Saturday, June 26, 2021

World Music Mix: Wade C. Long(USA)-Happy Go Lucky

 


Wade C. Long(USA)-Happy Go Lucky

Composer: Wade C. Long
Album: Longitude/Keys Please(2021)
Keyboardist-Vocalist Wade C. Long has released the first of his 3-part new album, Longitude. Keys Please is a 3-track rendering, with all musical numbers. The first song, Mr. Jones, features guitarist Andres Coca, and is a cool, laid back ode to one of Wade’s musical heroes, the incomparable Quincy Jones. The 3rd track is the lighthearted and playful God Children. Sandwiched in between the two is the album’s lead single, the very fun and danceable Happy Go Lucky. Part Two of Longitude is due this coming fall and highlights Wade’s vocals. It includes another collaboration, this one with bassist Christian DeMesones. For press inquiries and interview requests Mr. Long can be reached via Sealong Music Group, at sealongentertainment@gmail.com.
Website|InstagramTwitter |Facebook |Spotify| Soundcloud| YouTube


Wednesday, June 23, 2021

2021 Jazz Festivals News: USA, SENEGAL, CANADA

Five free shows to see at the TD Vancouver International Jazz Festival
There are 52 performances free to view at this year’s Vancouver International Jazz Festival

Senegal's famed jazz festival returns after pandemic delay
Billed as Africa's biggest jazz festival, it has struggled with dwindling attendance since its days hosting headliners like American pianist Herbie Hancock, who played there in 1996.

The Bay Area’s jazz scene swings back into (live) action
Forced to cancel last summer’s festival for the first time in more than six decades, the Monterey Jazz Festival is back on Sept. 24-26 with a scaled down event taking place almost entirely in and around the fairgrounds’ main arena. The reduced footprint means that MJF64 will have only a fraction of its former capacity, with 2,500 tickets available daily to allow for social distancing.





Friday, June 18, 2021

WORLD MUSIC MIX: Funk Elastic(Croatia/Slovenia)-Funk Habit



 Funk Elastic(Croatia/Slovenia)-Funk Habit

Funk Habit (Single)Funk Habit by Funk Elastic, this is a jazz-funk and jazz-fusion groove, featuring electric guitar and tenor saxophone solos. This tune features Damir Šomen, one of the best Croatian session drummers and Jernej Bervar, a guitar player from Slovenia, currently residing in New York. Funk Habit jazz-funk by Funk Elastic is available for streaming and download at the online services, check out the most popular at Zivaldo Music.

Zdenko Ivanušić – flute, tenor saxophone & electric piano
Krunoslav Zver – trumpet
Ivan Mučić – trombone
Jernej Bervar – electric guitar
Damir Šomen – drums
Robert Lajić – electric bass, sound engineering & production
composed by Zdenko Ivanušić
released June 14, 2021
Funk Elastic – Official Artist Channel @ Youtube




Sunday, June 13, 2021

USA: Alex Coke 4tet plays Monks For Project Safety Net



Alex Coke 4tet plays Monks For Project Safety Net

Alex Coke 4tet at Monks
June 15, 2021 7:30p Monks Jazz
501 East Pedernales #2E
Austin TX 78702

Alex Coke swings originals and standards on sax and flute with a great quartet that includes Bruce Saunders (guitar), James Suter (bass) and Masumi Jones (drums) for Austin Jazz Society’s Project Safety Net.
LIVE from the new home of Monks Jazz in Austin, Texas.
And…ONLINE, streaming in HD from
https://youtu.be/YD_gVOtD3NU

Limited seating available for the live performance with a free archived livestream to enjoy anytime. Donations & emoji’s welcomed and encouraged!

Donations to the musicians via Project Safety Net:
https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/austinjazzsociety
Please add a note saying your donation during the livestream is
for the Alex Coke Quartet.

