In a musical journey that celebrates his First Nations culture, roots-rock musician from Canada’s Far North, Adrian Sutherland has released two captivating singles from his upcoming album that will leave a lasting impact.

Releasing two new singles simultaneously may raise questions, but when you combine both titles, they form the title of his sophomore album, “Precious Diamonds,” - set for release on March 15th, 2024.

During Sutherland’s travels to Nashville in May of 2023, he recorded ten tracks for “Precious Diamonds” with GRAMMY-winning producer and legendary musician Colin Linden. This marks the second time the two have collaborated since Adrian’s JUNO-nominated debut album When The Magic Hits, recorded remotely during the pandemic.

“I am honored to have worked with Adrian on this album. Adrian is so free… free of pretense, free of constraints, and free of limitations on where his music could go,” said Linden. “His life experience and genuine musicality shine through in every note. He is really one of the best and most honest artists anyone could work with.”

Colin also brought Greg Calbi and Steve Fallone (Sterling Sound, New Jersey) on board for album mastering.

Both new singles, Precious and Diamonds, were co-written with brothers Chris Gormley and Matt Gormley, who have become frequent writing partners on some of Adrian’s solo music.

1. Notawe (Father)
2. My Rebel Spirit
3. Boogeyman
4. You Are Left Behind
5. Diamonds
6. Kiyash (Before)
7. The Storm
8. Feeling Of Love
9. Let It Shine
10. Precious

The album opens on the pleasing melodies and vocals within Notawe, a personal dedication to Sutherland’s father and the stronger, harmonica-driven, pop-grooved My Rebel Spirit and then we get the Coldplay-esque Boogeyman, the achingly beautiful ballad You Are Left Behind, and then comes the uplifting rhythms that drive Diamonds (which details the idea that people came from the sky up above and were made from the sun).

Along next is the second of his Cree songs (Adrian’s mother tongue), the yearnful, dutifully embodied Kiyash (Before) and the laid back Americana vibe within both Storm and Feeling Of Love, the album rounding out on the free flowing hipsway of Let It Shine, closing on the atmospherically-charged Precious (which was itself inspired by soulful Black music that came out of the South).

Musicians: Janice Powers (B3 organ), John Dymond (bass), Gary Craig (drums/percussion), Jerry Roe (drums), Jeff Taylor (accordion/dulceola), Jim Hoke (saxes), Mickey Raphael (harmonicas) & Brandon Robert Young (harmonies).

Official Purchase Links

www.adriansutherlandmusic.com

Adrian Sutherland - Precious (Official Audio)

Hot Cup Records is proud to present Jonesville, the second release by the nonet Acceleration Due to Gravity. Jonesville features four new compositions by bassist/composer Moppa Elliott as well as performances of three early pieces by the legendary bassist and composer Sam Jones on the occasion of his centennial year. Each of Elliott’s compositions is inspired by the music of Sam Jones and named after a town in Pennsylvania, as usual.

During the Covid-19 pandemic, Elliott created blindfold tests for a small circle of musicians and friends which led to completing his collection of all the recordings made by Sam Jones during his illustrious and long career. For the entirety of 2024, Elliott will host a weekly radio broadcast on WAYO in Rochester, NY where he will play music from each of Sam Jones’ recordings in roughly chronological order, interspersed with commentary and context.

Elliott’s original compositions, as performed by ADTG, are based loops that undergo transformation during each repetition and are staggered against each other. Each tune is made up of a handful of musical phrases (which in other circumstances could be samples) that loop and repeat, but never in the same way due to both written variations and the spontaneous improvisations of the band members. This allows each piece to retain both a unique sound world and forward momentum, constantly surprising the listener, and often, the band.

Elliott takes as a model the music of The Wu-Tang Clan, The Roots, Run the Jewels, DJ Premiere and other hip-hop artists who create song forms that are vehicles for multiple soloists and do not emphasize a central “hook” or refrain. Each of Elliott’s tunes has three solo sections built into it, and no recurring melodic chorus in order to more clearly emphasize the central role of the improvised solo.

1. Waddle
2. Geiger
3. Sparks
4. Energy
5. Power
6. Bangor

This delightfully abounding new recording opens on the aptly-named, stridently flourishing Waddle and then brings us the funky horns that drive Geiger, the horn-licious Sparks, the soulfully upbeat pulse of Energy, the album rounding out on the veritably cinematic Power, coming to a close on the jauntily impassioned Bangor.

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Guitarist Randy Napoleon soars on this new collection of tunes by the prolific jazz composer Gregg Hill. The core of his ongoing band intact, their freedom to expand boundaries, surprise, or just lock into an unassailable swing is readily available to enjoy.

In 2014, after more than a decade in New York City, and traveling the world with Freddie Cole, Michael Buble and others, he found himself in the middle of the thriving jazz center that Lansing, Michigan had become since bassist Rodney Whitaker’s arrival almost 25 years ago.

Along with his bandmates, pianist Rick Roe, Whitaker, and drummer Quincy Davis, composer Gregg Hill has added an energized compositional voice to the scene, enticing Napoleon, Whitaker, Michael Dease, and others into inspired collaborations.The Door Is Open: The Music of Gregg Hill, Napoleon is free to stretch, bend and expand on Hill’s central themes, and the musical rapport he shares with visiting NY vocalist Aubrey Johnson over his last two albums.

1. The Lost Tune
2. The Door is Open
3. Escape to Cat Island
4. Motel Blues
5. Spa-Teneity
6. April Song
7. The Last Pop Tune
8. Skyline
9. Triple Play

On an album chock full of artistic expression, the new recording opens on the deeply connective The Lost Tune and the warmly embracing, yet vibrantly-hued titular The Door is Open and the we get the broadly emotive Escape to Cat Island, the contextual Motel Blues and the swinging, meter-changing found within Spa-Teneity.

Along next on this album that showcases a most perfect balance between swing and soul, is the lushly harmonic and deliciously melodic April Song which is in turn followed by the musical maturity of his own personal growth within music shown within the heartbeat of The Last Pop Tune and the cleanly-sculptured, and one of my own personal favorite Skyline, the album closing on the original styling found adorning Triple Play.

Other Musicians: Aubrey Johnson (vocals), Rick Roe (piano), Quincy Davis (drums), Rodney Whitaker (bass), Luca Lafave (bass on tracks 1, 4, 5, 7), Anthony Stanco (trumpet), Walter Blanding (saxophone), and Andrew Kim (trombone).

Randy Napoleon - The Door is Open (Official Music Video)

The New York City jazz world is an ecosystem involving musicians, venues, programs, enthusiasts, and much more. There are multiple “ways in” to this scene, but for a jazz artist new to the city, it is very intimidating.

Nevertheless, there are many available paths, and sometimes all that an aspiring musician needs is a “wayfinder”. Over the past few decades, James Zollar has been a wayfinder to many jazz artists looking to break into the New York City scene.

When I meet jazz artists in New York City, and let them know I am James’ older brother, I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard them share glowing stories about James’ generous efforts to help them find their way into the New York City jazz ecosystem.

Just mention his name in any of the jazz circles around New York, and you will likely hear stories that speak to his giving soul and strong musicianship.

With the encouragement of his family, especially his beautiful wife, Nabuko Kiryu (an accomplished jazz singer, composer and arranger in her own right), who is also featured on this recording, James has stepped out front on this project titled, “The Ways In” (out now via Docmo Music).

1. The Fruit - Dedicated to Barry Harris
2. Peace / Blue Silver - Dedicated to Al Zollar
3. Reflectory
4. The Single Pedal of A Rose - Dedicated to Queen Elizabeth Ⅱ
5. Jim Jim
6. Do Nothing Till You Hear From Me - Dedicated to Cootie Williams
7. Swing Spring
8. Pat - Dedicated to Pat Zollar
9. Down Town Up
10. Checkered Hat
11. Epilogue Dedicated to Mercer Ellington

This magnificent sculptor of sounds opens his new recording with the upbeat and melodious The Fruit and the more forthrightly delivered Peace / Blue Silver and then follows them up with the veritably cinematic stance within Reflectory, and then we get the lush Ellington cut The Single Petal Of The Rose in its orchestral form (lovingly dedicated to Queen Elizabeth ), and the playfully perky Jim Jim.

On an album where the music emanates an intellectual and poetic approach throughout, next up is the impassioned Do Nothing Till You Hear From Me and then comes the percussion-bedded Swing Spring and they are in turn backed seamlessly by the luxuriant Pat (itself dedicated to his wife Pat Zollar), the generously vibrant Down Town Up, the album rounding out on the opulent Checkered Hat, closing on the beautiful Epilogue.

James Zollar - Down Town Up (Official Music Video)

For those not in the know, ABKCO Records has just released the second Rolling Stones Singles 1966-1971 seven inch single box-set, which follows up the 1963-1966 collection from last year, and thus contains 18 vinyl singles and extended play records as originally released by Decca, London Records and ABKCO Records.

This features original packaging, original mono and stereo single mixes and all the hits from this classic era including five number ones. Tracks include ‘Paint It Black’, ‘Have You Seen Your Mother Baby Standing In The Shadow?’, ‘Let’s Spend The Night Together’, ‘Jumpin’ Jack Flash’, ‘Street Fighting Man’, ‘Honky Tonk Women’, ‘Brown Sugar’, and many other classics.

It also features songs that while recorded between ’66 and ’71 where sometimes issued as singles after that, an example being ‘I Don’t Know Why’, which wasn’t issued until 1975 to promote the Stones rarities album Metamorphosis. A bit more dubiously, the Neptunes and Fat Boy Slim remixes of ‘Sympathy For The Devil’ (issued on SACD in 2003) now get their own seven-inch, although at least the original version is still on disc 17.

All the tracks in this box were remastered by Bob Ludwig, and the discs are manufactured by Third Man Pressing in Detroit. The set also comes with a 32-page book containing extensive liner notes by Nigel Williamson.

Disc 1: “Paint It, Black” US version (originally released May 1966)
A. Paint It, Black
B. Stupid Girl

Disc 2: “Paint It, Black” UK version (originally released May 1966)
A. Paint It, Black
B. Long Long While

Disc 3: “Mother’s Little Helper” (originally released June 1966)
A. Mother’s Little Helper
B. Lady Jane

Disc 4: “Have You Seen Your Mother, Baby, Standing In The Shadow?” (originally released September 1966)
A. Have You Seen Your Mother, Baby, Standing In The Shadow?
B. Who’s Driving Your Plane

Disc 5: “Let’s Spend The Night Together” (originally released January 1967)
A. Let’s Spend The Night Together
B. Ruby Tuesday

Disc 6: “We Love You” (originally released August 1967)
A. We Love You
B. Dandelion

Disc 7: “She’s A Rainbow” (originally released November 1967)
A. She’s A Rainbow
B. 2000 Light Years From Home

Disc 8: “In Another Land” (originally released December 1967)
A. In Another Land
B. The Lantern

Disc 9: “Jumpin’ Jack Flash” (originally released May 1968)
A. Jumpin’ Jack Flash
B. Child Of The Moon

Disc 10: “Street Fighting Man” US version (originally released August 1968)
A. Street Fighting Man
B. No Expectations

Disc 11: “Honky Tonk Women” (originally released July 1969)
A. Honky Tonk Women (mono mix)
B. You Can’t Always Get What You Want

Disc 12: “Memo From Turner” (originally released November 1970)
A. Memo From Turner (Mick Jagger)
B. Natural Magic (Ry Cooder) from the film Performance

Disc 13: “Street Fighting Man” UK maxi-single (originally released June 1971)
A. Street Fighting Man
B1. Surprise Surprise
B2. Everybody Needs Somebody To Love

Disc 14: “Brown Sugar” (A-side originally released April 1971; B-side originally released June 1971)
A. Brown Sugar
B. Wild Horses

Disc 15: “I Don’t Know Why” (originally released May 1975)
A. I Don’t Know Why (aka Don’t Know Why I Love You)
B. Try A Little Harder

Disc 16: “Out Of Time” (originally released September 1975)
A. Out Of Time
B. Jiving Sister Fanny

Disc 17: “Honky Tonk Women” (originally released April 1976)
A. Honky Tonk Women (stereo mix)
B. Sympathy For The Devil

Disc 18: “Sympathy For The Devil” Remix (originally released as part of SACD E.P. & CD single September 2003)
A. Sympathy For The Devil (The Neptunes Remix)
B. Sympathy For The Devil (Fat Boy Slim Remix)

Having grown up in a 7” single, vinyl-buying household in both the UK and the US, and with parents both devoted fans of bands such as The Rolling Stones, the Beatles, The Kinks, The Who and oh-so many more, I myself grew up listening to all these wondrous songs (A-Sides and B-Sides, I am glad to report) and so not only feel very blessed that this quite stunning new box-set has been kindly sent to us for review by ABKCO, but honestly feel well positioned to bring to you my collective thoughts on the contents here today.

Firstly, once you remove the factory-seal and open the box, that new car smell (so to speak) generously, and gorgeously wafts up to your nose and makes you immediately smile (knowing that, unlike second hand garage sales and old timey record shops), the vinyl you remove from this box will not be raggedy-sleeved, or feature vinyl scratches and blemishes of any kind.

With, save for one, each single lovingly housed within its own color picture sleeve - as opposed to some other box-sets that shall remain nameless, where each single came out housed in plain white sleeves - it is not only the quality of the vinyl itself when played, but the look of the replica flashback picture sleeves that just make you nostalgically crumble inside.

If I had to pick a favorite from amongst this plethora of musical wonderment, it would be the opener Paint It Black, a cut that neither matched the intensity of its forebears, nor the oppressive themes which its lyrics suggested, and yet the Wyman-suggested Hammond organ pedals lay a luxurious bed from which the tune rises from.

It’s B-Side, the simply magnificent Stupid Girl, itself possesses an endearing and energetic snottiness that might have won the Stones a good amount of sexually frustrated young men fans back then, one assumes.

Another would be Mother’s Little Helper - which peaked at #8 on the Billboard Hot 100 - and is driven by its lyrics being about an indictment of middle class prescription drug abuse as an antidote to the drudgery of everyday life. It’s B-Side is Lady Jane, a song that showcases Brian Jones’ instrumental incorporation of baroque rock (as it would since come to be known).

Moving a little further into the wondrous box-set - and away from the worldwide known hits that punctuate this collection - and another stand out is the Memo From Turner. A solo single by Jagger, it features some beautifully alluring slide guitar by Ry Cooder and is from the soundtrack of Performance; in which Jagger played the role of Turner, a reclusive rock star.

The B-Side to the single is Natural Magic by Ry Cooder, also from the film Performance, and is itself a guitar virtuoso performance of the highest caliber.

Along next would be the Stevie Wonder-penned I Don’t Know Why (aka Don’t Know Why I Love You), which was a hit for the Stones in February of 1969. The B-Side is Try A Little Harder, which is itself built around a basic low twangy soul-rock guitar riff and backup harmony chant.

One more personal choice would be Out Of Time, which brought together the wonderful studio sounds of electric dulcimers, marimbas, and auto harps, all brought vividly to the fore to create a much under-rated track. It’s B-Side is Jiving Sister Fanny, which may well be chock full of incomprehensible vocalizations and filler phrases, is still a coherent tale about a man in Philadelphia who has the brain of a dinosaur!

The lovely, large color book is magnificent also, featuring lots and lots of wondrous old black and white/color photographs of the band, along with adjacent single release information. And the posed/caught live, five various art cards (photos) and luscious horizontal black and white poster make for lovely viewing also.

