Friday, June 9, 2017

Two New Jazz Releases: Timuçin Şahin and Hornstrom (CHALLENGE RECORDS 2017)


After a short period of absence, both the Turkish born guitarist Timuçin Şahin and the German jazz quartet Hornstrom released a new album this week. Two decidedly contrasting albums, but both equally wonderful.

Timuçin Şahin's Flow State - Nothing Bad Can Happen

The guitarist, who went to the Netherlands in 1992, studied at the Hilversum Conservatories and jazz guitar in Amsterdam, and then studied classical composition at the Manhattan School of Music in New York, sees flow as the "the possibility of a renewal, a kind of recollection of lost virtues that lead us out of this general state of indifference in which we currently are." Şahin's current band with the pianist Cory Smythe, bassist Christopher Tordini and old-hand drummer Tom Rainey help him to slide into this very special flow on the new album Nothing Bad Can Happen. The three co-musicians and friends are fearless and impressive improvisers.

They provide the chance with their passionate and creative contributions to enter a largely undiscovered sound world, combining all surrounding acoustic information into a new musical value system.The high art of eight pieces is in fact serving all influences from rock all the way to Ornette Coleman’s Harmolodics not as clichés on a silver platter, but rather cleverly hidden in a dense forest full of overlapping instrumental contributions.

Hornstrom - Dark

The jazz quartet Hornstrom, consisting of two trombones, bass and drums, present a completely different sound. The eight songs — all self-compositions by the trombonists Wember and Heidenreich — meander somewhere on the edges of modern jazz, rock, minimal music, and drum'n'bass without wanting to join the general trend of cross-bordering. Klaus Heidenreich, Tobias Wember, Silvio Morger, and Markus Braun have succeeded with Dark in creating something like a comprehensible quadrature of a circle: combining the highest degree of compositional diligence with the unconditional desire for improvisational freedom, as well as the greatest possible virtuosity in the handling of the instruments with a casual portion of humor, which can sometimes also take refreshing self-mocking twists.

To mold clear musical structures with sober and at the same time elegiac elements into a homogeneous band sound is the declared goal, Tobias Wember stated. It need not be a contradiction by any means as the guys of Hornstrom place the development of the four individuals in the foreground precisely in this mature collective.
© 2017 - NewArts International / Challenge Records Int.

Jazz Musician Christian McBride Announced as an Artist Ambassador for MAKE MUSIC DAY 2017


ARTIST AMBASSADORS FOR MAKE MUSIC DAY 2017 ANNOUNCED

A Two-Time Rock and Roll Hall of Famer, a Legendary Composer and Pianist, a Jazz Virtuoso, a “Nashville” Star and Musician, Noted Composers/Percussionists, a Hollywood Actress-Turned-Rocker and a Grammy Award-Winning Singer/Songwriter Among Ambassadors

4,000 + Live, Free Outdoor Music-Making Events to be Held in More than 60 U.S. Cities on June 21

Make Music Day, the annual global celebration of music occurring each June 21 and featuring over 4,000 free, outdoor concerts, music lessons and jam sessions in over 60 U.S. cities, today announced its lineup of artist ambassadors. The all-day musical celebration on the summer solstice brings people of all styles, ages and skill levels together to make music.

Make Music Day ambassadors include (in alphabetical order) Carmine and Vinny Appice, Brian Chase (Yeah Yeah Yeahs), Peter Cincotti, Charles Esten (Nashville on CMT/Hulu), Philip Glass, Daniel Ho, Mandy Jiroux, Glenn Kotche (Wilco), Lenka, Christian McBride, Ian Mellencamp, Taylor Momsen (The Pretty Reckless), Graham Nash, OK Go, Lee Oskar, Alex Skolnick, Tokyo Police Club, Us the Duo, Suzanne Vega and Vintage Trouble, along with many others to be found across the global celebration.

“What I love about Make Music Day is that it brings music out to the public with no barriers or boundaries,” said Christian McBride. “On June 21, you never know what you might hear – a jazz trio on a train platform, a funk band in a prison, or a string quartet on a porch. They’re celebrating every kind of music and bringing people together.”

