Tag Archives: New CD 2023

USA: Alex Coke Carl Michel Sextet CD Release

Posted on by


Alex Coke -Carl Michel Sextet CD Release”EMERGENCE”

 THURSDAY April 20, 2023 8:30pm Soundspace at Captain Quack’s 5326 Menchaca Austin TX 78745

(512)-453-3399

 Tickets:

Join the Alex Coke & Carl Michel Sextet in a concert at Quack’s SOUNDSPACE rolling out the welcome mat for their second CD, Emergence. A journey of musical colours and textures from many genres of music, Emergence showcases this Austin supergroup’s creative and dynamic talents,  exploring a unique combination of instruments, exciting original compositions,  and new arrangements from a broad palette of influences.

 The Alex Coke Carl Michel Sextet Features:

Alex Coke (Sax/Flutes)

Carl Michel (Guitar) 

 Elaine Barber (Concert Harp) 

Bob Hoffnar (Pedal Steel) 

Carolyn Trowbridge (Vibes) 

 Dr. James Suter (Bass) 

JazzWorldQuest Showcase 2023: David Margam feat. Carlos Camilo(Spain) – Album: Immune

Posted on by
David Margam-Immune

David Margam presents “Immune” single ahead of his debut album. “Immune” is the perfectly sparkling new gem from multitalented guitarist/songwriter David Margam, one of the leading pioneers of the Smooth Jazz and Funk genres in Spain! Delivering an uplifting and refreshing vibe, “Immune” is the new single ahead of from 2023, the eponymous title of his debut album that is in its final mixing phase, scheduled for release in the coming months.

“Immune” is the perfectly sparkling new gem from multi-talented guitarist/songwriter David Margam one of the leading pioneers of the Smooth Jazz and Funk genres in Spain! Delivering an exhilarating and refreshing vibe, “Immune” is the new single for 2023 , the title of his debut album, which is in its final mixing phase, scheduled for release in the coming months.

“Immune” is the new composition by David Margam produced by the Cuban pianist and producer Carlos Camilo who provides some stimulating piano arrangements that raise the level of the song to a higher state with a catchy and seductive melody, the collaboration of the Spanish guitarist Andrés García on Spanish guitar brings great sensitivity to this relaxing and uplifting new piece of music. Without a doubt, a great start to the year for guitarist David Margam who finished last year in the TOP20 of the most listened to guitarists of 2022 through the Smooth Jazz Universe platform.

Guitarist David Margam is a Spanish musician from the new generation of Contemporary Jazz, known as much for his affable personality and generous spirit as for his musical taste. Born in Granada, Spain, he attributes his musical career to having worked with some incredible musicians from around the world.

Website

JazzWorldQuest 2023

World Music Mix: Fingerless (Australia): single: More To Come

Posted on by
Fingerless-More to Come
Fingerless (Australia): single: More To Come

Meanjin/Brisbane psych-folk-indie-rock group Fingerless are not ones to stick to any single style. After pulling dungeon/dark synth, psych pop, and an epic ballad (cover) out of the hat last year, they return in 2023 with a cynical take on the rose-coloured glasses “love conquers all” trope.
‘More To Come’ is a love song really, in its broadest sense, but it’s also about life and how we can’t always prepare for everything. Life and love are not fairytales, there are ups and downs the whole way through—there is no happily ever after, there is only now.

The impetus for the song’s themes came from the phrase that you see at the end of a lot of ABC News articles: “More to come.” Like, we know. That’s why we read the news and not the olds. They do make a good point though – there is always more tocome. The world is always changing around us and we have to respond to it. On top of that, as individuals we’re always changing, and we make changes wherever we go. Nothing is static.

Keeping true to this theme, the artwork for the new single was developed using AI image generation – an emerging technology that we don’t really understand. Some of the lyrics and imagery from the song were used as the prompts for creating the original image on Midjourney. What does this kind of technology mean for visual art and (human) artists working in this space? And let’s not forget that AI generated music has been around for a while now, and it’s awesome and terrifying in both its generative and integrated forms.

The band returned to Black Box recording studio (Moorooka) in 2022 to record this new single, as well as a few other tracks including The Pineapples From The Dawn Of Time cover, ‘Charlie’ (featured in 4000 Records’ recent House Keys compilation album). This was the band’s first time working with Jeff Lovejoy (Resin Dogs, Sahara Beck) as producer and recording/mixing engineer.


