GA Russell

 1. John Coltrane - Lush Life 13:55 2. John Coltrane - Lover Come Back To Me 07:24 3. John Coltrane - Stardust 10:39 4. John Coltrane - Good Bait 12:09 5. John Coltrane - Nakatini Serenade 11:03 6. John Coltrane - Theme For Ernie 04:57 7. John Coltrane - Russian Lullaby 05:35 8. John Coltrane - I Want To Talk About You 10:55 Coltrane ’58: The Prestige Recordings BOX SET CAPTURES LEGENDARY SAXOPHONIST’S GENIUS IN FIRST FLOWER DURING HIS BREAKTHROUGH “SHEETS OF SOUND” YEAR AVAILABLE MARCH 29TH ON CRAFT RECORDINGS 2019 MARKS 70TH ANNIVERSARY OF PRESTIGE RECORDS Though it’s been 52 years since his tragic passing, John Coltrane’s importance and influence have never been greater. Though active for a relatively short period—from 1957 to ’67—he was an intrepid spirit who developed at a feverish pace. Coltrane’s breakout year, when his mature sound first grabbed ears and his own recordings began to sell consistently, was 1958. Coltrane ’58: The Prestige Recordings, out March 29th on Craft Recordings, is a box set (8-LP, 5-CD & digital formats) that chronicles the exciting story session by session, featuring all 37 tracks Coltrane recorded as a leader or co-leader for the independent Prestige label in those twelve months. This collection captures him in creative high gear—developing the signature improvisational style that journalist Ira Gitler famously dubbed “sheets of sound.” The timely release of Coltrane ’58 marks the 70th year since the founding of Prestige Records and comes just after the 60th anniversary of these recordings. It also follows on last year’s successful release of Both Directions at Once, which debuted at No. 21 on the Billboard 200, the highest chart position of his career. Coltrane ’58 brims with the shared jazz repertoire of the day—blues, bebop standards and familiar ballads—as well as original compositions and obscure tunes Coltrane rediscovered. Together they offer an array of emotional depth and instrumental prowess, showing how the rising saxophonist was actively stretching sound and increasing the intensity, and shifting the direction of what jazz performance was about. Included are definitive versions of “Lush Life,” “Lover Come Back to Me,” “Stardust,” “Good Bait” and “Little Melonae”; first recordings of originals like “Nakatini Serenade,” “The Believer,” “Black Pearls” and the heartfelt “Theme for Ernie”; and extended tenor saxophone tours-de-forcesuch as “Russian Lullaby,” “Sweet Sapphire Blues” and “I Want to Talk About You” that anticipate the stratospheric heights Coltrane would reach in the 1960s. In 1958 Coltrane was still two years away from emerging as a bandleader, but his membership in ensembles led by Miles Davis and Thelonious Monk had propelled him into the spotlight as one of jazz’s most exciting and controversial figures. Coltrane ’58 serves as a window onto the shock and awe—and eventually deep appreciation—Coltrane generated during this period, when his sheets of sound approach pushed the bebop ideal of slaloming through a tune’s chordal pathways to its extreme. To be sure, Coltrane ’58 is more than sheets of sound: It’s the sound of Coltrane working and smoothing out those sheets and exploring other ideas as well. For example, he frequently played in double-time—as if the chords were moving twice as fast as the rest of the band—and, if the music called for it, he’d decrease the intensity, caressing and embellishing a melody, an aspect that could calm the toughest critics. Produced by Nick Phillips, the vinyl box includes eight 180-gram LPs, remastered from the original analog tapes byPaul Blakemore (all of which were recorded by renowned engineer Rudy Van Gelder) and cut by Clint Holleyfrom 24-bit/192kHz transfers. The lavish, linen-wrapped, portfolio-style book features an eye-catching design and includes 40 pages containing extensive liner notes by Grammy®-winning American music historian Ashley Kahn, rare ephemera and historical photographs of the saxophonist and his collaborators, including several taken by renowned jazz photographers Francis Wolff and Esmond Edwards. The 5-CD edition, containing a 76-page book, is a faithful replica of the 8-LP vinyl box. Coltrane ’58 reveals other significant aspects of Coltrane’s emergence, too, like his growing status in the hard bop brotherhood of the day. He recorded with contemporaries (many future legends in their own right), including pianistRed Garland; guitarist Kenny Burrell; trumpeters Donald Byrd, Freddie Hubbard and Wilbur Harden; bassistPaul Chambers and drummers Art Taylor, Jimmy Cobb and Louis Hayes. The sessions all took place in Rudy Van Gelder’s legendary home studio in Hackensack, New Jersey, where so much of the best jazz of that era was recorded. Coltrane’s music of 1958 benefits from a marked blue-collar, pressure-cooker aesthetic: Born in three-hour sessions with minimal rehearsal, head arrangements and mostly first takes, these tracks provide a true and transparent view of the talent Coltrane was able to draw upon and the timeless, improvised magic they created together. It’s a challenge today to imagine how radical Coltrane must have sounded sixty years ago to jazz listeners accustomed to a gentler, lyrical flow. In his liner notes, Ashley Kahn sees an enduring relevancy in Coltrane’s bold chance-taking, as a creative artist and an African-American: “In the context of current headlines and an overriding sense of déjà vu, Coltrane’s music rings clearer than ever, with even greater meaning than it had in 1958. What he was playing then never felt less than urgent and relevant—subversive even. It still sounds that way.” Remarkably, the majority of this music wasn’t released until the ’60s on various albums after Coltrane’s emergence as a bandleader, denying these 37 tracks the chance to tell their own collective story. By sequencing this music in the order of its original creation, Coltrane ’58 clearly delineates Coltrane’s first full year as a recording artist, finally allowing fans to experience—track by track—the emergence of a master improviser in his first great career crest.