“By uniting music makers from every walk of life, it reminds us that music is bigger than any one culture, viewpoint or experience and that we can revel in being humbled by it,” said Dave Monk of Tokyo Police Club.

“Why do we love Make Music Day?” asked OK Go. “Because for one day of the year music gets to run free in the streets in all of its most insane and mundane permutations.”

Us the Duo added that “Although music is constantly happening all around us, Make Music Day celebrates it in one glorious day of sound-making in the streets of a city or town near you.”

Charles Esten noted: “You think you're someone who ‘can't make music?’ I think you might just be someone who hasn't explored all the ways that you could. Spend a couple hours in a music store. Try instrument after instrument. Don't be self-conscious. Just have fun. You're not playing for anybody else. You're playing for yourself. So keep trying.”

The artist ambassadors will be sharing their love of music, and music making, with their fans and the public in the days leading up to Make Music Day.

Completely different from a typical music festival, Make Music Day celebrates and promotes the natural music maker in all of us, regardless of ability. Every kind of musician – from bucket drummers to opera singers – pours onto streets, parks, plazas, porches, rooftops, gardens and other public spaces to share their music with friends, neighbors and strangers.


Make Music Day national highlights include Sousapaloozas that bring together hundreds of brass and wind musicians to play the music of John Philip Sousa, Street Studios that feature DJs and producers bringing gear and engaging passersby in the spontaneous, collaborative production of original music on the street, and more than 175 Mass Appeal events that bring together musicians of all levels and ages to make music in large, single-instrument groups led by experienced facilitators.

Cities hosting major celebrations include New York City, Los Angeles, Boston, Chicago, Cleveland, Detroit, Fullerton, Madison, Milwaukee, Minneapolis-St. Paul, Nashville, Pittsburgh, Portland (OR), St. Louis, San Jose, Seattle and the entire states of Vermont and Rhode Island, with smaller festivities taking place in other communities nationwide. 

Make Music Day, which began in France in 1982 as the Fête de la Musique, has since grown to more than 750 cities cross 120 countries, and is presented in the U.S. by The NAMM Foundation and coordinated by the nonprofit Make Music Alliance.

All Make Music Day events are free and open to the public. For the full schedule of events in each city and to register to perform or host musical events, please visit makemusicday.org.

About Make Music Day

Held annually on June 21 to coincide with the summer solstice, Make Music Day is part of the international Fête de la Musique, taking place in more than 750 cities across 120 countries. The daylong, musical free-for-all celebrates music in all its forms, encouraging people to band together and play in free public concerts. This year, more than 60 U.S. cities and the entire states of Vermont and Rhode Island are organizing Make Music celebrations, encompassing thousands of music making opportunities nationwide. Make Music Day is presented by The NAMM Foundation and coordinated by the nonprofit Make Music Alliance. For more information, please visit www.makemusicday.org.

Participating U.S. Make Music Cities in 2017

Biloxi (MS), Black Hills (SD), Boston, Buffalo, Cedar Rapids (IA), Chattanooga, Chicago, Cleveland, Columbia (SC), Columbus (OH), Coralville (IA), Davis (CA), Detroit, El Paso, Fort Wayne, Fullerton, Greenville (SC), Huntsville, Iowa City, Issaquah (WA), Liberty (MO), Los Angeles, Louisville, Madison (WI), Marion (IA), Meadville (PA), Mentor (OH), Miami Beach,  Milwaukee, Minneapolis-St. Paul, Montclair (NJ), Nashville, New York, Niagara Falls, Northampton (MA), North Liberty (IA), Ossining (NY), Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Platteville (WI), Portland (ME), Portland (OR), Port Townsend (WA), Provo (UT), Redmond (WA), Rhode Island (statewide), Rochester (NY), Salem (OR), San Antonio, San Diego, San Jose, San Luis Obispo (CA), St. Louis, Sandy (UT), Seattle, Somerville (NJ),Vermont (statewide), Warrenton (VA), Washington, DC, Wichita, Worcester (MA), and Wyoming County (NY).



