GA Russell

ECM Stephan Micus White Night Stephan Micus: kalimbas duduk, bass duduk, sinding, dondon, fourteen-string guitar, steel string guitar, Tibetan cymbals, cane whistles, vocals Release date: April 26, 2019 ECM 2639 B0029979-02 UPC: 6025 773 6220 0 Though the purity of the moonlight has silenced both nightingale and cricket, the cuckoo alone sings all the white night. (Anonymous, Japanese) “I’ve always been inspired by moonlight,” says Stephan Micus. “Often I go walking, swimming in the sea or, best of all, cross-country skiing when the moon turns the snow into millions of diamonds. Moonlight for me has a special magic.” Stephan Micus has a strong and physical relationship with nature, landscapes and the people who inhabit them, all over the world. You hear that in his music which is created for instruments he has collected in years of travels and re-fashioned for his own use. He plays all the parts and multi-tracks them with up to 22 layers on the ‘Fireflies’ track on this album. By contrast, ‘The Moon’ and ‘All the Way’ are solo pieces recorded in one take. On White Night, his 23rd solo album for ECM, Micus takes us on a journey into an imaginary world entering at ‘The Eastern Gate’ and exiting at ‘The Western Gate’. In between the gates unfold the different scenes of the composition: ‘The Bridge’, ‘The River’, ‘The Moon’ and so on. Aside from the 14 string guitar, to conjure this world Micus plays instruments from Armenia, Tibet, India, Egypt, Ghana, Senegal, Tanzania, Botswana, Namibia and Ethiopia, most of them in combinations never heard before. For each of his albums, Micus uses a defined cast of instruments to create its distinctive sound world. On White Night, the leading characters are African ‘thumb pianos’ (kalimba) and the Armenian duduk, two instruments which are extremely different in their personalities. The duduk always has a trace of melancholy, whereas the kalimba is imbued with a spirit of joy. To combine the two is like bringing two irreconcilable spirits together. The technical name for the kalimba is a lamellophone, which comprises metal tongues attached to a resonator. They are known by different names in various parts of sub-Saharan Africa - mbira, kalimba, sanza, ndingo etc. On this album Micus uses instruments he has collected in Tanzania, Botswana, Namibia and Ethiopia. “These are old and unique instruments,” he says. “Most of them I found in remote villages and so each one has its own story connected with the people I met, with the landscapes and these memories help me create the music for them, something an instrument bought in a shop could never do. In most cases I change the tunings according to the music which evolves when I start improvising on them. My first kalimba I bought in Tanzania some 26 years ago.” “Whenever I travel I take a kalimba with me on my journey. It’s such a great instrument to carry along,” says Micus who has a practical relationship with these instruments. “It’s small and doesn’t disturb anyone. This enables me to keep working on some tunes and rhythms even if I am on the road.” One of the solo tracks at the heart of the album is ‘All the Way’, played on a kalimba Micus bought in a village where the indigenous San people have been settled in Botswana. This is a one-take performance on an instrument of 22 keys. “I admire the way that for thousands of years, the San lived on the land without leaving any traces or without doing any damage to it, just like the Australian aborigines or Native Americans. But strangely people have always looked down on these people, while really we should honour them for this great achievement”. This kalimba solo is a tribute to all people who respect our planet and preserve its amazing beauty. Another kalimba, from Tanzania, that Micus uses on ‘The River’, has small rings on its keys creating a buzzing sound like waves and splashes in the water. On ‘The Bridge’ and ‘The Forest’, Micus uses a kalimba specially created for this album. He commissioned the South African instrumentalist Phillip Nangle to build an instrument with just bronze keys instead of the usual steel ones. Bronze gives a warmer, more mellow sound, which makes a superb accompaniment to Micus’ voice singing his lyrics in an invented language. Micus has made two trips to Armenia to learn to play the duduk, the plaintive, oboe-like instrument which lends its melancholy tone to so much Armenian music. The first time he studied with Djivan Gasparyan, the second with Gevorg Dabaghyan, two musicians who are considered by many to be the greatest living masters. He’s used the duduk on two previous albums Towards the Wind (2002) and Snow (2008). Traditionally the bass duduk is only used as an accompanying drone, playing just one or two notes. But on the opening and closing tracks ofWhite Night Micus uses it for soulful melodies that frame his story with themes of deep profundity. You’ve never heard a duduk go as low as this. The other solo in the center of the album is ‘The Moon’, a duduk solo, played on a much smaller instrument than the standard one. The composition has nothing to do with traditional Armenian music, but certainly evokes the lonely, misty and ethereal shimmer of the moon in the night sky. For many of his CD booklets Micus chooses a small text to intensify the particular mood of each album. For White Night he’s chosen a Japanese poem, so the track ‘The Poet’ could represent the anonymous writer reciting his verse about the entrancing birdsong in the white, moonlit night. Other striking instruments we hear are Indian cane whistles multi-tracked many times, which in ‘Fireflies’ alternate with Micus’ own voice in chorus. “They are simple cane flutes which you play like a recorder. I bought them on the street somewhere costing a few cents each.” And there are the Tibetan cymbals which Micus bought in Ladakh. These are ritual temple instruments and their clashing rhythms bring a ceremonial quality to the opening and closing of this album. It’s a reminder that Stephan Micus’ music has a profundity, that connects to cultures all over the world and their musical expression. But as he says, “it makes no sense for me to play traditional Armenian duduk.” His desire is to take us on a journey, using rare and obscure instruments combined in a novel way, to reach out to our universal emotions. “Nowadays people in cities have lost contact with the moon,” says Micus. “I have lived all my life in the countryside and have had the privilege to experience many nights around the full moon. That’s why I dedicate this album to the moon which has always been a source of magic in many cultures. Music too is a source of magic which is where the two connect.”

ECM Stephan Micus - White Night release date: April 26, 2019 Stephan Micus: guitars, duduk and bass duduk, cymbals, kalimba, sinding, voice, cane whistles, nay Stephan Micus is an extraordinary musical traveller, exploring the world, collecting instruments and then creating his own musical worlds from them. This is his 23rd album for ECM and on each one he composes the tracks, plays and overdubs them to create unique and exquisite pieces of chamber music. The ten tracks on White Night particularly rely on the sound of various sub-Saharan kalimba (thumb pianos) and the oboe-like Armenian duduk. There are two purely solo tracks, 'All the Way' on a kalimba from Botswana and 'The Moon' on Armenian duduk, while 'Fireflies' has 22 overdubs of Indian whistles, Micus's voice and other instruments. "I dedicate this album to the moon which has always been a source of magic in many cultures," says Micus. "Music too is a source of magic which is where the two connect." Aside from his 14-string guitar, Micus plays instruments from Armenia, Tibet, India, Egypt, Ghana, Senegal, Tanzania, Botswana, Namibia and Ethiopia, most of them in combinations never heard before.

