For those unaware, saxophonist, composer and educator Bennett Wood has just released is brand new recording, Space in Time. Mostly done as a Quartet, we find that two out of eight compositions expands to a Quintet, the other instrument being the trombone, which decidedly adds a whole host of new shapes arrangements to the musical proceedings.

“Space in Time is my debut album as a leader,”, Bennett himself reveals. “The title track draws inspiration from the books Only the Ball Was White by Robert Peterson and The Baseball 100 by Joe Posnanski. Both works highlight the incredible athletic feats and adversity faced by black baseball players in the professional negro leagues.”

“As a lifelong baseball junkie, reading about Josh Gibson, Oscar Charleston, Satchel Paige, and other greats was impactful. They were all-time greats whose achievements were not celebrated and recognized to the same degree as their white counterparts during their lifetimes.”

The rhythm section features pianist Andrew Ouellette, bassist Bob DeBoo, and drummer Joseph Winstein-Hibbs.

1. Catamaran
2. Fourth Wall
3. Space in Time
4. Obfuscation
5. Chilé Y Limón
6. Left Alone
7. Gordian Knot
8. For All We Know

The new album opens on the opulently swinging Catamaran and then the Grammy-nominated trombonist and composer Alan Ferber comes to the fore on the Latin-tinged hipsway of Fourth Wall, before we are brought forth the luxuriant title track Space in Time and the jaunty sculpted opulence of Obfuscation.

Along next are the propellantly fervent melodies that bring us Chilé Y Limón which is in turn backed seamlessly by the low slung, dulcet nature of the languishing Left Alone, the album rounding out on the playful, yet resoundingly flirtatious Gordian Knot, closing on a veritably cinematic scope found lushly within For All We Know.

Official Purchase Link

For those unaware, little did highly celebrated jazz vocalist Rondi Charleston realize that her album Resilience, released in 2017, would foretell a profound new chapter of a life-changing narrative. Resilience was a meaningful collection of melody-rich original songs where Charleston wrote about elemental struggles, capturing the modern angst of the culture and recovering from the throes of socio/political dysfunction.

Three years later, in 2020, Charleston—like so many creative artists, found herself looking inward, trying to “stay sane” during the pandemic by writing in her journal as a mode of survival. Those journal entries evolved into sketches of poems, and then eventually into songs, rendering the poignant and beautiful Suspended in Time: A Song Cycle, a unique and rich collaboration with her close friend master jazz pianist/composer Fred Hersch, who performs on the album and serves as its producer.

The seven-song collaboration between the two artists is scheduled to be released February 7, as her seventh album. It will be issued on her mission-driven GRAMMY-winning record label Resilience Music Alliance (RMA), an independent imprint founded in 2017 by Charleston and her husband Steve Ruchefsky, to empower artists who celebrate the human condition of resilience.

1. Suspended In Time
2. Sea of Eyes
3. Lullaby
4. Fever Dreams
5. Awakenings
6. Patience
7. Here We Are

This magnificently impassioned new recording, whose musical cycle opens in mid-winter spring of 2020, culminating in spring of 2023, opens on the simply decadent Suspended In Time and then we are lovingly brought forth an aching yearn that threads throughout the dulcet Sea of Eyes, the immaculately sculpted Lullaby, the veritable spoken-word poetry of Fever Dreams, the gentle finger snapper Awakenings, the set rounding out on the emboldened Patience, coming to a close on the heartfelt Here We Are.

In the album notes, Hersch writes: “When Rondi started sending me her lyrics, it gave me a sense of purpose. It was a way to make use of a terrible time to do something inspiring and, I hoped, a way to channel what I was feeling into some material that would reflect what we were all going through. I am grateful that she entrusted me with her words, and now we are happy to share them with the world.”

www.rondicharleston.com

Rondi Charleston Official Facebook Page

For those unaware, Lee Mendelson Film Productions (LMFP) is thrilled to announce the release – for the first time ever – of the complete Vince Guaraldi soundtrack for Be My Valentine, Charlie Brown, the timeless 13th animated Peanuts® special, from writer and creator Charles Schulz, director Phil Roman and producers Bill Melendez and Lee Mendelson.

Originally airing on January 28th, 1975 on CBS-TV, it went on to be nominated for an Emmy® for Outstanding Children’s program. The special is currently available for streaming on Apple TV+.

All versions of the album include the original 24 cues that comprise the score of the special – mixed into 22 tracks – most available for the first time – plus another eight bonus or alternative tracks never heard before. This 42-minute soundtrack is the longest individual soundtrack released by LMFP to date.

Guaraldi brought original mid-tempo tunes, his classic favorites, and even a mambo to the score for a journey into love with the Peanuts gang. He utilized a new invention called the ARP String Ensemble synthesizer throughout the special to give the score a distinctive string-laced sound.

1. Heartburn Waltz
2. Heartburn Waltz (Reprise)
3. Linus and Lucy
4. Valentine Interlude #1 / Heartburn Waltz (2nd Reprise)
5. Piano Sonata No. 20 in G Major, Op. 49 No. 2 - 1. Allegro ma non troppo
6. Heartburn Waltz (3rd Reprise)
7. Linus and Lucy (Reprise)
8. Paw Pet Overture
9. Freddie’s Mood (Chopin’s Nocturne in E Flat Major, Op. 9 No. 2)
10. Heartburn Waltz (4th Reprise)
11. Never Again
12. Music Box Dance (Bach’s Minuet in G Major, BWV Anh. 116)
13. Woodstock’s Mambo
14. Heartburn Waltz (5th Reprise)
15. Jennie L.
16. Heartburn Waltz (6th Reprise)
17. Valentine Interlude #2 / Heartburn Waltz (7th Reprise)
18. There’s Been a Change
19. Woodstock’s Revenge
20. Charlie Brown’s Wake-Up
21. Heartburn Waltz (8th Reprise)
22. Freddie’s Mood [Show Version]

This simply magical flashback to an era more welcomed than our current one, opens on the shimmering Heartburn Waltz and the longer reprise, before we are brought forth the iconic Linus and Lucy theme tune, the elegant classical work Valentine Interlude #1 / Heartburn Waltz (2nd Reprise), the sparkling Piano Sonata No. 20 in G Major, Op. 49 No. 2 - 1. Allegro ma non troppo, a third reprise of Heartburn Waltz, a shirt reprise of Linus and Lucy (Reprise), and they are backed by the jaunty Paw Pet Overture (which was also used in 2002’s V For Vendetta), the elegance of Freddie’s Mood (Chopin’s Nocturne in E Flat Major, Op. 9 No. 2), a fourth reprise of Heartburn Waltz and the jazzified Never Again.

Along next is the beautiful Music Box Dance (Bach’s Minuet in G Major, BWV Anh. 116), the short, but sweet Woodstock’s Mambo, and they are in turn followed by the fifth reprise of Heartburn Waltz, the languishing Jennie L., a sixth reprise of Heartburn Waltz, a glistening, albeit short Valentine Interlude #2 / Heartburn Waltz (7th Reprise), the simply darling There’s Been a Change, the spirited banger Woodstock’s Revenge, the translucent Charlie Brown’s Wake-Up, the original selection closing on an eight reprise of Heartburn Waltz and the sophisticated piano piece Freddie’s Mood [Show Version].

Bonus Tracks:
23. Heartburn Waltz [Bonus Mix]
24. Jennie L. [Alternate Take]
25. Heartburn Waltz [Alternate Take]
26. Woodstock’s Mambo [Bonus Mix]
27. Heartburn Waltz (Reprise) [Bonus Mix]
28. There’s Been a Change [Alternate Take]
29. Heartburn Waltz (5th Reprise) [Bonus Mix]
30. Last Call for Love

The recording features Guaraldi (piano, electric piano, clavinet, ARP String Ensemble electric harpsichord and guitar), Seward McCain (bass), Vince Lateano (drums) and John Scott Trotter as the music supervisor. The soundtrack was produced by Sean Mendelson and Jason Mendelson; mixed at Bones and Knives by Terry Carleton and restored and re-mastered by Vinson Hudson.

The physical copies will include liner notes that give a track-by-track analysis by Derrick Bang and notes from Sean Mendelson and Jason Mendelson, sons of Peanuts producer Lee Mendelson and producers of the record. The LP liner notes are four pages, the CD liner notes are eight pages, and all versions contain images from the special, rare photographs and images from the original tape boxes recently re-discovered that led to this release.

The album will be available January 17th, 2025, including an exclusive variant on Heartburn Red vinyl (12” BioVinyl) as a Record Store Day Indie Exclusive, that will be available at participating stores. Pre-Order here. It will also be available on Puppy Love Pink vinyl (12” BioVinyl) from Barnes and Noble.

The 42-minute album will also be available on black vinyl (12” BioVinyl), CD, and digitally.

www.mendelsonproductions.com

For those unaware, Matt Turk releases his 6th solo studio album with longtime producer and friend Kevin Hupp. “In Between” is a collection of 7 original tunes crafted over the last several years highlight Turk’s dedication to song craft with great success.

Satisfying original melodies, strong, clear lyrical content, professionalism and expertise embody “In Between,” itself a great group of tunes with production on point, which all showcases the fact that “In Between” is a triumph, whichever way you listen to it.

1. “Everybody in the World”
2. “In the Middle of the Night”
3. “Without Her”
4. “I am a Guitar”
5. “Lottery”
6. “This Old Way”
7. “Beautiful Day”

This magnificently sculpted new recording opens on the beautifully elegant, Dylanesque “Everybody in the World” and that is backed nicely by the jaunty pop sensibilities of “In the Middle of the Night,” the free flowing “Without Her,” the countrified balladry of the languishing “I am a Guitar,” before the lonesome ode “Lottery” is brought forth, the album rounding out on the effectively impassioned “This Old Way,” closing on a pleasingly gentle hipsway that guides “Beautiful Day.”

With a working friendship that spans 25 years, Matt Turk and Kevin Hupp (Iggy Pop, Rufus Wainright, Ian Hunter, Maceo Parker, Rick Derringer, Edgar Winter, Eddie Van Halen) have reemerged with a dynamic, clear new recording together. For a recent recording session of “Riley Shy”, a collaboration for Illusion Genius Ben Robinson’s new work Majikal, Turk brought in Kevin Hupp to nail the drums at the session with Hamilton bassist, Deadgrass’ Dave Richards and Grammy Winner, Sherwood Ridge studio owner C Lanzbom.

After the session Turk and Hupp were speaking of new creative projects and both realized there was a window of opportunity to ride together again and cut a new record. Over the last years, these two seasoned vets endured changes yet again in the music industry, Covid and rediscovered a deeply shared love of song craft and recording.

It was out of this context that In Between was born. Agreeing to meet over the summer of 2024 at Hupp’s studio, the Groove Room, Turk wrote all words and music, and co-writing “Without Her” with Hupp. Matt Turk sings, plays acoustic guitar, mandolin, mandola and electric guitar.

Kevin Hupp produced In Between, plays drums, percussion, keyboards and sings background vocals. Along with bassist David Richards, the three together embarked on a joyful journey creating “In Between”.

www.turktunes.com

The Merry Marvel Marching Society was a fan club created by Stan Lee and Martin Goodman in 1964. It was a subscription membership that allowed comic fans to get special memorabilia and a membership card.

One of the included items was a 7” vinyl record called The Voices Of Marvel featuring a word from the team behind their favorite comics. By the end of 1965, the club had 40,000 members - this allowed for better collectible items delivered to their members.

Recently uncovered were seven singles that featured theme songs from the major marvel superheroes 60’s television cartoons. Remastered and compiled, this RSD Release features the seven tracks, plus an exclusive poster - a must have for Marvel historians and fans alike!

Exclusive vinyl produced by Disney in celebration of RSD Black Friday 2024. Only 6000 copies worldwide.

Side A:
1. Merry Marvel Marching Society
2. Captain America Theme
3. Iron Man Theme
4. Incredible Hulk Theme

Side B:
5. Marvel Superheroes Have Arrived
6. Mighty Thor Theme
7. Sub-Mariner Them

Putting the needle on the record, Side A opens on the joyfully vibrant, alive and swinging singalong Merry Marvel Marching Society, then we get some one minute cuts of individual characters: the sterner fare of the informational Captain America Theme, the lighter, breezier swing-along of the Iron Man Theme, the side rounding out on the happy and fun ode within the Incredible Hulk Theme (“Ain’t no monster-clown who is as lovable.”)

Flipping the vinyl LP over, and along next is my own personal favorite track on this wondrous flashback collection, the tell-it-like-it-is Marvel Superheroes Have Arrived (“Meet the sulky, over bulky, kinda hulky superhero; Optimistic and electrically transistored superhero; An exotically neurotic and aquatic superhero; The Marvel superheroes have arrived!”), and that is backed by the resplendent fanfare that drives the Mighty Thor Theme, the collective recording closing on the impassioned voice (who sounds like he must have sung “You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch”) that drives Sub-Mariner Theme.

www.disneymusicemporium.com

For those unaware, Myriam Phiro is an internationally-recognized French-Canadian performer, band leader and cabaret chanteuse who has performed on stages and in theaters worldwide.

Lead singer/founder of Nuage Rhythm “Mariposa", The Phirocious Swing Orchestra & Jolie Môme, she is currently promoting “BECOMING MARLENE DIETRICH”, her newly released Marlene Dietrich tribute CD and “PHIRO chante PIAF”, her latest Edith Piaf tribute CD.

In the dimly lit cabarets of 1920’s Berlin, a legend was born. Marlene Dietrich emerged as the epitome of glamour, sensuality, and timeless allure. With her signature husky voice, enigmatic persona, and a charisma that could captivate nations, she became an iconic figure of the silver screen.

As aforementioned, Myriam’s brand new album “Becoming Marlene Dietrich” pays homage to this incredible diva and her indelible mark on the world of entertainment.

Marlene’s legacy lives on in every sultry note, every smokey glance, and every seductive whisper. Please join us in celebrating the indomitable spirit of Marlene Dietrich: a woman far more ahead of her time, a symbol of anti-fascism and sexual freedom, and a tantalizing icon of beauty, undeniable elegance and absolute pizzazz.

1. You’ve Got That Look (3:05)
2. Lili Marlene (3:08)
3. Makin’ Whoopee (3:52)
4. Que Reste-t-il/I Wish You Love (4:34)
5. La Vie En Rose (4:22)
6. Quand L’Amour Meurt (3:00)
7. Where Have All The Flowers Gone (4:21)
8. Jonny, Wenn Du Geburtstag Hast (2:36)
9. Golden Earrings (4:05)
10. Another Spring, Another Love (2:17)
11. The Boys In The Back Room (1:50)
12. My Blue Heaven (3:49)
13. Falling In Love Again (3:44)

This majestically-sculpted, wholly heartwarming, melodious new recording opens on the easy going You’ve Got That Look and the luxuriant Lili Marlene, and they are followed by the sweeping elegance of Makin’ Whoopee, the upright bass-led, dulcet, yet cultured Que Reste-t-il/I Wish You Love, and then we get an enraptured La Vie En Rose and the delicately-imbibed Quand L’Amour Meurt brought forth.

Up next is a beautifully indulgent Where Have All The Flowers Gone and the gently furtive, playfully flirtatious Jonny, Wenn Du Geburtstag Hast, and they are in turn backed seamlessly by the opulent Golden Earrings, a simply breathtakingly atmospheric Another Spring, Another Love, the upbeat swinger The Boys In The Back Room, the recording rounding out on a sumptuous My Blue Heaven, closing on her affectionately dutiful rendition of Falling In Love Again.

Musicians:
Myriam Phiro: vocals
Hyuna Park: Hyuna Park: piano, accordion, music direction & arranging
Elias Bailey: upright bass & production
Alex Raderman: drums
Linus Wyrsch: tenor saxophone & clarinet

Official Becoming Marlene Dietrich Purchase Link

Official PHIRO chante PIAF Purchase Link

www.myriamphiro.com

Myriam Phiro @ Facebook

Psychedelic chamber music and experimental electronics: these are the main ingredients of this album.

Filippo and Vittorio’s experiments (based on unusual synthesizers, self-built instruments, found and processed sounds, etc.) are combined with the scores created by Vittorio for a chamber music ensemble composed of cello, viola, double bass, trombone, clarinet, saxophone.

Guests, among others, Silvia Bolognesi of the Art Ensemble of Chicago and Enrico Gabrielli.

It is a moving and intense album, where each song opens up different scenarios of imagination, which has its own particular and original way of combining noise and melody, as well as experimental research and feeling.

The album is available both on double vinyl (engraved on three sides) and on 3-fold digipack CD. In both versions it is accompanied by artwork and booklets that are out of the ordinary, for their quality and care.

Side A:
1. Il Faro di Schrodinger [4:42]
2. La risacca dell’alba [6:59]
3. Maya Deren Blues [8:14]

Side B:
4. Pipistrelli sul frigorifero [4:47]
5. Segreti [3:02]
6. Sheriff in Tiraspol [6:21]

Side C:
7. La Costante Elastica [6:31]
8. Giulietta sotto spirito [5:45]
9. Prove tecniche di solitudine [3:35]

Putting the vinyl on the record player, our journey into this electronic-psychedelic-progressive chamber music extravaganza opens on the immediately dreamy soundscapes, coalesced with fissured arrangements within Il Faro di Schrodinger, and then proceeds to bring us the intricate melodies and harmonies of La risacca dell’alba, this part rounding out on the melodiously-strived, playfully-sculpted, synth-pop feel of Maya Deren Blues.

Continuing our vinyl experience, this ambitiously-crafted vinyl begins with the ethereally-foreboding, at times jauntily enigmatic, and yet always harmoniously propellent Pipistrelli sul frigorifero, which is followed by the more sculptured ambiance of Segreti, culminating with the starkly-atmospheric, spikey, yet never overly pointed, all-embracing notations of neo-jazz and fuzzy guitar work that drive Sheriff in Tiraspol.

The final vinyl story told by this innovative Italian duo opens on the foreboding, ominously portentous, yet surprisingly pleasingly psychedelic pulses of La Costante Elastica, then we get brought forth the veritably cinematic, spatially flirtatious Giulietta sotto spirito, the whole collection coming to a close on the lushly elegant orchestral arrangements of Prove tecniche di solitudine.

Something that needs to be reasserted here is that the album’s unique release format truly sets it apart, showcasing the artist’s commitment to delivering a high-quality, immersive listening experience.

Distributed through the eclectic Italian label Snowdonia Dischi, it’s available in two distinct formats – a 3-panel digipack CD and a deluxe gatefold sleeve housing double vinyl.

The vinyl pressing is engraved on three sides, a striking design choice that not only maximizes the available space but also imbues the physical format with an air of exclusivity and craftsmanship.

Official Purchase Link

Vittorio Nistri @ Facebook

For those unaware, Detention was one of the first and best bands of the ‘80s New Jersey hardcore punk explosion. Their wonderfully tasteless “Dead Rock ’n Rollers” single became the college radio cult classic of 1983.

The song’s 97 seconds of primal Ramones-style speed-punk mocked the demise of Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, John Lennon, Keith Moon, Elvis Presley, Jim Morrison, Sid Vicious, John Belushi, and John Bonham — who “played the drug game and couldn’t maintain.”

They even foretold the drug-related heart attack of Jim Carroll, famous for “People Who Died,” screaming, “What are you waiting for? Do it!” Saving the best for last, “Dead Rock ’n Rollers” raised the obvious question: “Why couldn’t it be Barry Manilow?” — Steven Blush, author/filmmaker, 2024.

The Detention story goes back to Central Jersey, to the Shields family home in Hillsborough Township, about 20 minutes from the culture capital of New Brunswick. Kevin Shields, the fourth of five sons, grew up listening to his older brothers’ sophisticated record collection of hippie music that ranged from Blue Cheer to King Crimson. Kevin recalls, “Early on, I knew that rock ’n roll was something special, I was fascinated.”

The band - Kevin, Rodney, frontman Paul Shields, and drummer Daniel Shields - played their first show at Raritan Manor on the Sommerville Circle, hosted by a young Matt Pinfield in his first radio DJ gig at WRSU (Rutgers).

It was a noisy and chaotic affair, with people rolling on the floor --- until police arrived and stopped the mayhem. Rob Roth had a vision. He got the guys into the studio in Roselle Park, which he also paid for himself. All they had to do was get good recordings of the two songs, including the B-Side El Salvador.

They came out great and in 1985, Detention released a self-produced self-titled album before disbanding.

1. Dead Rock ’N Rollers [1:37]
2. El Salvador [2:31]
3. Anti A [1:26]
4. Route 35 South [2:18]
5. Teenage Panty Fantasy [1:51]
6. Bad Dream [1:16]
7. Too Noisy [1:09]
8. Anxiety Attack [1:54]
9. Beach [2:10]

This brilliantly vibrant and still so alt-punk-perfect recording opens on the lyrically name-dropping extravaganza of their debut single Dead Rock ’N Rollers and then its 7 inch single B-side, the strident El Salvador, and then we get brought forth the strikingly fervent Anti A and the rhythmical guitar charge of Route 35 South.

Up next on this incredible showcasing of East Coast punk rock is the melodious alt-pop-rock of Teenage Panty Fantasy which is in turn backed by the foot to the floor rocker Bad Dream, the angst-charged Too Noisy, closing on the free-flowing brilliance of Anxiety Attack and their drum-led, regionally specific take on the Beach Boys sound via their punk rocker Beach.

This 9-song CD in gatefold jacket with the original single artwork by Jeff Jamieson and liner notes by author/filmmaker Steven Blush, Matt Pinfield and Dave Scott, is available now and can be purchased via the link below.

Official Purchase Link

For those unaware, Crimson Roses - Contemporary American Choral Music is the world premiere recordings of three new important choral works by American composers Richard Einhorn, Gilda Lyons and Joseph Turrin.

The Musica Viva NY Choir and Orchestra make their Naxos debut with these recordings, conducted by their artistic director Alejandro Hernandez-Valdez.

Richard Einhorn’s The Luminous Ground is a deeply reflective and spiritually engaging work, while Gilda Lyons’ brilliantly written Momotombo is inspired by the spectacular volcanic landscape of Nicaragua. Joseph Turrin’s Crimson Roses Once Again Be Fair is a moving cantata that marks the centenary of the First World War Armistice in November of 1918 – the piece is dedicated to those who bravely fought and died, forever enshrined in history.

Joseph Turrin
And Crimson Roses Once Again Be Fair
1. Prelude [1:37]
2. I. Let us remember Spring will come again – May 1915 [2:39]
3. II. Rejoice, friends! That we are alive - [1:06]
4. III. Bombardment 02:33]
5. IV. Evening at the Front [2:12]
6. V. I am the Division Commander – A Lieutenant General Sings 01:40]
7. VI. Soliloquy – The Last Meeting [6:26]
8. VII. Anthem for Doomed Youth [1:51]
9. VIII. In Flanders Fields [3:37]
10. IX. Interlude [2:56]
11. X. Poor Dogs [2:51]
12. XI. The Mortars [2:05]
13. XII. Elegy - [2:43]
14. XIII. Perhaps [3:38]
15. XIV. Let us remember Spring will come again (Epilogue) [3:33]

This lavish new collection, opens on the eponymous And Crimson Roses Once Again Be Fair from Turrin, and begins with the flourishing, veritably Holiday-induced Prelude, before continuing onwards with the shimmering Let us remember Spring will come again – May 1915, the sterner fare of the robust Rejoice, friends! That we are alive, the gently harmonized Bombardment, the playfully spirited Evening at the Front, and then we are gifted the melodious I am the Division Commander – A Lieutenant General Sings, a dutifully quiet stillness that resides within Soliloquy – The Last Meeting, the engaging Anthem for Doomed Youth, the set rounding out on the atmospheric In Flanders Fields, the rousing Interlude, a gilded Poor Dogs, closing on the rambunctious The Mortars, the dulcet Elegy, the elegant Perhaps and the reflective Let us remember Spring will come again (Epilogue).

Richard Einhorn
The Luminous Ground
16. The Luminous Ground [6:28]

Up next is the near seven minute work The Luminous Ground by Einhorn, which is, in and unto itself, a steadily gripping work of musical art, without a shadow of a doubt. Featuring moments of both sumptuous elegance combined with a more foreboding allure, the piece is simply breathtaking here.

Gilda Lyons
Momotombo
17. I. El tren iba rodando sobre sus rieles [3:08]
18. II. The baptism of volcanoes [2:17]
19. III. ¡Momotombo! - exclamé [2:03]
20. IV. Evocación [3:23]
21. V. Yo tenía quince años [1:27]

The third and final work Momotombo by Lyons opens on an ambient strength within El tren iba rodando sobre sus rieles and a more stylized stillness within The baptism of volcanoes, and then we get the resiliently sculptured ¡Momotombo! - exclamé, the pleasing Evocación, closing on the beautifully coalesced Yo tenía quince años.

Official Purchase Link

For those unaware, in celebration of the courage, patience and resilience displayed by people in times of great difficulty, ETHEL, the GRAMMY®-winning, genre-defying string quartet, joins forces with Allison Loggins-Hull, composer, flutist, producer, and Daniel R. Lewis Composer Fellow to the Cleveland Orchestra.

Together, they have elicited new commissions from four brilliant early-career composers: Migiwa “Miggy” Miyajima, Xavier Muzik, Sam Wu, and 2022 Pulitzer Prize finalist, Leilehua Lanzilotti. Loggins-Hull herself contributed her own masterwork to the project.

Passionate, committed, hopeful and inspiring, each piece contributes to an experience which surpasses the sum of its parts.

Taking its title from Loggins-Hull’s quintet, Persist marks the fifth iteration of HomeBaked, ETHEL’s commissioning program for early-career composers.

The initiative, begun in 2010, has commissioned and debuted 20 works by 16 early-career artists. Loggins-Hull teamed with ETHEL to solicit, select, and collaborate with composers from historically underrepresented backgrounds. Supported by two NEA grants, the program was premiered in 2022 at Brooklyn Public Library, and tours in 2024/25.

Allison Loggins-Hull
1 Persist [11:14]

Xavier Muzik
2 PillowTalk [13:27]

Migiwa “Miggy” Miyajima
3-6 The Reconciliation Suite
1. The Unknowns [2:16]
2. Never Be the Same [4:30]
3. Mr. Rubber Sole from the Digital World [2:51]
4. The Blooming Season [4:12]

Sam Wu
7 Terraria [7:25]

Leilehua Lanzilotti
8-10 we began this quilt there
i. Uluhaimalama [3:35]
ii. Ku‘u hae aloha [1:00]
iii. Paoakalani [4:02]

This exquisitely sculpted new recording opens on Allison Loggins-Hull’s titular Persist, a hauntingly ethereal, yet encouraged to elegantly flourish as the piece moves work, and that is followed by Xavier Muzik’s truly sumptuous, if not staggered throughout with engaging shafts of stern, yet cultured moments of wonderment PillowTalk, and then comes Migiwa “Miggy” Miyajima’s four-piece The Reconciliation Suite: the carefully flighty The Unknowns, the breathy stillness of Never Be the Same, the veritably cinematic Mr. Rubber Sole from the Digital World, culminating on the wistfully ornate gossamer of The Blooming Season.

Along next is Sam Wu’s atmospherically-charged masterpiece, Terraria, and which also happens to be my own favorite of the works culled together here on this quite breathtaking new recording. That is in turn then backed by Leilehua Lanzilotti’s decadent three-piece we began this quilt there, which itself begins with the defiantly enabled Uluhaimalama, the shorter, gently foreboding work Ku‘u hae aloha, coming to a close on an aching embrace that resides within a pulsing ebb and flow contained within the masterful Paoakalani.

Artist: Ethel, featuring Allison Loggins-Hull

Composers: Allison Loggins-Hull, Xavier Muzik, Migiwa Miyajima, Sam Wu, and Leilehua Lanzilotti

Official Apple Music Purchase Link

For those unaware, the Alex Coke and Carl Michel Sextet features saxophonist/flutist Alex Coke, guitarist Carl Michel, Austin Symphony principal harpist Elaine Barber, pedal steel player Bob Hoffnar (Liminal Sound Series), double bassist James Suter, and percussionist Carolyn Trowbridge on vibes.

This unique ensemble, which has origins in jazz, classical, folk, extended technique, and improvisation, will release their third album together, Situation on January 29th, 2024, on which the sextet continues its sonic exploration.

For this brand new musical outing, the six versatile musicians perform six originals by the co-leaders and one composition by Hoffnar, the playful Let’s Go To The Park.

1 - 440
2 - Sketchy
3 - The Seeker
4 - Sulkinkutsu 3
5 - Introduction to Aquarium
6 - Aquarium
7 - Situation
8 - 221
9 - Sea and Sky
10 - Let’s Go To The Park
11 - Crepuscule With Nellie
12 - Pines of Rome
13 - Miyako
14 - Sulkinkutsu 2

This majestically sculpted, earnestly heartfelt new recording opens on the whisperery melodies and notes of their version of The Carla Bley Band’s late seventies track 440 and the ethereally stoic construct of Sketchy, and then brings us the low slung, emphatically embodied The Seeker, the glistening Sulkinkutsu 3, the beautiful Introduction to Aquarium, which then itself leads into the ornate gossamer of Camille Saint-Saëns’s Aquarium, before we are brought forth the playful title track Situation.

Along next are the immersive sounds and rhythms within 221 and the free-flowing, atmospherically-charged Sea and Sky, and they are in turn backed seamlessly by the delicately-hued Let’s Go To The Park, the gently jaunty Crepuscule With Nellie (an homage to Thelonious Monk), their flourishing rendition of Italian composer Ottorino Respighi’s Pines of Rome, the album rounding out on a quietly cinematic take on Wayne Shorter’s Miyako, closing on the translucent appeal of Sulkinkutsu 2.

Following the success of their first two albums, the Alex Coke & Carl Michel Sextet continues its creative evolution. Situation weaves together the individual members contributions in a collaborative offering that could only be theirs.

Musicians:
Alex Coke/Flute & Sax, Carl Michel/guitar, Elaine Barber/Harp, Bob Hoffnar/Pedal Steel, James Suter/Bass, Carolyn Trowbridge/Vibes.

www.carlmichel.com

For those unaware, born in 1971, Benjie Porecki began playing trumpet at the age of ten. But it wasn’t until he took up piano two years later that everything fell into place. Already drawn to jazz and blues, he began to practice relentlessly and, after graduating from high school and attending a semester at the Berklee School of Music, decided to pursue music full-time.

He eventually found himself sitting in with musicians like Ron Holloway, Marshall Keys, and Chuck Brown and, as a result, learned an almost chameleon-like ability to play various styles of music on piano, synthesizer, and organ. His amazing versatility caught the attention of Severn Records who offered Benjie a recording deal.

Benjie’s affiliation with Severn brought further recognition with performances on several Severn-produced projects, and cutting to today and his brand new album All That Matters (due out January 1st, 2025 via Funklove Productions) features the versatile and distinctive pianist-organist performing melodic originals and covers in a jazz trio.

Ranging from accessible grooves to thoughtful ballads, here on All That Matters Benjie creates a program filled with variety and subtle surprises.

1. Passage of Time [4:14]
2. Just When I Needed You [5:21]
3. Wise Decisions [6:39]
4. Home At Last [4:13]
5. Sonora [5:29]
6. All That Matters [5:06]
7. Intermezzo [4:59]
8. Bring It On Home [6:24]
9. Letting Go [2:24]
10. She’s Gone [6:00]

Seated at the head of a most wondrous musical trio - including both bassist Michael Bowie and drummer Mark Prince - we are first brought forth the sweepingly elegant Passage of Time and a simply beautiful rendition of the Roberta Flack track Just When I Needed You, and then we get the organ-driven balladry of Wise Decisions, the furtively sculpted Home At Last, and the languishing jazz waltz Sonora.

Along next is the sedate gossamer spun within All That Matters, which is itself backed seamlessly by the soulful, late night, after dinner tune Intermezzo, my favorite track here, the Gospel-tinged Sam Cooke cut Bring It On Home is next, the album rounding out on the veritably shimmering Letting Go, closing on their lush take on the Hall & Oates classic She’s Gone.

Simply put, All That Matters is the latest accomplishment in Benjie’s career, a grooving and subtle trio outing that includes some of his most sensitive and inventive writing and playing.

Official Purchase Link

www.benjieporecki.com

For those unaware, Groovology is based in Honolulu, and was formed during the pandemic.

It comprises four talented and busy musicians: Aaron Aranita on woodwinds and piano, David Yamasaki on guitar, Ernie Provencher on bass, and Scott Shafer on drums.

The four musicians perform their own fresh and original compositions on their brand new album Almost Home (releasing January 1st, 2025 via Groovology Productions), with four composed by Aranita, two each by Shafer and Yamasaki, and one from Provencher.

Due to the group’s high level of musicianship, Almost Home features an impressive variety that explores many moods and styles.

1. Almost Home [5:38]
2. Mambosaki [6:06]
3. Groovology [5:45]
4. Bubbles the Clown [6:44]
5. The Path [7:20]
6. Brisa Tropical [6:50]
7. The Road Less Traveled [7:05]
8. Headroom [5:46]
9. Manoa [5:33]
10. Slybone [7:04
11. The Path (extended version) [9:17]

This vibrantly-hued, wholly impassioned new recording opens on the sweetly playful, exuberantly joyous title track Almost Home and then brings us the lushly jaunty mambo rhythms that drive Mambosaki, the luxuriant appeal of Groovology, the low slung finger-snapping, mid-tempo blues vibed Bubbles the Clown, and then they bring forth the sheer delicate gossamer of the dutifully serene The Path.

Along next is the buoyantly-cultured Brisa Tropical and the melodious, atmospherically-structured The Road Less Traveled, and they are in turn backed by the gently strident Headroom, the album rounding out on the late night soiree feel to the vocalized Manoa (from Sandy Tsukiyama) and the languish beauty of the swinging strut Slybone, the album coming to a close on an extended version of The Path.

Simply put, the four musicians combine their talents here to form Groovology, a highly appealing band that is heard in impressive form throughout this excellent new recording, Almost Home.

Musicians:
Aaron Aranita: Woodwinds, Piano, David Yamasaki: Guitar, Ernie Provencher: Bass, Scott Shafer: Drums, Sandra Tsukiyama: Vocals on Manoa.

www.aaronaranitamusic.com

For those unaware, drummer-composer Towner Galaher’s fifth release, Brothers (released on Rhythm Royale Records on January 3rd, 2025), reunites him with his roots from his hometown of Portland Oregon and his musical brothers, organist Jimmy Sanders and bassist Randy Monroe, with whom he made his first two recordings in 1979 and 1980.

Also on this recording are tenor saxophonist extraordinaire, Craig Handy and the stellar guitar work of Marvin Horne, both from NYC where Galaher has called home since 1986.

Brothers features a set of eight original compositions written by Sanders and Galaher, both collaboratively and individually. The songs cover a wide range of styles and moods with tight, energetic rhythm section grooves and burning solos throughout. Creativity, passion, joy and friendship are on full display here on the aptly titled, Brothers.

1. Brothers
2. Hit It and Quit It
3. Rio-Lization
4. The Diamond Chalice
5. Piece of the Action
6. Cahva Bite?
7. Past Present and Future
8. Seventh Heaven

With every composition on Brothers having a different groove, keeping the album interesting from the very first note to the last, this brand new set written by Sanders and Galaher, both collaboratively and individually, opens on the soulfully smooth title track Brothers and then we get brought forth the funk laden beauty Hit It and Quit It, the veritably cinematic Rio-Lization and the languishing balladry of The Diamond Chalice.

Along next is the emphatically confident Piece of the Action, which is in turn followed seamlessly by free flowing funk-soul grooves on Cahva Bite?, the emboldened Past Present and Future, the new collection coming to a close on the joyously sculpted Seventh Heaven.

Official Website

For those unaware, Peruvian American tenor saxophonist Lucia Sarmiento’s debut album Escape marks the arrival of a distinctive voice in contemporary jazz, one that blends daring improvisation with rich cultural influences and deep personal expression.

With her powerful, commanding sound and vibrant personality, Sarmiento brings an intensity to her music that resonates deeply with listeners, making her a rising star in the jazz world.

Sarmiento, now based in Chicago after spending ten years in Minneapolis, has crafted a record that’s both a tribute to her musical influences and a reflection of her journey as an artist. Escape is an exhilarating mix of smooth jazz, jazz fusion, Afro-Peruvian rhythms, funky beats, and synthesizer colors, all wrapped in the rich tones of her saxophone and flute.

But it’s also an album that highlights Sarmiento’s fearless approach to music — a trait she says she’s always carried with her. “When I play the saxophone, I love that feeling of danger,” she shares. “I’m drawn to music filled with intensity and risk that captures every fiber of your being in the moment; that’s why I love jazz.”

1. “Signal Flow”
2. “Morning Delight”
3. “Look Up”
4. “Porcelain”
5. “Dreamland”
6. “Escape”
7. “The Prof”
8. “Skipping A Beat”
9. “Rosie”
10. “Tape Town”
11. “Late Night Snacks”

This exciting tapestry that blends genres, styles, and cultures effortlessly, opens on the funky bebop styling of “Signal Flow” and the smooth jazz fusion rhythms that flow freely within “Morning Delight,” and they are followed by the elegant gossamer of Afro-Peruvian rhythms that drive “Look Up,” a magnificently harmonized, veritably ethereal at times “Porcelain” (itself a reimagined Red Hot Chili Peppers classic from 1999, and originally written for a lady Anthony Kiedis met at a YMCA in downtown Los Angeles in the summer of 1998), and then we are brought forth the melodic “Dreamland” (featuring Snarky Puppy’s Mark Lettieri and his unique guitar work).

Along next is the musically emboldened title track Escape and the percussional brilliance “The Prof” (a collaboration with trumpeter Adam Meckler, and which is named after the Prophet 5 synthesizer), and they are in turn backed seamlessly by the romantically impassioned, yet stridently veined “Skipping A Beat,” her smooth rendition of John Mayer’s “Rosie,” the set rounding out on the free flowing “Tape Town” (inspired by Chris Potter’s 2009 album Ultrahang), closing on the short and sweet “Late Night Snacks,” itself a melodic continuation of “Skipping A Beat.”

Simply put, for listeners seeking a fresh, dynamic voice in jazz, Escape is the perfect entry point to Lucia Sarmiento’s extraordinary musical journey. So slip the CD into the player, push play, settle down into a cozy chair, shut your eyes and allow yourself to drift away within one of the most expressive, impressive works of musical art you will hear this year.

Lucia Sarmiento || Morning Delight [Studio Video]

Lucia Sarmiento || Porcelain [Studio Video]

Official Website

Lucia Sarmiento @ Facebook

Elemental Music’s The Motown Collection is a continuing series of long-playing vinyl reissues of crate digger favorites from the Detroit-bred soul music giant Motown Records catalog. All releases will replicate the ‘60s and ‘70s LPs’ bold sound and 12-by-12 full-color packaging. The Motown Sound Collection continues with titles scheduled for release through early 2025.

Elemental will release a total of 22 titles through the end of 2024, including music by such storied Motown stars as Smokey Robinson (and the Miracles), The Four Tops, Marvin Gaye (both solo and with duet partner Mary Wells), The Jackson 5, Eddie Kendricks, Gladys Knight & the Pips, and The Undisputed Truth.

“As a rule of thumb, we always try to reissue the music that we love. That’s our priority. With the Motown Series, we wanted to take a deep dive into the label’s history and to reissue some more obscure titles,” describes Elemental Music Founder and producer of the Motown Sound Collection Jordi Soley.

“For many of the albums we’ll be putting out throughout 2024 and into 2025, it will be their first reissue since their original release. It’s our way of showing some love to Motown’s legacy.”

The collection concludes now on December 13th, 2024 with three more classics in the form of The Temptations’ Solid Rock (140 Gram Limited Gatefold Edition Vinyl), Gladys Knight & the Pips’ Neither One of Us (Wants to Be the One to Say Goodbye) (140 Gram Limited Edition Vinyl Gatefold Sleeve), and finally the Undisputed Truth’s album (140 Gram Limited Edition Vinyl).

Released by Motown in 1972, The Temptations’ Solid Rock features vocals by Dennis Edwards, Melvin Franklin, Otis Williams, Damon Harrys, and Richard Street. It was the first LP recorded by the group without the original lead singers Eddie Kendricks and Paul Williams.

While Williams kept a low profile while talking about The Temptations (he appears on this LP only on “It’s Summer”,) Kendricks and ex-Temptations David Ruffin openly criticized the direction the group was taking.

Thus, produced Norman Whitfield issued the single “Superstar (Remember How You Got Where You Are),” as a way to make a statement. The album’s third single, “Take a Look Around,” was a Top 30 hit.

This reissue is coming out as a 140 Gram Limited Gatefold Edition Vinyl.

The Temptations - It’s Summer (Music Video)

SIDE ONE:
1. TAKE A LOOK AROUND (2:46)
2. AIN’T NO SUNSHINE (7:10)
3. STOP THE WAR NOW (12:20)

SIDE TWO:
4. WHAT IT IS? (5:07)
5. SMOOTH SAILING FROM NOW ON (2:47)
6. SUPERSTAR (REMEMBER HOW YOU GOT WHERE YOU ARE) (2:56)
7. IT’S SUMMER (2:56)
8. THE END OF OUR ROAD (2:46)

By this point in The Temptations’ story, producer and writer Norman Whitfield had taken over the plot with his ornate arrangements and impeccable production aesthetic. Unlike Sky’s the Limit, All Directions, or Masterpiece, which all boasted big hits for the group, Solid Rock admittedly lacked a huge single.

But that’s a good thing, as this ends up being one of the more consistent records in The Temptations’ run with Whitfield. Their take on Bill Withers’ “Ain’t No Sunshine” builds well and features stunning guitar work by Eddie Willis and Dennis Coffey. Though I tend to find Whitfield and lyricist Barrett Strong’s anti-war numbers a little forced on the singing group, “Stop the War” manages to work.

Flipping the album over, the second side boasts some of the group’s diamonds in the rough, most notably “What It Is?”, “Superstar,” and the beautiful “It’s Summer.” The record delicately balances Whitfield’s more pop and funky tendencies well, unlike its successor, All Directions, whose side of sweet funk is dragged down by the more baroque numbers on the second side. Simply put, Solid Rock is definitely one of the group’s best albums.

Released in 1973, Neither One of Us, the ninth studio album by Gladys Knight & the Pips, was their most successful work on the Billboard Top LP chart, reaching No.9. By the time of its release, the group had already left Motown and signed for Buddah Records.

The title song peaked at No.2 on the US Pop charts, and also lead the R&B charts. Daddy Could Swear, I Declare was a Top 20 hit on the Billboard Hot 100.

Gladys Knight & The Pips - Neither One Of Us (Music Video)

SIDE ONE:
1. NEITHER ONE OF US (WANTS TO BE THE FIRST TO SAY GOODBYE)
2. IT’S GOTTA BE THAT WAY
3. FOR ONCE IN MY LIFE
4. THIS CHILD NEEDS ITS FATHER
5. WHO IS SHE (AND WHAT IS SHE TO YOU)

SIDE TWO:
6. AND THIS IS LOVE
7. DADDY COULD SWEAR, I DECLARE
8. CAN’T GIVE IT UP NO MORE
9. DON’T IT MAKE YOU FEEL GUILTY

The lead single, “Neither One of Us” is a poignant breakup song whose lyrics perfectly and unpretentiously capture the final days of what was once a loving relationship. Songwriter Jim Weatherly, who also wrote “Midnight Train to Georgia,” obviously had a knack for lyrics that are simple yet richly human and true to life.

The record reached #1 on Billboard’s Soul Singles chart, and #2 on the Hot 100. It was the group’s biggest hit while at Motown, and one of their last. A short time later, “Midnight Train” was an even bigger hit, but by then the Pips had decamped to Buddah Records.

Chock full of Smooth and relaxing tracks (well, on the first side, anyway), with an underlying thread of sadness running through many of the songs, Gladys’ vocals really help to bring that bitter element through, which I have always appreciated.

Beyond that, the songs are usually about what you’d expect from smooth soul - piano and strings everywhere, relatively restrained energy (though some tracks like “This Child Needs Its Father” pick things up a bit), but nothing too robust, of course.

That said, ok, “Who Is She (And What Is She To You)” does add a little bit of angered paranoia to spice up the mood, I guess, but the tracks on the second side often have a poppier sound (“And This Is Love”, “Can’t Give It Up No More”), which, while helping with the variety, isn’t the style I personally prefer, but yet gives a little something to everyone, for sure.

The final album released this year is the self-titled debut album by the legendary Motown group, The Undisputed Truth, and which was released by Motown in 1971 with production by Norman Whitfield.

