Mike LeDonne & The Groover Quartet - Keep the Faith (Savant 2011)

It seems likely that Alexander played Charles Earland's "Keep the Faith" during his tenure with the late organist; this interpretation percolates with energy as an uptempo cooker, with everyone on fire throughout the performance. Horace Silver's funky "Sweet Sweetie Dee" isn't one of his better-known works, but the quartet makes the most of its spacious, hip setting. LeDonne's originals are equally compelling. Bernstein's intricate playing is a highlight of the fast-paced "Scratchin'," while the laid-back groover "Big John" (a tribute to the late organist John Patton) casts a mellow mood. This potent session is easily one of Mike LeDonne's best recordings.Ken Dryden allmusic.com
savant

MoonLightRecords: Alla Scoperta Del Grande Jazz Made In Italy

Simone Guiducci - My Secret Love
	Cd Euro 15.00  Mp3 Euro 9.00 Flac Euro 9.00	Riccardo Biancoli : drums Paolo Birro : piano Javier Girotto : soprano sax Simone Guiducci : acoustic guitar Godin Ares Tavolazzi : double bass
Abeat presenta un cd intitolato "my secret love". Un grande disco,forse ad oggi, il più "sentito" e "desiderato" nella propria carriera dal grande chitarrista italiano Simone Guiducci. I brani contenuti in quest'opera hanno rappresentato in qualche modo per Guiducci un momento importante di conoscenza ed hanno segnato la sua formazione di vita e di musicista. Così recita Simone nelle linee di copertina: "Il mio amore segreto" un pugno di immortali melodie scritte in epoche diverse da musicisti e compositori assai lontani fra loro, si impongono da sole nella memoria. My Secret Love (Sunny Fain/Paul Webster) Old Folks (Willard Robison) Aquarela do Brasil (Ary Barroso ) Quando (Pino Daniele) Nuages (Django Reinhardt) Ed io fra di voi (C.Aznavour). Il progetto viene splendidamente supportato da una formazione smagliante oltreché composta da musicisti eccezionali.La classe cristallina dei partecipanti al progetto e la carica passionale di Guiducci per i temi interpretati si manifestano continuamente in questo disco godibilissimo dall'inizio alla fine senza mai cedimenti e ci autorizza a considerarlo forse il Suo miglior disco per intensità e spontaneità

Chris Conz Trio - Drivin' the Boogie (2011)

Chris Conz was born on October 22, 1985 in Uster, Zurich. From the time he was 11 he has dedicated himself to the special jazz style of boogie woogie, which he discovered through Hamp Ruosch. Chris took lessons from Hamp, from whom he learned his first runs and patterns. In the process, he became influenced early on by musicians like Albert Ammons, Pete Johnson, Meade “Lux” Lewis, Axel Zwingenberger, and Vince Weber. 

At age 16 he met Silvan Zingg, organizer of the International Boogie Festival, and soon Chris was making appearances as a surprise guest at Silvan’s festivals. After that he was invited to international festivals in different countries, sharing the stage with boogie woogie greats like Axel Zwingenberger, Vince Weber, Frank Muschalle, Bob Seeley.

Today Chris is not only a solo pianist, but on the road with his duo and trio as well. Already, he has been able to play for private and public concerts in the USA, Spain, France, Germany, England, Austria, Italy, and Switzerland.
In February 2008 Chris had the opportunity to perform as a surprise guest in three different casinos in Las Vegas.

In November 2004 Dave Ruosch left the group, Terry & the Hot Sox, and 19-year-old Chris took his place. Terry & The Hot Sox are the most popular and successful jive, swing, and R&R musicians in Switzerland and guarantee an ideal party atmosphere. Their stage presentation is excellent, the music perfect, and their energy infectious. In June 2009 Chris, along with Terry & The Hot Sox, accompanied the American singer, Wanda Jackson, who became world-famous in the 1960s because of her hit, “Let’s Have A Party.” cd baby
http://www.boogiepiano.ch

