GA Russell

Good call Michael!

John Abercrombie guitar | Marc Copland piano Drew Gress double bass | Joey Baron drums Theo Bleckmann voice | Ben Monder guitar | Shai Maestro piano Chris Tordini double bass | John Hollenbeck drums Colin Vallon piano | Patrice Moret double bass | Julian Sartorius drums Ralph Towner classical and 12-string guitars Craig Taborn piano, electronics | Chris Speed tenor saxophone, clarinet Chris Lightcap double bass & bass guitar | Dave King drums ©2016 ECM | ECM Records | Verve Music Group, 150 5th Ave, 6th floor | New York NY 10011

Lyric Fury, The Adventurous Octet Led by Pianist/Composer Cynthia Hilts, Debuts on Record January 13 Hilts's Blond Coyote Records To Release Group's Eponymous CD Featuring Her Striking Originals CD Release Show Scheduled for January 12, Shapeshifter Lab, Brooklyn, NY December 7, 2016 Twenty years ago, Brooklyn-based pianist/composer Cynthia Hilts was seeking to form a band "that sounds like a celestial collision of Mingus and Debussy" as a vehicle for her brisk, striking originals. Her avant-meets-mainstream writing, as the band name Lyric Fury suggests, is demanding and defined by powerful contrasts. Hilts and her octet have been honing a sound and a vision ever since, and their brilliant efforts are captured on their first recording together -- the like-named Lyric Fury -- set for January 13 release by Hilts's Blond Coyote imprint. Lyric Fury boasts a lineup of top-drawer players with highly distinctive "A" games of their own. They include trumpet great and onetime Mingusite Jack Walrath, saxophonists Lisa Parrott and Lily White (who co-produced the album with Hilts), trombonist Deborah Weisz, cellist Marika Hughes, bassist Ratzo Harris, and drummer Scott Neumann. The infectious opening track, "Those Basinites," was inspired by the quirky residents of Basin, Montana, where Hilts did several residencies. But much of Hilts's music, for which she writes her own poetic lyrics, responds to situations and events. "Previously a Thing," a brash invocation that turns Horace Silver-style hard bop on its ear (dig White's passionate tenor solo), was written after a breakup. The free-gliding "Blues for the Bronchs," featuring out-of-sorts voicings and a ripping, hard-edged solo by Walrath, had its genesis in an unshakable case of bronchitis. A seasoned peace activist, Hilts composed the album's most lyrical and deeply affecting work, "Peace Now," following the outbreak of the Iraq War. Her vocal -- part scat, part chant, part heartfelt plea -- is framed by the dark tones of Parrott's baritone and Hughes's cello and carried by bright rhythms. "Teacher," with its delicate piano introduction and South African lilt, is a prayer for a spiritual leader. Forming the octet proved a dream achievement in many ways. "I have always been a loner," Hilts says. "I didn't understand the value of community. But I certainly do now, having benefited so much from the openness and contributions of these musicians. When I bring in a new piece, they understand not to try and do something new with it right away, even in cases where I haven't written something right. They sublimate their individuality for a moment or two. And during performances of the music, they're always coming up with surprises. But it all works out in the end." Born and raised in Tucson, Cynthia Hiltsgrew up in a musical family. She went on to study jazz composition and arranging at Berklee College of Music with, among others, the late trumpeter and big band leader Herb Pomeroy, who also taught the likes of Gary Burton, Gary McFarland, and Toshiko Akiyoshi. "I was so excited to be there," she says. "Herb taught harmonic subtleties with great precision and humor, for instance in his class 'Writing in the Style of Duke Ellington.'" Hilts moved to New York City in the early '90s. After appearing on a free jazz album, Invite the Unexpected, with Mike Ellis, George Garzone, Graham Haynes, and Cecil McBee, she wrote and recorded her first album, Stars Down to the Ground, in Montana. Featuring local players, the 2000 release was commissioned by the Montana Artists Refuge -- "the first time I'd been treated as a royal composer," Hilts jokes. Her self-produced second album, Second Story Breeze (2008), showcased her distinctive singing, soulful postbop piano playing, and sometimes daring arranging in a heady trio setting featuring bassist Ron McClure and drummer Jeff Williams. After her time at Berklee, Hilts gained valuable experience in such places as San Francisco, Florida, Sweden, and France. She has performed in a variety of settings, including reggae and calypso bands (hear the reggae-fied "Jam & Toast" on the new album). She has contributed to film documentaries and has served as musical director for theater productions. She's also an active visual artist. Hilts is most at home, however, in Lyric Fury -- the name of which came to her without any brainstorming or fanfare. "The group only expands my version of what the music should be, of who I am musically as a person," she says. "It's a real labor of love." Cynthia Hilts and Lyric Fury will celebrate the release of their new CD with a performance at Shapeshifter Lab in Brooklyn on Thursday 1/12. Looking ahead, the band is also booked at New York's Baha'i Center, part of the Jazz Tuesdays series, on 4/18; and at the Jazz on the Lake Festival in Lake George, NY 9/16-17. Photography: John Abbott Lyric Fury EPK Web Site: cynthiahilts.com