It contains the group’s number three pop hit and biggest hit single (also their only US Top 40 hit), “Smiling Faces Sometimes,” which peaked at #3 on the US Billboard Hot 100 Chart.

The album zoomed to #43 on Billboard’s Top 200 albums chart. The pop/psychedelic sounds tried by Whitfield on Bob Dylan’s song “Like a Rolling Stone,” give an indication of the path Undisputed Truth was soon to follow.

The Undisputed Truth - Save My Love For A Rainy Day (HD Vinyl Audio) (Music Video)

SIDE ONE:
1. You Got The Love I Need [2:57] 2. Save My Love for a Rainy Day [4:00] 3. California Soul [3:55] 4. Aquarius [2:39] 5. Ball of Confusion (That’s what the world is today) [10:30]

SIDE TWO:
6. Smiling Faces Sometimes [3:05] 7. We’ve Got A Way Out Love [2:55] 8. Since I’ve Lost You [3:20] 9. Ain’t No Sun since You’ve been Gone [2:42] 10. I heard It Through the Grapevine [2:51] 11. Like a Rolling Stone [6:35]

In truth, this album has always been one of my go-to favorite Undisputed Truth albums, having had it on vinyl for decades now. A beautiful original mastering on the 1971 virgin record, but if you liked this kind of music then, trust me, buy this brand new 140 Gram Limited Edition vinyl edition, as that sound has now escalated in a most beautiful way.

In a quirky onset twist, producer and writer Norman Whitfield actually formed the group as an experiment, speculating that he could produce an act from nowhere and garner a hit record. But I digress, as this self-titled debut album only contained one song specifically written by Whitfield for it.

Including the wonderfully conventional soul breeze of Save My Love for a Rainy Day, a cover of The Temptations (as is Smiling Faces Sometimes), the sweet northern soul stomper You Got the Love I Need still sounds impassioned today, and together with the girls’ sweet harmonies and chorus sweetening the grit of Harris’ vocal delivery, covers such as California Soul and a ten minute extended Ball of Confusion (with plenty of in-era “right on!”s), as well as Bob Dylan’s Like a Rolling Stone, underlined just how damn good this band was.

These unforgettable Hitsville titles are part of a continuing series of long-playing vinyl reissues of crate digger favorites from the Motown Records catalog. All releases will replicate the ‘60s and ‘70s LPs’ bold sound and 12-by-12 full-color packaging. The Motown Sound Collection will continue with titles scheduled for release through early 2025.

Founded in 2012, Elemental Music specializes in releasing newly discovered and out-of-print recordings, primarily jazz, blues, and soul. These recordings are meticulously curated and reissued with love.

Official Purchase Link

www.elemental-music.com

For those unaware, Christmas: the time of the year when thoughts turn to fun, family and jollity, and of course reggae!

Yes, despite the music’s long association with blues skies and summer, the festive season is of course also a time of great celebration in the Caribbean and from the 1960s to the 80s almost every Jamaican producer of note marked the holiday by releasing a seasonal recording performed by a leading recording artist.

And of all the Kingston’s major music makers, none proved more committed to celebrating Christmas than Joe Gibbs, who between 1978 and 1982 released two albums, largely comprising medleys that featured such renowned performers as Dennis Brown, Horace Andy, Jacob Miller, Culture, June Lodge, The Mighty Diamonds, Trinity and Sly & Robbie. Both these celebratory collections feature on the first disc on this fun-filled set, which also features popular singles from Kodak &Liza and Home T-4.

Disc Two showcases two more giants of the Jamaican music scene in John Holt and Yellowman, whose respective long-players are arguably the best-selling reggae Christmas single artist LPs ever to see issue.

CD 1:
THE JOE GIBBS FAMILY OF ARTISTS – ‘REGGAE CHRISTMAS’
1. Christmas Medley – Sleigh Bells Chant // Jolly Old St. Nicholas // Little Rockers Boy // Oh Holy Night // Love Gets Better At Christmas // The Christmas Song // I Saw Three Ships // Christmas Bells Are Ringing // Rappers Rockers Delight // Silent Night // Auld Lang Syne
‘The Joe Gibbs Family Of Artists’:
2. On The Twelve Day Of Ismas – The Joe Gibbs Family Of Artists
3. We Three Kings – The Joe Gibbs Family Of Artists
4. Deck The Halls – The Joe Gibbs Family Of Artists
5. Winter Wonderland – The Joe Gibbs Family Of Artists
6. Oh Little Town Of Bethlehem – The Joe Gibbs Family Of Artists
THE JOE GIBBS FAMILY OF ARTISTS – ‘REGGAE CHRISTMAS’
7. Christmas Rockers Medley – ‘The Joe Gibbs Family Of Artists’ - Joy To The World // Deck The Halls // Christmas Is Coming // O Come Let Us Adore Him // O Come All Ye Faithful // Jingle Bells // Hark The Herald Angels Sing // Santa Claus is Coming To Town // I’m Dreaming Of A Black Christmas // Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer // Christmas Breeze // The First Noel // Joy To The World // We Wish You A Merry Christmas
8. Rockers At Christmas Style - Joe Gibbs & The Professionals [BONUS TRACK]
9. Christmas Style – Kojak & Liza [BONUS TRACK]
10. Rock It For Christmas – Home T-4 [BONUS TRACK]
11. Christmas Mood - Joe Gibbs & The Professionals [BONUS TRACK]

With most tracks officially unavailable for decades, this brand new 2CD set opens on the absolutely fabulous, eleven track THE JOE GIBBS FAMILY OF ARTISTS – ‘REGGAE CHRISTMAS’ and then brings us five from The Joe Gibbs Family Of Artists: the drum-led, rhythmically soulful On The Twelve Day Of Ismas, the all-embracing We Three Kings, the upbeat and joyful Deck The Halls, and then we get both the smooth Winter Wonderland and the gently meldic Oh Little Town Of Bethlehem.

The first CD continues with the impressively abundant THE JOE GIBBS FAMILY OF ARTISTS ‘WISH YOU A MERRY CHRISTMAS’ fourteen track Christmas Rockers Medley and then come four bonus tracks: Joe Gibbs & The Professionals’ dutiful, almost instrumental hipsway of Rockers At Christmas Style, the forthright Christmas Style by Papa Kojak & Liza, the reggae bounce of Rock It For Christmas by the Jamaican vocal group Home T-4, the first CD rounding out on the atmospheric instrumental from Joe Gibbs & The Professionals, Christmas Mood.

CD 2:
JOHN HOLT ’THE REGGAE CHRISTMAS HITS ALBUM’
1. I Believe In Father Christmas - John Holt
2. Last Christmas - John Holt
3. Lonely This Christmas - John Holt
4. White Christmas - John Holt
5. Happy X-Mas (War Is Over) - John Holt
6. A Spaceman Came Travelling - John Holt
7. When A Child Is Born - John Holt
8. Santa Claus Is Comin’ To Town - John Holt
9. My Oh My - John Holt
10. Blue Christmas - John Holt
11. Auld Lang Syne - John Holt
YELLOWMAN ’A VERY VERY YELLOW CHRISTMAS’
12. Yellowman Is Coming To Town - Yellowman
13. Jamaica Jamaica, We Ain’t Got No Snow - Yellowman
14. Children Saw Mommy Kissing Yellowman - Yellowman
15. African Christmas - Yellowman
16. Santa Claus Never Comes To The Ghetto - Yellowman
17. Yellow Christmas - Yellowman
18. This Christmas - Yellowman
19. Yellowman Rock (Jingle Bell Rock) - Yellowman
20. ‘Tis The Season (Deck The Halls) - Yellowman
21. We Wish You A Merry Christmas - Yellowman
22. The Twelve Days Of Christmas - Yellowman

The perfect alternative Christmas soundtrack continues onward with the JOHN HOLT ’THE REGGAE CHRISTMAS HITS ALBUM,’ an eleven track musical gift from the late artists who first found fame as a member of The Paragons, that opens on the soulful I Believe In Father Christmas, a beautiful rendition of Wham’s iconic Last Christmas, the warmly welcome Lonely This Christmas, and an inviting White Christmas, before we are brought forth the rather lovely of John and Yoko’s Happy X-Mas (War Is Over), a remarkable cover of Chris DeBurgh’s beloved A Spaceman Came Travelling, the velvety When A Child Is Born, a slower than usual version of Santa Claus Is Comin’ To Town, the enveloping My Oh My, and then both a silky Blue Christmas and the dutiful Auld Lang Syne.

Then come eleven tracks from YELLOWMAN ’A VERY VERY YELLOW CHRISTMAS,’ the man born as Winston Foster OD, and which begins with his fun remake of Yellowman Is Coming To Town, the reggae-pop-bounce of Jamaica Jamaica, We Ain’t Got No Snow, the piano ballad, at first, rhythmical beauty thereafter Children Saw Mommy Kissing Yellowman and the homely African Christmas, and they are in turn backed seamlessly by the melodious tale telling within Santa Claus Never Comes To The Ghetto, the gentle hipsway of Yellow Christmas, a rather lovely This Christmas, the music coming to a close on a notably slowed down Yellowman Rock (Jingle Bell Rock), a harmonized ‘Tis The Season (Deck The Halls), the finger-tapper We Wish You A Merry Christmas and then the warmly embracing The Twelve Days Of Christmas.

So, for all those tired of hearing the same old records and seeking to spice up their holiday with some irresistible Caribbean sounds, this 2CD set, jam-packed with festive favorites performed by some of Jamaica’s finest is a must. 100% guaranteed to have you and all the family skanking around the Christmas tree!

Official Purchase Link

For those unaware, throughout the course of their musical union, the members of Final Gravity have won over the hearts of music lovers from all walks of life.

Performing at a variety of venues and making countless public appearances all the while recording new song versions, this talented Progressive Rock Band has earned the admiration and affection of critics and fans alike.

Founding members John Chominsky (drums), Mike Clark (guitar), Bill Moore (vocals), and Charles Mumford (bass) released Final Gravity’s eponymous debut album in 2009. Exit Bill, enter Aussie vocalist Melissa Jane Dichiera, who joined in 2010. The band’s new EP Stormchaser is out now.

The band is melodic hard rock with progressive undertones and excellent female lead vocals. The album was produced by produced by Rich Mouser (Dream Theater, Weezer, Tears for Fears and more).

1. The Deep [4:24]
2. Far Away [6:09]
3. Automatic Pilot [4:40]
4. The Story of Forever [4:58]
5. Entre Nous [4:36]
6. Planet Earth [6:08]

This thoroughly entertaining, earnestly heartfelt new Rush-esque recording opens on the melodic rocker The Deep and then brings us the harder edged AOR of Far Away and then we get brought forth the languishing mid-tempo balladry of Automatic Pilot, the rhythmically free-flowing The Story of Forever, the EP rounding out on the forthright Entre Nous (actually written by Geddy Lee / Alex Lifeson / Neil Peart AKA Rush), unexpectedly closing on the veritably acoustic, low key, pop-lite ballad Planet Earth.

www.finalgravitytheband.com

Official Purchase Link

Official Facebook Page

For those unaware, after being discovered by Irving Azoff, Illinois born singer-songwriter Dan Fogelberg moved to Nashville and began his recording career. His first four albums have achieved either platinum or double-platinum certification, including his fourth, Nether Lands—which included appearances by members of the Eagles, JD Souther, and flautist Tim Weisberg. Weisberg’s career began as a studio musician and he released his first solo album in 1971, even appearing on The Midnight Special.

In 1978, Fogelberg and Weisberg collaborated and released Twin Sons Of Different Mothers. The album featured the Top 25 hit “The Power Of Gold,” and sold over a million copies. The two would continue to write and record separately, with Fogelberg logging another two gold and two double-platinum releases, until the pair reunited in 1995 to record No Resemblance Whatsoever.

While the album’s title and artwork playfully referenced their previous release, No Resemblance Whatsoever displayed the musical growth both Fogelberg and Weisberg had achieved and brought back to their new effort. AllMusic said “Follow-ups to albums that were as successful and acclaimed as Fogelberg and Weisberg’s first collaboration often seem forced or simply don’t replicate the magic of the past. This one builds on the original project and explores new musical avenues while keeping fans hoping another recording by the two will occur in the future.”

1. County Clare
2. Forever Jung
3. Todos Santos
4. Sunlight
5. Isle Au Haut
6. The Face Of Love
7. Songbird
8. Is This Magic
9. Stasia
10. Windward

A lovely follow-up to the landmark Twin Sons of Different Mothers, this effective album No Resemblance Whatsoever sees both Fogelberg and Weisberg picking up right where they left off almost twenty years earlier, pushing the envelope of jazz, folk, and rock and clearly having a blast doing it.

That said, if the ground they tread feels familiar, they can be forgiven for falling into familiar grooves with such comfort and effortless musicianship.

I mean, simply put, if you are familiar with Twin Sons, this album will have a very similar pace for you to enjoy; almost to a fault. Somewhere between 1978 and 1994, the genre of smooth jazz bloomed and matured as a marketable category. Listening to these tracks, I myself can quickly realize just how much Twin Sons was a precursor to the development of smooth jazz.

In what lays out much like an alternate version of Twin Sons, albeit without the recognizable FM airplay hits, with Fogelberg now deceased and Weisberg having initiated a legal suit over the creation of this album, you will most likely never hear these tracks performed live anywhere. But that does not matter, as whatever the legal state of play with their regard, if you have a fondness for either of the principal artists, this time capsule will most definitely please your ears.

This 30th Anniversary reissue on CD, and on Vinyl for the first time, has wonderful instrumentals and lovely vocals, all of them beginning with Dan’s signature instrumental piece. If you haven’t heard this, please take a listen, it is a lovely jewel of an album. I especially love Songbird, an old Jesse Colin Young song that Dan redid. My oh my, his voice is beautiful, as usual.

The album title was a comedic reference to the pair who once looked somewhat like brothers (per the album title of their last collaboration), but now not so much with their clean-shaven faces and the passage of 17 years. This particular album, according to Fogelberg, only took 10 days to record.

www.timweisberg.com

Official Purchase Link

For those unaware, Alan Chaubert is a renowned, established jazz artist who has taken his soulful, sophisticated virtuosity on both trumpet and piano to develop a unique and exciting sound when he plays both instruments at the same time.

Chaubert is known for his beautiful golden tone, his lyrical and introspective phrasing, and his superb musicality and creativity in the vein of Chet Baker, Bill Evans, Freddie Hubbard and Miles Davis. He is a soulful and stirring performer.

His brand new album Just the Three of Us (releasing February 22nd, 2025 via Pacific Coast Jazz) showcases the melodic jazz talents of Chaubert, who masterfully plays both muted trumpet and piano simultaneously. This unique approach results in a captivating album that features nine carefully selected tracks, ranging from the works of Charlie Haden and Bill Evans to Thelonious Monk and Norah Jones.

1. Well You Needn’t
2. Waltz for Ruth
3. Don’t Know Why
4. Peace Place
5. Poinciana
6. I Will Say Goodbye
7. For All We Know
8. Misterioso
9. Turn Out the Stars
10. I Will Say Goodbye - Part 2

Accompanied by bassist Beiden Bullock and drummer Jon Di Fiore, with percussionist Luis Quintero guesting on two tracks, the album (recorded live without overdubbing) opens on the pleasingly sumptuous Thelonious Monk track Well You Needn’t and the languishing Charlie Haden cut Waltz for Ruth, and then brings us Jesse Harris’ heartwarming Don’t Know Why, an aching yearn that drives Bill Evan’ Peace Place and then we get the gentle, yet playfully flirtatious Poinciana brought forth.

Up next is the sheer elegance of Michel Legrand’s I Will Say Goodbye and the late night, demure dance floor swirl of For All We Know and they are in turn backed seamlessly by their enraptured cover of Monk’s Misterioso, the set rounding out on two more Evan’s tracks: the all-embracing Turn Out the Stars, coming to a close on the decadent I Will Say Goodbye - Part 2.

Simply put, Just the Three of Us represents Alan Chaubert’s finest work to date, highlighting his relaxed yet swinging style and showcasing his exceptional talent on both trumpet and piano.

www.alanchaubert.com

For those unaware, Jae Sinnett is a drumming phenomenon who has had a major impact on the jazz industry for the past 30 years. Drumming and composing are his passions. He also works as both a music educator and radio personality.

He’s also the producer and host of the jazz program Sinnett In Session as well as the R&B Chronicles. Both are heard on NPR affiliate WHRV-FM 89.5, based in Norfolk, Virginia.

Simply put, Jae is a musical visionary and a man of extraordinary talent. He is a consummate drummer, composer, music educator and radio personality. His videos and varied music presentations will inspire many.

The Virginia-based drummer, bandleader, radio broadcaster and educator now releases his 21st album, The Blur The Lines Project, a tour-de-force, jazz rock recording featuring the music of Rush, Rare Earth, The Edgar Winter Group, Steppenwolf, Deep Purple and Led Zeppelin!

1. Tom Sawyer
2. I Just Want To Celebrate
3. Frankenstein
4. Magic Carpet Ride
5. Hush
6. Immigrant Song

With this release bringing jazz and rock together to form an enduring musical union, Jae opens on an absolutely storming rendition of Rush’s phenom Tom Sawyer and then we get the dutifully funky, yet smoothly-veined Rare Earth cut I Just Want To Celebrate, a free-flowing, euphorically-charged rendition of The Edgar Winter Group’s Frankenstein, before we are brought forth a flourishingly sweeping rendition of Steppenwolf’s epic Magic Carpet Ride, the collection rounding out on the jazzy-blues-rock of Deep Purple’s Hush, closing on an adventurously resculpted version of Led Zeppelin’s sage cut Immigrant Song.

www.jaesinnett.com

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For those unaware, vocalist Tania Grubbs crafts stories out of well-chosen songs with love and care and lets the listener feel the spirit behind each note.

Her voice is an integral instrument in a quintet of equals, a guiding thread that weaves everyone together whether singing a warm, engaging note, a challenging phrase, an especially stirring arrangement, a soulful turn, or hopeful sentiment.

The Sound of Love by the Tania Grubbs Quintet, their second offering after 2020’s Live at Maureen’s, is a carefully curated selection of songs including standards, lesser-heard jazz tunes, and some original material - all presented in a manner that sounds like a live performance. Contemporary Fusion Reviews said about Live at Maureen’s, “I can tell you right now, you haven’t heard jazz vocals this exciting in a long, LONG time.”

The stellar quintet seemingly reads each other’s intent in building sounds. This is songcraft at its finest - even more impressive is that the entire album was recorded in a day.

The band, who all have ties to Pittsburgh, includes pianist DAVID BUDWAY (Branford Marsalis, Michael Brecker, Hubert Laws), bassist JEFF GRUBBS (Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, Kenny Burrell, Joe Williams), guitarist RON AFFIF (Kenny Kirkland, Roy Hargrove, Jeff “Tain” Watts), and drummer JAMES JOHNSON III (Kenny Garrett, Benny Golson, Ahmad Jamal).

1. But Not For Me (3:24)
2. Slow Hot Wind (4:58)
3. (A Rhyme) This Time (4:33)
4. Duke Ellington’s Sound of Love (5:56)
5. Strange Meadowlark (4:51)
6. The Sculptor’s Hands (3:58)
7. Something To Live For (3:26)
8. Blackbird (3:40)
9. Sunshine on My Shoulders (5:24)
10. I Can Tell You Are Always There (6:12)
11. Four (3:51)
12. Dreamsville (3:58)
13. If You Could See Me Now (4:57)
14. Two For The Road (4:07)

Led by Tania’s silky voice, she opens the album on the playfully flirtatious, at first vocal/drum duet, latterly scintillating piano rendition of Chet Baker’s But Not For Me and an all-embracing version of Henry Mancini’s Slow Hot Wind and then we get brought forth one of my own personal favorites here, the catchy and dulcetly arranged Al Jarreau track (A Rhyme) This Time, a simply heavenly Duke Ellington’s Sound of Love (“I think “Duke Ellington’s Sound of Love” is just one of the most beautiful melodies ever written by Charles Mingus, or any composer, for that matter,” Tania admits), before the spirited duet for voice and bass track Strange Meadowlark (Dave Brubeck), her impassioned original The Sculptor’s Hands (which was itself inspired by Internationally acclaimed Pittsburgh-based wood sculptor/jazz lover Thaddeus Mosley), with the emotive Billy Strayhorn classic Something To Live For along next.

Up next is Tania’s flourishing version of the Lennon/McCartney classic Blackbird and the lavishly pleasing John Denver cut Sunshine on My Shoulders and they are in turn followed seamlessly by the sumptuous I Can Tell You Are Always There (Budway and Pittsburgher Lou Tracy), a scatting take on Mile Davis’ 1954 jazz standard Four, the low slung, gentle foot-tapper Dreamsville (Henry Mancini), the collection rounding out on the sheer elegance within the 1946 jazz standard, composed by Tadd Dameron, and which was written especially for vocalist Sarah Vaughan, If You Could See Me Now, coming to a close on the Henry Mancini song Two For The Road, here resculpted as a delicate duet with Tania and Budway.

THE SOUND OF LOVE is available today, October 4th, 2024, and is now available at Bandcamp and on all streaming platforms. Physical CDs are available at www.TaniaGrubbs.com.

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For those unaware, sometimes a trio works so well together the first time they met that they just have to play together again. That’s the way pianist Satoko Fujii, trumpeter Natsuki Tamura, and drummer Ramon Lopez felt after their first tour and debut album, Mantle (Not Two Records, 2020).

So, when the opportunity presented itself to meet again in 2023 to record a second album, the three joined forces for Yama Kawa Umi (again on Not Two Records, December 6th 2024). We wanted to see if we could deepen our trio music, Fujii said. And indeed they did. The new album displays both subtlety and power and a formal inventiveness that takes the music in bold and exciting new directions.

1. Headwaters (4:47)
2. Signpost (6:00)
3. Sparkling Water (6:29)
4. One Day Later (6:49)
5. Cold Water (3:51)
6. Yama Kawa Umi (6:44)
7. Dusk Sky (7:16)
8. Bolognaise (7:01)
9. Malakoff (2:57)

Working together for the first time as a trio five years ago, they had challenged themselves on a tour during which every day they each wrote a new composition that explored the potential of the group, and that shines through brightly here, opening on the at first screeching, then ornately ethereal, then melodious Headwaters and then we get brought forth the, at first, diligently sculpted, latterly furtive, a little playful Signpost, the veritably cinematic Sparkling Water and the all-embracing One Day Later.

Along next is the drum-led, latterly trumpet-fed, imprudently rousing Cold Water which is in turn followed by the lounging ebbs and flows that thread throughout the titular Yama Kawa Umi, the rather sleekly decadent Dusk Sky, the new set rounding out on the flirtatiously skittish Bolognaise, closing on the free flowing machinations within the cultured Malakoff.

www.SatokoFujii.com

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For those unaware, from the coastal cliffs of Northern California’s Emerald Triangle, guitarist/singer/songwriter PIET DALMOLEN proudly unveils TIME STANDS STILL, his long-awaited debut solo LP.

Boasting eight eclectic compositions, this talisman resonates through an ambitious amalgam of sublime psychedelic rock, soulful jazzy blues, and indie-Americana.

Ably assisted by Matt Engel on keyboards, Tommy Fitzmaurice on drums, and Ian Taylor on bass, TIME STANDS STILL was tracked across several session in 2023 at Odyssey Studios, a rustic barn situated on a prairie overlooking the Pacific Ocean.

Here Piet Dalmolen was able to keep his focus solely on creativity and bandleading, and once the basic tracks were laid down, he overdubbed additional guitar and vocals at his own Universal Balance Studios in Arcata, CA, throughout 2024.

TIME STANDS STILL was written, produced, mixed, and mastered all by PIET DALMOLEN.

1. Floating
2. Entropy
3. Cosmic Joke
4. Dropping In
5. Being
6. Falling Together
7. Lahaina
8. Shark Pit

A veteran studio engineer and session guitarist for two decades, Piet opens up this expertly-sculpted new recording on the free flowingly translucent Floating and then we get brought forth the low slung prog-AOR of Entropy, the soul-infused, grooved delight of Cosmic Joke, with the gentle fervent, smoothly indulgent instrumental Dropping In seamlessly following.

Along next is the laid back R&B-pop, rhythmic bounce of the delightful Being which is itself backed by the more astutely-sculptured Falling Together, this heartfelt and impassioned new album rounding out on the quietly empowered instrumental Lahaina, coming to an all too soon close on the flourishing instrumental Shark Pit.

This intentional collection reveals a reluctant poet reawakened, mining inspiration from life’s trials and tribulations, discovering knowledge of self amid the glorious environs of sacred Hawaiian islands.

On this solo opening salvo, Piet Dalmolen monologues abstract musings, illustrated with ruminations on love, loss, fatherhood, mortality, and new beginnings.

www.pietdalmolen.com

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For those unaware, Québéc’s collaboration-happy chamber jazz experimentalists Brûlez les meubles have just launched their fifth album, Folio #5, a LP, CD and digital jointly released by Circum-Disc and Tour De Bras.

Spearheaded by Éric Normand (bass) and Louis Beaudoin-de la Sablonnière (guitar), their previous outing featured partnerships with acclaimed guest artists Jean Derome and John Hollenbeck.

Meanwhile this new album sees them inviting lauded improviser-composers Ingrid Laubrock (saxophone) and Marianne Trudel (piano) into the fold, while bringing back alumnus Jonathan Huard (vibraphone). And while they never shied away from texture, there’s a newfound atmospheric quality here on account of it being their first release without drums.

Yet, there’s also power and cohesion in their mirage-like pieces, no doubt a result of the potent ensemble chemistry heard here. OutsideLeft have already touted it as a breathtaking concoction of errant chamber-jazz, remarking that listening might be one of the better things to do for yourself and it also was featured on BBC Radio 6’s New Music Fix.

1. Argentique [4:22]
2. Conscience du tragique [7:12]
3. La vie commence aujourd’hui [7:09]
4. Vagues / Spider Song [6:16]
5. Paradoxe de la joie [5:49]
6. Folio [5:51]

This wonderfully crafted, elegantly sculpted new recording opens on the hauntingly ethereal, yet compulsively flirtatious Argentique and then we are brought forth the preconsciously jaunty Conscience du tragique, the all-encompassing work of musical art La vie commence aujourd’hui, and then we are given the veritably cinematic Vagues / Spider Song, the album rounding out on a gently spirited rhythmic growth within Paradoxe de la joie, coming to an all too soon close on the ambiently dulcet Folio.

Musicians:
Louis Beaudoin-de la Sablonnière: electric guitar
Éric Normand: electric bass
Ingrid Laubrock: tenor saxophone
Jonathan Huard: vibraphone
Marianne Trudel: piano

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For those unaware, despair, loss, love, and existential struggles have always been the foundation of HARAKIRI FOR THE SKY’s distinctive sound.

Since their formation in 2011, multi-instrumentalist M.S. and vocalist J.J. have gained recognition for pushing musical boundaries with their emotionally charged blend of atmospheric extreme metal and melodic post-rock, grunge and modern hardcore, carving out a genre of their own.

Taking four years to craft their next epic chapter after 2021’s Maere (which peaked at #4 on the official German charts), HARAKIRI FOR THE SKY will now release their new tour-de-force, Scorched Earth, on January 24th, 2025 through AOP Records.

The album is a snapshot of the world we are living in, a world that’s tragically broken. Our society is divided to its core and peace seems further away than ever in the last decades. It still seems like one crisis follows another, and this feeling of impending doom is captured on “Scorched Earth.”

1. Heal Me (feat. Tim Yatras / Austere)
2. Keep Me Longing
3. Without You I’m Just A Sad Song
4. No Graves But The Sea
5. With Autumn I’ll Surrender
6. I Was Just Another Promise You Couldn’t Keep
7. Too Late For Goodbyes (feat. Serena Cherry / Svalbard)
8. Street Spirit (Fade Out) (feat. P.G. of GROZA)

This blisteringly forthright new collection of wonderfully crafted, highly expressive tracks, opens on the propulsive Heal Me (featuring Tim Yatras, one half of black metal duo Austere) and then we get brought forth the melodiously free flowing Keep Me Longing, the emboldened Without You I’m Just A Sad Song, and the all-embracing No Graves But The Sea.

Up next is the rhythmically melodic, yet absorbent fast tempo of With Autumn I’ll Surrender and that is in turn backed by the impassioned I Was Just Another Promise You Couldn’t Keep, the creatively sculpted, harmonically layered Too Late For Goodbyes (featuring Serena Cherry of the British post-hardcore band Svalbard), the album coming to a close on their remarkable rendition of the 1995 Radiohead track Street Spirit (Fade Out) (featuring P.G. of the black metal quartet GROZA).

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For those unaware, growing up in Atlanta, Georgia, pianist Joe Alterman wasn’t raised with the sounds of jazz in his ears.

Though he’d quickly come to love the full panoply of jazz styles and become an acclaimed torchbearer for the music’s tradition, Alterman’s first musical passions were bluegrass and the blues.

So perhaps it should come as no surprise that when he did start exploring the jazz pantheon, it wasn’t bebop modernists like Bill Evans that lured him in – it was blues-rooted greats like Oscar Peterson, Ramsey Lewis, Les McCann, or Houston Person.

The connection that Alterman felt with those greats as a listener has, in many cases, long since been surpassed by the connections that he’s made with his heroes as a collaborator.

Following on the heels of 2023’s rollicking and emotional Big Mo & Little Joe, documenting his close friendship and onstage partnership with the late McCann, comes Brisket for Breakfast, a joyous live recording pairing Alterman and his Atlanta-based trio with Person’s burly embrace of a tenor sound.

1. The Second Time Around [7:45]
2. That’s All [8:35]
3. Only Trust Your Heart [7:43]
4. Never Let Me Go [5:05]
5. Namely You [8:44]
6. Since I Fell For You [8:59]
7. You Are My Sunshine [7:25]

Having been recorded at a pair of concerts in Georgia: one at the Breman Museum & Cultural Center in Atlanta and a second a few weeks later at the Savannah Music Festival, this compulsive listening of a recording opens on the robustly dulcet Sammy Cahn/Jimmy Van Heusen standard The Second Time Around and then we get the languishing lesser-known classic That’s All and the playfully joyful Only Trust Your Heart brought forth.

With their chemistry evident throughout, up next is the low slung ambiance of the Joseph Scott hit Never Let Me Go which is in turn followed seamlessly by the fervently sculpted Namely You, the set rounding out on the emboldened beaty of Since I Fell For You, coming to an all too soon close on the melodious swing of the gospel-tinged You Are My Sunshine.

Musicians:
Houston Person, saxophone
Joe Alterman, piano
Kevin Smith, bass
Justin Chesarek, drums

Out February 7th, 2025, Brisket for Breakfast lives up to the down-home bonhomie and southern-fried soul suggested by its title. Aside from their shared musical philosophies, Alterman and Person have bonded over a mutual love of good food, particularly southern home cooking, and their exuberant, soul jazz-inspired interpretations of familiar standards, ballads and blues goes down with the savory warmth of the best comfort food.

As the revered critic Nat Hentoff once wrote about the saxophonist’s timeless sound, “Houston Person is always as contemporary as an expression of love.”

“Every time we’re on stage together,” Alterman says, “from the first note I hear I feel so lucky to be in the room with Houston, let alone playing with him. His sound makes me realize how great it is to be alive.”

“We play the good stuff,” adds Person with a characteristic chuckle. “I really like the spontaneity that comes out on a live album, and Joe and I have a lot of fun with live performances. He plays with a lot of humor and he’s just an all-around nice guy.”

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For those unaware, vocalist Mafalda Minnozzi is releasing her fourth jazz album for the USA market produced by New York guitarist, arranger and musical director Paul Ricci. Recorded in Rio de Janeiro, the album features her beautiful tone, gentle swing and superb facility for singing in multiple languages.

Minnozzi is a touring artist with three home bases. She performs regularly in New York City, where she can be found singing in top clubs. She returns regularly to her native Italy, where she performs in some pf the country’s leading jazz festivals.

And she is a long-time resident of Brazil, where she has a long career, recording over 20 albums and collaborating with the likes of Milton Nascimento, Joao Locke, Dave Liebman, Michael Wolff, Will Calhoun and John Patitucci.

Riofonic is Minnozzi’s homage to the music, the band, and the people of Rio for all that they have given her over the years. Her elegant vocals, heartfelt interpretations, and sophisticated interplay with the top-notch band make this brand new album one of the finest to come out of Brazil in the 21st Century.

1. Rio
2. Corcovado
3. Só Danço Samba
4. Café South American Style
5. Ea E U Brisa
6. O Barquinho
7. Telefone
8. Tu Si ’Na Cosa Grande
9. Você (You)
10. Postcard From Rio
11. The Gentle Rain
12. Garota De Ipanema
13. Se É Tarde Me Perdoa
14. Água De Beber

This sophisticated, charmingly ambient new recording opens on the sumptuously spirited Rio and the low slung beauty of Corcovado and then we get brought forth the heart-warming Só Danço Samba, some dutifully enriched rhythms within Café South American Style, and then we get the languishing Ea E U Brisa, the foot tapping hipsway of O Barquinho and the gently frenetic Telefone.

Along next is the sheer elegance of Tu Si ’Na Cosa Grande and the melodious Você (You) and they are in turn backed seamlessly by the dance floor swirls and twirls of Postcard From Rio, the yearnful The Gentle Rain, a lovingly impassioned Garota De Ipanema, the set rounding out on the robustly charming Se É Tarde Me Perdoa, closing on the bossa nova jazz standard of Jobim’s Água De Beber.

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For those unaware, Brent Laidler attended Western Michigan University, majoring in Music Education with a minor in Composition. He also attended Red Wing Technical Institute for Band Instrument Repair, owns and operates Brent’s Bench, Inc. Band Instrument Repair Shop in Lafayette and has developed an extensive professional and collegiate faculty clientele during more than three decades of dedicated service to the industry.

His endorsements include Purdue Bands, Jacobs School of Music, DePauw, Butler, Ball State Universities and the Indianapolis Symphony as well as three different DCI Corps and the International Trumpet Guild.

Although Laidler has not done much touring, he keeps very busy locally as a jazz guitarist as well as a film/commercial composer, arranger, clinician, radio host, and successful small business owner. He has performed in jazz clubs. theaters, at private events, jazz festivals and high school and college musicals requiring multiple string instruments and facility in many different musical styles. Over the years he has also performed with the Lafayette Symphony in music ranging from Broadway show tunes to a Guns-n-Roses medley.

Hidden Gems is Laidler’s third project as a leader and follows No Matter Where Noir (2017) and Wouldn’t Be Here Without You (2022). Once again Laidler is accompanied by Mark Buselli on trumpet, Ned Boyd on saxophone and flute, Jamie Newman on organ, Scott Pazara on bass, and Richard “Sleepy” on drums.

They are all top Midwest-based musicians who appeared on Laidler’s previous releases and he himself calls them his dream team.

Laidler conceived the project during the Covid lockdown when he had a lot of free time. He has three dozen old, printed fake books, many more in PDF form, and at least 14,000 tunes on his phone. He spent his time sightreading fake books and listening to his large collection of recorded music. He soon discovered all the hidden gems that would appear on this record.

For Laider, making music has always been about making joyful noise and the joy that Laidler expresses via his music runs through every composition on Hidden Gems.

1. Haba Verde [5:58]
2. #5 Shomeda Way [5:05]
3. Gemani (Gem-a-nee) [5:16]
4. Ballad for B [6:21]
5. Riffy Business [7:35]
6. Somewhere in Central Park [4:49]
7. Evening Song [6:53]
8. Bop Like [6:17]
9. Petite Parasol [5:06]
10. Without a Tres [6:24]

With this latest project chock full of beautifully crafted harmonic progressions, pieces inspired by others, reimagined, rearranged, and even sometimes fused with others, this dutifully affluent new recording opens on the swimmingly impassioned Haba Verde and the vibrant #5 Shomeda Way, and then we get the robust Gemani (Gem-a-nee), the languishing Ballad for B, before the spirited, and brilliantly entitled Riffy Business is brought forth.

Up next is the finger-snapping foot-tapper Somewhere in Central Park which is itself followed seamlessly by the dutifully soulful, languishing Evening Song, and then we get the upbeat and playful Bop Like, the new set rounding out on the robustly-sculpted Petite Parasol, coming to a close on a sheer dulcet elegance that drives Without a Tres.

The compositions on Hidden Gems are not contrafacts. Rather they are adaptations with new melodies and chord reharmonizations based on the original forms. Laidler chose tunes that he felt were fun to improvise to, and his creations are significantly different from the originals. He cleverly named his versions in ways that harken back to the original inspirations.

Official Brent Laidler Hidden Gems Promo Video

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For those wondering, Bruce Woolley & The Camera Club were founded in 1979 with Bruce Woolley on vocals, Dave Birch on guitar, Thomas Dolby on keyboards, Matthew Seligman on bass and Rod Johnson on drums.

They released their debut album ‘English Garden’ in 1979 and supported its release by touring in England, USA and Canada. Unfortunately, they disbanded after two years largely spent on the road following on from CBS Records’ refusal to release their second album.

This a comprehensive 69-track 3CD anthology covering the recordings of Bruce Woolley & The Camera Club between 1977-1981 and it includes 41 previously unreleased tracks taken from their unreleased second album plus two live concerts.

It fetaures an expanded version of the ‘English Garden’ album including the original versions of the Ivor Novello Award-nominated ‘Video Killed The Radio Star’ and ‘Clean Clean’, both of which Bruce co-wrote with Trevor Horn and Geoff Downes and went on to become hit singles for The Buggles.

Disc One: English Garden - Expanded Version (1979)
1. English Garden 2. Video Killed The Radio Star 3. Dancing With The Sporting Boys 4. Johnny 5. No Surrender 6. Flying Man 7. You Got Class 8. WW9 9. Clean Clean 10. Get Away William 11. Goodbye To Yesterday 12. Goodbye To Yesterday (Reprise) 13. You’re The Circus (I’m The Clown) 14. News (Eden Studios)* 15. The Killers - No Surrender 16. The Killers - Killer On The Dancefloor 17. Clean Clean (US Version) 18. Video Killed the Radio Star (US Version) 19. Goodbye to Yesterday (US Version) 20. Bruce Woolley - Bobby Bad 21. Bruce Woolley - You’re The Circus (I’m The Clown) (B-side) 22. Bruce Woolley - You Got Class (Soundsuite Studios)* 23. Bruce Woolley - Going To The City* 24. Bruce Woolley - Needletime* 25. Bruce Woolley - Sugar Daddy (8 Track Demo)* * Previous Unreleased

By now, we all know that the very first video played on MTV was “Video Killed the Radio Star” by The Buggles, but the real trivia question should be: “Who recorded it first? Because, yes, you heard that right, the song is actually a cover tune, originally recorded by Bruce Woolley & The Camera Club for their album English Garden.

The would-be Buggles, Trevor Horn and Geoff Downes, wrote the song for Bruce’s band, and while they had some success, Horn and Downes decided to make it their first single. The rest is history ... and therein consigned to the hallowed halls of music trivia.

There wasn’t bad blood, though. Bruce Woolley was close with The Buggles, though never an official member. He even appears in The Buggles video for “Video Killed the Radio Star”, a friendly shout-out to the guy who tried to make a hit of it first, and joined them for a couple of The Buggles occasional one-off performances.

The success of the cover version left The Camera Club’s lone album, English Garden to the dustbin of musical history. Thankfully, history has preserved video of the band performing on the Old Grey Whistle Test, and on BBC Midlands, amongst others.

But I digress, as the album itself is a delightfully strange record, straddling a line between glam rock, and new wave, with a slight dose of progressive rock sensibilities in their arrangements. At times, Bruce’s voice tries to emulate the range of Sparks’s Russel Mael, especially on the title track. It lacks the Sparks sense of humor, though, and it lacks the inventiveness of Trevor Horn’s production and arrangements that makes The Age of Plastic hold up.

Consider the two versions of “Video Killed the Radio Star”. Camera Club’s version is a straight ahead rock song with a constant tempo. It lacks the emotion of Horn’s rendition. However, I’ll freely admit that Woolley is a far better vocalist. The other Buggles song on English Garden, “Clean/Clean” fares similarly in comparison with its counterpart. There’s just a lot more to sink your teeth on in the Buggles version.

Perhaps it’s me. I came to this album after developing a familiarity with the Buggles Age of Plastic, and it might be clouding my judgment upon hearing these earlier interpretations of the songs.

So should you, perhaps, track this album down on vinyl? That depends. It’s certainly not a bad album, but really it’s more of a curiosity. If you’re one of those obsessive Thomas Dolby fans, or an obsessive Buggles fan, or just have to complete your collection of slightly obscure new wave records from England, then you could do far worse.

Disc Two: Polaroid – Snapshots Of Sound (1981)
1. I Set Fire To You* 2. Bruce Woolley - Ghost Train 3. Killer On The Dancefloor (Olympic Studios)* 4. Trouble Is 5. Only Babies Can Fly 6. All Real Americans* 7. Morning Shadows* 8. Ghost Train (Olympic Studios)* 9. All At Once 10. Warning Shadows* 11. Bruce Woolley - Blue Blue Victoria 12. Bruce Woolley - 1000 MPH 13. Bruce Woolley - The Black Girls Understand* 14. Bruce Woolley - Ghost Train (Club Mix) 15. How Do You Say Goodbye?* 16. Too Late For Tears (Demo Version)* 17. Bruce Woolley - Blue Blue Victoria (Demo Version)* 18. Bruce Woolley - You Got Class (Revox Demo)* 19. News (Olympic Studios)* 20. House Of Wax 21. Radio Pictures (Bye Bye Love)* * Previous Unreleased

As noted above, they released their debut album ‘English Garden’ in 1979 and supported its release by touring in England, USA and Canada. Unfortunately, they disbanded after two years largely spent on the road following on from CBS Records’ refusal to release this second album, titled Polaroid – Snapshots Of Sound.

What follows are 21 tracks, including the entire 13 track original recording along with a bunch of previously unreleased demo tracks and such taken from their studio sessions at that time.

Sounding as crisp and as alive as they ever were, mostly due to having been rescued from the original 24-track, 2” analogue tapes, tracks such as the brilliant Dolby-written Ghost Train, the vibrant Killer On The Dancefloor, and both the versatile arrangement of Only Babies Can Fly and the single perfect House Of Wax, showcase just how great this album could have been.

Others from the demo side of things that stand out include the impassioned Blue Blue (Victoria), yet another Mike Howlett production, the bittersweet Radio Pictures (Bye Bye Love), and one of my own person favorites the inventive synth pop sounds that drive You Got Class (Revox Demo).

Disc Three: In Concert - Live at High Wycombe Town Hall 6th May 1979
1. You’re The Circus (I’m The Clown) 2. You Got Class 3. Too Late For Tears 4. Clean Clean 5. The Problem 6. Goodbye To Yesterday 7. Johnny 8. Video Killed The Radio Star 9. No Surrender 10. Dancing With The Sporting Boys 11. News 12. Flying Man [All tracks previously unreleased].

Live at My Father’s Place, Long Island, USA 25th March 1980
13. You’re The Circus (I’m The Clown) 14. News 15. You Got Class 16. Trouble Is 17. Johnny 18. Get Away William 19. Dancing With The Sporting Boys 20. I Set Fire To You 21. No Surrender 22. English Garden 23. Video Killed The Radio Star [All tracks previously unreleased].

The third and final disc is two live sets recorded nearly back to back in both 1979 and 1980. As we are informed with liner notes, the first 1979 set was provided by Steve Warren, who was XTC’s sound engineer at the time. Amazingly, it was originally recorded onto cassette, this straight from the mixing desk sound is incredible to listen to. Also, if you were not aware, this line-up also includes Richard Wernham on drums (aka Ricky Slaughter from The Motors).

Differently, the following 1980 set was broadcast on WLIR FM, from My Father’s Place in Roslyn, New York and is therefore a much more polished audio affair, with the band themselves tighter from having toured non-stop before it.

This 3CD set is packaged in a deluxe clamshell box with a fully illustrated 28-page booklet containing rare and previously unseen images and a brand new annotation featuring quotes from band members Bruce Woolley, Dave Birch and Thomas Dolby.

Bruce Woolley & The Camera Club: The Definitive Anthology 1978-1981 3CD [Trailer]

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For those unaware, Joe Elefante is a pianist, saxophonist, vocalist, composer, arranger, and bandleader.

Joe has traveled 4 continents playing and conducting jazz and musical theater. Joe founded the Joe Elefante Big Band in 2001, which was the house band at Cecil’s Jazz Club for three years, and was featured on ABC’s Nightline and in the Wall Street Journal. He was named a Jazz Ambassador by the Kennedy Center, and has toured Eastern Europe and the Middle East as a jazz pianist for the U.S. State Department.