ABKCO Records is home to the entire catalog of The Rolling Stones from 1963 to early 1971. This includes the albums The Rolling Stones, England’s Newest Hit Makers, 12 X 5, The Rolling Stones No. 2, The Rolling Stones, Now!, Out of Our Heads, December’s Children (And Everybody’s), Aftermath, Got Live If You Want It!, Between the Buttons, Their Satanic Majesties Request, Beggars Banquet, Let It Bleed and Get Yer Ya-Ya’s Out! The Rolling Stones in Concert. ABKCO Films is home to Charlie Is My Darling - Ireland 1965 and The Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus.

Official Unboxing | The Rolling Stones 7" Singles 1966 - 1971 (Vinyl Box Set)

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In the forty years that he has been working on Monteverdi, Rinaldo Alessandrini has revealed the beauty, poetry and genius of the music. Today, naïve publish a box set containing the entire collection of his recordings of the madrigals with Concerto Italiano: 12 hours of music on 11 CDs, including previously unreleased books I and IX.

Rinaldo Alessandrini’s vast discography with his Concerto Italiano has included Monteverdi’s madrigals, presented whenever he wished, interlinked themes and personal dramaturgies. This complete, non- chronological collection, which began in 1993 with book IV, then gradually increased over the years up to books I and IX, recorded last year, as yet missing from their catalogue, has now culminated in the publication of a dense, full and well-documented box set.

The further Rinaldo Alessandrini advanced in his demanding and exhaustive quest, the more he discovered and mastered the inexhaustible richness of a musical art intimately linked to the theatre and the emotions. “A theatre,” he says, “made of humanity, of aspiring to the sublime and the joyful resolution of life’s sorrows through love, the curative power of song and the energetic exaltation of dance.”

Today, the Italian conductor and harpsichordist is one of the undisputed masters of this exceptional vocal heritage, the best-loved of which is the famous book VIII devoted to madrigals of love and war, with the Combattimento de Tancredi e Clorinda, the Lamento de la ninfa and Hor che’l ciel e la terra, book VI with its Lamento d’Arianna and Zefiro torna, voted Editor’s Choice by Gramophone, and book II, winner of a Gram phone Award.

All the subtlety of the intimate intermingling of text and music unfolds, in ever renewed variety. Each recording has also contributed to the methodical, fascinating and detailed construction of a personal vision of Monteverdi’s work, aided by the unfailing commitment and inspired voices of Concerto Italiano.

These recordings of the whole opus, with the addition of two hitherto unpublished books, complete a monumental work, already widely and unanimously praised, and also crown a Monteverdi cycle which began at the Barcelona Liceu in 2021.

Madrigals, Book 1: SV23-39
Madrigals, Book 2: SV40-59
Madrigals, Book 3: SV60-74
Madrigals, Book 4: SV75-93
Madrigals, Book 5: SV94-106
Madrigals, Book 6: SV107-116
Madrigals, Book 7: SV117-145
Madrigals, Book 8: SV146-167 Madrigals of Love and War
Madrigals, Book 9: SV 168-178

Simply put, if you are looking for a complete set of Monterverdi Madrigal recordings this is by far the greatest set to date, in my humble opinion. For this set by Naïve Records we get the result of the work to be as similar as possible to how it was played in the lifetime of Monteverdi. He lived from 1567 until 1643, a long period with major changes and which saw transition from Renaissance to Baroque in music.

The set includes all the nine books of Madrigals, and all culled within their most strict of sense, but what makes this set feel very much like a unified effort is all the variety of styles that Monteverdi used are well matched by the ensemble’s sensitivity to text, style, flair for the dramatic, and the excellent instrumental accompaniment.

Indeed, the set makes a musical, stylistic, and textual journey, with hardly a dull moment. The combination of countertenors, tenors, baritones and basses provides a fascinating mix of timbres, never heard on previous recordings at such a level, I would like to think.

Furthermore, artwork design is truly beautiful, all 11 CDs houses elegantly within an excellent box, which comes complete with a highly informative booklet.

Thus here on Monteverdi: Tutti i madrigali - Complete Madrigals, it is evident from the off that he himself explores themes of love, war, and the pain of loss. A madrigal was a term for all sorts of secular song forms, styles, and subjects. Lighthearted and rustic 3, and sometimes 4, voice works aplenty.

Then later came more voices and textual expressiveness with sensitivity and an experimental approach to chromaticism. Indeed, Monteverdi began his earliest works with a blend of light pastoral texts and weightier emotional texts, but here he uses striking harmonic twists to bridge between moments.

His second and third books show a freer sense of expression and intensity whereas his fourth and fifth books reveal an increase in dissonance and chromaticism, unusual harmonic choices, textural contrasts, and impassioned delivery.

He even uses long sections for 1, 2, or 3 voices within the fuller polyphonic texture, all with instrumental accompaniment, the Madrigals aligned at certain moments themselves with basso continuo ambiance.

The seventh book, titled Concerto by Monteverdi himself takes the innovation that there are no traditional 5 voice madrigals, but simply pieces from 1 to 4 voices. Also included are the Love and War Madrigals (CD 10).

Overall, and in closing, the sound throughout is exceptional and the whole package simple feels just so luxurious upon the ears as the Madrigals play out before us.

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At the heart of Albare’s new album Beyond Belief lies a theme of exploration and discovery, both within the realms of music and the human experience. Albare uses his guitar voice and compositional collaboration with Phil Turcio who have now worked together for the past thirty years, to guide listeners through a series of soundscapes that are as varied as they are cohesive.

The album weaves together a tapestry of influences, from the intricate rhythms of world music to the soul-stirring harmonies of modern jazz, creating a unique sonic palette.

The overarching concept of the album is one of journeying beyond the known and the ordinary. Albare invites listeners to join him in pushing past the limits of belief, exploring new horizons of emotion and expression. Each track contributes to this overarching narrative, offering its own unique flavor and perspective.

There’s a sense of introspection and wonder that permeates the album. It’s as if Albare and his comrades – Phil Turcio, Pablo Bencid and Phil Rex – are not just playing music, but also exploring the deeper questions of life, love, and existence.

The album’s fusion of different musical elements mirrors the complexity of these themes, creating a rich and multi-layered listening experience. The one track ‘I Believe’ featuring special guest vocalist Lionel Cole, you feel the voice of Lionel being used like a skilled instrumentalist in the tradition of the likes of the late Al Jarreau.

1. Missing in Action
2. Mad’s Happy Day
3. No Regrets
4. Feeling Moody
5. I Believe
6. Ladino Jazz
7. Sailing Away
8. Blue Bossa Reimagined
9. Hymn to My Friend
10. Hypothetical Retrospection

This beautifully manicured, dutifully sculpted new recording opens on the spirited Missing in Action and the romantic swirls and twirls within Mad’s Happy Day and then comes the impassioned No Regrets, the languishing beauty of Feeling Moody, and the playfully sculpted I Believe is along next.

Up next is a dutiful ebb and flow that drives Ladino Jazz and the Eastern-tinged Sailing Away, which are in turn followed by the aptly-named Blue Bossa Reimagined, the album rounding out on the ornate gossamer of Hymn to My Friend, closing on the joyously lavish Hypothetical Retrospection.

MUSICIANS: Albare: guitar, Phil Turcio: Piano, Phil Rex: bass, Pablo Bencid: drums, Lionel Cole vocals on “If I believe”

Blues-rock icon Walter Trout is riding a creatively formidable wave and heading into 2024 with an album raucous, wild and poignant in Broken. The album features guest appearances from powerhouse singer Beth Hart, Twisted Sister’s Dee Snider and Harmonica virtuoso Will Wilde.

All of us are broken. But no one is beyond repair. It’s a philosophy that Walter Trout has lived by during seven volatile decades at the heart of America’s society and blues-rock scene. Even now, with the world more fractured than ever – by politics, economics, social media and culture wars – the fabled US bluesman’s latest album, Broken, chronicles the bitter schisms of modern life but refuses to succumb to them.

I’ve always tried to write positive songs, and this album is not quite that, considers the 72-year-old of an all-original tracklisting that rages and soothes. But I always hold on to hope. I think that’s why I wrote this album.

1. Broken (feat. Beth Hart)
2. Turn And Walk Away
3. Courage In The Dark
4. Bleed (feat. Will Wilde)
5. Talkin’ To Myself
6. No Magic (in the street)
7. I’ve Had Enough (feat. Dee Snider)
8. Love Of My Life
9. Breathe
10. Heaven Or Hell
11. I Wanna Stay
12. Falls Apart

On this amazingly vibrant new blues-rock recording, Trout opens on the languishing yearn that drives the titular Broken (featuring Beth Hart) and the country porch imbibed, harmonica-hued Turn And Walk Away, and they are followed by the low slung Courage In The Dark, the fiery rocker Bleed (featuring Will Wilde), and then comes the mid-tempo blues-country-rock of Talkin’ To Myself and the harmonica-driven beauty No Magic (in the street).

Along next is the frenetic guitar rocker I’ve Had Enough (featuring Dee Snider) and then, out of the blue, we get a beautiful yearn within the languishing ballad Love Of My Life and they are in turn backed by the rhythmic Breathe, the storytelling within Heaven Or Hell, the album rounding out on a dutiful low key hipsway found within the ballad I Wanna Stay, closing on some pleasing guitar work found on Falls Apart.

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When Mackenzie Shivers creates music, it’s as if it demands to be heard. The Hudson Valley based singer-songwriter began writing music and playing piano when she was four years old, telling her mother she had “music locked inside of her that needed to come out.”

Her writing provides a conduit for complex emotions, untangling as they poke through the surface, yearning to be explored and set free.

Folk-pop artist Mackenzie Shivers brings out her fourth full-length album, primrose was in season, on March 1st, 2024. On the album, Shivers boldly gives a glimpse into her healing process after losing her first pregnancy, triumphantly capturing a depth of feeling that illuminates both her resilience and vulnerability.

Electric guitar, a mix of dance beats and organic drums, and Shivers’s trademark piano bolster her most adventurous work to-date.

1. a cautionary tale
2. nest
3. marigolds
4. hush now
5. pedestal
6. paper dolls
7. johnny gown
8. borrowed time
9. terracotta floors
10. whatever it takes

This highly impressive 10-track collection of new tracks opens on the, at first, hauntingly ethereal, latterly a translucent pop ballad opener of a cautionary tale and the veritably glistening nest and they are followed by the more organic piano fare of marigolds, the beautifully wistful hush now, and then comes the resonant pedestal.

Along next on this set of ten new compositions that combine magic with grief is the dutifully layered, structured hushed tones of paper dolls and the danceable, synth-driven foot tapper johnny gown, and they are in turn backed by the lighter fare of borrowed time, the set rounding out on a melodious pop line that drives terracotta floors, closing on the more astutely honed whatever it takes.

Musicians:
Mackenzie Shivers: vocals, grand piano, keyboard, pump organ, Farfisa compact organ
Kevin Salem: electric guitar, banjo, bass guitar (2, 3), drums (9), pot and pans
Yuka Tadano: electric bass, upright bass
Cody Rahn: drums

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For those unaware, pianist and composer Håkon Skogstad has just released his new album, 8 Concepts of Tango, the sequel to Norwegian Grammy-awarded Visions of Tango from 2021.

The album is the third installment of Skogstad’s tango trilogy, where the aim has been to develop a new musical style in the wake of Astor Piazzolla.

On 8 Concepts of Tango, Skogstad performs in the company of seven hand-picked musicians - all experts in the Argentine tango/classical music segment.

Håkon Skogstad (b.1989) is a prize-awarded pianist and composer holding degrees in classical performance from Oslo and New York as well as a PhD in Artistic Research from NTNU, Trondheim. He has performed in ensembles and as soloist throughout Norway and played concerts in the U.S., Argentina, Germany, Austria, Spain and Sweden.

He has also composed several large-scale works on commission. Skogstad released five critically acclaimed tango recordings both in groups and as soloist in the period of 2008-2021.

1. Caserón Porteño
2. Retroreflections
3. A Contemplative Rhapsody
4. Tango contra Tango
5. The Anvil
6. Romance para Ocho
7. Battaglia
8. Lamento

On this multifaceted, multi-layered new recording, Skogstad opens up on the spirited Caserón Porteño and then we are brought forth the more meditative Retroreflections, the aptly-titled A Contemplative Rhapsody, the fervently sculpted Tango contra Tango, and they are in turn backed seamlessly by the forthright endeavors found sewn within The Anvil, the recording rounding out on the delicately-hued Romance para Ocho, the euphorically-charged Battaglia, closing on the, for the most part stoic, and yet optimistically assured throughout, Lamento.

Musicians:
Håkon Skogstad – pianist & composer
Andreas Rokseth – bandoneón
Åsbjørg Ryeng - bandoneón
Sveinung Lillebjerka - violin
Anders Larsen - violin
Bergmund Waal Skaslien - viola
Marit Aspaas - cello
Ole Schøyen Sjölin - double bass

www.hmskogstad.net

Bob Anderson has long been known as “The Great Impressionist” appearing on over 200 national TV shows and concerts in over 30 countries on 5 continents. He can do authentic impersonations of Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis, Jr, Tom Jones, Johnny Mathis, and more, but NOW he wants you to hear his own voice and know him as Bob Anderson.

This new album Live! One of the Greatest Jazz Singers of All Time is a collection of Bob’s live performances as himself and the first time he has been heard purely in his own voice which really is his best voice. As Tom Jones put it, “The reason Anderson is the best at what he does is because he actually sings as well as the person he is doing.”

Without question, Bob Anderson is one of the greatest Jazz Singers of all time.

1. So Much Music in Me
2. Come Rain or Come Shine
3. The One I Love Belongs to Somebody Else
4. Streaks of Lavender
5. Midnight at Malibu
6. My Heart Stood Still
7. I Won’t Send Roses
8. I Do Not Know a Day I Did Not Love You
9. I Remember You
10. I Still Miss You
11. What Are You Doing the Rest of Your Life
12. You Make Me Feel so Young
13. Some Other Time
14. All I Lost is You
15. To Love and Be Loved

On this wondrously vibrant, wholly impassioned new recording, Anderson opens with the beloved So Much Music in Me, the aged fine wine of Come Rain or Come Shine and the dutifully harmonized The One I Love Belongs to Somebody Else, and they are backed by the beautiful Streaks of Lavender, the veritably cinematic Midnight at Malibu, and then we get the sweeping My Heart Stood Still and the absolutely delightful I Won’t Send Roses.

Up next is the sweeping I Do Not Know a Day I Did Not Love You and the romantically-hued I Remember You and they are in turn followed seamlessly by the dutifully crafted I Still Miss You, the artful craftsmanship of What Are You Doing the Rest of Your Life, then comes the buoyant ebb and flow of You Make Me Feel so Young, the timeless Some Other Time, the album rounding out on the empowered All I Lost is You, closing on a great song with a powerful ending, To Love and Be Loved.

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Jack Wood has long been a popular attraction in the Southern California jazz scene. His warm voice and tasteful swinging style have won over many fans due to his classy treatments of classics from the Great American Songbook.

The Gal That Got Away consists of some of Wood’s finest recordings. On several of the numbers he is featured with the Salt Lake City Jazz Orchestra (performing Tom Garvin arrangements) while other selections have him singing swingers and ballads with a combo.

At various times his supporting cast includes altoist Greg Floor, flugelhornist Buddy Childers, guitarists Ron Anthony and Doug MacDonald, and pianist Tom Ranier among others.

