New Blue Notes And More
World of Jazz 690
Four new albums from the legendary Blue Note label dominate this edition of the show. There are also two new releases from the Smoke Sessions label as well as the pick of the best new releases from the World of Jazz.
Play the show here:
PLAYLIST
Intro 00:00
Charles Lloyd “Defiant Tender Warrior” from The Sky Will Still Be There Tomorrow (Blue Note) 00:23
Brian Bromberg “Waltz For Debby” from La Faro (Be Squared Productions) 04:31
Melissa Aldana “The Solitary Seeker” from Echoes Of The Inner Prophet (Blue Note) 10:58
Ivo Perelman & Matthew Shipp Duo “Lustihood” from Magical Incantation (Soul City Sounds) 16:57
Ron Miles “Queen Bee” from Old Main Chapel (Blue Note) 22:18
TAC “Improv” from Monte dos Marmeleiros (Robalo) 34:47
Bill Frisell “Richter 858, No.7 (Featuring The Brussels Philharmonic)” from Orchestras (Blue Note) 41:48
Mark Kelso’s Mystic Isle Project “Giant’s Causeway” from The Antrim Coast (Modia Music) 48:47
Charles McPherson “Surge” from Reverence (Smoke Sessions) 56:57
Raagaverse “Saajan” From Jaya (Rhea Records) 1:03:14
One For All ft. George Coleman “Oscar Winner” from Big George (Smoke Sessions) 1:09:17
Billy Childs, Temple University Studio Orchestra “Rainforests” from Labyrinth (BCM+D Records) 1:17:52
Yelena Eckemoff “Romance of the Moon” from Romance of the Moon (L and H Production) 1:36:04
Emiliano Lasansky “Motionless” from The Optimist (Outside In) 1:45:02
Gabriel Genest “Sur Le Fil” from As It Is (ODD SOUND) 1:52:43
NOTES
Charles Lloyd
A majestic double album of new studio recordings from the legendary saxophonist which was released on March 15, Lloyd’s 86th birthday. One of the most significant musicians of the 20th and 21st centuries, Lloyd remains at the peak of his powers in the company of a newly assembled quartet of four distinctive voices with the NEA Jazz Master joined by pianist Jason Moran, bassist Larry Grenadier, and drummer Brian Blade. Lloyd’s eleventh Blue Note album and his first new studio recording since the 2017 sessions that yielded his acclaimed releases Vanished Gardens and Tone Poem—he continues his monumental music making, an apex in American art, as a bandleader, a composer, a flutist, and a saxophonist. The album also gives us first-time recordings of six new Lloyd compositions.
Brian Bromberg
While Tucson-born, Los Angeles-based Brian Bromberg has been equally conversant and downright virtuosic on both electric and upright basses, he sticks strictly to the latter on his latest offering, LaFaro. A tribute to the legendary jazz bassist whose revolutionary contributions to the classic Bill Evans Trio still reverberate to this day, Bromberg’s 28th as a leader shows him in an unadulterated swinging trio setting in the company of pianist Tom Zink and drummer Charles Ruggiero. LaFaro released on April 5 in CD, LP and digital formats on Bromberg’s own Be Squared Productions label.
Melissa Aldana
Her 2nd Blue Note album is a musical voyage to explore the depth of the spiritual journey. Co-produced by Aldana and Lage Lund, the album features the tenor saxophonist with Lund on guitar, Fabian Almazan on piano, Pablo Menares on bass, and Kush Abadey on drums. The 8-track set of original compositions includes 6 new pieces by Aldana that seek profound truths through introspection, intuition, and self-reflection including the opening title track which is dedicated to Wayne Shorter.
Ivo Perelman & Matthew Shipp
The association between Ivo Perelman and Matthew Shipp has been long and fruitful. They have made well over 20 duo albums together as well as working in larger groups. This latest release on Soul City Records continues their successful partnership. There is a clear almost telepathic understanding between the two musicians which results in fascinating musical explorations. I’m an unashamed fan of Ivo’s work, especially his partnership with Matthew, so this one is a no brainer. This album is a great introduction to this excellent pairing, it is indeed magical.
Ron Miles
Blue Note Records honoured the legacy of the brilliant and beloved trumpeter, composer, bandleader, and educator Ron Miles with the May 10th 2024 release of Old Main Chapel, a sublime 2011 live recording featuring Miles’ trio with guitarist Bill Frisell and drummer Brian Blade. When Miles passed away at 58 years old in March 2022 from a rare blood disorder he had just made his debut as a leader at the Village Vanguard in September 2021—the first performer to play in front of an audience at the legendary New York City jazz club following the COVID lockdown—and was planning to record the follow-up to his acclaimed 2020 Blue Note debut Rainbow Sign. Old Main Chapel was recorded live at the venue of the same name in Boulder, Colorado on September 21, 2011, the night before the trio would go into the studio to record their debut album Quiver. The seven-track set presents six of Miles’ indelible original compositions including longer versions of five pieces that would appear on Quiver, as well as the stunning “I Will Be Free” and beguiling “New Medium.” The album was produced for release by Miles’ long-time manager and producer Hans Wendl and the liner notes include heartfelt remembrances by Frisell, Blade, pianist and frequent collaborator Jason Moran, Blue Note President Don Was, and Ron’s daughter Justice Miles. A beautiful homage to a great player. Ron, Bill and Brian work together extremely well with exemplary playing throughout.
