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New Jazz & Blues – 4/12/2022

New Jazz:

Ball State University Jazz Ensemble – I Can See The Other Side (Ball State University Jazz Ensemble): “This is the first recording of the Ball State Jazz program and features five student compositions/arrangements and one from faculty member Dr. Scott Routenberg….Through the Jazz composition and arranging classes the students are able to present their vision after countless drafts and edits. All of this material was recorded during the height of COVID inside a recording studio using social distancing.” (https://www.katesmithpromotions.com/artists/ball-state-university-jazz-ensemble/) The music ranges from “Up A Lazy River” to Dr. Scott Routenberg’s topical “I Can See The Other Side”. The performers are Anthony Echarry (Alto, Soprano Sax), Vincent Malan and Diego Balseca (tenor sax), Noah Smelser (bari sax and bass clarinet), Caleb Dluzak, Jeffrey Doll, Nate Slagter and Hannah Weibert (Trumpet and Flugelhorn); Theodore Donte Garcia, Aron Scott Callard and Peter Lehmann (Trombone); Matt Laczynski (Bass Trombone); Amanda Frisch (Guitar); Charles Platz (Bass), Jacob Smith (Piano), and Ben Davis Drums (Tracks 1,4,5) and Anthony Schaff Drums (Tracks 2,3, 6), and Auxiliary Percussion Vibraphone. Click here to listen to “Last Nights” from this set.

Ornette Coleman – Genesis Of Genius: The Contemporary Recordings (Craft Recordings): (Currently only in digital format in our ) “Ornette Coleman is one of the most important and influential innovators in Jazz. Sometimes considered controversial, his avant-garde style followed its own logic but always contained emotion. From his early albums on Contemporary Records, Coleman burst fully formed onto the scene. His albums including Something Else!!!! and Tomorrow Is The Question! still sound ahead of their time to this day. Click here to listen to several songs on this set and others.

Kelly Eisenhour – I Just Found Out About Love (Blujazz): “Kelly Eisenhour is a prolific jazz vocalist, as well as a jazz educator…Kelly received her undergraduate degree from Berklee College of Music, and her master’s degree from the University of Utah in jazz studies, composition and performance. She is currently the choral director at Green River College in Auburn, Washington where she teaches a variety of music classes, including directing the Green River Jazz Voices.” (http://kellyeisenhourmusic.com/) “Love is on vocalist Kelly Eisenhour’s mind as she breaths new life into a collection of amorous standards with the adroit team of Jeff Hamilton/dr, Tamir Hendelman/p and Christoph Luty/b. Luty fits in well with this long standing trio, wisely using space and clarity on the sleek pulse of “All Or Nothing At All” and the Waterford Crystal’d “So Many Stars”. Eisenhour asserts herself over Hamilton’s hip sticks on “Poinciana” and is playful with Hamilton and Luty on the swinging “Do I Love You”. She does a night dance with Luty around Hamilton’s brushes during “So Rare” and is bluesy over his tom toms on a suave “I’m Glad There Is You”. She sighs with Luty’s bowed bass for “We’ll Be Together Againe” and gets misty with Hendelman for “Dreamsville” and oozes intimacy on “The Very Thought Of You”. The girl next door invites you over.” (https://www.jazzweekly.com/2022/03/kelly-eisenhour-i-just-found-out-about-love-pas/) Click here to  listen to a short cut of the title song.

Diego Figueiredo – Follow The Signs (Arbors Records): “2019 GRAMMY nominated guitarist Diego Figueiredo is a virtuoso with an infectious, joyful feeling that will leave you amazed and happy. The new release features 11 Diego Figueiredo originals plus an inspired version of Erroll Garner’s classic “Misty”. A great follow up to his previous Arbors releases “Antarctica”, “Compilation” and his 2019 collaboration with Ken Peplowski “Amizade.” Diego Figueiredo is an extraordinary star among the world’s greatest jazz guitarists. His superb technique, timing and imagination have made him one of the hottest international names right now. He has a very unique skills and his concert have been a great success in more than 60 countries around the world. He has already released 28 CDS, 3 DVDs and a book and he has received awards twice at the “MONTREUX JAZZ FESTIVAL” as one of the greatest guitarists in the world. Diego Figueiredo performs one amazing concert uniting technique and emotion in a fusion of Brazilian music and jazz. Diego Figueiredo is a brilliant musician who keeps the tradition of the true essence of Brazilian music and at the same time can be extremely virtuous , modern and innovative. Testimonies: ”Diego Figueiredo is one of the greatest guitarists I’ve seen in my whole life. The world needs to listen to his music.’’ (George Benson) ”I have seem and played with many wonderful guitar players like Joe Pass or Baden Powell, but no one is like Diego. His ability and swing are unique.’’ (Flora Purim) Click here to listen to samples of the songs on this fantastic performance and style.

