GA Russell

Artist Title Time Bill O'Connell Moment's Notice 08:08 Bill O'Connell Loco-Motive 06:06 Bill O'Connell Covid Blues 05:08 Bill O'Connell A Change Is Gonna Come 06:38 Bill O'Connell Sun for Sonny 04:21 Bill O'Connell Enough Is Enough 07:52 Bill O'Connell Sweet Peanut 06:14 Bill O'Connell A Prayer for Us 07:10 Bill O'Connell Chaos 05:11 Bill O'Connell My Foolish Heart 04:40 New From Grammy Finalist Bill O’Connell Bill O’Connell - A Change is Gonna Come Savant Records SCD 2197 Bill O'Connell – all arrangements, piano & Fender Rhodes Craig Handy – tenor & soprano saxophone Lincoln Goines – acoustic & electric bass Steve Jordan – drums • Pedrito Martinez – percussion At the time of this writing it may be wintertime, a winter further darkened by the Covid crisis, but Bill O'Connell's optimistically-titled A Change is Gonna Come exudes some welcome warmth and sunshine. Even Bill's original “Covid Blues” displays a subtle sense of playfulness, entrusting the slightly off-kilter blues number to the distinctive tone color of Craig Handy's soprano saxophone. Likewise the plaintive melody of Sam Cooke's title track contains a note of optimism here. But with O'Connell at the helm we shouldn't be surprised by imaginative arrangements since he was a Grammy finalist in 2022 for Best Instrumental Arrangement. He is a real triple-threat in jazz, equally well-known as a composer, arranger and instrumentalist, having honed his craft carefully from his days with Mongo Santamaria in the 70s, his involvement in the legendary ensemble, Jasmine, his gigs with Chet Baker, Gato Barbieri, Sonny Rollins and others and his long-time associations with Jerry Gonzalez's Fort Apache Band and the late Latin jazz flautist, Dave Valentin. A Change Is Gonna Come features seven remarkable works by O'Connell, a four-time recipient of the Jazz Writer of the Year award from SESAC, a tune by Trane, the title track by Sam Cooke and a unique take on the standard “My Foolish Heart.” With Handy, Lincoln Goines, Pedrito Martinez and drummer Steve Jordan (currently taking over for the late Charlie Watts with the Rolling Stones) Bill O'Connell's latest recording cements his place as a master of the broadest spectrum of musical styles, a giant of modern jazz and a member of Latin jazz royalty. Visit Bill O'Connell website HERE Like our stuff? Let’s hear from you. Record Company Contact Barney Fields • Savant Records, Inc. jazzdepo@ix.netcom.com • (212) 873-2020 • www.jazzdepot.com 2197 O'Con... 1. Exactly Like You 02:33 2. I Can't Give You Anything But Love 02:31 3. With Plenty of Money and You 01:47 4. I Didn't Know About You 02:23 5. The Nearness of You 03:15 6. It Had to Be You 01:52 7. I Thought About You 01:53 8. I Want to Talk About You 02:38 9. I Mean You 02:13 10. P.S. I Love You 03:11 11. Are You Havin' Any Fun 02:16 12. I Remember You 03:25 13. You're Blasé 04:40 14. Everything But You 02:31 15. You've Changed 02:30 16. Since I Fell For You 04:34 17. I've Got News For You 03:41 18. You Never Miss the Water 'Till the Well Runs Dry 02:28 “The context of many songs written and recorded, are composed by people with 'I' problems...but not these songs. All of these songs are about you.” – Giacomo Gates New from Giacomo Gates Giacomo Gates - You Savant Records SCD 2196 Giacomo Gates - Vocals Tim Ray – piano • John Lockwood – bass James Lattini – drums Jazz vocalist Giacomo Gates is blessed with a smooth and supremely expressive baritone voice and an all-inclusive musicality which encompasses a hipster-like coolness, a smattering of vocalese, an Eckstine-like seductiveness, the story telling ability of a griot, a firm footing in the blues and a sense of swing which is second-to-none. His performances can be quiet and full of insight (or innuendo) or be ebullient and joyful. Whatever style Gates may offer – be it sensitive, sensuous or syncopated – he infuses the music with an understated humor, wry cultural and social implications and an impish delight in surprising his listeners. You is a perfect example of Gates at his best with the vocalist putting together a program with a unique and decidedly altruistic leitmotiv. Here are 18 songs everybody knows and loves, arranged with creativity and wit and featuring Gates' gregarious delivery so that there can be no mistake, “it's all about you!” Visit Giacomo's website at https://giacomogates.com Like our stuff? Let’s hear from you. Record Company Contact Barney Fields • Savant Records, Inc. jazzdepo@ix.netcom.com • (212) 873-2020 • www.jazzdepot.com 2189 Savan... 1. Go Home 2. Until You Come Back To Me (That's What I'm Gonna Do) 3. Superstition 4. Moon Blue 5. Isn't She Lovely 6. If It's Magic 7. Something To Say 8. Just Callin' 9. Ribbon In The Sky New from Pat Bianchi on Savant Records Pat Bianchi - Something to Say - The Music of Stevie Wonder Savant Records SCD 2190 Pat Bianchi - organ Paul Bollenback, guitar • Byron Landham, drums Guest artist: Wayne Escoffery, tenor saxophone Perhaps no other instrument in jazz boasts such a classic and beloved status as the Hammond B3 organ. On stage it sits like a majestic relic from jazz's distant past, a slightly odd Rube Goldberg machine whose spinning speakers produce a saturated, unmistakable sound imbuing every performance with its own recognizable style. That style has set deep roots in American music including, of course, jazz and blues, but it has also provided undeniable contributions to pop, funk and soul. So it should really be no surprise that organist Pat Bianchi would choose a program of Stevie Wonder's music for his second Savant Records release. Stevie Wonder himself played a number of keyboards during the early 1970s including the B3 and Bianchi shows just how well suited the venerable instrument is to Wonder's oeuvre. Pat Bianchi stands at the forefront of today's B3 