Bay Area Vocalist Sandy Cressman Reaffirms Her Deep Connections with Brazilian Music on New CD "Entre Amigos" Recorded in San Francisco, São Paulo, & Recife With a Cast of Brazilian & American Collaborators, CD Is Scheduled for Release On February 3 By Cressman Music CD Release Shows Include Stops in Berkeley, Oakland, New York City, & Carnaval in Recife, Brazil December 1, 2016 As founder and leader of the group Homenagem Brasileira, San Francisco-based vocalist/ educator Sandy Cressman has had many opportunities over the last 20-plus years to forge creative partnerships with like-minded musicians from the Bay to Brazil. Her entrancing new album, Entre Amigos, which will be released on February 3 by her Cressman Music imprint, marks the culmination of these relationships and is a celebration of her own deep history with the music and the players. Though the new CD is her first new recording since 2005's Brasil--Sempre no Coração, a project devoted to definitive songs by masters of MPB (música popular brasileira), Cressman never stepped away from music. As an educator and linchpin of a bustling creative family including her husband, former longtime Santana trombonist and recording engineer Jeff Cressman; their older daughter, New York trombonist/vocalist Natalie Cressman; and their younger daughter, Los Angeles dancer Julianna Cressman, she's maintained enduring musical ties with some of the region's finest musicians. There's nothing quite like being massively overscheduled to concentrate one's attention, and Cressman came up with an enthralling set of answers to the self-searching question, "What do I really want to do with this music?" "For a long while I concentrated on mining the treasures in the existing Brazilian music repertoire," says Cressman. "But at a certain point I started writing and asking people to collaborate, and Entre Amigos collects many of these amazing connections." Among the collaborators on the new CD are rising Brazilian-American guitarist Ian Faquini("Nossa História," "Deixa a Amor Florescer"), pianist/composer Jovino Santos Neto ("Para Hermeto"), Brazilian jazz master Antonio Adolfo ("Eu Vou Lembrar"), and São Paulo-based samba-jazzistas Dani and Debora Gurgel ("Como Eu Quero Cantar"). Significantly, Entre Amigos opens a new chapter for Cressman as a tunesmith; she contributed lyrics, in both Portuguese and English, for every track on the album, and also wrote both music and lyrics for "Ela É," recorded in Germany with the 2010 Santana rhythm section, including Dennis Chambers, and for "Não Me Acorde Não," which tells the story of her and her husband's participation in Carnaval 2015 in Recife with renowned Pernambuco frevo composer/bandleader Spok and his Spok Frevo Big Band. That performance, and her return to Recife to record with Spok earlier this year, led to an intriguing invitation. When the director of music at the Paço do Frevo (Frevo Museum) learned of her recording project, he proposed a cultural exchange with local frevo musicians: the Cressmans will do a concert and some master classes at the Paço do Frevo the week preceding Carnaval 2017, and then they will perform at Carnaval with the Spok Frevo Orquestra. Sandy continues to work with Homenagem Brasileira, as well as Mistura Fina, a more recent Latin jazz combo led by guitarist Ray Obiedo (a longtime musical partner with whom she co-wrote Entre Amigos' "Eu Mais Você"). In recent months she's collaborated with the acclaimed 17-piece Electric Squeezebox Orchestra led by trumpeter Erik Jekabson, performed with world jazz pioneer Jai Uttal, and celebrated the music of Guinga with Faquini and flutist Rebecca Kleinmann. Somehow, every path seems to lead her back to Brazil. "I'm thrilled that my musical horizons are widening," she says. "For many years I was very Rio-centric, focused on bossa nova, samba, and Brazilian jazz. This record has São Paulo samba jazz, Northeastern rhythms frevo and maracatu. I keep meeting these people who have different areas of expertise and knowledge, and it's so inspiring and invigorating to be involved in the creation of these songs." CD Release Shows for Entre Amigos: Feb 16 Freight and Salvage, Berkeley, CA Feb 18-Mar 1 Carnaval/Various Shows and Master Classes, Recife, Brazil Mar 19 Café Pink House, Saratoga, CA Mar 25 Armando's, Martinez, CA Apr 7 Sound Room, Oakland, CA Apr 12 Rockwood Music Hall Stage 3, New York, NY May 7 Blue Note, Napa, CA May 19 California Jazz Conservatory, Berkeley, CA Jul 2 Piedmont Piano Company, Oakland, CA Jul 20 Crocker Art Museum Jazz Night Series, Sacramento, CA Photography: Calixto Júnior Fotografía Sandy Cressman "Entre Amigos" EPK Web Site: cressmanmusic.com

ECM & The NYC 2017 Winter Jazz Fest ©2016 ECM | 1755 Broadway, Floor 3, New York, NY 10019

