Wednesday, February 24, 2016

Deniss Pashkevich - Hard Bop Legacy Vol. 1 (2015)



Deniss Pashkevich saxophone 
Madars Kalninsh piano 
Kaspars Kurdeko drums 
Stanislav Judin bass

Mikko Gunu Karjalainen trumpet

1. MOANIN / art blakey
2. DAAHOUD / cliford brown
3. THE BLUES WALK / sonny stitt
4. BLUE BOSSA / kenny dorham
5. WORK SONG / cannonbal adderley
6. HOME AT LAST / hank mobley


Domi

Dr. Lonnie Smith - Evolution (2016)


Dr. Lonnie Smith is set to release his first Blue Note album in 45 years with the January 29 release of Evolution. The album marks the return of the legendary Hammond B-3 organ master to the label where he first made a name for himself in the late 1960s, first as a sideman with saxophonist Lou Donaldson on albums including Alligator Bogaloo, and soon after as a leader with his own soul-jazz classics such as Think! and Turning Point.

Special guests on Evolution include pianist Robert Glasper and saxophonist Joe Lovano, who made his own recorded debut as a sideman on Smith’s 1975 album Afrodesia. Smith will perform with his Evolution band at the 2016 NYC Winter Jazzfest in January, and additional tour dates and album details will be announced shortly.


Born in Buffalo, New York in 1942, Smith had an early musical influence in his mother who sparked a love of gospel, blues and jazz music. As a teenager he was introduced to the Hammond organ and began immersing himself in the records of Wild Bill Davis, Bill Doggett and Jimmy Smith as well as paying rapt attention to the church organ. Smith’s first gigs were at the Pine Grill, a Buffalo club where he came to the attention of Lou Donaldson, Jack McDuff and George Benson, eventually joining Benson’s quartet and moving to New York City.

After releasing his debut album Finger Lickin’ Good for Columbia, Smith joined Lou Donaldson’s band and made his first Blue Note appearance on the saxophonist’s hit 1967 album Alligator Boogaloo. Two more Donaldson dates followed (Mr. Shing-A-Ling and Midnight Creeper) before Smith was offered his own Blue Note deal, making his label debut with Think! in 1968. Smith went on to record another four Blue Note albums over the next two years (Turning Point, Move Your Hand, Drives and Live at Club Mozambique) all of which are regarded as soul-jazz classics.

After his first run of Blue Note albums Smith recorded for many labels, most recently his own label Pilgrimage, and his wide-ranging musical tastes have found him covering everyone from John Coltrane to Jimi Hendrix to Beck. Many awards have followed since 1969 when Down Beat named Smith the “Top Organist” of the year, including honors from the Jazz Journalists Association, Buffalo Music Hall of Fame and more.

Smith helped celebrate Blue Note’s 75th anniversary in 2014 by appearing with Donaldson at the historic concert Blue Note at 75 at the Kennedy Center in Washington DC. Some of Smith’s early tracks for Blue Note are collected on the playlist Intro to Dr. Lonnie Smith including standout cuts like “Spinning Wheel,” which was famously sampled by A Tribe Called Quest for their songs “Can I Kick It?” and “Buggin’ Out.”

Play It Back'
Afrodesia
For Heaven's Sake
Straight No Chaser
Talk About This
My Favorite Things
African Suite

Dr. Lonnie Smith: Hammond B-3 organ, keyboards (6, 7)
Robert Glasper: piano (1)
Joe Lovano: G mezzo soprano saxophone (2) tenor saxophone (3)
Johnathan Blake: drums
Joe Dyson: drums (1-3, 5, 7)
Jonathan Kreisberg: guitar
Keyon Harrold: trumpet (1)
Maurice Brown: trumpet (2, 3, 5)
John Ellis: tenor saxophone (1, 2, 5), bass clarinet: (3), flute (7)


SONIA

No Chordtet - Subconscious Love (2015)


No Chordtet 
Title: Suconcious Love 
Artist: Peter McEachern / Dave Santoro 

01. Melody for C (Sonny Clark) 6:02 
02. 24 For Elvin (Dave Stryker) 5:18 
03. Bamako (Roswell Rudd) 6:47 
04. 12 Bars (Herbie Nichols) 4:29 
05. The Slacker (George Sovak) 7:00 
06. Ellwood (Jerry Bergonzi) 5:15 
07. Arks (Peter McEachern) 3:43 
08. Subconscious Love (Lee Konitz/Cole Porter) 5:23 
09. Somethin' Special (Sonny Clark) 5:26 
10. Optimum Propensity (Jerry Bergonzi) 6:31 

Poem on inside Left:

No Chordtet——chords——no… 
Rollins, Ornette, no chords but melody,melody. 
exploration—— open harmony 
tradition——and 
chance—— Music

Released September 15, 2015 

Band and members

Peter McEachern - trombone 
Dave Santoro - bass 
Tom Melito - drums 
George Sovak - saxophones 

Recorded at Manor Recording March 2014 
Jacket Design: Tyler Varsell 
Jacket Art: Danielle Mailer


Domi

Pharez Whitted - The Tree of Life (2015)


Pharez Whitted states “The Tree of Life represents individuality and oneness, while at the same time showing that we are all different but part of the whole. With the various artists coming together to make this project what it is there was never a loss of individual creativity and spirituality contributing to the final composite of ideas, beliefs and goals that we all wanted to represent.”


Released December 2, 2014 

Pharez Whitted: trumpet, flugelhorn, and voicebox 
Edwin Bayard: Tenor Saxophone 
Lovell Bradford: Piano, Keyboards, Organ, and Vocals 
Jonathan Wood: Bass 
Greg Artry: Drums 
Opal Staples: Vocals - track 2, 8 
Dionne Custer Edwards: Poetry - track 6 
John Robinson: MC - track 11 
S.P.I.R.I.T.: Lyricists - track 4 

S.P.I.R.I.T. Lyricist are: 
Carnell “Necessary” Willoughby 
Malik “Balance” Willoughby 
Lawrence “Rizz” Willoughby 
Kenyatta “Creamy Dark” Willoughby

01. Afghanistan 07:24
02. Perfect Stranger 05:49
03. Journey Home 07:12
04. My Brother's Keeper 04:18
05. Kayode 08:47
06. Long Gone Remix 07:37
07. Everlasting 02:06
08. I'm in Love Again 05:20
09. The Bass Player 03:54
10. So Wonderful 05:35
11. The Tree of Life 05:10


VÍCTOR