New Jazz Adds – 11/25/2016

New Jazz Adds – 11/25/2016

Will Bonness – Halcyon (Self-produced): Pianist/composer/educator Will Bonness has been recording since 2009 and this new disc shows fantastic command of his instrument whether in playing with other musicians or taking interesting and somewhat unique comping while the main group is carrying the melody. In fact, his melodic style truly carries these performances. Accompanying players include Steve Kirby (bass), Quincy Davis (drums), Jon Gordon (alto, soprano sax on three songs) and Derrick Gardner (trumpet on three). Click here to listen to samples of the songs on this disc.  

Kenny Burrell – Unlimited 1, Live At Catalina’s (HighNote): A live concert featuring the Los Angeles Jazz Orchestra Unlimited covering a wide variety of jazz tunes. The group sounds great and Kenny Burrell even sings, but the true highlight is his totally inspired guitar playing. It is a thrill to hear him just turn it loose! Several of the selections are Kenny Burrell compositions as well. Click here and scroll down to sample songs on this disc.  

Tom Collier – Impulsive Illuminations (Origin): Tom Collier (vibes, marimba) and Richard Karpen (piano) are the main players in this cycle of tone improvisations. Additional players – Bill Frisell (guitar), Ted Poor (drums), Stuart Dempster (trombone, didjeridu), William O. “Bill” Smith (clarinet) and Cuong Vu (trumpet) – are the trio partners one tune each in the order listed. Acknowledging that this release is strikingly different from most of his previous work Collier states that he has wanted to do a set like this for a very long time. This disc is not very difficult listening, but you won’t be able to hum along. Click here to listen to a sample of one song from the disc.  

Dwiki Dharmawan – Pasar Klewer (MoonJune): Indonesian piano star Dwiki Dharmawan creates a fusion of European and Indonesian music offering a new style of pop/folk/jazz. On This release, he is supported by Yaron Stavi (bass) and Asaf Sirkis (drums/percussion) to form the core trio with additional musicians Mark Wingfield (guitar); Nicolas Meier (glissentar, acoustic guitar); Gilad Atzmon (clarinet, soprano sax); Boris Savoldelli (vocals); Aris Daryono (vocals, gamelan percussion, kendang percussion, rebab 3-strings violin); Peni Candra Rini (vocals); and “Gamelan Jess Jegog” led by I Nyoman Windha (gamelan orchestra); and Balinese Frogs! Some of the material is a native mix, some an international melange and some straight western style fusion. Click here and scroll down to listen to songs on this set.  

Chris Hazelton’s Boogaloo Seven – Soul Jazz Fridays (Sunflower Soul): B-3 player Hazleton leads his group through six jams of soul jazz: three composed by the leader himself and three covers. The other players are Nick Howell (trumpet, trombone), Nick Rowland (alto, tenor sax), Brett Jackson (bari sax), Matt Hopper (guitar), Danny Rojas (drums) and Pat Conway (congas, percussion). It’s upbeat and light and live! Click here to listen to “The Grand Avenue Get-Down” from this disc.  

Melanie Marod – I’ll Go Mad (ITI): This appears to be Melanie Marod’s first release. She is an assured and clear-voiced singer with style. In addition to the three original songs, she covers a range of material from “People Will Say We’re In Love” and “Somewhere Over The Rainbow” to “Besame Mucho” and “Spanish Harlem” and more recent songs like Leonard Cohen’s “Dance Me To The End Of Love” and Fred Neil’s “Everybody’s Talkin’”. Musical accompaniment is provided by Masami Ishikawa (guitar), Elias Bailey (bass), Alvin Atkinson (drums), and Art Hirahara (keyboards). Very nice. Click here to listen to of the performances on this disc.  

Delfeayo Marsalis & The Uptown Jazz Orchestra – Make America Great Again! (Troubador Jass): Delfeayo Marsalis and the Uptown Jazz Orchestra offer a different take on what that phrase could mean. Songs like “Back To Africa” and “Make America Great Again” tell the tale too rarely acted upon. The players include Delfeayo Marsalis, Terrance Taplin, Charles Williams, Jeffery Miller, T.J. Norris and Maurice Trosclair (trombones); Khari Allen Lee (alto, soprano sax); Jerome Ansari (alto sax); Roderick Paulin (tenor, alto sax); Gregory Agid (clarinet, tenor sax); Scott Johnson (tenor, bari sax); Roger Lewis and Oliver Bonie (bari sax); Victor Goines (tenor sax); Jeff (bass trombone); Andrew Baham, Scott Frock, Dr. Brice Miller, John Gray, Jammed Williams and John Culbreth (trumpet); Kyle Roussell and Meghan Swartz (piano); David Pulpus (bass); Herlin Riley.Peter Varnado and Joseph Dyson Jr (drums, percussion); the Uptown Music Theatre Choir; and special guests Dee-1 (rap); Cynthia Liggins Thomas (vocal); Wendell Pierce (narration); and Branford Marsalis (tenor sax). Delfeayo Marsalis has orchestrated a powerful and beautiful musical history and hard look in the mirror. Click here to listen to the title performance.  