1. The Gypsy In My Soul
2. The Gal That Got Away
3. I Will Wait For You
4. Secret Love
5. A Foggy Day
6. The Shadow Of Your Smile
7. Come Rain Or Come Shine
8. A Day In The Life Of A Fool
9. One For My Baby
10. Someone To Watch Over Me

On this dutifully sculpted new recording, Wood opens his set with the low slung finger-snapper The Gypsy In My Soul and the languishing The Gal That Got Away (actually made famous by Judy Garland in A Star Is Born as “The Man That Got Away”), and then we get the pure dreamy gossamer of Michel Legrand’s I Will Wait For You, the playfully flirty Secret Love and the dutiful, rising piano balladry of A Foggy Day.

Next up is the delicately hued The Shadow Of Your Smile and the soulful Come Rain Or Come Shine, and they are in turn backed by the gentle swirls and twirls within A Day In The Life Of A Fool, the album rounding out on the pleasing One For My Baby (inclusive of the late jazz trumpeter, composer and ensemble leader Buddy Childers), coming to a close on the delightful Someone To Watch Over Me.

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Invocazioni Mariane is a new CD from counter-tenor Andreas Scholl and his long time collaborators the Accademia Bizantina and their conductor Alessandro Tampieri.

It consists of 18th century music from Naples; all of which is in some way connected with the Virgin Mary and is mostly drawn from oratorios or similar pieces designed to be performed during Holy Week.

Back in the day, with women not permitted on the stage in Naples (or the Papal States) the high parts would have been sung by castrati. That, of course, is where Scholl comes in.

1. Porpora: Il trionfo della divina Giustizia ne’ tormente e morte di Gesù Cristo
2. Vinci, Leonardo: Oratorio Maria dolorata: Sinfonia
3. Vinci, Leonardo: Oratorio a 4 voci
4. Anfossi: Salve Regina
5. Pergolesi: Concerto per violino in si bemolle maggiore in B-Flat Major
6. Vivaldi: Stabat Mater, RV621
7. Ragazzi: Sonata a 4 in F minor, Op.1

On this elegantly crafted, majestically-hued new recording, it opens with Nicola Antonio Porpora’s Il trionfo della divina Giustizia ne’ tormente e morte di Gesù Cristo: and the opulent Ouverture, the stirring Occhi mesti and finally the gently boisterous Per pietà, turba feroce, and that is itself backed up by a pair from Leonardo Vinci: the fervently-charged Oratorio Maria dolorata: Sinfonia and then a majestical pairing that makes up Oratorio a 4 voci: the ornate Chi mi priega and the flourishingly fresh Tutti son del materno mio seno.

Along next is the sextet that makes up Pasquale Anfossi’s Salve Regina: the swirls and twirls within the titular Salve Regina, the spirited Ad te clamamus, the playful Ad te suspiramus, the flirtacious appeal of Eja ergo advocata nostra, and then we get both the adamant Et Jesu benedictum and the strident O clemens, and then comes Giovanni Battista Pergolesi’s three-part Concerto per violino in si bemolle maggiore in B-Flat Major: the skittish Allegro, the languishing beauty of Largo, and then comes the dutiful Allegro.

The album rounds out on Antonio Vivaldi’s Stabat Mater, RV621: opening on the warming Stabat Mater dolorosa, the delicate Cuius animam gementem, the intricate O quam tristis, and the we get brought forth the sumptuous Quis est homo, the veritably stoic Quis non posset contristari, the free flowing nature of Pro peccatis suæ gentis, the set ending on the jaunty Eia Mater, fons amoris, the luxuriant Fac ut ardeat, and the embodied Amen, closing on three parts from Angelo Ragazzi’s Sonata a 4 in F minor, Op.1: the sheer elegance of No.4, Imitatio in Salve Regina mater misericordiæ: in C Minor: I. Andante, the impassioned Adagio, the collection finishing on the almosy crystalline nature of Allegro.

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Following her lyrical and witty complete recording of Mozart’s Keyboard Sonatas, issued by naïve in March 2023, Yeol Eum Son invites Svetlin Roussev to join her in the enticingly subtle harmonic intricacies of Germanic post-Romanticism entitled Love Music.

For their second recital as a duo, the Bulgarian violinist and the Korean pianist follow the course taken by works written over a period of slightly more than half a century by composers or famous performers upon whom Richard Wagner exercised crucial influence.

They take on almost every genre - cinema, opera, chamber music, transcription - treating it in the lyrical, large-scale manner of the Bayreuth master.

During their unexpected, fascinating journey, Svetlin Roussev and Yeol Eum Son chart a variety of pathways, from Waxman to Strauss.

1. Waxman, F: Tristan and Isolde Fantasia
2. Korngold: Glück, das mir verbleib Marietta’s Lied (from Die Tote Stadt)
3. Korngold: Much Ado About Nothing, Op. 11: suite for violin (or cello) & piano
4. Kreisler: Alt-Wiener Tanzweisen
5. Strauss, R: Violin Sonata in E flat major, Op. 18
6. Wagner: Träume (No. 5 from Wesendonck-Lieder)

Featuring music by Waxman, Korngold, Kreisler, Richard Strauss and Wagner, their delightfully impassioned new recording opens the delicate gossamer of Moderately Slow (from Franz Waxman’s Tristan and Isolde Fantasia) and then backs that up with a pair from Erich Wolfgang Korngold: the languishing beauty found within Langsam (Version for Violin and Piano) from Glück, das mir verbleib Marietta’s Lied (from Die Tote Stadt) and the quartet from Much Ado About Nothing, Op. 11: suite for violin (or cello) & piano - the stirring Maiden in the Bridal Chamber, the more strident affair of Dogberry and Verges. March of the Watch, the sheer elegance of Scene in the Garden, culminating on the playfully perky Masquerade. Hornpipe.

Their take on almost every genre – cinema, opera, chamber music, transcription - continues onward with a trio from Fritz Kreisler’s Alt-Wiener Tanzweisen, the veritably cinematic swirls and twirls within Liebesfreud, Allegro, the congenial fare of Liebesleid, Tempo di Landler, and finally we get brought forth the nurtured elegance of Schön Rosmarin, Grazioso.

However, the keystone of the program is unarguably the magnificent Sonata for Violin and Piano that Richard Strauss composed in 1887, Violin Sonata in E flat major, Op. 18, whose trio we listen to now are the intricately woven Allegro, ma non troppo, the aching yearn of Improvisation, Andante cantabile and the sombre fare, at first, yet later flourishing notes that reside within Finale: Andante Allegro, the collection closing on Richard Wagner’s emphatic-hued Träume (No. 5 from Wesendonck-Lieder).

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By virtue of her exceptional destiny and her radiant personality, Anja Linder has become one of the most popular and charismatic harpists of her generation. Born into a family of artists, Anja Linder began playing the harp at the Strasbourg Conservatoire. Her encounters with Marie- Claire Jamet and Marielle Nordmann, as well as her literary studies (she obtained a degree in modern literature), were decisive in her career choice.

Alongside the soprano Nathalie Gaude-froy, she won first prize for chamber music at the Arles International Chamber Music Compe- tition in 1999. In 2001, a serious accident forced her to give up her instrument. This event inspired engineers Jean-Marie Panterne and Marc Lamoureux to create a computer-controlled electro-pneumatic harp, the Anjamatic.

This new instrument, which simplifies the use of pedals and opens up new musical possibilities, was taught by Anja at the Strasbourg Conservatoire from 2013 to 2020 and is now being taught in masterclasses throughout Europe.

The prestigious Banque Populaire Foundation selected her as one of its prize-winners in 2010. Passionate about words and music, Anja conceived a musical reading of Milan Kundera’s The Unbearable Lightness of Being.

With the author’s exceptional permission, this project was released by Klarthe Records in 2015 and a year later, President François Hollande awarded her the Chevalier de l’Ordre national du Mérite.

Anja Linder’s new album, in collaboration with cellist Julie Sévilla-Fraysse and violinist Laurent Korcia, is called Schubert and is now available. This album, a tribute to Schubert as its name suggests, presents a selection of pieces that have accompanied the harpist over the years, each resonating in its own way in the artist’s career and life.

1. Schubert: So lasst mich scheinen, D877 No. 3
2. Schubert: Sonata in A minor Arpeggione, D821
3. Schubert: Nachtstück, D672 (Mayrhofer)
4. Schubert: Piano Trio No. 2 in E flat major, D929 - 2nd movement

This dutifully impassioned recording opens on the ornate gossamer of Schubert: So lasst mich scheinen, D877 No. 3 and then brings us the three part Schubert: Sonata in A minor Arpeggione, D821: which first delivers the preciseness of Allegro moderato, the delicate Adagio, and the finery of Allegretto, and they are backed seamlessly by the sheer elegance of Schubert: Nachtstück, D672 (Mayrhofer), closing out on the near ten minute, gracefully tender orchestrations that bring Schubert: Piano Trio No. 2 in E flat major, D929 - 2nd movement forth.

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In the pulsating heart of the Boston jazz scene, a musical alchemy transpires whenever Pritesh Walia’s guitar, Sharik Hasan’s keys/organ/synths, and Avery Logan’s drumsticks collide.

The result? A spellbinding trio, known collectively as PSA, poised to redefine the boundaries of the traditional organ trio.

The genesis of this musical union reads like a serendipitous tale — Walia, Hasan and Logan naturally gravitated towards each other, driven by an insatiable passion for jazz and a shared ambition to breathe new life into the classic organ trio format.

Their collaborative process is the stuff of legend. Almost daily, one of them would bring a musical fragment to the table, a tantalizing kernel of inspiration. What ensued was a collective workshop where each member contributed his unique perspective, refining and sculpting the music until it resonated with the collective essence of PSA. It’s this organic, iterative approach that sets PSA apart, allowing their music to organically evolve into a genre-defying sonic experience.

In anticipation of their self-titled debut album PSA, available Feb 23rd, 2024, PSA beckons listeners into a realm where tradition and innovation dance in harmonious tandem. Far more than a mere collection of tracks, this album is a manifesto — a bold declaration of intent to contemporize the organ trio while paying a respectful homage to its roots.

1. Circle Around
2. Cliff Dunes
3. Dogwood
4. Don’t Look Down
5. Hymn
6. Onward
7. Troxy Fot

Redefining the organ trio with a fusion of classic swing, groove, and jazz, the new recording opens on the frenetically-charged Circle Around and the free-flowing melodies within Cliff Dunes and the lounge-lite Dogwood.

This modernist perspective on the organ trio continues onward with the furtively playful Don’t Look Down, the organ-hued Hymn, and then rounds out with the flirtatious Onward, closing on the organically-cultured Troxy Fot.

www.psatrio.com

Acclaimed sextet One for All makes its much-anticipated return with Big George, its first release in seven years and its 17th.

The album reunites Eric Alexander, Jim Rotondi, Steve Davis, David Hazeltine, John Webber, and Joe Farnsworth, who are joined on three tracks by a very special guest saxophonist, their mentor and hero, NEA Jazz Master George Coleman.

Called “New York’s premier hard-bop supergroup” by JAZZTIMES, One for All has evolved over the course of its quarter-century history from a sextet of young torchbearers to an assemblage of the music’s most revered traditionalists.

Just how in-demand these six artists have become can be traced by the span of time that elapses between albums. 2016’s THE THIRD DECADE followed its predecessor by five years; seven years of that decade have now passed before the band’s long-awaited follow-up, BIG GEORGE.

1. Chainsaw
2. In the Lead
3. Edgerly
4. Oscar Winner (feat. George Coleman)
5. My Foolish Heart (feat. George Coleman)
6. This I Dig of You (feat. George Coleman)
7. Cove Island Breeze (bonus track)
8. The Nearness of You (bonus track)
9. Leemo (bonus track)

On this delightfully impassioned new recording, we are first brought forth the flourishing Chainsaw and the dutifully-paced In the Lead, and they are backed by the smoothly sculpted Edgerly and the euphorically-charged Oscar Winner (featuring George Coleman).

Along next are a couple again featuring Coleman, the languishing My Foolish Heart and the frenetic This I Dig of You, and they are in turn followed by a delightful trio of bonus tracks in the aptly-titled, low slung Cove Island Breeze, the beautifully aching balladry within The Nearness of You, and the playful Leemo neatly closes things out.

Musicians:
Jim Rotondi - trumpet
Eric Alexander - tenor & alto saxophones
Steve Davis - trombone
David Hazeltine - piano
John Webber - bass
Joe Farnsworth - drums
With special guest: George Coleman - tenor saxophone

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Being Human, pianist-composer Lynne Arriale’s 17th album as a leader, is her fourth for Challenge Records International. Joining Lynne are bassist Alon Near and drummer Lukasz Zyta in a suite of original compositions that explores life-affirming facets of humankind.

Being Human is dedicated to the things that define our better nature, and to those individuals, whether celebrated or unsung, who personify them.

In recent years, Lynne’s compositions and albums have reflected current social issues. Chimes of Freedom (2020) highlights the worldwide immigration crisis and the experiences of refugees who risk everything to find a better life for themselves and their families.

The Lights Are Always On (2022) examines the life-changing events wrought by COVID-19. Some compositions are named in honor of heroes, including those who served as caregivers on the front lines of the pandemic and those who defended American democracy.

In Being Human, Lynne’s compositions celebrate the ways our lives are enriched by passion, courage, love, persistence, heart, soul, curiosity, faith, and joy. Responding to the negative effects of polarization in society and culture, Lynne created this album as an affirmation of love, hope, and unity.

It is a musical inspiration to fully appreciate the incredible potential in each of us, and to live our lives individually and collectively as the best expression of what it means to be human.

I wrote this suite in response to the division and turmoil in our world, she reveals. The music focuses on qualities we all share; that define our humanity. I hope this album will be uplifting and convey a sense of unity and optimism. The dedications reflect my admiration for those who I feel personify the traits that inspired the music.

1. Passion
2. Courage
3. Love
4. Faith
5. Curiosity
6. Soul
7. Persistence
8. Heart
9. Gratitude
10. Joy
11. Love (Reprise)

On this beautifully crafted new recording, Arriale opens on the ornately sculpted Passion (dedicated to Greta Thunberg) and the forthright Courage (dedicated to the Ukrainian people), and they are followed by the quieter, more methodical fare of Love (dedicated to humankind), the free flowing Faith (dedicated to those of faith), and then we get the playfully perky Curiosity (dedicated to Jacob Barnett) brought forth.

Along next is the quietly spirited Soul (dedicated to Amanda Gorman) and the textured Persistence (dedicated to Malala Yousafzai) and they are in turn backed seamlessly by the ambient Heart (dedicated to Khrystyna Lopatenko), the pure gossamer of Gratitude (dedicated to Mattie Stepanek), the album rounding out on the unrestrained Joy (dedicated to Brené Brown), closing on am almost Choir-hued Love (Reprise).

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The legendary Muscle Shoals Horns played with some of the biggest artists of all time including James Brown, Paul Simon, Bob Dylan, Robert Palmer, Elton John and Paul McCartney to name but a few.

Furthermore, Muscle Shoals Horns were inducted into Nashville’s Musicians Hall Of Fame And Museum in 2019.

Summing up the group’s achievements and pinpointing the reason for their success, Ronnie Eades highlighted the quartet’s strength as a unit, their camaraderie, and their “one-for- all, all-for-one” ethos. “We were a team, a well-oiled machine,” he stated with perceptible pride. “We worked together, ate together, slept together, did everything together. We knew each other’s thoughts… We did well and really had a good run.”Born to Get Down/Doin’ It to the Bone/Shine On 2CD includes sleeve notes by Charles Waring who writes for MOJO, Record Collector and uDiscover Music.