Wednesday, June 9, 2021

JazzWorldQuest Showcase 2020: The KUHtrio(Austria /Czech Republic)- Old Souls

The KUHtrio(Austria /Czech Republic)- O Samba Boemio / Old Souls

Composer: Edi Koehldorfer
Label: ATS REcords
Website
In autumn 2018 Edi Köhldorfer (guit), František Uhlíř (b) and Jaromír Helešic (dr) were engaged together for a jazz festival in Styria / A.
During the rehearsals for this evening it was already clear that not only was the musically extraordinary happening here, but that the “vibes” were also right. After a brilliant concert that was frenetically celebrated by the audience, it was decided not to stop at a “one-nighter”.In autumn 2019 the new band presented itself to an enthusiastic audience as part of a 2-week tour through Germany, the Czech Republic and Austria. After the tour, the trio went well into the studio and was able to release their first CD “Old Souls” in summer 2020 and present it live on a tour in D / CZ / A in the autumn afterwards.The music of “the KUH trio” is characterized on the one hand by the compositions of Köhldorfer and Uhlíř and on the other hand by the special sound, which is characterized by Köhldorfer’s versatile playing on electric and acoustic guitars. The legendary swing by Uhlíř / Helešic is complemented by excursions into Latin and funk grooves and there is even room for African….the KUHtrio Live on YouTube


#bass #frantisekuhlir #jazzworldquest #jazzmusicians #jazzmusic #jazzevents #jazzpromotion #worldjazz #jazz #jazzmusic #jazzworldquestshowcase2020 #jazzalbums2020 #jazzalbums #indiejazz #playlist #streaming #czechrepublic #czechmusic #jazzinprague #doublebass #au

stria

Monday, June 7, 2021

JazzWorldQuest Showcase 2021: FINAL STEP(Switzerland)- Disconnections

 


FINAL STEP- Disconnections | June 14th 2021


From the multi-lingual border region of Ticino in Switzerland, guitarist Matteo Finali brings Final Step with their 5th album release, Disconnections. To be organised neatly on your shelf marked ‘jazz fusion’, the group display a shared passion for that post-Miles brand of electric jazz which unites rock, funk, blues and ethnic music.
“At a time when everyone is seemingly ‘connected’ all the time via their computers and phones, we want to bring a much-needed jolt of energy, reminding people of the importance of disconnecting and enjoying the spirit of live music.”
Their 2017 release Live at Estival Jazz was recorded when the band opened for Mike Manieri’s latest iteration of Steps Ahead at one of Switzerland’s biggest festivals; this 2021 outing sees them back in the studio, adding an extra layer of slick production, colourful effects and bite-sized interludes to the proceedings. The music is passionate, rhythmic and unashamedly funky, whilst displaying a compositional creativity that underscores the bandleader’s jazz credentials.

“a punch full of pumping fusion, funk and electric jazz! – Abstract Logix

Matteo Finali Guitar
Mirko Roccato Saxophones
Alessandro Ponti Hammond Organ & Keys
Federico Barluzzi Bass
Dario Milan Drums
Video  | Listen




Sunday, June 6, 2021

USA: PRESS RELEASE: Ancient Future Concert Streams Live June 12

 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                           6/4/2021

Contact: Ancient-Future.Com Records
1-415-459-1892
info@ancient-future.com

PRESS RELEASE: Ancient Future Concert Streams Live June 12

View Press Release Online with Video and Photos:
https://www.ancient-future.com/pr_zoom_concert.html

Alternate Reality Concerts Continue
First Ancient Future Concert Since 2019!

Subscribers to the Ancient Future Times wrote to suggest that Ancient Future offer virtual concerts during the pandemic and beyond. A new series of Alternate Reality Concerts from the Ancient Future was created in response, and Matthew Montfort was the inaugural performer on his birthday, February 12, 2021.To sign up for upcoming shows, simply send your email address to info@ancient-future.com. Put "Alternate Reality Concert" in the subject. You will receive a link to participate before each performance. There's currently no charge, but donations are very much needed to support the music, especially in this time of uncertainty as to when concerts will again be safe and potentially economically viable.