Cameron Mizell – Negative Spaces (Destiny): “Previously, I had composed from the groove up, but I wrote the pieces of Negative Spaces from top down as if I were a vocalist, away from my guitar, with pen and paper. I even transcribed singers like Sam Cooke to get into how they phrased a melody. The idea with a lot of improvised music is to see how far out you can get. But with this album, I wanted to rein it in, create singable melodies and allow room for music to happen around them.” Guitarist/composer Cameron Mizell has perhaps taken a page out of Bill Frisell’s book, but he is more actively looking at the pauses and phrasing as the song as opposed to the shading. He still plays quite a bit on his guitar and with great expression. The result is warm and electric and engaging. His bandmates, Brad Whiteley (keys) and Kenneth Salters (drums), are also a critical part of the whole. They shape their playing to Mizell’s with wonderful skill. The sound is much less airy than a similar ECM recording. There is more of a rock feel, as if Mizell is the no longer missing link. BTW, Mizell adds, “But Bill Frisell’s solo LPs have always been a big influence on me, too, the way he just commands melody – you can sing everything he plays.” Definitely worth checking out. Click here to listen to the songs on this disc.  

Ark Ovrutski Quintet – Sounds Of Brazil (AOM): Bassist/composer Ark Ovrutski offers his “Sounds Of Brasil” with nine original jazz compositions drawing upon his various loves and influences: Afro-Cuban and various bop and post bop styles all washed in the Brazilian styles. He believes the natural link harks back to melodic similarities between 19th Century “Russian Urban Romantic Songs” and Brazilian songs. The group features Duduka Da Fonseca (drums, percussion), Craig Handy (flute, alto and tenor sax), Jorge Continentino (flute, alto flute, teenr and bari sax), and Helio Alves (piano). It’s a pleasant and interesting mix. Click here to listen to samples of the songs on this disc.  

Planet D Nonet – A Salute To Strayhorn (Detroit Music Factory): Group leaders R.J. Spangler (drums/percussion) and James O’Donnell (trumpet, vocals) are dedicated to preserving the great music of Detroit and other jazz classics. For years, Spangler worked behind guitarist Johnnie Bassett, saxophonist “Sweet Lou” Barnett, pianist Joe Weaver and Blues Queen Alberta Adams, while O’Donnell worked with ex-Lunceford trumpeter Russell Green. Green was a versatile and gifted musician known to Detroiters from his years with Maurice King’s fabled Flame Show Bar band as well. This disc focuses on the music of Billy Strayhorn, at times co-written with Ellington or a few others and while it is intended as a tribute, the goal is to keep a significant taste of the old Detroit sound. Other players ion this disc include Alex Colista (alto sax, clarinet); Goode Wyche III (bari sax); John “T-Bone” Paxton (trombone, vocal); Michael Zaporski (piano); Justin Jozwiak (alto sax); Jim Holden (tenor sax, clarinet); Ken Ferry (trumpet); Shannon Wade (bass); Joshua James (bari sax); and Michael Malis (piano) with guests Camille Price (vocals) and Mike Jones (alto sax, clarinet). The material runs from “Satin Doll” to “My Little Brown Book” and Strayhorn’s “A Flower Is A Lonesome Thing”. Click here and scroll down to listen to “Just A-Sittin’ And A-Rockin’.      

Wallace Roney – A Place In Time (HighNote): Trumpeter Wallace Roney had regretted for over a decade that he had never recorded with one of his past bands, but fortunately was able to round them all back up to rectify that situation now. The group includes Gary Bartz (alto sax), Ben Solomon (tenor, soprano sax), Patrice Rushen (piano), Buster Williams (bass) and Lenny White (drums). The music includes compositions by each of the players and one from Tony Williams with closing compositions by Claude Debussy (“Clair de Lune”) and Kurt Weill and Ira Gershwin (“My Ship”). The performance is quite wonderful, with everyone’s voice in top form and a completely magnificent performance by Wallace Roney. Click here and scroll down to listen to samples of the songs on this disc.  

Various Artists – Jazz Loves Disney (Verve): Here’s a set of jazz to pop covers of songs used in a variety of Disney movies. The songs run from “When You Wish Upon A Star” to “The Bare Necessities” and, unbelievably, two versions of “I Wanna Be Like You”, the most controversial of the movie themes. Singers include Jamie Cullum, Melody Gardot, Stacey Knet, Gregory Porter, China Moses, Raphael Gualazzi, Hugh Coltman, Anne Sila, Laika, and Nikki Yanofsky. Click here for a promo for this disc.  

Kopasetically,

Professor Bebop

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