As a long-time fan of Carmen Lundy I’m certainly a little bit biased when it comes to Carmen’s music. She hardly can do no wrong for me so it’s certainly no surprise for you that I think her new double live album is one of the best live jazz albums you can get.
It’s not only Carmen’s rich voice that puts a big smile on my face when I listen to songs like Firefly or Better Days but also the fact that Carmen’s one of the few jazz singers who sings her own compositions right from the beginning when she surfaced on the scene with her debut album Good Morning Kiss. So Carmen’s approach to jazz has always been a little bit broader than that of most of her peers. There’s nothing wrong with reinterpreting jazz standards (actually Carmen can do that like no other and she’s capable of making a standard her very own song) or doing jazz versions of pop/rock songs, but of course the real creative genius is to keep jazz evolving with original compostitions. And that’s why Carmen’s one of jazz music’s greatest for me.
Over the years Carmen has created her own songbook which she celebrates ebulliently on Jazz And The New Songbook. Here we have songs from her albums Something To Believe In, This Is Carmen Lundy, Old Devil Moon, Self Portrait, Good Morning Kiss and two songs she penned for and sung on Curtis Lundy’s Against All Odds album.
Recorded live on February 18, 2005 at the Madrid Theatre in LA this album is pure bliss. Carmen and her musicians like Robert Glasper, Billy Childs (piano, keys), Phil Upchurch (guitar), Nathan East (electric/ silent bass), her brother Curtis Lundy (acoustic bass), Mayra Casales (percussion), Bobby Watson (alto sax) and the LA String Quartet obviously had a ball that evening.
If you’re not familiar with Carmen Lundy this album is a great introduction to her music. All the songs here have the potential to become classics. And I really can’t make up my mind which song here is my favourite. They’re all great. With Afrasia!, Happy New Year and Walking Code Blue there are also three new songs. Afrasia! is an inspiring funky groove/chant in the tradition of 70s funk-jazz artists like Oneness of JuJu or Doug Carn. With Happy New Year there’s finally a beautiful jazz ballad you can play on New Year’s Eve (aren’t we all tired of What Are You Doing New Year’s Eve?). Walking Code Blue is a soulful downtempo song with a great key solo by Billy Childs.
I could tell you so much more about each of the eighteen songs here but I guess it would get a little dreary praising each song. So I just advise you to get a copy of this brilliant double album and to discover Carmen’s music. By the way there’s also a DVD available.

Tracklisting of Jazz And The New Songbook - Live at the Madrid:
Disc: 1
1. In Love Again/ 2. One More River To Cross/ 3. Something To Believe In/ 4. Better Days/ 5. Where’d It Go/ 6. Wild Child/ 7. Afrasia!/ 8. Happy New Year/ 9. Long Journey Home
Disc: 2
1. You’re Not In Love/ 2. All Day, All Night/ 3. Walking Code Blue/ 4. Send Me Somebody To Love/ 5. Old Friend/ 6. (I Dream)In Living Color/ 7. Firefly (Bonus Track)/ 8. Vu Ja De (Bonus Track)/ 9. Good Morning Kiss (Bonus Track)
released 2005 Afrasia Productions

For more infos visit carmenlundy.com.

[If you want to discuss Carmen Lundy’s music, you can leave your comment below and also use the forum]

 

It’s been a while since Down To The Bone’s recent album Spread Love Like Wildfire has been released. If you’ve missed my review you can find it here. Finally we get a double A-sided 12″ single release with two of the finest songs. Angel Baby which features N’Dambi and Wildfire Woman with Grace Ackroyd.
According to Stuart Wade N’Dambi was played a few DTTB tracks by Malcom Prangel and whilst listening to one, in the back of a car, she promptly wrote the vocals for what became, her titled, Angel Baby. On this 12″ we get a real remix that takes the song to a whole different level with additional keys by Daz-I-Kue and Mark De Clive-Lowe. Kenny Barry injects some more bass into Daz’ funky remix, which surely will be a winner on future funk/broken beat floors.
Mr. Gone’s Afro Elements Jazzin’ Bossa Remix is just that, a sambaesque new version with additional vocals by Simon T. Bramley plus flute and Rhodes by Leni J. Unta. And there’s also the superb original version with its funky organ.
Just what you need when you want to end this year with a quality 12″ single.