About The NAMM Foundation

The NAMM Foundation is a non-profit supported in part by the National Association of Music Merchants and its 10,300 members around the world. The NAMM Foundation works to advance active participation in music making across the lifespan by supporting scientific research, philanthropic giving and public service programs. For more information about The NAMM Foundation, please visit www.nammfoundation.org.


Tom Rizzo - Day and Night (ORIGIN RECORDS 2017)



Through the richly textured arrangements of longtime collaborator Nick Lane and a stellar ensemble of Los Angeles' finest, veteran guitarist and composer Tom Rizzo creates a swinging and wide-ranging recording of interesting standards and provocative originals.

From the subtly loose groove of Ornette Coleman's, "Law Years," to the lush orchestration of Wayne Shorter's "Infant Eyes," or the buoyant swing of Cole Porter's "So In Love," Rizzo's supple guitar lines provide a central voice to a wide array of sonic moods. Along with the quartet of Rizzo, drummer Steve Schaeffer, pianist Dennis Hamm and bassist David Hughes, is a 6-piece horn section featuring saxophonist Bob Sheppard, trumpeter Bob Summers and Nick Lane on trombone.

1 School Days (Tom Rizzo) 7:27
2 House of the Rising Sun (Georgia Turner/Bert Martin) 6:29
3 So In Love (Cole Porter) 3;57
4 Infant Eyes (Wayne Shorter) 3:45
5 Little Green Men (Peter Bernstein) 4:52
6 Without a Song (Vincent Youmans) 6:25
7 Lonesome Cowboy (Tom Rizzo) 5:02
8 Heart of LA (Tom Rizzo) 4:56
9 Law Years (Ornette Coleman) 5:15
10 Living for the City (Stevie Wonder) 5:11
11 Moon River/Matt and Kelly (Henry Mancini/Tom Rizzo) 4:22

Dennis Hamm - piano 
David Hughes - bass 
Steve Schaeffer - drums 

Nick Lane - trombone and arrangements 
John Dickson - french horn 
Bob Summers - trumpet 
Bob Sheppard - tenor sax 
Jeff Driskill - soprano sax 
Doug Tornquist - tuba

Produced by Tom Rizzo
Executive Producer: Rick Simpson
Recorded by Rich Breen at Capitol Records, Hollywood, California
November 22-23, 2015
Mixed & mastered by Rich Breen at Rich Breen Studios
Photography by Torre Catalano
Cover design & layout by John Bishop

Triosence - Hidden Beauty (SONY MUSIC / OKEH RECORDS 2017)



TriosenceBernhard Schüler (piano) Matthias Nowak, Triosence - Hidden Beauty (SONY MUSIC / OKEH RECORDS 2017) Ingo Senst (bass) and Stephan Emig (drums) have caused a sensation within the music press for some years now. They have been called “the new leading standard”, “an example of musical trinity”, “a highlight that touches you deeply”, “their music makes the sun rise in the west” to name only a few of the positive responses to the trio.

Formed in 1999, triosence has won almost every Jazz competition there is to win in Germany. After receiving the 1st prize at the German federal competition “Jugend jazzt” they won the Ostsee (Baltic Sea) Jazz Festival Prize, a CD recording contract with the German national radio network “Deutschlandfunk”, the “Kulturförderpreis” of the city of Kassel and many more. Furthermore they were nominated for the German Record Review Award and for being the best newcomers of the German International Jazz Charts. Since their debut CD release of “First Enchantment”, in Japan the band has been regarded as one of the most successful newcomer jazz bands and the German magazine “stern” (star) calls them “the new faces of German Jazz”.

The “trio-essence” lies within the emancipation of piano, bass and drums, achieved by Bernhard Schüler’s original compositions and by the strong individuality of the three musicians. Each instrument can take the lead. Thus, they have a much wider spectrum of sound than traditional trios normally have. There are influences of Jazz, Fusion, Folk, Pop and World. The emphasis on melodies and their clarity creates a fresh and new style that the band has coined songjazz.