“We recorded these songs live, with vocal, percussion and acoustic guitar overdubs added later, “says Cheeseman. “We prefer to do it this way because that’s how we write the songs. It feels better, it’s more fun and it just makes sense. One really cool thing that happened during recording was getting to use the same 1950s mic stand that was used in the Baz Luhrmann Elvis film. Jeff worked on the film as a music equipment consultant and had stand!”

Website


World Music Mix

World Music Mix: Plena Libre(Puerto Rico)-Album: Cuatro Esquinas (2023)

Posted on by
Plena Libre-Cuatro Esquinas-jazzworldquest

Plena Libre celebrates 30 years of bringing the iconic sounds of their Puerto Rican homeland to stages worldwide w/the release of new album Cuatro Esquinas (Four Corners) and worldwide tour dates

Puerto Rico’s multi-Grammy–nominated musical masters, Plena Libre have consistently been enthralling audiences around the globe over the course of their storied 30-year, 16-album career with their original sound — one that infuses the traditional plena and bomba rhythms of Puerto Rico with a fresh spring mix of Afro-Caribbean and jazz styles to create groove-laden dance music that honors their deep sense of the unique indigenous musical traditions, while embracing modern trends.

Now, Plena Libre are celebrating their 30th anniversary in style, unleashing a new wave of awe-inspiring hand drumming, vivacious horns, and soul-soaring three-part vocal harmonies with the release of their new album Cuatro Esquinas (Four Corners), to be released March 31, 2023. The fine-tuned, original band of 12 versatile virtuoso musicians will also be captivating audiences across the map in 2023 with live performances scheduled at festivals in Puerto Rico, the United States, and Europe, including an appearance at the prestigious New Orleans Jazz Festival.

Founder, bandleader, and bassist Gary Nuñez stress the appropriateness of the title, since the group’s music, and especially that of this new album, reflects personal, universal situations, accompanied by the unique sounds of the Puerto Rican rhythms of the bomba and the plena. The album title was inspired by Nuñez’s youth, growing up in a Puerto Rican neighborhood where “Four Corners”, alluded to a local meeting point that sometimes even carried an unfairly bad reputation.

Says Nuñez, “Cuatro Esquinas”, in my adolescence, used to be a meeting point in my neighborhood, with some ‘bad reputation’. It was known as ‘4 Esquinas’ because in each corner there was a bar or bodega. It was the place where people met and all sorts of characters gathered there and replaced their sorrows with some joy, romance, adventure, or consolation. It is the part of our history that does not appear in the “stories” that we were told about who Puerto Ricans are”

Cuatro Esquinas is a representation of some of those experiences, captured in a mix of “traditional” and original songs. Featuring four vocalists singing in lush three-part harmonies – with an aggressive, tight, yet sensitive style, which balances the traditional with the contemporary, the global, and the local – Plena Libre creates a brand of music and live performance that captivates the multicultural audience, invites to dance and to listen to their sound.

The track, “Tu cintura con la mía” was arranged by Luisga Núñez, son of Gary Nuñez who shares with his father a passion for parranda, bajo, and vocal harmonies — bringing a taste of the next generation to the distinctive elements of the group.

“We dedicate this recording to the public and to all those people who have supported Plena Libre, through those 30 years. To all the musicians who are and who have been part of this experience, we are GRATEFUL”, enthused Núñez, who took the opportunity to particularly thank his wife Valerie Cox “for the unconditional, necessary and total support for three decades and to all the musicians that were part of this album, making it possible”.

Apart from Gary Núñez as director and bassist, Plena Libre is made up of: Víctor Vélez (vocals/percussion), Luisga Núñez (vocals/percussion), Rafi Falú (requinto), Miguel A. de Jesús (vocals/percussion), Alex “Callejero” López (vocals/percussion), Rafy Torres, Randy Román and Kevin Ortiz on trombones, Pedro Dominicci (timbales), Manuel Rivera (congas), Karla Martínez on piano and Yarina Torres in charge of choirs.

Cuatro Esquina will be available on all major streaming platforms on March 31, 2023.

Check here for tour updates: https://www.plenalibre.com/tour-dates

Website

World Music Mix

World Music Mix: Al-jiçç(Portugal)- EP Traveler / Rupta

Posted on by
Al-jicc- Traveler Rupta

‘Chants’ is Al-jiçç’s fifth album and represents a new aesthetic evolution of the band. It was composed and produced during the pandemic, with the musicians individually recording their parts.

The music started with six little themes composed on an electric piano, which served as a harmonic basis for the improvisations. These improvisations were edited and manipulated, with the mixing and post-production playing a fundamental role on the record.