Tracklisting of Angel Baby/ Wildfire Woman: 1. Angel Baby (Daz-I-Kue Vox Remix)/ 2. Angel Baby (Daz-I-Kue Dub Vox Remix)/ 3. Wildfire Woman (Afro Elements Jazzin’ Bossa Remix)/ 4. Wildfire Woman (Original Album Version - Edit) | released 2005 Giant Step/Narada Jazz

For more infos visit downtothebone.com, narada.com and giantstep.net.

[If you want to discuss Down To The Bone’s music, you can leave your comment below and also use the forum]

The Duke Jones, Norman Connors and Samir Hall penned Urban Jungle instrumental from the Cafe Soul All-Stars album Love Pages gets transformed by Blaze and Ian Friday into yet another dancefloor winner. Ian Friday’s Tea Party Vocal mix adds a more driving beat to the mix to beef things up with Alyson Williams and Stephanie McKay’s background vocals telling us to dance the samba and groove your body to the conga. Oh and there’s the energydriven sax solo by Kenny Garrett that makes this cut so worthwhile. The Roots Instrumental is a nice tool to play around without the background vocals. And if you haven’t got a copy of the Love Pages album you can also enjoy the original mix with Roy Ayers vibes solo. Call it soul-jazz-fusion house or whatever but make sure to get the remixes!

Tracklisting of Urban Jungle: 1. Ian Friday Tea Party Vocal/ 2. Roots Instrumental/ 3. Original Version | to be released 2006 Giant Step/You Entertainment

For more infos visit cafesoulallstars.com, youentertainment.com and giantstep.net.

Clarence Smith, founder of Essence Magazine and CEO of YOU Entertainment says “The goal is to bring back quality music. Music that engages people emotionally, intellectually and spiritually.”
Well, readers of jazz-not-jazz know that there’s really no shortage of quality music if you’re willing to dig deep enough into soul music’s underground. But it never hurts to reflect upon what distinguishes good music from the rest and to proclaim this as the raison d’être for your label. So Clarence teamed up with Duke Jones, Norman Connors and Jacques Burvick to produce this fine album of sweet soul jazz music.
If you - like me - discovered black music in the mid/late 80s this compilation is like coming home with a list of featured artists that reads like a who’s who of the mid 80s to early 90s. There’s Glenn Jones on the soulful midtempo track What You Gonna Do. It’s great to hear Christopher Williams after a long hiatus on Used To Be. And being a fan of Jon Lucien his collaboration with Pucho And The Latin Soul Brothers on the smooth latin tingled To Be With You is clearly a must have.
But the one person who surpasses herself on Love Pages is Maysa (Leak). Her I’m Changing and Stay In My Heart are pure ear candy and beautiful soul jazz gems. Compared to the afore-mentioned songs the MOR ballads by Peabo Bryson (Don’t Make Me Cry) and Vesta (Williams) (One More Bridge To Cross) sound a little bit too commercial to my ears but the instrumentals Brazilian Heat (with Bobby Lyle and Paulinho Da Costa) and Urban Jungle (with some gorgeous vibes by Roy Ayers) make more than up for it. By the way there was a time in the 80s when Paulinho Da Costa was the percussionist of choice on every other soul album. Other highlights include Sheba with spoken words by Nichelle Holiday, who sounds a lot like Me’shell on this song, and the latinesque mellow groove of Pier 69 with Pucho And The Latin Soul Brothers and Roy Ayers. A heartfelt performance by George Benson on the ballad Pages closes this strong compilation. All in all this is a formidable proof that yesteryear’s singers, songwriters and producers still have that special something and together they can produce quality music from start to finish.