TAC
A collective trio from Lisbon, Portugal, featuring André Carvalho, Bernardo Tinoco, and Diogo Alexandre, which fuses acoustic and electronic music, exploring new sonic realms. Through an artistic residency in Musibéria (Serpa), TAC crafted "Monte dos Marmeleiros," blending folk with avant-garde, acoustic instruments, and electronics. The debut album is finally out on Robalo Music with the support of Antena2.
Bill Frisell
Frisell’s new double LP Orchestras documents two inspired concert-hall engagements arranged by Michael Gibbs for Frisell’s long-standing trio with bassist Thomas Morgan and drummer Rudy Royston: one featuring the nearly 60-piece Brussels Philharmonic, conducted by Alexander Hanson; and one with the 11-piece Umbria Jazz Orchestra, under the musical direction of Manuele Morbidini. The 3-LP exclusive vinyl version adds a 3rd disc of material that will not be available anywhere else.
Mark Kelso
The Mystic Isle Project is three-time JUNO nominee, Mark Kelso’s 8th release as a leader. The 11 songs featured are all dedicated to various places that Mark remembers fondly from his youth growing up in Northern Ireland. Joining Mark in his all-star quartet are his long-time compadres, 2023 JUNO nominated Luis Deniz, on alto and soprano sax and two-time JUNO winner, Mike Downes, on acoustic bass. Rounding out the group is up and coming rising star, Ewen Farncombe, on piano. Recorded in November of 2023, at RHC Studios in Toronto, Canada and engineered and mixed by three-time JUNO winning sound master, Jeff Wolpert, whom Mark has worked with numerous times over the last 35 years.
Charles McPherson
Legendary alto saxophonist Charles McPherson makes his Smoke Sessions debut with an inspired new album, Reverence, dedicated to Barry Harris, captured in front of a live audience at Smoke Jazz Club and featuring his quintet of Terell Stafford, Jeb Patton, David Wong, and Billy Drummond.
Raagaverse
Raagaverse, led by vocalist Shruti Ramani, makes a resounding entrance into the music scene with their debut album, seamlessly blending the rich tapestry of Contemporary Indo-Jazz Fusion. Ramani, trained under Dr. Ritu Johriin Mumbai and holding a degree in Jazz Performance from Capilano University, spearheads Raagaverse's innovative sound. Jodi Proznick, a Western Canadian Jazz Artist of the Year and three-time Juno nominee, showcases her bass mastery, while pianist Noah Franche-Nolan and drummer Nicholas Bracewell add unique dimensions to the ensemble.
One For All ft. George Coleman
Acclaimed sextet One for All makes its much-anticipated return with Big George, its first release in seven years and its 17th overall. 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
Billy Childs, Temple University Studio Orchestra
On May 17, BCM+D Records, the official record label of the Boyer College of Music and Dance at Temple University, released Labyrinth, an album that was conceived as a way to document an outstanding performance at Jazz at Lincoln Center in April 2023. That performance centred around Billy Childs’ Labyrinth, a piece that Temple University commissioned to highlight the Temple University Studio Orchestra and two phenomenal faculty artists, Terell Stafford and Dick Oatts. Bill Cunliffe’s Rainforests was also commissioned by the Boyer College at Temple University to engage similar forces, keeping the same large ensemble and expanding the faculty group to a sextet with Bruce Barth, Mike Boone, Justin Faulkner and Tim Warfield. While jazz pianist, composer and Grammy Award-winning arranger Bill Cunliffe continued to teach and arrange music with normal efficiency during the COVID pandemic, he says he was tapped out creatively. But Cunliffe says nothing rejuvenates a composer more than an imposing deadline, he was given this project . The result was a three-movement composition.
Yelena Eckemoff
Pianist-composer-conceptualist Yelena Eckemoff tries something a little bit different—but no less cerebral and audacious—with Romance of the Moon, with the May 10 release on her own L&H Production label. Always a multimedia thinker, Eckemoff has previously made albums that incorporate her visual art as well as stories, poems, and concepts from her own imagination. This time, she presents a suite of compositions inspired by the great Spanish poet Federico García Lorca, as interpreted by the formidable Italian ensemble that includes bassist Luca Bulgarelli, drummer Stefano Bagnoli, guitarist Riccardo Bertuzzi, and world-renowned trumpet icon Paolo Fresu.
Emiliano Lasansky
Bassist/composer Emiliano Lasansky proudly presents his debut album, The Optimist, available worldwide on Outside In Music on June 21, 2024. The 2024 composition award winner in the Bridges Competition - David Baker Prize at the Ravinia Music Center, 2023 ASCAP Foundation Award (in composition) recipient, and a graduate from the prestigious Herbie Hancock Institute of Jazz Performance at UCLA, proudly presents an album of melody-driven compositions, brought to life by his band featuring Devin Daniels on alto saxophone, Javier Santiago on piano, Benjamin Ring on drums, and Genevieve Artadi – vocals on three tracks.
Gabriel Genest
As It Is is Montreal saxophonist Gabriel Genest's second album as a leader. A follow up to his debut album Triptyque (winner of the Prix François-Marcaurelle from the 2021 OFF Festival de Jazz de Montréal), As It Is is a compelling album with a resolutely modern aesthetic marked by complex rhythms, modal harmony, and sophisticated melodies. The eight new compositions draw just as much influence from classical impressionist music as they do from the American and European jazz traditions. The warm, subtle, yet powerful sound of Genest's tenor saxophone is supported by the exceptional musicianship of three long-time accomplices: Alex Le Blanc on double bass, Guillaume Pilote on drums and Yannick Anctil on piano. This core group is joined by guests who contribute strong, original musical personalities to the album: Jeanne Laforest on vocals, Jean-Nicolas Trottier on trombone and Olivier Salazar on vibraphone.