Rarewaves is my go-to Marketplace Seller. My experience with them has always been perfect.

3/28 checking down https://www.cfl.ca/2019/03/28/checking-rutleys-time-shine-bc/ ***** The AAF may fold after this one season because the NFL union is not allowing its members to play. https://3downnation.com/2019/03/27/aaf-major-owner-tom-dundon-contemplating-discontinuing-the-league/ ***** A report says that the Als have not paid all their bills. https://3downnation.com/2019/03/28/montreal-alouettes-creditors-may-be-closing-in-report/ ***** The rules committee has issued its report. https://3downnation.com/2019/03/22/the-cfl-finally-planning-to-use-replay-to-address-qb-headshots/ ***** Attention Jim Sangrey! Sports Illustrated has investigated the beers sold at MLB parks. Here is the Blue Jays report with a link to the full list. https://www.si.com/eats/2019/03/28/toronto-blue-jays-beer-list-rogers-centre-best-options ***** The AP reports that MLB has become the first of the four US sports major leagues to have no one left from the 20th century. I wonder who in the CFL has the longest tenure. https://apnews.com/c171fd38f1d0498390b4e7f0e5b092ee

Dave Brubeck - The Complete Columbia Studio Albums Collection (19 CDs) - $48.27 + $3.99 https://www.amazon.com/Complete-Columbia-Studio-Albums-Collection/dp/B0077PPQGO/