Hal Galper Trio – Invitation To Openness (Origin): “Pianist Hall Galper turned away from the life of touring in 2000, and eased into “the shed,” to work on some innovative ideas that would change the shape of the piano trio. Rubato is where he went—a style of playing that stretches time, making it flexible, unpredictable and free. It takes special trio mates to assist in this, and he found them in his East Coast Trio, with bassist Tony Marino and drummer Billy Mintz, eventually, the group responsible for the fittingly-titled 2006 album, Agents Of Change (Fabola Records). The change in Galper’s trio approach blossomed fully on six subsequent Origin Records recordings with his West Coast Trio, featuring drummer Jeff Johnson. Two of those Origin Records recordings—Airegin (2012) and O’s Time (2014)—stand as late-career masterpieces for Galper. Given the decade and half of productivity and consistent excellence of the West Coast Trio, Galper’s work with Marino and Mintz might seem a footnote, with only one album in the books. But that footnote becomes bigger and better with 2022’s Invitation To Openess, recorded in 2008 with Galper’s east coast crew. This offering catches the threesome in fine form, opening with a eleven-plus minute take on Gershwin’s “Embraceable You.” This tune—in these hands— demonstrates just how beautiful odd beauty can be. This conventional (though superior; it is Gershwin) Great American Songbook tune goes to unexpected places—straight ahead at times, often aggressive, warped away from recognizability at others, surprises around every corner. Galper’s creative foundation comes, in part, from the straight ahead tradition, having served considerable time with trumpeter Chet Baker and alto saxophonists Cannonball Adderley and Phil Woods. But he also did a stint in saxophonist Sam Rivers’ band, which must have nudged him further in the free direction than he might otherwise have gone. In his semi-retirement—over the course of time spent in the shed—he sounds completely free. Those of a religious persuasion might say “Let go and let God.” Of Hal Galper we could say he “Let go and let rubato.” As with all of his rubato releases, Galper makes wise choices in jazz standards and Great American Songbook tunes on Invitation To Openness, exploring the permutations of the previously-mentioned Gershwin composition, pianist John Taylor’s “Ambleside,” Duke Ellington’s “Take the Coltrane” and Charlie Parker’s “Constellation,” with four of his own distinctive tunes mixed in. All of this moves into exhilarating and unexpected territory, no matter how familiar the source material, in this a look back at the beginnings of Hal Galper’s move into rubato.” (https://www.allaboutjazz.com/invitation-to-openness-hal-galper-trio-origin-records) Click here to listen to samples of the songs on this release.

Charles Goold – Rhythm In Contrast (Self-produced): “The drummer Charles Goold and his band are hard-charging on “Sequence of Events,” the opening track to his debut album as a bandleader, “Rhythm In Contrast.” He starts it with a four-on-the-floor drum solo that has as much calypso and rumba in it as it does swing. When the band comes in – the slicing guitar of Andrew Renfroe leading the way, with Steve Nelson’s vibraphone, Taber Gable’s piano and Noah Jackson’s bass close on his heels – that open approach to his rhythmic options remains. Goold graduated from Juilliard, probably the premiere conservatory for traditional-jazz pedagogy, but he’s also toured with hip-hop royalty. All of that’s in evidence here, as he homes in on a sincere update to the mid-century-modern jazz sound. (The New York Times, Russonello) “Rhythm In Contrast” is dazzling and Goold’s blends of music style are fresh and dazzling. Click here to check for yourself!