Eden River Records Presents A Record Of Collaboration & Companionship: The Last Album From An Iconic Voice JIMMY SCOTT'S I GO BACK HOME WITH Joe Pesci, Dee Dee Bridgewater, James Moody, Kenny Barron, Peter Erskine, Arturo Sandoval, Joey DeFrancesco, Monica Mancini, Till Brönner, Oscar Castro-Neves, Bob Mintzer, John Pisano, Renee Olstead, Gregoire Maret, HBR Studio Symphony Orchestra CD (WITH GENEROUSLY-SIZED BOOKLET), DOUBLE-VINYL (2 X 180 GMS) AND MULTIPLE DIGITAL FORMATS AVAILABLE IN STORES AND ONLINE ON JANUARY 27, 2017 AND THROUGH WWW.EDEN-RIVER-RECORDS.COM The album's inspiring creation is told in an accompanying award-winning documentary film. Watch the official trailer here. JIMMY SCOTT DOCUMENTARY I GO BACK HOME - A STORY ABOUT HOPING AND DREAMING World Premiere at SXSW Film Festival 2016 Introduced by Quincy Jones at the 50th Montreux Jazz Festival 2016 Winner at Harlem International Film Festival 2016 for "Best Documentary" Winner at Festival International de Film de Bruxelles 2016 for "Best Documentary" Winner at 13th Soundtrack Cologne 2016 for "Best Documentary" MORE SCREENING DATES TO BE ANNOUNCED. Wuppertal, December 14, 2016 - I Go Back Home is the heroic creation of German producer Ralf Kemper, a love letter to a pioneering vocalist, Jimmy Scott, cursed with puberty-stunting Kallman's Syndrome which ironically gifted him his incomparable style and sound. An oppressive recording contract hounded Jimmy Scott through most of his recording career and prevented him from releasing albums (including the only album Ray Charles ever produced). It wasn't until 1992 that Jimmy, aged 63, recorded All The Way, the first album with which he had creative control. Fittingly, the album was nominated for a Grammy and brought him to a new audience including director David Lynch who cast him in his television series Twin Peaks. Scott began touring and regularly releasing albums. I Go Back Home was recorded in 2014. It is a record of reconciliation and collaboration, the sound of a singer going out on top. With production from Phil Ramone, Kemper and Scott showcase the work of exceptional collaborators, several of whom passed since contributing to the album, among them, bossa nova icon Oscar Castro-Neves and legendary saxophonist James Moody, long-time associate of Dizzy Gillespie. Additional guests include Academy Award-winning actor Joe Pesci, who turns in a divine duet on The Nearness of You and The Folks Who Live on the Hill; drummer Peter Erskine, pianist Kenny Barron, organist Joey DeFrancesco, and Dee Dee Bridgewater, who joins Scott on For Once in My Life. Everybodyʼs Somebodyʼs Fool has special meaning for Scott. It was his only charting song, a modest hit with Lionel Hampton and his Orchestra. Here, 50 years later, Scott revisits it with accompanist James Moody, who appeared on the original. As Jimmy explained: "The lyric is so important to me. I feel if you're singing a song or telling the story in a song it should mean something. That's why I protect what I have in it, because that's where I believe it should go. It should mean something. It should make sense." Dave Nathan wrote on AllMusic that Scott's phrasing moves "beyond mere poignancy and close to reverence". This is truer than ever on I Go Back Home. Scott shifts from speak-singing in album-opener (Sometimes I Feel Like a) Motherless Child to a lively bossa nova take on I Remember You to the full-throated commitment on If I Ever Lost You. And while we can mourn the decades he didn't record, the tragedies and injustices that never defeated him, I Go Back Home succeeds in capturing the essence of a life that was ultimately triumphant. TRACKS 1. Motherless Child (5:23) - Featuring Joey De Francesco 2. The Nearness Of You (6:38) - Duet with Joe Pesci 3. Love Letters (4:08) 4. Easy Living (4:17) - Duet with Oscar Castro-Neves 5. Someone To Watch Over Me (4:15) - Featuring Renee Olstead 6. How Deep is the Ocean (5:10) - Featuring Denny Barron 7. If I Ever Lost You (5:46) - Featuring Till Brönner 8. For Once In My Life (5:07) - Duet with Dee Dee Bridgewater 9. I Remember You (4:26) - Featuring Monica Mancini & Arturo Sandoval 10. Everybody is Somebody's Fool (3:55) - Featuring James Moody 11. Folks Who Live On The Hill (4:57) - Featuring Joe Pesci 12. Poor Butterfly (4:56) - Featuring Gregoire Maret PERSONNEL Jimmy Scott: vocals; Joey DeFrancesco: organ (1, 3, 4, 10, 11); Kenny Barron: piano (1, 2, 5-8, 11, 12); Martin Gjakonovski: bass (1); Hans Dekker: drums (1); Joe Pesci: vocals (2, 11); Michael Valerio: bass (2-12); Peter Erskine: drums (2-12); Oscar Castro- Neves: vocals (3), guitar (3, 6, 9); Gregoire Maret: harmonica (3, 4, 12); John Pisano: guitar (4); Renee Olstead: vocals (5); Till Brönner: trumpet (7); Bob Mintzer: tenor saxophone (8); Monica Mancini: vocals (9); Arturo Sandoval: trumpet (9); James Moody: saxophone (10); HBR Studio Symphony Orchestra. 1st Row (L to R): Dee Dee Bridgewater, Arturo Sandoval, Joe Pesci, Peter Erskine, Renee Olstead, Kenny Barron, John Pisano. 2nd Row (L to R): Till Brönner, Monica Mancini, James Moody, Gregoire Maret, Bob Mintzer, Joey DeFrancesco, Oscar Castro-Neves TRAILER AND CLIPS Documentary Official Trailer I Go Back Home PRODUCER'S COMMENT By Ralf Kemper "When I heard Jimmy Scott for the first time, I didn't even know it was Jimmy because the record didn't mention his name. It was a Charlie Parker record from 1953 and Jimmy was singing Embraceable You. The name of the singer was called Chubby Newsome but I found out later it was really Jimmy Scott. To me, his voice was so different from the others, and I couldn't understand why Jimmy never got the kind of recognition for his master story-telling artistry that he so clearly deserved. In Germany, I grew up a classical piano prodigy in a family where music was a big part of daily life. I dove into music because it seemed to be the only place where stories were told the way I dreamed and felt them. It wasn't until the death of my wife Candace in 2007 that I started to ask many questions. It was like an earthquake of the highest magnitude which shook my life. What had I been doing all those years scoring over 1000 TV commercials when originally I was supposed to only pay my bills so I could do the music I always dreamed of. My dream for most of my life has been to produce and create music with the artists that first inspired my love of music: the American Jazz scene. I decided to get back into serious music and do something personal for my soul. In the fall of 2008, I remembered a conversation I had with Jimmy Scott in Milan, so I gave him a call and asked him if he wanted to record some of the American Songbook with me. When he said yes on the phone, my dreams to get a record done with Jimmy Scott and some of my favorite musicians seemed to becoming a reality. Then I found out that he was seriously sick but wanted to do a last record...and if we decided to do it, it had to happen immediately. I became obsessed with the idea that musicians from all different kinds of backgrounds and all different ages should get together to make Jimmy´s artistry of masterful story-telling public and available for future generations. That dream came true in bringing Jimmy together with such legends as Quincy Jones, Arturo Sandoval, James Moody, Monica Mancini, David Sanborn, Madeleine Peyroux and Joe Pesci to name a few. Jimmy's spirit, love for life and his incredible story-telling artistry kept my hopes up, finally getting me back on my feet again, and remembering the things that are important in life. Love! I believe it's the only reason for human beings to be on this planet. We have to follow our heart and inner voice. If we stop doing that, we are lost." ABOUT RALF KEMPER Producer / President of Eden River Records Born in 1958, Kemper started to play classical piano at the age of 3 and began formal piano study at the age of 6. Growing up a musical prodigy in the 60's & 70's, Kemper was absorbing all kinds of music from blues to rock to jazz. As an adult, he started a production company for scoring commercials. Kemper became a Latin Grammy winner in 2010 with Arturo Sandoval´s record A Time For Love. He has completed producing the star-studded tribute album for Jimmy Scott along with it's companion documentary film I Go Back Home - Jimmy Scott which has been featured on many prestigious film festivals in 2016. Kemper is currently producing Joe Pesci´s new record and completing Alan Broadbent's Orchestral Sessions recorded at Abbey Road. ABOUT THE LABEL German label Eden River Records, based in Wuppertal (North-Rhine Westphalia), focuses on a variety of genres: from jazz and blues to classical. CEO Ralf Kemper has worked as a producer, composer, audio engineer, and has served as a consultant for over 25 years in Music & TV Commercial Production. He says "We believe in the original way of listening: sit down close your eyes and let the music take you on a journey." Eden River Records is a company built around the pursuit of high quality audio recording. It focuses on preserving and enhancing sound quality, delivering the music as beautifully and naturally as possible. Works are offered in 180 gr audiophile vinyl format in carefully manufactured top quality CDs and in high-resolution digital formats (96khz 24bit) for download. The label's mission and purpose are simple, as it provides music by enthusiasts for enthusiasts!