The Tierney Sutton Band "ScreenPlay Act 2: Technicolor" Impacting: March 21 2019 Format(s): Jazz, Non-Commercial, NPR Artist Title Time The Tierney Sutton Band If I Only Had A Brain 05:59 The Tierney Sutton Band I've Got No Strings 04:30 The Tierney Sutton Band The Trolley Song 03:05 The Tierney Sutton Band It Might As Well Be Spring 04:48 ScreenPlay Act 2: Technicolor Welcome to “Technicolor” — The four songs featured here were penned from 1939–1945 and are full of fantasy, imagination and optimism, which offered a stark contrast to the state of the world at that time. Creating magical lands, they became some of the most indelible and enduring pieces in music history. "If I Only Had A Brain," by Harold Arlen and Yip Harberg, comes from the 1939 classic The Wizard Of Oz. This arrangement by bassist Kevin Axt provides a musical cast of characters much like the film itself. One funky bass, one cool bass, one volatile and emphatic singer, and a chorus of finger-snappers make for an entirely new and whimsical reading of a beloved song. “I’ve Got No Strings” was written in 1940 by Leigh Harline and Ned Washington for the Disney filmPinocchio. Our other bassist Trey Henry reimagined this classic as an exploration into the consequences of a life devoid of traditional connections. It begins with Ray Brinker’s drums setting an ambiguous texture that creates a feeling of floating in space. Throughout, Tierney sings with a sense of wonder and introverted mystery. Only the sound of Serge Merlaud’s tender guitar improvisation is left to hint at the joy and regret of an imagined state of mind. Made famous by Judy Garland, “The Trolley Song” was written by Hugh Martin and Ralph Blane for the 1944 film Meet Me In St. Louis. This version, done as a duet featuring Tierney and Ray, could be described as the product of two master musicians playing together for more than two decades. The breakneck speed combined with the accuracy, energy and imagery displayed here is seldom seen or heard. And to drive the point home, this arrangement was created on the spot and recorded in one take! An Academy Award winner for Best Song, “It Might As Well Be Spring” was written for the 1945 film State Fair. Pianist Christian Jacob is featured on this one, along with Tierney. Christian’s inspired arrangement brilliantly illuminates the Rodgers and Hammerstein gem. The opening piano figure makes the lyric “I’m as restless as a willow in a windstorm” a foregone conclusion, and the transition to a sadder and more pensive tone perfectly reflects the song’s wistful bridge. We hope you find the world of “Technicolor” as enchanting and inspirational as we have. Feel free to stay as long as you like! Stay in touch with us by visiting tierneysutton.com for news, interviews, podcasts, videos and more. Just click or tap the “ScreenPlay” tab. Also, please visit our Facebook page at facebook.com/TierneySuttonMusic for the latest ScreenPlay scoop and gig announcements. We’re on Instagram and Twitter too! We’ll see you in April for Act 3!