Bianca Rossini's new Bossa Nova Release "Meu Amor" (Apaixonada Music)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7POq08j0dVw
https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/meu-amor-ep/id585318748
http://news.yahoo.com/brazilian-bianca-rossini-kiss-brasil-bossa-nova-album-071131885.html
http://news.yahoo.com/brazilian-bianca-rossini-kiss-brasil-bossa-nova-album-071131885.html
Download "Meu Amor" for only 99 cents at itunes clickhttps://itunes.apple.com/us/album/meu-amor-
ep/id585318748 - 

Brazilian-born, Beverly Hills-based singer/songwriter Bianca Rossini - "Meu Amor" Music Video directed by James Chressanthis, co-starring Ricardo Chávez, produced by Tony Frere, Edited by Zimo Huang "Meu Amor" - Lyrics Bianca Rossini, Music by Dana Kaproff."Meu Amor" available now at cd baby, and itunes. www.biancarossini.com

website: www.biancarossini.com

Patricia Barber - Monday Night Live At The Green Mill Volume 2 Chicago, IL July 12th and 19th, 2010 (2011)

1. Triste (10:00)
2. Like JT (11:47)
3. I Fall In Love Too Easily (4:43)
4. Blue Bossa (12:58)
5. On The Road Again (9:34)
6. Post Modern Blues (7:24)
7. Smile (5:45)
8. The Beat Goes On (5:50)
9. Summertime (6:23)
Listen+buy

Patricia Barber - piano/vocals
Neal Alger - guitar
Larry Kohut - bass
Eric Montzka - drums

Wayne Wallace Latin Jazz Quintet – To Hear From There ( Patois Records 2011)

The Wayne Wallace Latin Jazz Quintet returns with To Hear From There. Wayne Wallace’s extraordinary musical journey continues apace with this new album, a sizzling Latin jazz session that highlights the deep cultural currents flowing between West Africa and the Americas. Following up the Grammy Award-nominated “¡Bien Bien!,” which DownBeat named one of 2010’s best releases, the San Francisco trombonist, arranger and composer once again showcases his stellar quintet, featuring Murray Low (piano), David Belove (bass), Michael Spiro (Latin percussion and percussion arrangements), and Paul van Wageningen (trap drums) on a program of finely wrought originals and beloved standards. Wallace’s masterful compositions and arrangements gives everyone a chance to cook. Guest trombonists Jeff Cressman, Natalie Cressman and Dave Martell are featured on the pan Caribbean tour de force "Serafina del Caribe". Acclaimed guest vocalists Kenny Washingon and the legendary Bobi Céspedes make stellar contributions on "Perdido" and "The Peanut Vendor". 


La Escuela 5:36
Serafina Del Caribe 4:50
Perdido 6:48
Los Gatos 6:17
Descarga En Blue 5:23
Ogguere (Soul Of The Earth) 6:00
Lament 5:51
The Peanut Vendor (El Manicero) 5:27
Yemaya (the Seven Seas) 5:43
¡Bebo Ta Llego! 5:00
Philadelphia Mambo 6:34

Musicians :
Wayne Walace Trombone, wagner tuba and vocals
Murray Low Piano and vocals
David Belove Bass, vocals
Paul Van Wageningen Trap drums, vocals
Michael Spiro Percussion, vocals
Special Guests: Kenny Washington Vocal
Boby Céspedes Vocal
Jef Cressman Trombone
Natalie Cressman Trombone
Dave Martell Trombone


cdbaby

Journal Intime – Joue Jimi Hendrix Lips on Fire (2011)

Lips on Fire est un disque qui rend hommage à la musique de Jimi Hendrix avec des reprises mais aussi des «compositions/souvenirs» et parfois des Fantasmes improvisés. Occasion rêvée pour ce trio de soufflants de plonger un peu plus profond dans l’exploration instrumentale, l’idée et le désir de ce projet est venu par passion pour cette personnalité musicale unique, sa technique si personnelle, l’éclectisme de ses goûts musicaux, son placement rythmique si particulier, ce son si magique, ce «groove» si brûlant…et cette façon avant-gardiste d’éclairer la musique tout en prolongeant le «Blues» le plus ancestral Journal Intime tente dans ce disque de rendre hommage sans imiter, de prendre et d’emmener là ou le songe nous mène, de saisir et de rendre les gestes, les distorsions, les Larsens, les énergies et les esprits du Voodoo Child, ne serait-ce qu’un instant… et de vivre un rêve … un voyage psychédélique, afin de célébrer cette musique d’une liberté de feu. Journal Intime


