Fans of Brazilian vibes from the 50s to the early 80s will certainly love the podcasts Radio Avolta has to offer. Visit their website thepodcasters.com (odd, that they didn’t called it radioavolta.com) to download their shows. Large files with lots of songs, unfortunately only 64kpbs encoded. Dear Radio Avolta, can I please have them as ogg-files, since my DAP (digital audio player) can play my favourite lossy audio codec. :-)
[edit: Try Avolta’s show from March 05 about Tim Maia, that features the great (and epic) Rational Culture.]
archive of March, 2005
According to hmv.co.jp Lizz Wright’s new album Dreaming Wide Awake will be released 25 May 2005 in Japan. I haven’t found any US/Europe release date yet. If you know more, please leave a comment.
Katie Bull has just released her new album Love Spook, which contains twelve songs. The half of it are original compostions by Katie herself. Recorded in a trio setting with piano, bass and percussion, I can’t argue with the music nor the song material included here. It’s just that I have my difficulties getting into Katie’s voice. This doesn’t mean it’s a bad album, it just means that I’m not the right person to write a review for it. But since Jim at Jazz Promo Services was so kind to send me a copy, I mention it here and advise you to make up your mind about Katie by visiting her website katiebull.com and the label’s website cadencebuilding.com.
This may look like old men’s jazz if you have a look at the musicians involved. But if this is old men’s jazz that sounds so fresh, brilliant and groovy, then what do many young jazz artists wrong. Maybe it’s just the experience that comes with age and long practise. Whatever it is, the musicians involved on this tribute to the late Thad Jones [Benny Golson (tenor saxophone), James Moody (tenor and soprano saxophone), Frank Wess (tenor and alto saxophone, flute), Jimmy Owens (trumpet and fluegelhorn), Bob Brookmeyer (trombone), (Thad’s brother) Hank Jones (piano), Richard Davis (bass), and Mickey Roker (drums)] are incredibly talented and age is just a mere number.
For those of you who aren’t familiar with Thad Jones, here’s a short abstract of his biography.
Thad wrote his first jazz arrangement at age 13 when he was a trumpet player in his uncle’s band in his native Pontiac, Michigan, along with brothers Hank (piano) and Elvin (drums). In the 1940’s he served in the army, led a band of his own, and played with other bands before joining the Count Basie band in 1954. Nine years later he left Basie and began arranging for singers, small groups, and the big Harry James Band.
In 1965 Thad and drummer Mel Lewis formed their award-winning jazz orchestra. For the next 13 years this amazing band became an American jazz institution. They played Monday nights at the Village Vanguard in NYC on an almost continuous basis, won countless polls in “Down Beat,” and recorded a series of albums that remain popular today, including “Consummation,” “Central Park North,” “Live At The Village Vanguard” and “Suite For Pops.”
In 1979 Thad moved to and settled in Copenhagen, where he conducted the Danish Radio Big Band and later formed his own Eclipse big band featuring an illustrious mix of players from America and Europe.
[source kendormusic.com]
The record label IPO came up with a good idea when they asked Michael Patterson to adapt Thad Jones’ compositions for this project. What’s so remarkable about this album is the fact that all the musicians aren’t playing together as a regular band but have been gathered just for this project. And yet they sound so tight as a group on this record as if they’ve been playing together for years.
All but one song are compositions by Thad Jones, the exception is Monk’s Mood, which was a favourite of Thad’s and is performed by Hank on piano in an arrangement that Hank learned, note-for-note, directly from Thelonious Monk in the mid-1940s.
There’s another tune here with a fine piano performance, Thad’s famous A Child Is Born, that features a lengthy five minute piano-only introduction by the late Roland Hanna before Jimmy Owens exposes the song’s melody.
Consummation, a tune Thad wrote for a concert performance by Jimmy Owens in 1969, finds said Owens again with an impressive solo performance on this slow, bluesy song.
Of course there are some mid-/uptempo swinging tracks as well like The Farewell, One More, The Waltz You Swang For Me or Bossa Nova Ove that makes this a great varied album.
Definitely one of the best puristic instrumental jazz records this year with more than one hint to the big band sound.
Tracklisting of One More Music Of Thad Jones: 1. Subtle Rebuttal/ 2. Thad’s Pad/ 3. Kids Are Pretty People/ 4. One More/ 5. Mean What You Say/ 6. A Child Is Born/ 7. Bossa Nova Ova/ 8. The Waltz You Swang For Me/ 9. H&T Blues/ 10. Consummation/ 11. The Farewell/ 12. Monk’s Mood | released 2005 by IPO
For more infos visit iporecordings.com.
