduled for summer 2021 release.
Website YouTube | CDStore


Wednesday, February 24, 2021

World Music Mix: The Tiptons Sax Quartet(USA)-Wabi Sabi

 

The Tiptons Sax Quartet(USA)-Wabi Sabi

Composer: The Tiptons Sax Quartet
Album:Wabi Sabi(2021)
Label:Sowiesound Records

For over three decades, THE TIPTONS SAXOPHONE QUARTET & DRUMS have been making music to galvanize the senses and take listeners through unforgettable soundscapes. But in that time, they’ve been around the block enough to know to appreciate the unexpected ways in which the process of making good music can sometimes unfold. So rather than bemoaning what is not perfect in a perfect world, they’ve learned as improvisers how to work with limited resources or unforeseen challenges.

That is the spirit behind the band’s new single “Wabi Sabi” (out Feb 19, 2021) inspired by and named after the Japanese philosophy that translates roughly as “find beauty and take pleasure in the imperfect”. The track promises a forthcoming collection of new music to illustrate the sometimes unexpected beauty in our chaotic world.

The Tiptons’ 14th album Wabi Sabi (to be released April 2, 2021 on Sowiesound Records) features eleven new compositions for saxophone, voice, and drums that explore styles ranging from modern emanations of traditional African American field hollers to the hum of tires on the Autobahn, tricks for the mind, a yodeling deconstruction, popping funk for December’s doldrums, and upbeat grooves for bad people with good intentions.

With this latest release, the internationally renowned all-female saxophone quartet with drums is celebrating over 30 years as a band. Founding members/co-leaders Amy Denio (alto sax, clarinet, voice) and Jessica Lurie (soprano/alto/tenor sax, voice), are joined by Sue Orfield (tenor sax, voice), Tina Richerson (baritone sax, voice), and Robert Kainar of Salzburg, Austria on drums and percussion.

As a testament to the human willpower to survive obstacles when on a determined creative path, the band takes its name in honor of trailblazing transgender saxophone icon Billy Tipton. Born female and named ‘Dorothy Lucille’, Billy took on their brother’s name, choosing to live their life as a man in order to embrace their chosen identity and pursue a career in music as an instrumentalist in a heavily male-dominated field.

The all-women sax quartet had originally been going by the moniker Phlegm Fatale until they learned about the death of the tenacious musician and booking agent in 1989. The band asked Tipton’s family for permission to use their name, and with the family’s blessing, re-named their sax quartet in honor of the artist. At first, calling themselves the Billy Tipton Memorial Saxophone Quartet, the group later expanded their repertoire and eventually shortened their name to ‘The Tiptons Sax Quartet’.”

“We started as an all women’s saxophone quartet back then because there really just weren’t any,” says Denio. “And as saxophone players, we loved the idea of getting more play-time because in typical bands sax players often have to wait around for very restrained participation.

As the group developed, we began to experiment more with working out our own arrangements, and that in turn evolved into us writing our own compositions.”

Those out-of-the-box origins and their comfort with evolving and reinventing themselves over time are both indicative of elements that really bring charm to the band: that they are a truly diverse group of individuals, composers, and musicians. The individual members of the band are all interested in disparate traditions of world music, have different tastes, and very different styles of playing, making what they do together that much richer. Another unusual aspect of the group is their incorporation of the human voice into the band. Most saxophone quartets don’t sing, but the Tiptons love singing. “All sax all the time can get tedious,” says Denio. “And I think that’s why we added drums later too, adding a groove to inspire different colors and add dynamic. We’re always interested in expanding our sphere.”

This unique admixture of influences and dynamics has resulted in an expansive catalog of Tiptons material, ranging from micro-Big Band to Gospel, Bluegrass to Balkan, whimsical Chamber Jazz, and nocturnal Funk to Free Jazz Improvisation. Using saxophones, clarinet, their own voices, drums, and inventive percussion, the band creates a genre-busting ‘world soul’ sound. That sound achieves new creative heights on Wabi Sabi.

“December’s Dance,” a Bebop number composed and arranged by Tipton’s baritone player Tina Richerson, shows off a compelling funk groove layered with acrobatic horn lines, propelling forward into reflection, soloist expression, and a surprise ending. The track goes a long way in defining the Tiptons as a powerful groove band, able to play complex music with difficult melodies, yet making it fun and danceable rather than something that has the feel of an intellectual exercise.

