Hakim Jamal(UK)-Neon Sign
Album: LA Night
Composer: Paul Ashley Wheatcroft
Label: TakingHead TV Recordings (2022)
The new album from Hakim Jamal is inspired by the work of the great and sadly underrated Japanese Jazz-Funk musicians of the 1970s and 80s. It’s Hakim’s most uptempo album today, comprised of mostly instrumental dance/disco music with some stunning individual solos.
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TriTone Asylum is based in Southern California. Spear-headed by Peter Sepsis (bass) and Philip Topping (EVI). Through their unique instrumentation, they have masterfully developed an electro acoustic sound that melds Jazz, funk, and music from around the world. TriTone Asylum’s music reflects the varied musical landscape of the sounds and street rhythms of Los Angeles. Their original songs are influenced by a variety of artists including Freddie Hubbard, Herbie Hancock, Weather Report, Pat Metheny, as well as artists from the ECM Label.
EVI: Philip Topping
Saxophone: Ian Vo, Allen Mascari, Gary Herbig
Guitar: Andy Waddell
Keyboards: Mitch Forman, Henri Wilkinson
Bass: Peter Sepsis
Drums: Dave Johnstone
Percussion: Baba Sisso
Website
After his solo experience in ‘Wood Tales’ (published on Feb. 2021) Jacopo Ferrazza comes back as a band leader, guiding a quintet with two very special guests, Fabrizio Bosso (trumpet) and Marcello Allulli (sax).
A dreamlike world emerges from Ferrazza’s compositions and is outlined by the right balance between modern jazz, chamber music and electronic music.
The nine tracks of ‘Fantàsia’ follow a narrative that resembles a sequence of disjoined dreams appearing in an unorderly fashion nonetheless composing a greater holistic story.
As the music unfolds, introspective lyrics written by Ferrazza himself describe the thoughts of a WWII soldier, briefly before his death during the Normandy landings (La Course), as well as Siddharta’s concept of the cyclicality of time (River Theatre) and again the surreal tail of a time-travel vortex (Blue Glow).
Interstellar voyages, synesthetic worlds and the theme of afterlife are also part of ‘Fantàsia’, the latter being a topic very dear to Jacopo Ferrazza, especially after his record ‘Rebirth’ (Cam Jazz 2017).
Starting from his approach to the acoustic sound of the double bass, the Italian musician develops an accurate overall aesthetic to his compositions through electronics and pianist Enrico Zanisi contributes greatly to this intent thanks to his extensive use of synths, becoming a fundamental element to creating a precise setting in each track.
The album becomes an intentional screenplay where each element has its specific role, for example Valerio Vantaggio’s drums hold the music’s emotional pulse. Alessandra Diodati, here in her first recording experience, guides listeners through the different layers of the chronicle with her voice. And again Livia de Romanis’ cello represents the fire, a primordial force we find behind the most vivid nocturnal visions. The trumpet played Fabrizio Bosso incarnates an irruptive element which deconstructs all the rules of a well designed world, and last but not least, the Shorter-like tone of Marcello Allulli’s sax has a cathartic and celebrative role in the ending of the record.
The element that leads the musical narrative is Jacopo Ferrazza’s double bass, that always joins his music partners enhancing each role, underlining the different personality of the band’s members and pulling the whole architecture’s strings together.
‘Fantàsia’ is an album that witnesses the vital creativity of Ferrazza, which manifests itself also in his attitude to explore, especially those little shadows of our daily life, where we can find, if we look closely, a magical world waiting to be experienced.
Matus Can(Mexico)-Querétaro
Album: Matus Can
Composer: Ramsés Ramírez
Matus Can is a musical group founded by Ramsés Ramírez, Mexican musician with a career of more than 20 years long in the International music scene that has led him to perform in Big Festivals, such as: Montreal Jazz Festival, Vancouver Jazz Festival, Kansas City Jazz festival, Riviera Maya Jazz Festival and many more. Matus Can is dedicated to spread new Jazz, Folk, Groove and World music tendencies with a unique sound after experimenting with different genres, thus creating new ways of expression releasing his first studio album on 2021.