Tracklisting of Love Pages: 1. What You Gonna Do featuring Glenn Jones/ 2. Don’t Make Me Cry featuring Peabo Bryson/ 3. Used To Be featuring Christopher Williams/ 4. One More Bridge to Cross featuring Vesta/ 5. I’m Changing featuring Maysa/ 6. Brazilian Heat/ 7. To Be With You featuring Jon Lucien/ 8. Urban Jungle/ 9. U and I featuring Denise Stewart/ 10. You Don’t Have to Say You’re Sorry featuring Jazmyn/ 11. Stay In My Heart featuring Maysa/ 12. Sheba featuring Louis Taylor & Nichelle Holiday/ 13. Pier 69 featuring Roy Ayers, Pucho and The Latin Soul Brothers/ 14. Get Up On It/ 15. Love Pages featuring George Benson | released 2005 YOU Entertainment

For more infos visit cafesoulallstars.com and youentertainment.com.

[If you want to discuss music on this compilation, you can leave your comment below and also use the forum]

In conjunction with radiopellenera jazz-not-jazz presents a weekly show with quality soul, jazz and house music. You can catch the show every Sunday from 13:00-15:00 UTC+1 and if you missed it it will be repeated on Tuesday (07:00-09:00 UTC+1) and Friday (12:00-14:00 UTC+1). For conversion to your local time zone have a look at the wikipedia or at radiopellenera’s schedule on live365.com.

This week’s playlist is a journey into the great world of black music. We start with a poem from the Love Jones soundtrack, go on with great 70s soul-jazz, free jazz/world music from this year, spiritual jazz from Alice Coltrane, classic and modern funk and soul and end with swinging jazz and a blues song by the great Ruth Brown. That Train Don’t Stop Here was first introduced by Los Lobos but Ruth makes it completely her own. Listen to the great ad libs “A train, Coltrane, soul train, slow train, any train…” Some interesting trivia by the way is that John Coltrane toured as a sideman in a band backing Ruth Brown in the early 50s.
Here’s the complete playlist for the show starting this Sunday, December 4th:

Nia Long: I Am Looking At Music/ Nina’s Poem (from Love Jones MPST)
JuJu: Introduction/Contradiction (For Thulani) (from Chapter Two: Nia)
Doug Carn: Feel Free (from Revelation)
Speak In Tones: Ayahuasca (from Subaro)
Alice Coltrane: Oh Allah (from Universal Consciousness)
Marvin Gaye: A Funky Space Reincarnation (from Here, My Dear)
Cloud Nine: Luvbug (from Millenium)
Shirley Brown: It Ain’t No Fun (from Woman To Woman)
Denise LaSalle: Breaking Up Somebody’s Home (from On The Loose)
QSO: Hold It Down (from Stay On The Groove)
The Family Stand: The Education Of Jamie (from Moon In Scorpio)
Sylk 130: When The Funk Hits The Fan (12″ version)
U.F.O.: Flying Saucer (feat. Dee Dee Bridgewater)
Malaika: This Will Be (An Everlasting Love) (from Sugar Time)
Sandra St. Victor: They’re Cool (from Gemini: Both Sides)
Society Of Soul: Introduction/Brainchild (from Brainchild)
Lo-Key: 26 Cents (from Back 2 Da Howse)
Calvin Brooks feat. Hari Paris: My Favorite Thing (from My Favorite Thing)
Amy Banks: Ruined For The Rest (from When The Sun Comes Out)
Ruth Brown: That Train Don’t Stop Here (from R + B = Ruth Brown)

Longtime readers of jazz-not-jazz will certainly remember Reel People and their Second Guess album, which gave us great songs like Can’t Stop with Angela Johnson, The Light with Vanessa Freeman or Butterflies with Dyanna Fearon.
Those who missed Second Guess the first time around will be glad to hear about Second Guess’ re-release on Defected in February 2006. And those who have the original release want to get the re-release as well since it comes with three new songs The Rain (with Sharlene Hector), In The Sun and You Used To Hold Me So Tight (both with Angela Johnson, the latter song being a cover of the Thelma Houston classic). The re-release comes with a second CD with remixes and live versions.
Here’s the tracklisting:

For more infos visit reelpeoplemusic.co.uk and defected.com.

Just in case you’ve missed something last month, here are some highlights that were featured last month on jazz-not-jazz::