Literally translated as ‘the large urinator, “El Gran Orinador” is written and arranged by Amy Denio as a Latin-tinged composition inspired by Pablo Neruda’s poem about a crazy rainstorm.. Somewhere between a Mosambique or possibly a Songo, the song can only be described as truly Tiptonesque! In a rare opportunity to improvise on a studio recording, the track features a free section in the middle where the band improvises the sound and fury of a storm using unusual saxophone techniques such as breathing through to make wind sounds and moving fingers on keys without playing to emulate the sound of raindrops.

“Working Song,” composed and arranged by Sue Orfield is inspired by traditional field hollers, a type of work song created by African-American slaves working on cotton plantations, not meant to keep a strict rhythm with the work, but to express the feelings of the workers.

“Torquing of the Spheres,” a composition by Jessica Lurie, is based on the safe yet Kerouacian maneuverings of the band’s Austrian driver Robert driver. The song describes a point in the middle of a European tour when everyone was exhausted, zoning out napping in the car. And all of a sudden, the band was awakened to the sounds of Robert intermittently speeding up, slowing down, moving off and onto the rumble strip on the side of the highway. He was amazingly playing the Autobahn like an instrument to the Tioptons’ inspired awe.

“For us, Wabi Sabi is the very richest array of compositions that we’ve done thus far,” notes Denio. “The compositions are super-refined, showing that all of us have really matured as composers. And technically as players were, we’re really out shining what we’ve done in the past. I like to say it’s a trifecta: it’s great compositions, really, really strong playing …and this all came together in a really inspiring environment.” …’

Thanks to a successful crowd-funding campaign, the Tiptons Sax Quartet met in Seattle in January 2020 to rehearse, perform and record the 11 brand new songs just ahead of the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic that would soon put a death grip on much of the music industry. The band only had a couple of days to rehearse before a trial by fire, doing several live radio broadcasts and performing concerts with the new material before heading to Seattle’s Studio LITHO, owned by Stone Gossard of Pearl Jam, to work with the Tipton’s favorite recording and mixing engineer Floyd Reitsma.

Meanwhile, one by one, the band members came down with the worst case of the flu imaginable right in the midst of recording, often having to lie down in between takes. Yet, the band persevered and somehow managed to record everything in three days before sending the mix off to be mastered by Rachel Field at Resonant Mastering in Seattle.

“That’s how we roll and that’s the beauty of this group. We all bring our own unique contributions and ideas to the unknown; we improvise and songs tend to mutate and evolve through the experience. It’s always a super labor-intensive effort. But in the end, you get this vital, live feeling. It’s really is, basically, a live album with very few overdubs”


Sunday, February 21, 2021

JazzWorldQuest Showcase 2020: SWEDEN: New album from Derupeto!

 The band Derupeto was started when Gothenburg guitarist Tobias Grim put the members together for a gig at the club Glenn miller in Stockholm and they felt they could create something unique together. Derupeto has previously played at the Copenhagen Jazz Festival and done many appreciated concerts in Sweden.

Now finally comes the group’s debut album.

Tobias Grim guitar (Sweden)
Deodato Siquir vocals/Drums (Mocambique)
Rubem Farias bass (Brazil)
Peter Knudsen piano(Sweden)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kbsNmVDFwHE



Friday, February 19, 2021

World Music Mix: Marbin(USA): Album: Shreddin’ at Sweetwater(2021)

 


Marbin(USA)-Messy Mark
Album:  Shreddin’ at Sweetwater

In their second live album, and their eleventh album overall, Marbin delivers ten heavy and energetic songs from their extensive catalog. This album has everything that made Marbin one of the most well-known independent bands of the last decade: a unique mixture of jazz, blues, jam, tango and Israeli music; beautiful melodies; unique harmonic progressions; a hard-hitting rhythm section (with bassist Jon Nadel and drummer Everette Benton Jr. giving their best performance on record). And, above all, SHREDDING. Marbin, who usually play 250 shows a year, were on their way to Columbia, SC to play their 27th show of 2020 when Covid-19 hit and all 40 live shows of the tour were canceled; eventually, every show of the year was canceled (more than a hundred shows). As of January 2021, they still have not booked any new shows for the year. This album might not satisfy the needs of their fans for live shows, but it’s the closest it can get.