players with a Grammy nomination and a lengthy list of credits on his resume. He has performed with Lou Donaldson, Javon Jackson, Bud Shank, Joe Locke and guitar legend Pat Martino. (Bianchi plays a MAG Custom Organ, considered to be among the best of the available portable B3 clones.) With band mates Paul Bollenback on guitar and Byron Landham on drums, the trio's tight phrasing and razor-sharp ensemble keep the setlist moving along with arrangements which are never ostentatious but rather subtly layered with remarkable details that sneak up on you between the solo spots peppered liberally throughout. Lending his talents to the proceedings is the dynamic tenor saxophonist Wayne Escoffery on two tracks. Like our stuff? Let’s hear from you. Record Company Contact Barney Fields • Savant Records, Inc. jazzdepo@ix.netcom.com • (212) 873-2020 • www.jazzdepot.com 2190 Bianc... 2190 Pat B... 1. Arab Arab 2. Roses Poses 3. I'm Afraid the Masquerade Is Over 4. Desert Moonlight 5. Where Are You 6. Creeping Crud 7. Alien Visitation 8. Crisis 9. Oxygen 10. It's Only A Paper Moon New From the Legendary Louis Hayes Louis Hayes - Crisis • Savant Records SCD 2192 Louis Hayes - drums Abraham Burton - tenor saxophone • Steve Nelson - vibraphone David Hazeltine - piano • Dezron Douglas - bass with Camille Thurman - vocals (tracks 3 & 5) Detroit-born jazz drummer Louis Hayes arrived in New York when he was 19 to join the Horace Silver ensemble, making his recording debut with the pianist on Six Pieces of Silver, the following year. Over the next 60 years Hayes amassed a staggeringly great body of work, playing and recording with Cannonball Adderley, Oscar Peterson, John Coltrane, Dexter Gordon, Grant Green, Kenny Burrell, Cedar Walton, Sonny Rollins, Woody Shaw and many more of the giants of modern music. Continuing this legacy of excellence with his new Savant recording, Hayes pays tribute to some of his jazz colleagues past and present with a set-list featuring works by Freddie Hubbard, Bobby Hutcherson, Joe Farrell, vibraphonist Steve Nelson and bassist Dezron Douglas along with one of his own original compositions. With David Hazeltine at the piano rounding out the all-star rhythm section and the acclaimed saxophonist Abraham Burton leading the charge out in front, the band alternately caress and careen through their material with tasteful arrangements and memorable solos. Also on hand is the multi-instrumentalist and composer Camille Thurman displaying her vocal prowess on two tracks. Like our stuff? Let’s hear from you. Record Company Contact Barney Fields • Savant Records, Inc. jazzdepo@ix.netcom.com • (212) 873-2020 • www.jazzdepot.com 2192 Louis... 2192 Louis... 1. Slipping Away 2. River Suite, Pt. 1 - Dawn 3. River Suite, Pt. 2 - On the Bank 4. River Suite, Pt. 3 - Torrent 5. Theme For Ernie 6. Forever Gone 7. Ventura 8. It's the Talk of the Town The Critically-Acclaimed Recording by Jim Snidero Available Again JIM SNIDERO - Strings • Savant Records SCD 2199 Jim Snidero, alto saxophone, flute Renee Rosnes, piano • Paul Gill, bass • Billy Drummond, drums Eleven-piece string orchestra conducted by Walt Weiskopf Arrangements by Jim Snidero This reissue of Jim Snidero's "Strings" on Savant Records marks 20 years since the album was to be recorded in New York on 9/11/01, the day of the terrifying attacks on the World Trade Center. Recorded a few months later and released on Milestone, the session ultimately resulted in “a stone masterpiece” (Philadelphia Weekly), “breathtaking achievement” (East Bay Times), 4 stars (Downbeat). Out of print for nearly a decade, "Strings" has been beautifully remastered and now includes enhanced bass arco parts, adding richness and depth to an all-star string section. Released to wide acclaim, "Strings" captures some of Snidero's finest writing and playing - not a standards date with a hired gun arranger, but rather a deep dive by Snidero himself into the art of strings arranging, with predominantly his music as the vehicle. In the process, Snidero not only broadened his skill set, but the expressive capacity of his art. Snidero's vibrant compositions, including the three-movement Hudson River homage “River Suite”, are brought to life by pianist Renee Rosnes, bassist Paul Gill, drummer Billy Drummond and a supremely qualified cast of string players including Mark Feldman, Laura Seaton, Joyce Hamman, Tomas Ulrich, Mary Wooten, Ralph Farris, Kenji Bunch and others. Like our stuff? Let’s hear from you. Record Company Contact Barney Fields • Savant Records, Inc. jazzdepo@ix.netcom.com • (212) 873-2020 • www.jazzdepot.com 2199 - Jim... 2199 Jim S... Nicole Glover Strange Lands Impacting September 23rd, 2021 Format(s): Jazz Artist Title Time Nicole Glover Strange Lands 03:16 Nicole Glover Hive Queen 05:47 Nicole Glover The Twilight Zone 07:07 Nicole Glover Dindi 06:40 Nicole Glover Parks 03:42 Nicole Glover The Switch 04:56 Nicole Glover Notturno 06:02 Nicole Glover A Flower is a Lovesome Thing 05:07 Nicole Glover I Concentrate on You 08:18 New from Nicole Glover Nicole Glover - Strange Lands Savant Records SCD 2191 Nicole Glover - tenor saxophone With Special Guest: George Cables - piano Daniel Duke – bass • Nic Cacioppo – drums Time was when a jazz trio without a piano or guitar was a rare occurrence. But once Sonny Rollins went chordless at the Vanguard the die was cast and, though the instrumentation is still not exactly thick on the ground, it is an important subset in the list of saxophone-fronted jazz groups. For the last three years tenor saxophonist Nicole Glover has embraced this format with her regular band featuring colleagues Daniel Duke (bass) and Nic Cacioppo (drums). Here, for her first album with the group and her Savant Records debut, she has attracted the attention of keyboard great George Cables, who