Joe Kapp is 81 today. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Kapp

If there were only a few obvious favorites, I would make a poll of this. I keep coming back to the Coltrane Atlantic OAS. https://www.amazon.com/Coltrane-John-Original-Album-Avantgarde/dp/B00KJJOZTE/

Sony SSCSE Dolby Atmos Enabled Speakers, Black, Dolby Atmos Enabled Speakers (Pair) - $98.00 https://www.amazon.com/Sony-SSCSE-Dolby-Enabled-Speakers/dp/B07B48FJFH

Furman Power Conditioner PST-8 - $76.78 https://www.amazon.com/Furman-Aluminum-8-Outlet-Protection-Conditioning/dp/B000YYVLAK/ ***** Sony SSCS5 3-Way 3-Driver Bookshelf Speaker System (Pair) - $73.00 https://www.amazon.com/Sony-SSCS5-3-Driver-Bookshelf-Speaker/dp/B00O8YLMVA ***** Sony SSCS3 3-Way Floor-Standing Speaker (Single) - $98.00 https://www.amazon.com/Sony-SSCS3-Floor-Standing-Speaker-Single/dp/B00O8YLL8E

ECM Giovanni Guidi Avec le temps Giovanni Guidi: piano Thomas Morgan: double bass João Lobo: drums Francesco Bearzatti: tenor saxophone Roberto Cecchetto: guitar Release date: March 22, 2019 ECM 2604 B0029680-02 UPC: 6025 770 6280 3 Giovanni Guidi is one of the most consistently creative pianists in Europe today, focusing inspirations from contemporary jazz and free playing in a strongly lyrical approach of his own. As well as composing his own material, he has a discerning ear for pieces his group might adapt. The new album begins with an extraordinary interpretation of a yearning song of love and loss by the Monaco-born poet-composer-chansonnier Léo Ferré (1916-1993). The melody and atmosphere of Ferré’s “Avec Le Temps”, one of the classics of the French chanson repertoire, are explored in new detail by Guidi and bassist Thomas Morgan. Of Morgan, Guidi recently noted: “I don’t know if there are other musicians who are so inside the music with every note, who capture everything that’s happening in every moment.” The concentrated soulfulness of the bass playing may put listeners in mind of Charlie Haden’s heyday: Thomas Morgan, too, plays the music not the background. The song’s deep feeling is intensified by João Lobo’s creatively free snare and cymbals, offering fresh color and texture. Both the title piece here and the closing “Tomasz”, a Guidi original dedicated to the late Tomasz Stanko, take Giovanni’s conception of the art of the trio to the next level, extending the work begun on the critically-praised albums City of Broken Dreams and This Is The Day. Avec le temps also initiates some new departures as Guidi expands his group to quintet size with the addition of saxophonist Francesco Bearzatti and guitarist Roberto Cecchetto for six of the pieces here. The quintet originally toured under the headline Giovanni Guidi Inferno, and while it plainly has the capacity to burn down the house, it also radiates a more differentiated flame, as needs dictate. Bearzatti and Cecchetto are strikingly original and resourceful musicians, both leaders in their own right. Bearzatti is one of the outstanding saxophonists of his generation in Italy. Anchored in the tradition – he studied with, among others, George Coleman – he also pushes into areas of pure sound exploration and is conceptually open-minded; his own discography including tributes to, for instance, Malcolm X and to Woody Guthrie. Latterly, Bearzatti and Giovanni Guidi have also been playing together in duo. Like Guidi himself, guitarist Roberto Cecchetto has played extensively with Enrico Rava. Cecchetto was for eight years a core member of Rava’s Electric Five group. His own leader dates include recordings with Guidi and with Bearzatti, and he has worked with many distinguished players including Gianluigi Trovesi, Lee Konitz, Kenny Wheeler, Roswell Rudd, Stefano Bollani and more. Thomas Morgan’s sensitive work with Tomasz Stanko, David Virelles, Masabumi Kikuchi, Craig Taborn, Jakob Bro, Bill Frisell, and many more has been widely-acclaimed. In the Guidi group he is well-matched by drummer João Lobo, who similarly brings deep listening to every performance. Collectively, the quintet is ready to deal with the challenges of the most diverse material, from the bluesy cast of “15th of August”, to the group creation “No Taxi” which is reminiscent of some of Ornette Coleman’s themes, to the tender lullaby “Ti Stimo”, and the free-flowing ballad “Caino”, which draws forth beautiful playing by Guidi and Bearzatti. As a whole, Avec le temps proposes a fascinating journey over changing terrain. *** Giovanni Guidi, born in Foligno, near Perugia, in 1985, was launched on the international stage in the groups of Enrico Rava. After being struck by the focused intensity of the young pianist’s playing during the summer courses of Siena Jazz, Rava invited him into his band. Guidi, who was 17 years old when he first played with the trumpeter, appears with Rava on the ECM albums Tribe and Rava On The Dance Floor. In addition to Giovanni Guidi’s recordings with Thomas Morgan and João Lobo, the pianist can be heard on Ida Lupino, with Gianluca Petrella, Gerald Cleaver and Louis Sclavis, which was voted Italian jazz album of the year in Musica Jazz. Avec le temps was recorded at Studios La Buissonne in Pernes-les-Fontaines in the south of France in November 2017, and produced by Manfred Eicher. As with City of Broken Dreams and This Is The Day, the cover painting is by Emmanuel Barcilon, whose delicate yet intense color-fields provide an apt visual metaphor for the musical poetry of Giovanni Guidi. ECM Areni Agbabian Bloom Areni Agbabian: voice, piano Nicolas Stocker: percussion Release date: April 26, 2019 ECM 2549 B0029232-02 UPC: 6025 675 2590 5 Areni Agbabian casts a quiet spell with her art, as an improvising vocalist, folk singer, storyteller and pianist. Her voice has been described as “bell-toned” by The Guardian and “lush” by theLos Angeles Times, the music she creates with it “intensely focused, moving toward some kind of hidden truth,” according to The New York Times. Agbabian’s ECM debut, Bloom, has a richness that belies its spare ingredients: just her evocative voice and piano, along with the subtly ingenious percussion of Nicolas Stocker (who was last heard on ECM with Nik Bärtsch’s Mobile ensemble). Born and raised in Los Angeles into an Armenian family, Agbabian came to international attention via performances and recordings with groups led by Armenian jazz pianist Tigran Hamasyan. Bloom draws deeply on the singer’s Armenian heritage, as she reinterprets sacred hymns, a traditional spoken-word tale and a dark folk melody transcribed by the great Armenian composer and ethnomusicologist Komitas. She intersperses these among her own vocal and instrumental compositions, which channel a wide world of influences, from Komitas to Tigran Mansurian, from Morton Feldman to George Crumb, from Patty Waters to Kate Bush. The melody that recurs through the highlights “Petal One,” “Petal Two” and “Full Bloom” glows with an aural and emotional purity that’s characteristic of Agbabian’s music. Agbabian recorded Bloom at Auditorio Stelio Molo RSI in Lugano, Switzerland, with ECM founder Manfred Eicher producing. The two had met some years before at a post-concert dinner in Paris, with Eicher then listening to her first solo album, Kissy(bag). About the experience of working with the producer for Bloom, Agbabian says: “First of all, the studio in Lugano is a warm wooden room with a natural reverb and projection, perfect for this sort of acoustic music. With his years of experience, Manfred guides an artist to the correct balance musically. As far as my songs went, he suggested a few changes that made them more appropriate for a studio recording as opposed to concert performance. He also suggested that I play slightly different takes of the same material, which created recurring motifs that gave the album narrative shape. There are a couple of pieces credited to Manfred, ‘Rain Drops’ and ‘Whiteness,’ that serve as parentheses within the storybook feel of Bloom. He had suggested that I play a mid-range chord in E-flat and slowly make my way up the keyboard with an airy feel. He conducted these moments live in the studio space.” Stocker also contributes two solo percussion pieces to the album, “Light Effects” and “Colored.” About the collaboration with the percussionist, Agbabian explains: “When I was invited to check out the studio in Lugano, I met Nicolas while he was playing a Nik Bärtsch session. I could immediately tell that Nicolas was a very kind person, and I really liked the color palette of his percussion setup, which he extended with unique bells and gongs. We ended up working together intensively for a few weeks before recording, both in L.A. and Zurich. I added a few items to his percussion set, such as Tibetan singing bowls. Also, the piano preparations on some of the pieces ended up giving us a unified percussion sound, especially on my piece ‘The Water Bride.’ And ‘The River’ was a pure improvisation by the two of us from which his polyrhythmic groove in ‘Colored’ emerged.” Agbabian has been a singer since she was an infant, already humming melodies at the age of 11 months. Growing up in a world of sound, she was hitting xylophones and drums by age 4, making up melodies and rhythms. She sang rhymes and folk songs with her aunt, a trained opera singer and Armenian music specialist, and her mother, a storyteller and Armenian folklorist. These women imprinted the Armenian language, its tones and inflections, into her mind and body. At age 7, Agbabian began a study of classical piano that lasted for 20 years. Throughout this period, she continued her vocal work, and by her early 20s, she had sung in many choirs of Armenian sacred and Bulgarian folk music, eventually performing traditional Armenian folklore and music professionally. She gradually integrated these byways of her musical journey into an individual musical path. After some years performing in the improvised music scene of New York City, Agbabian returned to her hometown of Los Angeles. She joined Hamasyan’s quintet, touring the world and recording two albums with him; she also wrote the lyrics to “Lament” on his Shadow Theater LP. As a vocalist, Agbabian has worked not only in jazz and folk music but also in contemporary opera, dance, new music and multimedia performance, with her credits including the opera What To Wear by Bang on a Can composer Michael Gordon. She released her solo album Kissy(Bag) in 2014. Of late, Agbabian has been performing Armenian and Persian music in Los Angeles with Lernazang, a group of young folk instrumentalists; she also collaborates with guitarist Gagik “Gagas” Khodavirdi, her husband. Throughout Bloom, a sense of spiritual yearning makes itself felt, strikingly so in Agbabian’s own deeply introspective songs “Patience” and “Mother,” as well as in the Armenian sacred hymn “Anganim Arachi Ko.” The connection between the traditional material and the original songs is virtually genetic. She explains: “Armenian music is in my DNA. It speaks to me on a spiritual level that I cannot explain. In fact, the sacred music eventually is what changed my life. It was through it that I came to know God, and through the imagery of the Biblical stories of the Resurrection written in grabar (classical Armenian) that my heart was transformed. Intellectually, it is probably more difficult than any other music I have studied, European classical music included, especially because of Armenian music’s linguistic and rhythmic challenges, the microtonality and the memorization. I’m in my fourth year of participating in sacred music study and practice. This requires an understanding of ritual time, and supporting the cerebral process of understanding music with conscious listening of my whole person.”