Resonance Records Is Proud to Present Polly Gibbons All I Can Do Rising young singer of jazz, blues, and soul, called a "once-in-a-generation talent," releases first live album, recorded at Power Station in New York. Polly Gibbons Vocals Tamir Hendelman | James Pearson Piano Shedrick Mitchell Hammond Organ Paul Bollenback Guitar Richie Goods Bass Mark McLean Drums Los Angeles, March 26, 2019 - Resonance Records discovery Polly Gibbons, a British-born star on the rise, has a sound and style that give off sparks. It's raw, raspy, and full of heat; it sputters and growls, carves out funky grooves, and wails into the skies. All I Can Do, her third Resonance release, the label's founder George Klabin, places Gibbons in front of an audience, where she's at her most explosive. Recorded before an invited crowd at Power Station, the New York studio where Bruce Springsteen, the Rolling Stones, Paul McCartney, Madonna, and Sting made renowned albums, All I Can Do teams Gibbons with a smoldering quintet: pianist and arranger James Pearson (musical director at the legendary Ronnie Scott's in London); organist Shedrick Mitchell (who played for nine years with Whitney Houston); guitarist Paul Bollenback; bassist Richie Goods; and drummer Mark McLean. Guest pianist and arranger Tamir Hendelman is a first-call musician in Los Angeles, a first-call accompanist in Los Angeles; he can be heard on the CD and DVD of One Night Only: Barbra Streisand and Quartet at the Village Vanguard. On All I Can Do, Gibbons roams the musical map while staying grounded in jazz, her home base. She finds the common thread in songs by Horace Silver, Prince, AND Al Jarreau. She borrows tunes from her idols-Nina Simone, Chet Baker, Donny Hathaway-and makes them her own. As Jon Sobel wrote in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer: "I hear echoes of Ella, Lena, Aretha, even Janis. But Gibbons is a full-blown phenomenon of her own." The performance took place in 2018, an important year for her. That summer, Birdland, New York's premier jazz club, gave Gibbons a residency. She opened for Boz Scaggs at the Montreal Jazz Festival and played the Pittsburgh International Jazz Festival alongside Gregory Porter, Marcus Miller, and Tootie Heath. Gibbons performed regularly at Ronnie Scott's, her London headquarters. Her previous album on Resonance, Is It Me ...?, earned raves. Wrote John Fordham of The Guardian: "Gibbons has proven herself a versatile artist who can switch from an emotionally subtle Cleo Laine-like purr to a soul-gospel wail in a blink, and she has a growing authority as a co-composer with James Pearson ... Polly Gibbons is unmistakably a class act, getting classier fast." A farmer's daughter, Gibbons grew up with her six siblings in Framlingham, a small market town in Suffolk, England. Early on she learned the meaning of the blues: "I've got super-loving parents, but I was very bullied at school, and there was quite a lot of illness in my family." At thirteen she heard her first Billie Holiday record. It led her on a chase to explore other black American musical greats: Mahalia Jackson, Aretha Franklin, Marvin Gaye, Miles Davis, Thelonious Monk. The "history and complexity and pain and anger and joy in that music," she says, "made me very excited and touched me." In 2006, before she had released her first album, the BBC Jazz Awards nominated her in its "Rising Star" category. A few years later Gibbons was singing at Ronnie's in front of Van Morrison, who lauded her "great voice." The great arranger/composer Johnny Mandel-who has written for Peggy Lee, Frank Sinatra, and Shirley Horn-would later comment: "They don't come along very often, but this one's a star." Gibbons went on to open for George Benson and Gladys Knight in their U.K. tours, and (with Pearson) to score first place in the Indie International Songwriting Contest for their song "Midnight Prayer." Peter Quinn ofJazzwise proclaimed her "a truly exceptional, once-in-a-generation talent, possessing a voice of such sizzling intensity and raw emotion you could fry an egg on it." Her 2015 debut album on Resonance, Many Faces of Love, established Polly as one of the freshest jazz voices to hit the U.S. in years. All I Can Do shows her continued growth. Her version of the Horace Silver gospel tune "Permit Me to Introduce You to Yourself" mixes funk, scatting, and churchy organ and piano; Polly sings as fervently as a preacher in the pulpit. Jazz divas love to emote their way through "Everything Must Change," but Polly transmits its hard-earned lessons quietly. On a tip from Klabin, Polly sings a rollicking cover of a Della Reese showstopper, "Some of My Best Friends Are the Blues." She and Pearson wrote "All I Can Do Is Sing the Blues" in response to "the bad things in life," most of them stemming from current political mayhem on both sides of the pond. Following the death of Prince, Gibbons was moved to sing "Nothing Compares 2 U," his great ballad of lost love, in a spare and mournful setting, "just Shedrick and James laying it down." "I Want a Little Sugar in My Bowl," the unashamedly naughty Bessie Smith blues, never fails to thrill Gibbons's audiences. Pearson takes it to church with an arrangement inspired by Mahalia Jackson records; Tamir Hendelman channels every style Gibbons loves into a panoramic solo. All I Can Do reveals a young woman who, musically and expressively, is wise beyond her years. TRACKS 1. Permit Me to Introduce You to Yourself (5:08) 2. Good Hands Tonight (6:28) 3. Beautiful Things (4:21) 4. If You Had the Chance (5:21) 5. Some of My Best Friends Are the Blues (6:36) 6. Anything Goes (4:30) 7. This Is Always (5:39) 8. All I Can Do (5:03) 9. Everything Must Change (7:23) 10. I'm Just a Lucky So-and-So (5:48) 11. Nothing Compares 2 U (6:24) 12. I Want a Little Sugar in My Bowl (5:20) Arrangements: Tamir Hendelman | James Pearson For a variety of videos and further info on Polly Gibbons: https://resonancerecords.org/artists/polly-gibbons/ ABOUT THE LABEL - Resonance Records is a multi-GRAMMY® Award-winning label (most recently for John Coltrane's Offering: Live at Temple University for "Best Album Notes") that prides itself in creating beautifully designed, informative packaging to accompany previously unreleased recordings by the jazz icons who grace its catalog. Headquartered in Beverly Hills, CA, Resonance Records is a division of Rising Jazz Stars, Inc. a California 501(c) (3) non-profit corporation created to discover the next jazz stars and advance the cause of jazz. Current Resonance artists include Richard Galliano, Tamir Hendelman, Christian Howes and Donald Vega. www.ResonanceRecords.org Resonance Records Is Proud to Present Polly Gibbons All I Can Do Rising young singer of jazz, blues, and soul, called a "once-in-a-generation talent," releases first live album, recorded at Power Station in New York. CD AND DIGITAL FORMATS AVAILABLE ON APRIL 19, 2019. Polly Gibbons Vocals Tamir Hendelman | James Pearson Piano Shedrick Mitchell Hammond Organ Paul Bollenback Guitar Richie Goods Bass Mark McLean Drums For a variety of videos and further info on Polly Gibbons: https://resonancerecords.org/artists/polly-gibbons/