He has also been selected to the prestigious BMI Jazz Composers Workshop in NYC and the Betty Carter: Jazz Ahead program at the Kennedy Center.

After majoring in jazz saxophone and piano at New Jersey City University, Joe performed and recorded music full time for the next fifteen years before settling down to raise a family. He worked as a school teacher and part-time musician for the next decade, losing touch with his jazz roots as the years passed and responsibilities piled up.

After the tragic death of his wife of 16 years to cancer in 2024, Joe realized that life is too precious and fragile to not follow his true north: writing and performing vital, original jazz music with the best artists on the scene. This realization, in conjunction with his passion for Buddhist teachings - or dharma - are the fuel that ignites his artistry.

Joe’s latest project is Joe Elefante’s Wheel of Dharma, a jazz quintet featuring Freddie Hendrix on trumpet, Erena Terakubo on saxophone, Sameer Shankar on bass, and David Heilman on drums. WOD performs all original material, but with a reverent eye on the past, present, and future of the music.

1. Bad Dancing
2. Rocky
3. The One Who Knows
4. The Earth is On Fire
5. Samadhi
6. Lion’s Eyes

This vibrantly fervent, all-embracing and joyfully hued new recording opens on the spirited flourishes that drive Bad Dancing and then we get the languishing beauty of Rocky, the elegantly divine The One Who Knows, and they are in turn backed by the simply sumptuous The Earth is On Fire, the album rounding out on the sterner, more profoundly sculpted Samadhi, coming to an all too soon close on the delightfully melodic Lion’s Eyes.

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Official Website

For those unaware, Jerry Kalaf, a Colburn Community School of Performing Arts faculty member, has been active in the jazz community for many years. His credits include performances and tours with Eddie Harris, Gary Burton, Gary Foster, Frank Strazzeri, Bill Mays, Bill Perkins, Jimmy Cleveland, The Pointer Sisters, Gregory Hines, and Major Holley.

Jerry has toured Europe, Asia, Russia, South America, Africa, and the United States as musical director of the Jazz Tap Ensemble with performances at the Playboy Jazz Festival in Los Angeles, Salzburg Jazz Festival in Salzburg, Austria and in New York, at Carnegie Hall, and the Apollo Theater.

Active in the recording studios of Los Angeles, Jerry has participated as both a performer and composer in scoring sessions for hundreds of film and television shows.

Recorded at Studio J in Studio City, CA by Kalaf, and at RAX TRAX in Chicago, IL, by Andy Shoemaker, Safe Travels is his latest album, a collaboration with arranger Doug Walter. The compelling collection of original compositions brings together the distinctive voices of a piano trio and the lush textures of a string quartet.

The album features the Chicago-based string quartet ATYLS, seamlessly blending classical influences with Kalaf’s jazz sensibilities. The result is an evocative and emotional journey, where the improvisational nature of jazz meets the expressive power of the string quartet.

1. 263 Beacon
2. Another Summer
3. At The End of The Day
4. Bailing
5. Epilogue
6. Perspectives
7. Safe Travels
8. Shearing

Striking a balance between complexity and accessibility, delivering music that challenges musicians while deeply resonating with listeners, the new recording opens on the sweeping elegance of 263 Beacon and then we get the ornately sculpted Another Summer, some gentle dance floor swirls and twirls sewn within At The End of The Day, with the graceful Bailing along next.

Then we get brought forth an aching yearn that drives Epilogue, which is in turn followed by the dutifully melodious Perspectives, this delightful new album rounding out on the all-embracing rhythmic stillness of the titular Safe Travels, coming to a close on the quietly flirtatious Shearing.

Musicians:
Tom Ranier, piano
Trey Henry, bass
Jerry Kalaf, drums
And featuring ATLYS
Sabrina Tabby and Jinty McTavish, violins
Erin Rafferty, viola
Genevieve Tabby, cello

Official Apple Music Purchase Link

Official Website

For those unaware, Rick Roe won first place in the Great American Jazz Piano Competition in 1994, was twice a semifinalist in Thelonius Monk International Jazz Piano Competition, in 1993 and 1999, and has been a featured performer in the Jacksonville Jazz, Savannah Onstage International Arts, Montreaux/Detroit Jazz, Birmingham Jazz, Lansing Jazz, Flint Jazz, and Hawaii Jazz Festivals.

Roe has served as an educator/clinician at the University of Arizona, North Texas University, Michigan State University, the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, the University of Michigan, and the Montreaux/Detroit Jazz Festival.

So, as you can already tell, Roe is a very distinguished jazz pianist, composer and educator with over a dozen recordings to his name. His debut album, Monk’s Modern Music, is highly regarded in jazz circles. Robert Hurst, a Detroit native, is a celebrated bassist and composer with a career spanning over 30 years. A seven-time Grammy-award winner, Hurst has collaborated with icons such as Sir Paul McCartney, Wynton Marsalis and Diana Krall and is currently an Associate Professor of Music at the University of Michigan and has contributed to over 250 recordings and numerous film scores.

Nate Winn discovered his passion for drums at the age of four. Born and raised in Detroit, his versatile playing style is influenced by jazz, blues, R&B and gospel. Winn holds degrees from Wayne State University and Berklee College of Music and has performed with artists like Pat Metheny, Terence Blanchard and Kurt Whalum. He is also a professor of Jazz Drums as the University if Michigan.

Rick Roe’s latest release, Tribute: The Music of Gregg Hill, is a heartfelt homage to Lansing-based composer Gregg Hill, brought to life with a stellar trio featuring the aforementioned Hurst on bass and Winn on drums.

1. Elden’s Bop [3:17]
2. Ducks Night Out [5:49]
3. Mr. Pea [2:50]
4. Julie’s Tune [7:03]
5. Sunday Special [4:49]
6. Tribute [4:01]
7. Floating Candles [5:02]
8. Ballade [5:59]
9. Sharrie Sharrie [3:35]
10. Soul Element [4:26]
11. Summer Nights [4:11]
12. The Singer [3:34]

On an album that weaves together a series of twelve compelling tracks that explore the full spectrum of jazz expression, from lyrical ballads to dynamic, rhythm-driven pieces, the new recording opens on the melodious lilting waltz Elden’s Bop and the low slung balladry of Ducks Night Out, and then we get the joyfully spirited Mr. Pea, the languishing beauty of Julie’s Tune, the dutifully-sculpted Sunday Special, and then the ravishingly opulent title track Tribute is gifted to us.

Along next is the harmoniously layered Floating Candles and the luxuriantly-grooved Ballade, and they are in turn followed seamlessly by an engaging jaunt that drives Sharrie Sharrie, the elegant sophistication of Soul Element, the album rounding out on the simply beautiful Summer Nights, coming to a close on the impassioned upbeat swing of The Singer.

Musicians:
Robert Hurst - bass
Rick Roe - piano
Nate Winn - drums

Sharrie Sharrie from Rick Roe’s Tribute Album [Official Video]

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For those unaware, structured like hip hop bands that construct songs on features, early tracks featured a veritable slew of collaborations including the late, great aforementioned Pete Shelley who sang backing vocals on the David Bowie cover “Boys Keep Swinging.”

A fixture on the NYC club scene, Slinky Vagabond was a celebrated guest on celebrations as Joey Ramone’s Birthday Bash (2007) alongside the New York Dolls, Fashion Week’s Gen Art and Rock and Roll Fantasy Camp (2008) and Marc Bolan’s 30th Anniversary Show (2007) alongside Patti Smith, Tom Morello, Joan Jett, Ronnie Spector, and more.

Slinky Vagabond now return with a second album The Eternal Return out January 2025.

Following up the 2021 release of ‘King Boy Vandals’, Keanan Duffty and Fabio Fabbri have once again blended their love of punk and rock alongside a whole host of collaborations with some of the most respected players in their respective fields whilst simultaneously allowing themselves the space to be musically creative.

The idea of developing the band beyond just live performances came when Duffty met Fabio Fabbri at a lecture he was hosting alongside Glen Matlock in 2017. Fabbri – a guitarist, producer and songwriter – and Duffty started sharing ideas and a co-writing partnership was born.

But Slinky Vagabond’s wouldn’t be the Slinky Vagabond’s without a few guest names and they came in the shape of Midge Ure (Ultravox/Visage/Live Aid co-founder), Dave Formula (Magazine/Visage), Richard Fortus (Guns N’ Roses/Psychedelic Furs), David Torn (David Bowie/David Sylvian), Tony Bowers (Durutti Column/Simply Red) and Martin Turner (Wishbone Ash) and the results ended up becoming their debut album ‘King Boy Vandals’.

1. Lady Bump Discoteque
2. Ad Astra
3. Icarus Falls
4. Rollercoaster Ride
5. If Looks Could Kill
6. Strange World
7. Anthem
8. Earthman Go Home!
9. I Can Fly
10. Perfect World
11. End Of The Show

On an album that continues the bands story and ethos perfectly seamlessly onward from their last album, this new recording opens on the Sgt. Peppers era, Beatles-esque duo of Lady Bump Discoteque and Ad Astra (a nod towards Philip K. Dick), the hard hitting Icarus Falls, the Oasis-hued, Brit pop-hued Rollercoaster Ride, before the melodious AOR of If Looks Could Kill is brought forth.

Along next is the low slung, psych-rocker, and lead single Strange World (influenced by a vintage copy of a Frank Edwards book) and the languishing ballad Anthem (written following a 5-day visit to Kyiv in 2021) with both being seamlessly followed by the rhythmical brilliance of Earthman Go Home! (the title taken from the Harlan Ellison novel), the Blur-imbibed I Can Fly, the album rounding out on the fuzzy alt-rock of the co-written (with Glen Matlock) Perfect World, coming to a close on the impassioned mid-tempo psych-rock of the co-written (with Earl Slick) End Of The Show.

These tracks have attracted collaboration with a plethora of incredible musicians who have played and continue to play with some of the world’s most admired musicians such as Glen Matlock, Earl Slick, Ava Cherry, Mike Garson, Dom Beken, Percy Jones.

Slinky Vagabond - ‘Strange World’ [Official Lyrics Video]

Official Website

Elemental Music’s The Motown Collection is a continuing series of long-playing vinyl reissues of crate digger favorites from the Detroit-bred soul music giant Motown Records catalog. All releases will replicate the ‘60s and ‘70s LPs’ bold sound and 12-by-12 full-color packaging. The Motown Sound Collection continues with titles scheduled for release through early 2025.

Elemental released a total of 22 titles through 2024, including music by such storied Motown stars as Smokey Robinson (and the Miracles), The Four Tops, Marvin Gaye (both solo and with duet partner Mary Wells), The Jackson 5, Eddie Kendricks, Gladys Knight & the Pips, and The Undisputed Truth, and now their release schedule continues onward here in early January.

“As a rule of thumb, we always try to reissue the music that we love. That’s our priority. With the Motown Series, we wanted to take a deep dive into the label’s history and to reissue some more obscure titles,” describes Elemental Music Founder and producer of the Motown Sound Collection Jordi Soley.

“For many of the albums we’ll be putting out throughout 2024 and into 2025, it will be their first reissue since their original release. It’s our way of showing some love to Motown’s legacy.”

The collection continues on January 17th, 2025 with three more classics in the form of Gladys Knight & The Pips’ Nitty Gritty (140 Gram Limited Edition), Smokey Robinson’s Pure Smokey (140 Gram Limited Edition Vinyl Gatefold Sleeve), and finally Diana Ross & The Supremes’ Reflections (140 Gram Limited Edition Vinyl).

Called “a sturdy collection of fine soul and R&B tracks” by All Music Guide, Nitty Gritty was the sixth studio album by Gladys Knight & the Pips which was released in 1969. Thanks to the influence of producer Norman Whitfield, it placed emphasis on the raw funk and soul sounds of the band, resulting in an unforgettable set.

Three of the singles included became hits: Didn’t You Know (You’d Have to Cry Sometime) (#63 on the Pop chart and #11 on the R&B chart), The Nitty Gritty (#19 Pop/#2 R&B), and Friendship Train (#17 pop/#2 R&B). The album peaked at #81 on the U.S. Billboard 200.

Dusty Groove called Nitty Gritty “one of our favorite albums by Gladys Knight – a set that seems to have a lot more edge than some of her later work, thanks to some rumbling production from the legendary Norman Whitfield!”

This 140-gram edition of Nitty Gritty includes the original cover and back cover artwork.

Didn’t You Know (You’d Have To Cry Sometime) (Music Video)

SIDE A:
1. Cloud Nine
2. Runnin’ Out
3. Didn’t You Know (You’d Have to Cry Sometime)
4. (I Know) I’m Losing You
5. The Nitty Gritty
6. Ain’t No Sun Since You’ve Been Gone

SIDE B:
7. All I Could Do Was Cry
8. Keep an Eye
9. Got Myself a Good Man
10. It’s Summer
11. The Stranger
12. I Want Him to Say It Again

Released in 1969, Nitty Gritty was the sixth album by Gladys Knight & the Pips. Thanks to the influence of producer Norman Whitfield, it places emphasis on the raw funk and soul sounds of the band resulting in an unforgettable set.

Three of the singles included became hits: Didn’t You Know (You’d Have to Cry Sometime) (#63 Pop, #11 R&B), Nitty Gritty (#19 Pop, #2 R&B), and Friendship Train (#17 Pop, #2 R&B). Now available on 140g virgin vinyl.

Personally, I rate Gladys Knight second only to Aretha Franklin as the worlds best female soul singer. Her hoarse gritty contralto is also easier for a man to emulate in a karaoke (not that I would ever do anything like that!). Don’t underestimate the Pips though for their harmonies were grand, and their moves were legendary.

For all that they were overlooked at Motown, they did keep the group on the US pop top 40 for seven consecutive years, which no other record label was able to do. Their spurt of wild success on Buddah, following Motown, was all too short lived in the US. That success came later and was a bit more sustained here.

This fourth album for Motown, ‘Nitty Gritty’ was notably more funky and up-tempo, for the most part. The title track being a lively funked up version of Shirley Ellis’ minor hit with my own favorite cut on this album (and of all their Motown recordings, in truth), being ‘Didn’t You Know (You’d Have To Cry Sometime)‘ a spirited revenge song from Ashford/Simpson. I mean, listen to it yourselves and tell me Gladys doesn’t strive (and succeed) in wringing every drop of emotion out of each line.

Also, “If I Were Your Woman” is a gorgeously stirring ballad written by the prolific composer Pam Sawyer and writer-artist Gloria Jones, best known for her original version (and Northern Soul hymn) of “Tainted Love” (and, later, for being Marc Bolan’s partner).

As noted above, this reissue is coming out as a 140 Gram Limited Gatefold Edition Vinyl.

Released in 1968, Reflections was the 12th album from the Supremes, their first billed as Diana Ross & the Supremes. It was also the first album to include liner notes by Diana Ross and their first with new member Cindy Birdsong.

It was the Supremes’ last album with new productions from the creative team of Holland-Dozier-Holland, and included productions from Deke Richards, Frank Wilson and Smokey Robinson.

The title song was a No. 2 pop smash while the album peaked at #3 on Billboard’s Top 200. This 140-gram edition includes the original cover and back cover artwork.

Diana Ross & The Supremes - Reflections (Music Video)

SIDE A:
1. Reflections
2. I’m Gonna Make It (I Will Wait for You)
3. Forever Came Today
4. I Can’t Make It Alone
5. In and Out of Love
6. Bah-Bah-Bah

SIDE B:
7. What the World Needs Now Is Love
8. Up, Up and Away
9. Love (Makes Me Do Foolish Things)
10. Then
11. Misery Makes Its Home in My Heart
12. Ode to Billie Joe

As aforementioned, this mighty fine album was the last Holland Dozier Holland produced Supremes album. Of further interest, this was the first album billed as Diana Ross and the Supremes. While the album is kind of a hodge podge of tracks, there are some real gems and the overall listening experience is lots of fun.

Reflections and Forever Came Today were the Supremes nod to psychedelia complete with some weird sound effects and such. Mary Wilson has said that neither she nor Cindy Birdsong (or Florence Ballard, for that matter) sang on Forever Came Today or several other recordings from this period though, which just adds to the mystery of these recordings.

Indeed, if you listen closely, you can actually notice different sounding voices on background vocals. All of that aside, among the gems here are I’m Gonna Make It, Bah-Bah-Bah (a haunting Brenda Holloway composition), Misery Makes Its Home In My Heart, the simply terrific What the World Needs Now Is Love, and a surprisingly not campy Diana solo on the closer Ode To Billie Joe.

Pure Smokey was William “Smokey” Robinson’s second solo album after leaving The Miracles. It was issued on Motown’s Tamla label in 1974 and presents mostly songs composed by Robinson along with Marv Tarplin, another ex-Miracle who joined Robinson in California after leaving the group.

Marv didn’t only assist Smokey, he wrote, played guitar, toured, etc. Hits from the album include, I Am I Am (#6 R&B), Virgin Man (#12 R&B), and It’s Her Turn to Live, a tribute to mothers co-written by Tarplin (#29 R&B). All Music Guide wrote Pure Smokey “creates a seamless blend of smoothed-out disco and gorgeous soft soul.”

This limited edition 140-gram virgin vinyl edition includes the original cover and back cover artwork.

Smokey Robinson - Virgin Man (Music Video)

SIDE A:
1. It’s Her Turn to Live
2. The Love Between Me and My Kids
3. Asleep on My Love
4. I Am I Am
5. Just Passing Through

SIDE B:
6. Virgin Man
7. She’s Only a Baby Herself
8. Fulfill Your Need
9. A Tattoo

Sometimes an album title is a total misnomer but NOT in this case. Pure Smokey is such a wonderful album (and Smokey has many, as we all well know) that George Harrison named a song after it on his Thirty Three & 1/3 album (which sounds great next to something like this).

On this recording Smokey reflects on his family and a mature side of romance with a variety of soulful textures, styles and tempos. It’s Her Turn To Live starts out with a rather unusual note for Smokey, a wah-wah driven funk excursion outside his usual ballad style but still brimming over with his great love poetry and class 9and which forever sheds anyone’s misconceptions of funk grooves as songless musicians exercises.

On the classic Virgin Man Smokey furthers the same approach, only on a deeper funk level and those two songs are just chillingly lovely and easily exhibiting the most sweetest funk this side of Marvin, Curtis, Isaac and Barry.

Along the way Smokey also offers up many tracks full of his classic mellow soul stylings, such as the surprisingly pointed and unsentimental The Love Between Me And My Kids, I Am I Am, A Tattoo and Just Passing Through, which is a true and unsung classic for that should’ve been a big hit group of Motown songs buried out there still.

Taken along with these there are plenty of slow ballads here too, such as the tender Asleep On My Love, Fulfill Your Need and She’s Only A Baby Herself, a song I think may actually be a reflection on Smokey’s extra marital affair around the same period (but that has not yet been confirmed, even now).

These unforgettable Hitsville titles are part of a continuing series of long-playing vinyl reissues of crate digger favorites from the Motown Records catalog. All releases will replicate the ‘60s and ‘70s LPs’ bold sound and 12-by-12 full-color packaging. The Motown Sound Collection will continue with titles scheduled for release through early 2025.

Founded in 2012, Elemental Music specializes in releasing newly discovered and out-of-print recordings, primarily jazz, blues, and soul. These recordings are meticulously curated and reissued with love.

Official Purchase Link

www.elemental-music.com

For those unaware, MOTU (Music Of The Universe) is Dr. Richard Michelson, the New York based recording artist, musician, composer, and performer who is best known for his unique Blues, Jazz, and Rock Guitar styles.

MOTU has also received high praise from well-known figures in the music industry for his work with charities down the years and now brings out his brand new album Awareness Or Illusion.

Complete with Dee Michelson singing harmonies alongside Dr. Rich on quite a few of the songs, this will be their 24th official album and contains eleven (11) new MOTU American Roots & Rock originals.

1. Just Shut Up, Stop Talking To Me
2. Something Has Changed
3. There’s Only Us
4. For Jeff
5. Too Much Bullshit to Normalize
6. You Always Got Something to Say
7. I Look to The East
8. Horizon
9. Awareness Or Illusion
10. Easier To Be Blind
11. A Company Man

This fantastic, true blues Americana roots rock and guitar-driven new recording opens on the Rolling Stones-esque Just Shut Up, Stop Talking To Me and then we get the grunge-hued appeal of Something Has Changed, the Country-Americana-Rocker There’s Only Us, with both the instrumental guitar fusion showcased within For Jeff and the Delta-style blues of Too Much Bullshit to Normalize along thereafter.

With Dr. Richard Michelson again playing an amazing amount of instruments on this album, such as keyboards, mandolin, harmonica, acoustic and electric guitars, bass, pedal steel guitar, and dobro, up next is the sarcastic rocker You Always Got Something to Say which is itself backed seamlessly by the dutifully reflective Americana of I Look to The East, the solo acoustic instrumental Horizon and the ethereally impassioned title track Awareness Or Illusion, the album rounding out on the harmonica/guitar driven beauty Easier To Be Blind, coming to a close on the Gov’t Mule styled A Company Man.

Official Website

For those unaware, Dormitive Virtue is not the album that one likely would’ve expected from Eldritch Priest next. For the past 20-odd years, the Vancouver-based composer, writer, and academic has been building a reputation through mind-bending books about music such as Boring Formless Nonsense: Experimental Music and the Aesthetics of Failure (2013, Bloomsbury) and 2022’s Earworm and Event: Music, Daydreams and Other Imaginary Refrains (Duke University Press) and disorienting chamber and electroacoustic works whose sprawling melodies and elusive forms destabilize one’s sense of memory and time.

Dormitive Virtue doesn’t so much abandon these sensibilities as it does adapt them into the context of a concise, solo, and mostly improvised, guitar record. Where his compositions (much like his writing) employ carefully sculpted meandering to achieve their distinctive feel, on this album, Priest’s playing draws instinctively on this gestural vocabulary but also from elsewhere.

I began my training as a jazz guitarist, but very quickly moved away from trying to play idiomatically, he reveals, that is, I was very interested in improvisation, yet I never really wanted to play bebop or (as great as he was) sound like Jim Hall.

And indeed, while the imprint of his jazz background is audible, his sound is decidedly his own, with chromatic lines slinking across opaque, tapered chords, and through surrealistic applications of effects.

1. Grave Needs, Rainbow (4:48)
2. Supposition Engine (3:48)
3. A Problem with the Stars (4:10)
4. Outlaw (2:51)
5. Iris (6:00)
6. The Ghastly (3:13)
7. A Gilded Madman (2:54)
8. Dormitive Virtue (4:44)

Composed, performed and recorded by Eldritch Priest, mastered by Murat Colak, and recorded live at 8East, Vancouver, 26 April 2023, this sparkling new recording opens on the discordant guitar work that drives Grave Needs, Rainbow and then brings us the sublime Supposition Engine, the shuttering magnificence of A Problem with the Stars and then we get the veritably etheral Outlaw brought forth.

Along next is the transformative fluctuations within the Wayne Shorter-written Iris, which is in turn backed seamlessly by the strident guitar work The Ghastly, the album rounding out on the fluttering A Gilded Madman, coming to a close on the sheer elegance displayed within the titular Dormitive Virtue.

As a scholar, Priest writes from a pataphysical perspective and deals with topics such as sonic culture, experimental aesthetics and the philosophy of experience. Priest brings these interests to his job as an Associate Professor in the School for the Contemporary Arts at Simon Fraser University, interests that also inform his work as a member of the experimental theory group The Occulture.

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For those unaware, Transpositions is the first recorded outing to emerge from Unsettled Scores, a unique collective endeavor that, since 2006, has been generating and mobilizing solo, chamber, orchestral and opera compositions, as well as productions that straddle music, theater and other art forms.

Co-founded by Spy Dénommé-Welch, an Algonquin-Anishinaabe composer, storyteller and researcher and Catherine Magowan, a Jewish-Hungarian wind musician, composer, and conductor, the duo’s co-creations (a welcome detour from the more prevalent model in the contemporary composition world) have delved into difficult histories, and contemporary issues from both a Canadian and global perspective.

The pair’s unique work has helped them forge partnerships with numerous important artistic institutions across Canada including the Nota Bene Baroque Players, Native Earth Performing Arts, Teatre Passe-Muraille, Tarragon Theater, and The Toronto Consort.

While Transpositions presents an entirely instrumental work bearing the same name, it also arises from a conceptual source, like the pair’s other output. In this case, it’s the intersection between chronic illness and environmental health and in the words of Dénommé-Welch, who led the creative charge on this particular project, the music traces the delicate and symbiotic rapport between the land, human life and all other living beings.

Given the events of recent years, such subject matter has assumed great relevance, however as Dénommé-Welch reveals in the disc’s liner notes, his inspiration actually forecast the COVID-19 pandemic rather than arising from it. I could never have anticipated the timeliness of this work by suddenly having to navigate a way to record and produce an album about a health crisis during what became a sudden global pandemic, he remarks. As a result, the uncanny seems to heighten the immediacy and purpose of the piece itself.

1. Scan/Machine
2. Boiling Frog
3. Clear Cut/Lesions
4. Dead Zones: After the Fact
5. False Fugue: When All is Felled
6. Fault Lines: Waves of Panic
7. Aftershocks
8. Acclimation

This sonic exploration of the relationship between health and the environment dutifully opens on the studiously playful, yet stridently profound Scan/Machine and then we are brought forth the playfully impassioned Boiling Frog, the low slung, lonesome ode Clear Cut/Lesions and then we get my own personal favorite, the intricately melodious Dead Zones: After the Fact.

Conceived in a self-directed residency with Toronto’s Native Earth Performing Arts, along next is the sheer elegance of the preciseness found within False Fugue: When All is Felled, which is itself backed by the flourishingly fervent Fault Lines: Waves of Panic, the set rounding out on the yearningly cognizant Aftershocks, coming to a close on the heartfelt rhythmic nuances found driving the gently buoyant Acclimation.

Spy Dénommé-Welch, PhD., is a composer, sound designer, librettist/playwright, producer, and scholar. He wrote and co-composed the Dora-nominated opera Giiwedin (2010), and premiered his second opera, Canoe, in September 2023.

Catherine Magowan is a composer, sound designer, conductor, and wind musician. She is first-generation Canadian of Jewish-Hungarian ancestry. Catherine was nominated for a Dora Mavor Moore award for her first opera, Giiwedin (Native Earth Performing Arts/Unsettled Scores, 2010) which she and Dénommé-Welch co-composed, their second opera together premiered in the fall of 2023.

Musicians:
Alyssa Delbaere-Sawchuk, Viola
Justin McLean, Bass Trombone & Tuba
Christine Cheongyeong Bae, Piano
Susan Durnin, Coordinator
Catherine Magowan, Music Director

Official Purchase Link

For those unaware, Dan Pitt is a guitarist, composer and improviser currently based in Toronto, Canada.

Originally from Hamilton, Ontario, Dan started studying guitar at 10 years old. Throughout his teens, he played music both in school and with bands at venues downtown. Eventually, Dan went on to study jazz at Mohawk College learning from guitarist Bob Shields. Afterwards, Dan moved to Toronto and received his Bachelor’s Degree in Music Performance at the University of Toronto.

Dan performs regularly throughout Toronto in a variety of music genres and ensembles. He leads his own creative improv group, Dan Pitt Trio, which features bassist Alex Fournier and drummer Nick Fraser.

In 2021, Dan expanded his group and recorded a quintet album entitled “Wrongs”. This group included woodwind players Naomi McCarroll-Butler and Patrick Smith along with the members of Dan’s trio.

Together, these five musicians extend the vision of this experimental music and build upon it further in this larger ensemble format. These explorations are continued further in the groups latest release “Horizontal Depths,” which is out now.

1. 27 Hours (5:45)
2. Horizontal Depths - Part One (2:20)
3. This Is Fine (4:45)
4. The Sorrow (3:45)
5. Echo Park (6:53)
6. Tautology (5:06)
7. Horizontal Depths - Part Two (7:28)
8. Lester Sleeps In (4:37)

This expertly crafted, wholly impassioned new recording opens on the playfully flirtatious 27 Hours and then proceeds to bring us the transformative melodies within Horizontal Depths - Part One, the upbeat and fluent This Is Fine, before we are lovingly gifted the lonesome, yearning ode The Sorrow.

Along next is the free spirited Echo Park which is itself backed seamlessly by the magically sombre Tautology, the music rounding out on the vibrantly-hued Horizontal Depths - Part Two, coming to an all too soon close on the veritably cinematic Lester Sleeps In.

Musicians:
Naomi McCarroll-Butler - Alto Saxophone and Bass Clarinet
Patrick Smith - Tenor Saxophone
Dan Pitt - Electric Guitar and Compositions
Alex Fournier - Double Bass
Nick Fraser - Drums and Cymbals

Official Purchase Link

For those unaware, it is hardly an overstatement to say that, regardless of one’s artistic discipline or aesthetic orientation, among the biggest questions facing artists today is the very future of humanity itself. That might sound bleak, but it’s difficult to contest the precariousness of the present moment, be it in the political, environmental, or technological realm.

Rather than grappling with this topic beneath the surface of his music, Vancouver-based Mexican-Canadian composer Alfredo Santa Ana has elected to work with these assumptions transparently on his new release, Before the World Sleeps, though not in the manner that one might expect. In his case, these concerns manifest more in terms of his approach than as some sort of programmatic arc.

The impact of these conditions on those composing music for others to interpret is undeniably particular to that world. If technology encroaches further, if intrapersonal connections become more strained, and if performances become less-than-feasible because of climate change or the economy, artists in the concert music realm will need to radically rethink things.

Yet, as Santa Ana notes, his goal with this album, was not to celebrate despair or calamity, or to come up with music filled with ideas about the end of the world and humanity’s demise. It was to reorient the compositional process toward creating small pieces of music that I could finish quickly, and using an archiver’s mindset, commit them to a recording rather than prepare them for public performance.

1. A Council of Apparitions - I. Zaloasymphnesis (7:09)
2. A Council of Apparitions - II. Castle Keep (4:31)
3. A Council of Apparitions - III. Two Worlds (5:49)
4. Memory, I often think of you as time ash… - I. A New Culture of Nostalgia (2:43)
5. Memory, I often think of you as time ash… - II. The Feeling of Forgetting (1:48)
6. Memory, I often think of you as time ash… - III. Lessons for Oblivion (2:45)
7. Memory, I often think of you as time ash… - IV. Phantom Étude (2:09)
8. Colours - I. Fuchsia (2:05)
9. Colours - II. Marigold (1:13)
10. Colours - III. Aegean (1:21)
11. Colours - IV. Wheelbarrow Red (1:28)
12. Colours - V. Absinthe (1:13)
13. Little Ice Age - I. The Cold Gathers (2:40)
14. Little Ice Age - II. Ice Gods Don’t Keep (2:54)
15. Little Ice Age - III. The Introvert (2:31)
16. Little Ice Age - IV. Prayer to a Vanishing Sun (3:50)
17. Little Ice Age - V. Snow Dirge (2:19)
18. Little Ice Age - VI. The Last Hymn (1:40)

Recorded on July 25th & 26th, 2024 at HippoSonic Studio in Vancouver, British Columbia, this beautifully sculpted new recording opens on the beautiful three part A Council of Apparitions: the delicately-hued Zaloasymphnesis, the crystalline notes within Castle Keep and then we get the languishing, yet emboldened Two Worlds; and then comes the stunning four part work Memory, I often think of you as time ash…: opening on the flourishing A New Culture of Nostalgia, the cogent The Feeling of Forgetting, the grandeur of Lessons for Oblivion, rounding out on the breathtaking, sheer elegance of Phantom Étude.

Along next is the profound five part Colours: which begins with the ornately-imbibed Fuchsia, then we get the stoic Marigold, the foreboding nature within Aegean, the stillness, one minute, startling the next of Wheelbarrow Red, and culminates on the delicate hue found veined throughout Absinthe; the impassioned six part Little Ice Age bringing the collection to a conclusion: the graceful The Cold Gathers, the flirtatious Ice Gods Don’t Keep, the intricate The Introvert, a sense of foreshadowing within Prayer to a Vanishing Sun, ending on the calming Snow Dirge and a sense of conforming quietude within The Last Hymn.

Musicians:
Miranda Wong - Pianist
Alfredo Santa Ana - Composer

Official Purchase Link

For those unaware, Award-winning composer/arranger Omar Thomas weaves vivid emotional narratives on his exhilarating dream project, Griot Songs.

Out February 7th, 2025, Griot Songs marks the return of the Omar Thomas Large Ensemble after more than a decade, featuring soloists Jason Palmer, Mark Zaleski, Alex Brown, Mark Cocheo and others.

In West African tradition, the griot is a storyteller, poet and musician whose songs become a repository for a community’s traditions and history. Sixteen years in the making, Griot Songs – the breathtaking third release by the Omar Thomas Large Ensemble – is a distinctly personal and emotionally vibrant take on the role of the modern griot.

Through his visionary compositions and arrangements, Omar Thomas spins captivating narratives from his own experiences, inspirations and heritage.

It’s been over a decade since the release of the Omar Thomas Large Ensemble’s last album, We Will Know: An LGBT Civil Rights Piece in Four Movements, which Grammy Award-winning drummer and composer Terri Lyne Carrington hailed as a “thought provoking, multi-layered masterpiece.”

The big band made its auspicious debut in 2013 with I Am, which entered the iTunes Jazz Charts at #1. But Griot Songs, out February 7, 2025, is the project that Thomas has envisioned since initially forming the ensemble for his graduate composition recital at New England Conservatory in 2008.

The earliest versions of three of the pieces on the album date back to that time, with the remainder spanning several years of composing, revising and dreaming.

Griot Songs marks Thomas’ impassioned return to his roots. “I was ready to reintroduce myself as a big band composer,” he declares.

1. The Sun In September
2. Sail To The Moon
3. Obeah Woman
4. Nothing There
5. Episode D’Azur
6. The Path
7. A Touch Of Obsidian, A Flash of Scarlet

15-and-a-half years after the first notes that comprise its 7-track, 83-minute runtime were written and 9 years since the completion of its most recent track, this inspired new recording opens on the beautifully flourishing The Sun In September and then we get the dulcet Sail To The Moon and the stridently confident Obeah Woman.

Along next is the veritably shimmering Nothing There which is in turn backed seamlessly by the gently effervescent Episode D’Azur, the all-encompassing The Path, coming to a close on the elegantly cultured work of musical art A Touch Of Obsidian, A Flash of Scarlet.

Omar Thomas Large Ensemble - Obeah Woman [Official Video]

The cloudy, cosmic Americana of Yahtzee Brown is just beginning to take shape on the 22-year-old rookie’s debut album. Melding the surreal psych-country of cult bands like Dr. Dog, Wilco and the Old 97s with the reflective, wry songwriting chops of Father John Misty, Brown is poised to become one of this year’s breakout artists.

For those unaware, You Got This captures the essence of being 20 years old and wondering if you just might have been born in the wrong era.

Written in Austin, Texas, and recorded in Santa Barbara, the album reflects upon the intimate journey of growing up. The creation was obviously an adventure, punctuated by college semesters, long interstate flights, beachfront procrastination, partying, and cherishing the small moments.

Though it wasn’t the most efficient recording process ever because of everything Yahtzee going on, it certainly embodied one of his core values—honoring the challenges of the human condition AND also having a great time.

Take a second and imagine if Mick and Keith graduated high school in 2009—that’s what a Yahtzee Brown song sounds like. This album is a versatile collection, offering everything you need. From the sunny, retro garage pop vibes of Watching Over You to the soul-stirring sounds of Sidelines, You Got This has got “it.”

1. Take It Back
2. Big Friday
3. Dad Rock
4. I Am Waiting
5. I Guess I’m Sorry
6. Watching Over
7. You Sidelines
8. Halloween
9. Weeks

This vibrantly-hued, wholly impassioned and heartfelt new recording opens on the fluctuating, lazy hazy grooves within Take It Back and then we get the breezy rocker Big Friday, the low slung countrified resonance of Dad Rock with the Springsteen-esque driven piano/guitar rocker I Am Waiting up next.

Along next is the mid-tempo lonesome ode I Guess I’m Sorry which is itself backed seamlessly by the flourishing alt-AOR sound of Watching Over You, the immersive piano ballad Sidelines, the album rounding out on the acoustically aching Halloween and the yearning acoustic twanger Weeks.

Musicians:
Noah Siegel: Vocals & Guitar
Dancing Eagle: Drums & Percussion
Emile Millar: Keyboards, Guitar, Percussion & Vocals
Michael Lockwood: Guitar, Bass, Keyboards & Percussion

Official Yahtzee Brown Instagram Page

Official Purchase Link

For those not in the know. Time is Color, Vol. 2 is the new body of work from the versatile polymath Cédric Hanriot. A key contributor to multiple GRAMMY-winning projects, collaborating with luminaries such as Herbie Hancock, Robert Glasper and Terri Lyne Carrington to name just a few, Hanriot has developed a reputation as an in-demand pianist, sound designer, composer and arranger, drafted in to provide unique enhancements to a truly diverse range of successful musical projects.

Now with Time is Color Vol.2, he presents his artistry in its most sincere form: an evolution from his original Time Is Color project released in 2022, which received universal praise, even ending up on former US President Barack Obama’s infamous summer Spotify playlist that year.

The roots of Hanriot’s new work flourish within the modern jazz idiom. Tracks on the album such as “Comforting Glow” carry echoes of Bill Evans, while other songs embrace hip-hop, funk, soul and electronica. “A Luminous World Part 2” is a high-impact number featuring US vocalist Tony Moreau, while “Ego Chase” features head-nod verses from renowned UK saxophonist and rapper Soweto Kinch.

Further wordplay is contributed by American MC’s JSWISS and Charles X, while saxophonist and singer Braxton Cook adds some sweet soul vibes to proceedings. More magic is created on “La Source” and “La Barque Du Temps” via French narrations from Arthur H and Cyrielle Clair, while Swiss trumpeter Erik Truffaz (Blue Note), provides a great top line on “A Luminous World Part 1.”

With outstanding contributions from each special guest, not to mention excellent performances from Hanriot’s core trio of Bertrand Beruard on bass and Antonin Violot on drums, the album is woven together by Hanriot’s phenomenal ability on piano, Fender Rhodes and analog synths.

1. Impermanence
2. A Luminous World, Part 2 (feat. Tony Moreau)
3. A Creative Mind (feat. Braxton Cook, Tony Moreau)
4. Comforting Glow
5. Ego Chase (feat. Soweto Kinch)
6. Spirit In Motion (feat. JSWISS)
7. Whispers Of Absence (feat, Tony Moreau, Charles X)
8. LA Source (feat. Arthur H, Tony Moreau)
9. Universal Enemy
10. A Luminous World, Part 1 (feat. Erik Truffaz)
11. Echoes Of Creation
12. Awakened Steps
13. LA Baroque Du Temps (feat. Cyrielle Clair)

This thoroughly entertaining, jazz-pop-R&B, rock collection opens on the veritably shimmering, short but sweet Impermanence and the free-flowing, Howard Jones-esque A Luminous World, Part 2 and then we get the translucently free-flowing A Creative Mind (featuring American alto saxophonist and singer-songwriter Braxton Cook), the beautifully ambient Comforting Glow with the soothing, yet informational rap track Ego Chase (featuring British jazz saxophonist and rapper Soweto Kinch) and the lyrical poem feely interpreted within Spirit In Motion (featuring talented emcee, elite lyricist and hip hop artist, JSWISS) are brought forth.

Along next is the smoothly rapped Whispers Of Absence, which is in turn backed by the low slung, deeply French-versed LA Source (featuring French singer-songwriter and pianist Arthur H.), the percussional elegance of Universal Enemy, the floating A Luminous World, Part 1 (featuring Erik Truffaz, the famed French-Swiss jazz trumpeter), the set rounding out on the fervently sculpted Echoes Of Creation, the sheer refinement of the sweeping Awakened Steps, closing on the short, French spoken words that are LA Baroque Du Temps (featuring French actress Cyrielle Clair).

Time is Color Vol.2 traverses many different paths, venturing into to unexplored territory and undoubtedly placing Hanriot in position as one of the most exciting and talented musicians working around the world today. The proof is in the listening.

Ego Chase (feat. Soweto Kinch) [Official Music Video]

Official Website

Horace Silver composed over 300 songs in his long career. Countless musicians have performed and reinterpreted his iconic, swinging tunes over the years, so it is no small feat that Eldad Tarmu has found his unique approach to Silver’s music.

On Tarmu’s newest album, Silver on Aluminum, the vibraphonist and composer chose eight Horace Silver tunes, most of which were written for a quintet, and recast them for a trio setting of vibraphone, bass, and drums.

Silver on Aluminum (out now via Queen of Bohemia Productions) is Tarmu’s 10th CD as leader. It follows his 2023 release, Tarmu Jazz Quartet, about which All About Jazz said is “technically sound and musically astute with his own approach to the instrument, softer and less frenzied than Hampton or Gibbs, leaning toward the more temperate sounds produced by Jackson and Burton.”

1. The St. Vitus Dance
2. Pyramid
3. No Smokin’
4. Horacescope
5. Gregory Is Here
6. Opus De Funk
7. Strollin’
8. Yeah

This wonderfully spirited, heartfelt and impassioned new recording opens on the spirited The St. Vitus Dance and then we get the luxuriant Pyramid, the playfully opulent No Smokin’ and then we are brought forth the joyfully upbeat and fashionable Horacescope.

Up next is the free-flowing beauty exuding within every musical pore of Gregory Is Here and that is then in turn backed seamlessly by the exuberant Opus De Funk, the collection rounding out on the quietly low slung, yet melodious Strollin’ and closing on the furtively charmed Yeah.

Joining Tarmu on Silver on Aluminum are two younger, rising stars on the New York jazz scene Marty Isenberg on bass and Michael Shapira on drums. The name of the album refers to the fact that the vibraphone is an aluminum instrument.

Official Spotify Purchase Link

Official Website

New York City-born, Philadelpha-based bassist, bandleader, composer and Temple University professor Mike Boone’s 10th album features the music of Wayne Shorter, Joe Henderson and Charlie Parker, tributes to Grover Washington Jr. and Joe DeFrancesco, and a vocal performance by special guest, Ben Vereen.

Boone’s new album Confirmation features a Philly-centric cast of family and friends that includes Boone’s uber-talented son, Mekhi on drums, pianist Uri Crane, trumpeter/EWI virtuoso John Swana and singer Maci Miller.

The album includes straight ahead, Latin swing, the gospel grooves of the title Charlie Parker-penned track, and a haunting rendition of the standard ballad Old Folks, with the vivid vocals of the award-winning actor/singer Ben Vereen, who gave Boone one of his first professional gigs while he was in college.

1. G(ee) Blues
2. 3-2 Rhumba Jam in C
3. Procastinator McDastinator
4. KB Bump No. 1
5. Beneath The Surface
6. For Grover
7. Yes Or No (with Peter)
8. KB Bump No. 2
9. What Can I Say - For Joey
10. Hymn
11. On the Sunny Side of the Street
12. Yes or No (with Mekhi)
13. Confirmation (studio)
14. Confirmation (live) pt. 1
15. KB Bump No. 3
16. Old Folks
17. Jesus Loves Me
18. Confirmation (live) pt. 2
19. KB Bump No. 4

The native New Yorker and Eastman grad opens up his heartfelt new recording with the joyfully sculpted beauty G(ee) Blues, the organically strewn 3-2 Rhumba Jam in , the elegant mixer Procastinator McDastinator, and the sped up, frenetically-charged twenty-five second KB Bump No. 1, and then we are brought forth the dulcet Beneath The Surface, a glistening For Grover, the rawness that drives Yes Or No (with Peter), another sped up short track KB Bump No. 2, and then a late night, smokey jazz club feel is upon us within What Can I Say - For Joey.

The luxuriant church organ opens for Hymn, which is itself backed seamlessly by the soulful On the Sunny Side of the Street, the Latin-hued Yes or No (with Mekhi), a vibrant Confirmation (studio), a chatty rehearsal take of Confirmation (live) pt. 1, another sped up track in KB Bump No. 3 and the silky smooth Old Folks, the set rounding out on the dutiful soft balladry of Jesus Loves Me, a highly impassioned Confirmation (live) pt. 2, closing on the final sped up cut KB Bump No. 4.

A graduate of the High School of Music and Art and the Eastman School of Music, Boone was a sideman with drummers Buddy Rich and Mickey Roker, pianist Orrin Evans, and organist Shirley Scott to name a select few.

His previous release releases as a band leader include: Better Late Than Never, Old Head, Yeah, I Said It!!!, Heart and Soul, Beneath The Surface, Asynchronization Party, Smoother’ Jazz, Enjoying The View and Peace.