This is what Marbin’s guitarist Dani Rabin had to say about the album: "Since Danny Markovitch and I met in 2007, we never went such a long time without playing shows. So when the opportunity to record a live set for Sweetwater Studios came about, we were ecstatic. It might have been eight months since we saw each other, but the second we started playing the magic was there and it felt like everything was normal in the world again.” Saxophonist Danny Markovitch adds: “We always play new songs at our shows, so to have an opportunity to go back and revisit some songs we haven’t played in years was an awesome experience, and I’m certain that our fans will love hearing the new perspective we brought to some of their old favorites.” 

credits

released February 5, 2021

Dani Rabin - Guitar
Danny Markovitch - Saxophone
Jon Nadel - Bass
Everette Benton Jr - Drums

Website | YouTube | CD Store




Tuesday, February 16, 2021

SWITZERLAND:Un club de jazz et un hub des musiques actuelles à Lausanne

Un club de jazz et un hub des musiques actuelles à Lausanne 

 Une bonne nouvelle pour la culture en ces temps moroses de pandémie: la Ville de Lausanne a présenté mardi un «projet d'envergure» qui verra la création d'un nouveau club de jazz et d'un centre dédié à la création et à la diffusion musicale au Flon. Le tout devrait voir le jour à l'automne 2022.

World Music Mix: Keith Ramaila( South Africa)-Tshikidi(Parasite)

 


Keith Ramaila( South Africa)-Tshikidi(Parasite)
Composer: Keith Ramaila
Label: Bokang M Records
Keith Ramaila was born in Tzaneen at Ga-Sekororo in a village called Lorain and later moved to Namakgale in Phalaborwa where he joined various bands and met the Prince Malatji who taught him how to play piano and in the year 2000 he moved to Gauteng and since then he has never looked back. He has now been in the music industry professionally since 2007 when he was signed by Sheer Publishing and Cooler Records and the Afro-Jazz album Titled ”Mama” was released in the same year.
He then left to go indie, but along the way he was signed again by Static plastic after venturing into house music and he was signed right away, which in 2017 and 2018 he released two albums with Static Plastic and Phat Kat Publishing.
Website



Friday, February 12, 2021

JazzWorldQuest Showcase 2021-Stefano Di Battista(Italy)-Morricone Stories

 


Stefano Di Battista

Nouvel album Morricone Stories

Sortie le 02/04/2021 chez Warner Music

Stefano Di Battista revient sur le devant de la scène, avec cette fois-ci un projet dédié au compositeur émérite Ennio Morricone. L'ambition est donc de taille pour ce nouvel album Morricone Stories qui sort le 02 avril 2021 chez Warner Music.

C'est en quartet auprès des musiciens André Ceccarelli (batterie), Frédéric Nardin (piano) et Daniele Sorrentino (contrebasse) que le saxophoniste s'illustre une nouvelle fois afin de rendre hommage à l'un des plus grands noms de la musique de film.

Altiste fougueux que n’effraient pas les tempos intrépides, ou bien lyrique total, Stefano Di Battista cultive au fil de sa carrière une virtuosité sur le saxophone et une présence sur scène qui en ont fait l’un des musiciens les plus remarqués en France, des amateurs comme du grand public.

La capacité de Stefano Di Battista Ã  établir un dialogue avec d’autres artistes était une évidence sur ses derniers albums, parmi lesquels Giù la Testa (2014), enregistré avec le guitariste Sylvain Luc. Le saxophoniste confirme son immense talent en s'attaquant aux thèmes les plus célèbres comme ceux des films de Sergio Leone, mais aussi plus méconnus (Veruschka, La cosa buffa...) du célèbre compositeur Ennio Morricone.

 

La musique d’Ennio Morricone pour le cinéma est une source créative infinie associée à une grande variété d’images. La plonger dans le jazz l’élève à un niveau inédit en créant une association parfaite, un partenariat naturel et presque inévitable. Et notamment lorsque ce dernier est entre les mains de quelqu’un comme Stefano Di Battista.

Le saxophoniste s’empare des thèmes du compositeur et les réinterprète, accompagné d'un groupe de choc : André Ceccarelli (batterie), Frédéric Nardin (piano) et Daniele Sorrentino (contrebasse).

Stefano Di Battista ne s’est pas cantonné aux plus célèbres bandes originales de Morricone, celles qui sont gravées dans l’inconscient collectif. Dans certains cas, Stefano a choisi des thèmes moins connus, ou plutôt des airs de films moins célébrés ou oubliés comme Veruschka ou Mais… Qu’avez-vous fait à Solange ?, à la fois pour se plonger encore plus profondément dans un répertoire encore peu exploré, mais aussi pour rappeler que Morricone a signé les bandes-son de plus de 500 films, dont seuls une poignée sont encore adulés aujourd’hui.