Presents THE THREE SOUNDS FEATURING GENE HARRIS GROOVIN' HARD: LIVE AT THE PENTHOUSE 1964 - 1968 Deluxe CD & Digital Editions Available on Friday, January 13, 2017 Never-Before-Issued Album by The Three Sounds Featuring Gene Harris Recorded Live at Seattle's Legendary Penthouse Jazz Club Includes 20-Page Book with Rare Photos and Essays by Producers Zev Feldman & George Klabin, Seattle Radio Personality Jim Wilke and noted jazz journalist Ted Panken WATCH THE NEW RESONANCE VIDEO BELOW Los Angeles, December 13, 2016 - Resonance Records is proud to announce the release of Groovin' Hard: Live at the Penthouse 1964 - 1968, a soulful collection of never-before-heard live recordings made over the course of five years during four separate engagements by the legendary Three Sounds featuring Gene Harris at Seattle's long-time local treasure, Charles Puzzo, Sr.'s now late, lamented jazz club, the Penthouse. This album stands shoulder-to-shoulder with the best titles in the Three Sounds' illustrious and extensive recorded catalog. The Three Sounds, led by pianist Gene Harris, was one of the preeminent "soul jazz" piano trios from the mid-'50s through the 1960s. In its heyday, the Three Sounds was one of the top-selling jazz acts in the world with a string of hit records on Blue Note Records between 1958 and 1962; indeed, during that period, no other Blue Note act sold as many records as the Three Sounds. After they left Blue Note, the Three Sounds also made a number of acclaimed, top-selling albums for Verve, Mercury, Limelight and other labels. In addition to the Three Sounds' own immensely successful albums recorded over the course of their 15 years together, Harris and his mates also collaborated on recordings with many of the foremost figures in jazz of the era such as Lester Young, Sonny Stitt, Stanley Turrentine, Johnny Griffin, Anita O'Day, Lou Donaldson and others. The Three Sounds' collective recorded catalogue occupies an important place in the history of recorded jazz. Photo by Francis Wolff © Mosaic Images LLC As a jazz pianist, Gene Harris was not only popular with fans, he was an important influence on a generation of pianists who followed him, such as Monty Alexander, Benny Green and many others. He had monumental technique, but that technique was always put in the service of deep feeling and groove. Monty Alexander notes, "His touch on the piano was crystal clear, immediately bringing up the feeling of blues as well as that cross between church and blues. He was greasy! He brought up soulful emotions." Harris's ever-present groove explains why the Three Sounds have remained relevant into the hip-hop era; a sample of their "Put On Train" was prominently featured in the Beastie Boys song, "What Comes Around" from their album, Paul's Boutique. Resonance Records's own connection with the Three Sounds goes back to founder George Klabin's childhood. Klabin recounts, "When I was 13 years old I fell in love with modern jazz. One of the very first jazz groups I discovered was the Three Sounds featuring pianist Gene Harris. I purchased many of their records and listened to them over and over, to the point where I could play them in my head. The Three Sounds were my introduction to bluesy, funky style jazz and I have cherished them and collected their recordings ever since." So it should come as no surprise that Resonance's first forays into discovering and releasing archival recordings were two Gene Harris albums, live recordings made in London after Harris resumed his music career after a short-lived retirement: Live in London (2001) and Another Night in London (2006). Those two albums came to be after Gene Harris's widow, Janie, knowing how much George Klabin loved the Three Sounds, sent copies of the tapes to Klabin. Shortly after the release of Live in London, producers Zev Feldman and George Klabin began exploring in earnest the idea of going deeper into the pursuit of searching out and releasing previously unheard archival material by top jazz artists. Feldman says "It's been so exciting working on these projects with George over the years, and he's certainly made me an even bigger Gene Harris fan than I already was! What's interesting is that this was actually one of the very first projects we talked about when we started on the journey of releasing archival material, and it's taken all these years to bring it to fruition, which is very fulfilling." In the course of this project Klabin met and befriended Jim Wilke, the Seattle-based jazz radio personality, producer and engineer. Wilke had amassed a large library of tapes by top jazz artists in live performance at the Penthouse during the 60s, recorded during live broadcasts of his KING-FM radio show, Jazz From The Penthouse. Fifty years later Wilke is still active in jazz radio and live recording on location, and estimates he's recorded and produced well over a thousand recordings at clubs, concerts and festivals. When Klabin learned of the existence of this extraordinary Penthouse library, given his affinity for the Three Sounds, his attention was immediately drawn to the several recordings of the group preserved for posterity by Wilke. Klabin determined that the first title Resonance would release from this archive would be this album Groovin' Hard: Live at the Penthouse 1964 - 1968. Photo by Francis Wolff © Mosaic Images LLC, left to right: Andy Simpkins, Gene Harris, Bill Dowdy The material on this album - hand-picked by George Klabin - is made up of jazz standards: ("Bluesette," "The Night Has a Thousand Eyes" and "Yours Is My Heart Alone"); soulful treatments of popular tunes of the day ("The Shadow of Your Smile," "Girl Talk" and the theme from "Caesar and Cleopatra"); and the soulful originals, "Blue Genes"; "Rat Down Front" and "The Boogaloo." The repertoire is rounded out by Ray Brown's rousing jazz waltz, "A.M. Blues." Four of the compositions in the album's repertoire have never been released on any other Three Sounds' album: "The Shadow of Your Smile," "Rat Down Front," "Bluesette" and "The Boogaloo." "Gene Harris was a guy that brought such feeling and emotion to the piano," Feldman says. "He had a groove, and he played for the people. It's really hard not to enjoy what he's doing. There's something very special about him and these recordings illustrate an important part of his legacy." Resonance is proud to be able to bring this remarkable previously unknown recording to the public. We are particularly pleased to have been able to do so with friendship and support of the Puzzo family and Jim Wilke. Once again, consistent with its mission to honor the traditions of great American music, Resonance Records has pulled out all the stops in creating this release. The deluxe CD package includes a 20-page book, presented in a beautifully designed digipak by Burton Yount, with rare photos by Francis Wolff, Ray Avery and Howard Lucraft, as well as essays by Resonance producers Zev Feldman and George Klabin, jazz radio personality and recording engineer Jim Wilke, who originally recorded all of the material on the album, and noted author and jazz journalist, Ted Panken, who interviewed pianists Monty Alexander and Benny Green for his essay. The limited-edition, hand-numbered LP pressing on 180-gram black vinyl was released on Record Store Day's Black Friday event on November 25, 2016 and was mastered by the legendary Bernie Grundman at Bernie Grundman Mastering and pressed at Record Technology, Inc. (RTI). Resonance Records - a multi-GRAMMY® Award-winning label (most recently for John Coltrane's Offering: Live at Temple University for "Best Album Notes") - prides itself in creating beautifully designed, informative packaging to accompany previously unreleased recordings by the jazz icons who grace Resonance's catalog. Such is the case with The Three Sounds Featuring Gene Harris / Groovin' Hard: Live at the Penthouse 1964 - 1968. TRACKS 1. Girl Talk (6:23) 2. The Night Has A Thousand Eyes (5:49) 3. Blue Genes (3:10) 4. The Shadow Of Your Smile (6:55) 5. Rat Down Front (2:25) 6. Yours Is My Heart Alone (7:50) 7. A.M. Blues (4:09) 8. Bluesette (6:48) 9. Caesar And Cleopatra (Film Theme) (4:57) 10. The Boogaloo (2:44) Pre-order on iTunes and receive 2 tracks instantly: "Girl Talk" and "Blue Genes"