If you have never heard these albums before, trust me when I say that you are in for a real treat.

Disc One: “Born To Get Down”
1. Open Up Your Heart
2. Break Down
3. Where I’m Coming From
4. Hustle To The Music
5. Who’s Gonna Love You
6. Bump De Bump Yo Boodie
7. Born To Get Down (Born To Mess Around)
8. Get It Up
9. Give It To Me
10. Bump De Bump Yo Boodie (7″ Version) [Bonus Track]
11. Where I’m Coming From (7″ Version) [Bonus Track]
12. Born To Get Down (Born To Mess Around) (7” Version)[Bonus Track]

“Doin’ It To The Bone”
13. Dance To The Music
14. Addicted To Your Love
15. I Just Wanna Turn You On
16. A Love For You [And A Love For Me]
17. What’s Goin’ Down
18. Sexual Revolution
19. Can’t Break The Habit

The first disc features “Born To Get Down” which was their debut album for Bang Records. Produced by Barry Beckett and backed by the cream of the Muscle Shoals studio talent, this set was a complete surprise to come out in the day.

Who would have expected a horn-based outfit to debut with so much enthusiasm. The album was simply terrific and they avoided the dreaded trap of disco banality to perfection.

Containing the fervent joy of Break Down and the magnificently soulful Where I’m Coming From, the Swampers also added the aptly-named Hustle To The Music, the moody R&B of Who’s Gonna Love You, and one of my own personal favorites, the ode to an amazing era of music within Bump De Bump Yo Boodie.

After all that we next get “Doin’ It To The Bone” which was the Muscle Shoals Horns’ second album for Arlola Records. The members of Muscle Shoals Horns were Harrison Calloway (trumpet), Harvey Thompson (saxophone, flute), Charles Rose (trombone), Ronnie Eades (baritone saxophone).

The Muscle Shoals sound in the 1960’s and 1970’s became legendary hard southern soul and hard southern funk. Very raw and bluesy, whereas in Detroit or in Philly, soul artists were using lavish orchestration and string sections back then.

The Muscle Shoals Horns didn’t record a lot of albums of their own, but they backed a lot of major soul and rock artists and the best of the best from this album include the diligently hued Addicted To Your Love, the soul ballad Love For You [And A Love For Me], and both the R&B hipsway of What’s Goin’ Down and the invigorating Sexual Revolution.

Disc Two: “Doin’ It To The Bone” (Continued)
1. Keep On Playin’ That Funky Music
2. Doin’ It To The Bone
3. Beware Of The Rip-Off
4. I Just Wanna Turn You On (12” Version) [Bonus Track]

“Shine On”
5. Celebrate, Recreate, Participate
6. Don’t Bust Yo’ Bubbles
7. She Was Once My Woman
8. Get Down Tonight
9. We Can Work It Out
10. Shine On
11. Shoalin’ (Funky N’ Half-Hip)
12. More Than Ever Now
13. If You Don’t Want My Lovin’ (Give It Back)

The second disc continues onward with more of “Doin’ It To The Bone” and, in particular, the soulful funk of Keep On Playin’ That Funky Music and a brilliant, fresh 12” version of I Just Wanna Turn You On.

And then comes the third album “Shine On” which was also the Muscle Shoals Horns’ last album for Monument Records. Shine On contains the musical highlights such as Celebrate, Recreate, Participate, Don’t Bust Yo’ Bubbles and She Was Once My Woman.

Delicious horn arrangements are what grabs the listener instantly throughout the recording, and becomes the kind of production you would never expect in 1983, a year dominated by the electro feel. This surprising fusion of the nasty JB’s with the smooth Shakatak is a real treat to the hardcore lovers of Soul Music.

Muscle Shoals Horn were smoothly earthy and jazzy but cleverly brings out you wild side by blowing your party head off with contemporary killer grooves like the aforementioned Don’t Bust Yo’ Bubbles.

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Brian Scarborough is a standout trombonist who has made a mark for himself both as a performer and composer. With music described as “…simultaneously stimulating and accessible, refreshingly modern and rooted in tradition,” (Chicago Jazz Magazine), Scarborough continues his trend of blending tradition with innovation as he presents his second album as a bandleader, We Need The Wind.

Lauded by trombone legend Michael Dease as a recording that “beautifully capture[s]… Scarborough’s attractive tone and vibrant melodic playing,” We Need The Wind once more showcases the brilliantly organic melodies that Scarborough is known for, yet steps boldly into an exploration of new colors and harmonies.

Conceptually inspired by Scarborough’s own restorative healing process as an artist following the COVID-era pandemic, We Need The Wind paradoxically stands as both deeply introspective yet universally appealing.

1. Broken
2. 3E
3. We Need The Wind
4. The Long Road Back
5. Strange Bird
6. One Of Time
7. Central Standard Time
8. Sevens
9. The Way It’s Supposed To Be

The album opens on the quietly furtive, stealthy Broken and then brings us the upbeat 3E, before bringing us the laid back We Need The Wind and the sumptuous The Long Road Back.

Along next is the groove-laden, upright bass-led Strange Bird and the languishing One Of Time and they are in turn backed by the indelible Central Standard Time, rounding out on the late night lounge vibe of Sevens, closing on the flirtatiously upbeat The Way It’s Supposed To Be.

Autobiographical in concept, We Need The Wind is an emotive, honest album that wears its composer’s heart on its sleeve. Steeped in the earnest feelings Scarborough experienced at the point each composition was created, the album – and its intentional track placement – allows a listener to step into the shoes of the artist as he wrestles with the world changing, begins to understand and hope again, and takes steps to grow ever higher through the experience that had once felt shattering.

“Inspired by experiences and emotions felt during the global pandemic, and reflecting upon the state of society and the world at large, this project reflects on my experiences during this deeply troubling time,” Scarborough says. “We Need The Wind documents my journey through this experience and the healing process, personally and artistically.”

www.brianscarboroughmusic.com

The album title – Words Unspoken – alludes to the instant musical understanding found by the members of this nimble quartet assembled by great British reedman John Surman.

“My idea was to put together some musical ideas that would offer a collective sense of purpose but still be open enough to allow each of us to suggest other ways of developing the material together. Everything fell into place immediately. But I soon realized it wasn’t so much the musical ideas that made it work, it was the musicians.”

Surman and US vibraharpist Rob Waring – both residents of Oslo – had previously collaborated in John’s Invisible Threads trio with Nelson Ayres, but the associations with Norwegian drummer Thomas Strønen and UK guitarist Rob Luft were new.

With these four quick-witted players, all debate takes place in the music, stimulated by Surman’s strongly melodic themes and improvisational imagination. Words Unspoken is issued as the quartet gears up for international touring.

1. Pebble Dance (6:18)
2. Words Unspoken (6:34)
3. Graviola (6:07)
4. Flower In Aspic (5:22)
5. Precipice (5:28)
6. Around The Edges (4:19)
7. Onich Ceilidh (8:06)
8. Belay That (7:22)
9. Bitter Aloe (5:11)
10. Hawksmoor (6:52)

This vibrantly alive, dutifully hued new album opens on the sprightly, at first, cultured and empathic thereafter Pebble Dance and the fluctuating, low slung, titular Words Unspoken, and they are followed by the beautiful evenflow of Graviola, and then we get the embodied Flower In Aspic and the confident Precipice.

Along next is the shimmering Around The Edges and the delicately hued Onich Ceilidh and they are in turn backed seamlessly by the stoically ethereal Belay That, the recording rounding out on the quietly playful Bitter Aloe, closing on the sensitively sculpted Hawksmoor.

Surman, who turns 80 in 2024, has been a vital force in European jazz and adjacent genres for more than half a century, already establishing himself as a unique soloist in the 1960s in groups led by Mike Westbrook and Chris McGregor.

The band called just The Trio, with Surman and Americans Barre Phillips and Stu Martin, was one of the defining improvising groups of its era, and it was with this line-up that Surman first appeared on ECM, on Barre Phillips’s Mountainscapes in 1976. This was followed, in 1978, by Surman’s Upon Reflection.

Since then, he has appeared on ECM in the broadest range of contexts. These range from solo recordings (including the acclaimed Private City and Road To St Ives) to large ensembles - among them the John Surman/John Warren Brass Project, the Proverbs and Songs project with the Salisbury Festival Chorus, and Free and Equal with London Brass.

And from duos (with Jack DeJohnette, Howard Moody) to transcultural projects (Anouar Brahem’s Thimar trio with Dave Holland, and John Potter’s early music-aligned Dowland Project). Surman has collaborated with the string quartet Trans4mation (on The Spaces In Between and Corruscating), and fronted his own groups on the albums Nordic Quartet (with Karin Krog, Terje Rypdal and Vigleik Storaas), Stranger Than Fiction (with John Taylor, Chris Laurence and John Marshall) and Brewster’s Rooster (with John Abercrombie, Drew Gress and Jack DeJohnette).

He has also been an important contributor to projects led by Paul Bley, Miroslav Vitous, Tomasz Stanko, Misha Alperin and Mick Goodrick.

In all, a richly creative discography.

Unspoken Words was recorded at Oslo’s Rainbow Studio in December 2022, and is issued as the band embarks on its first European tour.

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A striking musical rapport between Norwegian trumpeter Arve Henriksen and Dutch pianist Harmen Fraanje is palpable in the duo’s quietly lyrical investigations on Touch of Time.

These are delicate melodies and textures, flowing between two musicians, who are deeply in tune with nuances of tone-shadings and the detailed development of a musical idea.

In both freely improvised forms and carefully wrought themes, their instruments connect gracefully, picking up and finishing each other’s phrases. Touch of Time, recorded in January 2023 at the Auditorio Stelio Molo in Lugano, was produced by Manfred Eicher.

1. Melancholia (3:58)
2. The Beauty Of Sundays (3:29)
3. Redream (8:45)
4. The Dark Light (4:00)
5. What All This Is (3:51)
6. Mirror Images (2:48)
7. Touch Of Time (3:18)
8. Winter Haze (1:10)
9. Red And Black (2:39)
10. Passing On The Past (4:13)

This beautifully crafted opus of notes opens on the aptly-titled aching yearn within Melancholia and the delicate gossamer of The Beauty Of Sundays, and they are followed by the reaching, the impassioned Redream, and then we get the touching The Dark Light and the stirring What All This Is.

Along next is the compelling notes brought forth within What All This Is and the subtly fragile Mirror Images and they are in turn backed seamlessly by the ornate, titular Touch Of Time, the recording rounding out on the graceful Winter Haze, the slightly sterner fare of Red And Black, closing on the glistening Passing On The Past.

Arve and Harmen: “We consider Touch of Time to be exactly where we meet in music. Although there are solid structures within these pieces, we form the material very freely, as a holistic process, rather than a static approach borne from preconception.”

The music was shaped together with Manfred Eicher, who produced the album, recorded at the Auditorio Stelio Molo in Lugano in early 2023.

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For the follow-up of his ECM-leader-debut La traversée, French saxophonist Matthieu Bordenave expands his trio of German pianist Florian Weber and Swiss bassist Patrice Moret with the unique sensibilities of drummer James Maddren, whose unrelenting pulse adds deft counterpoint to the group’s already idiosyncratic sound.

Besides the soulfully angular rendering of John Coltrane’s “Compassion”, the quartet tackles eight Bordenave-originals that bridge the gap between chamber-jazz dynamics and post-swing designs. Weber and Bordenave’s oblique approach to their instruments – Bordenave can be heard on both tenor and soprano sax – coalesce seamlessly, spinning unanticipated lines over a highly interactive rhythm section.

The Blue Land was recorded in Pernes-Les-Fontaines in 2022, and produced by Manfred Eicher.

1. La Porte Entrouverte (5:43)
2. The Blue Land (5:21)
3. Compassion (5:32)
4. Cyrus (3:41)
5. Refraction (4:42)
6. Distance (4:01)
7. Three Four (6:04)
8. Timbre (4:41)
9. Three Peaks (4:16)

This magnificent sculpted, melodic majesty of sounds opens on the delicate elegance of La Porte Entrouverte and the foreboding, titular The Blue Land, and they are followed by the rangy John Coltrane cut Compassion, and then we get the gracefully tender Cyprus.

Along next is the heartwarming Refraction and the rhythmically-driven Distance and they are in turn backed seamlessly by the limber Three Four, the recording rounding out on the gently euphoric Timbre, closing on the deep-seated melodies formulated within Three Peaks.

Matthieu and Florian have been playing together for about ten years, originally collaborating on a project revolving around on the music of Edith Piaf – The Blue Land is their second studio collaboration to date.

The same is true for Patrice Moret, who joined the duo just before La Traversée. James Maddren can be heard here for the second time on the label, after his contribution as part of Kit Downes’s trio on 2022’s Vermillion.

The Blue Land was recorded in Pernes-Les-Fontaines in 2022 and produced by Manfred Eicher.

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“I am happy to report that I had too much fun making this album,” Pearl Gates reveals. “I moved to London from San Francisco in May of 1980 at the suggestion of my friend Kosmo Vinyl, who was the personal manager for both The Clash and Ian Dury & The Blockheads. I had just finished touring with my San Francisco band, Pearl Harbor And The Explosions, and I wanted a change. I wanted to sing rock and roll songs, but they weren’t up for it. So off to London I went to pursue a solo career and meet and work with some of London’s greatest rock and roll musicians.”

“My record label, Warner Bros, changed the spelling of my last name from Harbor, to Harbour, as that is the British way of spelling the name. Kosmo made all of the arrangements for members of both The Clash and The Blockheads, as well as a cast of other talented characters, to record this album with me. I had a blast! Sex and drugs and rock and roll.....Yah Hoo!”

“I hadn’t been to London since I was eleven years old, so I had a lot to learn. I wasn’t familiar with the pub scene, where you arrive at the pub at lunchtime, have a few pints, go home or back to work, and then return to the pub at dinner time. It was great! I conducted all of my music business in various pubs in the East and West Ends of London. Very civilized, if you ask me!”

“I met all kinds of interesting characters in London, including Nigel Dixon, front man of the rockabilly band Whirlwind. Rockabilly was popular in certain old school circles and I thoroughly enjoyed going to those clubs and watching everyone in their ’50s clothes, line dancing and jumping about like Jerry Lee Lewis on speed! What a culture shock...., I’d never seen anything like it. This scene had a big influence on me and the making of this album. The rockabilly scene was still more of an underground scene back then.”

“This was before the Stray Cats arrived and it, like punk, was fresh and exciting. There were amazing ’50s record stalls in some of the flea markets that had the best, most obscure records I had ever seen. I was impressed! Nigel’s band Whirlwind were one of the only rockabilly bands playing and recording at that time, so when Kosmo introduced me to him, it was a dream come true. We got together a few nights a week to write songs for this album and talk about ’50s music. I told him I wanted to “speed up” old school rock and roll and rhythm and blues to create a new sound.”

“After we had enough material to record an album, Kosmo and I put together an amazing group of some of the best rock and roll musicians in London. The result is what I would call a new version of old school music, three-minute songs with minimal overdubs and rehearsals, and all recorded and mixed in only three weeks! This was at a time when most people took months to make an album. We all felt that real rock and roll should be short and sweet with little or no frills attached.”