TRACKLIST
01 - Foxy People (F. Gastard)
02 - Lover Man (J. Hendrix)
03 - Viens! (F. Gastard)
04 - If 6 was 9 (J. Hendrix)
05 - Angel (J. Hendrix)
06 - Odysseus Praeludium (F. Gastard)
07 - Lips On Fire (Journal Intime)
08 - Hey Baby (J. Hendrix)
09 - All Along the Watchtower (B. Dylan)
10 - Little Blowing (M. Mahler)
11 - 1983... (A Merman I Should Turn to Be) (J. Hendrix)
12 - Villanova Junction (J. Hendrix)

Upcoming shows:

• Festival Jazzdor
  • 22 nov 2012, Club TJP, 67000, Strasbourg
  • Concert en trio (Tournée Jazz Migration 2012)
• Festival Jazz au fil de l'Oise
  • 2 déc 2012, Foyer Rural, 95800, Courdimanche
  • Concert en trio (Tournée Jazz Migration 2012)
• Théâtre de la Coupe d'Or
  • 7 déc 2012, Théâtre de la Coupe d’Or, 17300, Rochefort
  • Rémi Sciuto invite Fred Pallem et Journal Intime.
• Festival Jazz à Junas
  • 13 déc 2012, École de Musique, 30140, Anduze
  • Concert en trio (Tournée Jazz Migration 2012)
• Festival Ouistreham Jazz Escales
  • 26 jan 2013, Salle Legoupil, 14150, Ouistreham
  • Concert en trio
• Jazz Club d'Auxerre
  • 22 fév 2013, Jazz Club d’Auxerre, 89000, Auxerre
  • Journal Intime joue Jimi Hendrix
• Festival Jazz'titudes de Laon
  • 16 mar 2013, Salle des Fêtes de Chéry les Pouilly, 02000, Chéry-lès- Pouilly
  • Concert en trio
• Le Sax
  • 23 mar 2013, Le Sax, 78260, Achères
  • Journal Intime joue Hendrix avec Rodolphe Burger et Emiliano Turri (batterie).
• Cité de la musique
  • 10 avr 2013, Cité de la musique, 75019, Paris
  • Concert en trio (Jeune Public)
• Cité de la musique
  • 11 avr 2013, Cité de la musique, 75019, Paris
  • Concert en trio (Jeune Public)
• Cité de la musique
  • 11 avr 2013, Cité de la musique, 75019, Paris
  • Concert en trio (Jeune Public)
• Scène Nationale Evreux Louviers
  • 12 avr 2013, Scène nationale Evreux Louviers, Le Vaudreuil, 27109
  • Concert en trio.
• Halle du marché de la Madeleine
  • 13 avr 2013, Halle du marché de la Madeleine, 27000, Evreux
  • concert Les Faux Frères (Fanfare à danser).
• Le Lavoir de Thorigny
• 22 juin 2013, Le Lavoir, 77400, Thorigny sur Marne
• Concert en trio (Journal Intime joue Jimi Hendrix)
• 
  

The Skopje Connection meets Ernst Reijseger (Losen 2011)

The Skopje Connection is a unique trio, put together by the Italian producer Enrico Blumer, and featuring the new Italian rising star, Luca Aquino on trumpet, and two of Macedonia’s leading contemporary and jazz musicians, Dzijan Emin on French horn and melodeon, and Georgi
Sareski on acoustic guitar. For this special project they are joined by one of the most renowned contemporary European musician, the Dutch cellist Ernst Reijseger.
Losen
http://www.lucaaquino.com