Happy Birthday Gheorghe!

Happy Birthday Jim! Going to put on some Hi-Lo's?

In yesterday's (Dec. 12) issue, the Wall Street Journal reported on a new website called Music Aficionado. http://www.wsj.com/articles/getting-50-somethings-to-pay-for-streaming-music-1481292848 The article mentions that less than 2% of Spotify's and Apple Music's consumers over the age of 45 chose to pay for the ad-free level.

ECM Theo Bleckmann – Elegy Release date: January 27 Theo Bleckmann: voice / Shai Maestro: piano / Ben Monder: guitar Chris Tordini: double-bass / John Hollenbeck: drums Theo Bleckmann Quintet on tour: February 7 New York, NY Jazz Standard February 9 Santa Cruz, CA Kuumbwa February 10 Arcata, CA Redwood Jazz Alliance, February 11&12 Denver, CO Dazzle February 13 Los Angeles, CA EDYE Beyond being a vocalist of rare purity and daring, Theo Bleckmann is a sound painter who creates what JazzTimes has described aptly as “luminous webs” in music. The German-born New Yorker – after appearing on two ECM albums by Meredith Monk and another by Julia Hülsmann – makes his striking label debut as a leader with Elegy. This album showcases Bleckmann as a composer as much as a singer, with several instrumental pieces voiced by what he calls his “ambient” band of kindred-spirit guitarist Ben Monder, keyboardist Shai Maestro and the subtle rhythm team of Chris Tordini and John Hollenbeck. Highlights include Bleckmann’s sublime rendition of Stephen Sondheim’s “Comedy Tonight” (“tragedy tomorrow… comedy tonight”), as well as the mellifluous vocalise of “Elegy” and achingly poetic “To Be Shown to Monks at a Certain Temple.”

JOHN ABERCROMBIE QUARTET - UP AND COMING Release date: January 13, 2017 John Abercrombie: guitar / Marc Copland: piano Drew Gress: double-bass / Joey Baron: drums JOHN ABERCROMBIE QUARTET ON TOUR: January 21 Cambridge, MA Regattabar January 24-28 New York, NY Birdland January 31 Washington DC Blues Alley February 17-18 Denver, CO DazzleJazz February 19 Portland, OR Portland Jazz Festival February 23 San Francisco, CA SFJAZZ (ECM @SF Jazz II) Guitarist John Abercrombie – who has recorded as a leader for ECM since 1974 – returns with a second album by his quartet featuring kindred-spirit piano foil Marc Copland, along with long-time rhythm partners Drew Gress and Joey Baron. Extolling 39 Steps, the group’s 2013 album, the Financial Times said: “The emphasis is on subtle intrigue, flowing lyricism and the interplay between the leader’s warm, cleanly articulated guitar and Copland’s piano… with bassist Gress and drummer Baron equally supple and sinewy companions.” The same virtues of lyrical melody and harmonic/rhythmic subtlety are apparent with the new Up and Coming, though with even more emphasis on the enduring values of song. Abercrombie’s liquid phrasing and glowing tone – enabled by the thumb technique he has honed since eschewing a plectrum in recent years – animate his five originals and the pair by Copland, as well as a take on the exotic-sounding Miles Davis classic “Nardis” done in the spirit of Bill Evans. Up and Coming has a twilight atmosphere, with melodic flow the guiding light.