Exactly four months later, Ancient Future will perform a live streaming concert on June 12 at 3:30 PM PST. It's the first Ancient Future performance since the end of their 40th anniversary season in late 2019, when the band performed at the Kentucky Mine Amphitheater in Sierra City, California. Tabla master Aditya Kalyanpur was on that date and handed his iPhone to audience members to take videos of the performance. He shared the results with Jhankar, an Indian arts organization in Cincinnati, and they came forth to sponsor this streaming concert. The concert features a trio program consisting of Matthew Montfort on scalloped fretboard guitar, Aditya Kalyanpur on tabla, and Frank Martin on keyboards. The set list features compositions by Matthew Montfort and Frank Martin.

Saturday, June 12 , 3:30 PM PDT
Ancient Future Trio
Matthew Montfort (Guitar), Aditya Kalyanpur (Tabla), and Frank Martin (Keys)
Free Streaming Concert Sponsored by Jhankar:
https://www.jhankar.org/events/2021/AncientFuture.html
Facebook Live:
https://www.facebook.com/events/261356152436413
YouTube Live:https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdP2ueIgM_JpvTSJ1iivHhg
Upcoming Show Notifications: Send your email address to info@ancient-future.com. Put "Alternate Reality Concert" in the subject.

Time Conversions:
Saturday, June 12 , 12:30 PM HST (Hawaii), 6:30 PM EDT (East Coast USA), 7:30 PM GMT-3 (Rio de Janeiro)
Sunday June 13, 12:30 AM CEST (Central Europe), 4:00 AM IST (India), 7:30 AM JST (Japan)

Biographies

Aditya Kalyanpur (tabla, percussion)
Hi-Res Photo of Aditya Kalyanpur (6.5" x 4.5" 300 dpi, 1.5 MB):
https://www.ancient-future.com/images/adityakalyanpur300dpi6.5x4.5.jpg

Aditya Kalyanpur began his training on the tabla at the age of five under the guidance of two of India's top tabla masters: the late Alla Rakha Khan and his son Zakir Hussain. Aditya was first seen performing with Ustad Zakir Hussain for the famous "Wah Taj!" television commercial at the age of 11. His style consists of bold and clear execution of syllables, pinpoint precision in rhythm coupled with a colossal repertoire of compositions and improvisational technique. He has performed with top Indian artists including Shivkumar Sharma, Shujaat Khan, and A.R. Rahman. He can be heard on Katy Perry's "Legendary Lovers" from her album "Prism," and also recorded with Keith Richards of The Rolling Stones.

Frank Martin (keys)
Hi-Res Photo of Frank Martin (2" x 2", 300 dpi):
https://www.jhankar.org/assets/images/concerts/2021/frank-martin.jpg

Master keyboardist Frank Martin has performed and/or recorded with a wide variety of artists that include Stevie Wonder, Sting, Larry Coryell, Flora Purim & Airto Moriera, Herbie Hancock, Tuck & Patti, Nguyen Le, Trilok Gurtu, John McLaughlin, Santana, Chris Isaak, B.B. King, Larry Carlton, Bruce Springsteen, Paul Simon, Patti Labelle, L. Subramaniam, Ramsey Lewis, Stanley Turrentine, Turtle Island String Quartet, Zakir Hussain, Wayne Shorter, Chico Pinheiro, Mel Torme, Dizzy Gellespie, Ronnie Laws, Charlie Musselwhite, Annie Lennox, John Mellencamp, Run DMC, MC Hammer, and many others.


Matthew Montfort (band leader, scalloped fretboard guitar)
Hi-Res Photo of Matthew Montfort (5" x 3", 300 dpi, 678k):
https://www.ancient-future.com/images/yearningmatt300dpi5x3.jpg

Ancient Future leader Matthew Montfort is a pioneer of the scalloped fretboard guitar (an instrument combining qualities of the South Indian vina and the steel string guitar). He is on DigitalDreamDoor.com's 100 Greatest Acoustic Guitarists list. Inclusion on the list is based on originality, innovation, technique, and influence on other acoustic guitarists over the years. He has performed worldwide, including the Festival Internacional de la Guitarra on the golden coast of Spain near Barcelona, the Mumbai Festival at the Gateway of India in Bombay, and the Music for People and Thingamajigs Festival in San Francisco, from which a segment of his performance was broadcast on the Rachel Maddow Show on MSNBC along with an interview about his guitar work. Montfort wrote the book Ancient Traditions - Future Possibilities: Rhythmic Training Through the Traditions of Africa, Bali, and India, which has been used by many musicians to improve their rhythm skills.