appears on four tracks of the recording. Michael J, West points out in the album's liner notes that to Glover, “Cables represents the continuum of the music, its past, present and future; she wanted that wisdom and energy to manifest itself and inform the band's work.” In the trio numbers, mostly originals, the musicians display a unity of thought that goes far beyond the notes, one that takes the freedom of a chordless ensemble and runs with it. Their music is full of strength and power, challenging but communicative with a sly sense of playfulness peeking out occasionally all providing a memorable musical experience that is at once high-spirited and deeply felt. Like our stuff? Let’s hear from you. Record Company Contact Barney Fields • Savant Records, Inc. jazzdepo@ix.netcom.com • (212) 873-2020 • www.jazzdepot.com Denise Donatelli Whistling in the Dark - The Music of Burt Bacharach Impacting September 23rd, 2021 Format(s): Jazz Artist Title Time Denise Donatelli Whistling in the Dark 04:43 Denise Donatelli The Look of Love 04:20 Denise Donatelli In Between The Heartaches 05:18 Denise Donatelli Toledo 04:48 Denise Donatelli Anyone Who Had a Heart 04:25 Denise Donatelli Walk on By 04:19 Denise Donatelli In the Darkest Place 04:51 Denise Donatelli Mexican Divorce 04:37 Denise Donatelli A House is Not a Home 04:04 New from Denise Donatelli Denise Donatelli - Whistling in the Dark The Music of Burt Bacharach Savant Records SCD 2196 Denise Donatelli - Vocals Larry Goldings – piano, keyboards & organ Thomas Dybdahl – prepared piano & synth • Anthony Wilson – guitars Larry Klein – bass & additional keyboards • Vinnie Colaiuta – drums Arranged and Produced by Larry Klein Denise Donatelli digs deep into the songs of Burt Bacharach on this, her fifth recording for Savant Records. The music of the immensely popular and prolific composer is well suited for this Grammy finalist who has performed in a wide variety of venues from clubs such as Catalina's on the west coast to Mezzrow on the east with performance/entertaiment venues everywhere in-between and as far afield as the stage of the Municipal Opera in Prague, Czech Republic. Bacharach's sumptuous melodies sound more seductive than ever imbued with a dark moodiness which spotlights the luminous quality of the lyrics from the pens of Elvis Costello, Daniel Tashian, Bob Hilliard and, of course, Hal David. Donatelli gives us nine beautifully-recorded tracks highlighting the impressionistic and often ethereal arrangements of arranger, bassist and producer, the renowned Larry Klein. “Larry's idea,” Donatelli says, “was to reimagine Bacharach's music in such a minimalistic way... to reframe them in a way that examines the very essence of the songs.” Denise Donatelli and her colleagues bring unique insight into the musical legacy of one of the great American composers who helped define the course of popular music. “...throughout the album, Donatelli is a rhapsode, a tale-teller and artist of the highest order. She has always been a singer of vocalized intimacy. Here, as is her trademark, she's being intimate with our ear (and, ensuingly, our hearts) via the poetry she delivers.” – Nicholas Mondello, All About Jazz Like our stuff? Let’s hear from you. Record Company Contact Barney Fields • Savant Records, Inc. jazzdepo@ix.netcom.com • (212) 873-2020 • www.jazzdepot.com Artist Title Time Harvie S Trio On Green Dolphin Street 05:01 Harvie S Trio Softly, as in a Morning Sunrise 09:44 Harvie S Trio Peace 07:23 Harvie S Trio Like Someone In Love 07:11 Harvie S Trio Moment's Notice 07:48 Harvie S Trio Windows 09:50 Harvie S Trio Bruze 15:14 Harvie S Trio with Mike Stern & Alan Dawson GOING FOR IT • Savant Records SCD 2195 Mike Stern - guitar, Harvie S - bass, Alan Dawnson - drums Recorded Live at the 1369 Club, Cambridge, MA in 1985 For five years in the mid-1980s, the 1369 Club in Cambridge, MA was a thriving, vibrant and colorful home to a diverse clientele of both jazz “newbies” and the cognoscenti. The roster of performers was equally diverse, made up of top local and national jazz artists as well as a lucky group of amateur musicians who were able to join the “pros” on stage at the frequent open sessions featured by the Club. For three nights in 1985 the awe-inspiring triumvirate of guitarist and Miles Davis alumnus Mike Stern, bassist Harvie S and Boston-based drummer Alan Dawson held court, delivering performances of great intensity, virtuosity and unforgettable excitement. Jazz, by its very nature, is an ephemeral art and once the trio finished their three night run, it was thought the music went up into the ether to remain only as cherished musical memories to those in the audience. However, Harvie S knew that tapes of those evenings were in private hands and together with Barney Fields of Savant Records arranged for a selection from them to see the light of commercial release. So here are these thought-to-be lost performances back from the mists of time, capturing Harvie S, Mike Stern and Alan Dawson at the peak of their abilities. Mike Stern was about to release his first album as a leader, Upside Downside, Alan Dawson was fresh from being the featured drummer on Muse Records' popular Live at Sandy's series and Harvie S had already played with greats such as Zoot Sims, Thad Jones, Gil Evans, Urbie Green, Art Farmer, Lee Konitz and Sheila Jordan, and continues to enjoy a long and extremely prolific career. So thanks to Harvie, Savant Records and all those who helped bring this project to fruition the laws of time and space are hereby suspended – if only for the length of this recording. Suddenly, it is 1985 again! Like our stuff? Let’s hear from you. Record Company Contact Barney Fields • Savant Records, Inc. jazzdepo@ix.netcom.com • (212) 873-2020 • www.jazzdepot.com 2195 Savan... Harvie_S_T...