Greyboy Allstars – Get A Job (Ropeadope): “The Greyboy Allstars Want You to ‘Get a Job’! The Greyboy Allstars are preparing to tour for the first time in five years! The quintet have a new album due out April 1 titled Get a Job. The album includes the band performing the debut single and video “I’ve Got Reasons” (Edwin Bocage, Al Scramuzza); “Jug Eyes” (Gene Ammons); “Smokin’ at Tiffany’s” (B. Watley, G. Barr, S. Weakley); “Lady Day and John Coltrane” (Gil Scott-Heron); “Turn It On” (Sonny Stitt); “Taxman” (George Harrison); “I’ve Known Rivers” (Gary Bartz, Langston Hughes); “Play It Back” (Dr. Lonnie Smith); “Got to Get Me a Job” (Don Alford); and “Walk On By” (Burt Bacharach, Hal David). The Greyboy Allstars are: Karl Denson, tenor saxophone, flute, vocals; Elgin Park, guitar, vocals; Aaron Redfield, drums; Chris Stillwell, bass; and Robert Walter, Hammond B3, keyboards…. The resulting album captures The Greyboy Allstars in full flight, in performances both raucous and reverent to the formative music that shaped them, while adding their own funky imprint to each song’s arrangement and legacy.” (https://greyboyallstars.com/about/) Click here to to listen to about four songs that are also on this disc.

Gabriel Mark Hasselbach – Mid Century Modern, Volume 3 (Bluemoon): “Besides being a stylist on trumpet, it’s sister instrument flugelhorn and the valve trombone, plus the flute and alto flutes, Gabriel Mark Hasselbach is arguably the foremost| progenitor of electronic and digital wind instruments in Canada electronica, WX 7 and WX 11. For Gabriel, the EVI is still the benchmark. Gabriel, the EVI is still the benchmark. Gabriel is a totally unique artist, creating an enticing and varied palette of textures and colors with his trumpet, flugelhorn, flute, valve ‘bone, digital wind instruments, and voice with erudite grace and lyricism. He has had eleven Billboard hits and has performed and/or records with well known artists such as the late Chuck Loeb, Jeff Lorber, Paul Brown, Bob James, Larry Coryell, Bob Baldwin, Marc Antoine, Greg Manning, Darren Rahn, Warren Hill, Rob Tardik, Rock Hendricks, Tony Saunders, Bob Mintzer, Ernie Watts, and Michael Bublé. Besides a JUNO Award (Canadian equivalent of a Grammy), two JUNO/Technics ‘All Star Band’ Awards, a West Coast Music Award, a Jazz In The Park ‘Best Instrumental Performance’ Award, an Ampex Golden Reel Award, and several gold and platinum albums to his credit (with his earlier group Powder Blues and others), 2011 saw Gabriel win both ‘Album of the Year’ and ‘Instrumentalist of the Year’ awards at the Canadian Smoothies for ‘Told Ya So’. Gabriel was born and raised in Denver, Colorado, but lives and works out of Vancouver, Phoenix, and New Orleans. He has steadily built up a solid body of work, with 15 albums under his own name, and eleven Billboard hits. He continues to develop his fanbase through live appearances, extensive radio and TV exposure, and the social media networking of his fans. He’s at home in small group or big band, and can tackle all styles of jazz. He walks the fine line between contemporary jazz, classic jazz, & New Orleans idioms, incorporating all effortlessly into a smooth and seamless stage show, brimming with lyricism, color, and texture. His influences range from classic artists like Blue Mitchell, Freddie Hubbard, and Chet Baker, to contemporaries like Chris Botti, Til Bronner, and Rick Braun. Gabriel is best known as a trumpeter, but is an enigma in the jazz world as he is not limited to one style of jazz, nor just one instrument. On these projects, he sets aside his contemporary jazz street cred and mines the classic jazz and New Orleans lexicon and gives it his own spin. He plays trumpet, flute, flugelhorn, & valve ‘bone. Here he has enlisted well known longtime colleagues Ernie Watts, Cory Weeds, & Miles Black to craft a highly listenable soul-jazz record with hard-swinging Mainstream jazz sensibilities, succinct Contemporary jazz clarity, and rollicking New Orleans jazz panache. Gabriel debuted his MidCentury Modern Vol.1 in New Orleans during Jazz Fest at some notable NOLA venues, such as The Mahogany Jazz Hall and New Orleans Jazz Museum, Trifecta accomplished! Click here to listen to “Jonah’s Joint” the opening song on this disc.