RIP Dick Dale! I saw him in Atlanta in the mid-'90s, and after the show he exited up the aisle, shook everyone's hand, and autographed my t-shirt! I'll pull out his CDs to play them today. https://www.npr.org/2019/03/18/704329806/dick-dale-surf-guitar-legend-dead-at-81 https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/music/la-et-ms-dick-dale-obit-20190317-story.html

I finally got the account started. Don't know what their problem was. John, they would not sell me anything as a "guest." That's the really crazy part.

Aimee Nolte "Looking For The Answers" Impacting: March 15 2019 Format(s): Jazz Artist Title Time Aimee Nolte The Loveliest Girl 04:15 Aimee Nolte Looking For The Answers 06:57 Aimee Nolte Falling Snow 04:57 Aimee Nolte This One Hurts 04:44 Aimee Nolte I Gotta Get 04:45 Aimee Nolte Save Me One Last Time 04:50 Aimee Nolte Bye Bye Blackbird 07:13 Aimee Nolte All Too Soon 04:51 Aimee Nolte So In Love 03:41 Aimee Nolte You Should've 04:45 Aimee Nolte For A While 02:32 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE March 11, 2019 THE MANY TALENTS OF YOUTUBE STAR AIMEE NOLTE ARE REVEALED ON “LOOKING FOR THE ANSWERS“ AVAILABLE APRIL 1, 2019 LOOKING FOR THE ANSWERS, the newest album by AIMEE NOLTE, is a compelling showcase for this multi-talented artist’s first-rate vocal, piano, and compositional skills. The CD consists of several of Aimee’s original compositions as well as three reimagined standards. LOOKING FOR THE ANSWERS is Nolte’s third album. It follows Just Us (2010), a duet recording with guitarist Hideaki Tokunaga, and Up Till Now (2005). On LOOKING FOR THE ANSWERS, Nolte sings lead and back-up vocals, plays piano, synth bass, and organ. She also arranged and produced every track on the album. Based in Los Angeles, Nolte is joined by some of the best players in Southern California, including bassist BRUCE LETT, guitarist MIKE SCOTT, woodwinds players JOHN REILLY and DOUG WEBB, and drummer JAMES YOSHIZAWA. Legendary bass player JOHN CLAYTON appears on one tune. Nolte is a successful YouTube creator with over 140,000 subscribers, where she shares music and educational videos that cover topics such as harmony, arranging, and advanced jazz piano technique. Aimee’s YouTube presence has led to many wonderful opportunities appearing as a guest artist and clinician at jazz festivals around the country. She originally made a connection with John Clayton through one of her videos. Nolte attended a clinic led by Clayton in which he encouraged musicians to put away their Real Books and learn to play by ear. Nolte made a video based on that clinic. Clayton liked the video and attended one of Nolte’s gigs. A friendship soon grew between them. Clayton and Nolte perform a voice and bass duet on “Bye Bye Blackbird.” Nolte shows her considerable improvisatory chops in an extended scat solo that reflects her deep musicality. She’s been playing piano since the age of 3 when, to the complete surprise of her parents, she toddled over to the piano and played the melody to “Silent Night.” She later honed her technique by studying classical piano for 10 years and then went on to earn a degree in Jazz Piano at Brigham Young University in 1998. Nolte feels most at home singing while accompanying herself on piano. She began gigging around Los Angeles since 2003 as a solo act and with her trio that, at that time, consisted of Mike Scott and the late bass player, Roger Shew. Nolte is an accomplished arranger and expands her already substantial musical vocabulary by using orchestral-type scoring for woodwind instruments (honed by studying the music of Hermeto Pascoal and Master Guinga) on “Save Me One Last Time” and Influenced by singer/songwriter Gabriel Kahane, Nolte varies the sonic landscape on “This One Hurts.” She altered the sound of the piano by placing felt between the strings and hammers, giving the piano a warm, rich sound. Nolte’s plucking of the piano strings and overtone singing add even more depth to this haunting sound. “So in Love” and “All Too Soon” are two standards on which Nolte puts her own, unique spin. On these duet tunes, her sultry voice is paired with Mike Scott’s sensitive accompaniment on jazz and nylon string guitar. Scott and Aimee have been playing together for 10 years and complement each other beautifully. “You Should’ve” is a song that grew out of a very trying chapter in Nolte’s life. When she was 16 years old and just beginning to study jazz, a teacher, whom she admired, tried very hard to take advantage of her youth. The issue has since been resolved with repercussions for the teacher, and Nolte used her art to provide a sense of closure. As a writer, Nolte not only lets us into her personal experience, but at times puts herself in another’s shoes, as evidenced by “Save Me One Last Time.” The lyric, about someone asking for help because of the bad choices she makes, is in stark contrast to Nolte’s loving family life. The tune features a woodwinds section performed by John Reilly, who has been nominated for five Grammys and works extensively as a studio musician. Aimee Nolte is proof that a great artist doesn’t have to be tortured. She’s a singer, pianist, composer and arranger whose personality imbues her work. Married for many years, Nolte is a mother of four whose innate musicality, thoughtful approach to lyrics, and jazz chops all rest on the foundation of her happy family life. # # # LOOKING FOR THE ANSWERS is available in stores and online everywhere. Online: www.aimeenolte.com