Saxophonist/Composer Jean Fineberg Makes Her Long-Awaited Leadership Debut with "Jean Fineberg & JAZZphoria," Set for April 8 Release On Pivotal Records Recording Features 11 New Compositions, Performed by a Select Octet (Plus Special Guests) Drawn Mainly from the SF Bay Area's Acclaimed Montclair Women's Big Band March 11, 2022 Tenor saxophonist-flutist Jean Fineberg puts the icing on the cake of a 50-year career with the April 8 release of Jean Fineberg & JAZZphoria on her Pivotal Records imprint. While the album is her first under her own name, Fineberg is anything but a newcomer to the music world: She has since the early 1970s been building up a jaw-dropping body of accomplishments that includes rock and fusion bands, session work on pop hits, and touring with jazz, salsa, and singer-songwriter icons. Many of those accomplishments are reflected in her debut album, which places her at the front of an octet (the JAZZphoria of the title) with baritone saxophonist-bass clarinetist Carolyn Walter, keyboardist-flutist Erika Oba, trumpeters Marina Garza and Tiffany Carrico, guitarist Nancy Wenstrom, bassist Susanne DiVincenzo, and drummer Lance Dresser, plus special guests. Much of JAZZphoria’s personnel overlaps with the Montclair Women’s Big Band, the celebrated Bay Area ensemble of which Fineberg has been assistant director and resident composer since 1997. She wanted to concentrate the 17-piece band’s creative force into a streamlined, four-horn powerhouse. “I wanted a team atmosphere,” she adds regarding her strategy. “We have that in the big band, as well as in JAZZphoria. … However, we do have a man on drums, so we’re not one of those single-gender bands!” It's not really a single-genre band either, despite the obvious jazz context. Fineberg leads JAZZphoria through a wild variety of sounds and styles. The opening “Bluesworthy” is classic big-band swing, while “Unfinished Business” is a sly tango. “Dive Bar” is a stinging guitar-led blues. “Raw Bar,” though it uses a Middle Eastern harmonic language, harks back to the fusion band DEUCE, which Fineberg co-led in the 1980s. “I don’t want all my music to sound the same,” Fineberg says. “I’m too interested in different things.” L. to r.: Tiffany Carrico, Marina Garza, Jeremy Steinkoler, Jean Fineberg, Nancy Wenstrom, Erika Oba, Carolyn Walter, Jodi Durst. The album’s wide range of musical flavors gets a boost from its equally wide range of soloists. Each of the band’s eight core members gets moments in the spotlight (and on multiple instruments, in the cases of Fineberg, Oba, and Walter). So do their guests. Jennifer Jolly takes a muscular piano turn on the New Orleans groover “More Funner”; percussionist Michaelle Goerlitz brings zesty energy to “St. Mildred the Short’s” calypso; Ariane Cap doubles down on the bluesy “Live at the Buck Snort Saloon” with her driving slap-bass; and Ellen Seeling—Fineberg’s directing partner in the MWBB—delivers a gorgeous, sultry trumpet line on Nancy Wenstrom’s “Unfinished Business.” In short, Jean Fineberg & JAZZphoria is the sound of not just one, but a whole array of highly accomplished and versatile talents. Even so, it is Fineberg, who, in addition to leading the band, composed all but one of the tunes and arranged the whole album, whose vision is at the album’s heart. Born April 1, 1946 in the Bronx and raised in nearby New Rochelle, Jean Fineberg knew she was a musician from early childhood. She began studying piano at 6 and violin at 9 before discovering the flute at 11. She also dabbled in drums and guitar as a teenager, then eventually began to study tenor saxophone, which became her main instrument. She took it and the flute with her to Pennsylvania State University, where she earned two bachelor’s degrees and a master’s in succession. In 1972, Fineberg became a founding member of Isis, an all-female jazz-rock band based in Manhattan. While the band never achieved major commercial success, it won positive notices and opened doors for Fineberg on the New York music scene. Along with Isis’s three albums, she played on dozens of recordings across the 1970s and ’80s, including smash hits by David Bowie, Sister Sledge, and Chic as well as the Brecker Brothers horn section. She toured with Laura Nyro and jazz trombonist-bandleader Melba Liston and performed with Dizzy Gillespie and Clark Terry at Carnegie Hall. In the mid-’80s, Fineberg co-founded (with Ellen Seeling) the fusion band DEUCE, which became a staple of jazz festivals and recorded two albums of her original music. Settling in the San Francisco Bay Area, Fineberg reestablished herself in the 1990s as a first-call West Coast musician before joining Seeling’s newly established Montclair Women’s Big Band in 1997. In the 25 years since, it has been her primary outlet, both in the reed section and as the band’s primary composer and arranger. The superlative musicianship she encountered in the band was the catalyst for Jean Fineberg & JAZZphoria, Fineberg’s long-in-the-making debut as name-above-the-title bandleader. Fineberg is on the faculty of the Jazzschool at the California Jazz Conservatory in Berkeley, where she directs annual Jazz & Blues Camps for women and girls (“my way of trying to pay it forward”). On the extramusical front, she has published her poetry in more than 20 journals; her new collection is A Mobius Path (Finishing Line Press). Jean Fineberg & JAZZphoria will be performing at San Francisco Music Day, War Memorial Veterans Building, on Sunday 3/20 at 4pm; at Rendon Hall, California Jazz Conservatory, Berkeley, on Friday 4/15 at 8pm; and at Move ’n’ Groove, Albany, CA, Sunday 4/24 at 10am. Band photo: Irene Young Fineberg photo: Jane Higgins Jean Fineberg & JAZZphoria - EPK (Video by Irene Young) Jean Fineberg Web Site