1. Giovanni da Nembro    4.35
2. Branko, Branko, Branko  4.07
3. Gotcha   1.03
4. Marsh na V´nka   4.59
5. One Legged Tango   0.33
6. Zlust   5.05
7. Outskirts   5.01
8. Love Song 2   4.59
9. Tiny Waltz   3.09
10. Kas Kas   2.59
11. The Old Man and the Seal   4.49
12. Midnight Rooster   2.12
13. Gjotzville 2   4.01
Dzijan Emin - French horn, melodica
Luca Aquino - trumpet, flugelhorn
Georgi Sareski - guitar
Ernst Reijseger - cello

Dans Les Arbres – Canope´e (ECM 2012)

Dans les arbres – the unique improvising quartet comprising three Norwegians and a Frenchman – continues to fine-tune its artistic concept, patiently traversing its luminous planes of sound with a rare sense of accord, and shared responsibilities. The combination of its unorthodox sound sources, including Charles’s clarinet harmonics, Wallumrød’s prepared piano, Grydeland’s bowed banjo, and Zach’s differentiated gran casa playing has led to free playing and spontaneous group-composing in a class of its own. The group’s ECM debut generated many rave reviews, with England’s The Wire declaring “There’s no end to the delights of this quite magical disc.” The magic is intact on “Canopée”, recorded in June 2010 and April 2011 in Oslo. ECM

Tracklist:

01. La Fumée
02. L’Émanation
03. La Vapeur
04. La Buée
05. L’Éther
06. Le Vertige
07. L’Immatériel
08. Les Cimes
09. La Brume
10. La Transparence


Xavier Charles clarinet, harmonica
Ivar Grydeland acoustic guitar, banjo, scruti box
Christian Wallumrød prepared piano, harmonium
Ingar Zach gran cassa, percussion

Listen

Jonathan Kreisberg – Shadowless (New for Now Music 2011)

Shadowless is the exciting new disc from Guitarist / Composer Jonathan Kreisberg. It features Jonathan's touring band, members Will Vinson on Saxophone, Henry Hey on piano, Matt Penman on bass, and Mark Ferber on drums in several different combinations. Their respect for the tradition is deep, but the compositions stretch the possibilities of form and the sounds challenge the possibilities of the "acoustic" jazz group. The disc presents a group that has electrified audiences on 5 continents, taking it's many listeners on rhythmically deep and lyrically compelling journey. As a guitarist, Jonathan Kreisberg has been steadily building his name as the one of the instruments brightest young stars. He tours and records extensively with his own groups as well artists such as Dr. Lonnie Smith, Joe Locke, Ari Hoenig and Stefano Dibattista. March 2011 European tour.

1. Twenty One (7:57)
2. Stir the Stars (5:50)
3. Shadowless (5:47)
4. Zembékiko* (7:07)
5. Long, Like a Mercury Day (7:04)
6. The Common Climb (8:40)
7. Defying Gravity (3:27)
8. Nice Work If You Can Get It (8:26) 

Personnel
Jonathan Kreisberg - Guitar
Will Vinson - Saxophone
Henry Hey - Piano
Matt Penman - Bass
Mark Ferber - Drums 

Jonathan Kreisberg

Various Artists - Miles Espanol. New Sketches Of Spain (E-One 2011)

Conceived and Produced by Bob Belden
In May of 2010, a group of Miles Davis alumni, New York’s finest Latin Jazz players, and a contingent of exceptional Spanish musicians, gathered at Sear Sound Studios in Manhattan for an unprecedented recording event.
 MILES ESPANOL travels more deeply than ever before into the connective tissue between the jazz innovations of  Miles Davis and the modern masters who performed in his bands; and the dramatic, romantic soul of Spanish, Latin and Moorish traditional and contemporary music.
 Two CDs of material were recorded, blending two different categories of repertoire.
     The first, new interpretations and arrangements of Miles classics from Sketches Of Spain (“Concierto de Aranjuez”, “Saeta/Pan Piper, “Solea”) Kind Of Blue (“Flamenco Sketches”), and  Someday My Price Will Come (“Teo” aka “Teo/Neo”.)
    The second, new compositions by principals in the sessions—Chick Corea, Jack DeJohnette, John Scofield, Ron Carter, Gonzalo Rubalcaba, etc.—that enhance and extend the musical concepts into the multicultural language of 21st Century Jazz.
 In addition, the sessions were filmed in high-definition video in their entirety, including performances and interviews with all of the principals, for broadcast, online, and DVD exploitation.
MILES ESPANOL LIVE
A live performance version of MILES ESPANOL is being developed for worldwide concerts and festivals in 2011 and beyond, featuring various configurations of the recording ensemble, including guest stars.
E-One