ECM Giovanni Guidi Avec le temps Giovanni Guidi: piano Thomas Morgan: double bass João Lobo: drums Francesco Bearzatti: tenor saxophone Roberto Cecchetto: guitar Release date: March 22, 2019 ECM 2604 B0029680-02 UPC: 6025 770 6280 3 Giovanni Guidi is one of the most consistently creative pianists in Europe today, focusing inspirations from contemporary jazz and free playing in a strongly lyrical approach of his own. As well as composing his own material, he has a discerning ear for pieces his group might adapt. The new album begins with an extraordinary interpretation of a yearning song of love and loss by the Monaco-born poet-composer-chansonnier Léo Ferré (1916-1993). The melody and atmosphere of Ferré’s “Avec Le Temps”, one of the classics of the French chanson repertoire, are explored in new detail by Guidi and bassist Thomas Morgan. Of Morgan, Guidi recently noted: “I don’t know if there are other musicians who are so inside the music with every note, who capture everything that’s happening in every moment.” The concentrated soulfulness of the bass playing may put listeners in mind of Charlie Haden’s heyday: Thomas Morgan, too, plays the music not the background. The song’s deep feeling is intensified by João Lobo’s creatively free snare and cymbals, offering fresh color and texture. Both the title piece here and the closing “Tomasz”, a Guidi original dedicated to the late Tomasz Stanko, take Giovanni’s conception of the art of the trio to the next level, extending the work begun on the critically-praised albums City of Broken Dreams and This Is The Day. Avec le temps also initiates some new departures as Guidi expands his group to quintet size with the addition of saxophonist Francesco Bearzatti and guitarist Roberto Cecchetto for six of the pieces here. The quintet originally toured under the headline Giovanni Guidi Inferno, and while it plainly has the capacity to burn down the house, it also radiates a more differentiated flame, as needs dictate. Bearzatti and Cecchetto are strikingly original and resourceful musicians, both leaders in their own right. Bearzatti is one of the outstanding saxophonists of his generation in Italy. Anchored in the tradition – he studied with, among others, George Coleman – he also pushes into areas of pure sound exploration and is conceptually open-minded; his own discography including tributes to, for instance, Malcolm X and to Woody Guthrie. Latterly, Bearzatti and Giovanni Guidi have also been playing together in duo. Like Guidi himself, guitarist Roberto Cecchetto has played extensively with Enrico Rava. Cecchetto was for eight years a core member of Rava’s Electric Five group. His own leader dates include recordings with Guidi and with Bearzatti, and he has worked with many distinguished players including Gianluigi Trovesi, Lee Konitz, Kenny Wheeler, Roswell Rudd, Stefano Bollani and more. Thomas Morgan’s sensitive work with Tomasz Stanko, David Virelles, Masabumi Kikuchi, Craig Taborn, Jakob Bro, Bill Frisell, and many more has been widely-acclaimed. In the Guidi group he is well-matched by drummer João Lobo, who similarly brings deep listening to every performance. Collectively, the quintet is ready to deal with the challenges of the most diverse material, from the bluesy cast of “15th of August”, to the group creation “No Taxi” which is reminiscent of some of Ornette Coleman’s themes, to the tender lullaby “Ti Stimo”, and the free-flowing ballad “Caino”, which draws forth beautiful playing by Guidi and Bearzatti. As a whole, Avec le temps proposes a fascinating journey over changing terrain. *** Giovanni Guidi, born in Foligno, near Perugia, in 1985, was launched on the international stage in the groups of Enrico Rava. After being struck by the focused intensity of the young pianist’s playing during the summer courses of Siena Jazz, Rava invited him into his band. Guidi, who was 17 years old when he first played with the trumpeter, appears with Rava on the ECM albums Tribe and Rava On The Dance Floor. In addition to Giovanni Guidi’s recordings with Thomas Morgan and João Lobo, the pianist can be heard on Ida Lupino, with Gianluca Petrella, Gerald Cleaver and Louis Sclavis, which was voted Italian jazz album of the year in Musica Jazz. Avec le temps was recorded at Studios La Buissonne in Pernes-les-Fontaines in the south of France in November 2017, and produced by Manfred Eicher. As with City of Broken Dreams and This Is The Day, the cover painting is by Emmanuel Barcilon, whose delicate yet intense color-fields provide an apt visual metaphor for the musical poetry of Giovanni Guidi. Vijay Iyer and Craig Taborn The Transitory Poems Vijay Iyer piano; Craig Taborn piano A marvel of shared invention from two of creative music’s most resourceful players. Recorded live in 2018, the album incorporated pieces offered as tributes to formative influences. CD LISTEN / BUY David Torn / Tim Berne / Ches Smith Sun of Goldfinger Tim Berne alto saxophone Ches Smith drums, electronics, tanbou David Torn electric guitar, live-looping, electronics with Craig Taborn electronics, piano; Mike Bagetta, Ryan Ferreira guitars, Scorchio String Quartet Three intense tracks of vast sonic tapestries. An otherworldly creation, ranging from hovering atmospherics to dark-hued lyricism to storming, sky-rending grandeur. CD/LP LISTEN / BUY Dominic Miller Absinthe Dominic Miller guitar; Santiago Arias: bandoneon; Mike Lindup keyboards; Nicholas Fiszman bass; Manu Katché drums Miller fronts a quintet that brings his ever-lyrical compositions to textured life. Miller has a key harmonic-melodic foil in the bandoneon, with keyboard tones adding a ghostly air, and bass rooting the sound. Vividly present on drums is Manu Katché an ECM veteran and for years Miller’s colleague in Sting’s band. CD/LP LISTEN / BUY Larry Grenadier The Gleaners Larry Grenadier double bass An important addition to ECM’s series of distinguished solo bass albums, this is a profound and highly creative album that digs deep into the musical identity of this exceptional bass player. CD/LP LISTEN / BUY IN PRE-ORDER © *2018 ECM Records US, A Division of Verve Music Group. All rights reserved. ECM Please note the release of Areni Agbabian's ECM debut "Bloom" will now be April 26th! Areni Agbabian - Bloom release date: April 26, 2019 Areni Agbabian: voice, piano; Nicolas Stocker: percussion Improvising vocalist, folk singer, storyteller, pianist: on her ECM debut Areni Agbabian focuses the range of her skills in music that casts a quiet spell. A sparse music in which voice, piano and the subtle percussion of Nicolas Stocker (last heard on ECM with Nik Bärtsch's Mobile ensemble), continually shade into silence.  The California-born Agbabian, who came to international attention with the groups of Tigran Hamasyan, draws deeply upon her Armenian heritage, reinterpreting sacred hymns, a traditional tale, a folk melody transcribed by Komitas and more, and interspersing these elements among her own evocative compositions. Bloom was recorded in Lugano in October 2016 and produced by Manfred Eicher.