ECM John Abercrombie Quartet Up and Coming John Abercrombie: guitar Marc Copland: piano Drew Gress: double-bass Joey Baron: drums U.S. Release date: January 13, 2017 ECM 2528 B0026115-02 UPC: 6025 572 3377 Guitarist John Abercrombie returns with a second album by his quartet featuring like-minded piano foil Marc Copland, along with longtime rhythm partners Drew Gress and Joey Baron. Extolling 39 Steps, the group’s 2013 album, the Financial Times said: “The emphasis is on subtle intrigue, flowing lyricism and the interplay between the leader’s warm, cleanly articulated guitar and Copland’s piano… with bassist Gress and drummer Baron equally supple and sinewy companions.” The same virtues of lyrical melody and harmonic/rhythmic subtlety are apparent with Up and Coming, though with even more emphasis on the enduring values of song. Abercrombie’s liquid phrasing and glowing tone animate his five originals and a pair by Copland, as well as a take on the exotic-sounding Miles Davis classic “Nardis” done in the spirit of Bill Evans. Up and Coming has a twilight atmosphere, with melodic flow the guiding light. As they did for 39 Steps, the kindred-spirit foursome convened for Up and Coming at Avatar Studios in New York City with producer Manfred Eicher. Befitting the free-flowing, lambent mood of such highlights as “Joy” and “Sunday School,” the sessions were especially relaxed and congenial, with “not only a lot of playing but also a lot of listening going on,” Abercrombie says. “As players, we’ve all known each other such a long time. Also, Manfred and I have worked closely together in the studio for so long – since 1974 – that we don’t have to say too much, we can just do what we do, using a kind of shorthand. He adds a lot to the music, of course, because he really cares. That the end product is very important to him goes without saying, but that level of thoughtful dedication over all these years is so rare.” Abercrombie’s connection to Copland goes back even further than the guitarist’s ECM connection, back to when they were both playing in Chico Hamilton’s band in the early ’70s. “Marc was still playing the alto sax when we met – he hadn’t yet decided to concentrate on the piano,” the guitarist recalls. “As players, we’ve always related. I respond to his touch at the piano – it’s smooth and blends with my sound, fluid rather than percussive. He floats over bar lines and abstracts things, while still respecting the form. And his key influences – Bill Evans, Paul Bley – are right up my alley. He also never plays just what I write on the page, in that he expands the tune, making it better, adding ‘Copland-isms,’ things that I love but would never think of myself.” Abercrombie and Copland have worked extensively as a duo over the years, underscoring their compatibility. The two musicians now live not far from each other in New York’s Hudson River Valley. Noting that the pianist wrote the dark-hued “Tears” and fetching, funky “Silver Circle” for Up and Coming, the guitarist says: “Marc is an interesting composer, who writes differently than I do – it’s always a nice contrast. His writing is more classically oriented in a way, polychordal without being dense.” Abercrombie met Baron in the late ’70s, when the younger musician subbed for the regular drummer on one of the guitarist’s gigs at the Lighthouse in Hermosa Beach, California. Abercrombie says, “Joey has always been able to swing his ass off, whether he was playing with Carmen McRae or John Zorn.” Gress first partnered with Baron for Abercrombie in the quartet that recorded the guitarist’s 2012 ECM album Within a Song, with saxophonist Joe Lovano. “Joey and Drew are just so good together, with this loose but rhythmically accurate way of playing,” Abercrombie says. “And with Joey holding it down – he’s our anchor – Drew can take risks, as he likes to do.” This band’s penchant for form contrasts with Abercrombie’s more free-minded quartet with violinist Mark Feldman that made four ECM albums from 2000 to 2009 (with Baron also a member of that group). “It’s a bit more natural to play free with just one harmonic instrument in a band,” the guitarist explains. “With both guitar and piano, there’s inevitably more emphasis on harmony. That said, we like to play the form but keep it a bit open, do something with it. There’s an elastic quality to this band’s playing, nothing is ever too on-the-nose – and that’s the way I’ve always liked things.” Sometimes, though, being open to simplicity can pay dividends, as Abercrombie explains: “On the last album, 39 Steps, we played a sort of deconstructed version of ‘Melancholy Baby,’ and I thought we might do something similar with ‘Nardis.’ But Manfred had the bright idea of ‘why don’t you just play the tune.’ We do start off freely, with no tempo, but then it morphs into a tempo and becomes more straightforward. A lot like the Bill Evans record of the tune, it has a flow to it but also clarity – you can hear the changes. But that’s the thing with this band: We can play complex and a bit more free, or we can play more or less straight and simple.” The key sonic signature of Up and Coming, of course, is Abercrombie’s guitar playing, the style of which has evolved over the years. The mellow, almost autumnal sound he has been getting over the past decade and a half can be traced to him no longer playing with a pick, preferring to strike the strings with his thumb. The fluidity of his phrasing – always there – has only become more pronounced, with his tone warmer and more limpid than ever, allied to a characteristically incisive improvisational sense. “I play less fast than I used to, less ‘technical’,” he says. “But I actually think it’s more musical now. My playing is also more to the point, with melodic lines clearer. The softer attack suits this music, which has a more meditative quality at times. I’ve been doing this long enough that I just follow my muse, do what feels right.” *** Born in 1944 in Port Chester, New York, Abercrombie grew up in Greenwich, Connecticut, where he began playing the guitar at age 14. He started out imitating Chuck Berry licks, but the bluesy sound of Barney Kessel soon attracted him to jazz. After graduation from Boston's Berklee College of Music he went to New York, where he quickly became one of the city’s most in-demand session players and recorded with Gil Evans and Gato Barbieri, among others. Abercrombie’s first ECM session as a leader was Timeless, recorded in 1974 with Jack DeJohnette and Jan Hammer. The next year, the guitarist recorded the first of several albums with the dynamic trio Gateway, a cooperative also featuring DeJohnette and Dave Holland. At the end of the ’70s, Abercrombie formed his first quartet (with Richie Beirach, George Mraz and Peter Donald), recording three albums with the band for ECM that saw the guitarist move away from the sound of jazz-rock toward more spacious, impressionistic music. That body of work was reissued in 2015 via a boxed set titled The First Quartet in the label’s Old & New Masters series. The Guardian noted that the reissue exemplified some of Abercrombie’s signature merits, including his “expressive lyricism.” The guitarist has played on more than 50 ECM sessions, not only as a leader but as a highly creative contributor to recordings led by DeJohnette, Kenny Wheeler, Enrico Rava, Jan Garbarek and Charles Lloyd, among many others. ECM Receives Two Grammy Nominations Two ECM albums – one jazz, one classical, both produced by Manfred Eicher - were recognized this morning when the Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences announced the nominees for the 59th Annual Grammy Awards. Saxophonist Ravi Coltrane is nominated for Best Improvised Jazz Solo for his stunning sopranino playing on the title track of In Movement, recorded with drummer/bandleader Jack DeJohnette and bassist Matthew Garrison. The trio’s album references modern jazz history even as it looks ahead. “It’s a continuation,” says Jack DeJohnette, “a moving of our music forward – music that’s not locked into any one genre. I haven’t heard any combination like this. There’s the past and the present and the future in what we’re doing.” In the category Best Classical Compendium, conductor Tõnu Kaljuste and producer Manfred Eicher are nominated for the New Series album Gesualdo, an imaginatively-conceived disc revolving around the music, life and times of Carlo Gesualdo, Prince of Venosa. The disc brings together contemporary composition by Erkki Sven Tüür and Brett Dean inspired by Gesualdo, as well as new arrangements and re-orchestrations of Gesualdo’s music, powerfully performed by the Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir and the Tallinn Chamber Orchestra. Theo Bleckmann Elegy Theo Bleckmann: voice Shai Maestro: piano Ben Monder: guitar Chris Tordini: double-bass John Hollenbeck: drums U.S. Release date: January 27, 2017 ECM 2512 B0026148-02 UPC: 6025 479 9717 3 Theo Bleckmann Quintet on tour: February 7 New York, NY Jazz Standard February 9 Santa Cruz, CA Kuumbwa February 10 Arcata, CA Redwood Jazz Alliance, February 11&12 Denver, CO Dazzle February 13 Los Angeles, CA EDYE Mr. Bleckmann knows his way around a dreamscape. A vocalist of inventive instinct and assiduous musicality, he’s never more secure than when in reverie, plumbing depths at once familiar and strange... Nate Chinen, New York Times Beyond being a vocalist of rare purity and daring, Theo Bleckmann is a sound painter who