[If you want to discuss the music on this album, you can leave your comment below and also use the forum]
George Duke has just released his new album Duke, that features Eric Benet on a cover of Stevie Wonder’s Superwoman. So much to the question if Eric’s career is over, that has been asked here.
Mint Condition, the band that brought us Pretty Brown Eyes or What Kind Of Man Would I Be, will release their new album Livin’ The Luxury Brown on April, 26th 2005. Unfortunately their website doesn’t offer more infos, in fact it’s one of those sites, that requires flash without really offering something that would be worth the use of flash. And to get a list of their live performances you have to get through the whole flash stuff . Simple HTML would be so much faster and much more efficient!
[edit: The new CD will be released on Mint Condition’s own label, Cagedbird Records in a joint venture with Image Entertainment. Lead singer Stokley says, “Livin’ The Luxury Brown is a kind of metaphor that celebrates our experience, culture, tradition, and peoplehood. We’re just givin’ you somethin’ honest, creative, fun, deep and real.”
I’m very curious about Livin’ The Luxury Brown. Watch this site for a review and an interview with Mint Condition soon.]
You liked the debut album by Tim Terry and you want to know a little bit more about him? Then read on and enjoy the interview with Tim Terry.
Q: Please tell me more about yourself, your musical background and the artists that have influenced you.
Tim Terry: I grew up playing the organ in church and I’ve been doing that since I was 3. My influences are the legends of soul music such as Al Green, Marvin Gaye, Issac Hayes, Prince, Donny Hathaway, Stevie Wonder, Willie Hutch, The Isley Brothers, Otis Redding and the Stax and Motown sounds of the 70’s.
Q: How would you describe your music to someone who haven’t heard your songs yet?
Tim Terry: I would say that my music is definitely something grown folks would dig because it would remind them of true music. I think everyone will be able to relate somehow to the stories that I’m singing about.
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Africanrhythmsradio.com and radiopellenera.com are two web radio stations you might enjoy and at danceandsoul.com you’ll find some more links to web radio stations and other stuff.
Vinylpodcast.com lets you hear some musty & dusty songs like the Detroit Emeralds with You’re Gettin’ A Little Too Smart.
If you happen to be in London on March 29th, then make sure you see Conya Doss and Myron live in performance at the Jazz Cafe. In the meantime you can read my review for Just Because, Free and read the interviews with Conya Doss and Myron as well.
soul-sides.com is a great site/weblog about, er, well, soul music. They even offer some mp3 audio files for listening pleasure.
I’ve just read it today that Lyn “The Female Preacher” Collins died on March, 13th 2005 :-/
You find more infos here, here or here
No, I’m not starting this review telling you how I really tried to be unbiased and how I tried to really like this record, a statement that always is followed by a roasting. But, alas, I’ve assumed it already here that this may not be a great nor a good album. In fact, this is on the whole a disaster. The only remixer here that’s doing Curtis and the message of his songs justice is Ashley Beedle with his version of Do Do Wap Is Strong In Here (which originally appeared on the Soundtrack album to Short Eyes) and with a few deductions Little Louie Vega with his version of Superfly, although Curtis’ voice sounds a little pitched on this remix.
The world can really do without a four on the floor house mix of Move On Up. And Eric Kupper gets some fat bad points for this trash. Even worse is Grandmaster Flash’s hip hop version of We’re A Winner including a meaningless talking on the intro. Neither King Britt nor one of my favourite remixers/house producers Blaze deliver an inspiring version and they both lose some credibility for me with the rather hideous results. The horror continues with Maurice Joshua’s version of If There’s A Hell Below We’re All Gonna Go and horrible versions of We Got To Have Peace and People Get Ready that just sounds like Eddie Baez and Stonebridge thought “let’s just lay a house beat under Curtis vocals…why bother with the melody or the music’s message”. Mixmastermike doesn’t save anything, in fact his scratched electro version of Pusherman is the crappiest piece of a remix I have heard in a long time.
So what the hell was Rhino Records intention behind this? And why on earth did any of the remixers involved participated at all? Is it really all because of the money? There are a few things you just don’t do even if you have some money to waste. Or is it that major record labels (Rhino is part of the Warner Bros. empire) finally have run out of ideas or the need to discover new artists?
I wouldn’t be so annoyed about this project if Rhino had just released a simple 12″ with the two remixes of Ashley Beedle and Little Louie Vega, that would’ve been fine and there wouldn’t be a problem. But this is just lousy. If there’s A Hell Below, I’ve already been there while listening to this album. Better save your money and buy the original Curtis Mayfield albums!