1. ALONE IN THE DARK
2. FUJIYAMA MAMA
3. EVERYBODY’S BORING BUT MY BABY
4. YOU’RE IN TROUBLE AGAIN
5. DO YOUR HOMEWORK
6. COWBOYS & INDIANS
7. LOSING TO YOU
8. FILIPINO BABY 9. LET’S GO UPSTAIRS
10. ROUGH KIDS
11. OUT WITH THE GIRLS
12. HEAVEN IS GONNA BE EMPTY
13. AT THE DENTIST
14. NERVES
15. YOU GOT ME ALL WRONG
16. VOODOO VOODOO
17. YOU DON’T FOOL ME
18. WHAT I SHOULD HAVE SAID
19. I CAN’T TELL YOU ON THE PHONE

This emphatically-charged live set opens on the hauntingly rambunctious ALONE IN THE DARK, the alt-punk rocker FUJIYAMA MAMA and the horn-driven EVERYBODY’S BORING BUT MY BABY, and then come the rhythmic hipsway of YOU’RE IN TROUBLE AGAIN, the sax-driven rock of DO YOUR HOMEWORK, the countrified twang that flows throughout COWBOYS & INDIANS, before we are brought forth the languishing heartbreak sewn within LOSING TO YOU, the upbeat FILIPINO BABY, the drum-led rocker LET’S GO UPSTAIRS and then the propellant ROUGH KIDS.

Up next is the guitar fest that drives OUT WITH THE GIRLS, the melodic finger-snapper HEAVEN IS GONNA BE EMPTY, the fun storytelling within AT THE DENTIST and then we get the frenetically-charged NERVES, which are in turn backed by the alt-pop-rocker YOU GOT ME ALL WRONG, the southern blues rock that drives VOODOO VOODOO, the recording rounding out on it’s B-side, the foot-tapping YOU DON’T FOOL ME, the emphatic WHAT I SHOULD HAVE SAID, coming to a close on the free flowing alt-pop I CAN’T TELL YOU ON THE PHONE.

Continuing her story, she also makes it clear that each musician added their own personal style to make Don’t Follow Me, I’m Lost Too a very special album and that she is truly thankful to have had them play on this album.

Indeed, these following six musicians were the core of the band that played on every song:

Wilko Johnson (Dr. Feelgood/Ian Dury & The Blockheads), provided steady, machine gun rhythm guitar
Nigel Dixon (Whirlwind) played rockabilly twang and rhythm guitar
Steve New (Rich Kids) played some of the weirdest, off the wall guitar solos
Paul Simonon (The Clash) played his signature simple, bouncy bass lines
Topper Headon (The Clash) played some of the best drum beats in rock and roll
Steve Goulding (Graham Parker and The Rumour), who along with Topper, played pounding simple beats that complimented each other. Minimal cymbals and heavy on the toms!

Some of the special guests that played on this album were: Mick Jones (The Clash) on lead guitar; Geraint Watkins (Nick Lowe, Dave Edmunds) on keyboards; BJ Cole on pedal steel guitar, and Gary Barnacle on saxophone.

The album was produced by Micky Gallagher, the keyboard player with Ian Dury & The Blockheads.
“I loved making this album, but unfortunately the record company wasn’t happy with it and, as a result, only pressed a minimal amount of records and provided little to no promotion.”

“Therefore, I am super thankful to now have this opportunity to re-release Don’t Follow Me, I’m Lost Too. Play it LOUD, and ENJOY !!!”

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For those unaware, several U.S. cities hosted punk and new wave scenes in the 1970s; in many ways, San Francisco’s was among the most wide-encompassing and egalitarian. But for every act that broke through nationally, several others of merit stayed largely a local secret. Among the most significant of those was an all-woman trio known as The Contractions.

During their time together (1979 – 1984), The Contractions not only built a local following, but toured nationally, and released a pair of singles and an album. Now – with the cooperation of the group’s three founding members, and thanks to the live recording endeavors of archivist Terry Hammer – this live compilation from two SF dates comes as a worthy addition to the group’s catalog.

In her youth, Mary Kelley was inspired in equal parts by her mother’s collection of 1940s pop and jazz, orchestral music, San Francisco counterculture radio and concerts featuring British Invasion bands like Pink Floyd, The Who, The Kinks and Led Zeppelin. After years playing piano and French horn, Mary switched to guitar, and when punk started bubbling under in the Bay Area, she was hooked.

Deb Hopkins, on the other hand, first picked up her drumsticks as a child. “I got my first drum kit the summer between sixth and seventh grade,” she recalls. Her dyslexia would prove a creative advantage, as she created her own drum parts and committed them to memory rather than reading musical notation. At one point she auditioned for No Sisters, but she didn’t get the gig. “They told me they didn’t think I was strong enough, hard hitting enough, to play their music,” she says. Taking that rejection as a challenge, Deb bought the fattest drum sticks she could find. “I got strong,” she says, “and I got strong fast.”

Deb recalls that her drumming prowess impressed her friend Lisa Wexler, daughter of legendary record producer Jerry Wexler. “She repeatedly said to me, ‘You should be playing with Mary!’” Lisa brought the two of them together in her living room with the goal of having them jam on Mary’s original songs. “And we hit it off,” Mary says. The two agreed to meet again, acknowledging that they’d need a bassist to complete the trio.

At the time, Mary leased a warehouse in the heart of SF’s Mission District, The Manor (later rechristened Contraction Manor), where she hosted a sculpture show by renowned artist Paul Lindhard. One attendee was Kathy Peck. “She told me she played bass and wrote songs,” Mary recalls. “I kinda lied,” says Kathy. In fact, Kathy had taken piano lessons starting at age five, and started writing songs immediately. By the time she met up with Mary and Deb, she was plugged into the nascent punk scene, thanks in part to husband Don’s gig with punk pioneer Mary Monday.

“So we invited Kathy to a practice at Iguana Studios,” Deb recalls. “It was clear immediately that the chemistry was there, and that Kathy had what we were missing: punk style.” She also had some original songs. But what Kathy didn’t have was a great deal of experience on bass. “I saw that as an advantage,” Deb says. “Her being a novice musician gave us the rough edges and simplicity that helped us fit in. We were all three so different, but we had immediate chemistry. And we laughed a lot.”

There was never any plan for The Contractions to be a group of woman musicians. “I don’t think we ever talked about it,” Deb says today. “It just happened.” And from the beginning, they were adamant that their all-female lineup not be viewed as a gimmick.

1. Shut the Door (Slam It)
2. Breaking Up Is Not Hard to Do
3. No Questions
4. Water Beast
5. Shadow Boy
6. Tribute to Industry
7. Magazine Phobia
8. End of the World
9. Secretary Sacrifice
10. Saw My Baby
11. Rules and Regulations
12. You Touched Me
13. Early Warning
14. Bewitching Me

This thunderously active alt-punk live set opens on the pulsating foot-tapper Shut the Door (Slam It), the drum-led, rhythmic alt-rock of Breaking Up Is Not Hard to Do, and the Debbie Harryesque sung No Questions, and they are in turn backed by the low slung, bass-imbibed Water Beast, the alt-punk reach that drives Shadow Boy, and the propulsive Tribute to Industry and the powerfully melodic Magazine Phobia.

Up next is the bass-led beauty End of the World, the foot to the floor, melodic rocker Secretary Sacrifice and the rousing Saw My Baby, and then we get brought forth the on point Rules and Regulations, the mid-tempo ballad, for the most part, You Touched Me, the set rounding out on the rhythmically winding Early Warning, closing on the pop-prog-AOR of Bewitching Me.

Continuing their story, and each of the women wrote songs on her own; the musical arrangements were collaborative. “We thought of ourselves as a three-legged chair,” Mary says. “Always a team. It wasn’t The Contractions without the three of us.” The group worked out of Truth and Beauty Labs, the rehearsal/recording studio built by Mary and her business partner Joe Schlesinger.

Kathy and Mary wrote most of the band’s material, but Deb contributed “You’re Making Me Crazy” and others. And while The Contractions were punk in attitude, their music wasn’t pure punk: Mary characterizes some of her songs – like “Breaking Up is Not Hard to Do” and “Water Beast” – as orchestral or cinematic.

The band’s first gig was at Deaf Club, opening for the Offs and No Alternative. “I recall feeling like a fish out of water, but the audience was appreciative,” says Deb. Their success there led to spots playing on bills with many legendary Bay Area groups including Dead Kennedys, The Offs, No Sisters, SVT, Jim Carroll, Flipper, and The Mutants. The Contractions also shared stages with no-wave pioneer Glenn Branca, The Go-Go’s, Duran Duran, and Bush Tetras.

The Contractions 1980 is culled from two performances at Ness Aquino’s Mabuhay Gardens. By day a Filipino restaurant, at night the space became Ground Zero for Bay Area punk and new wave. Notorious emcee Dirk Dirksen was a friend of the band, but as was his wont, he teased them endlessly, and would often introduce them this way: “And here they are, the Contraptions!”

“People described us as ‘musically dangerous,’” says Deb Hopkins. “Years later, I am still meeting women who tell me that they decided to learn an instrument and start a band after seeing us. And that is what I hope our legacy is: empowering females to play music, and to expect to be treated and respected for their music and not treated like sex objects.”

“We had fun and I learned a lot,” says Kathy Peck. “I feel very fortunate that I could play with Mary and Deb: it was like ‘no net below us.’”

“I look from inside the band, so I don’t have a pure sense of what The Contractions’ legacy is,” says Mary Kelley. “For me, we showed up, kicked ass and took names. We were out there. We happened.”

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For those unaware, Scarlet (out now via Liberation Hall) is the 1979 live album from the hard rock band Shakin’ Street that featured female singer Fabienne Shine and Ross “The Boss” Friedman (The Dicattors, Manowar) on lead guitar.

In 1975, alongside guitarist Eric Lévi, she formed a group in Paris that eventually became known as Shakin’ Street. After releasing the debut album Vampire Rock on CBS Records in 1978, Shakin’ Street relocated to San Francisco to cut a follow-up LP.

Shine asked Sandy Pearlman to produce, impressed by the hard, metallic sound he routinely captured for Blue Öyster Cult.

In 1980, Shakin’ Street embarked on The Black and Blue Tour as openers for the Ronnie James Dio line-up of Black Sabbath, alongside Blue Öyster Cult. Scarlet: The Old Waldorf, 1979 was recorded during the same period as the Automatt sessions for 1980’s Shakin’ Street LP. The group was opening for the Jim Carroll Band and the show was captured by KALX radio deejay and producer Terry Hammer.

The title track, “Scarlet” was never previously released anywhere, fans loved it when performed live during the 1979 American tour with Sandy Perlman. This release is extremely special for fans of Black Sabbath, Blue Oyster Cult, Joan Jett and The Plasmatics.

1. Solid As A Rock
2. Soul Dealer
3. Generation X
4. Where Are You Babe
5. Blues Is THE Same
6. Scarlet
7. Every Man, Every Woman Is A Star
8. Suzie Wong
9. No Time To Lose
10. I Want To Box You
11. No Compromise
12. I Want To Be Your Dog
13. Vampire Rock

This deliciously dated alt-punk live set opens on the fist in the air, anthemic Solid As A Rock and the rhythmic rocker Soul Dealer and then we get the propulsive guitar rocker Generation X, the alt-rock gem Where Are You Babe, the languishing Blues Is THE Same, before both the foot-tapping rocker, titular Scarlet and the melodic hipsway that threads throughout Every Man, Every Woman Is A Star is brought forth.

Along next is the mid-tempo ballad Suzie Wong and the ferocious, guitar-fused No Time To Lose, and they are in turn backed by the spiraling I Want To Box You, the aching reach of the organically-imbibed No Compromise, the set rounding out on their impassioned rendition of Iggy Pop’s I Wanna Be Your Dog, closing on the frenetically-charged, vivaciously-hued Vampire Rock.

By the early ‘70s globetrotting Shine had befriended members of Led Zeppelin. She became romantically entangled with guitarist Jimmy Page; he and Robert Plant encouraged Shine’s musical pursuits, urging her to put together a group of her own.

“I had always been singing with bands,” Shine recalls. “But little bands, for a month or two or three; not really seriously. I didn’t know what to do, plus I didn’t meet someone with whom I could record or compose songs.” One night she went to a Paris club to see a band featuring some friends including Jean-Louis Aubert, who would soon form influential francophone rock band Téléphone.

At one point during the sparsely-attended show, Shine joined the band onstage. Afterward, she was approached by a young man. “This guy asked me, ‘Do you want to make a band?’” Shine recalls with an incredulous laugh. “Very presumptuous!” But Shine was intrigued, and so she and guitarist Eric Lévi put together a group, initially called Speedball. “Stupid name,” Shine admits. “Embarrassing.”

The hard-rocking band would feature original songs composed by Shine and Lévi. “You can’t imagine what a beautiful voice I had,” Shine says. But anyone hearing the band in its earliest days might not have picked up on that quality. “We [plugged] the microphone into a guitar amp,” she recalls with a laugh. The band practiced in a small space at a local university, and built up a set of songs.

Working with their first manager Mark Zermati, the new group landed high-profile opening slots across the Channel in England, supporting The Damned and other groups in the nascent punk scene. And from the very start, Shine sang in English, not French. “Always in English,” she emphasizes.

Fabienne Shine cut an imposing figure onstage, her background as a model and actor serving her well. “I knew how to pose,” she says. But her focus was primarily on the music. As an actress, I knew how to interpret the songs,” she says. “When I sing the songs, I really feel [them]. When I sing a song like “Solid as a Rock,” it feels like a revolution.”

By 1976, rock music was undergoing a revolution of its own. Bands like Sex Pistols, the Ramones and Television were stripping away the polish and filigree, serving up a rawer brand of rock. And while Shine’s group was something of a kindred spirit with such groups, Shine never considered her group a punk band. “Hard rock,” she insists. “I always loved hard rock.”

Nevertheless, Shine’s songs often dealt with lyrical subjects more akin to punk. “I wrote a song about rats once,” she recalls. “Living up in the hills, I had some; they would come and eat the fruits, and they came inside the house. So I had to write a song about them!”

Zermati “hated our name,” Shine says, so he had rechristened the band Shakin’ Street. But the band found out about their new name in an unusual way. Shine recalls how it happened: “He told us, ‘You’re going to do a festival with all these fabulous artists: The Police, Eddie and the Hot Rods, the Clash.’”

The band was backstage in a former bullfighting ring in Mont-de-Marsan in the south of France when they heard an announcement over the PA: Shakin’ Street would be appearing next. “Nobody was going onstage, of course,” Shine laughs. “So Mark came backstage and said, ‘Shut up! Just go and sing and play!’ And that’s how we became Shakin’ Street.”

The group’s debut album Vampire Rock was released on CBS Records in 1978. All but two of the record’s nine songs were co-written by Shine and Lévi; the others were a Shine solo composition (“Where Are You Babe”) and a roaring rock cover of the Rolling Stones’ Between the Buttons album track “Yesterday’s Papers.”

Mark Zermati brought the band members to a Blue Öyster Cult concert. After the show – “absolutely fabulous,” gushes Shine. “I was blown away by their hard rock, metallic sound” – Fabienne made a point of seeking out the group’s manager/producer/sometime songwriter. It took some effort, but she found Sandy Pearlman (“He was very shy,” Shine explains).

“And so I said to him, in my then-very big French accent, ‘Are you Sandy Pearlman?” When he answered yes, Shine continued. “I want you to produce our next album!” Pearlman asked for a copy of Vampire Rock to help in his decision. Once he heard the band’s music, he said yes. “That changed our lives, my life especially,” Shine says. “Because I ended up leaving France and becoming American.”