creates what JazzTimes has described aptly as “luminous webs” in music. The German-born New Yorker – after appearing on two ECM albums by Meredith Monk and on another by pianist Julia Hülsmann of Kurt Weill songs – makes his striking label debut as a leader with Elegy. This album showcases Bleckmann as a composer as much as a singer, with several instrumental pieces voiced by what he calls his “ambient” band of kindred-spirit guitarist Ben Monder, keyboardist Shai Maestro and the subtle rhythm team of Chris Tordini and John Hollenbeck. Highlights include Bleckmann’s sublime rendition of Stephen Sondheim’s “Comedy Tonight” (“tragedy tomorrow… comedy tonight”), as well as the mellifluous vocalise of “Little Elegy” and achingly poetic song “To Be Shown to Monks at a Certain Temple.” “This record is called Elegy for a reason – each of its songs relates to death or transcendence in some existential way,” Bleckmann explains. “Several of the pieces are instrumental, with ‘Cortege’ a funeral march. In the song ‘Take My Life,’ I imagine what it would be like to die, losing facility bit by bit: losing your voice, your heartbeat, your breath. I wrote that one thinking about Bach and his cantatas, especially ‘Ich habe genug,’ which is about joyfully going into the afterlife. For this album, I wanted to create songs that deal with this subject matter not in a morbid way but with some light to it.” Reflecting on his inclusion of the Sondheim song, Bleckmann says: “In its original version, ‘Comedy Tonight’ is upbeat and fun. I arranged it more atmospherically in memoriam for my mother, who recently passed away. She was a woman who was funny and always looking for things to make her laugh. I think that’s why she made it to 91 – she would find humor even in things that weren’t necessarily funny. Half the time, I wouldn’t laugh, but she would be giggling. I think that's an incredible trait.” Regarding “To Be Shown to Monks at a Certain Temple,” Bleckmann notes its thematic significance: “The lyrics come from a Zen poem that I set to music. It’s about not giving up. Don’t think about death, just keep on moving. Don’t be morose, keep on living.” Bleckmann and company recorded Elegy at New York City’s Avatar Studios with producer Manfred Eicher, who helped shape the album. “Manfred had the great suggestion of using some of my written material as the basis for short free improvs,” Bleckmann recalls. “That’s how the instrumentals ‘Semblance,’ ‘Cortege’ and ‘Alate’ came about. We created these little interstitial islands to connect some of the songs. I often conducted them in the studio because there was so much space in these pieces. “The sonic character of the band is very ambient,” Bleckmann adds. “I wanted a group of musicians who weren’t hell-bent on soloing all the time – I wanted that space and a lot of collective playing. The piano, with Shai, is the centerpiece of the orchestration, taking the lead role harmonically and sometimes even rhythmically. Ben and John, on guitar and drums, encompass the envelope around that, marking a lot of the sonic space. Chris, on bass, delineates harmonic change within that.” Maestro and Tordini are newer musical friends for Bleckmann, but his creative relationships with Monder and Hollenbeck stretch back two decades, with the three musicians contributing to each other’s projects regularly over the years. Bleckmann and Monder, in particular, have performed extensively as a duo. “Ben is a very intense musician,” Bleckmann says. “He plays with such concentration that it can be mesmerizing. He’s someone who creates his universe through his sound, which is like that of no other guitarist. I’m really into sound – and that’s true for everyone in the band. Shai and Chris have their own, beautiful sounds on their instruments, while John – as such a great composer himself – explores sonic possibilities at the drums like no other drummer I know.” The overall tone and tenor of Elegy – floating yet substantive, reflecting on serious emotions but with a lightness of touch – reflects Bleckmann’s thoughts on the inevitability of the life cycle, the sublimity of our life’s punctuation. He says: “From the very first piece, ‘Semblance,’ I wanted the tonality of this music to have something of that radiance, that light, I felt with my mother at the end.” Theo Bleckmann Known primarily in the jazz world, Bleckmann is actually one of the finest, most creative singers today – no genre tags needed. Dennis Cook, Dirty Impound.com Possessing stunning range, startling clarity and an adventurous spirit, Theo Bleckmann has become one of the most inventive and creative vocalists in modern music... Shaun Brady, Jazziz Bleckmann’s first appearance in a jazz context for ECM was his featured role on pianist Julia Hülsmann’s exploratory 2015 album A Clear Midnight – Kurt Weill and America, which The Guardian called “one of the great jazz treatments of the songs of Kurt Weill,” singling out Bleckmann’s vocal “eloquence.” Prior to that, he appeared as a member of the Meredith Monk Vocal Ensemble on the albums mercy (2002) and impermanence (2007). Since 1989, Bleckmann has been a resident of New York, where his early champions included jazz vocal great Sheila Jordan. He has sung everything from songs by Charles Ives and Kate Bush to Las Vegas standards and Shakespearean sonnets, collaborating with figures from Laurie Anderson to John Zorn. ECM Colin Vallon Trio Danse Colin Vallon: piano Patrice Moret: double bass Julian Sartorius: drums U.S. Release: January 27, 2017 ECM 2517 B0026118-02 UPC: 6025 570 9323 0 LP UPC: 6025 572 3589 0 “This is highly original music… Vallon’s project has something to with how we perceive time in music – and music in time. It’s fascinating and accrues more and more interest with repeated listening.” Paul De Barros, Downbeat The Colin Vallon Trio has found its own space in the crowded world of the piano trio by quietly challenging its conventions. On its third ECM album Vallon again leads the group not with virtuosic solo display but by patient outlining of melody and establishing of frameworks in which layered group improvising can take place. Reviewing the group’s 2014 release Le Vent,Jazzwise wrote of a “restless stillness” that characterizes the music: “the power of resonantly minimal explorations of texture and atmosphere.” With this group, gentle and insistent rhythms can trigger seismic musical events. Although Vallon (recently nominated for the Swiss Music Prize) is the author of nine of the pieces here, the band members share equal responsibilities for the music’s unfolding. The gravitational pull of Patrice Moret’s bass and the intense detail supplied by Julian Sartorius’s drums and cymbals are crucial to the success of Vallon’s concept and the range of emotions the music can convey. All three of them reflect upon timbre and the changing nature of the ensemble sound in each moment. “I have always been interested in a group developing a collective way of thinking, where there is more than just the egos of the musicians involved,” Colin Vallon told Swiss newspaper Der Bund last year. Danse, recorded in February 2016, was produced by Manfred Eicher at Lugano’s Auditorio Stelio Molo RSI, where working in a resonant acoustic space without headphones has also contributed to the quality of deep listening inside the music, and helped it to open up even more. Colin Vallon (born 1980 in Lausanne) has been leading his own bands since 1999. Patrice Moret (born in Aigle in 1972) joined Vallon’s group in 2004. The third Vallon trio album Rruga, recorded in 2010 and its first for ECM, was immediately greeted by positive press. The musical understanding between Vallon and Moret has been further honed inside Albanian singer Elina Duni’s quartet (see the albums Matinë Malit and Dallëndyshe), another place where improvisation flowers outside jazz’s frame of reference. Vallon has often said that singers have influenced him more than other jazz instrumentalists. Beyond the trio he writes music for diverse ensembles and choreographers. Vallon and Moret play also in saxophonist Nicolas Masson’s group Parallels. In addition to the centering power of his bass, Patrice Moret has contributed striking compositions to the trio repertoire, in this case the kinetic motoric piece “Tinguely”. Julian Sartorius has been drummer with Vallon’s trio for more than four years, joining in time for the recording of Le Vent. Born in Thun in 1981, Sartorius had his first drum lessons at the age of 5, and later studied at the jazz schools of Lucerne and Bern with teachers including Pierre Favre and Norbert Pfammatter. He has collaborated with Matthew Herbert, Shahzad Ismaily, Sylvie Courvoisier, Dimlite, Merz, Fred Frith, Sophie Hunger, Rhys Chatham and many others. Danse is released in CD and vinyl versions and as digital download. Colin Vallon, Patrice Moret and Julian Sartorius launch the album with a run of Swiss concerts including Bern’s Bee-Flat (January 29), Moods, Zürich (February 3), Kulturcinema Arbon (February 10), AMR Genva (Fenruary 11), Riehen (February 14), Nova Jazz, Yverdon (March 4), Cully Jazz Festival (April 1). Additionally the group continues its long-running series of workshop concerts at the Mokka club in Thun, where they play on January 17 and 31, February 28, March 14 and 28 and April 11 and 25. Tour dates in Germany, Austria and Belgium are currently being finalized and will be posted shortly at www.ecmrecords.com and www.colinvallon.com