Tetel Di Babuya Bursts on to the Jazz Scene With "Meet Tetel," Releasing June 24 On Arkadia Records São Paulo Vocalist-Composer's Debut Features Ten Originals, One Standard, And a Band of Top-Notch Brazilian Jazz Artists For the First New Arkadia Release in Over a Decade March 8, 2022 The supreme confidence of Meet Tetel—Tetel Di Babuya’s debut album, set for a June 24 release on Arkadia Records—belies the newness of Di Babuya’s career as a vocalist and composer. She recorded the album just a year after her first professional singing appearance, and with even less experience in the jazz world. All the more remarkable, then, that the album’s ten originals and gorgeous Gershwin cover evidence the technical chops and emotional nuance of a seasoned veteran. In a sense, a veteran is exactly what she is. Before she was Tetel (pronounced teh-TELL) Di Babuya, jazz singer, she was Marcela Venditti, a classically trained violinist who had established a reputation as a highly regarded player in her native São Paulo, Brazil. Although she knew for as long as she can remember that she was a musician—“It never occurred to me to do anything else,” she asserts—her destiny seemed to lie in the orchestras she began playing in when she was still a teenager. Still, she had grown up loving Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong’s classic Ella and Louis. When in her late twenties she made a more profound discovery of vocal jazz, she was entranced by its possibilities. “I just knew I had to try and sing the best I could,” she says. “I didn’t care if I had a good voice or a bad voice, I simply had to sing.” That decision has yielded rich rewards, as Meet Tetel (which inaugurates a new name as well as a new milieu) testifies. Her contralto is as agile and expressive on the coy, playful “Not About Love” as on the vulnerable ballad “For One Man Only”; she tackles “Clean Cut” with full-tilt funk but can also put just a sprinkle of attitude on “Lullaby of Loveland.” As a finishing touch, her cover of “Someone to Watch Over Me” strikes a perfect balance of wistfulness and quirky charm. Of course, Di Babuya has excellent support in these endeavors. Her accompanists include pianist/arranger Daniel Grajew, saxophonist/trumpeter/trombonist Richard Fermino, bassist/guitarist Nilton Leonarde, and drummer Emilio Martins: the cream of the crop on São Paulo’s jazz scene. Even so, when the songs come out, they are Di Babuya’s own. She is, as Arkadia Records chief Bob Karcy succinctly puts it, “A phenom, a gifted musician.” Meet Tetel is living proof. Tetel Di Babuya was born Marcela Venditti in 1986 in Araçatuba, in the state of São Paulo, Brazil. When she was seven years old, the family moved to California, where her psychopharmacologist father taught at Stanford University. When they returned to Brazil two years later, her father—who was also a drummer, singer, and pianist—signed her up for violin lessons. Music, and classical music in particular, quickly took hold of her passions, and by 13, Tetel was playing in orchestras and her school bands. From there she went to the University of São Paulo for a bachelor’s degree, to São Paulo State University for a master’s in music, and then to the professional orchestra circuit. She played with the Heliopolis Symphony Orchestra and the São Paulo Symphony Orchestra, with whom she toured Brazil and then Europe; performed in the São Paulo production of The Phantom of the Opera; and worked as a soloist with the Limiar String Orchestra, the Poços de Caldas Festival Orchestra, and the Laetare String Orchestra. By the time she fell in love with jazz in her twenties, Tetel had been so deeply immersed in classical music for so long that it was difficult to imagine herself doing anything else. However, the allure of improvisation, of swing, and of writing her own songs was too strong. Guided by the influence of Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday, Amy Winehouse, and Norah Jones, she reoriented herself as a singer. Her first performance was at an orchestral concert, but soon afterward she enlisted the help of pianist and arranger Daniel Grajew. Together they assembled the songs that became Meet Tetel. Tetel sent demo recordings of the songs to Arkadia Records’ Bob Karcy. “I listened and heard something special and unique in the material she sent me,” Karcy says; in her he found the perfect vehicle for revitalizing the record label beyond its acclaimed catalog. He signed her to the label and served as producer for her debut. They worked together to fine-tune and rerecord her songs, resulting in Arkadia’s first new release in over a decade—and a debut album that overflows with the promise of an exciting new artist. Photography: Igor Sarudiansky ""Who Is Tetel?" - EPK Tetel Di Babuya Web Site ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