Amy K Bormet-Striking (2011)

nspired by Washington DC’s own Shirley Horn, Amy K Bormet is an accomplished jazz pianist and vocalist. Performing regionally at the Kennedy Center and jazz clubs, her poised powerful piano is balanced by flowing vocals. Released in February 2011, her debut CD, “Striking” is brimming with new compositions and fresh takes on jazz standards.

Amy K Bormet has recently graduated from Howard University with a Masters Degree in Jazz Studies. She previously graduated cum laude from the University of Michigan with a BFA in Jazz Studies/Piano Performance, where she studied with Geri Allen and Ellen Rowe, and from the Duke Ellington School of the Arts, where she performed in legendary D.C. saxophonist Davey Yarborough's New Washingtonians Jazz Orchestra.

During her first decade of jazz, Amy has performed with, among others, McCoy Tyner, Terrell Stafford, Marian McPartland, and D.C. Legends Buck Hill and Butch Warren. Amy's jazz trio brings a youthful interpretation to jazz standards, including those by Shirley Horn, Nancy Wilson, and Frank Sinatra.

In addition to her performances, Ms. Bormet is a prolific composer. Her compositions have been performed on the 2009 Howard University Jazztet and Howard University Jazz Ensemble CDs. She was commissioned to arrange her composition "Lightning" for the Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks Orchestra and Howard University's Afro Blue that premiered April 24, 2010 on the National Mall as a part of Jazz Appreciation Month.

Amy is a 2010 alumni of the Kennedy Center's residency program Betty Carter’s Jazz Ahead. In May 2010, she was chosen to be in the inaugural Mary Lou William’s Emerging Artist Workshop at the Kennedy Center.
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Western Jazz Band - Songs Of Happiness, Poison & Ululation: Dar Es Salaam Dancing Club 1973-1975 ( Stern's Africa 2011)

Following recent albums by Issa Juma & Super Wanyika and D.O. Misiani & Shirati Jazz, Sterns Africa releases a third CD of classic East African pop music.The Western Jazz Band is one of those names known to hardcore African music fanatics but to no one else outside of Africa (a happenstance that's about to change). It was one of the most popular groups in Tanzania in the 1960s and '70s. It took its name from the country's Western Province, where most of its members originated, though they met and formed the group in the coastal city of Dar es Salaam. The term ''jazz'' indicated that this band played modern music for sophisticated city folk; it wasn't jazz in the American sense but guitar-driven dance music that combined Congolese-style rumba rhythms and the breezy, light-hearted Swahili vocals of the coast. Tanzanians called this style saboso. Call it whatever you like, it's delightful music that won't remain unfamiliar to Americans once this album gets around.
The 17 tracks on this CD, selected and annotated by East African music expert Douglas Paterson, represent the Western Jazz Band at its peak in the 1970s, when these songs rocked the dance clubs of Dar Es Salaam. They still rock.

Don Mark's Fire Escape - In a New Light (NIROMI Record Company2011)

Don Mark’s Fire Escape is a jammin’ rhythm and jazz fusion band offering our audience a musical escape of an impacting and uplifting experience to a better space. I have chosen the music of some of my favorite sax players, Michael Brecker, John Coltrane, Sonny Rollins, Bob Mintzer, Cannonball Adderley, King Curtis, David Sanborn, and Hank Crawford as the album’s engine, the talents of my great band and accomplished guest artists, as the fuel, and the inspiration of my Father in Heaven to reach escape velocity “In A New Light”. 