By the time sessions got underway with Pearlman producing at The Automatt in San Francisco for the second, self-titled LP, the band’s original lead guitarist was gone. “He was absolutely wonderful,” Shine says, “But unfortunately he sold his guitar for some drugs. So we had to say, ‘Bye bye!’” In his place came Ross “the Boss” Friedman of the Dictators and Manowar. “We had love at first sight,” Shine says. “He was really crazy about us… and he was good.”

Shakin’ Street quickly developed a dedicated following in their new adopted home of San Francisco. “We stared playing small clubs,” Shine recalls, “but we couldn’t [keep playing there] because there was a one kilometer line; people couldn’t get in!” One of those small clubs was the 660-seat Old Waldorf at 444 Battery Street. The show captured by broadcaster and rock archivist Terry Hammer and featured on this release dates from the period before Shakin’ Street’s second LP hit the shelves.

“We opened for Jim Carroll that night,” Shine recalls. Shakin’ Street’s high energy set featured four songs from their debut, seven songs from their then-upcoming second album (all written by Shine and Lévi), and two songs that aren’t documented on any officially-sanctioned release: the original “Scarlet” and a cover of the Stooges’ “I Wanna Be Your Dog.”

The band soon found itself opening for BÖC. “And then we did a full American tour with Black Sabbath,” Shine says with pride. And while she is rightly proud of both of her band’s studio releases from those early years, Fabienne Shine agrees that live onstage is the best way to experience Shakin’ Street. “I really think we’re a live band,” she says. “We’re really good on stage. Always have been.”

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Available on vinyl for the first time since its original release 50 years ago, the downtempo-funk extravaganza People & Love is a crate-digger’s treasure chest, filled with soul-jazz grooves and mesmerizing vibraphone textures laid down by Johnny Lytle, who was touted as the greatest vibes player in the world by the big band legend Lionel Hampton.

The album was cut from the original analog tapes (AAA) by Kevin Gray, pressed on 180-gram vinyl at RTI, and comes packaged in a tip-on jacket.

Side A:
1. Where Is The Love?
2. Libra
3. Family

Side B:
4. Tawhid
5. People Make The World Go ’Round

I would hope by now that everybody knows that rock and soul music changed dramatically when psychedelics came on the scene! Much jazz, though, with the exception of Creed Taylor’s R&B fused KUDU label, continued on a straight ahead, traditional path, even dwindling from Big Bands to quartets or trios.

But this superb Johnny Lytle album People & Love, is full of shimmering surprises as he works away on his vibraphone, unleashing a whole smorgasbord of fantastical musical colors to come to the fore and capture the imagination.

All his followers knew he was a soul man from the word go, and thus People & Love finds him diving ever deeper into the soul-jazz groove. The results are successful, to say the least. The term soul-jazz commonly invokes visions of dripping Hammond’s and syrupy guitars, but by 1972, as aforementioned, things had changed a bit.

The kind of soul-jazz represented here is a hazy, swirling, and ultimately much deeper vibe than that heard on, say, the classic Blue Note and Prestige sessions usually associated with this tag.

For me personally, the stand out tracks include the luxuriant Libra, the heavily impassioned funky grooves that ebb and flow within Tawhid, and a track that was actually sampled in 1997 by alternative hip hop duo from Queens, New York Organized Konfusion, the affluently-sculpted Family.

In short, what we have here is a fantastically trippy collection of a quintet of high caliber material, which is highly recommended for listening directly along with at any time, or even as shimmering background music to have you smiling throughout your day to day tasks.

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Silver Convention (named after songwriter Sylvester Levay’s nickname of “Silver”) was formed in Munich, Germany and burst onto the music scene in 1975 with their recording of “Save Me” — a track originally sold into 16 countries (including the US) at MIDEM, the global music business conference.

It became the title track of their debut album, which hit #1 on the Billboard R&B chart and #10 Pop, introducing the world to “The Munich Sound,” which would soon be known as Eurodisco.

The album’s second single was the smash hit “Fly Robin Fly.” It not only topped the disco charts for three weeks, it did the same on the pop charts the following month. The single sold over one million copies and was award a gold disc by the R.I.A.A. in December of 1975. It became the band’s signature song, winning Best R&B Instrumental Performance at the 1976 Grammy Awards.

Omnivore Recordings, in association with Good Time Records, is proud to announce an expanded reissue of this classic debut. Save Me returns with five bonus tracks, including both commercial and promotional 12″ mixes of songs including the ubiquitous “Fly Robin Fly.”

Packaging features the original international cover art (with the US artwork replicated inside), a 12-page color booklet featuring photos and ephemera, and new, insightful liner notes from writer, Joe Marchese outlining the genesis of the project and the global hit record it became.

1. Save Me
2. I Like It
3. Fly, Robin, Fly
4. Tiger Baby
5. Son Of A Gun
6. Always Another Girl
7. Chains Of Love
8. Heart Of Stone
9. Please Don’t Change The Chords Of This Song
10. Fly, Robin, Fly (12” Version) [Bonus Track]
11. Tiger Baby (12” Version) [Bonus Track]
12. Always Another Girl (US Promo 12”) [Bonus Track]
13. I Like It (Special Disco Edit) [Bonus Track]
14. Save Me Again [Bonus Track]

Although the first two Silver Convention LP’s were available on CD for a short time in the early 1990’s, they quickly disappeared from the market. Now re-released as an Expanded Edition via Omnivore Recordings, Save Me is now back out and ready for its next turn in the spotlight.

As for some inside information garnered down the years, and with regard the single Fly, Robin, Fly, on the record were Penny McLean, Ramona Wulf and Linda Böseherr aka “G. Thompson” (a singer who was in many groups, such as Love Generation, Les Humphries Singers, the Hornettes and, of course, here in Silver Convention).

The track was already getting some serious radio play, but word quickly spread that when Save Me also became a big hit, that attractive people were needed to represent the group on stage and in videos. Personally, and that aside, Silver Convention would have sounded oh-so much better with a string orchestra backing them, but that’s just my personal opinion.

Anyway, as with other songs on the album, the female singing was reduced to a minimum, these very same-named ladies barely featuring in the videos and live performances, but that might have been down to the fact that it was too expensive for the producers - Silvester Levay and Michael Kunze (alias Stephan Prager) - who had these ladies under contract with Jupiter; and so others were chosen for presentation on TV and such.

Another single from the album was Always Another Girl/I Like It, but it was not as successful as the other two. Indeed, the successor to Fly, Robin, Fly was the newly produced Get Up And Boogie, which (like the album of the same name) was also sung by Penny, Ramona and Linda. Two songs have also been added here as 12” versions - Fly, Robin, Fly and Tiger Baby - but, in truth, Fly, Robin, Fly is just one part Fly, Robin, Fly, Up, Up To The Sky and one third time the string intermezzo has been extended, and the same applies to Tiger Baby; which was simply stretched from 4:16 to almost 9 minutes through endless repetitions.

The bonus tracks also feature a differently mixed single version of Save Me, which is missing the entire saxophone intermezzo along with a quite stunning Always Another Girl (US Promo 12”) and a even-more-disco Special Disco Edit of I Like It.

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For the 55th anniversary of the 5th animated Peanuts special, It Was a Short Summer, Charlie Brown, LMFP, for the first time, is releasing the full soundtrack.

It’s 28 minutes of wall-to-wall brassy versions of the entire soundtrack from the special, which originally aired on September 27th, 1969 on CBS-TV, and the special is currently available for streaming on Apple TV+.

This includes classic Peanuts themes and songs made directly for this special. Also included are 6 never-before heard takes, that were not used in the special.

The recording features Guaraldi (piano), Monty Budwig (double bass), Jack Sperling (drums), Conti and Pete Candoli (trumpet), Frank Rosolino (trombone), Victor Feldman (percussion), Herb Ellis (guitar), Willian Hood and Peter Christlieb (woodwind), and John Scott Trotter as the orchestra leader. The soundtrack was produced by Sean Mendelson and Jason Mendelson and restored and re-mastered by Vinson Hudson.

This entire soundtrack plus never-before-heard bonus tracks not even used in the Special, opens on the beloved Charlie Brown Theme, the renowned Linus and Lucy piece and then we get the jaunty, titular run of It Was a Short Summer, Charlie Brown, the fun, playful Oh Good Grief, the romantically-charmed You’re In Love, Charlie Brown, the free-flowing Schroeder, and then we get the aptly-named Bus Blues thereafter.

Along next is a reprise of the titular It Was a Short Summer, Charlie Brown, the cute Frieda (With the Naturally Curly Hair) and a short reprise of Oh Good Grief, and then comes the more adamant Come and Get It, a most wondrous Hash and then Hash with Horn, before we are brought forth the perky AM Break, the upbeat Tah Dah, a perkily emphatic He’s Your Dog, Charlie Brown, and both a romanticized Peppermint Patty and an endearing Will Come.

A slightly different version of He’s Your Dog, Charlie Brown is then backed by the smooth Pebble Beach, a reprise of You’re In Love, Charlie Brown, a reprise of He’s Your Dog, Charlie Brown, before the dashing The Masked Marvel and the fluctuating Air Music are unleashed, and they are followed by two reprise’s of The Masked Marvel, a second reprise of You’re In Love, Charlie Brown, and a reprise of Linus and Lucy.

This delightful musical flashback to a time less stressful, continues onward with a second reprise of Oh Good Grief, a short reprise of Charlie Brown Theme, a second reprise of It Was a Short Summer, then comes a lovely alternative take of Linus and Lucy, an interesting Working on It Was a Short Summer, Charlie Brown, the recording rounding out on alternative takes on Bus Blues, Pebble Beach, Masked Marvel Music and Linus and Lucy.

1. Charlie Brown Theme 2. Linus and Lucy 3. It Was a Short Summer, Charlie Brown 4. Oh Good Grief 5. You’re In Love, Charlie Brown 6. Schroeder 7. Bus Blues 8. Bus Blues (Reprise) 9. It Was a Short Summer, Charlie Brown (Reprise) 10. Frieda (With the Naturally Curly Hair) 11. Oh Good Grief (Reprise) 12. Come and Get It 13. Hash 14. Hash with Horn 15. AM Break 16. Tah Dah 17. He’s Your Dog, Charlie Brown 18. Peppermint Patty 19. Love Will Come 20. He’s Your Dog, Charlie Brown 21. Pebble Beach 22. You’re In Love, Charlie Brown (Reprise)
23. He’s Your Dog, Charlie Brown (Reprise) 24. The Masked Marvel 25. Air Music 26. The Masked Marvel (Reprise) 27. The Masked Marvel (2nd Reprise) 28. You’re In Love, Charlie Brown (2nd Reprise) 29. Linus and Lucy (Reprise) 30. Oh Good Grief (2nd Reprise) 31. Charlie Brown Theme (Reprise) 32. It Was a Short Summer (Reprise 2) 33. Linus and Lucy (Alternate Take) 34. Working on It Was a Short Summer, Charlie Brown 35. Bus Blues (Alternate Take) 36. Pebble Beach (Alternate Take) 37. Masked Marvel Music (Alternate Take) 38. Linus and Lucy (Reprise Alternate Take)

Watch “Be My Valentine, Charlie Brown” 1975

Watch “A Charlie Brown Valentine” 2002

The mellow-toned guitarist Ronny Smith has always had the ability to play with great passion solos over infectious grooves, resulting in music that is both accessible and full of subtle creativity.

Inspired by Wes Montgomery and George Benson, Smith’s sound is quite attractive and, even as he builds up his solos, he keeps the melodies in mind.

Two of his early albums were titled Got Groove (2006) and Just Groovin’ (2009), and the track “City Groove” – from his 2013 release Can’t Stop Now – hit #1 on Billboard’s BDS New and Active smooth jazz chart and ultimately reached #25 on the Billboard BDS Top 30.

In addition to playing guitar for small ensembles, pop and jazz groups, Ronny also displayed his clarinet skills in the Army’s symphonic concert and ceremonial bands. His first stop was the Army’s school of music. He stayed there eight months and then immediately played with bands all over Germany (Frankfurt, Stuttgart, Heidelberg). Throughout his career, Smith played everywhere from Nijmegan, Holland to La Paz, Bolivia.

As a composer/producer, one of Ronny’s trademarks is creating conversation pieces and “question and answer” dynamics with other instruments. He engages in this exciting approach here on his brand new album Struttin’, out April 19th, 2024.

1. Get Up
2. In My Eyes
3. Rubik’s Cube
4. Struttin’
5. Groovin’
6. OBO
7. Pocket Algorithm
8. A Pretty Smile
9. Laura
10. Angel

This vibrantly impassioned new recording opens on the jubilant Get Up and then brings us the dutifully cool In My Eyes, the free flowing Rubik’s Cube, and then both the vibrant, titular Struttin’ and the aptly-titled Groovin’.

His quest to continually fulfill his artistic calling throughout this album continues onward with the soaring rhythms within OBO and that is in turn backed by the melodic Pocket Algorithm, the laid back, low slung A Pretty Smile, the album rounding out on the languishing Laura and the upbeat Angel.

www.ronnysmith.com

The third album by this miracle band of working professionals, whose two albums have successively ranked high on the U.S. and North American charts since their shocking debut, is a collection of the late, great Duke Ellington’s works.

Their debut album, the aptly-named Sir Duke and their second album Don’t Stop The Carnival reached #34 and #43 on the U.S. (Jazz Week) chart and #7 and #10 on the North American (Roots Music Report) chart, respectively. The Mercer Hassy Orchestra, a big band of working people and students in Sapporo, Japan, was the only Japanese band to be selected for the North American Jazz Albums Chart (Jazz Category) in 2022.

The next release to the world will be a collection of works by Duke Ellington, whose death will mark a century since his first recording in 1924. The original arrangements and exquisite mixing by Mercer Hassy here on Duke’s Place, showcase a leader who reveres Ellington as a musical god, where the tunes intertwine to create a one-of-a-kind interpretation of Ellington that is fun, terrific, musically deep and wide-ranging, and a must-hear!

1. Daybreak Express
2. Satin Doll
3. Don’t Get Around Much Anymore
4. U.M.M.G.
5. In A Sentimental Mood
6. Hot And Bothered
7. Bakiff
8. Passion Flower
9. Apes And Peacocks / Queen’s Suite
10. Prelude To A Kiss / Solitude
11. Duke’s Place
12. Happy Go Lucky Local

This deliciously ambient, delightfully hued new recording opens on the fervently atmospheric Daybreak Express and the funkily grooved Satin Doll and then brings us the playfully-hued Don’t Get Around Much Anymore, the drum-led swing that drives U.M.M.G. and then we get both the deep yearn within In A Sentimental Mood and the upbeat and skittish Hot And Bothered.

Along next is the veritably tribal Bakiff and the dutifully languishing Passion Flower and they are in turn backed seamlessly by the slap bass skewed, guitar-rocking, percussion soaring Apes And Peacocks / Queen’s Suite, the sweeping Prelude To A Kiss / Solitude, the album rounding out on another drum-led, horn-flavored track within the joyous Duke’s Place, the most wondrous musical proceedings coming to a close on the train-imbibed rhythms that drive Happy Go Lucky Local.

MOTU is the project and stage name of Richard Michelson, which stands for Music Of The Universe, and here on his brand new album Acceding To The Apocalypse, it should be known that Michelson plays a variety of instruments on it, including acoustic guitar, electric guitar, dobro, pedal steel, bass, keyboards and harmonica.