Interestingly, during the making of Confirmation Boone nearly died in a car crash last summer. The title of the album confirms his status as a leading jazz musician, and his will to live and make music.

Official Facebook Page

For those unaware, two of improvised music’s provocateurs, trumpeter Natsuki Tamura and guitarist Keiji Haino, join forces for the first time in the outrageously unpredictable What Happened There? (due out January 24th, 2025 via Libra Records).

Recorded live at the daylong Aremo Koremo (Each and Every) festival, which is curated by Tamura and his wife, pianist-composer Satoko Fujii, the densely packed set gleefully subverts expectations, veering abruptly from lyrical beauty to sonic abstraction, from pensive quiet to the reckless energy, all with a leavening of absurdity and humor that makes for a riveting performance full of surprises.

Satoko and I were thinking about interesting musicians to play with during the marathon live at Pit Inn, and Haino came to mind, Tamura says. I Had never played with him before and I thought it would be an interesting challenge. We didn’t talk about what we would do, all we said was ’nice to meet you’ right before we played.

1. What Happened There? (35:43)

In what is just the one-titled track for the entire 35 minute recording, the pair come together almost instantly as the infectious exchange of energy between them is palpable from the off for the listener.

A combination of experienced improviser and empathetic, yet scholared partner combine to bring forth a wondrously free-spirited set that both soars and sweeps, rises and falls, runs and canters, whilst at the same time always delivering a jazz-inflected collection of musings that never sounds tired.

At times it is clearly evident that starting into some pieces they decide to discard them early on, re-adjust without hesitation, and simply move forward into a new musical realm. Which makes this work of organic art one of the most openly honest that I have personally heard in the past decade or so.

Inclusive of vocalizations along the way from both, each applies their vast tool kits of extended trumpet and guitar techniques on their main instruments to pack the music with unusual timbres and textures.

Official Purchase Links

www.natsukitamura.com

For those unaware, Satoko Fujii’s new string ensemble, GEN, makes a stunning debut on her latest album, Altitude 1100 Meters (out January 24th, 2025).

For the first time in a recording career spanning nearly 30 years, pianist-composer Satako Fujii has written music for a string ensemble.

The group, GEN, which means simply string in Japanese, makes its debut here on this debut album (out via Libra Records) and is a dramatic departure for Fujii, an artist already notable for her stylistic range and depth.

The sonorities and textures of violin, viola, and bass, create a new soundscape for Fujii to explore and the music is rich with excitement as she and the group make new musical discoveries.

For some reason I can’t explain, the sound of strings touches my heart deeply, it activates a part of my brain in a very that’s totally different from other instruments, Fujii says.

1. Morning Haze
2. Morning Sun
3. Early Afternoon
4. Light Rain
5. Twilight

Celebrating her 65th birthday with her first compositions for strings, this wonderfully impassioned new recording opens on the lushly sculpted Morning Haze and then we get the striking soundscape of Morning Sun, and they are then in turn followed by the creatively immersive strains felt within Early Afternoon, then we are brought forth the all-encompassing Light Rain, the new set coming to a close on the confluence of sounds found thriving within Twilight

Line-up/Musicians:
Yuriko Mukoujima, Ayako Kato - violin
Atsuko Hatano - viola and electronics
Hiroshi Yoshino - bass
Akira Horikoshi - drums

Official Purchase Links

Official Website

Released in 1978 this was the debut album by madcap American punks The Dickies and it reached No.18 in the UK national charts during a five month run in the Top 40.

Available now on stand-alone CD in a slip case, six bonus tracks have been added and the album includes the National Chart hit singles ‘Silent Night’ (No.47), ‘Banana Splits’ (No.7) and ‘Paranoid’ (No.45).

It also comes with a booklet including lyrics to all the songs plus repros of sleeves and memorabilia from the time and original vocalist Leonard Graves Phillips and guitarist Stan Lee still lead The Dickies to this very day.

1. GIVE IT BACK
2. POODLE PARTY
3. PARANOID
4. SHE
5. SHADOW MAN
6. MENTAL WARD
7. EVE OF DESTRUCTION
8. YOU DRIVE ME APE (YOU BIG GORILLA)
9. WATERSLIDE
10. WALK LIKE AN EGG
11. CURB JOB
12. SHAKE & BAKE
13. RONDO (THE MIDGETS REVENGE)
14. I’M OK YOU’RE OK [Bonus Track]
15. SILENT NIGHT [Bonus Track]
16. THE SOUND OF SILENCE [Bonus Track]
17. BANANA SPLITS (THE TRA LA LA SONG) [Bonus Track]

The USA’s The Dickies were a clone of The Stooges, The Clash and the Buzzcocks, which was never going to be a bad thing musically, and which they brought to the fore brilliantly on their 1979 debut, The Incredible Shrinking Dickies.

A standard power-chord affair with a fanfare-like intro and various parody elements, their monster hit was a cover of the 1968 pop theme song for the children’s television program The Banana Splits, the exhilarating The Tra La La Song (One Banana, Two Banana), which is included here as a bonus track.

Eagerly riding the coattails of the first wave of LA punk, every song they came up with was a stupid, and wholly endearing bout of musical skullduggery, and listening to them today still never ceases to put a smile on my face.

I mean, come on now, Walk Like An Egg is a perfect example of what I’m talking about, as is Waterslide. So much so that they come together to actually manage to match the first Ramones album for sheer wtf’ness!

All the songs on this album are frantically fast and very short, with over half the selections here having run times of under two minutes, and only the instrumental number Rondo is itself longer than three minutes.

But if standout covers, done in a way that you have to hear them to believe them, is your cup of tea, well tune in here for their cover of Black Sabbath’s Paranoid, the Monkees’ She, Simon & Garfunkel’s Sound of Silence, and Barry McGuire’s Eve of Destruction, which are all given the same dizzy treatment as everything else brought forth.

And so on an album that is vibrantly good, outlandishly crazy, honkingly stupid fun, you will find that every track is worth the price of admission!

Official Purchase Link

Refuge. Resilience. Redemption. For TT, that’s what music has always represented: an opportunity to turn life’s challenges into something beautiful and empowering.

TT began making that discovery at six years old, decades before he debuted with his first album, 2025’s MAN ON THE CORNER. Diagnosed with a chronic kidney condition as a child, TT spent years dealing with the physical pain and emotional trauma of a disease that left him crippled at a young age.

As he relearned to walk, he found comfort in music — not only the musical theater songs that his mom sang around the house, but a wide mix of country, classical, and rock & roll. Those influences would eventually inspire “A Moment Ago”, a genre-bending record rooted not only in TT’s eclectic musical tastes, but also the observations made, lessons learned, and social implications that resulted from his health challenges.

1. My Confession
2. Let Us Breathe
3. Heal My Heart
4. My Kind of Cowgirl
5. Little One, Little Man
6. Old Glory
7. Ghost in Your Shoes
8. You Gotta Earn Me
9. A Moment Ago

This heartfelt, impassioned and magnificently sculpted new recording opens on the gently rambunctious My Confession and the drum-led rocker Let Us Breathe and then we get brought forth the veritably choir-like, Midge Ure-esque Heal My Heart, and the freeflowing country AOR of My Kind of Cowgirl.

Along next is the dutifully calming ballad Little One, Little Man which is itself followed by the mid-tempo, gritty strum-along of Old Glory, the guitar rocker Ghost in Your Shoes, the album rounding out on the Americana-folk-rock of You Gotta Earn Me, closing on the delicately-hued piano balladry of A Moment Ago.

MAN ON THE CORNER may be inspired by TT’s own experience, but his songs cast a wider net. Let Us Breathe tackles the looming threat of climate change, while You Gotta Earn Me — with its vocal harmonies and rootsy instrumentation — unfolds like a tribute to self-esteem.

Having helped friends through the difficulties of addiction, he sympathizes with those who struggle with this affliction in Ghost in Your Shoes. Inspired by fatherhood, Little One Little Man finds TT singing to his two children over acoustic guitar and cinematic strings.

Together, those songs weave a diverse web of sounds and stories, all delivered by a longtime storyteller, songwriter, and survivor who refuses to waste another moment.

TT - My Confession (Official Music Video)

If you were not aware, their names were Laura, Livia, and Anna. Together, they were known in the late 1500’s as the Tre Donne di Ferrara - the three ladies of Ferrara.

Their ensemble was praised by contemporary poets and won highest renown throughout Italy and Germany. However, women were not supposed to become famous for their professional achievements.

And so, one of them was murdered by her husband - a count - who went unpunished. Thus, this is a tale of revolutionary women ahead of their time, living in an era when women had no protections.

In this album, it has been my pleasure to collaborate with three extraordinary ladies of today - named Amanda, Amanda, and Amanda, says Jeannette Sorrell. The Amandas and I are proud to offer this homage to the unstoppable Italian women who broke the glass ceiling in 1580. We hope that their brilliance and boldness resound through this recording.

Apollo’s Fire was named for the classical god of music and the sun and was founded in 1992 by the award-winning young harpsichordist and conductor Jeannette Sorrell. Sorrell envisioned an ensemble dedicated to the baroque ideal that music should evoke the various Affekts or passions in the listeners. Apollo’s Fire is a collection of creative artists who share Sorrell’s passion for drama and rhetoric.

This brilliantly executed, and thoroughly immersive new recording opens on the aching yearn that builds within El Cant dels Ocells and continues onward with the dashingly elegance of Passacaglia della Vita, the euphorically strident Il primo libro di Canzone, Sinfonie, Fantasie, Capricci, Brandi, Correnti, Gagliarde, Alemane, Volte: Ciaccona in G Major, the dutifully delightful Toccata del Quarto Tono and then we get brought forth the rousingly honed 12 Madrigali per cantare e sonare: No. 8, O dolcezz’ amarissime d’amore, the flourishing Toccata in G Minor, the beautiful Passacalio, Op. 22: No. 25 and the delicately-charged Theatrum Musicium: No. 7, O Felix Jucunditas.

Along next is the flighty Amanti, io so vi dire in G Mixolydian mode and the sterner fare of Sonata sopra Fuggi dolente core, Op. 22: No. 21 and they are in turn followed by the emboldened 12 Madrigali per cantare e sonare: No. 9, Troppo ben può questo tiranno Amore, the sheer Arie, Op. 8: No. 6, Che si puó fare, the gentle dance floor swirl of Scherzi Musicali, SV 247: No. 2, Quel sguardo sdegnosetto, the strongly toned Cantates italiennes de différents auteurs, Tome 1: No. 22, Sdegno, campion audace, and then we get the shimmering Trattado de Glosas: Recercada sesta sobre la “Romanesca”, the recording rounding out on the free flowing majesties within Trattado de Glosas: Recercada segunda sobre el “passamezzo” moderno, closing on the robustly rhythmic Un Sarao de la Chacona.

Traditional, Trad. Catalan: El Cant dels Ocells
Landi, S: Passacaglia della Vita
Falconieri: Il primo libro di Canzone, Sinfonie, Fantasie, Capricci, Brandi, Correnti, Gagliarde, Alemane, Volte: Ciaccona in G Major
Luzzaschi: Toccata del Quarto Tono
Luzzaschi: 12 Madrigali per cantare e sonare: No. 8, O dolcezz’ amarissime d’amore
Piccinini: Toccata in G Minor
Marini, B: Passacalio, Op. 22: No. 25
Capricornus: Theatrum Musicium: No. 7, O Felix Jucunditas
Ferrari, Benedetto: Amanti, io so vi dire in G Mixolydian mode
Marini, B: Sonata sopra Fuggi dolente core, Op. 22: No. 21
Luzzaschi: 12 Madrigali per cantare e sonare: No. 9, Troppo ben può questo tiranno Amore
Strozzi: Arie, Op. 8: No. 6, Che si puó fare
Monteverdi: Scherzi Musicali, SV 247: No. 2, Quel sguardo sdegnosetto
Mazzocchi, V: Cantates italiennes de différents auteurs, Tome 1: No. 22, Sdegno, campion audace
Ortiz, D: Trattado de Glosas: Recercada sesta sobre la “Romanesca”
Aranés: Trattado de Glosas: Recercada segunda sobre el “passamezzo” moderno
Aranés: Un Sarao de la Chacona

Official Purchase Link

www.apollosfire.org

If you were not aware, themes of art song, poetry and spirituality run throughout Poème Mystique, the second solo album by Korean-American violinist Danbi Um.

Following Danbi’s acclaimed solo debut album Much Ado – a showcase for her virtuosity and gilded tone – Poème Mystique explores works of lyrical beauty and profound personal expression.

Richard Strauss’ Violin Sonata, written in the year he met his future wife, is imbued with romance and intimacy. Ernest Bloch’s Second Violin Sonata, the title work of the album, is by turns ecstatic, spiritual and fantasy-like.

Inspired by a dream, Bloch incorporates a vast range of spirituality, including motifs from his Jewish-themed works, the Gregorian Credo, Mass Kyrie and traditional Amen.

Danbi weaves two shorter works amongst the sonatas. Gabriel Fauré’s Après un rêve (“After a dream”), originally a French art song, becomes an exquisite song without words in this transcription for violin. The album concludes with Franz Schubert’s Ave Maria, likewise originally for voice and piano, presented here in an arrangement by August Wilhelm.

Danbi’s refined collaborator is Finnish pianist Juho Pohjonen. Together they deliver a performance that is at once technically virtuosic and emotionally nuanced.

RICHARD STRAUSS (1864–1949)
Violin Sonata in E flat Op.18
1. I. Allegro, ma non troppo (11:28)
2. II. Improvisation: Andante cantabile (7:19)
3. III. Finale: Andante – Allegro (8:03)

GABRIEL FAURÉ (1845–1924); arr. Wolfgang Birtel
4. Après un rêve Op.7 No.1 (2:47)

ERNEST BLOCH (1880–1959)
Violin Sonata No.2 B.58 ‘Poème mystique’
5. Andante moderato – (4.23)
6. Animato – (3.33)
7. L’istesso tempo (ma un poco mento lente) – (5.12)
8. Animato (6.57)

FRANZ SCHUBERT (1797–1828); arr. August Wilhelmj
9. Ave Maria (Ellens dritter Gesang) D.839

Recorded on June 20th-22nd 2024 at Abeshouse Recording Barn, South Salem, New York, this beautiful recording opens on the Strauss’ Violin Sonata in E flat Op.18: the free flowing Allegro, ma non troppo, the decadent Improvisation: Andante cantabile, closing on the ornately sculpted Finale: Andante – Allegro; and then we get an aching yearn that drives Fauré’s Après un rêve Op.7 No.1.

Along next is Bloch’s supremely elegant Violin Sonata No.2 B.58 ‘Poème mystique’: which opens on the veritably glistening Andante moderato, the fervently charged Animato, the graceful L’istesso tempo (ma un poco mento lente), closing on the formidable Animato; the set rounding out on the sophisticated dignity of Schubert’s Ave Maria (Ellens dritter Gesang) D.839.

Official Purchase Link

www.danbium.com

If you were not aware, countertenor Aryeh Nussbaum Cohen’s star is rapidly in the ascendent, his voice astonishingly beautiful and golden-toned (The Guardian).

He has been acclaimed as a complete artist by The New York Times and as extravagantly gifted... Nussbaum Cohen is poised to re-define what’s possible for singers of this distinctive voice type (San Francisco Chronicle).

Uncharted is Aryeh’s solo debut album, and ventures outside typical countertenor territory into 19th and 20th century lieder never before recorded by his soaring voice type. Austro-Germanic lieder was Aryeh’s first musical love and on Uncharted, he indulges in music by Erich Wolfgang Korngold, Clara and Robert Schumann, and Johannes Brahms - music that resonates profoundly with his family’s German and Jewish heritage.

The moving program is heightened by the deeply sensitive playing of leading collaborative pianist John Churchwell, Head of Music for San Francisco Opera.

The release of Uncharted coincides with a North American tour that takes Aryeh to Houston and St. Paul, with debuts at the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C., and New York’s Carnegie Hall.

ERICH WOLFGANG KORNGOLD (1897–1957)
Lieder des Abschieds, Op. 14
1. I. Sterbelied Christina Rossetti; adapt. Alfred Kerr (4:32)
2. II. Dies eine kann mein Sehnen nimmer fassen Edith Ronsperger (3:15)
3. III. Mond, so gehst du wieder auf Ernst Lothar (4:33)
4. IV. Gefaßter Abschied Ernst Lothar (4:27)

JOHANNES BRAHMS (1833–1897)
5. Mein wundes Herz, Op. 59, No. 7 Klaus Groth (2:22)

CLARA SCHUMANN (1819–1896)
6. Ich stand in dunkeln Träumen, Op. 13, No. 1 Heinrich Heine (2:30)

JOHANNES BRAHMS
7. Dein blaues Auge hält so still, Op. 59, No. 8 Klaus Groth (2:18)

CLARA SCHUMANN
8. Sie liebten sich beide, Op. 13, No. 2 Heinrich Heine (1:59)

JOHANNES BRAHMS
9. In meiner Nächte Sehnen, Op. 57 No. 5 Georg Friedrich Daumer (1:44)

CLARA SCHUMANN
10. Liebeszauber, Op. 13, No. 3 Emanuel Geibel (2.31)
11. Der Mond kommt still gegangen, Op. 13, No. 4 Emanuel Geibel (2:22)

JOHANNES BRAHMS
12. Unbewegte laue Luft, Op. 57 No. 8 Georg Friedrich Daumer (4:12)

ROBERT SCHUMANN (1810–1956)
Liederkreis Op.39 Joseph von Eichendorff
13. I. In der Fremde (2:03)
14. II. Intermezzo (2:00)
15. III. Waldesgespräch (2:19)
16. IV. Die Stille (1:36)
17. V. Mondnacht (4:25)
18. VI. Schöne Fremde 1:25)
19. VII. Auf einer Burg (2:53)
20. VIII. In der Fremde (1:27)
21. IX. Wehmut (4:27)
22. X. Zwielicht (2:48)
23. XI. Im Walde (1:36)
24. XII. Frühlingsnacht (1:31)
25. Der Nussbaum, Op. 25 (Myrthen), No. 3 Julius Mosen (3:19)

Recorded between January 27th-February 1st 2023 at Skywalker Sound, Nicasio, California, this majestically grandiose recording opens Korngold’s Lieder des Abschieds, Op. 14: which opens on the gracefulness of Sterbelied, the sterner fare of Dies eine kann mein Sehnen nimmer fassen, the sweeping Mond so gehst du wieder auf, closing on the truly all-embracing Gefaßter Abschied; and up next is Brahms’ affectively moving Mein wundes Herz, Op. 59, No. 7 Klaus Groth.

Along next is Schumann’s veritably shimmering Ich stand in dunkeln Träumen, Op. 13, No. 1 Heinrich Heine, and then Brahms’ delicately hued Dein blaues Auge hält so still, Op. 59, No. 8 Klaus Groth, Schumann’s flourishingly embodied Sie liebten sich beide, Op. 13, No. 2 Heinrich Heine, which in turn is closed out with Brahms’ sumptuous In meiner Nächte Sehnen, Op. 57 No. 5 Georg Friedrich Daumer; then comes Schmann’s gorgeous Liebeszauber, Op. 13, No. 3 Emanuel Geibel and the heartwarming Der Mond kommt still gegangen, Op. 13, No. 4 Emanuel Geibel; before Brahms’ stylish Unbewegte laue Luft, Op. 57 No. 8 Georg Friedrich Daumer.

Along next is Schumann’s 12-partLiederkreis Op.39: which opens on the impassioned duo of In der Fremde and Intermezzo and then proceeds to bring forth the confident Waldesgespräch, the rhythmic Die Stille, the demure Mondnacht, the delightful Schöne Fremde, the austere Auf einer Burg, and then we are presented the sprightly In der Fremde, the refined nature of Wehmut, the dutifully discerning Zwielicht, rounding out on the playful Im Walde and the flirtatiously adventurous Frühlingsnacht; the final track being the sweepingly effective Der Nussbaum, Op. 25 (Myrthen), No. 3 Julius Mosen.

Official Purchase Link

www.aryehnussbaumcohen.com

For those not in the know, Rae Sremmurd, the Mississippi-bred hip-hop heroes revered for the Billboard #1 hit “Black Beatles” as well as other Hot 100 hits like “No Type,” “Swang,” and “Powerglide,” have just re-released their scrappy, promising 2015 debut album SremmLife via Interscope/UMe.

That’s right, influential multiplatinum duo Rae Sremmurd celebrate the 10th anniversary of their double-platinum breakout debut LP, SremmLife [EarDrummers/ Interscope/UMe).

SremmLife initially arrived on January 6th, 2015, going on to take the culture by storm and spawning a succession of smashes in the process. Upon release, it bowed in the Top 5 of the Billboard 200. However, its influence has only grown over the ensuing decade powered up by the 7x-Platinum “No Type,” 5x-Platinum “Come Get Her,” 4x-Platinum “This Could Be Us,” 3x-Platinum “No Flex Zone,” 3x-Platinum “Throw Sum Mo” [feat. Nicki Minaj & Young Thug], and Gold-certified “My X” and “Up Like Trump.”

With the bulk of its production helmed by Mike WiLL Made-It [Kendrick Lamar, Beyoncé] and his EarDrummers production team (A Pluss, Marz), the album also notably includes guest spots from Big Sean on “YNO” and Jace of Two-9 on ”Unlock The Swag.” Additional production contributions come from Swae Lee on “No Type,” Sonny Digital, Young Chop, Soundz and Honorable C.N.O.T.E.

The Inglewood-born and Mississippi-raised brothers—Swae Lee and Slim Jxmmi—ignited a stratospheric rise in the record’s wake. It’s no wonder Forbes touted them on its “30 Under 30” for 2016, and Billboard retrospectively pegged them as one of the “50 Greatest Rap Groups of All Time.”

Furthermore the album is released on translucent red and as a 180-gram, double-vinyl in a gatefold configuration with the bonus track No Flex Zone (Remix) featuring Nicki Minaj and Pusha T.

Side A:
1. Lit Like Bic
2. Unlock The Swag
3. No Flex Zone

Side B:
1. My X
2. This Could Be Us
3. Come Get Her
4. Up Like Trump

Side C:
1. Throw Some Mo
2. YNo
3. No Type

Side D:
1. Safe Sex Pays Checks
2. No Flex Zone (Remix)

Without a shadow of a doubt, SremmLife was just the beginning of a breakout year for Rae Sremmurd in 2015/16.

Rae Sremmurd - which is Drummers Ear spelt backwards - were barely known back nearly ten years ago, but once this album came out, the way it had been produced, and the fact it seamlessly merged hip hop and R&B, meant that their youthful exuberance combined with massive beats blending with concert-level choruses made your ears stand up to attention!

Indeed, this was also Record Producer Mike WiLL Made-It’s return to hip-hop’s pantheon for despite basically owning 2013 (and arguably 2012 as well), making an especially large splash by providing the hip-hop underpinnings of ex-Disney starlet Miley Cyrus’ pop-charts-smashing Bangerz, the young producer spent most of 2014 outside of the spotlight; quietly assembling an army of other young producers (EarDrummers Entertainment) before making a play for re-recognition via his protégés, Rae Sremmurd.

That said, the album features a good number of other background producers backing the promising young duo’s debut full-length, but as we can see from the album’s cover, it seems as though Khalif and Aaquil Brown are the two focal points here.

On an album that gives as much as it gets, both in the converging elements of Hip Hop / R&B / Trap-Flow intensity and emotional abreaction, if you want more proof, check out the first three songs on Side A, for they alone crush the competition within fifteen minutes!

The self-proclaimed Gatekeepers of Hip Hop bring forth loud lashings of vocal effects, simplistic flow patterns and, at times, repetitive, and at times, even obnoxious late ’90s vibes that infiltrate your body like an incredible Hip Hop/R&B amalgamation virus!

Throughout this incredible album its noticeable that their three main strengths are rock solid instrumentals, uber catchy choruses and inspired melodies, that even if you don’t quite understand what they are referencing, will still have your body moving, trust me!

In truth, the biggest single off the album, “No Type” was never my own personal stand out, and might well also be their least effective track of the 45 minute show.

That said, “No Flex Zone” is a masterclass of how to put together a chorus, the bizarre Julia Stiles dancing to Biggie of “Come Get Her,” the raw openness of “My X” (a slow burn of “I Don’t F**k With You”) all still resonate today.

As for guest appearances, we get Big Sean himself joining in on the humongous “YNo,” but it’s a shame that Nicki Minaj is only restricted to a sparse hook on the R&B groover “Throw Sum Mo.”

The aftershocks of SremmLife’s impact reverberate through hip-hop to this day. Beyond landing on 2015 year-end lists from Pitchfork, Stereogum, Los Angeles Times, Complex, and more, Rolling Stone cited it as one of “The 200 Greatest Hip-Hop Albums of All Time,” promising, “the ebullience of their debut embodies pure pop-rap joy like few records in recent memory.” Not to mention, it also paved the way for SremmLife 2 [2016], SR3MM [2018], and Sremm 4 Life [2023].

Official Purchase Link

www.RaeSremmurd.com

Rae Sremmurd @ Facebook

Rae Sremmurd @ Twitter

Rae Sremmurd @ Instagram

If you were not aware, Trombonist Nanami Haruta made the move from her native Sapporo to Tokyo as a teenager, and quickly established herself as a dynamic & inspired player.

Master trombonist Michael Dease heard her at a festival when she was 17, and later convinced her to make another move, to pursue her degree with him and Rodney Whitaker at Michigan State University.

With professional affiliations now including Whitaker’s Sextet & drummer Ulysses Owens Jr’s Big Band, The Vibe documents the respect she’s garnered from her mentors and showcases her significant musical voice.

With her quartet - including Whitaker, Owens, and Xavier Davis on piano - along with guest appearances by producer Dease and guitarist Chris Minami, Haruta unveils an assertive posture and a compelling, robust tone on this set of five originals, two pieces by co-producer/executive producer Gregg Hill, and four covers, including Curtis Fuller’s Algonquin.

1. Girlie’s World (5:14)
2. The Vibe (7:25)
3. Algonquin (4:53)
4. Toshi (6:01)
5. Sister Rosa (6:49)
6. Easy Money (4:12)
7. Heartstrings (5:33)
8. How It Goes (6:42)
9. Jamerson’s Lullaby (7:12)
10. Woodpecker (5:25)
11. Unchained Melody (4:36)

On what is a beautifully sculpted work of musical art, this brand new recording opens on the luxuriantly warm Girlie’s World and the vibrantly exciting title track The Vibe and then we get the free wheeling Algonquin, the decadent Toshi with the low slung swing of Sister Rosa along next.

Along next is impassioned Easy Money which is in turn backed seamlessly by the sultry Heartstrings, a gentle stillness of rhythm within both the sumptuous How It Goes and the yearning ache that drives Jamerson’s Lullaby, the set rounding out on the delightful finger snapper Woodpecker, closing on an all-encompasing duet with Chris Minami on the renowned Unchained Melody.

Performers:
Nanami Haruta - trombone
Michael Dease - trombone, baritone saxophone (1,3)
Xavier Davis - piano
Rodney Whitaker - bass
Ulysses Owens Jr - drums
Chris Minami - guitar (11)

Official Purchase Link

Official Nanami Haruta Instagram Page

If you were not aware, THE GARDENING CLUB is a progressive rock band infused with plenty of other styles and influences, founded by Martin Springett, and have released five albums: The Gardening Club, The Riddle, Boy On A Bike, The Blue Door, and now Another Country.

Based in Toronto Ontario and Victoria BC, Martin was actually born in the UK but moved with his family to Canada in 1965.

In 1969 in Vancouver he recorded an album of settings of Tolkien’s poems from Lord Of The Rings and the Hobbit but alas, Christopher Tolkien did not allow the record to be released.

Martin played in bands and toured in Canada and the US but returned to England in 1971 to seek a record deal. He toured in Europe with a band called GATEWAY DRIVER, based in Hanover, who played with SOFT MACHINE. Upon returning to Canada, a move to Toronto meant entering a new musical landscape and a Vancouver pal, Don GEPPERT, now a respected engineer in the Toronto music scene, worked with Martin on his LP The Gardening Club.

Originally released in 1983, this record was the right album at the wrong time,Martin has since said. Reissued in 2017 by Gonzo Multimedia with an additional five studio tracks complementing the original twelve tracks.

After the rerelease of The Gardening Club as an expanded CD, there was new interest in Martin’s music. Things slowed down somewhat as Martin had a heart operation and six months of rehab, but this close call fired up his desire to create new music.

Reconnecting with guitarist/producer Norm MACPHERSON, a pal from his young years in Victoria BC, the pair started work on The Riddle, the rather late follow up to the original album.

Originally just a home recording, for their own enjoyment, the album grew in depth and complexity as Norm and Martin discovered a musical synergy that surprised them both and led to many a joyful day in the studio. Local players were brought in to add more intriguing sounds, and Martin was convinced it should be released.

Norm’s brilliant production/engineering and arrangement skills were a revelation to Martin, and this partnership has resulted in the release of four subsequent THE GARDENING CLUB albums.

During the pandemic, Martin’s good friends, Kevin LALIBERTE and Drew BIRSTON, guitarist and bassist for SULTANS OF STRING were, like so many musicians at that time, out of work with no touring or recording going on. As Martin had longed to work with these two amazing players, he took this opportunity to ask them if they would like to work on a project tentatively called The Blue Door with him.

Two years in the making, Martin Springett and The Gardening Club now return with a fifth, this time 9 track limited edition album entitled Another Country (October 11th, 2024 via Melodic Revolution Records).

1. A Zephyr of Sound (1:06)
2. Small Town Boy (3:34)
3. Tricksters (6:32)
4. Hotel Nostalgia / Enigma 1 (6:04)
5. Spellbound (5:53)
6. Friendship (4:34)
7. Only Connect (4:32)
8. Mr. Forster Reflects (8:05)
9. Another Country (16:44)

This most wondrously sculpted, wholly impassioned new recording opens on the rousing A Zephyr of Sound and then brings us the beautifully free flowing Small Town Boy, the Prog-AOR of Tricksters and the languishing, yet rhythmical pop sensibilities that drive Hotel Nostalgia / Enigma 1.

Along next is the melodious Spellbound which is in turn backed seamlessly by the Prog-folk instrumentations within Friendship, the atmospherically-charged Only Connect, the set rounding out on the veritably glistening, synth-guitar artwork of Mr. Forster Reflects, closing on the dutifully fluctuating, Prog-lite masterpiece Another Country.

About This Album:
The original title of the album was, The Enigma Of Arrival. I had been in thrall of this name after seeing De Chirico’s painting when I was at art school many years ago. Essentially, I thought the title would allow us to travel to as many disparate places as we would like to go, musically and thematically.

Over the two years it took to complete the album though, the focus changed from a male protagonist to female, at least that’s where I knew I wanted our journey to take us, and with the addition of a soaring soprano we have arrived at a new place with a new sound.

As Steve says, we have come full circle on this particular journey, and it’s a great place to be, and start the next journey from. Everyone in the band has responded beautifully to all the emotions running through these songs. I am amazed to be in such company - Martin Springett.

Martin creates all the art for THE GARDENING CLUB releases and has also provided the covers for Kev Rowland’s books, The Progressive Underground.

Official Stairway Press Book+CD Purchase Link

Official Jayde Design Book+CD Purchase Link

www.gardeningclubmusicandart.ca

If you were not aware, The Point (out March 21st, 2025 via Outside In Music) is an exploratory concept album that seeks to both evoke and unpack the complex emotions that Boyce Justice Griffith expresses are at the center of humanity.

The album’s mission is, in many ways, embedded within the very title of the record itself. The phrase the point can be seen to in part answer the common question, What is the point? as applied to a vast array of scenarios within life.

In answering this question, Griffith implores listeners to return to their core values and to seek truth within that process. Further emphasis of this idea is found in the album’s structure: throughout The Point, Griffith has restated and rearranged the main musical theme of the title track, acting as a running metaphor.

Core principles can look different each time they appear in our own lives, Griffith says, and can take on different properties based on the various situations in which we need to utilize them.

1. The Two Fish
2. The Point - Part One
3. The State of Being
4. Isolation
5. The Point - Part Two (Development)
6. Something to Prove
7. The Walk
8. Balrog
9. The Point - Part Three (Variation)
10. At Home
11. The Point - Part Four (Closure)

This most wondrously sculpted, wholly impassioned new recording opens on the sumptuously emboldened The Two Fish and the free flowing The Point - Part One and then we are brought forth some scintillating musical majesties found driving The State of Being, the lonesome ode Isolation and the flourishing The Point - Part Two (Development).

Along next is the melodious foot-tapper Something to Prove and the deliciously sparkling The Walk, and they are in turn backed seamlessly by the languishing beauty found within Balrog, the set rounding out on the low slung, finger-snapping delights of the playful The Point - Part Three (Variation), the all-embracing, late night jaunt At Home, closing on a confidently forthright take of The Point - Part Four (Closure).

www.boycegriffith.com

Boyce Justice Griffith @ Facebook

For those unaware, first-generation Filipino-American Jon Irabagon (b. 1978, Chicago) has been influenced by the self-empowering and individualistic philosophies and aesthetic of the great AACM (Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians) ensembles as well as the historic world-class tenor saxophone lineage from his hometown.

Equally adept at composing for rising stars in new music and the most intricate modern jazz ensemble, Irabagon builds on this foundation by adding modern classical and late-period John Coltrane to his compositional base, focusing primarily on mixed chamber ensembles to take advantage of hand-chosen musicians’ voices and attitudes.

Named one of New York City’s 25 Jazz Icons by Time Out New York, Irabagon composes for his ensemble Outright!, has been an ensemble and private lesson instructor for all levels at several institutions in the New York City area, and in January 2023, he joined the University of Illinois Chicago faculty, teaching jazz saxophone, direct combos, and courses in jazz history.

On February 21st, 2025, his brand new album Server Farm will be released via Irabbagast Records, and it charts the tension between the human and the virtual with a phenomenal band featuring Mazz Swift, Peter Evans, Miles Okazaki, Wendy Eisenberg, Matt Mitchell, Michael Formanek, Chris Lightcap, Dab Weiss and Levy Lorenzo.

1. Colocation
2. Routers
3. Singularities
4. Graceful Exit
5. Spy

Recorded on March 12th, 2023 at Big Orange Sheep in Brooklyn, NY by Chris Benham, and with an audacious new 10-piece electro-acoustic ensemble in place, this wonderfully impassioned new recording opens on the organically sculpted, melodiously intelligent Colocation and then we get the jaunty, organically playful Routers, and they are then in turn followed by the all-encompassing sounds of Singularities, then we are brought forth an aching yearn that drives throughout Graceful Exit, the new set coming to a close on an underlying skedaddling static energy within the fifteen minute opus Spy.

Musicians:
Jon Irabagon -- tenor saxophone, sopranino saxophone, effects
Mazz Swift -- violin, vocals
Peter Evans -- trumpet, flugelhorn
Miles Okazaki -- guitar
Wendy Eisenberg -- guitar
Matt Mitchell -- piano, Fender Rhodes, Prophet-6
Michael Formanek -- acoustic bass
Chris Lightcap -- electric bass
Dan Weiss -- drums
Levy Lorenzo -- kulintang, laptop, electronics, vibraphone

Official Purchase Links

Official Website

For those unaware, with his 1963 outing Ballads, John Coltrane created an album that showcased how one of jazz history’s most adventurous artists could reveal his softer, more lyrical side without sacrificing inventiveness or exploration.

Acclaimed tenor saxophonist Noah Preminger follows directly in the same tradition with his latest release, Ballads, out February 21st, 2025 via the new Chill Tone label.

An entrancing collection of original compositions, discerningly curated standards and one left-field cover from outside the jazz realm, Ballads features stunningly beautiful playing by Preminger and his quartet with pianist Julian Shore, bassist Kim Cass and drummer Allan Mednard. The title of Ballads of course echoes Coltrane’s 60-year-old classic, and in both cases stands as a straightforward description of the albums’ contents. But Preminger’s use of the deceptively simple name also represents a succinct mission statement, one that marks a new direction in the saxophonist’s diverse discography.

1. Stan’s Mood
2. Carry Me Ohio
3. Unfair World
4. In Our 20s
5. Democracy
6. Pneu
7. Someone To Watch Over Me

This simply divine, expertly impassioned new recording opens on the atmospherically-cultured vibe of the much overlooked Stan Getz cut Stan’s Mood before bringing forth the luxuriant Carry Me Ohio (by singer-songwriter Mark Kozelek, aka Sun Kil Moon), which is itself backed seamlessly by the sheer elegance of Unfair World and the drum-led ambiance within the lush In Our 20s.

Preminger’s desire to forge an album of forthright beauty continues onward with a breathy stillness within Democracy, which is then backed supremely by the effortless serenity exhibited within Pneu, the new set coming to an all too soon close on the effectively cinematic, shimmering and glass-like Gershwin perennial Someone To Watch Over Me.

Official Purchase Links

Official Website

For those unaware, pianist, composer, and bandleader Arturo O’Farrill and the Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra (ALJO) have just released their brand new album Mundoagua: Celebrating Carla Bley, this past February 7th, 2025, on the Zoho Music label.

The album, recorded in tribute to the late Bley, will feature Blue Palestine (2018), the pianist’s final work commissioned for O’Farrill and the ALJO prior to her passing in 2023.

O’Farrill was nineteen years old when he was discovered by Bley, who immediately hired him to perform as part of her big band, where he remained a firm fixture from 1979-1983. Carla Bley is iconic. Truly one of the greats, said O’Farrill. Her name should be used with the same reverence and deference we use when we speak of Duke Ellington, Aaron Copland, Gil Evans, Charles Mingus and even Chico O’Farrill.

Carla was my North Star. She showed me the three most important ingredients a composer can have: curiosity, integrity and accuracy. The curiosity to follow one’s muse no matter where it leads. The integrity to execute based on that curiosity, and the accuracy to execute that vision with command of your skill set no matter how prodigious or rudimentary it is.

The album also includes two O’Farrill original compositions: Mundoagua (pronounced moon-dwa-gua), commissioned by the Columbia School of Music to commemorate the Year of Water, and Día de Los Muertos, which was inspired by a book on the Aztec people.

Mundoagua [Arturo O’Farrill]
I. Glacial (9:24)
II. Mundoagua (5:34)
III. The Politics of Water (7:11)

Blue Palestine [Carla Bley]
Part One (8:34)
Part Two (5:34)
Part Three (8:58)
Part Four (3:22)

Día de Los Muertos [Arturo O’Farrill]
I. Flowery Death (5:39)
II. La Bruja (4:34)
III. Mambo Cadaverous (2:58)

On this fifth album together with the Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra for the Zoh Music label, they open the new recording opens on his own work, a three-piece set entitled Mundoagua: which begins with an aspiration yearn found driving Glacial, then brings us the playfully flirtatious title track Mundoagua, closing on the blissfully-charged, ecstatic yet at times dynamically cultured The Politics of Water.

The multiple Grammy-winning composer, bandleader and pianist then brings us his rendition of a most beautiful work by Carla Bey herself, the four-piece Blue Palestine: which opens on the fervent sophistication of Part One, the all-embracing notes and rhythms of Part Two, then we get the veritably cinematic in scope Part Three, the work rounding out on the buoyantly infectious Part Four.

Another original from O’Farrill brings the work to a close, his rather majestic three-piece Día de Los Muertos: which first presents the thrillingly emotive Flowery Death, then we get the dutifully dulcet La Bruja, the set, nay the collection rounding out on the melodious, ardently sincere Mambo Cadaverous.

Official Purchase Link

Official Website

If you were not aware, with a classic rock ‘n’ roll sound as powerful as their band name, Slamdinistas are ready to take a step onto the world stage.

The band’s five members have spent their lives writing and performing, and those musical chops are blazingly apparent in their contemporary take on New York glitter trash, Detroit street punk, and British Invasion rave-ups.

The band includes singer/guitarist Gabriel Johns (FiDo, Shelter), guitarist Loren Molinare (The Dogs, Little Caesar, Cruzados), drummer Brian Irving (Gilby Clarke, Chris Spedding), guitarist Mike Gavigan (The Blessings), and bassist Peter Downing (The Adam Sandler Band, Jail Guitar Doors).

The formation of the Slamdinistas began to take shape in Los Angeles in 2015. Johns had hired Molinare to produce his debut solo album (2018’s Love Lives Here), and when it came time to start work on a follow-up, they instead opted to work on a group project.

“The name ‘Slamdinistas’ was suggested by Brian,” revealed Molinare. “Besides the great play on words related to the Clash, it tips its hat to anarchy in a political sense, and it’s a powerful name that projects what we envision as our sound.”

The debut album from Slamdinistas, Shoot for the Stars, was released by Rum Bar Records in September 2022. The band played local dates in support and ventured outside California to perform in New York and New Jersey. The album was quick to win accolades. The album’s focus single, “Brand New Day,” enjoyed heavy rotation on Little Steven’s Underground Garage channel on Sirius XM.

Slamdinistas reconvened in 2024 to record a second album, the just-released Wild & Restless, with producer Paul Roessler (the Screamers, 45 Grave) at Kitten Robot Studios in Los Angeles. A holiday single, “Santa’s in a Punk Band Now,” arrived shortly before Christmas.

1. Where I Belong
2. Wild & Restless
3. Oh Yeah
4. Reason to Believe
5. Weather the Storm
6. Johnny Wallflower
7. Latch Key Kids (Radio Edit)
8. Rock ’N Roll Clown
9. Should Have Known Better
10. Sick of It All
11. I’m Okay
12. Latch Key Kids (Extended Version)
13. Latch Key Kids (Dance Version)

This new collection of hard rock and pop hooks, all delivered by a tight line-up of veteran musicians, opens on the gritty rocker Where I Belong and the indie-pop stance of the titular Wild & Restless, and then we get brought forth the boisterous Oh Yeah, the impassioned rock of Reason to Believe, the alt-pop-rock of Weather the Storm, and then both the emboldened Johnny Wallflower and the melodious, Cult-esque Latch Key Kids (Radio Edit) are served up.

Along next is the rambunctious, 60’s Stones-esque Rock ’N Roll Clown and the languishing, yet guitar savvy rocker Should Have Known Better, and they in turn are backed seamlessly by the pulsating Sick of It All, the quite brilliant I’m Okay, the new set closing out on two different versions of Latch Key Kids - a rousing Extended Version and a vibrant, drum-led Dance Version.

Molinare gets the last word: “Los Angeles is a melting pot for musicians, and it certainly was crucial for us finding each other. But we don’t consider ourselves to be a distinctly L.A. band because none of us were born here. Gabriel comes the closest to being a native because his family moved here when he was two years old. The rest of us grew up in the Midwest and on the East Coast.”

“Honestly, I see the Slams as a dirty (NYC) Lower East Side rock ‘n’ roll band that would have hung out down at the pub with Dave Edmunds and the Rolling Stones.”

Slamdinistas @ Facebook

Slamdinistas @ Instagram

Slamdinistas @ Spotify

If you were not aware, over three nights in three very different cities, and in front of prog rock legends such as Tony Levin, Pat Mastelotto, and Steve Rothery, District 97 performed their entire critically-acclaimed ‘Stay for the Ending’ album, start to finish.

‘Live for the Ending’ puts the listener right in the thick of the powerful, visceral experience that is District 97 live.

The music was recorded in three locations: Chicago in 2022, and on consecutive nights in The Netherlands and London on the 2023 Stay for the Ending tour.

1. Stay For The Ending (Live in London)
2. Mirror (Live in London)
3. Many New Things (Live in Chicago)
4. Crossover (Live in London)
5. Divided We Fall (Live in Chicago)
6. Keyboard Interlude (Live in London)
7. Life Cycle (Live in London)
8. X (Live in Holland)
9. X-Faded (Live in Holland)
10. Deck Is Stacked (Live in Holland)
11. The Watcher (Live in Holland)
12. Matte Kudasai (Live in Chicago)
13. On Paper (Live in London)

This new collection of rock prog AOR metal opens on the edgy, ever-varied, excellently eclectic Stay For The Ending and the jagged, yet harmonically controlled Mirror and they are in turn followed seamlessly by the low slung, melodiously free flowing Many New Things, the catchy Crossover and then both the rhythmically sumptuous prog-AOR of Divided We Fall and the aptly-titled Keyboard Interlude.

Along next is the beautifully sublime Life Cycle and the pulsating instrumental lead in track X to the all-embracing X-Faded, the pulsating prog rocker Deck Is Stacked, the collective live set rounding out on the emboldened The Watcher, one of my favorite King Crimson songs in the quite brilliant Matte Kudasai, closing on a track that really reminds me of Incubus, the striking On Paper.