Don’s passion for music improvisation was ignited by his dad’s extensive jazz record collection, which he listened to after school in his early teens. Don played his sax along with Trane, Bird, Duke, Monk, Basie, and others as if a member of their great bands. After “jamming” with these jazz greats, there was no other profession possible for him other than a career devoted to music. “In A New Light” is Don Mark’s fourth album, following three solo projects, "Silver & Gold", "Songs In The Key Of Light", and "New Jerusalem", all released on the NIROMI Record Company label. Don has performed in the United States, China, Japan, Hong Kong, South Africa, Botswana, Germany, Moscow, The Ukraine, Romania, and many other countries, performing for heads of state, presidents, ambassadors, and world leaders. Don even performed in East Germany on the night the Berlin Wall was torn down!
“In A New Light” is Don Mark’s newest and most creative jazz project. His inspired musical spontaneity and dramatic playing style is complimented by Dawoud Said’s keyboards, Jesse Powers’ bass, and Johnny Jones’ drums.

The NIROMI Company was founded in 1989 with the vision to inspire hope in children, to spark their creative spirit, and transform their lives through the power of artistic expression. A significant portion of the revenue from this album supports this vision. Don Mark’s Fire Escape is Don Mark on saxophones, Dawoud Said on keyboards, Jesse Powers on bass, and Johnny Jones on drums. Guest performing are Larry Griffin on percussion, Greg Boyer on trombone (Soul Serenade), Michael Mark (Jubilation), and Roy Smith (Better Days Ahead) on guitars.
Executive Producer Don Mark, Artistic Director Alexis Mark
Recorded at BRATT Studio during the 2011 East Coast Earthquake and Hurricane Ilene and the 10th Anniversary of 911. Our Fire Escape proved to be earthquake, hurricane, and flood proof!

For information about Don Mark’s Fire Escape including tour schedule and booking information, please contact The NIROMI Company, 28 Strabane Court, Baltimore, Maryland 21234, call the Saxophone Help Line at 443-621-2384, or visit our website DonMarksFireEscape.com. 
@2012 The NIROMI Record Company
CDBABY

Diving Bell — Diving Bell (HAZE 2012)

[HAZE151] Diving Bell — Diving Bell

Diving Bell is the collective of Jerod Sommerfeldt (laptop) and David McDonnell (saxophone, electronics).
Jerod Sommerfeldt

Focusing on the creation of algorithmic and stochastic processes, utilizing the results for both fixed and real-time composition and improvisation, Jerod Sommerfeldt’s music explores digital audio artifacts and the destruction of technology, resulting in work that questions the dichotomy between the intended and unintentional. He is currently teaching coursework in computer music at the University of Dayton and music theory and counterpoint at Miami University.

Jerod served as an adjunct faculty at the College-Conservatory of Music at the University of Cincinnati and his music and research have been included at the Cincinnati Ballet, Electronic Music Midwest, 2012 Front Wave New Music Festival in Palm Beach, FL, 2012 SEAMUS Conference in Appleton, WI, 2011 SEAMUS Conference in Miami, FL, 2009 Society of Composers National Conference in Santa Fe, NM, 2008 soundON Festival of Modern Music in La Jolla, CA, 2010 Midwest Composers Symposium, La Crosse New Music Festival, Music From Almost Yesterday Concert Series, Unruly Music Concert Series, Sonic Explorations, Performance Time and Arts Series, the University of Wyoming, by the NOISE Ensemble of San Diego, CA, the Thelema Trio (Belgium), and a commission by concert:nova (Cincinnati). Jerod is a member of the International Computer Music Association (ICMA), Society for Electroacoustic Musicians in the United States (SEAMUS), the Electronic Music Foundation (EMF), the Wisconsin Alliance for Composers, the Society of Composers, the College Music Society, and ASCAP. His music is recorded on Petcord, HAZE, Don’t Be a Stranger, Bohn Media, and can be found on SoundCloud, last.fm, YouTube, and Vimeo.
David McDonnell
«I’m a Composer-Multi Instrumentalist-Computer Music Programmer. A Chicago native, I’m currenty based in Cincinnati, where I’m finishing up a Doctorate in Composition at Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music.»

http://h-a-z-e.org/archives/882
website: http://h-a-z-e.org

Russ Reinberg-Wistful (Westlake Records 2011)

Listen for a minute or two and you might discover why the clarinet was so popular in both classical and jazz ... and wonder why it no longer is. Russ Reinberg will transport you, at least for a while, to a kinder, gentler, yet more vibrant world.