Ces mélodies sont à la fois raffinées et très précieuses, et vous aurez l’occasion de redécouvrir des thèmes que vous connaissez par cÅ“ur sous la forme de parfaits standards jazz, à l’image du swinguant et malin Metti, una sera a cena, ou encore Le Bon, la brute et le truand réinventé en duel d’improvisation, avec le saxophone reprenant la brève salve de notes inspirées par le cri du coyote, avant de se dissoudre dans l’émotion pure du “Deborah’s Theme” d’Il était une fois en Amérique.

On trouve également une relecture inspirée de The Mission, dans laquelle le hautbois de la version originale est transposé sans effort pour un saxophone soprano, et Flora, une composition inédite que le révéré Maestro a offert à Di Battista. Au final, la mécanique est sans faille et pourrait engendrer une série d’enregistrements, comme si une partie de l’esprit de Morricone avait toujours été – peut-être inconsciemment – tournée vers le jazz. L’’album “Morricone Stories” paraîtra le 02 avril 2021 chez Warner Music.


Site officiel  Facebook  Instagram




Thursday, February 11, 2021

JazzWorldQuest Showcase 2021

 

JazzWorldQuest Showcase 2021 features new jazz albums released by musicians from all over the world. So far the streaming section includes tracks from albums released by Roberto Magris(Italy) & Eric Hochberg(USA), ZhanXG(Malaysia), Igor Willcox Quartet(Brazil) , Ararur(Portugal), Sallaberry & Friends(Brazil/USA), Russell Ferrante Trio(USA), Kari Ikonen(Finland), Marc Hoffman(USA) 


http://jazzworldquest.com/showcase-2021




USA: New Bedford Winter JazzFest Online

NEW BEDFORD MASS. (February 10, 2021) New Bedford JazzFest is going online and free for its 9th annual installment of regional and national jazz, March 5th, 6th, and 7th. 

The New Bedford Winter JazzFest Online boasts three bands over three days, musician interviews, and a food and drink demonstration video from local restaurant professionals. The performances will be free/pay what you can. 

The bands scheduled to perform are: Marcus Four on Friday, March 5 at 7:30 p.m., Zinno, Garzone and Barata on Saturday, March 6 at 7:30 p.m., and Svetlana and the Delancey Five on Sunday, March 7 at 11:00 a.m. 

Access links and advance sign up for all performances is available at http://www.NewBedfordJazzFest.com, Facebook at www.facebook.com/NewBedfordJazzFest, and on Instagram.

Monday, February 8, 2021

World Music Mix: Hakim Jamal(UK)-The Soul Of Hakim Jamal(2021)

 


World Music Mix: Hakim Jamal(UK)-The Soul Of Hakim Jamal(2021)

Personnel
Drums: Curtis ‘Stubblefield’, Benny Powell, Che Ramirez
Percussion: Augustin Espina, Rose Valdes
Bass: Simon Goulding
Guitars: Rob Aitken, Paul Wheatcroft, Ray Russell
Keyboards/Programming: Paul Wheatcroft
Brass: Simon Beddoe, Rob Mitchell, Snake Davis
Strings: Jessica Diamond
Backing Vocals: Adjua, Sulene Fleming, Humphrey, Leo Wood, Joshua David
Lead Vocals: Paul Wheatcroft
Sampled Voices: John F. Kennedy Jr., Reverent Jones, Peter Dyneley, Chet Faker , Musical Direction, Voodoo: Hakim Jamal
Composition, Arrangements, Engineering, Production: Paul Wheatcroft

An album covering a wide range of black music styles, from funk, to disco, to jazz and soul.

This is an album about people with 'soul.' You may not like all of the characters (some factual, others fictional) which the album is based upon; but good or bad, what they share is desire: life-affirming desire.

Here's just a few of the things people are saying about the album:
“Wonderful vibes! Throws us back to the late 60s, early 70s movie soundtrack grooves.” - Da Silve & Lino, Music Producers for Universal, Sony, Warners

“This is Jazz 2021!” - Mark Roberts, Record Industry Of America Multi-Platinum Songwriter

"In all seriousness... On 1st Feb @HakimJa95723384 releases 'The Soul of Hakim Jamal' which is off the scale of beautiful."
- Craig Bunce, Horsham Theatre Manager

“That's some seriously soulful feel-good lounge/nightclub music right there. Can't help but feel the influence of Curtis Mayfield's work there, among a few others.” - Da Silva and Lino, Music Producers for Universal, Sony, Warners

“@Hakim Jamal I feel the heat ... cool funky grooves. Thank you.” - Audrey Hall, Radio Presenter ALLFM

“Awesome!” - George Miller, Universal Music Group

Hakim Jamal: Chart-topping LA Artist riding high in music fans' playlist.” - ReverbNation