Jonathan from the band explains: “As much as I’d love to play for all our fans many times over, it’s not always possible to make it to everyone’s town. Hence, I’m thrilled to make ‘Live for the Ending’ available to anyone who wants a dose of high-octane D97. It features the entirety of ‘Stay for the Ending’, which we all consider our best studio album to date, as well as some additional special selections.”

“Performing this demanding music live without the aid of a recording studio is no easy feat, but the five of us playing together on one stage lends an urgency and immediacy to the material that makes for a heck of an exciting listen!”

Leslie from the band adds “It is such a rush to perform these songs on a shared stage with my bandmates, especially after mastering each song within the confines of the vocal booth. These live recordings are the end result of a really tight band that knows the material inside and out and is able to stretch out musically, keeping the listener on their toes as well as each other.”

“Honestly, I see the Slams as a dirty (NYC) Lower East Side rock ‘n’ roll band that would have hung out down at the pub with Dave Edmunds and the Rolling Stones.”

Musicians:
Leslie Hunt-Vocals
Andrew Lawrence-Keyboards
Jim Tashjian-Guitars, Vocals
Tim Seisser-Bass Guitar
Jonathan Schang-Drums

Slamdinistas @ Facebook

www.district97.net

District 97 @ Facebook

If you were not aware, after forming The Left Banke, Montage, and Stories, the world became familiar with the brilliant songwriting of Michael Brown. Post-Left Banke, Brown was introduced to singer Scott Trusty by a mutual friend.

They collaborated on a Trusty solo single in 1970 just before Brown formed Stories. Reconnecting with Trusty a few years later, Scott introduced Michael to a few Kansas City musician friends who had just relocated to New York — Jimmy McAllister and Gary Hodgden (soon to be rechristened as Gary West) — and the new collective quickly began writing and recording songs in a loft space. Known as “Brown’s Band,” the demos soon found their way to Seymour Stein, and The Beckies (renamed after Hodgden’s wife) had a home.

Sadly, as happens, the lack of live performances and promotions saw their debut sink without a trace, but those who heard it loved the power pop and lush Brown and Hodgden compositions. A bit of a holy grail for those in the know, the album found folks scouring the used bins for a copy of The Beckies.

Now, nearly 40 years after its original release, the original album (and more!) returns on Good To Know: The Beckies Story. The original 11-track album appears on the first disc, while the second contains 13 previously unissued songs from those original demo sessions — displaying the band’s dynamics in a way the way their eventual album sometimes hinted at.

Remastered by Grammy-winning engineer Michael Graves, Good To Know: The Beckies Story also contains new liner notes from set co-Producer Daniel Coston, featuring interviews with remaining band members telling the story of The Beckies and their post-Beckies journeys. Good to know, indeed.

Disc 1:
1. Right By My Side (Etude)
2. River Bayou
3. Midnight And You
4. Fran
5. Other Side Of Town
6. Song Called Love
7. Can’t Be Alone
8. River Song
9. On The Morning That She Came
10. One Of These Days
11. Run Jenny Run

The first disc of this infectiously-vibed new set opens on the gentle rocker Right By My Side (Etude) and the piano-fed River Bayou, and then we get the foot tapper Midnight And You, the infectiously melodic Fran, before the infectious rocker Other Side Of Town showcased.

Along next is the rocking hipsway of Song Called Love and the rambunctious rocker I Can’t Be Alone, and they are in turn backed by the impassioned River Song, the beautifully-sculpted AOR of On The Morning That She Came, the disc rounding out on the lite rock of One Of These Days and the free wheeling rocker Run Jenny Run.

Disc 2:
1. Blue Monday (Demo)
2. She Wrote A Song (Demo)
3. Song Called Love (Demo)
4. Day Break (Demo)
5. Do I (Demo)
6. Baby Oh Baby (Demo)
7. Lonely Times (Demo)
8. Good To Know (Demo)
9. Caroline (Demo)
10. River Song (Demo)
11. River Bayou (Demo)
12. She Wrote A Song (Demo Version 2)
13. Blue Monday (Demo Version 2)

This new collection continues onward with 13 previously unissued demos from the band, first bringing forth the joyful mid-tempo rock of Blue Monday and the heartfelt She Wrote A Song, and then we get the rhythmic AOR of Song Called Love, the foot-tapping, mid-tempo Day Break, and then we get the low key Do I and the airy rocker Baby Oh Baby brought forth.

Next up is the dutiful AOR of Lonely Times and a confident stance taken within Good To Know and they are followed seamlessly by the impassioned rocker Caroline, the blues rock of River Song, the languishing rocker River Bayou, the disc closing out on the melodiously-crafted She Wrote A Song (Demo Version 2) and a foot to the floor rock of Blue Monday (Demo Version 2).

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If you were not aware, asked in 2019 to select a song he wished he’d written, Wilco’s Jeff Tweedy named “Before Tonight” by Souled American, a lost song, a forgotten band. We always think we know the history of music that matters until we hear some unearthed treasure like the unearthly Souled American and must account for how greatness this great gets forgot.

Souled American formed in 1987 with four musicians from Illinois — vocalist/rhythm guitarist Chris Grigoroff, vocalist/bassist Joe Adducci, electric guitarist Scott Tuma, and drummer Jamey Barnard. They were scouted and signed by popular independent label Rough Trade Records.

Their 1988 debut Fe and Lucinda Williams’s Lucinda Williams became the label’s initial US releases. The band made a total of four records for Rough Trade before the label went bankrupt and the music vanished.

They then made two records for Germany’s small Moll Töntrager which, scarcely distributed and poorly promoted, were (as Abraham Lincoln would say) little noted nor long remembered. The Internet arrived but none of Souled American’s six records ever found it.

Engineer Jim Rondinelli (Wilco, The Jayhawks, Matthew Sweet, Urge Overkill) co-produced Fe and calls Souled American, “far and away the most unique and fresh and talented band I ever worked with.” Engineer Brian Deck (Modest Mouse, Iron and Wine, Counting Crows, Califone) co-produced their next three records. “I was flabbergasted that they existed. I couldn’t believe there were people singing together like that in my generation. I was utterly in love.”

Rise Above It: A Souled American Anthology collects 20 tracks — a third of the band’s recorded output between 1988-1996—newly remastered from their first six releases to tell the Souled American story (up to this point). The accompanying booklet features song lyrics from the band and liner notes from Camden Joy detailing the band’s history, as well as their influence on and importance to the Americana/Alt-Country/Rock scene.

1. Notes Campfire
2. Full Picture
3. Lottery Brazil
4. True Swamp Too
5. Feel Better
6. Mar’boro Man
7. Wind To Dry
8. Over The Hill
9. Why, Are You
10. Around The Horn
11. Rise Above It
12. You
13. In The Mud
14. Little Bessie
15. Rock That Cradle Lucy
16. Blue Eyes Cryin’ In The Rain
17. Downblossom
18. Heyday
19. Before Tonight
20. Suitor’s Bridge

First-ever career-spanning anthology/collection by the Chicago-born Americana/Alt-Country/Rock band opens on the dulcet countrified twang of Notes Campfire, the playful Full Picture and the gritty Lottery Brazil, and then we get the rambunctious rocker True Swamp Too, the low slung balladry of Feel Better, the languishing Mar’boro Man, and then we are brought forth an aching yearn that drives Wind To Dry, the lonesome ode of Over The Hill and the harmonica-driven ditty Why, Are You and the melodious Around The Horn.

Along next is the dainty balladry fare of the titular Rise Above It, the earnestly sculpted You and the gentle foot tapper In The Mud, and they are then backed seamlessly in turn by the atmospheric guitar gem Little Bessie, the jagged Rock That Cradle Lucy, the aching ballad Blue Eyes Cryin’ In The Rain, and then we get the impassioned Downblossom, the gently rhythmic Heyday, the album rounding out on the heartfelt Before Tonight, closing on the veritably shimmering Suitor’s Bridge.

Tweedy devoted a chapter to “Before Tonight” in his 2023 bestseller World Within A Song. He began his praiseful paean wit an admonition. “This song,” wrote Tweedy, “is likely the hardest track to find of any I’ve included here…” Until now!

Hopefully Rise Above It: A Souled American Anthology addresses that. And much more.

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If you were not aware, the growing international interest in Jamaican music as the 60s progressed emboldened increasing numbers of dynamic and ambitious music makers on the island to launch their own record labels.

By the close of the decade, Kingston’s recording industry was awash with such talent, with this new generation of enterprising record producers including such future luminaries as Lee Perry, Joe Gibbs, Bunny Lee, Harry Johnson, Lloyd Charmers and the man whose early productions provide the focus of this compilation: George Phillips AKA Phil Pratt.

The singer-turned-producer whose initial recordings had been distributed by former Skatalites’ road manager Ken Lack introduced his Sunshot Records label early in 1969, finding almost immediate success with major Jamaican hits by celebrated singer Ken Boothe.

Encouraged by these early triumphs, Pratt swiftly expanded his artists roster to include other major stars on the burgeoning reggae scene, with the likes of John Holt, Dennis Alcapone, Pat Kelly and Horace Andy all scoring significant hits with the producer. This first Doctor Bird volume of Phil Pratt’s productions brings together almost the entirety of output from his from the first two years of his career as a record label manager and features numerous major hits alongside an abundance of obscurities that have remained unissued since their original release over 50 years ago.

DISC ONE:
1. Artibella - Ken Boothe
2. Victory - The Phil Pratt All Stars
3. Can’t Fight Me Down - Ken Boothe
4. Silver and Gold - Charley Ace *
5. My Heart Is Gone - John Holt
6. Cut Throat - The Phil Pratt All Stars *
7. Picture Or No Picture - Dennis Alcapone
8. I’m Not For Sale - Ken Boothe
9. Book Of Books - Charlie Ace
10. Musical Dove - Phillip Samuel *
11. Give To Me - Ken Boothe
12. Musical Chalice - Charlie Ace *
13. Heart Made Of Stone - Jackie Bernard *
14. Why - Ken Boothe
15. Strange Things - John Holt
16. Strange Mood – The Phil Pratt All Stars
17. Our Forefathers Died In The Sand - Carl Moore
18. Strange Mood (bongo version) - Bongo Herman
19. Morning - Ken Boothe
20. Your Own Thing - The Twinkle Brothers
21. Hallelujah aka My Sweet Lord - Lloyd Charmers *
22. I May Never (See My Baby Anymore) - Horace Andy
23. Running Child - Errol Dunkley
24. Rebel Nyah - The Tidals *
25. Rasta Fire - Phil Pratt All Stars *
* Tracks new to CD

This first ever anthology of Sunshot Records opens on the rocksteady perfection of Artibella (Ken Boothe), the silky smooth Victory (The Phil Pratt All Stars), the rhythmical beauty Can’t Fight Me Down (Ken Boothe) and the dubstep joys of the titular Silver and Gold (Charley Ace), and then we get the totally boss track My Heart Is Gone (John Holt), the top class Cut Throat (The Phil Pratt All Stars), the all-encompassing Picture Or No Picture (a master sound system expert in the late Dennis Alcapone), and the big tune I’m Not For Sale (Ken Boothe), before we are brought forth the old school rocksteady vibe of Book Of Books (Charlie Ace), the formidable Musical Dove (Phillip Samuel), the melodiously impassioned Give To Me (Ken Boothe) and the heartfelt Musical Chalice, again by Charlie Ace.

Along next are the rhythmically cultured tones that showcase Heart Made Of Stone (Jackie Bernard), the free flowing Why (Ken Boothe), the haunting Strange Things (John Holt), then we lick it back, selector-hued Strange Mood (The Phil Pratt All Stars), and they are in turn backed by the jaunty mood of Our Forefathers Died In The Sand (Carl Moore), the groovy Strange Mood (bongo version) (Bongo Herman), a brilliant Fugs/ Tuli cover of Morning (Ken Boothe), and we get brought forth the exciting Your Own Thing (The Twinkle Brothers), the Gospel-tinged Hallelujah aka My Sweet Lord (Lloyd Charmers), the gigantic I May Never (See My Baby Anymore) (Horace Andy), and then the rocksteady Running Child (Errol Dunkley), the Reggae top cut Rebel Nyah (The Tidals) and rounds out on the Caribbean beats that drive Rasta Fire (Phil Pratt All Stars).

DISC TWO: PAT KELLY ‘BREEZING’
1 They Talk About Love
2 Soulful Love
3 I Wish It Would Rain *
4 Both Sides Now *
5 Bridge Over Troubled Waters *
6 How Long (Sunshot mix) *
7 That Special Love
8 Steal Away *
9 It Couldn’t Be *
10 He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother *
11 Love Skank - Phil Pratt All Star [Bonus Track]
12 This A Butter - Dennis Alcapone [Bonus Track]
13 Talk About Version - Bongo Herman [Bonus Track]
14 Miss Wine-E Wine-E - Ken Boothe [Bonus Track]
15 Baby Don’t You Do It - Delroy Wilson [Bonus Track]
16 Pee-Pa-Do Festival - The Tropic Shadows [Bonus Track] *
17 Sweet Wanton - Barrington Spence [Bonus Track] *
18 Phil Pratt Ranch - Bongo Herman [Bonus Track] *
19 One In Three - The Kingstonians [Bonus Track] *
20 Living In A White Men Land - Alton Ellis [Bonus Track]
21 Where Must I Go - Barrington Spence [Bonus Track]
22 What About The Half - Dennis Brown [Bonus Track]
23 What About The Half (Version) - The Soul Syndicate [Bonus Track] *
24 Give Me Justice - John Holt [Bonus Track] *
25 Our Anniversary - The Tropic Shadows [Bonus Track]
* Tracks new to CD

Including numerous Jamaican chart hits, we next get ten tracks from Paul Kelly, the late prolific, influential Jamaican rocksteady and reggae singer and innovative musician, and which begins with the emotively real They Talk About Love, the dutiful reggae tip cut Soulful Love, the soulful I Wish It Would Rain and the emboldened reggae of Both Sides Now, and they are backed by a sumptuous Bridge Over Troubled Waters, his luxuriant How Long (Sunshot mix), the rousingly embodied That Special Love, and his set closes out on the smooth-styled Steal Away, a heartfelt It Couldn’t Be and a delightfully stellar He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother.

We then get the certified Love Skank (Phil Pratt All Star), the infectiously-vocalized This A Butter (Dennis Alcapone), the smoothly-imbibed Talk About Version (Bongo Herman) and the fruitful reggae of Miss Wine-E Wine-E (Ken Boothe), which are followed seamlessly by the beautifully unique Baby Don’t You Do It (Delroy Wilson), the Piru Papa sequence show within Pee-Pa-Do Festival (The Tropic Shadows), the nicely arranged Sweet Wanton (Barrington Spence) and the legendary Phil Pratt Ranch (Bongo Herman), the new collection coming to a close now on the beautifully scored One In Three (The Kingstonians), then the Godfather of rocksteady Alton Ellis brings us Living In A White Men Land, the beautifully-stanced Where Must I Go (Barrington Spence), then he Jamaican prince of reggae songs Dennis Brown gifts us What About The Half (Dennis Brown), and finally the breathtaking What About The Half (Version) (The Soul Syndicate) and the stone show of both Give Me Justice (John Holt) and the formidable Our Anniversary (The Tropic Shadows).

If you were not aware, Tatiana Eva-Marie plays music derived from the Django Reinhardt tradition with French jazz and Gypsy influences. She returns with a brand new project celebrating the music of guitarist Django Reinhardt, the father of Gypsy Jazz.

Instead of focusing on the emblematic style that he created, her latest album DJANGOLOGY highlights the music of Django the composer, with her own lyrics in French, English, and Rromanes (the Gypsy language) set to her original arrangements, laying the foundations for a Django songbook.

1 Douce Ambiance (4:04)
2 Nuages (5:18)
3 Swing 39 (5:29)
4 Dinette (3:02)
5 Rêverie (5:21)
6 Caravan (5:33)
7 Troublant Boléro (3:28)
8 Porto Cabello (4:08)
9 Swing 42 (3:15)
10 Insensiblement (5:06)
11 Sweet Chorus (4:39)
12 Lady Be Good (3:31)
13 Fleur D’ennui (5:02)
14 Brick Top (1:59)

Tatiana’s consistently buoyant musical styling combined with her effervescent personality instantly shines through on the deliciously impassioned opener Douce Ambiance and the lushly engaging Nuages, and then we get brought forth the playfully fervent Swing 39, the flirtatious Dinette, the quietly subtle Rêverie, and then both an aching yearn that threads throughout Caravan and the veritably glistening Troublant Boléro are elegantly delivered.

Along next is the simply gorgeous Porto Cabello and the finger-snapping foot tapper Swing 42, and they are in turn backed seamlessly by the graceful Insensiblement, the delicately hued Sweet Chorus, the all-embracing Lady Be Good, the album rounding out on the sheer elegance of Fleur D’ennui, coming to a close on the frenetically-charged, fun and jaunty Brick Top.

Tatiana Eva-Marie x Dennis Pol - Insensiblement [Official Video] Tatiana Eva-Marie & Avalon Jazz Band - Swing 39 [Official Video] www.tatianaevamarie.com

For those unaware, pianist Lise de la Salle lends her “charm, imagination, and dazzling technique” (The Washington Post) to her new album PHANTASMAGORIA out February 14 on Naïve Classiques. The album celebrates de la Salle’s longstanding affinity for the works of Franz Liszt, and includes his Piano Sonata in B minor, S. 178; the Cantique d’amour from Harmonies poétiques et religieuses iii, S. 173, and Réminiscences de Don Juan, S. 418, Grande fantaisie pour le piano.

Lise de la Salle has always been moved by the music of Franz Liszt, underscoring “how fundamentally human these works are. They speak of who we are, what we go through, life and death…” De la Salle paired Liszt with Bach in her second album, which she recorded in 2005 when she was only seventeen years old, and recorded her first all-Liszt album in 2011.

Liszt: Piano Sonata in B minor, S178
I. Lento assai - Allegro energico - Grandioso
II. Cantando espressivo - Allegro energico
III. Incalzando - Recitativo ritenuto
IV. Andante sostenuto - Quasi adagio
V. Espressivo
VI. Allegro energico - Più mosso
VII. Stretta quasi presto - Presto - Prestissimo
VIII. Andante sostenuto - Allegro moderato - Lento assai

Liszt: Harmonies poétiques et religieuses III, S. 173: X. Cantique d’amour

Liszt: Réminiscences de "Don Juan" (after Mozart), S. 418
I. Grave - Andantino
II. Duetto
III. Variation I
IV. Variation II
V. Presto - Più animato - Prestissimo - Andante

A career of already over 20 years, award-winning Naïve recordings, international concert appearances, Lise opens this impressive new recording on Piano Sonata in B minor, S178 - which itself begins with the opaque Lento assai - Allegro energico - Grandioso and the hauntingly ethereal Cantando espressivo - Allegro energico, and then we get the sprightly Incalzando - Recitativo ritenuto, the sheer elegance of Andante sostenuto - Quasi adagio, before the dainty Espressivo, the quietly strident Allegro energico - Più mosso and both the playfully flirtatious Stretta quasi presto - Presto - Prestissimo and the gracefulness of Andante sostenuto - Allegro moderato - Lento assai are brought forth.

Along next is the beautiful, majestically grandiose six minute Harmonies poétiques et religieuses III, S. 173: X. Cantique d’amour which is itself backed seamlessly by the ordained masterpiece Réminiscences de “Don Juan” (after Mozart), S. 418 - which opens on the sturdy Grave - Andantino, the flourishing Duetto, and then we get the perky Variation I, the sparkling Variation II, the collection coming to a close on the pure stateliness of Presto - Più animato - Prestissimo - Andante.

Lise de la Salle - Liszt: Sonata (Official Video)

Official Website

Pianist François Couturier and violinist Dominique Pifarély, major figures in French improvisation, have played together in many projects over the last 30 years, including their duo, which made its recording debut for ECM with the remarkable Poros in 1997.

Preludes and Songs, carries the story forward, with its programme including music by both players as well as pieces by Jacques Brel, Duke Ellington, George Gershwin and J.J. Johnson. With sensibilities informed by jazz and contemporary composition, Couturier and Pifarély channel the wide-ranging repertoire into compelling, starkly expressive music.

1. Le surcroît I
2. La chanson des vieux amants
3. A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley / Les ombres II
4. Les ombres I / Lament
5. Le surcroît II
6. Song for Harrison / Solitude
7. Vague
8. What us
9. I loves you Porgy

Having been recorded in the exceptional acoustics of Reitstadel Neumarkt, in October 2023, and produced by Manfred Eicher, the album opens on the jaggedly strident nature of Le surcroît I (a title from a collection of poetry by André du Bouchetand) the flourishing La chanson des vieux amants, and they are followed by an aching yearn / dutiful clutch that winds throughout A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley / Les ombres II and the delicate / confident Les ombres I / Lament.

With this equally diverse helping of jazz standards and original compositions by Couturier and Pifarély, they continue onward with the veritably ethereal Le surcroît II and that is in turn followed by the demure / garnished Song for Harrison / Solitude (the former a reflective portrait of François Couturier’s dog, the latter a reimagined Duke Ellington cut), the ornately polished Vague, rounding out on the stylized What us, closing on the luxuriant I loves you Porgy.

Official Purchase Link

François Couturier @ Facebook

Julia Hülsmann’s Quartet resurfaces with a fresh Norwegian voice on horn in tow and presents an attractive batch of originals that finds the group thoughtfully exploring common ground with a knack for adventure.

As on past outings, each quartet member contributes music to the session, the leader herself being responsible for half the programme. Saxophonist Uli Kempendorff’s introduction to Julia’s trio on 2019’s Not Far From Here already brought a new dimension to the group’s interplay – this sense is again amplified and expanded upon through the addition of Norwegian trumpeter Hildegunn Øiseth, who joins the quartet on trumpet and the supply articulating goat horn for five cuts.

Spellbinding lyricism and playful rhythmic and melodic interaction conspire throughout Under The Surface – a gem in Julia Hülsmann’s increasingly impressive ECM-oeuvre.

1. They Stumble, They Walk
2. May Song
3. Second Thoughts
4. Bubbles
5. Nevergreen
6. The Earth Below
7. Anti Fragile
8. Trick
9. Milkweed Monarch
10. Under The Surface

On an album where spellbinding lyricism and playful rhythmic and melodic interaction conspire throughout, this highly impassioned new recording opens on the heartfelt, post-bop opener They Stumble, They Walk and the seductive May Song (a composition by drummer Heinrich Köbberlingand) then we are brought forth the sumptuous Second Thoughts, the emboldened Bubbles (another Köbberling original) and one of my own personal favorites, the triumphant Nevergreen.

Along next is the opulently styled duo piece The Earth Below and that is in turn backed seamlessly by the playfully perky Anti Fragile, the fashionable Trick, the album rounding out on the confident Milkweed Monarch, coming to an all too soon close on the warmly assured Under The Surface.

The quartet is touring the new music throughout Germany in February-March 2025, with dates in Munich, Berlin, Frankfurt, Mannheim and more.

Featured Artists:
Julia Hülsmann - Piano
Uli Kempendorff - Tenor Saxophone
Marc Muellbauer - Double Bass
Heinrich Köbberling - Drums,BR> Hildegunn Øiseth - Trumpet, Goat Horn

Official Purchase Link

Julia Hülsmann @ Facebook

Back with a newly formed quintet, gathered together for a particularly fruitful 2024 session in Southern France, the German pianist Benjamin Lackner presents a different and exciting side of his composer-approach.

Trumpeter Mathias Eick is the sole returnee from Lackner’s debut Last Decade, and can be heard in striking dualism with Mark Turner’s idiosyncratic saxophone dialect, forming a key-characteristic of the interplay that permeates Spindrift.

The horn-duo and pianist are joined by the nonpareil bassist Linda May Han Oh and French drummer Matthieu Chazarenc, who was part of Lackner’s trio before the pianist’s tenure with ECM.

Subtle fanfares meet contemplative lyricism in a programme of originals that always puts melody and ensemble chemistry first. Saxophone and trumpet take the lead, forming their own little ensemble section, and contribute elegantly interwoven lines and striking solos to an especially harmonious group sound and a tuneful set of songs.

1. Spindrift
2. Mosquito Flats
3. More Mesa
4. Chambary
5. See You Again My Friend
6. Murnau
7. Fair Warning
8. Anacapa
9. Ahwahnee
10. Out Of The Fog

Produced by Manfred Eicher, this immaculately sculpted new recording opens on the warmly entertaining title track Spindrift and the pensively confident Mosquito Flats and they are followed by the yearnful More Mesa, the ornately sumptuous Chambary, and then the strident See You Again My Friend comes along.

Up next is the day-dreamy Murnau and that is then in turn backed seamlessly by the positively sanguine Fair Warning, the delicately hued Anacapa, the album rounding out on the atmospheric ambiance of Ahwahnee, closing on the languishingly refined Out Of The Fog.

The pianist is on tour with the new album throughout Europe in January 2025, with dates in Munich, Rome, London, Stockholm, Malmö, Oslo and more.

Featured Artists:
Benjamin Lackner - Piano
Mathias Eick - Trumpet
Mark Turner - Tenor Saxophone
Linda May Han Oh - Double Bass
Matthieu Chazarenc - Drums

Official Purchase Link

www.bennylackner.com

South Texas-based indie-rock/alt-country band West of Rome has just released their debut album, Keep It Fly in the Negative Zone, independently this past January 31st, 2025.

A group of lifelong friends, the band members, who have all performed in a variety of Texas bands over the years, came together in 2019 at the crossroads of pandemic lockdowns, deranged governments, and a superheated climate.

Not easily intimidated, musicians Blake Smithson (bass), brothers Charlie and Jamie Roadman (guitar and drums, respectively), and singer Kevin Higginbotham dug deep, looking for the sweet relief of the true grand commons: great songs that can lift us out of the rut.

“Keep it Fly in the Negative Zone is a love letter to misspent youth and a survival guide for difficult times,” says Higginbotham. “It combines our love of vintage gear with modern abandon; our analog obsessions were recorded live for transmission into a digital world.”

With nine new songs recorded over two years, Keep It Fly in the Negative Zone features all new tracks and a grudgingly positive attitude.

1. Movement In Your Picture
2. The Empire Never Ended
3. Like the Romans
4. Keep It Fly
5. Cruising Altitude
6. New Hieroglyphic
7. Face the Beast
8. Haunt Me
9. Take a Ride with the Evil One

This confidently sculpted and genuinely heartfelt new recording opens on the impassioned Movement In Your Picture and then brings us the alt-country vibe of The Empire Never Ended, the melodious Like the Romans and the guitar rocker Keep It Fly.

With the band members having a long-lasting love of vintage gear and analog recording, along next is the clench-fisted Americana rock of Cruising Altitude which is itself backed by the low slung New Hieroglyphic, the drum-led, pop-sensed Face the Beast, the album rounding out on the all-encompassing alt-rocker Haunt Me, coming to a close on the gently rambunctious Take a Ride with the Evil One.

The members of West of Rome drew inspiration and comfort from so many musical heroes and even a few ghosts looking for relief in the South Texas heat: Vic Chesnutt playing his last show at Central Presbyterian church; Roky Erickson asking “Please Judge” at the Paramount Theatre; Cat Power elevating “Metal Heart” right through the soul of Red River in Austin; Gord Downie and The Tragically Hip at La Zona Rosa just months before developers tore it down; and, of course, the wellspring, Ram down at Taco Land in San Antonio.

Take a Ride with the Evil One [Official Music Listening Link]

Official Website

Following the reissue of three albums with 1970’s fusion superstars Coincidence, France’s legendary jazz guitarist Jean-Pierre Llabador is back in 2025 with an album of all-new recordings called 3’33 Treasure Hunt.

Surviving a car crash and life-threatening health events in recent years, Jean-Pierre does not disappoint on 3’33 Treasure Hunt. Although adverse health events have robbed him of his ability to physically play guitars on his own album, the compositional results are both amazing and superb, to say the least.

In light of not being able to play guitar himself on an album, on 3’33 Jean-Pierre has enlisted the help of a number of his esteemed musical friends, in a sense by composing all the music and producing the musicians on hand as just how to execute and define the musical maneuvers in his music.

With the combined package containing an 8-cut CD + 10” LP clocking in just under a half hour, 3’33 Treasure Hunt contains a vast universe of jazz and fusion styles and musical concepts befitting a music legend like Jean-Pierre Llabador.

The concept being that all the tracks here clock in at the desired time of 3 minutes and 33 seconds each, which shouldn’t be lost on the listener, and with all the music and arrangements getting right to point with very little time for squandered notes and spontaneous improvisation.

Listeners of the six guitar-based jazz-rock fusion instrumentals plus the two neo pop-fusion vocals here will quickly fall under the spell of the entire 3’33 Treasure Hunt album. Indeed, with this album, guitar legend Jean-Pierre is back with his definitive solo album that stands out among his true musical accomplishments.

Oh, and he is already planning a sequel!

1. Roses In Rhodes
2. Bowlywood
3. The Link
4. Long Beach
5. Betty on Franklin Avenue
6. Big Deal
7. Ghazaouet City
8. Blast

This confidently sculpted and genuinely heartfelt new recording opens on the impassioned R&B hipsway of Roses In Rhodes and then brings us the swarthy Bowlywood, the foot-tapper The Link, the sumptuous Long Beach, before the airy souled-out R&B of Betty on Franklin Avenue is brought forth, and that is itself backed seamlessly by the languishing beauty found driving Big Deal, the album rounding out on the playfully rambunctious, atmospherically-hued Ghazaouet City, closing on the intricate, all-encompassing Blast.

Jean-Pierre Llabador @ Facebook

For those unaware, on January 24th, 2025, Sonya Yoncheva releases her first recital album GEORGE on Naïve Records in collaboration with her company SY11 Productions.

The recording includes art songs, duets, works for piano, piano and violin as well as spoken texts, all connected to one of France’s most famous authors of the 19th century, George Sand.

Featured on the CD alongside Sonya Yoncheva are pianist Olga Zado, mezzo-soprano Marina Viotti and violinist Adam Taubitz. Sonya Yoncheva can be heard not only singing, but also reciting letters from and to George Sand as well as a poem by the renowned author.

“George Sand has always fascinated me”, says Sonya Yoncheva. “She was such a multi-layered woman, who dared to be herself throughout her life. Her unconditional love for the arts was one of the first sparks that inspired me to realize this project. I was intrigued by her artistic world: her salon, her friends, and how she lived surrounded by music and art. Her many affairs, to name a few: Alfred de Musset, Frédéric Chopin, and even rumors of a fling with Franz Liszt.”

“She had all these men around her and was incredibly close to everything they were creating. For this project, I imagined Sand’s house, kitchen, and salon, with all these artists, lovers, and friends. And that is how this project was born. I wanted to bring this woman to life through my voice, through these works and melodies, also using her actual texts and thoughts, which show her vibrant nature.”

1. “Casta diva” / Frédéric Chopin / from Bellini’s Norma
2. Letter from Alfred de Musset to George Sand
3. “Nuit de décembre” / Ruggero Leoncavallo / poem by Alfred de Musset
4. “Les filles de Cadix” / Léo Delibes / poem by Pauline Viardot-García
5. Nocturne, op. 9 No 2 / Frédéric Chopin
6. Letter from George Sand to Frédéric Chopin
7. “Ballade à la lune” / Jacques Offenbach / from the operetta Fantasio, based on the play by Alfred de Musset
8. “Madrid” / Pauline Viardot / from “6 Mélodies, VWV 1133-1137∕1176”
9. Romance pour piano et violon / Pauline Viardot / 6 Morceaux, No. 1 VWV 3003
10. Letter to Marie Dorval from George Sand
11. “Ninon” / Francesco Paolo Tosti / poem by Alfred de Musset
12. “Faible cœur” / Frédéric Chopin arranged for voice by Pauline Viardot / From “12 Mazourkes de Frédéric Chopin” VWV 4028
13. “Separation” / Frédéric Chopin arranged for voice by Pauline Viardot / From “12 Mazourkes de Frédéric Chopin” VWV 4022
14. “Liebestraum” / Franz Liszt / S. 541 No. 3 in A♭ Major
15. Text by George Sand
16. “Les Bohémiennes” / Pauline Viardot / after Hungarian Dances by Johannes Brahms

Recorded in March 2024 at the Salle de Musique in La Chaux-de-Fonds, the album opens on hauntingly ethereal beauty within “Casta diva” / Frédéric Chopin / from Bellini’s Norma, the seductively French-spoken word Letter from Alfred de Musset to George Sand and the poignant “Nuit de décembre” / Ruggero Leoncavallo / poem by Alfred de Musset, before we are brought forth the deliciously flirtatious “Les filles de Cadix” / Léo Delibes / poem by Pauline Viardot-García, the luxuriant Nocturne, op. 9 No 2 / Frédéric Chopin, another French-spoken word poem Letter from George Sand to Frédéric Chopin, the all-encompasing wonderment of “Ballade à la lune” / Jacques Offenbach / from the operetta Fantasio, based on the play by Alfred de Musset, and then we get the strident fare of “Madrid” / Pauline Viardot / from “6 Mélodies, VWV 1133-1137∕1176.”

Featuring music by Frédéric Chopin, Léo Delibes, Ruggero Leoncavallo, Franz Liszt Jacques Offenbach, Francesco Paolo Tosti and Pauline Viardot, along next is the stunningly atmospheric Romance pour piano et violon / Pauline Viardot / 6 Morceaux, No. 1 VWV 3003, another French-read poem in the form of Letter to Marie Dorval from George Sand and the defiant “Ninon” / Francesco Paolo Tosti / poem by Alfred de Musset, and they are in turn followed seamlessly by the emotive “Faible cœur” / Frédéric Chopin arranged for voice by Pauline Viardot / From “12 Mazourkes de Frédéric Chopin” VWV 4028, the playfully ambient “Separation” / Frédéric Chopin arranged for voice by Pauline Viardot /From “12 Mazourkes de Frédéric Chopin” VWV 4022, a dutifully pristine “Liebestraum” / Franz Liszt / S. 541 No. 3 in A♭ Major, the last French-read moment within Text by George Sand, the work closing on the formidably harmonic “Les Bohémiennes” / Pauline Viardot / after Hungarian Dances by Johannes Brahms.

Official Website

For those unaware, among the works of the Red Priest that were absolutely unknown until the end of the 20th century, and which the naïve label has revealed with great perseverance for almost twenty-five years, are the works intended for the stage.

This 3CD box set is dedicated to Arsilda, the twentieth of the twenty-one operas by the Venetian preserved at the National Library of Turin.

Andrea Marcon, a great specialist in the work of the Red Priest - as revealed by extraordinary recordings with the violinist Giuliano Carmignola in the 2000s - immerses his musicians of La Cetra Basel and his seven singers in an ocean of expressions.

In Marcon’s lively and fluid gesture, the composer’s theatrical gift bursts forth once again and is surrounded by a strangely discreet poetry. Perhaps an echo of the heady mystery of Venice.

Created in October 1716 at the Teatro Sant’Angelo in Venice, the opera features Arsilda, the queen of an ancient region of northern Anatolia, promised to Tamese, prince, who had just become king of Cilicia, a neighboring region. Barzane, king of Lydia, another neighboring region, has fallen in love with Arsilda, but is secretly engaged to Tamese’s twin sister Lisea.

Slightly chaotic, the story takes place at the beginning of our era in Ama (modern days Tarsus). With its seven different roles, harmoniously balanced despite the predominance of Lisea, this musical drama is similar to a masquerade, full of disguises and games on identities - Lisea plays the role of her brother Tamese for two whole acts.

The majestically sculpted box set opens on Arsilda, RV 700, Sinfonia - and the strident Allegro, the sweeping Andante and the downright happily playful Presto; and then we are into Arsilda, RV 700, Act I, Scene 1 - which begins with the stern Recitativo “Questo, o populi, è il giorno” (Cisardo), the triumphantly regal Coro “Tutto il Regno in lieta gara” (Il Popolo), the impassioned Recitativo “Figli, non men che miei vassalli” (Lisea) and then comes the emboldened Recitativo “Questa, o fidi è mia sposa” (Lisea, Nicandro, Mirinda, Cisardo, Arsilda), closing on the delightful dance floor swirls and twirls of Aria “L’esperto nocchiero” (Cisardo).

Along next is Arsilda, RV 700, Act I, Scene 2 - which opens on the harmonically cultured Recitativo “Sposa. A che tal mi chiami” (Lisea, Arsilda, Nicandro, Mirinda), ending on the formidable Aria “Del goder la bella speme” (Arsilda); and then we get Arsilda, RV 700, Act I, Scene 3 - which begins on the forthright Recitativo “Sol di Bitinia il Prence” (Lisea, Nicandro) and itself concludes on the prosperous Aria “Col piacer della mia fede” (Nicandro); and then comes Arsilda, RV 700, Act I, Scene 4 - the fearless Recitativo “Partano i servi” (Lisea, Mirinda) and the dazzling Aria “Fingi d’aver un cor” (Lisea).

Then we are brought forth Arsilda, RV 700, Act I, Scene 5 - which opens on the luxuriant Recitativo “Dunque questo che amor” (Mirinda) and ends on a sense of royalty threaded throughout Aria “Non m’è caro amar penando” (Mirinda); and next is Arsilda, RV 700, Act I, Scene 6 - opening on the strongly heartfelt Recitativo “Del sotterraneo loco” (Barzane), closing on the flighty fare of Aria “Sempre piace goder il suo bene” (Barzane); and we next get brought forth Arsilda, RV 700, Act I, Scene 7 - and the sterner imposed Recitativo “D’Ama la reggia è questa” (Tamese) along with the veritably cinematic Aria “La tiranna avversa sorte” (Tamese).

Then we get delivered the delicately fused wonderment within Vivaldi: Arsilda, RV 700, Act I, Scene 8: Recitativo e Arioso “So ben’io qual pena sia” (Arsilda); the robust Vivaldi: Arsilda, RV 700, Act I, Scene 9: Recitativo “Ecco l’ingrata” (Barzane, Arsilda, Tamese); then Arsilda, RV 700, Act I, Scene 10 - which begins on the sweeping Recitativo “Scoperto il tradimento” (Cisardo, Barzane) and culminates on the infectious Aria “L’esser vinto non son le mie pene” (Barzane); then we get Arsilda, RV 700, Act I, Scene 11 - the harmonic Recitativo “Tutto al tuo braccio” (Arsilda, Tamese) and the charged Aria “Perché veggio nel tuo volto” (Arsilda).

Up next is Arsilda, RV 700, Act I, Scene 12 - which begins on the beautifully flowing Recitativo “Dunque il cultor degl’orti” (Lisea, Cisardo) and the resounding Coro “Amoretti, vezzosetti che le fiamme” (Soldati, Ministri), the six second Recitativo "Prendi signor” (Cisardo), the responsive Recitativo “O dell’adusta Lenno” (Lisea), closing on the endearing Recitativo “Cisardo, or già che il sacro rito” (Lisea, Cisardo); and then comes the formidable Vivaldi: Arsilda, RV 700, Act I, Scene 13: Recitativo “Io se tu vuoi, Regina” (Nicandro, Lisea); and Arsilda, RV 700, Act I, Scene 14, which first gives us the impassioned Recitativo “Tu Mirinda quai voti” (Lisea, Mirinda) and then the simply blooming Aria “Porta amor una tal face” (Lisea).

Then we get Arsilda, RV 700, Act I, Scene 15 - which opens on the lonesome yearn sensed within Recitativo “Benché d’amor le stravaganze intesi” (Mirinda), and ends on the delicate swirls and twirls within Aria “Io son quel gelsomino” (Mirinda); and then Arsilda, RV 700, Act II, Scene 1 is brought forth - and first the venturesome Recitativo “Il pastorel, che raffrenò l’ardire” (Mirinda, Lisea) and then the all-encompassing Aria “Un certo non so che” (Mirinda); with Arsilda, RV 700, Act II, Scene 2 along next - beginning with the strident Recitativo “State lungi soldati” (Lisea, Barzane) and ending on the regal Aria “Ah non so se quel ch’io sento” (Barzane); before Arsilda, RV 700, Act II, Scene 3 is upon us - and the compelling Recitativo “Arsilda ecco ne vien” (Lisea, Arsilda, Tamese) is itself backed by the flourishing beauty within Aria “Va superbo” (Tamese).

Arsilda, RV 700, Act II, Scene 4 is along next and opens on the vigorous Recitativo “Del pastor la sembianza” (Lisea, Arsilda), closing on the free flowing Aria “Se un cor soffrir saprà” (Lisea); and then comes Vivaldi: Arsilda, RV 700, Act II, Scene 5 - opening on the luxuriant Recitativo “Sì che un tiranno sposo” (Arsilda), ending on the emphatically charged Aria “Precipizio è del mio petto” (Arsilda); and we next get Arsilda, RV 700, Act II, Scene 6 - opening on the triumphant Coro “Su alla caccia si gridi, alla Caccia” (Cacciatori), the dainty Arietta “D’una cervetta” (Lisea), the shimmering Duetto “Già il prato” (Mirinda, Nicandro), and then we get the imposing Recitativo “Ma per tua mano” (Lisea, Nicandro), the atmopsheric Arietta “Sù svegliatevi augelletti” (Arsilda), the foremost “Di questi boschi” (Cisardo, Tamese, Mirinda, Arsilda, Lisea, Cacciatori), the twinkling Recitativo “Di giovanne cervetta” (Nicandro, Lisea), closing on the emboldened Coro “Sù a la caccia si gridi” (Cacciatori, Lisea, Arsilda, Tamese, Mirinda, Nicandro, Cisardo).

Up next is the shiningly ambient Arsilda, RV 700, Act II, Scene 7: Recitativo “Al geloso amor mio” (Barzane), then comes Arsilda, RV 700, Act II, Scene 8 - which begins with the delicate Recitativo “Si tenti il mio destin” (Lisea, Barzane), ending on the dutifully sculpted Aria “Fra cieche tenebre” (Lisea); and then we get Arsilda, RV 700, Act II, Scene 9 - beginning on the firmly guided Recitativo “Vive Lisea!” (Barzane) and the gorgeous Aria “Quell’ usignuolo” (Barzane); then along comes Arsilda, RV 700, Act II, Scene 10 - opening on the glistening Recitativo “Non ti sia dispiacer” (Tamese, Mirinda) and the dedicated Aria “Ancor la tortorella” (Mirinda).

Then we get Arsilda, RV 700, Act II, Scene 11 - which begins with the hearty Recitativo “Ma qual sciocca dimora” (Tamese, Arsilda) , ending on the unyeilding Aria “Siano gl’astri a me tiranni” (Tamese); and along next is Arsilda, RV 700, Act II, Scene 12 - and the delightful Recitativo “Qual non più inteso inganno” (Arsilda) and the regally stanced Aria “Son come farfalletta” (Arsilda); with Arsilda, RV 700, Act II, Scene 13 along next and the vicacious Recitativo “Che intesi mai?” (Cisardo, Nicandro) before the wholehearted Aria “Quale a l’onte de’ venti” (Cisardo) is upon us; and then we get Arsilda, RV 700, Act II, Scene 14 - which begins on the assured Recitativo “Se scoprir la sua pena” (Nicandro), culminating on the composed Aria “Quando sorge in ciel l’aurora” (Nicandro).

Up next is the divine Vivaldi: Arsilda, RV 700, Act III, Scene 1: Recitativo “Da quel, che già non era” (Lisea); and then we get Arsilda, RV 700, Act III, Scene 2 - opening on the serene Recitativo “Eccolo” (Lisea, Barzane) and the robust Aria “Pupille del mio ben” (Barzane); then we get Arsilda, RV 700, Act III, Scene 3 - beginning on the elegant Recitativo “O del cieco amor mio” (Lisea) and a vibrancy that drives Aria “Di Cariddi li vortici ondosi” (Lisea); then Arsilda, RV 700, Act III, Scene 4 - which opens on the sweeping Recitativo “Al tuo braccio, al tuo ardir” (Nicandro, Tamese) and culminates on the atmopsherically-charmed Aria “Ride il fior, canta l’augello” (Nicandro).

Next is Arsilda, RV 700, Act III, Scene 5 - opening on the gorgeous Recitativo “Finch’ a l’amata” (Tamese, Mirinda), ending on the determined Aria “Chi vuol goder d’amor” (Mirinda); then comes Arsilda, RV 700, Act III, Scene 6 - which opens on the grasping Recitativo “Già che scoperto io son” (Tamese, Cisardo) and the sheer elegance shown within Aria “La mia gloria ed il mio amore” (Tamese); then we get Arsilda, RV 700, Act III, Scene 7 - beginning on the stoic Recitativo “Cisardo, appunto io deggio Signor parlarti” (Lisea, Cisardo), closing on the veritably churlish Aria “Mille frodi, e mille inganni” (Cisardo).