DEBUT ALBUM FROM NEW ORLEANS-BASED VOCALIST QUIANA LYNELL, A LITTLE LOVE, SET FOR RELEASE APRIL 5TH VIA CONCORD JAZZ Track listing: 1. We Are (4:39) (Alina Engibaryan-Michael League-Michael Maher) 2. Tryin’ Times (4:33) (Donny Hathaway-Leroy Hutson) 3. Move Me No Mountain (5:20) (Aaron Schroeder-Jerry Ragovoy) 4. Come Sunday / I Wish I Knew (How It Would Feel To Be Free) (5:20) “Come Sunday” (Duke Ellington) / “I Wish I Knew (How It Would Feel To Be Free)” (Billy Taylor-Dick Dallas) 5. They All Laughed featuring Jamison Ross (3:35) (George Gershwin-Ira Gershwin) 6. Just A Little Lovin’ (Early In the Mornin’) (3:20) (Barry Mann-Cynthia Weil) 7. You Hit The Spot (4:53) (Mack Gordon-Harry Revel) 8. Hip Shakin’ Momma (3:12) (Irma Thomas) 9. What Is Love? (3:20) (Monte Croft) 10. Sing Out, March On (3:52) (Joshuah Campbell) Quiana Lynell on the web: Website: www.quianalynell.com Facebook: www.facebook.com/quianalynell Twitter: twitter.com/quianalynell A Year-In-The-Making, Project Has Been Mentored By Grammy-Winning And Oscar Nominated Musician/Composer Terence Blanchard And Features A Stellar Band Including Cyrus Chestnut And Jamison Ross “Move Me No Mountain” Impacting Now A Little Love, the striking debut album from vocalist extraordinaire Quiana Lynell, will be released by Concord Jazz on April 5th, 2019. A feast of soul, gospel, r&b, groove and jazz, A Little Love blooms with songs about searching, trying times, buoyant love, deep reflection and social action. Lynell sings with the voice of authority and the takeaway from the album as a whole is honesty. She’s a truth-seeking storyteller with a spirited resolve - covering a wide range of songs from Nina Simone to Chaka Khan, from Duke to the Gershwins, from Donny Hathaway to Irma Thomas; with the bookends of the album featuring songs by powerful modern artists Alina Engibaryan and Joshuah Campbell. Accompanied by a powerhouse band featuring Cyrus Chestnut on piano, Jamison Ross on drums, Ed Cherry on guitars, George DeLancey on bass and Monte Croft on vibes, the release of A Little Love will be accompanied by tour dates including a stop at the 2019 Playboy Jazz Festival in Los Angeles in June. “Quiana is a dynamic and compelling vocalist,” said John Burk, President of Concord Records. “She has an incredibly rich voice and unique ability to effortlessly blend gospel, soul, and jazz into her music. We’re thrilled to add Quiana’s debut album to the longstanding lineage of exceptional artistry on Concord Jazz.” Born in Texas and raised on Gospel, in 2017 Quiana Lynell made her salient mark on the jazz-and-beyond musical world as a wise, heartfelt, warm vocalist whose voice is singular in its soul, intensity, ecstasy and outright spiritual courage. She played with her trio at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival which led to her performing in Poland with trumpeter Terence Blanchard’s Spike Lee tribute with a 75-piece orchestra and a continued period of mentoring on Blanchard's part. In November of 2017, after considering for a couple of years whether she was ready, she decided to vie for the Sarah Vaughan International Jazz Vocal Competition Award. She commanded the finals stage at NJPAC’s Victoria Theater and wowed the judges and audience with her vocal prowess that earned her the prize, which afforded her the opportunity to record an album for Concord Jazz. The result, 2019’s A Little Love, produced by the renowned Brian Michel Bacchus, is testament to what a rare, mesmerizing artist can achieve on her auspicious debut. Blanchard said his take on hearing Quiana for the first time was “a serious vocal discovery.” He added, “Quiana Lynell was already a vocal presence. When I first heard her sing, my initial thought was ‘Who are you, where have you been, and why am I just hearing you now?’”