Lenny Marcus Trio – When A Door Opens (LJM): “Lenny Marcus hails from Wash, DC, but he worked for many years in New Orleans, studying and performing with legends such as Ray Bryant, Ellis Marsalis, Alvin Batiste, and recording with David “Fathead” Newman, Charlie Byrd, Frank Foster, Sonny Fortune, Brian Lynch, Jane Powell and others. His band is a well schooled jazz group. “Their jazz is infectious!,” says Jazz Times magazine.” (https://lennymarcus.bandcamp.com/album/when-a-door-opens) The rhythm section is filled by Zachary McDonald (bass) and Denver Nuckolls (drums) and they fit Marcus’ piano beautifully! I regret that I am unable to find a sample from this release.

Dave Potter & Retro Groove (Square Biz Records): “Responding to the question of why jazz bands don’t play more songs that today’s audiences will recognize, drummer Dave Potter decided to mine a rich melodic vein: 1970s-1980s music. The North Carolina native arranged a mixtape’s worth of hits from the ear-friendly era, injecting swing and improvisation into songs by Prince, Peter Gabriel, Tears for Fears, Living Colour, Steve Winwood and The Doobie Brothers. The results can be heard on his band’s eponymous release Dave Potter and Retro Groove (Square Biz), the cover and inside artwork of which are designed to look like a vintage arcade video game. That’s not to say Potter doesn’t play straightahead jazz or honor the music’s history; after all, he was mentored by Marcus Roberts, was selected to join the elite Louis Armstrong Quintet at the University of New Orleans and is a member of the Jason Marsalis Vibes Quartet. In fact, the Atlanta-based drummer brings solid post-bop sensibilities to his interpretations of the retro radio hits, aided by a first-rate quartet comprising saxophonist Miguel Alvarado, pianist Angelo Versace and bassist Terrell Montgomery. Consider the album’s final track, an uptempo read of the ballad “I Can’t Help It,” a Stevie Wonder/Susaye Greene composition recorded by Michael Jackson in 1979. Retro Groove picks up on the song’s positive vibe and sprints with it, powered by Potter’s aggressive attack.” (https://www.jazziz.com/i-cant-help-it/) Click here for a live performance.

Spin Cycle – III (Sound Footing Records): “Since 2014, contemporary jazz band Spin Cycle has been bringing their original music to clubs and concert halls across the US and Canada. Co-lead by Scott Neumann and Tom Christensen, the band highlights their flexibility, reach and capacity to surprise their audiences. On any given song, you might encounter the modal influence of John Coltrane, the second-line funk of New Orleans, or the edgy experimentation of free jazz. Featuring guitarist Pete McCann and bassist Phil Palombi, both bandleaders and well-respected artists in their own right, Spin Cycle has spent the last 7 years touring, recording, and providing educational workshops at colleges. The band’s fourth CD will be released soon on their label, Sound Footing Records.
There is, to be sure, plenty of musical variety provided by Spin Cycle, with compositions by Christensen, a consummate multi-instrumentalist who mostly plays tenor saxophone, and by Neumann a versatile and expressive drummer. Having performed in all kinds of settings including the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra, the Jazz Mandolin Project, the Gil Evans Project, Madeleine Peyroux’s touring group, Broadway pit bands and with Cecile McLorin Salvant, Rufus Reid and Maria Schneider the co-leaders know how to bring out the intimacy of a ballad as well as the soulful feeling of swing.” Click here to listen to a live performance of “Spin Cycle”.

New Blues:

Nighthawks – Nighthawks (Established 1972)  (VizzTone):“Produced by the Nighthawks and longtime compadre David Earl, they took advantage of the pandemic slowdown to hunker down in Earl’s Severn Sound Studios in Annapolis, Maryland and cranked out fourteen new tracks in the great Nighthawks tradition – rockin’, heartfelt material unbound by any genre other than the widest range of American roots music. On this landmark anniversary, founder, lead singer and harpmaster Mark Wenner is still at the helm, while drummer Mark Stutso, guitarist Don Hovey and bassist Paul Pisciotta all share vocals and songwriting, making this lineup one of the strongest ever. Decades of gigs and countless rabid fans have earned then the name “The Best Bar Band In The World”.  Click here to listen to samples of the songs on this release.