Keeping the Mediterranean-inspired melodies as a brand, in ‘Chants’ these were mixed in a universe influenced by Miles Davis’ electric period (in ‘Route’), by Dub (in ‘Zadar’) or more ambient electronics ( in ‘Lost Signal’).

This record represents a new direction for Al-Jiçç, using the melodic side as a starting point for more electronic and contemporary universes.

Nuno Damião – guitar, keyboards and percussion
Gonçalo Lopes – clarinet and bass clarinet
Ricardo A. Freitas – electric bass
Jorge Lopes Trigo – percussion

Facebook Bandcamp

www.facebook.com/aljicc.lisboa

 BEST OF BANDCAMP JAZZ – January 2019 and September 2021
” The quartet Al-jiçç embrace a number of influences, (…), With slinky tempos that slide into thick grooves, the quartet (…) give the different melodic approaches a bird-of-a-feather quality. the interplay between guitar and bass clarinet , like shadowplay between the sun and shade, results in some seriously absorbing moments.” Dave Sumner

World Music Mix

World Music Mix: Noga(Switzerland/Suisse) Nouvel album: LEV

Posted on by
Noga
Nouvel album LEV
Sortie le 14/04/2023 2023 chez Evidence Musique

Entre world, jazz, et musique classique, la chanteuse Noga annonce son nouvel album LEV pour le mois d’avril 2023.Avec ce disque, la musicienne suisse nous éblouit et nous démontre le pouvoir transformateur de la voix. Elle nous rappelle à l’épure et à sa beauté comme autant de forces à se réapproprier.

Et nous insuffle cette énergie fédératrice et nourricière telle qu’elle nous l’adresse en concert.  Noga prend appui, en hébreu, sur des poèmes millénaires, pour faire face au chaos de notre époque. Avec son groupe de musiciens complices, elle convoque des sons très actuels et invite à un voyage dessiné à partir de psaumes. Vibrations positives et bienfaisantes.

LEV
 est un album organique, avec des touches d’électronique subtiles qui créent des textures sonores singulières aux émotions libres. Sur fond classique et allures jazz, la musique se teinte de notes tribales, d’éclats moyenâgeux, d’accents méditerranéens, de réminiscences hippies, pop ou fifties… dans un paysage rythmé par la pulse des percussions et la voix bienfaisante de Noga.

On peut découvrir en premier extrait le clip de Shir, qui met en valeur l’incroyable chant de Noga.

 Pour regarder et diffuser le clip de Shir :https://youtu.be/XHwegt1aMFg
“Tout le monde est perdu, tout le monde se cherche… et l’on pense trouver la réponse en soi… et si elle se trouvait dans la connexion aux autres et aux générations précédentes ?” Noga

Chanteuse, auteure, compositrice, Noga est aussi improvisatrice et performeuse. Membre de différents groupe et projets, elle a sorti une dizaine d’albums sur divers labels. LEV est son second disque chanté en hébreu. Quelle que soit la langue, le propos reste le même : utiliser la voix pour canaliser la lumière et se mettre au service de la vie, tout en jouant une musique actuelle, crossover et libre.

Noga est aussi connue pour l’association Catalyse qu’elle a fondée et qu’elle préside, avec à Genève un centre dédié à la voix.  Avec sa musique qui emprunte au jazz, aux musiques du monde et à la musique contemporaine, l’artiste suisse, née de parents émigrés d’Israël, canalise son éducation cosmopolite, les langues qu’elle maîtrise, la diversité des sons, styles, valeurs qui l’ont bercée, pour servir ce qui l’appelle : nourrir notre humanité commune et dissiper nos peurs.

Pour son nouvel album LEV, elle s’est tournée vers des poèmes ancestraux, en explorant leurs sonorités pour élever la fréquence vibratoire et la connexion entre les êtres.Le passé peut-il se conjuguer au présent ? Peut-on revisiter les psaumes et tirer de ces chants millénaires une vibration universelle et positive, qui élève la connexion entre les êtres et permet aux coeurs de battre, collectivement, à contre-peur ?

Face à la montée des courants anxiogènes, Noga s’affirme dans une musicalité qui parle au corps, à l’esprit et à l’âme, et revient à ses racines pour les transposer, aujourd’hui, dans des airs lumineux en équilibre sur un fil de spiritualité reliant passé – présent – futur.

 Site officiel Facebook Instagram

World Music Mix

World Music Mix: The Holy Rollercoasters(Australia) – Album: Odyssey

Posted on by
The Holy Rollercoasters -Odyssey

Meanjin/Brisbane livewire indie soul octet THE HOLY ROLLERCOASTERS are Ithaca-bound at last with the final installment of their Odyssey trilogy

Odyssey releases on February 8th on 12” vinyl and digital

Launching at It’s Still A Secret on February 25th

“Odyssey … has at its heart an utterly satisfying bombast and pose: the smell of greasepaint and the bright, blinding shine of floodlights infuse every note, every stab of the horns and every lyrical expression.”