Yelena Eckemoff Extends the Scope of an Ambitious Personal Project with "I Am a Stranger in This World," To Be Released May 20 By L&H Production Pianist-Composer Eckemoff Continues Her Musical Settings of Biblical Psalms With a Crack Ensemble Including Ralph Alessi, Drew Gress, Adam Rogers, and Nasheet Waits, Plus Special Guests February 17, 2022 Pianist-composer Yelena Eckemoff adds to her already impressive corpus of settings for the Psalms on I Am a Stranger in This World, due for a May 20 release on her own L&H Production label. The album is a new installment in a long-term musical project that began with 2018’s Better Than Gold and Silver, and once again teams Eckemoff with that album’s trumpeter Ralph Alessi and bassist Drew Gress, along with guitarist Adam Rogers and drummer Nasheet Waits. (Violinist Christian Howes—with Ben Monder and Joey Baron also in lieu of Rogers and Waits, respectively—also appears on three holdover tracks from Better Than Gold and Silver.) Eckemoff converted to Christianity while still living in her native Moscow during the waning days of the Soviet Union: a time when to be Christian was still a dangerous transgression. Her new faith, along with a hard-to-procure King James Bible, combined with her pedigree in classical and jazz piano to inspire a celebration of the Old Testament’s wisdom and poetry. Eckemoff, however, finds more than just inspiration in the Psalms. “I am a melodist, but the melodies that come from the words I hear in the Psalms, I think they are the best melodies I create,” she says. “And I think it’s because there’s a power in those words…. You can feel the power that God channels through that music.” New York City, Dec. 2020. L. to r.: Ralph Alessi, Adam Rogers, Yelena Eckemoff, Drew Gress, Nasheet Waits.. Of course, the musicians working with Eckemoff channel power of their own. I Am a Stranger in This World was recorded during the 2020 pandemic, and there’s a palpable passion from Alessi, Gress, Rogers, and Waits simply to be making music again. But that alone doesn’t account for the tenderness of Rogers’s lines on “As Chaff Before the Wind” (a setting of Psalm 35), the soul in Alessi’s soft fills on “I Shall Not Want” (from the famous Psalm 23), or the full band chemistry of “Keep Not Your Silence” (Psalm 83). “Eckemoff’s new Psalms settings display an expanded stylistic range,” writes CD annotator Mark Sullivan. “Who knew that Psalms could sound like blues? ‘I Shall Not Want’ embraces the vibrant blues feeling [as does] ‘Lighten My Eyes.’ . . . Here for the first time on her jazz recordings her keyboards are expanded beyond acoustic piano to include organ on ‘Keep Not Your Silence,’ Fender Rhodes electric piano on ‘Truth in His Heart’ and ‘The Wine of Astonishment,’ as well as some synthesizers on ‘At Midnight I Will Rise’ and ‘Like Rain Upon the Mown Grass,’ subtly broadening the group’s timbral palette.” Although Eckemoff first wrote these settings as vocal features, there are no singers on I Am a Stranger in This World. Instead, she offers her purely instrumental interpretations of the Psalms, titling each with a line from the appropriate Biblical verse and citing each Psalm for the listener to read and draw connections to the music—and perhaps to their own ideas about faith in a higher power. Eckemoff is no evangelist, but her work with the Psalms does offer an important message to the world. “There is some higher power,” she says. “Even the people who don’t believe in God but have faith in government or in society or humanity—well, the government or society or humanity is the higher power. Something greater than themselves. My message is that people can overcome fears and insecurities and trust in a higher power.” Yelena Eckemoff was born in Moscow, where she started playing by ear and composing music when she was four. She would go on to study classical piano the most prestigious music academies in Russia: the Gnessins School for musically gifted children, followed by the Moscow State Conservatory. Gradually, however, Eckemoff’s ears wandered beyond her classical training, discovering first rock, then jazz. When she saw Dave Brubeck’s performance in Moscow in 1987, she settled on jazz as her permanent musical path. That path turned out to run through the United States, where Eckemoff immigrated in 1991 and settled in North Carolina. Now ensconced in the country that gave birth to jazz, she went in search of players who could do justice to her intricate ideas. The search was a long and sometimes frustrating one, but it paid off when she was able to work with the likes of bassist Mads Vinding and drummer Peter Erskine on her 2010 album Cold Sun. Later collaborators have included Mark Turner, Joe Locke, George Mraz, Peter Erskine, Manu Katché, Billy Hart, Chris Potter, Jon Christensen, and Joey Baron, along with Alessi, Gress, Rogers, and Waits. Her unique, sophisticated, and highly expressive music continues to draw support and creative energy from the finest musicians in the world. Photos: Andrei Matorin (quintet), Janne Nykanen (Yelena) ""I Am a Stranger in This World" EPK Yelena Eckemoff Web Site ‌ ‌ ‌