EVERY ALBUM IS as unique as a human being. And, just as some people clearly distinguish themselves, so do some albums. Wistful offers such a distinguishing musical experience. Some of its nineteen original tunes are destined to become standards. And nobody but clarinetist Russ Reinberg, their composer and arranger, could have performed them with as much beauty, expression, and passion.

But why an album of originals?

“Eventually you get to a point,” says Russ, “where you realize you have been performing the same tunes as every other musician. You realize that, no matter how well you play them, you’re still going to be the ninety-seventh person to record, for example, Moonglow or Yardbird Suite or Unforgettable. And you realize a musician usually must introduce a tune to define it and, once he does, every other version seems like a tribute. Especially since I play what a lot of people today think of as an obsolete instrument, I just wanted to do something new.

“Thousands of people have written original tunes. Most are forgettable. Maybe mine will be, too. But if you listen to them a couple of times, you’ll probably remember a few and you might find yourself humming them in the car or in the shower because they are melodic. That’s something missing from a lot of today’s music and especially from jazz.
cdbaby

RATKO ZJACA - Now & Then (In + Out 2011)

Ratko Zjaca
with

Miroslav Vitous
John Patitucci
Reggie Workman
Steve Gadd,
Al Foster
Randy Brecker
Simone Zanchini
Adam Nussbaum
Stan Mitrovic
Martin Gjakonovski
Bart Platteau
Ben Schröder


Sometimes he likes to call his music “Fellini Jazz“. He brings Mediterranean flair to the epicentre of American jazz. He explores classical music and influences from India and the Far East and combines “folklore imaginaire“ with free forms of expression. Ratko Zjaca is a bridge-builder par excellence who keeps on delving his pillars into new waters. IN+OUT Records releases a portrait of this exceptional Croatian guitarist which presents the different facets of his career, with ten pieces of music spanning ten years and featuring him in a variety of line-ups. Zjaca studied classical music in Zagreb, then plunged into modern idioms at Rotterdam and at the New York University School of Music. He started to attend master classes given by the likes of Pat Metheny, Mike Stern, Bob Brookmeyer, Joe Pass and Jim Hall. The last two in particular left their mark on his playing which has always been orientated towards the USA. Amongthe first musicians to appreciate his remarkable string wizardry were bassist Reggie Workman and drummer Al Foster. Ratko teamed up with these two in New York in 2000 for an intimate and intense trio experience, captured on the album “A Day In Manhattan“.In + Out 

Augusto Pirodda-No Comment (Jazzwerkstatt 2011)

"Spare" is a key word when speaking of Pirodda's piano art. There is a folk song-like simplicity to his approach, with no wasted notes, making space a big part of his sound. The set opens with the dark-toned and gorgeously ruminative "It Begins Like This..." a collaborative, on-the-spot trio composition that was actually the recording session's sound check. "I Don't Know" is another spontaneous composition, beginning with a bass/drums duet—Peacock preaching, Motian adding a whispering chant—before Pirodda joins in, working the piano's left end, responding to Peacock's pronouncements.
allaboutjazz/ DAN MCCLENAGHAN
http://www.augustopirodda.com

Igor Matković-Sonic Motion(celinka.si 2011)

Igor Matković, trumpet
Marko Črnčec, keyb,  rhodes organ
Robert Jukič, bass
Vladimir Kostadinović, drums

Tracks:

State of Mind
Sonic space
Intuition
On the Edge
Approaching Chaos
Blue Flow
 Inner Voice
Keep it There
Doors to Open
Mood Channel

Contrasts-The Quintet Live! (KSJAZZ 2011)

KSJAZZ is proud to release a new and exciting CD by the Finnish group called Contrasts featuring alto saxophonist Mikko Innanen, tenor saxophonist Manuel Dunkel, pianist Giorgos Kontrafouris, bassist Wade Mikkola and drummer Klaus Suonsaari entitled "The Quintet Live!." The CD was recorded live in 2008 during the group's tour in Finland sponsored and organized by the Finnish Jazz Society. Please order your copy now!
cdbaby