Happy Birthday 2016 mrjazzman!

Happy Birthday 2016 Dmitry!

Happy Birthday 2016 West Coast Ghost!

It's all news to me!

Scott, what are triggers?

Forty years ago I was under the impression that prices for stereo systems were at their lowest when the college kids went back to school. Perhaps that is still true. But this time of year might be good as well. So here we go. Denon AVR-X3300W 7.2 Channel Full 4K Ultra HD A/V Receiver with Built-In Wi-Fi and Bluetooth - $200 off - $799.00 https://www.amazon.com/Denon-AVR-X3300W-Channel-Receiver-Bluetooth/dp/B01HL8KYAY

Sounds to me like Blues in the Closet.

That sounds to me something Roland Kirk would have done. He did a lot of humming while playing the flute.

Brooks, I have just now dragged myself out of my sick bed, and placed the order for your Mosaic gift card. Let us know when it arrives, and what you spend it on!

Let's continue on with the Grey Cup. The links above to the league's website, the Ottawa Citizen and the Calgary Herald are still good to go with today's posts. Here is the link to TSN's coverage. Most of what they have on their website is a lot of brief videos. http://www.tsn.ca/cfl Here is Sportsnet's link. Like TSN's, it is mostly videos. http://www.sportsnet.ca/football/cfl/ 40,000 attended today's Redblacks parade in Ottawa. Now here are a number of thoughts from the 3DownNation writers. http://3downnation.com/2016/11/27/grey-cup-champs-redblacks-upset-stamps-instant-classic/#comments http://3downnation.com/2016/11/28/hank-leads-way-redblacks-end-40-year-championship-drought-15-thoughts-ottawas-grey-cup-win/#comments http://3downnation.com/2016/11/28/3min-3down-great-game-salvages-tough-week-cfl/#comments http://3downnation.com/2016/11/28/bo-levi-nailed-redblack-crying-jordan/#comments http://3downnation.com/2016/11/29/greatness-aside-tt-can-hard-happy-hank/#comments http://3downnation.com/2016/11/29/massive-crowd-celebrates-redblacks-grey-cup-victory/#comments ***** Finally for tonight, here are the Grey Cup's... play-by-play http://www.cfl.ca/games/2361/calgary-stampeders-vs-ottawa-redblacks/#playbyplay box score http://www.cfl.ca/games/2361/calgary-stampeders-vs-ottawa-redblacks/#boxscore videos http://www.cfl.ca/games/2361/calgary-stampeders-vs-ottawa-redblacks/#videos highlight reel http://www.cfl.ca/2016/11/28/gc104-ottawa-39-calgary-33-ot/

Happy Birthday 2016 crisp!

Happy Birthday 2016 John!