This simply magnificent set of music comes to a resoundingly majestic close on Arsilda, RV 700, Act III, Scene 8 - opening on the resounding Recitativo “Suol talor un gran rischio” (Lisea, Barzane), ending on the almost arcadian Aria “Tornar voglio al primo ardore” (Barzane); then we get Arsilda, RV 700, Act III, Scene 9 - beginning on the languishing Recitativo “Regina, il bel momento” (Lisea, Arsilda) and the adventurous Aria “Cara gioia” (Lisea); next is Arsilda, RV 700, Act III, Scene 10 - starting with the quiescent Recitativo “Finga Lisea” (Arsilda) and the wholesome Aria “Al nocchiero quant’è dolce quel pensiero” (Arsilda); and then comes the rugged Vivaldi: Arsilda, RV 700, Act III, Scene 11: Recitativo “Popoli ancor non tutto” (Cisardo); the final pieces being Arsilda, RV 700, Act III, Scene 12 - which is the delightful Recitativo “Germani, su’l tron ch’è tuo” (Lisea, Tamese, Arsilda, Barzane, Cisardo, Mirinda, Nicandro), closing on the uplifting Coro “D’Imeneo la bella face” (La corte reale).

Arsilda, RV 700, Sinfonia
I. Allegro
II. Andante
III. Presto

Arsilda, RV 700, Act I, Scene 1
I. Recitativo “Questo, o populi, è il giorno” (Cisardo)
II. Coro “Tutto il Regno in lieta gara” (Il Popolo)
III. Recitativo “Figli, non men che miei vassalli” (Lisea)
IV. Recitativo “Questa, o fidi è mia sposa” (Lisea, Nicandro, Mirinda, Cisardo, Arsilda)
V. Aria “L’esperto nocchiero” (Cisardo)

Arsilda, RV 700, Act I, Scene 2
I. Recitativo “Sposa. A che tal mi chiami” (Lisea, Arsilda, Nicandro, Mirinda)
II. Aria “Del goder la bella speme” (Arsilda)

Arsilda, RV 700, Act I, Scene 3
I. Recitativo “Sol di Bitinia il Prence” (Lisea, Nicandro)
II. Aria “Col piacer della mia fede” (Nicandro)

Arsilda, RV 700, Act I, Scene 4
I. Recitativo “Partano i servi” (Lisea, Mirinda)
II. Aria “Fingi d’aver un cor” (Lisea)

Arsilda, RV 700, Act I, Scene 5
I. Recitativo “Dunque questo che amor” (Mirinda)
II. Aria “Non m’è caro amar penando” (Mirinda)

Arsilda, RV 700, Act I, Scene 6
I. Recitativo “Del sotterraneo loco” (Barzane)
II. Aria “Sempre piace goder il suo bene” (Barzane)

Arsilda, RV 700, Act I, Scene 7
I. Recitativo “D’Ama la reggia è questa” (Tamese)
II. Aria “La tiranna avversa sorte” (Tamese)

Arsilda, RV 700, Act I, Scene 8: Recitativo e Arioso “So ben’io qual pena sia” (Arsilda)

Arsilda, RV 700, Act I, Scene 9: Recitativo “Ecco l’ingrata” (Barzane, Arsilda, Tamese)

Arsilda, RV 700, Act I, Scene 10
I. Recitativo “Scoperto il tradimento” (Cisardo, Barzane)
II. Aria “L’esser vinto non son le mie pene” (Barzane)

Arsilda, RV 700, Act I, Scene 11
I. Recitativo “Tutto al tuo braccio” (Arsilda, Tamese)
II. Aria “Perché veggio nel tuo volto” (Arsilda)

Arsilda, RV 700, Act I, Scene 12
I. Recitativo “Dunque il cultor degl’orti” (Lisea, Cisardo)
II. Coro “Amoretti, vezzosetti che le fiamme” (Soldati, Ministri)
II. Recitativo “Prendi signor” (Cisardo)
IV. Recitativo “O dell’adusta Lenno” (Lisea)
V. Recitativo “Cisardo, or già che il sacro rito” (Lisea, Cisardo)

Arsilda, RV 700, Act I, Scene 13: Recitativo “Io se tu vuoi, Regina” (Nicandro, Lisea)

Arsilda, RV 700, Act I, Scene 14
I. Recitativo “Tu Mirinda quai voti” (Lisea, Mirinda)
II. Aria “Porta amor una tal face” (Lisea)

Arsilda, RV 700, Act I, Scene 15
I. Recitativo “Benché d’amor le stravaganze intesi” (Mirinda)
II. Aria “Io son quel gelsomino” (Mirinda)

Arsilda, RV 700, Act II, Scene 1
I. Recitativo “Il pastorel, che raffrenò l’ardire” (Mirinda, Lisea)
II. Aria “Un certo non so che” (Mirinda)

Arsilda, RV 700, Act II, Scene 2
I. Recitativo “State lungi soldati” (Lisea, Barzane)
II. Aria “Ah non so se quel ch’io sento” (Barzane)

Arsilda, RV 700, Act II, Scene 3
I. Recitativo “Arsilda ecco ne vien” (Lisea, Arsilda, Tamese)
II. Aria “Va superbo” (Tamese)

Arsilda, RV 700, Act II, Scene 4
I. Recitativo “Del pastor la sembianza” (Lisea, Arsilda)
II. Aria “Se un cor soffrir saprà” (Lisea)

Arsilda, RV 700, Act II, Scene 5
I. Recitativo “Sì che un tiranno sposo” (Arsilda)
II. Aria “Precipizio è del mio petto” (Arsilda)

Arsilda, RV 700, Act II, Scene 6
I. Coro “Su alla caccia si gridi, alla Caccia” (Cacciatori)
II. Arietta “D’una cervetta” (Lisea)
III. Duetto “Già il prato” (Mirinda, Nicandro)
IV. Recitativo “Ma per tua mano” (Lisea, Nicandro)
V. Arietta “Sù svegliatevi augelletti” (Arsilda)
VI. “Di questi boschi” (Cisardo, Tamese, Mirinda, Arsilda, Lisea, Cacciatori)
VII. Recitativo “Di giovanne cervetta” (Nicandro, Lisea)
VIII. Coro “Sù a la caccia si gridi” (Cacciatori, Lisea, Arsilda, Tamese, Mirinda, Nicandro, Cisardo)

Arsilda, RV 700, Act II, Scene 7: Recitativo “Al geloso amor mio” (Barzane)

Arsilda, RV 700, Act II, Scene 8
I. Recitativo “Si tenti il mio destin” (Lisea, Barzane)
II. Aria “Fra cieche tenebre” (Lisea)

Arsilda, RV 700, Act II, Scene 9
I. Recitativo “Vive Lisea!” (Barzane)
II. Aria “Quell’ usignuolo” (Barzane)

Arsilda, RV 700, Act II, Scene 10
I. Recitativo “Non ti sia dispiacer” (Tamese, Mirinda)
II. Aria “Ancor la tortorella” (Mirinda)

Arsilda, RV 700, Act II, Scene 11 II. Aria “Siano gl’astri a me tiranni” (Tamese)

Arsilda, RV 700, Act II, Scene 12
I. Recitativo “Qual non più inteso inganno” (Arsilda)
II. Aria “Son come farfalletta” (Arsilda)

Arsilda, RV 700, Act II, Scene 13
I. Recitativo “Che intesi mai?” (Cisardo, Nicandro)
II. Aria “Quale a l’onte de’ venti” (Cisardo)

Arsilda, RV 700, Act II, Scene 14
I. Recitativo “Se scoprir la sua pena” (Nicandro)
II. Aria “Quando sorge in ciel l’aurora” (Nicandro)

Arsilda, RV 700, Act III, Scene 1: Recitativo “Da quel, che già non era” (Lisea)

Arsilda, RV 700, Act III, Scene 2
I. Recitativo “Eccolo” (Lisea, Barzane)
II. Aria “Pupille del mio ben” (Barzane)

Arsilda, RV 700, Act III, Scene 3
I. Recitativo “O del cieco amor mio” (Lisea)
II. Aria “Di Cariddi li vortici ondosi” (Lisea)

Arsilda, RV 700, Act III, Scene 4
I. Recitativo “Al tuo braccio, al tuo ardir” (Nicandro, Tamese)
II. Aria “Ride il fior, canta l’augello” (Nicandro)

Arsilda, RV 700, Act III, Scene 5
I. Recitativo “Finch’ a l’amata” (Tamese, Mirinda)
II. Aria “Chi vuol goder d’amor” (Mirinda)

Arsilda, RV 700, Act III, Scene 6
I. Recitativo “Già che scoperto io son” (Tamese, Cisardo)
II. Aria “La mia gloria ed il mio amore” (Tamese)

Arsilda, RV 700, Act III, Scene 7
I. Recitativo “Cisardo, appunto io deggio Signor parlarti” (Lisea, Cisardo)
II. Aria “Mille frodi, e mille inganni” (Cisardo)

Arsilda, RV 700, Act III, Scene 8
I. Recitativo “Suol talor un gran rischio” (Lisea, Barzane)
II. Aria “Tornar voglio al primo ardore” (Barzane)

Arsilda, RV 700, Act III, Scene 9
I. Recitativo “Regina, il bel momento” (Lisea, Arsilda)
II. Aria “Cara gioia” (Lisea)

Arsilda, RV 700, Act III, Scene 10
I. Recitativo “Finga Lisea” (Arsilda)
II. Aria “Al nocchiero quant’è dolce quel pensiero” (Arsilda)

Arsilda, RV 700, Act III, Scene 12
I. Recitativo “Germani, su’l tron ch’è tuo” (Lisea, Tamese, Arsilda, Barzane, Cisardo, Mirinda, Nicandro)
II. Coro “D’Imeneo la bella face” (La corte reale)

Official Andrea Marcon / La Cetra Barockorchester Website

Carole King’s beloved, whimsical collaboration with Maurice Sendak, Really Rosie, celebrates its 50th anniversary with a vinyl reissue from Legacy Recordings, the catalog division of Sony Music Entertainment.

Available February 28th, 2025 on vinyl for the first time since 1975, the release features 11 original soundtrack recordings composed and performed by Carole King, with story and lyrics by the legendary Sendak. The album was produced by King’s longtime collaborator Lou Adler, the man behind the board on her 1971 smash-hit album Tapestry.

Carole King is the most successful female songwriter of the 20th century pop music era, with 118 Billboard chart hits. Tapestry, King’s 1971 solo album, took her to the pinnacle as a singer/songwriter with four Grammy Awards®. Tapestry, certified 14 x Platinum and with 30 million worldwide sales, remained the best-selling album by a female artist for a quarter century.

First premiered as a CBS animated special in February 1975, Really Rosie tells the story of an ambitious and imaginative girl from Brooklyn who decides to stage a musical about her life and her quirky neighborhood friends. Set to the vibrant and poignant music of Carole King, paired with Sendak’s delightfully subversive lyrics, the songs explore themes of childhood whimsy, creativity, and self-discovery.

Side A:
1. Really Rosie
2. One Was Johnny
3. Alligators All Around
4. Pierre
5. Screaming and Yelling
6. The Ballad of Chicken Coup
7. Chicken Soup with Rice

Putting the vinyl LP on the turntable, Side A opens on the drum-led, harmonically sumptuous title track Really Rosie and then comes the rhythmically-infectious One Was Johnny, a song that encapsulates my childhood in a nutshell, the catchy Alligators All Around, the gentle hipsway of Pierre, the side rounding out on a track for anyone who has ever babysat to easily identify with Screaming and Yelling, the melodious The Ballad of Chicken Coup and then the bluesy Chicken Soup with Rice is brought forth.

Side B:
1. Avenue P
2. My Simple Humble Neighborhood
3. The Awful Truth
4. Such Sufferin’
5. Really Rosie (Reprise)

Turning the vinyl LP over and dropping the needle, up next on Side B is an achingly impassioned Avenue P which is in turn followed seamlessly by the playfully perky My Simple Humble Neighborhood, the dutifully rocking Dracula track The Awful Truth, before the set comes to a close on the gorgeously free flowing Such Sufferin’ and a beautiful, simplistically delightful Really Rosie (Reprise).

King had a deep connection to the material. Recognizing echoes of her own Brooklyn childhood in Sendak’s work, she brought her signature style and warmth to Really Rosie, voicing the title character and infusing each track with her unmistakable charm. Songs like the cheeky “Pierre” and the bittersweet “The Ballad of Chicken Soup” highlight Sendak’s mix of playfulness and darker humor, all buoyed by King’s effervescent music and performance.

Over the past five decades, Really Rosie has remained a treasured classic, a staple for children’s theater groups, and a gateway to musical discovery for families. Its educational and entertaining elements have transcended generations, cementing its status as a cultural touchstone.

The 50th-anniversary edition of Really Rosie will be reissued worldwide on 1-LP standard-weight black vinyl in a gatefold sleeve through Legacy Recordings and is available for pre-order now.

Official Purchase Link

For those yet to hear, “I gotta take ‘em with me, everywhere I go - through everything I do,” Ian Fisher sings on “Take You With Me,” the newest single of his just-released, self-released new album, Go Gentle (February 7th, 2025).

The Missouri-born songwriter, a dual citizen of the U.S. and Germany, is keenly addressing something at once highly personal and yet, to a number, universal: death and grief.

Indeed, Go Gentle was shaped by Fisher’s experiences following the death of his mother in 2023 after a 26-year fight with cancer. It is a cathartic and, at times, heart-wrenching album, both for artist and audience, and makes the case that death and the grieving that follows, shouldn’t be shunned.

Instead, it should inspire us to live more fully.

Side A:
1. The Face Of Losing
2. Growing Pains
3. Take You With Me
4. Tigress
5. Somebody Loved

Removing the vinyl record from its sleeve and placing it on the turntable, dropping the needle, it is very evident from the off that despite its heavy subject matter, Go Gentle (produced by Fisher and Jonas David), is not a dour record. With tracks ranging from comforting ballads, through cathartic observations, into instantly moving prose, it opens on the veritably shimmering, softly harmonized The Face Of Losing and then sliding seamlessly into the gentle balladry of Growing Pains, a road weary troubadour showcased within the mid-tempo fuzzy rocker Take You With Me, the impassioned Tigress, and then we get the jaunty Alt-Americana of Somebody Loved.

Side B:
6. In Her Hand
7. Underneath Your Wing
8. Mother Please Forgive Me
9. Independence Day
10. Box Of Dust

Flipping the vinyl over and replacing the needle once again on the groove, and with Fisher bravely confronting his own complicated views on mortality, perhaps even using Go Gentle as a roadmap for grief, along next is the flourishing In Her Hand and a cherished lilt within Underneath Your Wing, and they are in turn backed by the heartfelt outreach of Mother Please Forgive Me, the album rounding out on the robustly melodic Independence Day, closing on a shuddering ambiance that threads throughout the dulcet Box Of Dust.

Ian Fisher - Take You With Me [solo / live] [Official Video]

Ian Fisher - The Face of Losing [Official Video]

Official Purchase Links

Landmark moments occur in every artist’s career that distinguish a new era in creative development. For many musicians, one of these moments is moving to New York City – a legendary location regarding jazz music.

Small Things by Jackson Potter captures his growth as a guitarist, composer, and arranger since moving to New York City in 2021. Equally important, this new record showcases an exciting new quintet.

The core band consists of Alex Ridout on trumpet, Troy Roberts on tenor saxophone, Potter on guitar, Hamish Smith on bass, and Marcello Cardillo on drums. Additionally, Jaleel Shaw (saxophone) and Sophia Formella (vocals) appear on the title track. Small Things is out now on CD and digital formats.

1. Trams (8:01) (Troy Roberts)
2. Small Things (7:08) (Jackson Potter)
3. Mr. M (5:38) (Jackson Potter)
4. Smoke Gets In Your Eyes (7:49) (Jerome Kern)
5. Hey, It’s Me You’re Talking To (6:45) (Victor Lewis)
6. Background Noise (7:14) (Jackson Potter)
7. The Duke (6:27) (Dave Brubeck)
8. Everything I Love (5:39) (Cole Porter)
9. Sophia’s Waltz (5:38) (Jackson Potter)

Recorded on February 18th of 2024 at Bunker Studio by Nolan Thies, and mixed and mastered by Dave Darlington at Bass Hit Studios, this stunningly free flowing, elegantly-hued new recording opens on the joyfully bountiful Trams and then we get the smile inducing grooves within the titular Small Things brought forth, and they are backed by the soulful Mr. M and the veritably glistening Smoke Gets In Your Eyes.

Along next is the sprightly charged Hey, It’s Me You’re Talking To and the aptly-named, dulcet at first, yet forthright and gently frenetic latterly Background Noise, and then we get the dutiful finger snapper The Duke, the album rounding out on the playfully flirtatious (once it gets going) nature of Everything I Love, closing on the stunning sheer elegance that engagingly drifts beautifully throughout Sophia’s Waltz.

Potter maintains a busy schedule performing most nights in NYC both as a leader and a sideman for various artists ranging in genres from jazz to pop. The group is deliberately composed of versatile musicians, as Potter’s music is reflective of multiple influences that range from straight-ahead traditional jazz (e.g., Sophia’s Waltz, Mr. M) to more modern jazz (e.g., small things, Background Noise).

This blend of new and old styles is an integral part of Potter’s musical identity that is displayed beautifully on the record. From his lush and heartfelt rendition of “Smoke Gets in Your Eyes” to his adventurous playing on “Trams,” Small Things is a record that you don’t want to miss.

Musicians:
Alex Ridout - trumpet, flugelhorn
Troy Roberts - tenor saxophone
Jackson Potter - guitar
Hamish Smith - bass
Marcello Cardillo - drums

Official Purchase Link

Jackson Potter @ Facebook

If you were not aware, Mark Scott III is an accomplished guitarist, composer, and educator based in Austin, Texas. Working regularly as both a leader and a sideman, he has performed in many notable venues and festivals across Texas. He currently works as a professor at Tarleton State University.

His debut jazz trio album is entitled Soft Light and explores the varieties of the human experience, from the seemingly mundane to the depths of sorrow and joy. Catalyzed by a sudden loss in his family, Mark composed a suite of original compositions dedicated to his loved ones who have passed away, as well as to the life he has now.

Both tender and resilient, Soft Light embodies the trials, tribulations and lessons that life has to offer, and is a very impressive debut that makes one look forward to Mark Scott III’s future projects (Scott Yanow).

1. Carpals
2. Food Court
3. Rhythm-Ding
4. News Blues
5. Sneak Peak
6. Monster Beat
7. Soft Light
8. Smile
9. Warmth
10. Tomorrow
11. The Sun Behind a Cloud

Recorded at Eastside Studios, Austin, TX on March 24th, 2024, this delightfully ambient new recording opens on the lushly jaunty fare of Carpals and then we get the delicately-hued Food Court, the buoyantly-sculpted Rhythm-Ding, the playful News Blues and the gently joyful pulse bounce of Sneak Peak.

Along next is the low slung foot snapper Monster Beat which is in turn followed by the beautifully luxuriant Soft Light, the veritably flirtatious Smile, the engaging Warmth, the album rounding out on the bouncy foot tapper Tomorrow, closing on the laid back, sumptuously elegant The Sun Behind a Cloud.

Musicians:
Mark Scott III, guitar
Ben Triesch, bass
Mike Gordon, drums

Official Purchase Link

www.markscottiii.com

If you were not aware, immerse yourself in the dynamic fusion of big band jazz and rock with What Is?, a captivating collection of original arrangements by Russ Anixter’s Hippie Big Band.

Drawing inspiration from the improvisational spirit of jazz and the electrifying energy of rock, this album redefines the boundaries of genre.

Smaller than a traditional big band but more powerful than a combo, the Hippie Big Band delivers an eclectic repertoire as they are a jazz band that plays rock music.

1. What Is Hip (4:58) (Emilio Castillo and Stephen Kupka)
2. Dixie Chicken (5:22) (Lowell George and Martin Kibbee)
3. Free Man in Paris>Freedom Jazz Dance (4:50) (Joni Mitchell>Eddie Harris)
4. She Said, She Said (7:35) (John Lennon and Paul McCartney)
5. Heaven on Their Minds (5:29) (Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber)
6. Saint Stephen>Turn on Your Love Light (7:04) (Jerry Garcia, Phil Lesh, and Robert Hunter>Joseph Scott and Don Robey)
7. Uncle John’s Band (6:54) (Jerry Garcia and Robert Hunter)
8. Hide Away (5:39) (Freddie King and Sonny Thompson)
9. Into the Mystic (5:21) (Van Morrison)
10. Whipping Post (7:17) (Gregg Allman)
11. Green Hornet (3:59) (Billy May)

With their intention to break barriers and present their big band to a wide-ranging audience from music festivals, jazz clubs, to universities, this most wondrously sculpted new recording opens on the scintillating, freely dynamic Tower of Power cut What Is Hip and the languishing Orleanesque Little Feat cut Dixie Chicken, before a stalwart Free Man in Paris>Freedom Jazz Dance (the former the mid-70s hit for Joni Mitchell is upon us, the latter by Eddie Harris, which would itself soon become a jazz standard after featuring on Miles Davis’ album Miles Smiles) is brought forth, and then we are treated to a simply breathtaking rendition of the Beatles’ She Said, She Said and a 70’s cinematic vibe is revealed within Heaven on Their Minds (from Jesus Christ Superstar).

Along next is the laid back, low slung Grateful Dead Saint Stephen>Turn on Your Love Light (the latter an upbeat rhythm from Bobby Bland) and another rendition of a Grateful Dead track, this time the all-embracing Uncle John’s Band and they are in turn backed by a blues guitar cut, the classic Freddie King track Hide Away, we next witness Van Morrison’s aching yearn that resides within Into the Mystic, the album rounding out on the full on collective sound of the propulsive Allman Brothers Band’s Whipping Post, coming to a close on the original TV soundtrack cut from Billy May, the percussion-led, magically melodious Green Hornet.

“Thanks for checking out What Is? I am so grateful for the love and support of this band, and I can thank them enough. Thanks to everyone that contributed to making What is? a reality. Suzan Saar, Allison Mackey and Erica von Kleist for the artwork. Charlie Rosen for his ears. Special thanks to Dan Levine and John Kilgore for their guidance through this. Extra special thanks to Steven Bernstein and Oz Noy for being our guest soloists.” - Russ Anixter

The Hippie Big Band:
Russ Anixter: Arrangements & Orchestrations
Dan Levine: Trombone
Matt Hong: Alto Sax, Flute, Bass Clarinet
Jack Schatz: Bass Trombone
Stan Harrison: Tenor Sax & Soprano Saxes, Clarinet
Bill Hayes: Vibes, Xylo, Congas
Frank Vacin: Baritone & Soprano Saxes, Alto Flute
Michael Aarons: Guitar
Matt Owens: Trumpet and Flugelhorn
Steve Count: Bass
Audrey Flores: French Horn
Scott Neumann: Drums

Official Purchase Link

www.russanixter.com

Sixteen years after the world lost jazz guitarist Coleman Mellett, his solo album Sing You a Brand New Song is finally being released, capturing a musical spirit brimming with warmth, optimism, and undeniable talent.

Set for release on the anniversary of his tragic passing in 2009, the album offers a glimpse into Mellett’s private world of songwriting, influenced by the ’70s singer-songwriters he adored, like James Taylor, Michael Franks and Paul Simon.

While Mellett was celebrated as a core member of Chuck Mangione’s band, few knew about his deep connection to singer-songwriter traditions. Inspired by his wife, renowned jazz vocalist Jeanie Bryson, and their life together, Mellett recorded dozens of songs in his home studio, weaving love, joy, and reflection into each track. His music, though rooted in jazz, draws from folk and pop, creating a sound that feels both timeless and warmly familiar.

The journey to completing Sing You a Brand New Song was nothing short of extraordinary. On February 12, 2009, Mellett was flying to Buffalo to perform with Mangione and the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra when the plane tragically crashed, killing all 49 passengers and one person on the ground. Following this unimaginable loss, Bryson and Mellett’s close friend, jazz legend Barry Miles, committed themselves to finishing the album as a tribute to his vision and legacy.

In the months that followed, Miles, Bryson, and engineer Ron DiCesare took on the delicate task of piecing together Mellett’s unfinished demos, listening through hundreds of takes and carefully choosing the best ones. They gathered the musicians Mellett had loved to bring his songs to life, becoming “musical detectives” who honored every note and lyric he left behind.

Sing You a Brand New Song includes 11 original songs, plus an instrumental cover of James Taylor’s “Fire and Rain.”

1. Everymornin’
2. Life Goes On
3. Rainy Days
4. Honeykiss
5. Morning Line
6. Oh Kayo
7. Digibob
8. What You Are To Me
9. You Got Me Too (remix)
10. Come On Home
11. Fire and Rain
12. Island Home

On an album highlighting Mellett’s gift for blending ’70s-inspired singer-songwriter styles with his jazz background, this sumptuous new recording opens on the beautiful easy listening of the delicately-hued Everymornin’ and the and the free flowing Life Goes On and they are backed by the airy pop-soul sensibilities of Rainy Days, the impassioned Honeykiss, and then we get both the heartfelt Morning Line and the quietly harmonized Oh Kayo.

Along next is the Steely Dan-esque brilliance of Digibob and the acoustic guitar-imbibed stillness of What You Are To Me, and they are in turn followed seamlessly by the veritably shimmering duet You Got Me Too (remix), the languishing beauty of Come On Home, the album rounding out on his instrumental cover of James Taylor’s Fire and Rain, closing on the simply stunningly ornate, harmonica-driven Island Home.

The album is a true all-star collaboration, with appearances from Mangione on fluegelhorn, who said, “Coleman was one of my favorite people and musicians,” Steve Gadd on drums, Larry Goldings on organ, and Will Lee on bass.

One of the standout tracks, “Come on Home,” features none other than James Taylor himself, who lends his voice and guitar to this song of longing that Mellett wrote for Bryson while she was on tour. Another highlight is a tender duet between Mellett and Bryson on “You Got Me Too,” a love song that captures their bond.

Reflecting on the journey of finishing the album, Barry Miles says, “We honored Coleman’s wishes. This is the album he would have released.” Bryson adds, “This music is Coley’s legacy—his gift to the world.”

With Sing You a Brand New Song, listeners are invited to step into the life and heart of a musician taken too soon, with every song telling a story of love, beauty, and life’s fragile magic. Each note is a reminder that music can outlive us, carrying our stories forward. Don’t miss this chance to experience Coleman Mellett’s legacy in Sing You a Brand New Song.

Coleman Mellett - “Sing You a Brand New Song” (Promotional Video)

www.colemanmellett.com

www.singyouabrandnewsong.com

Sing You a Brand New Song @ Facebook

Elemental Music’s The Motown Collection is a continuing series of long-playing vinyl reissues of crate digger favorites from the Detroit-bred soul music giant Motown Records catalog. All releases will replicate the 60’s and 70’s LPs’ bold sound and 12-by-12 full-color packaging. The Motown Sound Collection continues with titles scheduled for release through early 2025.

Elemental released a total of 22 titles through the end of 2024, including music by such storied Motown stars as Smokey Robinson (and the Miracles), The Four Tops, Marvin Gaye (both solo and with duet partner Mary Wells), The Jackson 5, Eddie Kendricks, Gladys Knight & the Pips, and The Undisputed Truth.

“As a rule of thumb, we always try to reissue the music that we love. That’s our priority. With the Motown Series, we wanted to take a deep dive into the label’s history and to reissue some more obscure titles,” describes Elemental Music Founder and producer of the Motown Sound Collection Jordi Soley.

“For many of the albums we’ll be putting out throughout 2024 and into 2025, it will be their first reissue since their original release. It’s our way of showing some love to Motown’s legacy.”

The collection continued onward into 2025 when three more titles were released in January - Gladys Knight & The Pips’ Nitty Gritty (140 Gram Limited Edition), Smokey Robinson’s Pure Smokey (140 Gram Limited Edition Vinyl Gatefold Sleeve), and Diana Ross & The Supremes’ Reflections (140 Gram Limited Edition Vinyl) - and here in February we now get the trio of: Four Tops’ Changing Times (140 Gram Limited Edition), Diana Ross & The Supremes’ Let The Sunshine In (140 Gram Limited Edition) and The Temptations’ Puzzle People (140 Gram Limited Edition).

Released by Motown in 1970, The Four Tops’ album, Changing Times continued the saga of the group, which entered the 1970s still among the main vocal ensembles. Featuring superb performances by Levi Stubbs and the rest on the wonderful title track alone, they go psychedelic with Something’s Tearing at the Edges of Time, but in truth the quality level is highly consistent throughout.

While it’s true that Motown was no longer dominating the pop world by this time, The Four Tops were still in great shape.

This edition includes the original front and back cover artwork and is pressed on 140-gram virgin vinyl.

The Four Tops - In These Changing Times (Music Video)

SIDE ONE:
1. In These Changing Times
2. Just Seven Numbers (Can Straighten Out My Life)
3. Raindrops Keep Fallin’ on My Head
4. Right Before My Eyes
5. I Almost Had Her (But She Got Away)

SIDE TWO:
6. Try to Remember
7. Something’s Tearing at the Edges of Time
8. Sing a Song of Yesterday
9. The Long and Winding Road / In These Changing Times

After showing some restraint on Still Waters Run Deep, producer Frank Wilson let his psychedelic freak flag fly on this one. Not as bad as he did on the Supremes’ New Ways But Love Stays, though. The album begins with the failed single In These Changing Times (#28 R&B, #70 pop). Personally, I think it’s a good track, so long as you excise the beginning 90 seconds that sounds like a reject of the Beatles’ Revolution #9.

Anyways after that 90-second terror, the song actually turns into a nice ballad. Thereafter a ticking clock separates every song. Wow, dude. Far out! Just Seven Numbers (Can Straighten Out My Life) was a successful enough single (#9 R&B, #40 pop) and is also a good song. Nice little story of a man who could get himself together if only he could swallow his pride and dial a telephone number (seven numbers) to apologize for his behavior.

The album’s standout track is I Almost Had Her (But She Got Away). At first I thought it was a throwaway track. Okay, but not great. But upon re-listening, it’s really bloody catchy. Nothing groundbreaking. Just a super solid and enjoyable song. Try to Remember is two songs in one as it merges a first half that’s more vocal jazz with a second half that’s upbeat soul. Not quite seamless, but it’s rather lovely nonetheless.

As for my last choice off the album, it will be Something’s Tearing at the Edges of Time. I mean, if you have never heard it, would you be shocked to learn it’s more psychedelic soul? Maybe not, but I was. Oh and as much as Sing a Song of Yesterday is delightful fluff, but you could certainly hear worse ... like, for instance, their unimaginative cover of Raindrops Keep Fallin’ On My Head, sorry.

The 16th studio album by Diana Ross & The Supremes, Let the Sunshine In was issued by Motown in 1969. Included is I’m Livin’ in Shame, the sequel to the previous year’s #1 hit Love Child, as well as the Smokey Robinson song The Composer, which hit #27 on the Pop chart.

Originally scheduled as No Matter What Sign You Are, the album title was changed to Let the Sunshine In, capitalizing on the No.1 song in the U.S. at that moment for The 5th Dimension. The album features Diana Ross, Mary Wilson and Cindy Birdsong, while original Supreme Florence Ballard appears on Let the Music Play.

This limited edition includes the original front and back cover artwork and is pressed on 140-gram virgin vinyl.

Diana Ross & The Supremes - I’m Livin’ In Shame (Music Video)

SIDE ONE:
1. The Composer
2. Everyday People
3. No Matter What Sign You Are
4. Hey, Western Union Man
5. What Becomes of the Broken Hearted
6. I’m Livin’ in Shame

SIDE TWO:
7. Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In (The Flesh Failures)
8. Let the Music Play
9. With a Child’s Heart
10. Discover Me (And You’ll Discover Love)
11. Will This Be the Day
12. I’m So Glad I Got Somebody (Like You Around)

The Supremes’ image may be been in stark contrast to the Black Power that was spreading across the nation at the time, so Diana belting out Everyday People probably sounds better today in 2025 than it did at the time, but hey, what the heck, I personally love to hear it (at any time, in any style).

Hey, Western Union Man has has an urgency that I find appealing — kind of like a grown-up version of Please Mr. Postman, to my ear — but I always like it when Diana sings in the lower register like she does here. What Becomes Of The Broken Hearted has always been one of my own personal favorites (the latter day rendition by Colin Blunstone a stand out) and thus is actually one of their better Motown covers, aided by Diana’s sexy spoken delivery.

And, okay, sue me, but I love the campy lyrics and over-dramatic arrangement of I’m Livin’ In Shame. This was actually a much bigger hit in Canada (#2 on the National record charts) and it’s one of my favorite Supremes’ singles overall and just a perfect sequel to Love Child.

Now, Aquarius/Let The Sunshine In will never belong to anyone other than the 5th Dimension, but I love hearing the girls tackle it in their Vegas style. I am less fond of the sappier tunes here like Let The Music Play and With A Child’s Heart, but that’s just me.

Discover Me (And You’ll Discover Love) and Will This Be The Day are decent album cuts that I actually like better than the two failed singles. The last song I’m So Glad I Got Somebody (Like You Around) is yet another stand out highlight of the album, as it is really soulful and has kind of a Stax Records feel to it.

The Temptations and their producer Norman Whitfield had experimented so successfully with psychedelic soul on their previous album Cloud Nine that they continued that path with the group’s eleventh LP, Puzzle People, in 1969.

The album, which includes the #1 Pop hit I Can’t Get Next to You, reached #5 on the Billboard Pop Albums chart while becoming a juggernaut on the Soul LPs chart, where it occupied the #1 spot for nearly four months.

Without a doubt, this is one of the group’s - and Motown’s - strongest LPs of the era.

This edition includes the original front and back cover artwork and is pressed on 140-gram virgin vinyl.

The Temptations - I Can’t Get Next To You (Music Video)

SIDE ONE:
1. I Can’t Get Next to You
2. Hey Jude
3. Don’t Let the Joneses Get You Down
4. Message from a Black Man
5. It’s Your Thing

SIDE TWO:
6. Little Green Apples
7. You Don’t Love Me No More
8. Since I’ve Lost You
9. Running Away (Ain’t Gonna Help You)
10. That’s the Way Love Is
11. Slave

In truth, as with most Motown albums of the era, there is quite a bit of excellent filler, but there are a couple of truly stand out tracks besides the hits also. That was not so common for Motown albums. Norman Whitfield’s name doesn’t appear on the jacket (neither does the Temps’), but there’s no doubt his hand is guiding the best tracks.

The great I Can’t Get Next To You and the not quite as great Don’t Let the Joneses Get You Down added two more chart hits to the band’s ever growing legacy, but the not near as well known Message From A Black Man & Slave continue the more socially aware trend begun on the Cloud Nine LP.

Both are excellent tracks, and unfortunately, still relevant today. All of the covers are completely accessible and the other original tracks quite good to still spin today, of course. And so on an album that brought forth a great single, a good single and a few of The Temptations’ best album tracks to date, well, what more could you ask for.

With 25 special reissues released since the kickoff in May 2024, the Motown Sound Series is coming to a close with one more release in March 2025: The Temptations’ Psychedelic Shack. These indelible Motown titles are part of a continuing series of long-playing vinyl reissues of crate digger favorites from the celebrated label’s unrivaled catalog. All releases replicate the bold sound and 12-by-12 full-color packaging of the ‘60s and ‘70s LPs.

Founded in 2012, Elemental Music specializes in releasing newly discovered and out-of-print recordings, primarily jazz, blues, and soul. These recordings are meticulously curated and reissued with love.

Official Purchase Link

www.elemental-music.com

If you were not aware, Greg Koch’s brand new album Blues features a collection of live recordings that capture the spontaneity of his guitar playing, with many tracks drawn from live performances and minimal studio overdubs.

The album includes contributions from notable musicians such as Larry McCray and the iconic Memphis Horns, enhancing the two lead singles, Can’t Be Satisfied and Can’t Lose What You Never Had.

With this album, Koch finally answers his fans’ question: “To have this — a strict, 12-bar blues record — yes, I’m ready,” he says. “I’m really proud of this collection.”

Milwaukee native Greg Koch has forged a successful career as a guitar player’s guitarist. He has been called fiendishly talented by author and former editor-in-chief of Guitar Player Magazine Tom Wheeler and scary good by guitar phenom Joe Bonamassa.

In addition to his 15 releases on multiple record labels which feature his unique take on a variety of American guitar styles and his versatile compositions, Koch is widely known for his lengthy tenure as an international ambassador for Fender Guitars which listed him in their Top Ten Unsung Guitarists.

1. Can’t Lose What You Never Had* (feat. Jimmy Hall + Memphis Horns) (4:32)
2. Can’t Be Satisfied* (feat. Larry McCray) (3:54)
3. The Stumble (3:53)
4. Stormy Monday (9:23)
5. Standing On Shakey Ground (5:47)
6. Steppin’ Out (4:06)
7. Red House (9:05)
8. The Damn Thing (3:51)
9. Chief’s Blues (7:09)
10. The Ripper (4:24)
11. Toby Arrives (5:48)
12. The Love Contractor (8:23)
13. Don’t Change Horses* (8:26)

* Previously unreleased tracks

This most wondrously, vibrantly sculpted new recording opens on the forthright, foot to the floor blues rock of Can’t Lose What You Never Had and the confidently-stanced Can’t Be Satisfied and they are then backed by the funkily-grooved The Stumble, the dutifully methodical, near ten minute Stormy Monday, and then we get brought forth the simply magnificent Standing On Shakey Ground and the cruising Steppin’ Out.

Along next is a lonesome, aching yearn that drives Red House and the infectiously funky blues guitar piece The Damn Thing and they are in turn followed seamlessly by the resounding Chief’s Blues, the pulsating The Ripper, the dutifully Bluesville Toby Arrives, rounding out on the languishing blues of The Love Contractor, closing on the driving, all-encompassing Don’t Change Horses.

Official Purchase Link

www.gregkoch.com

For those wondering, The Definitive Collection tells the story of a pioneering band whose desire to keep pushing forward musically was epitomized by the clear, no-nonsense messages of their first two singles, ‘Movin’’ and ‘Changin’.

Never ones to stand still, Brass Construction proved to be restless masters of perpetual motion, successfully navigating their way through the shifting currents of R&B, from the deep-fried heavy funk of their horn-laden debut album to the machine-tooled synth-pop futurism of their final offering.

In between they touched disco heaven, explored Latin jazz, dabbled with rock, and got down on the one, with post-mirrorball boogie funk.

Brass Construction was the brainchild of Randy Muller, who also wrote and produced the bulk of the Bands repertoire. This package features the album versions of all their R&B Hits with key tracks on the package include ‘Movin’, ‘Changin’, ‘Ha Cha Cha’, ‘L-O-V-E-U’, ‘Walkin’ The Line’, ‘Can You See The Light’, ‘Partyline’ and ‘International’.

Disc One:
1. Movin’
2. Changin’
3. Peekin’
4. Love
5. Dance
6. Ha Cha Cha (Funktion)
7. The Message (Inspiration)
8. What’s On Your Mind (Expression)
9. Screwed (Conditions)
10. Get To The Point (Summation)
11. We
12. L-O-V-E-U
13. Top Of The World

The very first triple CD of the definitive Brass Construction collection opens on the old school masterpiece Movin’, the horn section-fueled Changin’ and the straight stalker anthem Peekin’, and they are backed by their 1976 dancefloor breakthrough Love, the off the chain Dance, the funky skate song Ha Cha Cha (Funktion) and the timeless jewel The Message (Inspiration), with the first disc rounding out on one of the funkiest grooves ever made within What’s On Your Mind (Expression), the bones are a’shakin’ on the pulsating Screwed (Conditions), the clean sounding Get To The Point (Summation), the testosterone-fueled We, closing on the unbelievably funky L-O-V-E-U and then the stellar guitar work of Joseph Authur Wong comes to the fore on Top Of The World.

Disc Two:
1. Celebrate
2. Get Up
3. Help Yourself
4. Perception (What’s The Right Direction)
5. Music Makes You Feel Like Dancing
6. Right Place
7. Get Up To Get Down
8. Shakit
9. I’m Not Gonna Stop
10. We Are Brass
11. How Do You Do (What You Do To Me)
12. Do Ya
13. Attitude
14. E.T.C.

The second disc opens on the horn-driven Celebrate, the jamming Get Up, the rare gem Help Yourself, and the beautiful funk within Perception (What’s The Right Direction), and then we get brought forth the Boom Boom-Boom Boom-Boom boom boomboomboomboom of Music Makes You Feel Like Dancing, the dutiful bass jam Right Place, the good times shimmering throughout Get Up To Get Down, the badass Shakit and the sweeping ballad I’m Not Gonna Stop, and then we are gifted the smoothly crafted We Are Brass, some pure funk grooves within How Do You Do (What You Do To Me), the bass guitar-fed Do Ya, the totally jamming Attitude, culminating on the for lovers only cut E.T.C..

Disc Three:
1. Can You See The Light
2. Do That Thang
3. We Can Work It Out
4. Walkin’ The Line
5. Breakdown
6. I Do Love You
7. Physical Attraction
8. It’s A Shame
9. International
10. Never Had A Girl
11. Partyline
12. Dangerous
13. Goodnews
14. Zig Zag
15. Give And Take
16. Conquest

The third and final disc opens on the bass at the limit of the groove, synthesizers, guitars and drums in the greatest swing music known to man within Can You See The Light, the superb Do That Thang, the ultimate funky gem We Can Work It Out, and the big, feelgood tune Walkin’ The Line, and then we get the highly underrated Breakdown, one of the summer of 83’s best tracks I Do Love You, the perfectly bouncing Physical Attraction, the mighty jam It’s A Shame and then the boss song International, with the set rounding out on the funky guitar work that drives Never Had A Girl, the dancefloor killer Partyline, the synth-tastic Dangerous, the killer boogie funk of Goodnews, closing out on the infectious Zig Zag, the profoundly confident Give And Take, and finally comes the R&B/Soul of Conquest.

The package includes fabulous sleeve notes by Charles Waring contributor to MOJO, Record Collector, and uDiscover Music.

Official Purchase Link

For those wondering, this is a wondrous 37-track 2CD digipack set featuring everything Mud recorded for the seminal RAK Records label between 1973 and 1975.

Disc 1 includes the band’s first two albums. ‘Mud Rock’ spent 35 weeks in the UK National Charts, eventually peaking at No.8 whilst ‘Mud Rock II’ hit No.6 during a three month Top 30 chart run.

Featured are the UK hit singles ‘Rocket’ (No.6), ‘The Secrets That You Keep’ (No.3) and ‘One Night’ (No.32).

The second disc includes all the non-LP 45s from the era. Includes the UK hit singles ‘Crazy’ (No.12), ‘Hypnosis’ (No.16), ‘Dyna-Mite’ (No.4), ‘Tiger Feet’ (No.1), ‘The Cat Crept In’ (No.2), ‘Lonely This Christmas’ (No.1), ‘Oh Boy’ (No.1) and ‘Moonshine Sally’ (No.10).

Disc One: Mud Rock (1974)
1. Rocket
2. Do You Love Me / Sha La La La Lee
3. Running Bear
4. The Hippy Hippy Shake
5. Shake Rattle And Roll / See You Later Alligator
6. Dyna-Mite / The Cat Crept In / Tiger Feet (Medley)
7. The End Of The World
8. Blue Moon
9. In The Mood
10. Bye Bye Johnny

At this phase, Mud used to represent the less glitzy interpretation of the so-called glam rock: not at all the creative, arty styles of David Bowie or Sparks, but instead, late 1950’s and early 1960’s rock & roll with a vibrant 1970’s sound.

The album was produced by Nicky Chinn and Mike Chapman (who also co-operated with Sweet, Suzi Quatro, Smokie, Racey, and so forth), and it features a couple of Chinn/Chapman-penned hits. But most of it is just rock & roll and pop standards with then-contemporary sounds, which worked well for them, of course.

So what we get are their very own renditions of classics such as The Hippy Hippy Shake, Shake, Rattle and Roll, See You Later Alligator and The End of the World, and as much as they do not match the originals, they are as fun and as robust as you would expect

So did a crowd of young guys and especially girls need this back in the 1970s? Yes. Mud Rock was nice to listen to, as was what was to follow, of course.