Apparently a computer glitch is preventing me from opening an account at Import CDs. Has anyone else had this problem?

I am reminded of Alan Freed and the payola scandal. It's OK to pay the company, but it's a scandal to pay the company's employee.

Laurie Antonioli Features Lyrical Collaborations with Jazz Composers, Interpretations of Classic Singer/Songwriters On "The Constant Passage of Time," Set for April 12 Release by Origin Records Vocalist's Seventh Album Features Her Longtime American Dreams Band with Saxophonist/Clarinetist Sheldon Brown, Guitarist Dave MacNab, Pianist Matt Clark, Bassist Dan Feiszli, Drummer Jason Lewis CD Release Concert at California Jazz Conservatory, Berkeley, March 30 March 13, 2019 Vocalist Laurie Antonioli highlights her gifts as a collaborator and interpreter on The Constant Passage of Time, her seventh album, due April 12 on Origin Records. Joined by her longtime working band American Dreams (with multi-reedist Sheldon Brown, guitarist Dave MacNab, pianist Matt Clark, drummer Jason Lewis, and newest member Dan Feiszli on bass), Antonioli takes on singer/songwriters Sheryl Crow, Joni Mitchell, and Neil Young, as well as featuring her own work as a lyricist with celebrated jazz composers Johannes Enders, Russell Ferrante, Nguyên Lê, and Paul Nagel. The title -- which is also a lyric from the album opener "Longing for You" -- was inspired by Antonioli's reflections on an eventful 2018. The year included several benchmarks for the Bay Area singer, among them her sixtieth birthday, the twentieth anniversary of her sobriety, and the birth of her second grandchild. In addition, she recorded two albums worth of material at Berkeley's legendary Fantasy Studios (before its closure in September). "Recordings mark time and document the moment," says Antonioli. "Recordings are 'fixed' in that they stay put. In life, change is a constant, and our internal landscape is always evolving, which is reflected in the music." The music also reflects Antonioli's broad palette, her warm, supple mezzo-soprano equally compatible with the moody musings of "Longing for You" (set to Ferrante's music) and "Moonbirds" (a collaboration with Enders); the driving rock beats of "Highway" (also with Enders), Sheryl Crow's "Riverwide," and Neil Young's "Don't Let It Bring You Down"; and the delicate balladry of "Layla" and "And So It Is,"Antonioli's lyrical treatments of compositions by Lê ("Bee") and Nagel ("As Is"), respectively. (At left: Antonioli with granddaughter Layla.) The Constant Passage of Time also continues to showcase Antonioli's special relationship to the music of Joni Mitchell, as previously documented on her 2014 tributeSongs of Shadow, Songs of Light. "It goes without saying that Joni is simply one of the greatest composers and lyricists of modern music," says Antonioli, who on this outing celebrates Mitchell first with a surprising medley of "Harry's House" and "The Arrangement," then by unearthing the obscure but haunting "Love." The musicians who accompany Antonioli play no small part in shaping the album. "This project, like my others, is crafted around the players in the band," she says, noting that MacNab has a particularly prominent role on Constant Passage. "He can play anything, and I'm happy to feature him more on this record." Laurie Antonioli was born March 9, 1958 in Marin County, California. She started playing guitar and writing songs as a teenager in the early 1970s, inspired by Neil Young, James Taylor, Jimi Hendrix, and particularly Joni Mitchell. She caught the jazz bug while listening to her grandmother's records, which led to studies in the pioneering jazz vocal program at Mt. Hood Community College in Portland, Oregon. Returning to the Bay Area after graduation, Antonioli began sitting in with singer Mark Murphy -- which in turn brought her to the attention of saxophonist Pony Poindexter, who in 1980 hired the 22-year-old vocalist for an extended European tour. In 1985, Antonioli recorded her debut album Soul Eyes, a duo session with piano great George Cables. Throughout the decade she was one of the region's most visible singers, performing regularly with jazz luminaries such asJoe Henderson (a longtime collaborator). Derailed throughout the '90s, Antonioli began rebuilding her career in 2002, when Austria's KUG University hired her as a professor for the vocal jazz department. In 2004 she recorded her second album, Foreign Affair, with a cadre of players from Serbia, Albania, Germany, and the U.S. She remained in Europe until 2006, when she returned to run the Vocal Jazz Studies program at Berkeley's California Jazz Conservatory. She gained widespread attention with the release of 2010's American Dreams, on which she introduced the titular band (with John Shifflett, who died in 2017, holding the bass chair). They also accompanied her on 2014's Songs of Shadow, Songs of Light, returning once again -- with Feiszli now on bass -- for The Constant Passage of Time. Laurie Antonioli will perform a CD release concert at the California Jazz Conservatory, 2040 Addison Street, Berkeley, on Saturday 3/30. Bassist Nenad Vasilic, who mixed the new CD and who co-produced and played on Foreign Affair, will be featured as a special guest on a couple of songs with Antonioli. Photography: David Geathers "The Constant Passage of Time" EPK Web Site: laurieantonioli.com

Thanks for that link!

Joe, I read most of his books in the late '70s, one after another. It seemed like he wrote the same book over and over!