First Video from the Alternate Reality Concert Series Tops Ethnocloud Chart
Ethnocloud: https://ethnocloud.com/Matthew_Montfort/?y_video=14646&b=943
YouTube: https://youtu.be/smFCU30iWjE

Sympathetic Serenade for Scalloped Fretboard Guitar by Matthew Montfort

The first video released from Ancient Future's Alternate Reality Concert Series is the #6 video on the Ethnocloud World Music Chart, and the #1 video on the Ethnocloud World Music Chart: India for May 2021.

When Matthew Montfort was working on his debut solo recording for scalloped fretboard guitar, he recorded a number of spontaneously improvised serenades that became Seven Serenades for Scalloped Fretboard Guitar. An eighth improvisation, Sympathetic Serenade, was later released as a mini EP. In this live recording from the inaugural performance of the Alternate Reality Concert Series from the Ancient Future, he revisits the piece with a new interpretation on his custom Martin scalloped fretboard guitar in which he expands on the original's use of the melodic elements of Rag Bhairavi and mixes in chordal structures from Spanish guitar music.

Matthew Montfort Introduces Sympathetic Serenade for Scalloped Fretboard Guitar and the Alternate Reality Concert Series

Matthew Montfort talks about his first solo guitar mini EP, Sympathetic Serenade for Scalloped Fretboard Guitar, and his plans for the Alternate Reality Concert Series from the Ancient Future.

YouTube Talk: https://youtu.be/OlieVmYQ2tA
Playlist with Both Video Excerpts: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLzj87klpoW4HvFS4hYwojk1Ir1ICc66xf

Sympathetic Serenade Mini EP
Hi-Res Cover Art by Matthew Montfort (2 MB, 300 dpi 5" x 5”):
https://www.ancient-future.com/images/sympatheticseredade1500sq.jpg

Sympathetic Serenade for Scalloped Fretboard Guitar by Matthew Montfort. Ancient-Future.Com EP AF-2012. Signed EP CD-R. List $12.98. Buy Link:
https://www.ancient-future.com/sympathetic.html

Video is First Featuring Matthew Montfort's New Scalloped Fretboard Guitar
Custom Martin Guitar with Fretboard Scalloped by Alan Perlman

Hi-Res Photo of Martin Guitar with Scalloped Fretboard by Alan Perlman (3.6 MB, 300 dpi, 7.4" x 14.8”):
https://www.ancient-future.com/images/martin_scalloped_fretboard_gutiar_300dpi7x14.jpg
Hi-Res Photo of Scalloped Fretboard by Alan Perlman (6.6 MB, 300 dpi, 15.3" x 9.7”):
https://www.ancient-future.com/images/scalloped_fretboard_300dpi15x9.jpg

The video of Sympathetic Serenade from the inaugural edition of the Alternate Reality Concert Series is the very first release featuring Montfort's latest custom scalloped fretboard guitar, which is the result of a collaboration between Montfort, Dick Boak of the Artist Relations Department of C.F. Martin & Co., and San Francisco luthier Alan Perlman.

Dick Boak has been involved in the conception of more than one hundred forty signature guitar collaborations with the top musical talents of our time. He worked with Montfort to help design the instrument, which features a very large sound hole to add volume, an extra upper bout sound hole so that Montfort can hear the guitar better, a cutaway with extra frets protruding into the sound hole to accommodate his extended playing range, and a short scale yet wide neck to allow for greater string bending capability.