Much like his 2023 release, The Water Is High, this new album features all original material, written, arranged and mastered by Michelson. And as on that earlier release, here he is joined by his wife Dee Michelson on vocals, and by Ed Modzel on drums, along with the addition of Rich Fry on vocals and guitar.

1. The Cost
2. Love Is All We Need
3. Too Much
4. When Your Smile Has Left The Room
5. A Test Of Our Love
6. You’re Just A Pile Of Crap
7. I’m Looking For Answers
8. I Can’t Be Denied
9. Acceding To The Apocalypse
10. History Repeats Itself

This dutifully ambient, and wholly impassioned new recording opens on a track that openly discusses global warming, poverty, pollution, racism, and gun violence, the constructively-hued The Cost and then brings us the veritable resolution within a veritable prog-grunge vibe that drives Love Is All We Need, then comes the harmonious rocker Too Much, and the harmonic soft AOR of When Your Smile Has Left The Room (a track that believes mankind is self-destructive even in relationships).

Up next, that theme is continued within the beautifully percussion within A Test Of Our Love and that is in turn backed by the Delta/Chicago-imbibed You’re Just A Pile Of Crap, and then we get a story about gun violence and politics within the powerfully sung I’m Looking For Answers, the album rounding out on the blues that drives both I Can’t Be Denied and the titular Acceding To The Apocalypse, closing on the hauntingly absorbent History Repeats Itself (a track that makes reference to the failed coup of Hitler in 1923 for which he was arrested).

www.motu.net

For those unaware, Zanov has been a French electronic artist since 1976 and continues to bring us all his very own new music experiences nearly fifty years later.

Acclaimed for the originality found within this very personal universe he has created, now Zanov is back, for the first time since his 2020 album Chaos Islands, and to coincide with his 76th birthday, brings forth his 7th album, Lost In The Future.

Lost In The Future is a progressive electronic music album that explores the idea of being immersed in the future world, suggesting a sense of adventure, uncertainty, and the enigmatic nature of what lies ahead.

1. Quantum World (8:41)
2. Conscious Machines (4:19)
3. Brain to Brain (7:58)
4. Extended Life (6:27)
5. Living with Robots (5:00)
6. Interstellar Travel (7:07)
7. Time Manipulation (5:22)

This delightfully musical, and wholly rhythmic new recording opens on the shimmering rock opus Quantum World and then brings us the artful, thoughtfully sculpted Conscious Machines, the veritably shimmering Brain to Brain, before we are brought forth the sweeping space synth that drives the opulent Extended Life, the atmospherically-charged Living with Robots, the album rounding out on the actively impassioned Interstellar Travel, closing on the all-encompassing Time Manipulation.

www.zanov.net

For those unaware, Steve Hunter (The Deacon) was born in Decatur Illinois in 1948, at age 19 he was drafted into the US army and deployed to Okinawa, Japan, where he worked as an x-ray tech in the air vac hospital. Having learned to play the lap steel from eight years old he had moved on to guitar and continued to play as much as he could whilst in the army.

Since the 70’s he has been quietly contributing his expertise, style and tone to other people’s albums, including Peter Gabriel, Dr John, Jack Bruce, Lou Reed, Tracy Chapman and Alice Cooper.

Starting with Mitch Ryder in 1971, when he did an arrangement of Lou Reed’s Rock and Roll for Ryder’s Detroit album, which caught the attention of Reed who promptly sought out both Ezrin (producer of Detroit) and Hunter for his follow up to Transformer, Berlin.

Hunter’s reputation grew through Rock but his heart has always been in Blues. He fondly remembers seeking advice from one of his idols, BB King.​

There’s something very liberating about reaching 75 and discovering a whole new way of being creative. That is what has happened to premier guitar player Steve ‘Deacon’ Hunter this year. The last time Steve sang on any recording was back in 1977 when he released Swept Away, the song was called Sea Sonata and he was never really happy with it.

But, after starting a new album at the beginning of 2023, he was working on an arrangement of Back Door Man when it crossed his mind that he could sing it, and that thought changed the direction of the whole album!

‘The Deacon Speaks’ now has him singing on eight tracks plus two instrumentals. Consisting of five covers and five original compositions, this is a bluesy, moody, vibe drenched collection with Hunters voice exuding a pinch of Dr John mixed with Tom Waites.

1. Back Door Man (4:44)
2. Tiresome Blues (5:07)
3. Independent Soul (3:39)
4. The Ballad of John Henry Gates (4:44)
5. Annabel’s Blues (2:30)
6. Up from the Skies (5:11)
7. Sweet Jane (4:53)
8. Waiting on a Friend (4:44)
9. Who is He and What is He to You (4:18)
10. In a Lonely Place (4:46)

This dynamically rousing new recording opens on the gruff growl that drives the low slung Howlin’ Wolf cut Back Door Man, the aching yearn found within Tiresome Blues and the free flowing Independent Soul and they are followed by the foot tapping storytelling of The Ballad of John Henry Gates, and the comes the sweeping Annabel’s Blues.

Along next is the playful blues of Jimi Hendrix’s Up from the Skies, his aptly-languishing take of Lou Reed’s Sweet Jane and a rather delightful take on the Stones’ harmoniously sculpted Waiting on a Friend, the album rounding out on the jaunty rock of Bill Withers’ Who is He and What is He to You, closing on the formidable instrumental balladry of In a Lonely Place.

Steve has contributed to ten Alice Cooper albums, starting in 1973 with Billion Dollar Babies and featured heavily on the new Welcome 2 My Nightmare. He completed a World tour with Alice in 2011 but left at the end of that year to write and record his solo album The Manhattan Blues Project He is also on the 2017 Alice Cooper release Paranormal and the 2021 album Detroit Stories.

Official Purchase Link

www.stevehunter.com

For those unaware, Spencer LaJoye (luh-JOY) is an East Coast singer/songwriter from the Midwest making queer indie folk music for everyone. The 2021 Kerrville Songwriting Competition winner spins crystalline vocals through a loop pedal while strumming an acoustic guitar in charming, banter-heavy performances that keep audiences laughing one moment and weeping the next.

LaJoye is also a classically-trained violinist with a proclivity for Broadway vocals, and a student of Americana music with a theology degree hanging in their studio. They’ve been writing and touring their own autobiographical folk/pop music for over a decade, but the virality of their 2021 anthem “Plowshare Prayer” secured them a permanent place in hearts and households across the world, as well as a peculiar career as a veracious songsmith with an unshakeable pastoral presence.

Spencer has a lengthy catalog of recorded music documenting their journey from Christianity through disillusionment, the earliest EP of which won the 2014 WYCE Jammie Award for Listener’s Choice in Grand Rapids, MI. However, after coming out as gender nonbinary and finding peace as a post-Christian, Spencer changed their name and released Remember the Oxygen, a 4-song EP featuring the Denver String Machine with arrangements by China Kent.

After appearing as an official showcase artist at Folk Alliance International 2023, Spencer released Plant a Piano, a solo EP of vocally theatrical piano ballads about decay, change, and beauty. As LaJoye’s first effort following the highly-anticipated and mammoth studio recording of “Plowshare Prayer,” this stark piano EP was an invitation for eager listeners to get up close and personal with Spencer and the craft of one song by one voice.

On February 16th, 2024, Spencer released Shadow Puppets, their first full-length album under their new name. Childhood memories, family patterns, shame, and desire form a cast of colorful characters in this 12-track, indie-folk tale of a formerly closeted queer kid from Southwest Michigan. The album was produced by Chris DuPont in Ypsilanti, MI, and is a clever synth-guided and lyric-driven departure from some of LaJoye’s more universally anthemic offerings.

1. Shadow Puppets (4:23)
2. Chaotic Neutral (4:54)
3. The Art of Feeling Lonely (4:16)
4. Good Man (4:37)
5. How Are You (4:44)
6. Reverie (3:07)
7. Convents (3:39)
8. The Joker (3:52)
9. Serial (4:45)
10. Surgery (3:53)
11. Someday You’ll Wake Up Okay (4:19)
12. Forgiveness (2:24)

This sensitively impassioned, honed and yet dynamically embroidered new recording opens on the sweet rhythmical hipsway of the titular Shadow Puppets and then we get brought forth the slightly sterner cathartic fare of Chaotic Neutral, the smooth gossamer of The Art of Feeling Lonely, and then come the peppy Good Man and the laid back, low slung How Are You.

Along next is the gently jaunty Reverie [you hold a gaze like a grudge] and the languishing duet Convents and they are in turn backed sweetly by the personally-imbued storytelling within The Joker, the veritably shimmering Serial, the album rounding out on the heart on the sleeve, revealing Surgery, the free flowing Someday You’ll Wake Up Okay, closing on the fibrous, melodically floating yearn that drives Forgiveness.

Official Purchase Link

www.spencerlajoye.com

For those unaware, Katie Powderly’s Slips of the Tongue turns 10, and thus has now been released on most all streaming platforms.

I’ve been a musician for over a solid decade and I’ve never released my music on streaming platforms like Spotify. That is about to change. I admit I’ve been resistant to the streaming platforms.

I am a woman of Strong Opinions and I don’t like how companies like Spotify profit off of musicians’ work without compensating us fairly.

However. I want to reach a broader audience and give you access to my music wherever you are throughout your day when you want to listen. So I’m learning to compromise. - Katie Powderly.

Katie is an award-winning musician and songwriter, who has performed live on PBS & NPR stations, and has toured from New York to Colorado, Texas to Tennessee.

She has shared bills with Tony Rice, Del McCoury Band, Yonder Mountain String Band, The Steel Wheels, The Black Lillies, Lake Street Dive, Langhorne Slim, The David Mayfield Parade, and many others.

According to Local Sounds Magazine in Madison, WI, “Katie Powderly released one of the best albums [of the year], but Local Sounds’ Rick Tvedt has also hailed it as one of the best recordings to ever come out of the Madison area.”

The album they’re referring to is Katie’s debut LP, Slips of the Tongue (Red-Winged Blackbird Records), which features a hell of a lineup of supporting musicians, including Josh Oliver (Watchhouse/Mandolin Orange), Bryn Davies (Tony Rice, Guy Clark, Jack White), Tom Pryor (The Black Lillies), and Jill Andrews (the everybodyfields), and was recorded at Butch Vig’s famed Smart Studios in Madison, WI, with significant help from Scott Minor (Sparklehorse).

1. All The King’s Horses
2. Blue
3. Tables, Turning
4. Bridges, Burning
5. Hot Air Balloon
6. Let Me Go
7. Carry Me, Hold Me
8. Lullabye
9. Yet to Come

This dulcet, ambiance-hued new recording opens on the low slung twang of All The King’s Horses and then we get the aptly-titled balladry of Blue, an aching yearn that drives Tables, Turning and the veritably ethereal Bridges, Burning.

Up next is the gently meandering Hot Air Balloon and the impassioned Let Me Go and they are in turn followed by the front porch, sundown vibe of Carry Me, Hold Me, the album rounding out on the free flowing Lullabye, closing on the gentler fare of the beeautiful Yet to Come.

When I first released Slips of the Tongue, I illustrated all of the album artwork and created single covers for each song before that was even a commonplace thing. CDs and vinyl were still in use quite a bit and streaming hadn’t become as dominant as it is now.

As I approached the re-release, I decided I wanted to update the art to reflect the growth I’ve experienced both personally and professionally since its original release.

So I hired one of my favorite digital illustrators and designers. You may recognize the illustration work of Kelley Wills of Brainflower designs.

It was so nice to hire another designer to work on this project-one who I knew would create an homage to the original, but leave the indelible mark of her own unique style.

There are so many more surprises coming down the pipeline, but in the interim, go to the link in the button below and purchase Slips of the Tongue for yourselves. - Katie Powderly.

Katie now resides in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Maryland after a years-long sojourn across the country.

When she’s not performing with her electrified Americana band, The Unconditional Lovers, whose first album will be out in 2024, you can find her playing her songs as a solo artist.

Official Purchase Link

www.katiepowderly.com

For those unaware, this expanded version of Katie Powderly’s Live by the Song, Die by the Song contains the original 5 songs written for this album + 5 bonus tracks for a total of 10 songs.

These 5 bonus tracks include the Live at Mystery Ton Studios sessions filmed live with Chance Hurley on guitar and mandolin.

These magic moments captured at Katie’s favorite studio deserved to be immortalized on physical media and now they all are.

From the Appalachian mountains of Maryland, Katie Powderly announces her 2nd studio album: a stripped-down, acoustic, bluegrass-adjacent EP entitled Live by the Song, Die by the Song.

The 5-song collection serves as a portrait of Katie’s emotional landscape, informed by a carefree summer spent splashing in the Shenandoah River, falling in and out of love. Through a series of Appalachian ballads, the EP documents the journey of the artist coming to identify the bouquet of red flags she’d at first perceived as simply roses and their thorns.

“If you devote your life to songs, like I have, music becomes a default way of communicating,” Powderly said.

1. “Tobacco” (feat. Chance Hurley)
2. “My Mourning Dove” (feat. Chance Hurley)
3. “High Horse” (feat. Chance Hurley)
4. “Revolving Door”
5. “Love Me One More Time Before I Go”

Bonus Tracks on vinyl and CD pressing:
6. “Bankrupt” (Live at Mystery Ton Studios) (feat. Chance Hurley)
7. “Live & Learn” (Live at Mystery Ton Studios) (feat. Chance Hurley)
8. “My Mourning Dove” (Live at Mystery Ton Studios) (feat. Chance Hurley)
9. “Tobacco” (Live at Mystery Ton Studios) (feat. Chance Hurley
10. “Revolving Door” (Live at Mystery Ton Studios)

The revitalized recording opens on the gently rambunctious “Tobacco” (which, as do the first three tracks, feature Chance Hurley, and is itself a song that earned Powderly the title of semi-finalist in a national songwriting contest in February) and then we get the impassioned “My Mourning Dove” and the streamed flow that drives “High Horse,” and then we get the strident “Revolving Door” and then an aching yearn is found within “Love Me One More Time Before I Go.”

Up next amongst these sweet, and yet stinging ballads for the lover who betrayed her (all recorded live at Mystery Ton Studios, and save for the final cut, all feature Hurley) is the mid-tempo “Bankrupt” and then the emotive “Live & Learn,” the album rounding out on the stoically-sewn gossamer of “My Mourning Dove,” coming to a close on two live cuts of both “Tobacco” and “Revolving Door.”

Katie is an award-winning musician and songwriter, who has performed live on PBS & NPR stations, and has toured from New York to Colorado, Texas to Tennessee.

She has shared bills with Tony Rice, Del McCoury Band, Yonder Mountain String Band, The Steel Wheels, The Black Lillies, Lake Street Dive, Langhorne Slim, The David Mayfield Parade, and many others.

Musicians:
Katie Powderly - guitar, vocals
Chance Hurley - guitar, mandolin
Scott Matlock - fiddle
Colin Shultzaberger - Rhodes, snare

It will be available for pre-order through her website (digitally, CDs, and vinyl) as well as Amazon, iTunes, Google Play, and more.

Official Purchase Link

www.katiepowderly.com

For those unaware, San Francisco-based early music ensemble Cantata Collective continues its major series of J S Bach’s choral works with the Mass in B Minor, a towering testament of sacred music and the composer’s crowning achievement of his final years.

With celebrated conductor Nicholas McGegan, four of today’s most distinguished early music vocal soloists and a refined chamber choir, this live recording exudes a spontaneity that reveals the depth and passion of Bach’s glorious affirmation of faith.