I haven't posted much about the CFL in the past month, so let's take a look. Here's a look at the noteworthy free agents not promptly signed. https://3downnation.com/2019/02/15/top-25-remaining-cfl-free-agents/ https://3downnation.com/2019/02/15/riders-ink-receiver-manny-arceneaux/ ***** Nate Behar signed with Ottawa. https://3downnation.com/2019/02/15/canadian-receiver-nate-behar-to-join-redblacks/ ***** Naaman Roosevelt will return to Regina. https://3downnation.com/2019/02/14/naaman-roosevelt-agrees-to-terms-with-riders/ ***** Cody Fajardo signed with the Riders. https://3downnation.com/2019/02/14/riders-sign-qb-cody-fajardo-to-one-year-deal/ ***** Derel Walker signed with the Argos. https://3downnation.com/2019/02/14/derel-walker-leaves-toronto-without-signing-deal-with-the-argos/ ***** DJ Lalama signed with the Bombers. https://3downnation.com/2019/02/15/bombers-sign-manitoba-product-d-j-lalama/ ***** Manny Arcenaux signed with the Riders. https://3downnation.com/2019/02/15/riders-ink-receiver-manny-arceneaux/ ***** Justin Tuggle signed with the Ticats. https://3downnation.com/2019/02/19/ticats-add-possible-larry-dean-replacement-in-former-argos-lb-justin-tuggle/ ***** Ian Wild signed with the Argos. https://3downnation.com/2019/02/18/argos-sign-lb-ian-wild/ ***** The league announced that Regina will host the 2020 Grey Cup, and Hamilton the 2021 game. https://3downnation.com/2019/02/21/grey-cup-double-shot-saskatchewan-and-hamilton-going-back-to-back/ https://3downnation.com/2019/02/18/argos-sign-lb-ian-wild/ https://3downnation.com/2019/02/22/much-to-celebrate-as-hamilton-finally-gets-to-host-a-grey-cup/ ***** Kienan LaFrance signed with the Riders. https://3downnation.com/2019/02/21/riders-repatriate-canadian-rb-kienan-lafrance/

RIP Hal Blaine! I'd say that in my lifetime, he was the country's #2 self-promoter, behind only Stan Lee. He often bragged that he was on more Billboard #1 hits than anyone else, but I don't think he should be remembered for that. I think that he should be remembered as the drummer on The Tijuana Brass's "A Taste of Honey." It was Herb Alpert's idea for the group to just stop briefly, and he told Blaine to just think of something to fill in the space. I'd say that that and Ron Wilson's Wipeout solo were the two most famous drum solo's of the decade.

1. Santana - Do You Remember Me 09:48 2. Santana - In Search Of Mona Lisa 05:09 3. Santana - Lovers From Another Time 04:44 4. Santana - Do You Remember Me (Edit Version) 03:28 5. Santana - In Search Of Mona Lisa (Edit Version) 03:52 CARLOS SANTANA DELIVERS INSPIRING AND IMPASSIONED NEW EP, IN SEARCH OF MONA LISA, OUT TODAY On three spellbinding and transportive new songs, the multiple GRAMMY-winning guitarist and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee takes listeners inside a magical and deeply personal experience he had when he visited the Louvre Museum for the first time and set his eyes on Leonardo da Vinci’s beguiling masterpiece. A new full-length album produced by Rick Rubin will be released this summer. 2019 marks the 20th anniversary of Carlos Santana’s groundbreaking album Supernatural and the 50th anniversary of his legendary performance at Woodstock. Santana will celebrate these milestones with an energy-infused tour highlighting hits from Supernatural as well as many others from his long list of greatest hits. For More Information Official Site: www.santana.com Facebook: www.facebook.com/carlossantana Instagram: www.instagram.com/carlossantana Twitter: www.twitter.com/santanacarlos YouTube: www.youtube.com/santanaofficial

ECM Vijay Iyer and Craig Taborn The Transitory Poems Vijay Iyer: piano; Craig Taborn: piano Release date: March 15, 2019 ECM 2644 B0029701-02 UPC: 6025 773 0119 3 Vijay Iyer and Craig Taborn in concert March 12 Brooklyn, NY Roulette March 24 Knoxville, TN Big Ears Festival Further dates in preparation… The Transitory Poems, recorded live in the concert hall of the Franz List Academy of Music in Budapest in March 2018, is the first release from the duo of Vijay Iyer and Craig Taborn, two of the most distinctive contemporary improvisers. Each a bandleader in his own right, these highly creative pianists have considerable shared history. They began playing together inside Roscoe Mitchell’s Note Factory in 2002. In Mitchell’s group, Taborn and Iyer were called upon to address complex notated material and to deal, concurrently, with the challenges of instant composing and spontaneous arrangement via collective and individual improvisation. “Our duo formed in the crucible of that band,” Vijay and Craig remark in a performers’ note here, “in pursuit of music unique to its moment of creation.” This has remained the quest throughout their subsequent duo work, shaping music in real time, the project evolving from concert to concert. “Something was born for me in the context of working with Roscoe,” Iyer has said, alluding to “a certain quality of listening: how to navigate, how to give way to each other, how to build together…” Constructive collaboration informs the duo’s music. As Craig Taborn has explained, “part of my practice with improvising is to fully dive in. I become the audience, listening to events and sounds and agency. Whether I’m playing something or not is the first thing I let go of: then I can encounter what is happening.” The musical environment is scanned, details embellished, structures shored up, densities measured, rhythms dovetailed, melodic lines given space to emerge and coalesce. The music is in movement in the fleeting world of The Transitory Poems, transforming and mutating from moment to moment. At times it may acknowledge the vast history of music for two pianos although, as Craig has also pointed out, he and Vijay are “both composers and improvisers and orchestrational pianists - so the question of instrument is just a fact of the context, and not the primary challenge.” Listening back to their recording, the players heard it as “a series of homages” to great artists who had profoundly influenced them, artists who had recently passed away. “Luminous Brew” is dedicated to Cecil Taylor, the pianist whose music, in its intensity, polyrhythmic complexity and sound organization, remains a vital reference for a generation of musicians. The Iyer/Taborn album title derives from a Taylor interview, in which humanity and its endeavors are considered ‘transitory poems’, unfolding against a backdrop of the mountains that are here to stay. “Clear Monolith” is for Muhal Richard Abrams, the visionary pianist, composer and improviser, who lit the paths of the early AACM and opened unexplored routes for the music. The painter and sculptor Jack Whitten, dedicatee of “Sensorium”, described himself - in his log Notes from the Woodshed - as “a quantum expressionist”. Whitten derived much inspiration for his work from jazz, and spoke of translating Coltrane’s sheets of sound into sheets of light. The final track is dedicated to Geri Allen and hints of her theme “When Kabuya Dances” emerge gradually through the improvisation that is “Meshwork”, before the Allen composition, a modern classic, comes to the fore. *** The New York Times has suggested that “there’s probably no frame wide enough to encompass the creative output of Vijay Iyer.” Each of his ECM releases has highlighted another aspect of wide-ranging work. Mutations, with Iyer’s compositions for piano, string quartet and electronics was recorded in 2013 and described by The Guardian as “thoughtful, typically original and very exciting.” It was followed by Radhe Radhe, Rites of Holi a collaboration with director Prashant Bhargava, which DownBeat called “his most challenging and impressive work, the scintillating score to a compelling film.” Break Stuff featured Iyer’s popular trio with Stephan Crump and Marcus Gilmore (“a smashing success” – JazzTimes). A cosmic rhythm with each strokebrought Iyer together with his “hero, friend and teacher” Wadada Leo Smith to play “unique music outside all the categories” (Die Weltwoche), inspired by the art of Nasreen Mohamedi.Far From Over, with the Vijay Iyer Sextet, with Graham Haynes, Steve Lehman, Mark Shim, Stephan Crump and Tyshawn Sorey, was showered with accolades. “If you’re looking for the shape of jazz to come, here it is”, wrote Rolling Stone. Far From Over was voted #1 album in the NPR Critics Poll, with the Iyer Sextet also the band of the year and Vijay musician of the year in the DownBeat Critics Poll 2018. Craig Taborn’s Avenging Angel, recorded 2010, set some new directions for solo piano music. (“As exhilarating as it is serene, and as evocatively melodic as it is unsettlingly recondite, it’s a masterpiece of invention” – All About Jazz). Chants, recorded 2012, brought to a conclusion the group music Taborn had been developing over an eight-year period with drummer Gerald Cleaver and bassist Thomas Morgan. “The songs on ‘Chants’, are positively shimmering, immaculately detailed, prismatic and very improvisational,” noted DownBeat. Daylight Ghostsintroduced a new quartet with some old friends – Dave King, Chris Speed and Chris Lightcap – again to rave reviews. This was the sound, Jazziz opined, “of an already great musician cementing his place in the upper ranks of contemporary pianists and composers.” Vijay Iyer and Craig Taborn first recorded together on Roscoe Mitchell’s Song for My Sister (Pi)in 2002, with their first shared ECM credit being the Mitchell album Far Side (2007), recently reprised in the box set The Art Ensemble of Chicago and Associated Ensembles. Taborn’s ECM debut was also with Roscoe, on 1997’s Nine to Get Ready. Craig appears furthermore on two albums with the Mitchell and Evan Parker-led Transatlantic Art Ensemble –Composition/Improvisation Nos. 1, 2 & 3 and Boustrophedon - as well as with Mitchell’s assembled trios on Bells for the South Side. Other Taborn appearances on ECM include Michael Formanek’s The Rub and Spare Change and Small Places, Chris Potter’s Imaginary Cities and The Sirens, Ches Smith’s The Bell and David Torn’s Prezens. Vijay Iyer and Craig Taborn have a number of concerts this season including a performance as part of the focus on ECM at the Big Ears Festival in Knoxville, Tennessee, March 21-24.