This not only satifies connoisseurs of jazz music, but also people having less background with jazz.

Upcoming Gigs
09.06.2017 - Freiburg
10.06.2017 - Innsbruck 
16.06.2017 - Saarbrücken
22.06.2017 - Pforzheim
23.06.2017 - Hannover
24.06.2017 - Hannover
22.07.2017 - München
23.07.2017 - Starzach
05.08.2017 - Düsseldorf
03.09.2017 - Lüdinghausen

Amaury Faye Trio - Clearway (2017)


Clearway (Pias-JazzVillage - 2017) is the first album of the Amaury Faye Trio. This album was recorded at the Studio du Flon  in Lausanne, Switzerland in November 2016. The official release will be on May 19th, and the concert at Le Rex in Toulouse will be the first release show in France, after a sold out concert in Brussels at the Jazz Station. 

The trio recorded this album thanks to Jazz à Vienne festival (Rezzo/Focal national competition), Focal and Pias-JazzVillage and will be presented this summer on main french jazz festivals, including Jazz à Vienne and Jazz in Marciac.



Believe It Or Not
Witchcraft
Bad Surprise
Clearway Street
Off Roading
Sunday Morning Blues
Vence
An Oscar For Treadwell
Journey To The East Coast

Louis Navarro, double bass
Théo Lanau, drums

Produced by Jazz à Vienne, Focal and Pias - Jazz Village

All tracks recorded in November 2016
Recorded by Greg Dubuis at Studio du Flon, Lausanne, SWI
Mixed and mastered by Greg Dubuis at Studio du Flon, Lausanne, SWI

All songs except songs 2 and 8 composed by Amaury Faye.
Song 2 composed by Cy Coleman and Carol Leigh.
Song 8 composed by Charlie Parker.


Joonas Leppänen - Alder Ego (AMP Music & Records 2017)



”Alder ego” is an ensemble created by the 33-year old drummer & composer Joonas Leppänen. It features a group of prime young talents from the buzzing Finnish jazz scene: Jarno Tikka on tenor saxophone, Tomi Nikku on trumpet and Teemu Åkerblom on double bass.

The piano-less concept of the band creates a spacious foundation, where the lucid interplay of trumpet and sax and the subtle harmonics of the bass can roam free.

This creates the unique sound of ”Alder ego”. 

Joonas grew up in the city of Jyväskylä, in central Finland, known for it ́s historic affiliation with jazz and for being a motor in channeling many talented musicians onto the scene. Having spent a great deal of his life abroad (Germany, Sweden and U.S.A) Joonas has developed a great curiosity for the world, drawing inspiration from a myriad of sources, such as the visual arts, literature and contemporary classical composers.

In Joonas own words:

”I like to have visual images or narratives behind every song I compose. For example, Homecoming sort of depicts the feeling of how it feels to return to Finland in November, this is not exactly the sunniest country in the world...”

"The closing track ”Panda” has a heartwarming story behind it. ”My girlfriend likes to dress up in a panda costume when she is really sad, I have actually seen it just once, so maybe that means that she is generally happy with me. That image sort of created the background of the song.” It features the sublime Harri Kuusijärvi on accordion, an instrument deeply associated with the Scandinavian folk music tradition, but as proven here, is also capable of expressing much more.

”A poetic murmuration of birds” was inspired by watching too many youtube videos of starlings flying in large flocks in the sky. It is so subtle how they fly in large formations, and made me think of the quiet force that resides in nature and how it can be a little scary, mysterious and mesmerising at the same time."

All songs composed by Joonas Leppänen, except ”Timelapse” by Alder ego.

1. Homecoming 5:59
2. The Last Dance 4:52
3. Moon 5 5:28
4. Timelapse 2:45
5. Starfish 5:41
6. A Poetic Murmuration Of Birds 6:01
7. Panda 6:12

Jarno Tikka - tenor saxophone 
Tomi Nikku - trumpet and flugelhorn 
Teemu Åkerblom - double bass 
Joonas Leppänen - drums
Harri Kuusijärvi - accordion (track 1 and 7)