CM 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.

I've put it on the camels. The price bounces between $27 and 30; so maybe I'll pull the trigger the next time it hits $27.

What do you think of this? I am well aware of vacuums (which cost hundreds of dollars) for the purpose of cleaning your vinyl. This is a $30 nozzle which attaches to your wet/dry vacuum! Many five star reviews. Too good to be true? https://www.amazon.com/Vinyl-Vac-33-Cleaning-Attaches/dp/B014X2SXY0

ALLISON MILLER'S BOOM TIC BOOM Glitter Wolf IMPACTING NOW Featuring Allison Miller, Myra Melford, Jenny Scheinman, Kirk Knuffke, Ben Goldberg & Todd Sickafoose "These pieces have the sturdy, thwacking power of so much of Miller’s drumming — which is equally informed by punk and jazz — and the jostling momentum of an M.T.A. car on the move." — THE NEW YORK TIMES "Ten years into the band’s existence, these musicians are firing on all cylinders... Glitter Wolf sounds like an album by Boom Tic Boom—and no one else.” - DownBeat "...Allison Miller’s band Boom Tic Boom makes weird, arty party music." — STEREOGUM “Allison Miller celebrates the 10th anniversary of her band, Boom Tim Boom, with the release of Glitter Wolf, a collection of ten new idiosyncratic compositions featuring Miller’s deft drum work and compositional adeptness front and center, and all her ensemble’s raw but refined propulsive energy.” — JAZZIZ "...Glitter Wolf is undeniably accessible, gloriously melodic and funky as hell." — NEW YORK CITY JAZZ RECORD “Modern Jazz Icon in the Making” — ALL ABOUT JAZZ

The O'Jays "Stand Up (Show Love)" Impacting: March 25 2019 Format(s): AAA, Non-Commercial, NPR, Triple A, Urban AC

Top of the Pops - Summer of Love (3 CDs) - 4.96 GBP https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07CXC31RH/

5. Art Blakey 31. Horace Silver 44. Sonny Rollins 48. Thelonious Monk 56. Dizzy Gillespie

What Laurie Likes https://artpepper.bandcamp.com/track/free-what-laurie-likes

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

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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