Master luthier Alan Perlman was also a consultant in the design and added the final modifications including scalloping the fretboard using new methods he developed. Scalloping a fretboard is a process by which the wood in between the frets is hollowed out so that the pads of the fingers touch only the strings and not the fretboard. This reduces friction while bending strings to produce ornaments more characteristic of the sitar.

133 Word Announcement

Ancient Future performs a free live streaming concert on June 12 at 3:30 PM PST on YouTube and Facebook Live. Sponsored by Jhankar, an Indian arts organization in Cincinnati, the concert features scalloped fretboard guitar pioneer Matthew Montfort, tabla maestro Aditya Kalyanpur, and master keyboardist Frank Martin. It's the first Ancient Future performance since their 40th anniversary season ended in late 2019. In response to the pandemic, a new series of Alternate Reality Concerts from the Ancient Future was created. Matthew Montfort was the inaugural performer on his birthday, February 12, 2021. The first video release from the series, Sympathetic Serenade for Scalloped Fretboard Guitar, topped the Ethnocloud World Music Chart for May 2021. To sign up for upcoming shows, send your email address to info@ancient-future.com. Put "Alternate Reality Concert" in the subject.

###

Friday, June 4, 2021

JazzWorldQuest Showcase 2021: Afrika Love, the breathtaking third album by Alchemy Sound Project

 

Afrika Love, the breathtaking third album by Alchemy Sound Project, traverses boundaries of genre and geography

cebookwitterEmre

An ode to the grandeur of nature, reflections on relationships, and a pair of musical tributes comprise five eclectic, aurally compelling original works

Released May 14, 2021 via Artists Recording Collective

Alchemy is defined as “a seemingly magical process of transformation, creation, or combination” (Oxford English Dictionary). It’s hard to imagine a word that more aptly suits Alchemy Sound Project, a collective in which five esteemed composers and bandleaders — pianist Sumi Tonooka, woodwind players Salim Washington and Erica Lindsay, trumpeter Samantha Boshnack, and bassist David Arend — form a potent ensemble greater than the sum of its parts. A synergy that seems almost supernatural, especially given the far- flung home bases from which these artists converge, is evident throughout Afrika Love, the band’s third album, released May 14, 2021 via Artists Recording Collective.

Alchemy Sound Project formed in 2014, two years after the group’s members met in Los Angeles at the Jazz Composers Orchestra Institute, where, over the course of a week, they learned to utilize Western classical music concepts and orchestration techniques. “We were five friends and colleagues who had all these similar connections,” Tonooka recalls, “and I wanted us to be able to extend what we do together musically, instead of leaning on other projects or other commissions — to set up our own small chamber group to play and record.” What resulted is a diverse, eclectic group that makes powerful, original music meant to blur the boundaries between notated composition and improvisation.

Sessions for Afrika Love took place in January 2018 in Conshohocken, PA. But the album’s title, borrowed from the composition that Washington contributed to the album, reflects the band’s keen awareness that this recording arrives in the wake of one of the most tumultuous years in recent U.S. history — a pivotal period in which race relations and social justice protests have taken center stage.

According to Tonooka, the band found the title “appropriate in terms of what’s happened with the Black Lives Matter movement, and with what the country still has to deal with in terms of conversations about racism and the aftermath of slavery, and the fact that we still haven’t gotten it together to really heal, because no one seems to talk about it in a way that is healing.” Seen in that light, the multi-gendered, multi-racial makeup of Alchemy Sound Project in itself offers an understated, buoyantly positive example of cooperation and mutual regard.

Given that each Alchemy member is so distinguished individually, it’s no surprise that their collective effort shines. Tonooka, who presently makes her home in Philadelphia, was a 2020 Painted Bride Composer Grant recipient, a 2019 Chamber Music America New Jazz Works Grant winner, and a 2018 Philadelphia Jazz Legacy awardee, among other accolades. Seattle resident Boshnack issued a debut album with her band, Seismic Belt, in 2019, and led the group in appearances at Winter Jazzfest, the Festival of New Trumpet Music, and Seattle’s Earshot Jazz Festival.