Armen Donelian Reinvents Himself at Age 71 On "Fresh Start," Set for April 1 Release By Sunnyside Records Pianist-Composer Debuts New Trio With Bassist Jay Anderson and Drummer Dennis Mackrel Assaying Original Compositions, Standards, and Tunes by His Proteges and Mentors February 1, 2022 Pianist-composer Armen Donelian reemerges from the COVID-inspired shutdowns with a newly refined conception on both instrument and pen on Fresh Start, to be released April 1 on Sunnyside Records. The album is the recorded premiere of Donelian’s new trio featuring bassist Jay Anderson and drummer Dennis Mackrel. Sidelined like all musicians by the worldwide pandemic, Donelian was further removed from performing when a shoulder injury left him temporarily unable to play the piano. Ever resourceful, the 71-year-old simply wrote new music instead, giving himself something to workshop when he regained his playing ability. In neither capacity, though, was Donelian content to rest on his laurels. “The pandemic … was an opportunity for me to reexamine my approach to the piano and composing,” he says. It was in that spirit that he created the trio with Anderson, a longtime friend, and Mackrel, a new acquaintance (but a frequent bandstand partner of Anderson’s). He broadened his new approach to incorporate his collaborators. “I was looking to deepen how we listen and interact with each other in a responsive way,” Donelian explains, “taking every particle of time as an opportunity to connect with and support each other, contributing in some way to a more beautiful sound.” L. to r.: Dennis Mackrel, Armen Donelian, Jay Anderson. A more beautiful sound is certainly what they achieved. From the sweet sensitivity of Donelian’s album-opening “Noviembre” to the percussive “Madagascar” (featuring a dazzling Mackrel solo) to the giddy, rattling 7/4 of “Janet Left the Planet,” the ensemble provides ample evidence of their mastery and imagination, both as individuals and collectively. Yet Donelian’s musical reboot is hardly a rejection of his place in the jazz tradition. Indeed, Fresh Start also offers a unique kind of contextualization for the leader. His five original compositions are joined by two pieces from the Great American Songbook—Harry Warren’s “Never Let Me Go” and Herb Magidson & Allie Wrubel’s “I’m Stepping Out with a Memory Tonight” (which marks Donelian’s vocal debut on record)—Donelian also explores works connected to his own past and present. “Gale” and “Day Break” are compositions by two of his mentors, pianist Richie Beirach and saxophonist Makanda Ken McIntyre, respectively. In addition, composer Vatan Rajan Singh (“Ferry Maiden”) and Sophia Bondi (“In the Western Night”) are both former students of Donelian’s. The album thus establishes him as one important link in a long, rich chain. Armen Donelian was born December 1, 1950 to a family of Armenian immigrants in New York City. He began studying piano at the age of seven, enrolling at the Westchester Conservatory of Music. At 12, he discovered jazz by way of a trad band led by noted studio guitarist Arthur Ryerson; Armen’s older brother played clarinet in the band, and he himself eventually became its pianist. He studied music theory and composition at Columbia University—then entered a different sort of finishing school via the tutelage of Richie Beirach. The celebrated pianist was the first in a long line of musical mentors: Donelian soon found himself sharing bandstands with Mongo Santamaria, Sonny Rollins, Chet Baker, and Billy Harper. Throughout it all (though especially while in Harper’s band), he worked to develop his own sound, beginning a solo career in earnest with his 1981 debut Stargazer. A dozen more albums followed over the next 30-odd years, including the acclaimed releases Secrets (his 1988 album for Sunnyside), All or Nothing at All (2006), Leapfrog (2011) and Sayat-Nova: Songs of My Ancestors (2014). Proud as he is of his accomplishments, Donelian nonetheless takes a thoughtful and critical approach to his music, leading to the kind of reassessment that characterizes Fresh Start. “Instead of focusing on what I was playing, I was focusing more on how I was playing, on touch, expression, and storytelling, allowing the sound to happen in its own way,” he says. “That was the main focus of this album.” Donelian and his new trio will be performing this spring at the following venues: 3/18 Hudson (NY) Hall; 3/19 Maureen’s Jazz Cellar, Nyack, NY; 4/24 Claverack (NY) Public Library; 5/22 Ossining (NY) Public Library. In addition, Donelian will be based at the Bucharest University of Music (Romania) 5/2-19 in a Fulbright Specialist residency. Photos: Rudy Lu (trio), Susan Sabino (Donelian) "Morning Mood" (by Armen Donelian). Recorded live at Mehrspur Jazz Club, Zurich, Switzerland; May 4, 2013. Armen Donelian,p; Raetus Flisch, b; Pius Baschnagel, d. Armen Donelian Web Site ‌ ‌