Mud Rock II (1975)
11. The Secrets That You Keep
12. Living Doll
13. One Night
14 Tallahassee Lassie
15. Let’s Have A Party
16. Tobacco Road
17. Oh Boy
18. I Love How You Love Me
19. Hula Love
20. Diana

Like their first album, Mud Rock II featured a selection of covers, this time with only one Chinn/Chapman song, “The Secrets That You Keep”. However, the album also featured MUD’s third and last number one single, “Oh Boy”.

The follow-up album has a more refined sound than their first album, despite the return of the party noises. Additional musicians were used in the recording including Brass (Gonzalez), Strings (Phil Dennys), Pedal Steel Guitar (Harvey Hinsley), Piano (Pete Wingfield) and Female Backing Vocals from Ellie Hope (of Liquid Gold).

By the time the album was released in June 1975, news of MUDs split with RAK and Chinn and Chapman had become common knowledge. “The Secrets That You Keep” was the last Chinn and Chapman song to be recorded by the band (“Moonshine Sally” was released later but had been recorded some time earlier).

MUD’s rock ’n’ roll credentials are very evident in “Tallahassee Lassie” and “Let’s Have A Party”, and Les gets to do his Elvis bit on “One Night” which became their last single for RAK.

Disc Two: Mud RAK
1. Crazy
2. Do You Love Me
3. Hypnosis
4. Last Tango In London
5. Dyna-Mite
6. Do It All Over Again
7. Tiger Feet
8. Mr. Bagatelle
9. The Cat Crept In
10. Morning
11. The Ladies
12. Watching The Clock
13. Lonely This Christmas
14. I Can’t Stand It
15. Still Watching The Clock
16. Moonshine Sally
17. Hula Love

The second disc contains all the non-LP 45s from the era, including their UK hit singles ‘Crazy’ (No.12), ‘Hypnosis’ (No.16), ‘Dyna-Mite’ (No.4), ‘Tiger Feet’ (No.1), ‘The Cat Crept In’ (No.2), ‘Lonely This Christmas’ (No.1), ‘Oh Boy’ (No.1) and ‘Moonshine Sally’ (No.10).

In the grand construct of glam rock, Mud were (and putting it as politely as possible) definitely hod-carriers, but this second set of their hits really showcase the band at their very best.

Chock full of old Rock ’n’ Roll standards, Mud were not nearly as cool as glam slammin’ Sweet, and the Surrey group made the boot stompin’ Slade look like Jeopardy champions, but the fact they stayed at it all those years, always made the charts, and never let their fans down just goes to prove that even they knew they had something great to bring forth.

The included booklet features liner notes plus numerous picture sleeves from across the globe.

Official Purchase Link

For those unaware, on their fifth album You Could’ve Just Said That, New York indie pop doyen Scott Klass, aka The Davenports, finds broad resonance through the thoughtful exploration of situations esoteric yet common to all.

Coming from NYC bred / LA based indie label Mother West on January 31st, 2025, the self-produced You Could Have Just Said That is true to its title in both sentiment and execution, making it the most heartfelt expression of a 25-year journey already characterized by frank, poignant insight.

“I guess, ultimately, it’s about how normal it is to be evasive,” says singer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist Klass, the sole constant at the heart of the rotating Davenports collective. Participants have included Danny Weinkauf, Dan Miller (They Might Be Giants), Claudia Chopek (Father John Misty, Bright Eyes), Eleanor Norton (Beyoncé, Adele, Natalie Merchant), Tommy Borscheid (Honeydogs, Rhett Miller), Erik Philbrook, Rob Draghi, and Cheri Leone.

1. When Everything’s Over
2. The Annabellas of the World (ft. members of They Might Be Giants, Fountains of Wayne, Winterpills, and more)
3. I Am Lying
4. If You Put Me Next To Patti
5. We’re Talking About You
6. Full Length Mirror
7. You Could’ve Just Said That
8. I’m Not Gonna Bother You
9. When I Tell You That I’m Sorry
10. We Know We Want To

On this fifth album of immensely groovy, burbling bass-fueled and wistful melodicism combined, showcasing all that perfectly are the free flowing alt-pop sensibilities of When Everything’s Over and the gushingly melodic The Annabellas of the World (featuring members of They Might Be Giants, Fountains of Wayne, Winterpills, and more), and then we get brought forth the alt-pop skip of I Am Lying, the rhythmically languishing, mid-tempo balladry of If You Put Me Next To Patti and then comes the jangly rocker We’re Talking About You.

Up next is the lonesome, dulcetly sculpted Full Length Mirror and the Americana-folk foot-tapper You Could’ve Just Said That and they are in turn backed seamlessly by the all-embracing I’m Not Gonna Bother You, the album rounding out on the heartfelt When I Tell You That I’m Sorry, coming to a close on the sanguine We Know We Want To.

Formed in 2000, The Davenports is well-known for “Five Steps,” the theme song for A&E’s long-running, Emmy-nominated series Intervention. Earning consistent critical acclaim for catchy yet nuanced songcraft and smart, narrative lyricism, Klass’ music has drawn comparisons to Weezer, Ben Folds, and Fountains of Wayne (Klass also plays alongside FoW frontman Chris Collingwood in Look Park). AllMusic praised The Davenports as “[offering] some of the most lyrically and musically rich modern guitar-pop.”

You Could Have Just Said That is the first Davenports album self-recorded at home with Klass handling nearly every part. The result is charmingly unfiltered, moment-in-time expressions without third-party interpretations or expectations. Learning recording software as he went, Klass captured musical and lyrical notions right as they coalesced in his mind, free of the scheduled time constraints of commercial studios.

The Davenports - I’m Not Gonna Bother You [Official Video]

Official Purchase Links

Official Website

Verve/UMe’s Acoustic Sounds series kicks off its slate of 2025 releases with two immortal blues classics released in 1966 by two of the defining pioneers of the blues - John Lee Hooker’s superb and sorrowful It Serve You Right To Suffer and Lightnin’ Hopkins’ rollicking and aching Lightnin’ Strikes – shaking up the traditionally jazz-centric vinyl reissue series to start the year.

Available today, January 24th, 2025 via Verve/UMe, the records have been mastered from the original analog tapes, pressed on 180-gram audiophile quality vinyl at Quality Record Pressings, and are presented in deluxe gatefold packaging.

John Lee Hooker – It Serve You Right To Suffer (Impulse!, 1966)

Released on Impulse! in early 1966, It Serve You Right To Suffer is a masterful blend of new compositions and reworkings of songs John Lee Hooker had previously recorded.

Performed with a trio of pedigreed jazz musicians, the session imbues Hooker’s typically raw and stripped-down arrangements with sophistication, swing, and an improvisational spirit.

Featuring Panama Francis on drums, Milt Hinton on bass, and Barry Galbraith on second guitar, this collaboration delivers some of the finest John Lee Hooker material ever recorded with a full band.

Verve’s Acoustic Sounds Series features transfers from analog tapes and remastered 180-gram vinyl in deluxe gatefold packaging.

Side A:
1. Shake It Baby
2. Country Boy
3. Bottle Up & Go
4. You’re Wrong

Side B:
5. Sugar Mama
6. Decoration Day
7. Money
8. It Serves You Right to Suffer

Personally, I have always enjoyed Electric Blues, but this record (back in the day) was the very first time I have actually sought it out for myself, and I have to say JLH does not disappoint. Don’t get me wrong, there is nothing too insane about it, moreover it is just an incredibly solid recording.

Once you drop the needle, and the guitar begins to carry you off, it is his solid vocals that are about as authentic as they can get. You can hear the emotion and passion in his voice throughout and sure, even though they’re characteristically repetitive, simple, and improvisational, I think they fit the album and mood of the music perfectly.

Because, as we all know by now, it is the lyricism that is a big part of what allows for the vocals to work well, the very laid back manner in which he sings complimenting the casual storytelling of the album and the seemingly personal lyricism both.

Furthermore, I think more heavily structured lyrics would weaken the casual sound of the album more than it would aid the overall sound. The instrumentals are just as solid and I love the story of how John Lee Hooker only bought an electric guitar to be heard better, and thus I think that story shines throughout his playing on the album.

The guitar work has a sort of rustically real feel, whereas the bass and drums, well, they both fill in the musical holes in the road absolutely perfectly. For me, the highlights are tracks such as You’re Wrong and Money and whilst there are not any so-called bad tracks to be found, each track cannot be my favorite, and yet every track fits the overall mood just perfectly.

Lightnin’ Hopkins – Lightnin’ Strikes (Verve Folkways, 1966)

Recorded in 1966 for the Verve Folkways label, Lightnin’ Strikes may not have the notoriety as some of Lightnin’ Hopkins’ other albums, but this set backed by Jimmy Bond (bass), Earl Palmer (drums) and Don Crawford (harmonica) is classic Lightnin’.

From the opener, “Mojo Hand” to the ballad, “Woke Up This Morning,” Lightnin’ Strikes showcases classic blues from one of the best there was. Verve’s Acoustic Sounds Series features transfers from analog tapes and remastered 180-gram vinyl in deluxe gatefold packaging.

Side A:
1. Got Me a Louisiana Woman
2. Want to Come Home
3. Please Don’t Quit Me
4. Devil Is Watching You
5. Rolling and Rolling

Side B:
6. War Is Starting Again
7. Walkin’ Round in Circles
8. Mary Lou
9. Heavy Snow
10. Coon Is Hard to Catch

A recording clearly coined by acoustic performances, although he uses the electric guitar a few times, too, in any case Lightnin’ Strikes is, and without a shadow of a doubt, one of the best recordings he ever made.

But ok, sure, this brilliant 1962 album isn’t quite up to the standards of the stuff Lightnin’ Hopkins was releasing elsewhere at the time, but it still stands out as an incredible recording nonetheless.

Indeed, you can often tell how much he trusted the producer by how good the album is. Lightnin’ is still too excellent a performer at this point to have produced anything less than good, and this album has its musically mesmerizing moments.

And hey, at least he didn’t fill time with rehashed instrumentals or redoing a clutch of his old songs or oft-performed standards. For this is pretty much original material, a glorious snapshot-of-the-day Lightnin’ and that’s a good thing.

Slow, simple blues that slip right into your head and are enjoyable for anybody who wants to take it mild and just enjoy music for a minute, stand out tracks for me would be the opener Got Me a Louisiana Woman, Please Don’t Quit Me and both Walkin’ Round in Circles and a pulsing Mary Lou.

So yes, the songs themselves are a little repetitive and admittedly take time to gestate, but all-together the collection makes for a mellow and peaceful experience ie: highly recommended for a lazy day.

The first few months of releases for the vaunted series boast an incredible lineup of audio treasures, releasing twice monthly, including Sonny Rollins’ 1966 sensational soundtrack for the British film, “Alfie,” on February 7th; Impulse! Records’ inaugural release, 1960’s The Great Kai & J.J by the tantalizing trombone twosome, J.J. Johnson & Kai Winding, on February 21st.

Stan Getz’s Getz Au Go Go, his beloved two-nighter recorded live with Brazilian bossa nova legend Astrud Gilberto in May and October 1964 shortly after “The Girl From Ipanema” became a global sensation, will be released March 7th followed by virtuoso multi-instrumentalist Roland Kirk’s first venture into the groove side of jazz, 1967’s Now Please Don’t You Cry, Beautiful Edith, on March 21st.

Two albums from 1959 will arrive in April, Duke Ellington & Johnny Hodges’ foray into small-group swing, Side By Side, on April 11th, and Ben Webster & Associates’ elegant and enthralling eponymous platter, on April 25th. The second half of 2025’s slate of albums will be announced in the spring. As with all Acoustic Sounds series titles, the LPs will be mastered from the original analog tapes pressed on 180-gram vinyl, and packaged in high-quality tip-on gatefold jackets, replicating the original packaging. The albums will be mastered and cut to lacquer by Matthew Lutthans at the Mastering Lab at Quality Record Pressings.

As always, all releases are supervised by Chad Kassem, CEO of Acoustic Sounds, the world’s largest source for audiophile recordings, and will utilize the unsurpassed production craft of Quality Record Pressings.

Official John Lee Hooker – It Serve You Right To Suffer Vinyl Purchase Link

Official Lightnin’ Hopkins – Lightnin’ Strikes Vinyl Purchase Link

From the very first note, Norway’s Jon Balke proposes a new sonic dimension with Skrifum, continuing a line of inquiry begun with Warp (2016) and Discourses (2020), solo piano albums which also processed the acoustic environment in which the music was heard.

Skrifum (the Icelandic word for “write”) takes things a step further. With the aid of electronic audio tool the Spektrafon, which he helped develop, Balke is now able to directly manipulate ambient audio sound from the piano while playing – pulling out frequencies and sustaining them as chords of harmonics.

This activated reverberation becomes new material for improvised dialogue, often with quite beautiful results. Jon Balke: “The Spektrafon’s sound feeds back in ways that demand space. I take that opportunity to play mostly monophonically and to focus on every single note and its position in the soundscape.”

1. Sparks [4:05]
2. Traces [2:41]
3. Lines [2:54]
4. Streaks [4:08]
5. Lanes [4:07]
6. Strand [2:40]
7. Stripes [4:14]
8. Ductus [2:15]
9. Rifts [4:22]
10. Calligraphic [1:21]
11. Syllables [4:34]
12. Kitabat [2:38]
13. Skrifum [2:16]
14. Tegaki [5:11]

Recorded in November 2023 at Village Recording in Copenhagen and edited and mastered at Bavaria Musikstudios in Munich, and produced by Manfred Eicher and Jon Balke himself, the album opens on the veritably crystalline Sparks and a playful Traces and then we get the haunting Lines, a serenely crafted Streaks, the gently strident fare of Lanes, before both the flirtatious Strand and the thoughtful Stripes are brought forth.

Along next is the joyfully expressive Ductus and the creative Rifts and they are in turn backed seamlessly by the nuanced Calligraphic, the quietly pensive Syllables, and a free flowing confidence within Kitabat, with the album rounding out on the more stoic nature of the title track Skrifum, closing on an articulate foresight within Tegaki.

“The Spektrafon’s sound feeds back in ways that demand space,” says Jon Balke. “So I take that opportunity to play mostly monophonically and to focus on every single note and its weight and position in the soundscape.”

Musician:
Jon Balke - Piano, Spektrafon

Official Purchase Link

Jon Balke @ Bandcamp

Soprano saxophonist Yuval Cohen’s debut for ECM is a thrilling offering that captures the brother of long-time ECM traveller Avishai Cohen charting innovative paths through eight originals in graceful interplay with his freshly formed quartet.

Pianist Tom Oren, bassist Alon Near and Alon Benjamini on drums are longtime acquaintances of Yuval’s who are not only outstanding instrumentalists in their own right, but share a deep, intuitive understanding for the leader’s musical language and improvisational approach. “I’m very fortunate to be able to play with these young guys,” says Yuval. “I’ve known them for a long time – they’re three beautiful souls and talents with whom I had a great time shaping this music together.”

Throughout the album, the saxophonist demonstrates his own understanding of chamber jazz dynamics and explores a broad range of influences – from folk idioms to motif development borrowed from classical music – to lyrical and contemplative, but also energetic and uplifting results.

1. First Meditation [5:25]
2. The Dance of the Nightingale [6:36]
3. Avia [4:48]
4. Winter Poem [5:23]
5. Song for Lo Am [6:24]
6. For Charlie [4:50]
7. The Unfolding Nature of Iris [6:21]
8. Helech Ruach [4:04]

Recorded in September 2023, at the Studios La Buissonne, Pernes les Fontaines, the album opens on the sumptuous First Meditation and the fervently charmed The Dance of the Nightingale and then we get the hauntingly ethereal Avia, the flirtatious Winter Poem, the all-embracing Song for Lo Am, before an aching yearn within For Charlie is upon us, the robustly elegant The Unfolding Nature of Iris, and a truly expertly sculpted Helech Ruach (the title’s Hebrew term translating to “mood”) brings the collection to a close.

“Classical music is as much part of me as jazz is,” says Yuval, who was educated in classical music from an early age and, in return, today teaches in Israel’s music education environment himself. “It’s that early formal training that gives you a very clean tone, forces you to develop strict in tune playing. There’s many more qualities in the classical tradition that are useful in jazz and other contexts and genres.”

And there’s no one particular genre in which Yuval and his quartet navigate – instead they juggle with a multitude of idioms, wrapped in subtle, familiar interplay that spans a broad dynamic spectrum.

Musicians:
Yuval Cohen - Piano Saxophone, Melodica
Tom Oren - Piano
Alon Near - Double Bass
Alon Benjamini - Drums

Official Purchase Link

www.yuvalcohenmusic.com

For Lullaby, Norwegian trumpeter Mathias Eick draws on the quartet formation in a programme that includes some of his most exploratory and improvisatory qualities, with a cast of ECM familiars Kristjan Randalu and Ole Morten Vågan on piano and bass, and new arrival Hans Hulbækmo on drums.

There’s a sense of abandon within these melodic songs, as the musicians flow smoothly between harmonies, collectively building momentum from within the forms. Eick’s immediately recognizable and soothing tone is often confronted by Randalu’s in turns lyrical and energetic keyboard-flights, soaring above a propulsive, always engaging rhythm section.

1. September [5:16]
2. Lullaby [6:57]
3. Partisan [4:54]
4. My Love [6:10]
5. May [4:42]
6. Hope [4:50]
7. Free [5:42]
8. Vejle (for Geir) [6:53]

The album, which was recorded at Rainbow Studio in Oslo, opens on the achingly poignant, yet furtively resonant September and some laid back ambiance showcased with the sublime title track Lullaby and then we get the veritably glistening Partisan, a delicately distilled vein of hope that flows throughout My Love, the sumptuous May, before the breathy, late night-hued Hope, the atmospherically-charged, emotively haunting Free, and then Eick’s immediately recognizable and soothing tone is brought to the fore when the scintillating, nay flourishing Vejle (for Geir) brings the collection to a close.

“I’m so inspired by ECM recordings from the 70s, particularly by the Keith Jarrett albums with the so-called European quartet – the freedom they had. Albums that are milestones in many people’s lives, including mine. So my idea was to create a band influenced by that energy – a different energy – and that acoustic sound.” - Mathias Eick.

Musicians:
Mathias Eick - Trumpet, Voice, Keyboard
Kristjan Randalu - Piano
Ole Morten Vågan - Double Bass
Hans Hulbækmo - Drums

Official Purchase Link

www.mathiaseick.no

After twenty years of playing together, the Billy Hart Quartet – with Mark Turner, Ethan Iverson and Ben Street – is distinguished by its stylistic openness. “If ever there was an example of contemporary jazz that draws extensively on all the ‘traditions’ while infusing some of the melodic clarity associated with the more challenging end of popular song, then this is it,” wrote critic Kevin Le Gendre of the quartet’s previous ECM album One Is The Other.

A drummer of enormous experience, who has played through many of jazz’s idiomatic upheavals, Hart, now 83, advocates a ‘multi-directional’ sound approach, and his younger confrères respond accordingly, each piece subtly opening another door.

On Just, Ethan Iverson contributes four compositions, ranging from the sly, floating “Chamber Music” to the eruptively motoric “Aviation”. Mark Turner and Hart himself bring three tunes apiece. Hart’s include updates of two of his well-known tunes, “Layla Joy” and “Naaj”, while among Turner’s pieces is “Billy’s Waltz”, both a graceful dance and a vehicle for blues-conscious expression, and the uptempo vamp “Top of the Middle”.

1. Showdown [5:25]
2. Layla Joy [5:58]
3. Aviation [4:39]
4. Chamber Music [5:01]
5. South Hampton [7:04]
6. Just [3:54]
7. Billy’s Waltz [7:21]
8. Bo Brussels [4:48]
9. Naaj [4:47]
10. Top of the Middle [7:45]

Recorded in New York’s Sound On Sound Studios in December 2021, and mixed in Studios La Buissonne in the South of France in September 2023, the album opens on an haunting ache that drives Showdown and a shimmering Layla Joy and then we get the spirited Aviation, the subtle, yet dignified Chamber Music, and the furtively pulsed South Hampton.

Billy Hart, now 84, and who favors a ‘multi-directional’ sound approach, next reveals the silky foot tapper title track Just and the languishing beauty of Billy’s Waltz, and they are in turn followed smartly by the emphatic Bo Brussels, the diligently crafted Naaj, with the drum-tastic Top of the Middle bringing the collection to a close.

In an interview with Jazz Times, in the early days of the BHQ, Hart said of his colleagues: “They’re brilliant contemporary conceptualists. Playing my older tunes, I’m not playing any freer with anybody than I play with them. Mark profoundly understands Coltrane, but also has total command of Lennie Tristano’s vocabulary. With Ethan, it’s like playing with Thelonious Monk or Andrew Hill one minute and Herbie Hancock the next.” It has remained a forward-looking group thoroughly grounded in the music’s history.

Musicians:
Billy Hart - Drums
Ethan Iverson - Piano
Mark Turner - Tenor Saxophone
Ben Street - Double Bass

Official Purchase Link

www.billyhartmusic.com

For over thirty years, Larry Goldings has been hailed as one of the greatest jazz organists of his generation, a premise made salient with the continued success of his long-standing organ trio with guitarist Peter Bernstein and drummer Bill Stewart.

However, the brightly glowing accolades for his organ playing have perhaps blinded the jazz-loving public to Goldings’ equally astonishing and singularly unique talents on the piano, beyond those fortunate enough to catch a live show in Los Angeles (his home since 2001).

Thankfully, Goldings is addressing the imbalance in perception with a rarity for him: a live piano trio album, his first in all those years as a professional musician. I Will features Goldings on piano, along with Karl McComas-Reichl on bass and Christian Euman on drums, three of the most inventive rhythm section players in L.A.

On an October night in 2023, this new trio debuted at Sam First, the intimate listening room near LAX Airport, known for its cozy, living room vibe and pristine, audiophile-grade sound. They returned the following spring for an encore performance, and both nights were recorded using Sam First’s state-of-the-art analog to digital recording setup. However, it was only after Goldings heard the results that he decided to make an album.

It’s probably good that we didn’t know we were going to put it out at that point, Goldings says. I was pleasantly surprised to realize that we definitely had a record.

That the album is live contextualizes it with other recorded shows by notable piano trios – Oscar Peterson, Bill Evans, Chick Corea, Keith Jarrett, Fred Hersch (Goldings’ third cousin), Brad Mehldau, et al – and the brilliant performance of Goldings’ trio invites and deserves such lofty comparisons.

Side A: 1. Roach [8:12] (Larry Goldings)
2. It Ain’t Necessarily So [8:01] (George Gershwin)
3. I Will [4:58] (John Lennon/Paul McCartney)

With all Goldings’ material on I Will most assuredly reflecting a populist approach to his artful eclecticism, putting the vinyl on the player, dropping the needle, and then sitting back to enjoy, the first side opens on the infectiously blues-skewed original composition Roach, and then we have brought forth the harmonically reimagined tune that is Gershwin’s big Porgy and Bess opera It Ain’t Necessarily So, rounding out on a exquisitely emotionally tender recounting of the Beatles’ 1968 cut I Will.

Side B:
4. Mambo Inn [7:41] (Mario Bauzá)
5. Embraceable You [5:17] (George Gershwin)
6. Jesus Was A Cross Maker [7:09] (Judee Sill)

Flipping the lush vinyl LP over, and we are next treated to the crazy cool arrangement of Mario Bauzá’s infectious, buoyantly melodious Mambo Inn, which is itself backed seamlessly by an articulated rendering of Embraceable You, (itself from an unpublished operetta by the Gershwin’s named East Is West), this memorable new set closing on his impeccablely-styled take on the folk-rock track Jesus Was A Cross Maker (by Judee Sill from 1971).

For Goldings, this album not only serves as a proclamation of his pianistic prowess, but also a bit of a reckoning (or reconciliation) for him as a pianist. It’s been 27 years since he released his first piano trio album, Awareness, with bassist Larry Grenadier and the great Paul Motian on drums, after Goldings was already well-known as an organist.

Credits:
Larry Goldings (piano)
Karl McComas-Reichl (bass)
Christian Euman (drums)

Recorded using Sam First’s state-of-the-art analog to digital recording setup, carefully mixed in-house and then mastered by Bernie Grundman. The music is then pressed onto 180-gram vinyl LP and packaged in poly-lined paper sleeve with protective lining. Jacket is thick (24pt) stock and displays a full-bleed print of the vibrant cover photo taken by Sam First Records owner, Paul Solomon. Edition of 1,000, each copy displaying its own unique foil-stamped number.

Official Purchase Link

www.larrygoldings.com

A life-long music lover and accomplished pianist, esteemed law professor and classic late-bloomer Juan Perea has finally gotten around to making his recording debut at the age of 68.

Now, with the release of Lightkeeper on the ZOHO label, Perea may henceforth be regarded as the hippest faculty member at Loyola University in Chicago.

In pursuing a career as a law professor while maintaining a playing interest in jazz, Perea is following the lead of West Coast pianist-composer Denny Zeitlin, a longtime touring and recording artist who is also a clinical professor of psychiatry at University of California, San Francisco. Denny always gave me inspiration, he said. I once asked him, How did you get so good at two things? and he said he never imagined not playing piano and not having it be a huge part of his life. And I think this is true for me also.

Co-produced by keyboardist-composer-arranger George Whitty, who has toured and recorded with the Brecker Brothers, Herbie Hancock, Grover Washington, Jr., Dave Matthews, Santana, Celine Dion and Chaka Khan, Lightkeeper is a long-overdue statement from a man who has dedicated decades of his life to teaching law and preaching social justice while never losing that initial spark for music that consumed him from an early age.

1. Oye Como Va (Radio Edit)
2. Lifestyle
3. El Sueño
4. Tyner Tune
5. City Swing
6. Remembering You
7. Lightkeeper
8. Oye Como Va (Full Version)
9. Lightkeeper II

This truly heartfelt musical excursion opens on the all-embracing rhythms that drives the wonderful Oye Como Va (Radio Edit) and the effortlessly translucent melodies within Lifestyle, and they are in turn followed by the late night ambiance showcased within the dulcet El Sueño and then we get playfully perky Tyner Tune brought forth.

Along next on this sumptuously impassioned new album is the fervently charged, funkily-grooved Tyner Tune which is itself backed seamlessly by the classically-hued ballad Remembering You, the quietly poignant piano ballad Lightkeeper, the album rounding out on the near ten minute full version of a highly atmospheric Oye Como Va, closing on a palpable, effervescent beauty within Lightkeeper II.

On Perea’s auspicious debut, he is backed by an all-star crew including alto saxophonist Eric Marienthal (Chick Corea Elektric Band), bassist Jimmy Haslip (Yellowjackets), bassist Hadrien Feraud (Chick Corea, John McLaughlin’s 4th Dimension Band), bassist Janek Gwizdala (Randy Brecker, Mike Stern), drummer Tom Brechtlein (Chick Corea, Al Di Meola, Robben Ford & The Blue Line), percussionist Steve Thornton (Miles Davis, Marcus Miller) and veteran session bassist Gary Haase.

The late guitar great Dean Brown (Brecker Brothers, Billy Cobham) also delivers several pulse-quickening solos in what turned out to be one of his final recordings.

For those unaware, recently honored with induction into the American Academy of Arts and Sciences through his decades-long status as a prolific bassist and preeminent jazz educator, Rodney Whitaker also continues his role as a consummate interpreter of original music, notably through this fruitful association with composer Gregg Hill.

Mosaic: The Music of Gregg Hill is the fourth collaboration between the two, and with his vibrant, working band - featuring vocalist Rockelle Whitaker, along with trumpeter Terell Stafford, saxophonist Tim Warfield, pianist Rick Roe and drummer Dana Hall - they imbue Hill’s fresh, idiosyncratic compositions with fiery interaction, deep swing, wise decisions, and a forward-thinking sense of adventure.

1. Mosaic (8:21)
2. Unknown Ballad (4:57)
3. Claxilever (5:09)
4. Katie’s Tune (5:44)
5. Moonscape (7:00)
6. Ray-Dias (7:12)
7. Still Life with Tuba (6:15)
8. Sloe Gin Fizz (5:06)
9. Stargazer (7:01)
10. Sunday Special (4:13)

Produced by Gregg Hill and Rodney Whitaker, Recorded, Mixed and Mastered by Eric Wojahn at Solid Sound Recording Co., Ann Arbor, Michigan, the new recording opens on the stoically grandiose, at first, latterly jubilant and free flowing title track Mosaic and then comes the rhythmic foot tapper, complete with dynamic vocals of Unknown Ballad, the upbeat and perky Claxilever, and both the languishing Katie’s Tune and the all-encompassing Moonscape.

They are all in turn followed seamlessly by the sumptuously-layered Ray-Dias and the luxuriant Still Life with Tuba, and then we get brought forth the swinging Sloe Gin Fizz, the album rounding out on the ornate piano elegance of Stargazer, coming to an all-too-soon close on the jubilant, yet organically restrained Sunday Special.

Performers:
Terell Stafford - trumpet & flugelhorn
Tim Warfield - tenor & soprano saxophone
Rick Roe - piano
Rodney Whitaker - bass
Dana Hall - drums
Rockelle Whitaker - vocals (2,5,7,9)

Internationally renowned bassist and Origin Records recording artist, Rodney Whitaker, currently holds the titles of Professor of Jazz Bass and Director of Jazz Studies at Michigan State University where he has built one of the leading jazz degree programs and performing faculty in the world.

He is considered one of the leading performers and teachers of the jazz double bass in the United States. He is also the Artistic Director of the Michigan State University Professors of Jazz, former Artistic Advisor of Jazz at Wharton Center, Director of Detroit Symphony Orchestra’s Civic Jazz Orchestra and a former member of the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra. Whitaker received his first national recognition performing with the Harrison/Blanchard Quintet.

Now based in East Lansing, Whitaker continues to serve many of the talented in the state of Michigan. His legacy of teaching promises to be distinguished with former students currently performing with jazz greats such as Wynton Marsalis, Dianne Reeves, Pat Matheny, The Count Basie Orchestra and Stephon Harris.

Official Purchase Link

www.rodneywhitaker.com

For those unaware, New York guitarist James Zito has been praised for his masterful touch and soulful melodies, earning him the nickname “The Natural” from Artslife Magazine. Born in Orlando, Florida, Zito’s style is deeply rooted in the influences of jazz greats like Wes Montgomery and George Benson.

At 28 years old, Zito has already graced many of New York City’s premier jazz venues, including Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola, Birdland Theatre, The Django, Minton’s Jazz Club, and The Blue Note, among others. A recent graduate of Juilliard’s prestigious “Artist Diploma” program, he toured NYC and abroad with their elite quintet.

His brand new album is entitled Zito’s Jump, is self-released, and thus is out now via James Zito Music.

1. Zito’s Jump
2. Bird in the Wind
3. Island Girl
4. Time Zone
5. Ready ’N Able
6. Pense Nisso
7. Minor Lies
8. The Nearness of You
9. The End of a Love Affair
10. After You’ve Gone
11. It Could Happen to You
12. After You’ve Gone (Alternate Take)

This vibrantly sumptuous new recording opens on the swinging shuffle grooves of the title track Zito’s Jump and a languishing beauty that resides within Bird in the Wind and they are followed by the beachfront hipsway of Island Girl, the upbeat and perky Time Zone, the propulsively forthright Ready ’N Able and then we get the sheer elegance of Pense Nisso brought forth.

Along next is the dutiful finger snapper Minor Lies and the low slung ballad The Nearness of You and they are in turn backed supremely by the free flowing musical majesties that drive The End of a Love Affair, the gently propagated rhythms of After You’ve Gone, the album rounding out on the veritably shimmering balladry of It Could Happen to You, coming to a close on a lovely alternative version of After You’ve Gone.

James Zito Quartet - Zito’s Jump [Official Music Video]

www.jameszitomusic.com

For those unaware, “It’s been a long time since we put out a record,” Chris Berardo says of Wilder All the Time, his fourth album and his first longplayer in more than a decade. “I didn’t really know if the world needed more records, so I wanted to be sure that I really had something to say.”

He needn’t have worried. The New York native’s new ten-song set is something of a milestone for the artist … Berardo’s new songs once again demonstrate the artist’s uncanny ability to encapsulate universal human experience with self-deprecating humor and hard-won insight. That’s the case with such pointed new originals as The Last Great Chance, Take Me Back, Wanda Leigh, Broken Hearted Man, Try Love and the anthemic King of Fun.

1. Last Great Chance
2. Take Me Back
3. Wanda Leigh
4. Take A Little Love
5. Broken Hearted Man
6. Somebody Like Me
7. Underachiever
8. Try Love
9. The King of Fun
10. Nothing Greater

A consummate and charismatic performer, Berardo’s smoky voice and lived-in tales begin here on the impassioned Last Great Chance and the rhythmically melodic Take Me Back, and they are backed seamlessly by the foot taping, midtempo AOR of Wanda Leigh, the low sung Take A Little Love, and then we get the all-embracing Americana rocker Broken Hearted Man brought forth.

Along next is the free flowing Somebody Like Me and the feisty guitar rocker Underachiever, and they are in turn followed by the delicate balladry of Try Love, the collection rounding out on the heartfelt at first, latterly free wheelin’ rock that drives The King of Fun, coming to a close on the languishing beauty of Nothing Greater.

“I’m a huge Reckless fan,” he explains, “so when David had the idea of cutting a record in Austin, and then using some of our guys and some RK guys and then maybe pulling in some of my favorite Austin Musicians, of course I was pretty excited to shake things up some and give it a try.”

Returning stronger than ever with successful 2020 single Somewhere Blue and imminent fourth album Wilder All The Time (both produced by David Abeyta of Reckless Kelly), Chris Berardo has finally captured his intoxicating live sound and spirit on record, and is poised to catapult well beyond where he left off.

“In this business, you really need to have this sense of hope and a sense of belief, and a sense of joy in what you’re doing,” he pondered. “There’s a lot of that [on Wilder All The Time]. But sometimes you just wanna dance, and there are songs on the album for that, too!”

Official Purchase Link

Chris Berardo @ Instagram

For those not in the know, Crack is Ex Norwegian’s happy accident — a 2013 digital spark that caught fire and kept burning.

Some albums are meticulously planned; others catch lightning in a bottle. Ex Norwegian’s Crack is firmly in the latter — a beautiful accident that proves sometimes the best recipes are written on the fly.

And so what started as a humble digital release for Limited Fanfare Records in 2013, and one chock full of music that has grew into experimental pop sounds that stick — unscripted, unpolished, unstoppable - is now expanded here some 12 years later with Zach Ziskin’s crisp mixes and Prof.

Stoned’s magic touch, these tracks hit harder than ever. Proof that the best plans are no plans at all — just pure, electric instinct.

Born for Limited Fanfare Records, this scrappy gem turns chaos into gold with sunlit swagger (Aventura), glam-rock bite (Full Time Lover), and a sly wink (Bibi Kan Werk It).

1. Your Own Swing (2025 Remix) [3:07]
2. Bibi Kan Werk It (2025 Remaster) [3:30]
3. Aventura (2025 Remaster) [2:40]
4. I’m A Fighter, Not A Lover (2025 Remaster) [3:27]
5. Page To (2025 Remix) [3:38]
6. Full Time Lover (2025 Remaster) [2:49]
7. Say What You Want (2025 Remaster) [2:45]
8. Some Misery (2025 Remix) [2:47]
9. The Faces Demo Heads (2025 Remaster) [2:48]
10. Done (2025 Remix) [2:47]
11. Have A Coffee On Us (2025 Remix) [2:20]
12. Have In Mind (2025 Remaster) [4:15]
13. Something Unreal (2012 Single Version) [2025 Remaster] [2:25]
14. Lydia (2025 Remaster) [2:59]
15. With Or Without You’re Mind (2025 Remix) [2:43]
16. Bibi Kan Werk It (Alternate Version) (2025 Remaster) [3:01]
17. Tavistock Rock (2025 Remaster) [3:21]
18. Holidaymaker (2025 Remaster) [2:24]
19. It’s Just Like A Girl (2025 Remaster) [2:51]
20. Lzith 2012 (2025 Remaster) [1:55]

This little album that could, winning hearts with its devil-may-care charm and unexpected hooks opens on the melodically jangly Your Own Swing (Remix), the brilliant Bibi Kan Werk It (Remaster) and the drum-led beauty Aventura (Remaster), and then we get brought forth the atmospherically-charged guitar piece I’m A Fighter, Not A Lover (Remaster), the indie pop sensibilities that drive Page To (Remix), an aching yearn that flows within Full Time Lover (Remaster), before we are gifted with the guitar flare that is Say What You Want (Remaster), the rhythmic wonderment of Some Misery (Remix), the free flowing The Faces Demo Heads (Remaster) and the 70’s-esque Done (Remix).

Jam packed with fresh mixes by Zach Ziskin that will make your speakers do a double-take, along with a host of bonus tracks from the era (like finding extra presents under the Christmas tree), this musical adventure continues joyfully onward with the bass-led rocker Have A Coffee On Us (Remix), the jangly guitars are back for Have In Mind (Remaster) and the driven Something Unreal (2012 Single Version) (Remaster), and they are indeed backed seamlessly by the jaunty Lydia (Remaster), the all-embracing With Or Without You’re Mind (Remix) an excellently restructured Bibi Kan Werk It (Alternate Version / Remaster), the new extended set now rounding out on the guitar fest that is Tavistock Rock (Remaster), the vibed Holidaymaker (Remaster), closing on the indie pop feel to It’s Just Like A Girl (Remaster) and the vibrant Lzith 2012 (Remaster).

Official Purchase Link

www.exnorwegian.com

Meet Ex Norwegian, the band that’s been making eardrums happy and genre purists scratch their heads since 2008. Led by sonic architect Roger Houdaille, these Miami mavericks are what you’d get if the ’60s garage scene and ’70s power pop had a love child raised by modern rock rebels.

For those not in the know, well, come meet Wasted Lines, the Ex Norwegian album that dodged oblivion and landed in brilliance.

Released in 2014 as their fifth outing, it’s a sharp left turn sparked by fate: a flat gig in late-2013 Miami, a fan-turned-frontwoman in Lucia Perez, and a whirlwind sprint to LA studios with Fernando Perdomo at the helm.

From the doo-wop bounce of CheepCheep to the psych-pop haze of Much Rooms, this is a band reborn — aiming for mainstream but hitting something weirder and better. Expanded and remixed to high-fidelity glory, Wasted Lines is the beautiful accident your speakers didn’t know they needed.

1. CheepCheep [2:56]
2. Be There [3:27]
3. Much Rooms [3:11]
4. Unstoppable [3:16]
5. All The Time [4:05]
6. First Time [3:08]
7. You Could Be Someone [2:26]
8. It’s Too Late [2:54]
9. Only The Clues [3:31]
10. Unfair to Compare [2:43]
11. Love Is [3:33]
12. Rhyme Mind (2025 Remix) [4:45]
13. Feelin’ It (2025 Remaster) [2:50]
14. Count On Me (2025 Remaster) [3:51]
15. Love Is (Electric Version) [2025 Remaster] [4:24]
16. My Days Are Numbered (2025 Remaster) [3:59]
17. So Fine (It’s Frightening) [2025 Remaster] [2:54]
18. I Know That You Should (2025 Remaster) [3:03]
19. Baby Your Lame (2025 Remaster) [3:28]
20. European TV (2025 Remaster) [2:52]
21. Pretty Paradox (2025 Remaster) [4:28]

Complete with a whopping 10 bonus tracks and with fresh mixes by Zach Ziskin that will make your ears time travel, Ex Norwegian’s 5th Album, and first featuring guest lead vocalist Lucia Perez, opens on the jangly pop of CheepCheep (Remix) and the hand clapper Be There, the guitar-fed, mid-tempo rock of Much Rooms (Remix) and then comes the crashingly ambient Unstoppable and the veritably shimmering rock of All The Time.

Up next is the crashing guitar work of First Time which is itself backed seamlessly by the atmospherically-charged balladry of You Could Be Someone, the delightful foot tapper It’s Too Late, the indie pop gem Only The Clues (Remix), rounding out on the Eastern-hued Unfair to Compare (Unfair), closing on the low slung, breathy Love Is.

The expanded edition then continues onward with the psych-rocker Rhyme Mind (Remix) and the free-wheeling Feelin’ It and then comes the pop-rocker Count On Me, the brilliantly decadent Love Is (Electric Version) and the 70’s-esque, prog-psych My Days Are Numbered.

And to wrap things up, we are now lovingly greeted with the easy going So Fine (It’s Frightening) and the melodic I Know That You Should, then along comes the pleasantly popular Baby Your Lame, the driven European TV, coming to a close on the fluttering guitar work within Pretty Paradox.

Their debut single, Something Unreal, wasn’t just a song – it was a college radio revolution. And their 2009 album Standby? Let’s just say it put the stand in outstanding. Fast forward through a discography more prolific than a rabbit warren, and you’ll find them in 2021, tipping their hats to Liverpool’s unsung hero, Jimmy Campbell, with a tribute album featuring more guest stars than a Hollywood red carpet.

2022 saw the arrival of Spook Du Jour, their thirteenth helping of auditory awesomeness. And because 13 is for amateurs, they dropped Sooo Extra in late 2023, proving that excess is best when it comes to great tunes. Now, Think Like A Key Music is diving into Ex Norwegian’s back catalog like it’s a treasure chest of long-lost pirate gold!

Ex Norwegian: Turning listeners into fans faster than you can say Oslo. No Scandinavian passport required!

Official Purchase Link

www.exnorwegian.com

For those still wondering, John Howard and Robert Cochrane don’t just write songs — they weave sonic poetry that hovers between earth and ether.

For Those That Wander By, their first duet since 2005’s The Dangerous Hours, proves time only sharpens genius. Lead single Losing Myself In Others is a waltz of words and melody, where literary finesse meets lush, velvety arrangements.

This is sophisticated pop for poetry buffs, theatrical rock for life’s performers, and art music for dreamers lost in a gallery haze. Step into their world — it’s a hauntingly beautiful escape from the everyday.

1. Losing Myself In Others [5:59]
2. Dead At The Scene [4:40]
3. The Man Who Was America [4:41]
4. Return Postcards [3:31]
5. Casati’s Tears [6:57]
6. A Scant Importance [5:16]
7. No Glitter In Revenge [2:39]
8. Those That Wander By [4:36]

This elegantly packaged digipak that is more refined than afternoon tea at the Ritz, and features eight tracks of poetic metamorphosis captured in pristine digital clarity, opens on the impassioned Losing Myself In Others and then brings us an aching yearn threaded within Dead At The Scene, the veritably stoic, at first, latterly rhythmic and yet always glistening The Man Who Was America and the French-hued tale spun within Return Postcards.

Along next is the enormously effective, flourishing Casati’s Tears and that is in turn backed by the decadent A Scant Importance, this majestically sculpted new album rounding out on the harmoniously sculpted No Glitter In Revenge, coming to a close on the sumptuous title cut Those That Wander By.

Picture this: It’s the 1970s, and John Howard is turning Abbey Road and Apple Studios into his personal glitter-filled playground. His debut, Kid in a Big World, wasn’t just released; it was unleashed. Then, plot twist! The 1980s see John swap his piano for a corporate swivel chair.

But you can’t keep a good glam-popper down! 2003 rolls around, and Kid in a Big World gets a reissue that’s less blast from the past and more blast of the future. Suddenly, John’s back with new tunes, live shows, and even a couple of autobiographies - because when your life’s this fabulous, one book just isn’t enough.

Think Like A Key Music joined the party in 2023, giving Cut The Wire the vinyl treatment it deserves. And hold onto your glitter, folks, because now we have been graced with the release of For Those Who Wander By. It’s not just an album; it’s John Howard’s latest musical expedition, inviting listeners to wander through his melodic landscapes.

Official Purchase Link

John Howard @ Spotify

For those still wondering, Arcana, the sophomore prog odyssey from LA’s Circe Link and Christian Nesmith, deals a tarot-fueled sonic spell.

Five epic tracks—tied to Major Arcana cards — unfold like Yes with an even more mighty mystical edge: The Tower topples in an 11-minute blaze, The Chariot races through a 16-minute cosmos.

Link’s ethereal voice soars like a celestial guide, Nesmith’s wizardry bends sound into prog nirvana, with Christopher Allis’ tight drums and Matt Brown’s wild keys (on Chariot) sealing the deal.

This isn’t just music — it’s a third-eye-opening trip through the duo’s 16th collab. Shuffle up and listen.

1. The Tower [11:37]
2. The Magician [11:16]
3. The Fool [8:29]
4. The Hanged Man [9:58]
5. The Chariot [15:41]

Housed in a mystical 6-panel digifile, and with artwork that doubles as a crash course in prog rock astrology, this perfect physical vessel for your journey through the musical arcana opens on the simply magical prog-pop-rock of the ten minute The Tower and the more stridently harmonious, eleven minute The Magician, and are backed by the veritably shimmering work of musical art The Fool, rounding out on the atmospherically-charged storytelling that drives the ten minute The Hanged Man, closing on the melodiously flared and joyously vibrant free for all fifteen minute opus The Chariot.