Tracklisting of Mayfield : Remixed - The Curtis Mayfield Collection: 1. Superfly (Little Louie Vega EOL Mix)/ 2. Do Do Wap Is Strong In Here (Ashley Beedle Re-Edit)/ 3. Move On Up (Eric Kupper Vocal Mix)/ 4. We’re A Winner (Grandmaster Flash Remix)/ 5. Little Child Runnin’ Wild (King Britt Scuba Mix)/ 6. Freddie’s Dead (Blaze Roots DJ Mix)/ 7. If There’s A Hell Below We’re All Going to Go (Maurice Joshua Nu Soul Mix)/ 8. We Got to Have Peace (Eddie Baez Laid Back Mix)/ 9. People Get Ready (Stonebridge Club Remix)/ 10. Pusherman (MixMasterMike Pusher’s Nephew Mix) | released 2005 by Rhino Records
For more infos visit rhino.com.
[If you want to discuss Curtis Mayfield’s music and these remixes, you can leave your comment below and also use the forum]
All of you, who liked the Chicago Soul Sessions Vol I album on Listen Up Records as much as I do, will be pleased to read the follwing interview with label head and musician Stewart McKenzie. And the rest of you, well, read it anyway and check out Stewart’s website for some sound samples :-)
Q: As Stewart McKenzie you are a part of the McKenzie Burns Project and the man behind Listen Up Records. Please tell me how the McKenzie Burns Project came into existence and why you’ve established Listen Up Records.
Stewart McKenzie: David and I met in Washington D.C. through a mutual friend back in 1999. Our friend knew of our mutual musical aspirations and thought we might be able to help each other. David had sent me some demos of what was to be “The David Burns Project.” When I had visited Chicago later that year, I intended to just help lay down some bass and guitar tracks. That eventually led to a substantial contribution in the compositions and arrangements, to the point where we decided that we would form a partnership. Our goals and tastes in music were similar, and our strengths (and weaknesses) as songwriters complemented each other, so it seemed logical. And “The McKenzie Burns Project” became the new name.
It was a little difficult completing that first project because I was still living on the east coast and David was in Chicago, but traveling for his job. But we approached our debut CD with a mindset that if we wanted to make a name for ourselves as producers, we would have to create a buzz.
We knew a recording contract wasn’t going to fall into our laps so we felt that the best way to garner label interest is to prove that you don’t need them. Nowadays, it’s such a risk to be signed to a major label. An artist may get a great deal, but then they are at the musical and financial mercy of an entity other than themselves. If you do not get the proper promotion, you may end up stuck in a no-win situation that includes being stifled musically.
While we have not found fame and fortune from our self-titled debut, “The McKenzie Burns Project,” we have learned so much that will make future projects easier to promote. And in the process, you gain momentum with fans, reviews, airplay, etc. When you release your own CD, and are responsible for every aspect of its recording, promotion and distribution, then you are already operating like a record label. You may not have as much money (laughter) but you are in fact your own label.
David and I just decided to “formalize” the concept with the release of the Chicago Soul Sessions CD, and gave ourselves a label name to record under. So now, we have a label and website that our releases, and other compilations will come under. With that, we have the freedom of being under no musical or commercial constraints whatsoever. We can release music that we like without necessarily worrying about what’s hot at the moment.
Q: How pleased are you with the reaction to the McKenzie Burns project and the Soul Session CD so far?
Stewart McKenzie: With our first CD wanted to prove that we could write, produce and record a commercially competitive CD on our own. The fact that we were recognized worldwide and played on the air in several markets was very rewarding and surprising in some instances. I think with every artist’s debut effort, especially independent releases, they want validation and to create a name for themselves in the music industry. I think we accomplished that.
We are very pleased with the response to the Chicago Soul Sessions CD, at home and abroad. With the legacy of Soul music from the Windy City, it sort of sells itself on the title alone, not to mention that there are some great artists involved.
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I’m sure you’ve read my review for Forest Soul, Misty Oldland’s new album. And if you wonder what it sounds like, then enjoy some sound snippets on Misty’s promosite here.
The good thing about being able to download your serverlogs is that you see from which site people came and what they were looking for. Here’s something I found in yesterday’s searches:
“is eric benet’s career over”
Well, I don’t know…maybe it is, maybe it’s not. Haven’t heard anything from Eric for some time now. Neither ericbenet.com nor eric-benet.com are operating websites. So maybe he got dropped by Warner Bros. If you know more, feel free to add a comment.