Peter Drew "And What's More" Impacting: February 4 2019 Format(s): Jazz Artist Title Time Peter Drew Retro-Bop 03:53 Peter Drew Body and Soul 05:32 Peter Drew Hard Driver 05:15 Peter Drew Carioca 03:28 Peter Drew Lesson Française 04:01 Peter Drew Invitation 03:29 Peter Drew Shtick 04:48 Peter Drew Blue Lester 05:56 Peter Drew A Coda and a Score 05:00 Peter Drew Don't Argue!! 03:50 Peter Drew Ecaroh 04:40 Peter Drew Midnight Sun 06:59 Peter Drew I'm Gone 05:37 Peter Drew Sister Kate 04:52 Peter Drew Sugar 05:57 Peter Drew Slo Burn Blues 04:54 "I'm really grateful to all of the industry professionals that supported my debut CD, thank you"! -Peter Drew "My new CD, And What's More, follows my previous release, Where and When and continues with multiple genres of the American musical experience infused with my own compositions and arrangements. Hints of Klezmer, Blues, BeBop, Rock, Jazz and Pop are sprinkled liberally throughout"!-Peter Drew "Peter Drew's new music is a trip beyond the pale well worth taking"- Midwest Record Review JazzWeek Add Date: 2/4/19! New York City, November 26th, 2018 - And What's More is the follow up to clarinetist, composer and arranger Peter Drew's 2016 Jazzweek Top 15 release Where & When! With And What's More Peter Drew has again assembled a first call group of musicians to interpret a splendid repertoire of great standards and originals with brilliant arrangements that are becoming his signature that lifts this CD to amazing heights! As with Where & When in reaching new heights Peter is joined again with his "mentor" co-producer and fellow arranger Philip Rothman! And the magic for this 16 tune set continues! And the magic starts with Retro Bop which is Dizzy Gillespie's Bebop composition reimagined and as Peter says " I took the notes and flipped them, inverted them and hence Retro Bop" ! I'm sure Dizzy would enjoy Peter Drew's spirit filled arrangement of his standard! There are several fine vocalist enlisted for And What's More as with Wendy Gilles who delivers a very serene and tender rendition of the classic Body and Soul. Wendy is also the featured vocalist of the Grammy nominated Gil Evans Project! As meaningful here is the warm and articulate trumpet soloing of the Juilliard educated and J.A.L.C Orchestra member Brandon Lee ! Next up is the first of 5 original tunes by Peter, Hard Driver a bluesy, brassey nearly danceable tune where both guitarist Sebastian Noelle of the Darcy James Argue's Secret Society Band and Chris Potter's Big Band as well a leader of his own bands along with the extremely versatile and lyrical Alejandro Aviles both first call New York City musican's and they add the soloing fire to this gem! Shifting musical gears, which Peter does with And What's More very effectively leads the musical journey to Carioca a popular song with music by Vincent Youmans and also the name of a popular dance choreographed for the film Flying Down In Rio. Here it's Brazilian roots are in full effect with pianist Silvano Monasterios and percussionist Samuel Torres leading the way! Lesson Francaise another of Peter Drew's tunes that's perhaps inspired by his study of the French language is a wonderfully entertaining song featuring the vocals of actress, voice overs artist and dancer Maria Maloney in duet with the incomparable Sachal Vasandani an accomplished jazz vocalist in his own right! Together they tell the love story of the song! Speaking of Sachal Vasandani he brings a new emotion to the classic Midnight Sun and the return of Brandon Lee's trumpet and Silvano Monasterios piano solo's makes this arrangement new again! Peter Drew's arrangements has brought new life to other classic's in the CD including Invitation. And as great a composer and arranger as Horace Silver was Peter's arrangement of his Ecaroh is full of new streams of idea's! And the Stanley Turrentine's classic Sugar is also crisp and rejuvenated! Another one of those gems is a very rich and soulful version of Lester Young's Blue Lester with the musically adventures Jon Irabagon superbly handling the tenor saxophone honors! Another jewel important to note as Peter states "Sam Sadigursky, an amazing clarinetist in the style of Artie Shaw deserves a special mention. I dedicated the song, "Shtick" to him and also his solos on the other charts are exceptional"! Actually the complete CD whether it's one of his own tunes like Shtick or Slo Burn Blues which are both further testimonies to Peter Drew's brilliance as a composer, or the established Kai Winding composition Don't Argue a further example of his pinpoint arranging this CD makes a powerful statement with a superb selection of great tunes and the same can be said for the musicians assembled for this stellar recording! Below is a list of the soloist and track listing to bring you closer to Peter Drew's And What's More!