Arend settled in Los Angeles in 2018, just in time to see local screenings of Changyou’s Journey, a short film for which he served as composer and co-producer. After making his debut as acting principal bassist of the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, he completed his first major orchestral score. Lindsay, based in upstate New York, is an artist-in-residence at Bard College, teaching jazz composition and arranging as well as leading a contemporary-music ensemble, and in 2019 she was an artist-in-residence at Philadelphia’s Kimmel Center. Washington, based in Durban, South Africa, leads a busy performance career with several respected groups — the newest, a quartet he leads jointly with piano prodigy Afrika Mkhize, in whose honor Washington penned the album’s title track.

Completing the lineup on Afrika Love are two versatile colleagues, trombonist Michael Ventoso a student of Lindsay’s who plays in both classical and jazz settings, and drummer Chad Taylor, a dynamic solo artist and bandleader, and cofounder of the renowned Chicago Underground Duo. The group elected Arend, a seasoned studio hand, to produce the album, which showcases one original composition by each member.

“The title says it all,” Arend says of “The Fountain,” which opens the album. “I was inspired to depict in music the imagery of a huge fountain of water, both the larger scale of gushing energies as well as the smaller scale of individual water droplets. Tightly organized at the beginning and end, the piece contains a central section that is pure free improvisation.” On this track, the musicians’ cohesive free play is bookended by curve-hugging tightness at the start and finish.

Tonooka says that in writing “Dark Blue Residue,” she was thinking about the aftermath of any experience that brings people together. “A relationship, it could be a group, it could be any social type of situation — the quality of what’s left behind is a sort of residue. People move on, people move forward, but there’s a residue that’s left. And dark blue has to do with the bittersweetness of that, when you’re left to reflect on what you have, and what you’ve done.” Throughout the piece, Arend slips seamlessly from classical arco playing with and among the winds and horns to a woody pizzicato throb beneath, lending nuance and dimension.

Afrika Love” is Washington’s tribute to his South African compatriot, pianist Afrika Mkhize, son of renowned pianist-composer Themba Mkhize. “One day he called me up out of the blue, simply to say, ‘I love you,’” Washington relates. During their conversation, Mkhize talked about a distinctive pitch system native to Zulu musical tradition. “I began experimenting with this system, and decided to write a composition with it,” Washington says. An unaccompanied horn establishes the tone dramatically from the start, and the composer’s oboe soliloquy is a highlight of this rich, original conception.

The Cadillac of Mountains” is about feeling awestruck in the face of nature’s grandeur, says Boshnack. “As a hiking enthusiast living in the dramatic environs of the Pacific Northwest, this composition conveys the inspiration I feel when enjoying the overwhelming beauty in the outside world.” The composer’s sky-scraping trumpet lines evoke heavenly expanses, which Washington’s plummy bass clarinet counters with elemental earthiness. Lindsay’s tenor sax solo conveys the composer’s passionate vision, while a contrasting section anchored by Tonooka and Arend evokes nature’s tendency toward unpredictable shifts. And not to be overlooked is Chad Taylor’s subtle and varied accompaniment.

A different sort of marvel animates “Kesii,” Lindsay’s sly, earthy closer. “I named this piece after a friend of mine who passed away this year at the age of 107,” she says. “The journey of life and the path it takes us on holds so much wonder and unexpected gifts.” The piece, she explains, is meant to evoke all the twists and turns a life can hold with a constantly changing series of moods, tones, and colors. “I took a 5/4 repeating clarinet phrase as a starting point, and let the music tell its own story,” Lindsay notes.

Each of these five compositions tells a story worth hearing. Together, they serve to remind the listener that, for all of its unanimity of spirit and intent, Alchemy Sound Project showcases five compelling individuals, each with their own powerful creative vision. The genuine magic in the band’s work is that artists so individually strong and distinctive can fold themselves into one another’s visions so completely and sympathetically. The result is alchemy at its finest.

alchemysoundproject.com