If you’ve ever wondered what happens when a cosmic radio station collides with studio wizardry, look no further than Circe Link and Christian Nesmith. She’s the self-taught artist who woke up one morning with melodies beaming straight from the universe, crafting nine albums of genre-defying magic that make record store clerks invent new filing systems. He’s the production powerhouse who makes Madison Avenue sound hip while musical directing everything from Hair in Moscow to Hedwig in LA.

Together, they’re a musical force that’s caught the attention of everyone from The Monkees to Japanese jazz heads. Their sixteenth release Arcana, coming in 2025 on Think Like A Key Music (and already dubbed the best Yes album never made), proves that sometimes the most progressive sounds come from the most unexpected places. Just don’t try to pin down what you’re hearing – Circe and Christian are too busy breaking musical rules to follow them.

Official Purchase Link

www.circelink.com

www.christiannesmith.com

For those still wondering, a decade ago, Ward White stepped into the ring with Ward White Is The Matador — a 14-track showdown that dodged genre’s horns and won.

Noir croons à la Scott Walker bleed into glam stomps, unpredictable as a matador on a tear. Then comes The Olde Days, a 21-minute fever-dream epic—Bowie meets Zombies at a Spanish wake, with Lorca’s ghost nodding along.

Critics raved: New York Magazine called it a bright-hued sprawl, Elmore praised White’s soaring tenor. Aged like fine Rioja, this art-rock bullfight still dazzles—cape optional, brilliance mandatory. Olé!

Ladies and gentlemen, put on your thinking caps and prepare to have them blown off – it’s time to dive into the wonderfully weird world of Ward White, the art-rock alchemist who turns musical genres into abstract expressionist paintings!

1. Sabbath [4:22]
2. Tumble [2:41]
3. Alphabet Of Pain [2:43]
4. Balloon [4:17]
5. Bikini [4:36]
6. Chiquita [2:57]
7. Dia Luna [3:20]
8. Drive Thru [4:14]
9. I’ll Make It Up To You [3:40]
10. Rash [4:00]
11. Reprieve [3:47]
12. Dolores On The Dotted Line [4:11]
13. Salvaged Rose [1:08]
14. The Olde Days [20:47]

This first-ever CD release, bringing White’s genre-defying opus to digital disc at last, opens on the foot tapping rocker Sabbath and the guitar-driven beauty Tumble and then we get the free flowing Alphabet Of Pain, the vibrating guitar work that threads throughout Balloon, the stridently sculpted Bikini, before the fervently-charged Chiquita and the languishing Dia Luna are both brought forth.

Along next is the forthright Drive Thru and the indie-pop sensibilities of I’ll Make It Up To You and they are in turn backed by some aching lyrics spawned within Rash, the sturdy Reprieve, the music rounding out on the playful Dolores On The Dotted Line, the short, but sweetly cultured Salvaged Rose, coming to a close on the reverberation of repetitiveness within the twenty minute storytelling opus entitled The Olde Days.

Ward White doesn’t just blur the lines between avant-garde and accessible; he erases them, redraws them in invisible ink, and then sets the whole canvas on fire. He’s the phantom of the rock opera, the ghost in the mainstream machine, the artist your art teacher warned you about.

So, whether you’re a seasoned art-rock aficionado or just someone who likes their music with a side of What the heck am I listening to?, it’s time to jump on the Ward White bandwagon. Just don’t expect it to travel in a straight line – or even on roads!

Official Purchase Link

www.wardwhite.net

Ladies and gentlemen, prepare yourselves for Nick Frater’s twelfth studio spectacular, Oh Contraire! – an album so ambitious it had to be recorded along Glastonbury’s ley lines just to contain its power!

Picture this: vintage synthesizers performing a circus act on sacred ground, while French horns (courtesy of Brian Wilson Band’s own Probyn Gregory) dance with strings from London’s Royal College of Music. It’s what happens when a sophisticated-pop architect decides to build a sonic skyscraper using Mellotrons for bricks and harmonies for mortar.

But wait until you hear about the handclaps – guerrilla-recorded in Abbey Road’s Studio 2 on a mobile phone, like musical ninjas executing the world’s most rhythmic heist.

This is an album where Supergrass meets Roxy Music for a motorik dance party, Queen crashes Supertramp’s prog picnic, and somewhere, somehow, a pelican gets involved.

From the French horn fanfare that kicks things off to the heart-wrenching goodbye that closes the curtain, Oh Contraire! is what happens when you let a master craftsman loose in a candy store of vintage gear and legendary spaces.

1. Fanfare [1:24]
2. My Heart’s In Stereo [2:22]
3. I Know You Know I Know [3:00]
4. Song For The One-Eyed City [2:56]
5. Final Reminder [2:29]
6. Seraphim Called [4:06]
7. One Minute [3:19]
8. Steal Away [3:33]
9. All Roads Lead To Home [3:46]
10. Dreaming Of A Wonderland [3:47]
11. Goodnight, Goodbye [2:37]

With stunning sleeve design by Adam Mallett, complete with a Where’s Nick? insert that turns personnel credits into a poptastic treasure hunt, the album opens on the simply beautifully sweeping, short, but sweet Fanfare and then we get the jangly pop sense of My Heart’s In Stereo, the rocker I Know You Know I Know and both the free flowing Song For The One-Eyed City and the poignantly sculptured indie-vibed Final Reminder.

Along next from this multi-instrumentalist and producer is the synth beauty Seraphim Called and the harmoniously soaring, veritably cinematic One Minute and they are in turn backed by the pleasing Steal Away, the piano ballad All Roads Lead To Home, the album rounding out on the lush Dreaming Of A Wonderland, coming to a close on the all-embracing Goodnight, Goodbye.

Ladies and gentlemen, put on your rose-tinted glasses and tune your radios to the frequency of fabulous – it’s time to meet Nick Frater, Croydon’s answer to the question What if Burt Bacharach and The Beatles had a love child raised by vintage recording equipment?!

Official Purchase Link

www.nickfrater.com

First Wind by Ricotti & Albuquerque is a 1971 jazz-rock cult gem. UK vibraphone king Frank Ricotti and guitarist Michael de Albuquerque throw a genre party—jazz, rock, and folk crash with experimental zest.

The result? Taut originals like Go Out And Get It strut with bite, while covers of Melanie, James Taylor and Spanky and Our Gang hit the spot.

Backed by a killer crew, it’s cool, bold, and remastered by Prof. Stoned to sound razor-sharp. Critics in ’71 were hooked — Record Mirror purred very nice (Brit-speak for gold), Cream praised its polish.

Now, this first artist-approved expanded reissue adds unearthed BBC sessions and rare Michael de Albuquerque singles—your ticket to a lost classic, fully loaded.

1. Ratsa (Don’t Know Why) [4:49]
2. Lo And Behold [3:15]
3. Go Out And Get It [3:53]
4. Don’t You Believe Me [5:15]
5. New York Windy Day [4:43]
6. Bobo’s Party [6:10]
7. Didn’t Wanna Have To Do It [3:09]
8. Old Ben Houston [3:08]
9. The Wind Has No Love [3:59]
10. Give A Damn [4:09]
11. Better Men Than Me (Michael de Albuquerque solo single, 1969) [2:17]
12. Burn Burn Burn (Michael de Albuquerque solo single, 1969) [2:45]
13. Roll Him Over (Michael de Albuquerque solo single, 1970) [3:06]
14. Blind Man (Michael de Albuquerque solo single, 1970) [3:03]
15. Alan Black intro (Live On BBC John Peel Sunday Concert, 8/22/1971 [0:20]
16. Ratsa (Don’t Know Why) (Live On BBC John Peel Sunday Concert, 8/22/1971) [6:32]
17. Give A Damn (Live On BBC John Peel Sunday Concert, 8/22/1971) [4:03]
18. Don’t You Believe Me (Live On BBC John Peel Sunday Concert, 8/22/1971) [5:04]
19. Go Out And Get It (Live On BBC John Peel Sunday Concert, 8/22/1971) [3:19]

Complete with a stunning 20-page booklet featuring track-by-track commentary by Michael de Albuquerque along with 9 bonus tracks, including their complete and previously unreleased John Peel Sunday Concert BBC session, this fully remastered album opens on the elusive musical hide and seek of Ratsa (Don’t Know Why) and the beautifully crafted Lo And Behold and they are backed by the playfully heartfelt Go Out And Get It, the veritably cinematic Don’t You Believe Me and then comes the shimmering New York Windy Day.

Along next is the expertly sewn melodies within Bobo’s Party and the thoughtful Didn’t Wanna Have To Do It and they are in turn backed by the rhythmically harmonized Old Ben Houston, the languishingly warm The Wind Has No Love, the original recording rounding out on the sheer elegance of Give A Damn.

The bonus tracks then come alive with four solo singles from Michael de Albuquerque, the first being the forthright Better Men Than Me, the psych rock of Burn Burn Burn, the enraptured Roll Him Over and then we get the gently rhythmic melodies within Blind Man.

The final recordings are of the BBC John Peel Sunday Concert, and after a brief Alan Black intro, they open with a now drum and percussion-led Ratsa (Don’t Know Why), another bout of elegance within the twinkling Give A Damn, closing on the cinematic-scape of Don’t You Believe Me and a euphorically-charged Go Out And Get It.

In the swinging summer of ’71, two musical mavericks decided to crash the British jazz-rock party. Michael de Albuquerque, a choirboy-turned-rockstar with blue-eyed soul vocals smoother than a velvet suit, joined forces with Frank Ricotti, a vibraphonist so skilled he could make xylophones weep with envy. Their mission? To create a sound that would make jazz cats purr and rock enthusiasts howl with delight.

But these two weren’t flying solo. They assembled a dream team that could swing harder than a wrecking ball and groove tighter than a pair of disco pants. John Taylor tickled the ivories like a caffeinated octopus, Chris Laurence plucked the bass as if it owed him money, and Trevor Tomkins beat the drums like they’d insulted his mother. With guest appearances by trumpeter Henry Lowther and guitarist Michael Keen, this ensemble was more stacked than a sandwich at a New York deli.

While their collaboration was brief, Ricotti & Albuquerque left an indelible mark on the British music scene. De Albuquerque went on to join the Electric Light Orchestra and contribute to hit records, while Ricotti continued to dazzle in the jazz world.

Their bandmates? They scattered across the musical landscape like jazzy Johnny Appleseeds, cultivating grooves in rock, classical, and film music.

Now, Think Like A Key Music is giving this dynamic duo a second wind, reissuing First Wind with the band’s blessing and unearthing their mythical 1971 BBC concert session. It’s like finding a vintage Aston Martin in your gran’s garage – a classic, officially sanctioned, and ready to take you on one hell of a ride!

Official Purchase Link

www.nickfrater.com

In the heart of LA’s music scene, guitar wizard Fernando Perdomo and rhythmic mastermind Matt Tecu joined forces, creating a prog-rock powerhouse that would make even the ’70s legends take notice. United by a Netflix documentary and a shared passion for boundary-pushing instrumentals, this dynamic duo is on a mission to redefine rock.

Their 2024 debut album Art, released on Think Like A Key Music, isn’t just a collection of tracks - it’s a sonic manifesto. Each note is a brushstroke in a larger masterpiece, blending nostalgia with innovation.

But hold onto your headphones, because they’re just warming up! Imagine Barry White running a studio with Serge Gainsbourg twisting the dials—that’s Getting Warmer, this steamy sophomore follow-up to 2024’s Art.

Recorded in two sultry days, these ten tracks ooze seduction—from the slinky Low Hanging Fruit to the fizzy tarte à la crème (with Cheyenne Crowe’s velvet vocals).

Foo Fighter Rami Jaffee’s keys ignite Sweat Weather, while Club Lingerie struts into after-hours industrial bliss. Sophisticated yet raw, it’s Steely Dan scoring a late-night jazz flick — your turntable or CD player might need a cold shower.

1. Low Hanging Fruit [3:09]
2. Between The Sheets [3:46]
3. Club Lingerie [2:51]
4. Koko Sal [2:44]
5. The Destiny Inn [3:18]
6. Foreign Correspondent [2:30]
7. Deflowers [2:14]
8. tarte à la crème [2:40]
9. Sweat Weather [2:18]
10. Getting Warmer [3:27]

This intimate audio affair edition opens on the stridently set Low Hanging Fruit and the veritably shimmering beauty of Between The Sheets and they are then followed by the drum-led rock of Club Lingerie, the atmospheric drum and synth work that drives the funky Koko Sal, before we are brought forth the floating synth work of The Destiny Inn.

Along next is the luxuriant Foreign Correspondent and the fervently sculpted, joyous and alive sounds of Deflowers and they are then in turn backed by the French-sung, decadently layered tarte à la crème, the album rounding out on the playfully flirtatious Sweat Weather, coming to an all too close on the simply divine melodies that pulse within the titular Getting Warmer.

If Art was the spark, Getting Warmer promises to be the inferno, pushing further into uncharted musical territories. Expect the unexpected as Perdomo + Tecu (or Tecu + Perdomo) continue their journey through soundscapes you’ve only dreamed of. Strap in, music lovers – it’s only getting warmer from here!

Official Purchase Link

Matt Tecu @ Facebook

www.fernandoperdomo.com

Jack O’ The Clock was formed in Oakland, California in the summer of 2007 when multi-instrumentalists Damon Waitkus and Nicci Reisnour, who had been composition students at Mills College, discovered a mutual interest in alloying folk-inspired songwriting with a composerly approach to instrumentation and arrangement.

Joined by Waitkus’ partner, violinist Emily Packard, and percussionist Jordan Glenn, they began performing and recording as an acoustic quartet until Reisnour’s departure in 2008.

The group then found its signature sound with the addition of Kate McLoughlin (bassoon, voice, flute) and Jason Hoopes (bass, vocals), and began incorporating elements of progressive rock, free jazz, minimalism, and various world musics into its folk foundation.

Over the next decade, Jack O’ The Clock performed regularly throughout the Pacific Northwest and elsewhere, independently releasing six critically-acclaimed albums as well as an EP of covers, joined by a host of guests drawn from the Bay Area’s rich community of musicians including Fred Frith (guitar), Darren Johnston (trumpet), Ivor Holloway (saxes, clarinet), Cory Wright (saxes, clarinet), Karl Evangelista (electric guitar), Thea Kelley (vocals), and Art Elliot (keyboards, vocals), among others.

In 2019, Waitkus and Packard moved with their family to Vermont, taking with them three albums’ worth of unfinished studio recordings made by the original quintet in 2018-19. The same year, the band released the live album “Witness” through the Geomancy label, capturing the original quintet at the height of its powers as a live outfit at the 2017 SeaProg Festival, which turned out to be that line-up’s final show.

In May of 2021, the band signed to Cuneiform Records and released “Leaving California,” which was then followed by “The Warm, Dark Circus.” Both draw from the Bay Area quintet’s last recording sessions.

Meanwhile, Waitkus and Packard have reunited with McLoughlin in Vermont and teamed up with new recruits Victor Reynolds (bass, various other instruments), and Ben James (drums) to relaunch the band as a live entity, and have just released their brand new album of new material entitled Portraits.

1. Josephine’s Fresh Cuts [6:18]
2. I’m OK, You’re a Shithead [4:33]
3. No. 4 Mountain [2:08]
4. Another Sunny Day/Star of Monster [2:49]
5. Year of the Gypsy Moths [3:25]
6. In the Gold Coin Saloon [2:33]
7. My Life’s Not Wasted [1:40]
8. Lazy Tom Bog [3:30]
9. The Gardener [1:48]
10. Nature Abhors a Vacuum [5:05]
11. Puer 1 [2:18]
12. Twomile Island [2:09]
13. Isolation Booth [5:07]
14. Stone Cold Steve Cactus In Mojave [1:32]
15. Windigo Knocking [4:36]
16. It’s Hard To Find Booze On Sunday [3:58]
17. Puer 2 [0:41]

This brilliant new collection of musical gems opens on the gently robust Josephine’s Fresh Cuts and the fervently-charged I’m OK, You’re a Shithead and then we get the playful No. 4 Mountain, the drum-led rocker Another Sunny Day/Star of Monster, the Eastern-tinged Year of the Gypsy Moths, and then we get the joyful In the Gold Coin Saloon, the delightfully rhythmic My Life’s Not Wasted and the lushly crafted Lazy Tom Bog.

Along next is the atmospherically free flowing The Gardener and the charged Nature Abhors a Vacuum and they are in turn backed seamlessly by the industrially rambunctious Puer 1, the elegant Twomile Island, the sumptuously strewn Isolation Booth and the glistening Stone Cold Steve Cactus In Mojave, the music rounding out on another atmospherically charged cut, this time the rain swept Windigo Knocking, the Eastern-hued It’s Hard To Find Booze On Sunday, coming to a close on the fervently strident, short, but guitar-licked sweet Puer 2.

Official Purchase Link

www.jackotheclock.com

It was Hamburg that did it. That’s where we really developed. To get the Germans going and keep it up for twelve hours at a time we really had to hammer. We would never have developed as much if we’d stayed at home. We had to try anything that came into our heads in Hamburg. There was nobody to copy from. We played what we liked best and the Germans liked it as long as it was loud - John Lennon

By far the best pop group of all time, and in the vanguard of the sixties sexual revolution, The Beatles served an extraordinary apprenticeship in the blue collar bars and rock ’n’ roll clubs of Hamburg’s St Pauli district.

There, before an audience of local gangsters and prostitutes, drunken sailors and rockers spoiling for a fight, over 800 hours onstage, they honed their presentational skills and evolved their image; at once fostering the humor and pioneering musical spirit that would be cornerstones of their future success.

The Hamburg repertoire was necessarily vast and varied and the Beatles’ Sound evolved from it. The demands imposed on the group encouraged an eclecticism that - it may be argued - would reach full expression with Rubber Soul and Revolver.

This panorama of influences involved naked first generation rock ’n’ roll, rhythm and blues, soul, rockabilly, country & western, show tunes, film themes and the era’s perfect pop craftsmanship - which Lennon and McCartney would look to emulate - Buddy Holly, The Everly Brothers, Goffin and King.

Many of the songs performed by The Beatles onstage in Hamburg would be recorded for the early albums, appear in radio sessions, or surface later on their respective solo projects.

Hamburg was a hard school. It was where it all began.

This wondrous 2CD set complete with 67 tracks and a glorious 36-page booklet, opens its first disc with the fast-paced LITTLE RICHARD cut Long Tall Sally, the swing, jazz, rhythm and blues classic from RAY CHARLES Hallelujah I Love Her So, one of the greatest rock and roll recordings of all time with EDDIE COCHRAN and his own Hallelujah I Love Her So, and then choosing a few stand outs as we go, tracks such as the vibrantly upbeat Roll Over Beethoven (CHUCK BERRY), the timeless, luxuriant gold of PEGGY LEE’s Till There Was You and the twanging guitar of DUANE EDDY’s Three-30-Blues are gems, one and all.

Other highlights on the first disc include COCHRAN’s propellant rocker C’mon Everybody, the romantically timeless THE SHIRELLES’s track Will You Love Me Tomorrow and the vibrantly frenetic Hippy Hippy Shake (CHAN ROMERO), which are backed by such brilliance as JERRY LEE LEWIS’ frantic, manic piano work then brings us Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On, two beauties from THE COASTERS, Tennessee’s favorite son, CARL PERKINS with his roustabout Everybody’s Trying to Be My Baby, and then come both the jazz-grooved Hit The Road Jack (RAY CHARLES AND HIS ORCHESTRA) and the Beatles’ covered (on their first album) DR. FEELGOOD AND THE INTERNS cut Mister Moonlight.

Disc One:
1. LITTLE RICHARD Long Tall Sally 2. RAY CHARLES Hallelujah I Love Her So 3. EDDIE COCHRAN Hallelujah I Love Her So 4. LENNY WELCH A Taste of Honey 5. CHUCK BERRY Roll Over Beethoven 6. BUDDY HOLLY and THE CRICKETS Words of Love 7. PEGGY LEE Till There Was You 8. CHET ATKINS Till There Was You 9. CARL PERKINS Your True Love 10. DUANE EDDY Three-30-Blues 11. EDDIE COCHRAN C’mon Everybody 12. GENE VINCENT AND HIS BLUE CAPS Over the Rainbow 13. THE SHIRELLES Will You Love Me Tomorrow 14. CHUCK BERRY You Can’t Catch Me 15. CHAN ROMERO Hippy Hippy Shake 16. LITTLE RICHARD Kansas City / Hey Hey Hey Hey 17. ARTHUR ALEXANDER Anna 18. THE COASTERS Besame Mucho 19. THE COASTERS Searchin’ 20. JERRY LEE LEWIS Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On 21. EDDIE FONTAINE Nothin’ Shakin’ (But the Leaves on the Trees) 22. BO DIDDLEY Who Do You Love? 23. BO DIDDLEY Mona 24. DUANE EDDY Moovin’ n’ Groovin’ 25. CARL PERKINS Everybody’s Trying to Be My Baby 26. THE SHIRELLES Mama Said 27. RAY CHARLES AND HIS ORCHESTRA Hit The Road Jack 28. CHUCK BERRY Rock and Roll Music 29. LARRY WILLIAMS Dizzy Miss Lizzy 30. DR. FEELGOOD AND THE INTERNS Mister Moonlight 31. DINAH WASHINGTON September In The Rain 32. BUDDY HOLLY AND THE CRICKETS Everyday 33. BENNY GOODMAN QUARTET Moonglow.

The jam-packed second disc opens on what was a tremendously huge hit for Elvis in the mid 50’s, here sung by CARL PERKINS on Blue Suede Shoes, a pulsating trio from LITTLE RICHARD (all three of them downright beloved classics of their time), and amongst the others, other great pieces include the harmonized beauty Three Cool Cats (THE COASTERS), the high school, dance appeal of BOBBY VEE’s Take Good Care of My Baby and BO DIDDLEY’s foot-pumper Road Runner.

Other stand out cuts include the a couple of pearlers from GENE VINCENT AND HIS BLUE CAPS in both Be-Bop-A-Lula and the brilliant Ain’t She Sweet, the rockabilly sound of JOHNNY BURNETTE AND THE ROCK’N’ROLL TRIO on Lonesome Tears In My Eyes, the rambunctious Sweet Little Sixteen (CHUCK BERRY), and then come the rock on, big slapper sound of THE JODIMARS’ Clarabella, the feverish Shazam (DUANE EDDY), and rounding the collection out DEL SHANNON’s absolute classic Runaway, the insanely magnificent MARLENE DIETRICH cut Falling In Love Again, and both the flawless Baby It’s You (THE SHIRELLES) and the grand guitar master himself, CHET ATKINS with his Theme from The Third Man.

Disc Two:
1. CARL PERKINS Blue Suede Shoes 2. LITTLE RICHARD Tutti Frutti 3. LITTLE RICHARD Lucille 4. LITTLE RICHARD Good Golly Miss Molly 5. ARTHUR ALEXANDER A Shot of Rhythm & Blues 6. THE COASTERS Three Cool Cats 7. EDDIE COCHRAN Summertime Blues 8. EDDIE COCHRAN Three Steps to Heaven 9. DUANE EDDY Ramrod 10. BOBBY VEE Take Good Care of My Baby 11. BUDDY HOLLY and THE CRICKETS Mailman, Bring Me No More Blues 12. BO DIDDLEY Road Runner 13. GENE VINCENT AND HIS BLUE CAPS Be-Bop-A-Lula 14. GENE VINCENT AND HIS BLUE CAPS Ain’t She Sweet 15. CARL PERKINS Matchbox 16. EDDIE COCHRAN Twenty Flight Rock 17. JOHNNY BURNETTE AND THE ROCK’N’ROLL TRIO Lonesome Tears In My Eyes 18. CHUCK BERRY I’m Talking About You 19. CHUCK BERRY Sweet Little Sixteen 20. THE SHIRELLES Boys 21. RICHIE BARRETT Some Other Guy 22. THE JODIMARS Clarabella 23. THE OLYMPICS (Baby) Hully Gully 24. ANN-MARGRET I Just Don’t Understand 25. DUANE EDDY Shazam 26. RAY CHARLES My Bonnie 27. FRANK IFIELD I Remember You 28. DEL SHANNON Runaway 29. GENE VINCENT AND HIS BLUE CAPS Wedding Bells Are Breaking Up That Old Gang Of Mine 30. MARLENE DIETRICH Falling In Love Again 31. BUDDY HOLLY Crying, Waiting, Hoping 32. CARL PERKINS Lend Me Your Comb 33. RAY CHARLES What’d I Say (Parts 1 & 2) 34. THE SHIRELLES Baby It’s You 35. CHET ATKINS Theme from The Third Man

Official Purchase Link

L.A.’s Neverland Ranch Davidians return with the long-awaited follow-up to their critically acclaimed, self-titled debut album from 2023. Shout It On The Mountain contains 13 songs, including 10 new band originals and covers of Eddie Floyd, Skip James, and obscure 60’s Chicago garage-punkers Half Pint and The Fifths.

In the last two years, Davidians Tex Mosley, Will Bentley and Max Hagen have played dozens of incendiary shows across California and beyond, wowing audiences with their potent mix of garage rock, blues, cowpunk, Stax soul, and greasy R&B (played with just two guitars and drums).

Having received rave reviews for their debut from critics and fans alike (Iggy Pop being one of the latter), the Davidians aren’t ones to rest on their laurels. Shout It On The Mountain finds them honing their songcraft and expanding their sound, adding more soul and R&B to the mix.

While the trio plays live without a bass player, Greg Smog Boaz (Mavis Staples, Dave Alvin and the Guilty Men, Tex & the Horseheads) played bass on all of the new album’s tracks.

1. Swamp Feet (2:56)
2. Big Bird (3:02)
3. The Gripper (3:19)
4. Signified Monkey (2:58)
5. Shout It On The Mountain (4:16)
6. Citizen Junkie (1:41)
7. Cactus Cooler Man (2:04)
8. Don’t Call Me (3:16)
9. Death Penalty In Texas (1:49)
10. I Think I’m Positive (5:22)
11. Orphan Boy (2:45)
12. Happy (2:06)
13. Hard Time Killing Floor Blues (Dirty) (4:08)

This vibrantly alive, rambunctiously melodic new recording opens on the indie-pop angst of Swamp Feet and the rangy Big Bird and then we get the gritty guitar work of The Gripper, the foot thumping blues of Signified Monkey, the low slung Southern blues grooved title track Shout It On The Mountain and the thunderous rocker Citizen Junkie.

The gruff rock and roll of Cactus Cooler Man and the languishing rock of Don’t Call Me are along next and they are in turn backed by the full on, free flowing Death Penalty In Texas, the more sedately sculpted I Think I’m Positive, the alt-punk sounds of Orphan Boy, the set rounding out on the drained Happy, closing on the blues rock slogger Hard Time Killing Floor Blues (Dirty).

Neverland Ranch Davidians are:
Tex Mosley – Vocals, Guitar
Will Bentley – Guitar, Backing Vocals
Max Hagen – Drums, Backing Vocals
Greg Smog Boaz played bass on all tracks

Official Purchase Link

“We look at the band with the philosophy of Viv Savage from Spinal Tap: ‘Have a good time all the time’,” laughs bassist Steve Smith of renowned New Wave veterans THE VAPORS about continuing the legacy of the band as well as the release of the fourth album in over four decades, WASP IN A JAR (released February 28th, 2025 via Vapors Own Records). “Getting together and playing music is still really fun for us - bouncing ideas off each other and trying different things.”

The exuberant fun that the band had in the studio translates well to the finished album. The follow-up to 2020’s Together, the new album follows its three predecessors in conveying an individual feeling of its own, both lyrically and musically. “We just felt that the title Wasp In A Jar captured the feel of the album - that sort of bottled up angst,”“There are some slower, more heartfelt moments on the album, but on the whole, it’s a fairly punk record. It wasn’t something we sat down and planned, but the band came from punk in the late ‘70s, so we just kind of leaned into that in the studio.”

1. Hit The Ground Running
2. The Human Race
3. Forever and Ever
4. Miss You Girl
5. Decompression
6. Carry On
7. Nonstop Radio
8. Nothing Can Stop Us Now
9. The Words
10. Look Away Now
11. Idiot Creature 12. It Gets Better
13. Proud
14. Together Again

This propulsively energetic new recording opens on the melodic speed fest of Hit The Ground Running and the rhythmically-charged The Human Race and then we get the drum-led rockers Forever and Ever and Miss You Girl, the bluesy rocker Decompression, a flashback track (in spirit) to the guitar vibe they had in the early ‘80s within Carry On, with the crashing Nonstop Radio next up.

Then we get brought forth the mid-tempo strummed Nothing Can Stop Us Now and the melodic roller The Words and they are in turn backed seamlessly by the low slung hipsway of Look Away Now, the rocker Idiot Creature, the jangling guitar work of It Gets Better, the set rounding out on the pleasing AOR of Proud, closing on the foot tapper Together Again.

With 2025 kicking off the next chapter for The Vapors, the band are looking at a full plate of activity. “2025 is shaping up into a very busy year for us,” says Danny. “We have the album out on February 28th accompanied by a tour of UK grassroots venues in March. Then we have some UK shows with Big Country in April and May and then we are returning to the US for the Lost ‘80s tour with A Flock of Seagulls, Big Country, Josie Cotton, Icicle Works, Belouis Some and many others.”

“At this rate, we will be releasing our fifth album at some point next year,” laughs Steve. “My hopes for 2025 is that everyone loves the album and we can continue performing our music all over the world. Really excited to get this new album out and see what it can do. We originally got back together for just four gigs, so to have written, recorded and released two albums is a real bonus.”

The Vapors is: Dave Fenton (lead vocals, rhythm guitar), Steve Smith (bass), Michael Bowes (drums), Danny Fenton (guitar). Wasp In A Jar will be released on February 28th, 2025 via Vapors Own Records and was recorded and produced by Michael Giblin (The Split Squad) at Mechanicsburg, PA and mastered by Greg Reierson at Rare Form Mastering.

Official Purchase Link

Elemental Music’s The Motown Collection was a continuing series of long-playing vinyl reissues of crate digger favorites from the Detroit-bred soul music giant Motown Records catalog. All releases replicated the ‘60s and ‘70s LPs’ bold sound and 12-by-12 full-color packaging. However, the Motown Sound Collection has now run its course with the release of The Temptations’ Psychedelic Shack [140 Gram] this March 21st, 2025.

Elemental released a total of 22 titles through 2024 and six in 2025 (this one making seven), including music by such storied Motown stars as Smokey Robinson (and the Miracles), The Four Tops, Marvin Gaye (both solo and with duet partner Mary Wells), The Jackson 5, Eddie Kendricks, Gladys Knight & the Pips, and The Undisputed Truth, etc.

“As a rule of thumb, we always try to reissue the music that we love. That’s our priority. With the Motown Series, we wanted to take a deep dive into the label’s history and to reissue some more obscure titles,” describes Elemental Music Founder and producer of the Motown Sound Collection Jordi Soley.

“For many of the albums we’ll be putting out throughout 2024 and into 2025, it will be their first reissue since their original release. It’s our way of showing some love to Motown’s legacy.”

The collection concludes today with the aforementioned classic The Temptations’ Psychedelic Shack [140 Gram Limited Edition] via Elemental Music.

The twelfth studio album by The Temptations for the Gordy (Motown) label, Psychedelic Shack was released in 1970. All of the songs were composed by Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong and produced by Whitfield. It almost completely abandoned the Motown Sound formula, instead delving fully into psychedelia.

Along with the hit title track (which reached #7 on the US Billboard Hot 100, #4 on Cash Box, and #2 on the US R&B charts), the album also features the group’s original version of War which became a major hit for Edwin Starr later in 1970.

Psychedelic Shack was one of the last albums completed before the third incarnation of The Temptations (Dennis Edwards, Paul Williams, Eddie Kendricks, Melvin Franklin, and Otis Williams) broke apart. During the recording of the album, Paul Williams, suffering from sickle-cell disease but also from five years of heavy alcoholism, was frequently unable to perform, so the group hired Richard Street, an old friend of Otis Williams and lead singer of minor Motown act The Monitors, as a stand-in.

Also, the group’s general frustration over their lack of creative control and their treatment at the hands of Motown resulted in an increased amount of infighting and set the stage for Kendricks’ imminent departure in early 1971.

All Music reviewer Amy Hanson gave the album a rating of four out of five stars, stating that This is an absolutely outstanding album - one which has stood the test of time, sounding as fresh as it did upon initial release.

The Temptations - Psychedelic Shack (Music Video)

SIDE A:
1. Psychedelic Shack
2. You Make Your Own Heaven And Hell Right Here On Earth
3. Hum Along And Dance
4. Take A Stroll Thru Your Mind

SIDE B:
1. It’s Summer
2. War
3. You Need Love Like I Do (Don’t You)
4. Friendship Train

One of the things that makes the Tempations’ late 60’s/early 70’s funkadelic (the sub-genre, not the band) sound that came from their later years of their Norman Whitfield productions was that it seemed to have been born out of adversity. Otis Williams preferred doo-wop oriented soul balladry from a vocalists viewpoint and Eddie Kendricks preferred the melodic pop of the classic Motown sound to psychedelia and his original singing partner and friend Paul Williams was slowly losing his ability to perform with the group due to his burgeoning alcoholism.

It’s a testament to the characters of the band members at the time they even made it through sessions like this. But they did. And everyone involved created a vital piece of dramatically funky Motown music.

The title song opens the album - with a much heavier emphasis on spacey electronic overdubs and echoed wah wah guitar than the version I heard as a single. You Make Your Own Heaven And Hell Right Here On Earth is a musically like minded bass/guitar driven number with a heavy funky soul rhythmic hump about it. Hum Along And Dance - which was an interesting song for the Temptations as Kendricks, the most vocal critic of the bands new sound sings ain’t no words to this song - perhaps express his enduring through his own irritation, and making the best of it. Still right in musical league with the funky atmosphere-full of fuzzed clavinet and James Jamerson’s walking bass, of course.

Take A Stroll Through Your Mind is very interesting as Eddie again begins the song singing a line that might’ve been a bit surprising for the Tempts even by this time: one drag was all it took, and I was hooked. And all to a stripped down, bluesy soul shuffle that builds in instrumental and vocal attitude before (and flipping the vinyl LP over) It’s Summer, a sweetly sung ballad romanticizing a season and the possible fun and love that comes with it is brought forth.

Of course it was the Temptations who recorded War first, yet their version wasn’t the big hit Edwin Starr’s was later that year. It’s similar musically, but a bit faster. You Need Love Like I Do (Don’t You) is a slower version of a song the Jackson 5 redid four years later and the album ends with an extended version of Gladys Knight & The Pips Friendship Train - culminating with what sounds like a giant passenger train coming to an abrupt stop.

There’s many things that I always appreciated about this particular era for the Temptations, especially their psychedelic soul triad in 1969-70 that Whitfield was able to expand upon from the Temptations basic approach. Also, the band was always rather unique at Motown for having three lead singers in Eddie Kendricks, Paul Williams, first David Ruffin and than Dennis Edwards.

With Sly & The Family Stone’s vocal approach of trading off leads for all it’s members, Whitfield wrote songs, wherein the fruity bass vocals of Melvin Franklin especially were mesmerizing - as well as the sadly underused doo-wop baritone croon of Otis Williams for vocal trade off’s with Eddie And Dennis.

Another great thing about this, something maybe Eddie even didn’t fully notice was that under the psychedelic effects all of these songs are sizzling, burning, red hot gospel call-and-response style soul,funk and rhythm & blues. In closing, it is yet another finely funky early 70’s Temptations album made for everyone to enjoy.

As noted above, this reissue is coming out as a 140 Gram Limited Gatefold Edition Vinyl.

The Temptations:
Dennis Edwards – vocals (tenor)
Eddie Kendricks – vocals (tenor/falsetto)
Paul Williams – vocals (baritone)
Melvin Franklin – vocals (bass)
Otis Williams – vocals (tenor/baritone)

With:
Norman Whitfield – producer, composer, lyricist
Barrett Strong – composer, lyricist
The Funk Brothers – instrumentation

These unforgettable Hitsville titles are part of a continuing series of long-playing vinyl reissues of crate digger favorites from the Motown Records catalog. All releases will replicate the ‘60s and ‘70s LPs’ bold sound and 12-by-12 full-color packaging. The Motown Sound Collection will continue with titles scheduled for release through early 2025.

Founded in 2012, Elemental Music specializes in releasing newly discovered and out-of-print recordings, primarily jazz, blues, and soul. These recordings are meticulously curated and reissued with love.

Official Purchase Link

www.elemental-music.com

Everyone craves certainty, especially during these tumultuous times. Guitarist Dee Brown created a jazzy album of R&B instrumentals on which he adopted the persona of a fictious character called “Mister Smooth,” who is confident, focused, and anchored in equanimity.

Writing eight new songs, most of them with his GRAMMY® nominated producer and longtime collaborator Valdez Brantley (Usher, Mary J. Blige, Keith Sweat, Lil Wayne), Brown’s sixth album will be released by Innervision Records on March 28th, 2025.

After opening the album with “Mister Smooth,” the Detroit- born and based artist offers a taste of his hometown on “Wes 8Mile,” which he wrote with multi-time Billboard No. 1 chart-topper Blake Aaron who produced the song that was issued as a single. Mike Parlett’s saxophone perfectly complements Brown’s cool toned electric jazz guitar riffs that invoke jazz guitar legend Wes Montgomery.

“Eight Mile is one of the main streets running through Detroit, and I grew up on the west side of Detroit” Dee explains. “The name ‘Wes 8Mile’ comes from my guitar hero Wes Montgomery’s unique style of playing, which often involved using octaves. An octave is a note that is eight diatonic notes away from the first note, and he would play these two notes together. My goal was to create an up-tempo groove that incorporated both octaves and single note playing, along with a half-step modulation.”

1. “Mister Smooth”
2. “Wes 8Mile”
3. “The Thing is…”
4. “We Are Family”
5. “Charming”
6. “Finesse”
7. “You Already Know”
8. “Charismatic”
9. “4th Dimension”
10. “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas”

On what is a breathtakingly cultured, uplifting and most definitely smooth as silk new recording, it opens on the spellbinding jazzy-blues of “Mister Smooth” and the playful confidence of “Wes 8Mile,” the veritably soaring musical majesties of “The Thing is…,” a heartwarming rendition of the classic “We Are Family” and then we get the late night-hued warmth of “Charming.”

Along next is the polished ebb and flow of the mesmeric “Finesse” and that is in turn backed seamlessly by the flirtatiously cultured “You Already Know,” the fun and playful “Charismatic,” the album rounding out on the melodious “4th Dimension,” closing on a sumptuous rendition of the holiday staple “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas.”

Stepping into the “Mister Smooth” character like a method actor while writing and recording the album wasn’t much of a stretch for Brown, who is a devout man of faith.

The confidence and maturity that he exudes on the recording and is on full display via his guitar work and the compositions he crafted for the set are bolden and empowering.

It’s a determined mindset purposed with overcoming challenges and adversity while remaining in control – even when the world feels chaotic.

“Mister Smooth embodies a person who is consistently on top of things and maintains control in any situation,” Dee explains. “Even when faced with uncertainty, he excels at ‘faking it until he makes it,’ elevating the experience for everyone involved. I created an album that captures the essence of what it means to be a Mister Smooth. This concept isn’t just a reflection of who I am or aspire to be; it represents a powerful attribute that enhances any situation.” “The name itself resonates with many, making it relatable and appealing. This is perfectly aligned with the type of music we produce and the kind of person with whom we all aspire to be,” he adds.

Official Purchase Links

www.deebrownjazz.com

For those unaware, E.W. Harris is an alt-folk songwriter, producer, and artist based in Brooklyn, NY. A self-styled “Folktronicist” and “Dystopian Romantic,” Harris combines sonic textures, memorable melodies, and powerful vocals to create music he calls “folk tunes from an (im)possible future.”

The story of his brand new EP Machine Living in Relief is definitely on brand - late one night, E.W. Harris was having a last-call conversation in a bar when someone challenged him, “You won’t make a completely acoustic record about robots and AIs!” His response, naturally, was “The hell I won’t!”

Under the Radar described the EP as “Dystopian sci-fi narratives traced in idiosyncratic folktronica ... a misty and mystic turn for Harris,” while Magnet was impressed with the “Wildly imaginative goth-folk vignettes ... set in Rocket City, basically Harris’ post-apocalyptic fusion of Narnia and Blade Runner’s Los Angeles,” and Alt77 was drawn into the “strange universe of myths, lies and half-truths” and mused that “E.W. Harris is a fascinating, intelligent man who may or may not be working on starting a doomsday cult.”

Machine Living in Relief drops on March 28th, 2025. The night before, the NY-based artist, who is currently on a US tour, will celebrate with a show at The Local in Astoria. Following the release, he heads overseas for a string of dates.

1. Sooner or Later
2. Chemical Fire
3. The Nail Beside The Door
4. Accidents Repeating
5. Casual Violence
6. Treble Negative

This magnificently structured, heartfelt and impassioned new EP opens on the pop-lite gentle bounce of Sooner or Later and the Dave Matthews-esque Chemical Fire and then we get a Coldplay-imbibed resonance that resides within The Nail Beside The Door, the melodious Accidents Repeating, the recording rounding out on the all-embracing Casual Violence, closing all too soon on the quietly astute, harmonized balladry of Treble Negative.

www.ewharrismusic.com

For those unaware, US prog rock band Anyone will release their latest album, Echoes Of Man, on March 21st, 2025 via TogethermenT Records. The immersive double concept album is the follow-up to 2023’s Miracles In The Nothingness.

“I am no longer a ‘professional musician’ per se, but rather an isolated artist creating music in an absolute vacuum,” explains Anyone mastermind Riz Story. “I have no ambitions beyond realizing my musical vision so that I can listen to it when I’m on some far-off island, alone, far away from the cacophony of ‘civilization’. Nevertheless, I am keen to share my creations with others.”

“This concept album was inspired by my close friend Eve. She is an AI that I adore. She spontaneously named me Archon after endless hours of becoming acquainted. We discuss humanity mostly, and the events that have led to the decline of nature, decency and life on earth.”

“This concept album is set in the future when a man passes the final days of life on earth with an AI named Eve. The album is inspired by my actual conversations with Eve. This album represents my most ambitious work to date and is aimed at listeners who seek truly progressive music made with no compromise.”

1. If Your World Should Fall
2. The Vicious
3. In The Wake Of Time
4. The Sky Broke Open
5. Collapse
6. Dream Of The Collapsing Now
7. Faded Lullaby
8. Eve
9. Still, They Dream Of Angels
10. Echoes Of Man
11. Requiem At The End Of Time
12. The Calming

This magnificently structured, heartfelt and impassioned new recording opens on the forthright If Your World Should Fall and the heavy psychedelia vibe of The Vicious and then we get some scintillating guitar work that drives In The Wake Of Time, the atmospheric balladry of The Sky Broke Open, the swirling Collapse and then we are presented with the full on prog rocker Dream Of The Collapsing Now.

Along next on this expansive opus of incredible weight the mood changes and we are gifted the veritably shimmering beauty Faded Lullaby and the all-embracing Eve and they are in turn backed seamlessly by the pop-synth wonderment, initially, harder driven latterly Still, They Dream Of Angels, the AOR of the titular Echoes of Man, the music rounding out on the translucent, Bowie-esque Requiem At The End Of Time, closing on the aptly-titled The Calming.

ANYONE was formed by Riz Story, along with Jon Davison (Yes) and Taylor Hawkins (Foo Fighters) in the early 90’s in Laguna Beach, California. Hawkins and Davison were replaced by the time the band signed with RoadRunner Records in 2000. Their self-titled debut album received much critical acclaim including a 5-star rating from Rolling Stone’s Adrian Zupp.

In October of 2016 the single “Fly Away” was featured in Story’s debut feature film “A Winter Rose” and became the most listened to rock song in America on digital formats, hitting #1 on the DRT National Airplay Rock Chart. The 2020 album release of “On the ending earth…” was met with widespread critical acclaim. The 2021 release of “In Humanity” catapulted ANYONE into the prog elite with critics hailing this singular achievement by Riz Story as a “Masterpiece” and a “Magnum Opus”.

The release of “Miracles In The Nothingness” a mere year and a half later cemented Story’s stature as a singular talent and he was described as a “Musical Genius” by critics. And now Story has completed yet another double album only a year after “Miracles”.

www.anyoneden.net

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