I work for myself, which is fun. Except when I call in sick, I know I'm lying.

Very sad news. RIP. He was a very solid contributor.

You don't have to be in shape to bowl. It's the only sport where you signal for a cocktail waitress.

Have you ever noticed that if you leave laundry in the hamper long enough, it's ready to wear again?

Models have such skinny bodies, their heads look big. The high fashion look they're going for is the Pez dispenser.

I lost my job at a cemetery because I used to practice ventriloquism at the funerals.

Most children threaten at times to run away from home. This is the only thing that keeps some parents going.

More analyses... Montreal https://www.cfl.ca/2022/03/02/upon-further-review-montreal-alouettes/ ***** BC https://www.cfl.ca/2022/03/03/upon-further-review-bc-lions/ ***** Ottawa https://www.cfl.ca/2022/03/04/upon-further-review-ottawa-redblacks/ ***** Matthew Cauz dreams about rookie cards. https://www.cfl.ca/2022/03/03/cauz-my-must-have-cfl-rookie-cards/ ***** The Riders have finalized their coaching staff. https://www.cfl.ca/2022/03/03/riders-complete-2022-coaching-staff-hire-marcus-klund/ https://3downnation.com/2022/03/03/riders-finalize-coaching-staff-with-hiring-of-db-coach-marcus-klund/ ***** Jim Barker has signed to be an advisor with the Argos. https://www.tsn.ca/jim-barker-toronto-argonauts-1.1766206 https://3downnation.com/2022/03/04/official-toronto-argonauts-hire-four-time-grey-cup-champion-jim-barker-as-senior-advisor/ ***** Dan Kearns has died at 65. RIP. https://3downnation.com/2022/03/03/longtime-cfl-defensive-lineman-dan-kearns-passes-away/ ***** Dakota Prukop was let go by the Elks, and immediately signed with the Bombers. https://3downnation.com/2022/02/14/elks-sign-canadian-rb-ante-milanovic-litre-release-qb-dakota-prukop/ https://3downnation.com/2022/02/15/winnipeg-blue-bombers-agree-to-terms-with-veteran-cfl-quarterback-dakota-prukop/ ***** Western teams analysis https://3downnation.com/2022/02/19/every-west-division-teams-biggest-remaining-question-mark-after-cfl-free-agency/ ***** Eastern teams analysis https://3downnation.com/2022/02/20/every-east-division-teams-biggest-remaining-question-mark-after-cfl-free-agency/ ***** Gossip! https://3downnation.com/2022/02/16/insider-talk-saskatchewans-ratio-lawlers-contract-the-best-cfl-free-agent-signing/ https://3downnation.com/2022/02/23/insider-talk-burnhams-extension/ https://3downnation.com/2022/03/02/insider-talk-jones-complains-dobson-signs-with-usfl-biggest-overpay-in-free-agency/

I like to watch TV with my neighbors. They have cable and a big screen TV, and I have binoculars.

Thanks, Larry! For all the references I've seen to trad jazz, I gather that it was a bigger deal in England than in the US. Is that right?

I come from a small town whose population never changes. Each time a woman gets pregnant, someone leaves town.

Bill, et al., can you please name some American musicians who were called trad? In the '60s I heard the term "progressive jazz" quite a bit. It was only later that I saw it linked primarily to Kenton.

Who or what is Cardinal Spelling? I remember Cardinal Spellman of New York.

Should I know who the last two are?

I finally have a dental plan. I chew on the other side.

I go running when I have to. When the ice cream truck is doing forty.

Bertrand, it is silver, and does not appear to be a CD-R to me. Is there a way to tell other than the color? Perhaps I should not have said that all the rock songs were hits. But I was familiar with most of the artists.

Post-Christmas discount ROCKIN' AROUND THE CHRISTMAS TREE - (3 CDs) - $5.95 https://www.hamiltonbook.com/rockin-around-the-christmas-tree-compact-disc 60 songs. All rock songs are hits. Includes some western swing.

The league has posted post-Free Agent Day team analyses. Toronto https://www.cfl.ca/2022/02/10/cauz-argos-fill-crucial-blanks-free-agency/ https://www.cfl.ca/2022/02/24/upon-review-toronto-argonauts-2/ ***** Winnipeg https://www.cfl.ca/2022/02/18/upon-review-winnipeg-blue-bombers-2/ ***** Hamilton https://www.cfl.ca/2022/02/21/upon-review-hamilton-tiger-cats-2/ ***** Sask https://www.cfl.ca/2022/02/22/upon-review-saskatchewan-roughriders-2/ ***** Calgary https://www.cfl.ca/2022/02/25/upon-review-calgary-stampeders-2/ ***** Chris O'Leary thinks the East looks stronger than the West this year. https://www.cfl.ca/2022/02/28/oleary-could-the-east-win-more-than-the-west-in-22/ ***** Matthew Cauz picks his Top 11 free agent signings of the past 13 years. https://www.cfl.ca/2022/02/03/cauz-top-free-agent-moves-past-13-years/ ***** Dave Naylor's latest column discusses the new USFL's impact on the CFL. He doesn't expect it to be much, because most players will prefer the stability of the CFL. https://www.tsn.ca/upstart-leagues-cause-no-great-panic-for-cfl-1.1763524

This was my first Ponty album, and still my favorite.