Matus Can´s music will give you a ride through the confines of traditional Mexican and World music, introducing instruments such as the Jarana and the Zapateado with electric and electronic resources mixed with Jazz, Folk and Funky rhythms. The group has received support from public institutions with the objective of spreading their musical
vision and taking it to several national and international stages, as well as achieving a cultural transcendence in today´s music scene.
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FREEDOM TREE is a multicultural jazz group that have achieved international popularity among music fans for their eclectic performances, drawing from three continents.
Close friends and colleagues, internationally acclaimed musicians each in their own right; acoustic guitarist Steinar Aadnekvam – from Bergen, Norway, bassist Rubem Farias from Salvador Da Bahia, Brasil and drummer/singer Deodato Siquir from Maputo, Mozambique make their base in Stockholm, Sweden and since 2015 they form this band.
Moving from clarity to clarity ever since, they released their joint debut album “Freedoms Trio” in 2016 and followed up in 2018 with the sophomore release “Freedoms Trio II” – both on Losen Records, Oslo.
Together, the band has performed several hundreds of concerts in some 17 countries across Europe, Eurasia, Africa and the United States until 2020 brought all touring to a halt.
Formerly known as ”Freedom’s Trio” the band has undergone a slight name change in 2021, embracing the name FREEDOM TREE – a significant name with deep connotations – and with their new album they continue characteristically in the vain of an eclectic afro jazz rock expression firmly rooted in both past & present.
Aptly titled ”MODERN ACOUSTIC WORLD JAZZ ROCK” the new album was recorded live in studio during the pandemic and the performance was originally live streamed to a group of fans.
Only afterwards did the band realize that the music that had been captured was of such a high quality in both performance and recording that it deserved to be released as a proper album.
The record features a set of familiar tunes from the bands original repertoire in what is arguably their best recording to date. What we hear is a band that has lived together on tour for a number of years, honing their interplay through hundreds of concerts, perfecting their compositions and collective musical presence to a such degree that there is not a split second of temporary loss of focus to be found anywhere in the recorded music…
All tracks on this release were also captured as film during the ’live in studio’ recording session and will be released online across streaming services with video capabilities simultaneously with the audio album on
September 24.
”Their music is both complex and joyful, full of passion and energy. (…) They have a natural synergy which can be rare, especially when the musicians are so accomplished individually. People should hear FREEDOM TREE. Gives you hope!” – Robben Ford, 2019
Big Space(Canada)-Triptrap
Composer: Grant King, Ian Murphy, Ashley Chalmers
Album: In Relation To
Big Space is an instrumental jazz-rock trio Newfoundland & Labrador featuring Grant King (guitar), Ian Murphy (bass) and Ashley Chalmers (drums). The band’s music blends jazz and improvisation with genres like post-rock, math rock and progressive rock. “Triptrap” is the first single from their upcoming album “In Relation To”, which releases October 22, 2021. The song is a good representation of the trio’s style, ranging from contemporary jazz fusion to instrumental rock and atmospheric soundscapes, with plenty of improvisation.
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Adjustments, their forthcoming album, is a vocal recording within a fusion instrumental soundtrack. Says Kinsey, “After working for years with lots of guitarists and saxophonists, I’ve come to realize that the voice is in many ways the most expressive instrument of all.”
He once again achieves his signature vibe, aided and abetted by an amazing roster of musicians. But Sal channels this energy into a more thematic direction, with provocative statements about the transition from darker phases into positive change. The album offers a collection of timely originals, while the duo also reimagines rock classics like “Feel Flows”
(The Beach Boys), “Time Out of Mind” (Steely Dan) and “Down to You” (Joni Mitchell), as well as “Jungle Book,” an iconic Weather Report track penned by Joe Zawinul.
Join Scott Kinsey on the next leg of a three- decade musical journey, at once rooted in electric jazz history and blazing a new path with visionary singer-songwriter Mer Sal.
Blue Canoe Records
WorldMusicMix
The JVM Collective(USA)-Into The Night
Album: Frontiers
Label: Blue Canoe Records
The JVM Collective consists of guitarist/producer Denny Jiosa, bassist Roy Vogt, and drummer Tom Moller. This Nashville Jazz trio delivers a creative and powerful album of beautiful original compositions, deep grooves, and inspiring improvisations titled, “Frontiers”. Fans of instrumental, eclectic music will surely love The JVM Collective and their 8 song album titled, “Frontiers”.
Blue Canoe Records