Son House – Forever On My Mind (Easy Eye Sound): “Forever On My Mind was recorded in the fall of 1964 (ahead of 1965 “rediscovery” album) and never released. Features first-time-on-record title track “Forever On My Mind,” plus never-heard recordings of “Death Letter” and “Preachin’ Blues”…. On the evening of June 23, 1964, a red Volkswagen Beetle bearing three blues enthusiasts arrived in Rochester, N.Y. The young men were following a trail of clues in their search of a legend, and they found him sitting on the steps of an apartment building at 61 Greig Street. “This is him,” Son House said. Born Eddie James House, Jr. in Lyon, Mississippi in 1902, Son House at that time had not played music for more than two decades. But the re-release of his early work — commercial 78s issued by Paramount Records in 1930 and two field recordings by Alan Lomax for the Library of Congress in 1941-42 — by Origin Jazz Library and Folkways Records had excited fresh interest in a growing community of blues aficionados. Within months of his rediscovery by Dick Waterman (who became House’s manager and handler), Nick Perls and Phil Spiro, the once-obscure 62-year-old musician was thrust into the public eye by a story in Newsweek magazine and a series of performances at folk music festivals and college campuses around the country. Forever On My Mind, the new album of previously unreleased Son House recordings from Easy Eye Sound, the independent label operated by Dan Auerbach of The Black Keys, is the premiere release from Waterman’s personal cache of ’60s recordings by some of the titans of Delta blues. His collection of quarter-inch tapes — which are being restored to remarkable clarity by Easy Eye Sound — have gone unreleased until now.” (Blues Magazine – https://www.bluesmagazine.nl/son-house-forever-on-my-mind/) Click here for a song from this set.

Jose Ramirez – Major League Blues (Delmark):”At 34 years young, Costa Rican native Jose Ramirez has turned the worldwide blues community on its collective ear after bringing Chicago’s West Side sound to audiences all over Europe and South America. An obvious master of the guitar, he’s equipped with a vocal ability that rivals Gary Moore or Robert Cray at their most poignant. Blessedly this level of talent hasn’t gone unnoticed as collaborations and performances with the likes of Buddy Guy, Anson Funderburg, Janiva Magness and Mark Hummel will attest. But no intercontinental blues journey can be complete without a stop in Chicago and one of its Meccas of the Blues, Delmark Records Riverside studios. When it comes to blues, you better prove it in Chicago before you run around the world claiming to be a “blues” artist. With the release of Major League Blues, Jose and Delmark confirm what fans the world over already know; Jose Ramirez is a bluesman of the highest echelon and he’s just getting started.” (https://www.chicagobluesguide.com/post/jose-ramirez-major-league-blues) Click here to listen to a song from this terrific blues set.  

Vaneese Thomas – Fight The Good Fight (Blue Heart): “Fight the Good Fight, Vaneese Thomas’ new album on Blue Heart Records, represents the culmination of an amazingly diverse career for the youngest member of Memphis’ first family of soul. Its bracing blend of Memphis-style R&B, Americana, and other roots genres sets the album well apart from anything else currently on the contemporary market, underscoring Vaneese’s status as a highly innovative performer. “It’s how I write anyway,” says Vaneese, who wrote or co-wrote everything on the new album. “I’m excited for the seeming inclusivity of Americana and roots music, which came from African-Americans in the first place, and then negated them for so many years. With this album, I am purposeful in sharing my voice in that community.” Vaneese’s royal familial lineage guarantees that extraordinary music comes naturally to the singer. Her legendary father Rufus Thomas was one of the first blues artists on Sun Records and ignited more than a few dance crazes throughout the ‘60s and ‘70s as Stax Records’ resident funkmaster, racking up an avalanche of irresistible hits that included “Walking The Dog,” “Do The Funky Chicken,” and the R&B chart-topping “(Do The) Push And Pull.” The ebullient Rufus also graced the Memphis airwaves for decades as a hugely popular WDIA deejay, spinning the latest blues and soul platters as well as anything else that caught his fancy. “Because Daddy was an announcer as well as a performer, I got both sides of the coin,” says Vaneese. “I saw how difficult the industry itself could be, both from a performer’s standpoint and a writer’s standpoint. But I also got access to so many wonderful records, because all of the record companies would send deejays promo copies of their songs that were coming out. So we had access to every type of music.” (http://vaneesethomas.com/about/) This is a certified Professor Bebop “Wax Devoid of Cracks”! Click here to listen to the songs on this killer release!

Kopasetically,

Professor Bebop