Side 1:
1. Bach: Mass in B Minor, BWV 232: I. Missa (Kyrie & Gloria): 1. Kyrie eleison

Disc 2:
2. Bach: Mass in B Minor, BWV 232: II. Symbolum Nicenum (Credo); III. Sanctus; IV. Osanna, Benedictus, Agnus Dei et Dona nobis pacem

The first disc - Bach: Mass in B Minor, BWV 232: I. Missa (Kyrie & Gloria): 1. Kyrie eleison - is simply a most sumptuously impassioned, and wholly organic recording, and quite possibly one of the most seamless expressions of this art form that I have heard in the past decade.

It opens on the stoically sculptured Kyrie eleison and the flourishing Christie eleison and then brings us the more embodied Kyrie eleison II, the vibrant Gloria in excelsis Deo, the harmonious Et in terra pax, the delicately-hued Laudamus te, and then we get the forthright Gratias agimus tibi, a delicate, wood wind-imbued Kyrie eleison, the harmonious Qui tollis peccata mundi, the piece rounding out on the quietly playful Qui sedes ad dexteram Patris, the empowered Quoniam tu solus sanctus, and finally the rapturous Cum Sancto Spiritu.

The second disc - Bach: Mass in B Minor, BWV 232: II. Symbolum Nicenum (Credo); III. Sanctus; IV. Osanna, Benedictus, Agnus Dei et Dona nobis pacem - and free flows with such a sheer magnificence that it is hard to not be transfixed by its free flowing structures.

This opens on Bach: Mass in B Minor, BWV 232: II. Symbolum Nicenum (Credo), opening up to us first a free flowing Credo in unum Deum and the layered Patrem omnipotentem, and then brings us the sedate swirls and twirls found within Et in unum Dominum, the veritably ethereal Et incarnatus est, the hauntingly-hued Crucifixus, the enthusiastic Et resurrexit, the set culminating with a sombre Et in Spiritum Sanctum, an enthralling Confiteor, and a bold Et expecto.

Then we get a fearless five minutes spent within Bach, J S: Mass in B Minor, BWV 232 - III. Sanctus: XXII. Sanctus - Pleni sunt coeli, before the final piece, Bach, J S: Mass in B Minor, BWV 232 - Osanna, Benedictus, Agnus Dei et Dona nobis pacem opens on the joyous Osanna, the resoundingly beautiful Benedictus, the strength of belief that resounds within Osanna, the piece, and the collection therein, closing on the plaintively emotive Agnus Dei and the wistful, yet hopeful Dona nobis pacem.

Official Purchase Link

www.avie-records.com

Sergey Khachatryan presents the first recording of Ysaÿe’s 6 Solo Sonatas Op.27 on the composer’s Guarneri del Gesù violin - a magnificent, hypnotic instrument!

Today aged thirty-eight, and the precocious First Prize Winner of the International Sibelius Competition in 2000 and the Queen Elisabeth Competition in 2005, the Armenian violinist here once more demonstrates his radiant maturity, along the same lines as he did in his sumptuous recording, so personal, of Bach’s Sonatas and Partitas.

Here Sergey Khachatryan delivers an interpretation of heightened feelings, where what might otherwise come across as impish is deliberately turned into something fierce (the Prelude of Sonata No. 2, which uses the opening motif of Bach’s Partita No. 3), or that which is merely imitative becomes wild and relentless (the Finale of Sonata No. 4).

He willfully emphasizes the popular inspiration underlying the complete collection, here replete with shadings and a sumptuousness previously unheard.

1. Ysaÿe: Sonata for Solo Violin No. 1 in G Minor, Op. 27
2. Ysaÿe: Sonata for Solo Violin No. 2 in A Minor, Op. 27
3. Ysaÿe: Sonata for Solo Violin No. 3 in D Minor, Op. 27: Ballade
4. Ysaÿe: Sonata for Solo Violin No. 4 in E Minor, Op. 27
5. Ysaÿe: Sonata for Solo Violin No. 5 in G Major, Op. 27
6. Ysaÿe: Sonata for Solo Violin No. 6 in E Major, Op. 27: Allegro giusto non troppo vivo - Poco lento - Allegretto poco scherzando - Allegro tempo primo

Paying homage to Ysaÿe, Sergey opens on Sonata for Solo Violin No. 1 in G Minor, Op. 27: and first the aching yearn within Grave. Lento assai, the infused Fugato. Molto moderato, the gradually playful Allegretto poco scherzoso. Amabile, closing on the sterner fare of Finale con brio. Allegro fermo; and follows that up with Sonata for Solo Violin No. 2 in A Minor, Op. 27: opening on the sprightly Obsession. Prélude. Poco vivace - Meno mosso - Tempo vivo, the languishing Malinconia. Poco lento, the perky Danse des ombres. Sarabande. Lento - Variation I - Variation II. Musette - Variations III, IV, V, VI, closing on the flourishinSonata for Solo Violin No. 3 in D Minor, Op. 27: Balladeg Les Furies. Allegro furioso; and then brings us the seven minute opus.

Along next is Sonata for Solo Violin No. 4 in E Minor, Op. 27: which begins with the the precisely-sculpted Allemanda. Lento maestoso, the delicately plucked majesties found within Sarabande. Quasi lento, culminating on the vibrant Finale. Presto ma non troppol then we get Sonata for Solo Violin No. 5 in G Major, Op. 27: which opens on the stoic fare of L’Aurore. Lento assai and closes on the impassioned Danse rustique. Allegro giocoso molto moderato - Moderato amabile - Tempo primo; the works ending with the enigmatically-charged Sonata for Solo Violin No. 6 in E Major, Op. 27: Allegro giusto non troppo vivo - Poco lento - Allegretto poco scherzando - Allegro tempo primo.

Official Purchase Link

www.avie-records.com

For those unaware, Humans’ hope lies in art - the music of Schubert or Beethoven in particular, which gives us some idea of what worlds can still exist. What words can we use to make these works of art tangible? Not explainable, but tangible.

With this album, Turkish-born pianist Gülru Ensari and Romanian-born Herbert Schuch want to provide a space for experience, a place where they can carefully and tentatively approach the subject of eternity.

The connection between Messiaen and Schubert, Beethoven and Brahms? Nothing more or less than a perceived truth. An involuntary connection of lines that are already there, but are drawn into infinity and meet somewhere, like the parallel rails of a dead-straight track that stretches into infinity.

Ten years after his captivating recital, ‘Invocation’, the excellent German pianist, Herbert Schuch, born in 1979 in Romania, comes back to naïve. It is here, with his duo partner and wife, Gülru Ensari, that he presents his new album, ‘Eternity’.

As they did in their past collaborations with the SWR (‘Go East!’ in 2017, ‘Dialogues’ in 2018 and ‘in Search’ in 2022), they mix, within one programme, works for four hands and two pianos.

One of the Schubert’s late masterworks, the Fantasia in F minor, pairs here with the Variations on a theme by Schumann that Brahms composed on a theme that Schumann wrote in 1854. Three extracts from Messiaen’s monumental cycle Visions de l’Amen, composed in 1943 for two pianos, act as grandiose and contemplative interludes, and also as an introduction to the Große Fugue by Beethoven.

For Gülru Ensari and Herbert Schuch, each of these three works from the Romantic era connects with the divine part of Messiaen’s pieces.

In pushing back the limit of artistic creation, these four uncontested geniuses - Beethoven, Brahms, Schubert and Messiaen - expressed themselves outside of their times, creating bridges with worlds they would not have known, always expanding, in a never-ending quest for eternity.

1. Schubert: Fantasie in F minor for piano duet, D940
2. Messiaen: Visions de l’Amen: IV. Amen du Désir
3. Brahms: Variations on a Theme by Schumann in E-Flat Major, Op. 23
4. Messiaen: Visions de l’Amen for 2 pianos
5. Beethoven: Grosse Fuge in B flat major, Op. 134 (piano 4 Hands)

This masterfully-crafted recording opens on the abundantly delicate gossamer that flows within the simply beautiful Fantasie in F minor for piano duet, D940, and follows that up with the more crystalline Messiaen: Visions de l’Amen: IV. Amen du Désir, and then comes Brahms: Variations on a Theme by Schumann in E-Flat Major, Op. 23: which opens on the delicate Thema. Leise und innig and the enigmatic Variation I. L’istesso tempo - Andante molto moderato, before bringing us the playful Variation II, the confident Variation III, the languishing Variation IV, and then the strident flow that drives Variation V. Poco più animato, the adamant ebb of Variation VI. Allegro non troppo, the elegant Variation VII. Con moto - L’istesso tempo, the free flowing swirls and twirls of Variation VIII. Poco più vivo, culminating in the unabashed confidence shown within Variation IX and the joyfully crafted Variation X. Molto moderato, alla marcia.

Along next is the simply mesmerizing two-piece Messiaen: Visions de l’Amen for 2 pianos, which itself begins with the subtle, yet confidently assured Amen des Anges, des Saints, du chant des oiseaux, ending with the veritably ethereal Amen de la Création, the collection coming to a close on the powerful on minute, then delicate and wistful, but at all times organically sculpted, 15 minute piano work Beethoven: Grosse Fuge in B flat major, Op. 134 (piano 4 Hands).

Official Purchase Link

www.avie-records.com

www.gulruensari.com

For those unaware, in celebration of the 20th anniversary of Amy Winehouse’s groundbreaking and highly influential debut album Frank, UMe has now released three EPs: In My Bed, Take The Box and F**k Me Pumps.

Previously released only on vinyl, they are now available digitally for the very first time. Each EP includes B-sides, alternate takes and live versions of her early singles, including “Best Friend (Acoustic)”, “(There Is) No Greater Love – AOL Session”, and “Take the Box (The Headquarters Mix).”

As for the brilliant album Frank, well, that has also been released as a simply beautiful 2LP picture disc, using the artwork from the original classic sleeve on LP1 and two beautiful images by renowned photographer Valerie Phillips from the original artwork photo session, shot in 2003 on LP2.

Recorded when Amy was still in her teens, Frank introduced a truly remarkable, supremely talented songwriter and a singer who would be treasured as one of the greatest of our time.

Side A:
1. Intro / Stronger Than Me
2. You Sent Me Flying / Cherry
3. Know You Now
4. F**K Me Pumps

Side B:
1. I Heard Love Is Blind
2. Moody’s Mood for Love / Teo Licks
3. (There Is) No Greater Love
4. In My Bed

Side C:
1. Take the Box
2. October Song
3. What Is It About Men?

Side D:
1. Amy Amy Amy / Outro
2. Brother
3. Mr Magic (Through the Smoke)

I think we can all agree that it is mighty rare for such a young performer to debut with such assurance, confidence and to such instant acclaim, but North London sensation Amy Winehouse already has a reputation that many far more seasoned artists would swap their gold discs for.

As for what Winehouse vocally brought to the table, well, she effortlessly combined a distinctive 20 a day voice with a serious appreciation of female jazz & soul heroes (Sarah Vaughan’s scatting style seeps through Amy’s vocal ad-libs as well as getting a name check). She also combined considerable jazz guitar ability with a classic approach which produced a contemporary, quirky, up front, tongue in cheek and risqué set of lyrics.

In particular, her version of the eternally hip jazz track Moody’s Mood For Love - which rides over a dub reggae rhythm - demonstrates this attitude, for it looks back in order to know where its going. And sure, this idea might raise a musical eyebrows, but in reality it sounds like a perfect partnership.

Featuring the singles “Take The Box,” “F**k Me Pumps,” “In My Bed,” and the first single “Stronger Than Me,” it’s most definitely this latter one that contains all of these qualities and proves that jazz influenced contemporary soul needn’t be safe, or perhaps even sullied by the smooth prefixes.

Lyrically fresh and uncompromising, the only occasional weaknesses across the collection are the sometimes obtrusive programmed beats, but that aside, this is an incredibly atmospheric recording, edging towards a small club rather than a studio, which gives the recording a warm intimate feel throughout.

Furthermore, the thirteen songs on Frank announced the arrival of a peerless artist, a phenomenal writer and performer, and a true once-in-a-generation talent, and the images on this release show the young Amy at the beginning of her incredible, but tragically short musical journey.

To my journalistic mind, this album just illustrates what a great talent this raunchy-voiced woman from London really was. She will be more and more of a recognizable loss to 21st century music as each year passes by. So enjoy Frank over and over again as the sensational timeless work of art that it truly is.

In closing, Frank launched the career of an artist whose inimitable voice set her apart from her contemporaries. Certified triple platinum in the UK, the album was lauded worldwide and deservedly so.

Official Purchase Links

www.amywinehouse.com

Amy Winehouse @ Facebook

For those unaware, on March 8th, 2024, Juno Award-winning Canadian artist Loreena McKennitt, who has sustained international acclaim for over 30 years, will be releasing a new album that harkens back to the earliest days of her career and the most traditional of Celtic music.

The Road Back Home was recorded during the summer of 2023 when she performed at four folk festivals in southern Ontario. It was a return to her roots, a sort of musical winding back to where it all began. The early songs, the local musicians, the bursts of energy and spontaneity in those local performances are what inspired this new album that will now be on offer to a global audience.

Soon to be released on CD and 180g vinyl, and via digital music services including Dolby Atmos, the album features 10 songs, including many pieces that date back to McKennitt’s earliest days on the folk circuit and which have remained unrecorded until now.

In short, The Road Back Home is an homage to what feels like simpler times, offering comfort and familiarity. It’s like going home.

Side A:
1. Searching for Lambs (3:32) 2. Mary & The Soldier (4:04) 3. On a Bright May Morning (4:33) 4. As I Roved Out (4:54) 5. Custom Gap (3:56)

Side B:
6. Bonny Portmore (3:42) 7. Greystones (3:32) 8. The Star of the County Down (3:42) 9. Salvation Contradiction (4:22) 10. Sí Bheag, Sí Mhór/Wild Mountain Thyme (6:15)

In my humble opinion, this could be easily be named as Loreena’s masterpiece, lest we forget her incredible The Book of Secrets and the impassioned An Ancient Muse, of course.

That all said though, this recording is, perhaps, just a little more special within its overall creation, to my ear. For once you put the vinyl LP on your turntable, hear how it connects to the needle, close your eyes and settle into your comfy chair, you can immediately feel as if you have been to the places that Loreena has obviously been to in order to gather inspiration for these stunningly beautiful recordings.

The most wonderful soprano voice of Loreena, enhanced by some mesmerizing lyrics, open the first side of the vinyl with the haunting Searching for Lambs and then we get brought forth the pleasingly heartwarming Mary & The Soldier, the flutteringly ethereal On a Bright May Morning, and both the uplifting, spirited As I Roved Out and the Celtic-hipsway of Custom Gap.

Flipping the vinyl carefully over and the second side of ambient tracks begins with the stoic storytelling within Bonny Portmore and the free flowing musical melodies that gloriously ebb and flow throughout Greystones, and they are then in turn backed seamlessly by the embodied The Star of the County Down, the album rounding out on the richly all-embracing Salvation Contradiction, closing on the languishing beauty of Sí Bheag, Sí Mhór/Wild Mountain Thyme.

Every note performed by McKennitt and her new cohort of collaborators was recorded, capturing the deep affection and sense of community such musical events foster in the hearts of performers and folk festival devotees alike.

“There are many ways to define the word ‘home’,” observes McKennitt. “It may well be the structure in which we live, but it can also be the cultural expressions of community which somehow reach into our hearts and souls and draw us together without us completely understanding why.”

Official Purchase Links

www.loreenamckennitt.com

Loreena McKennitt @ Instagram