Artist Title Time Gil Evans Orchestra Subway 10:57 Gil Evans Orchestra LL Funk 05:29 Gil Evans Orchestra I Surrender 07:17 Gil Evans Orchestra Groove from the Louvre 09:51 Gil Evans Orchestra Lunar Eclipse 06:29 Gil Evans Orchestra Moonstruck 01:49 Gil Evans Orchestra Eleven 05:25 Gil Evans Orchestra "Hidden Treasures/Monday Nights" Airplay Starts Now! Debut this week at #45 on JazzWeek Suggested Airplay Tracks 2.3.5.7 Kenwood Dennard – Drums, Mino Cinelu – PercussionMark Egan – bass, Pete Levin – keyboards, Miles Evans– trumpet Shunzo Ohno – trumpet, David Taylor - Bass Trombone, John Clark - French Horn, Chris Hunter – Alto Sax, Flute, Alex Foster - Tenor Sax, Soprano Sax Darryl Jones - Bass (Tune 2), Matthew Garrison - Bass & Bass Solo (Tune 2), Vernon Reid - Guitar (Tune 2), Paul Shaffer- Fender Rhodes (Tune 2), David Mann - Alto Sax (Tune 2), Gil Goldstein - Piano (Tunes 1, 2, 5, 6), Delmar Brown- Synthesizer (Tunes 1, 2, 5), Charles Blenzig - Synthesizer (Tunes 2, 3, 4, 7), Gabby Abularach - Guitars (Tune 1, 4, 5), Jon Faddis - Trumpet (Tunes 1, 5, 6), Dave Bargeron -Trombone (Tunes 1, 5, 6), Gary Smulyan - Baritone Sax (Tunes 1, 5, 6), Birch Johnson - Trombone (Tunes 3, 4, 7,) Alex Sipiagin - Trumpet (Tunes 3, 4, 7), Alden Banta - Baritone Sax (Tunes 3, 4, 7). Monday Nights” is not only the first studio recording of the Gil Evans Orchestra in over forty years, it’s also offers some of the most audacious and electrifying music of the new millennium. The late Gil Evans was one of the most respected orchestrators in jazz history and his fabled collaborations with Miles Davis, including “Birth of the Cool,” “Sketches of Spain” and “Porgy and Bess,” set the gold standard for modern jazz arranging. Accordingly, Evans played a key role in the development of cool jazz, modal jazz, free jazz and jazz fusion. All of these influences are strikingly present on “Monday Nights,” a particularly contemporary incarnation of Evans’ music. After a string of gigs that started in the late 70s, the Gil Evans Orchestra began a run of Monday night engagements in 1983 at the Greenwich Village club, Sweet Basil, which resulted in a number of successful live recordings by Gil Evans and the Monday Night Orchestra. The gig continued sporadically until 1994. Mr. Evans had a knack for bringing out the best in his groups comprised of first-call New York players including David Sanborn, Alan Rubin and Tom “Bones Malone,” and such musicians as George Adams, Hannibal Marvin Peterson and Howard Johnson. Gil’s sons, trumpeter Miles Evans and his brother Noah are keeping the flame alive with “Hidden Treasures,” a trilogy of recordings of which “Monday Nights” is the first. The concept here, is to feature compositions that the Orchestra played live in the late 70s and early 80s. Forthcoming are “The Classics,” featuring modern renderings of Evans’ original arrangements, including “My Ship,” and “The Meaning of the Blues,” and, the final release in the series, “Gil & Anita,” named for the late jazz icon and his wife. “Subway,” written and arranged by keyboardist Pete Levin opens the album and introduces the imperial command of the ensemble, anchored by drummer Kenwood Dennard. With dynamic twists and turns, and subtle musical shadings, this is one hell of a subway ride. Commanding solos by trombonist Dave Bargeron and tenor saxist Alex Foster, offering some respect for Wayne Shorter, add to the excitement. Trumpeter Miles Evans wrote and arranged “LL Funk” and once again Kenwood Dennard drives the music with a powerful funk beat good for both listening and dancing. With Darryl Jones on bass, special guests’ solos abound: keyboardist Paul Shaffer, even more laid back than usual; the criminally underrated Matthew Garrison and his highly original bass: and Vernon Reid bringing a thick almost heavy metal guitar tip to the track. The icing on the cake is David Mann, who weaves his bluesy, potent alto sax throughout the track. “I Surrender,” written by Delmar Brown and Alex Foster, and arranged by Alex and Charles Blenzig is a musical requiem for a heavyweight. Mr. Brown, a superb keyboardist who played with the Gil Evans Orchestra as well as Pat Martino, passed away in 2017 and “I Surrender” is his tribute. He is also present on several tracks recorded before his passing. A true musical heavyweight, Alex Foster offers another side of his soulful, highly expressive tenor. A very popular composition from the Sweet Basil days, “Groove from the Louvre,” written and arranged by John Clark, features the composer on french horn, trumpeters Shunzo Ohno and then Alex Sipiagin, percussionist Mino Cinelu, who came to prominence with Miles Davis and Weather Report, bass trombonist Dave Taylor. Deft and determined, drummer Dennard anchors the band through the gentle opening, and then the hard edged groove that follows. There’s a regal, totally swinging feel to the track, with superb ensemble work that shows this is more than just a group of soloists, but a real orchestra. “Lunar Eclipse” written by Masabumi Kiuchi and arranged by the master himself, Gil Evans, is evocative and cinematic. An Evans protégé, Gil Goldstein solos here, memorably, amidst a dreamy synthesizer background which follows him through his two solos on the track, the first of which gives away to Mino Cinelu on bongos and then drummer Dennard, raising the musical stakes once again. It’s a heady musical mixture. More of the master on “Moonstruck,” which is short, whimsical and very tasty. Tracking at 1:49, it’s an ensemble feature that’s both intriguing and attention grabbing. The recording closes with “Eleven,” also straight from the source, a Gil Evans composition and arrangement, which originally appeared as “Petits Machins (Little Stuff)on the 1968 Miles Davis recording, Filles de Kilimanjaro. The set closer is a bristling swinger, a fitting capper to this powerful set of absolutely stunning music. The groove is infectious, a potent platform for solos by alto saxophonist Chris Hunter, Charles Blenzig on electric piano and Alex Foster, who returns on tenor and continues to amaze. Gil Evans Lives! WATCH THE VIDEO HERE:

We have this week two very early power rankings. https://3downnation.com/2019/03/04/3down-power-rankings-holy-crap-what-just-happened/ https://www.cfl.ca/2019/03/08/defending-champs-lead-way-early-nissan-titan-power-rankings/

Thanks John!

And how do you feel about the sound quality of Acrobat/Trapeze boxes?