  • Backseat Mafia

Homer’s Odyssey is a legendary, decade-long journey of myth-making, god-dwelling and monster-defeating. This album has similarly been a tumultuous quest for The Holy Rollercoasters, dividing the album into a triptych of EPs – Odyssey I in November 2021 and Odyssey II in April 2022, with the final collection of tracks being released as part of the album as a whole on February 8th, 2023.

With both EP’s receiving favourable reviews and airplay from alternative media and community radio alike and with their respective Brisbane launch shows selling out, The Holy Rollercoasters are ready to put the psych in your soul with Odyssey, a heady retelling of the epic poem, set in a post-civil war Australia.

Website

World Music Mix

New Album/Hungary: New Days Ahead – The Music of Daniel Hofecker – special guests: Eva Bolba and Stjepko Gut

Posted on by

New Days Ahead – The Music of Daniel Hofecker – special guests: Eva Bolba and Stjepko Gut

The collaboration of the well-established Budapest Jazz Orchestra big band with young lion Daniel Hofecker has yielded a very exquisite result. Daniel is one of the most talented young composers and arrangers of his generation, not to mention that he’d earned his BA as a jazz trumpet player at the Liszt Academy in Budapest, before transferring to the University of Performing Arts in Graz, Austria, where he graduated with a Distinguished MA Diploma in 2022 in jazz composition and arrangement. For this album he collected the pieces that he had penned in the last couple of years, especially the ones that he got a great number of accolades for at international competitions of jazz composition and arrangement (see tracklist for details).


The title of the album is New Day Suite, alluding to his four-movement suite, which depicts a full day from dawn, through daytime, sunset and night. According to Hofecker, the greatest challenge of this composition was how one could depict the different characteristics of changing times and moods of a day by letting a powerful big band blow and hit their instruments. The piece One for Beni is an exercise in style in which Hofecker pays tribute to Bob Brookmeyer, whose composing and arrangement technique he applied here. La Galérie Des Cotelles is a piece inspired by a place in the Versailles castle in France.

It has a historical significance for Hungarians, unfortunately a very tragic one, since the ending of the First World War was sealed by a very unfavorable peace treaty for Hungary. What the composer aimed to do was illustrating the gloomy state of mind that has haunted Hungarians thinking about the peace treaty for over a century. The peace Politics is thematically related as it tries to illustrate the tensions, dilemmas and the unpleasant moments of political debate which no one can be completely exempt from.

One of the most influential teachers of Hofecker during his years in Graz was trumpet legend from Serbia Stjepko Gut -Hofecker says. “It was such a great inspiration for me all the time how he produced the idiosyncratic and inimitable melodies, rhythm, phraseology and swing that he is known for” – says the one-time student. This is behind the track, Mr. S.G. obviously a tribute to his master who himself embellished the piece with a phenomenal after the theme had been put forward by Éva Bolba.

Something like an encore, showcasing Daniel’s arranging skills is a standard, the unforgettable Cheek to Cheek also recorded by the ensemble: it aims at a sound typical of New York’s Village Vanguard big band, blending traditional and modern approaches. To make all good things three, Hofecker’s trumpet playing is also featured on his debut album.

Tracklist: (Including awards and competition prizes)

  1. New Day Suite – I. Dawnin’ Big Band Composition Contest of the Hungarian Jazz Federation, Budapest, First place, 2016
  2. New Day Suite – II. Daytime Helsinki International Big Band Composing Contest, Finalist, 2019
  3. New Day Suite – III. Sunset
  4. New Day Suite – IV. Night
  5. One For Beni Big Band Composition Contest of the Hungarian Jazz Federation, Budapest, First place, 2018; Barga Jazz Festival and Competition (Italy), Finalist, 2022
  6. La Galérie Des Cotelles – Big Band Composition Contest of the Hungarian Jazz Federation, Budapest, 2nd Prize and Best Composition Prize, 2021; Karel Krautgartner’s Composition Contest For a Jazz Orchestra, Prague, 3rd Prize, 2021
  7. Politics Barga Jazz Festival and Competition (Italy), Grand Prize, 2021; Downbeat Magazine’s Student Music Awards, Outstanding Composition Award, 2022
  8. Mr. S.G. Helsinki International Big Band Composing Contest, Finalist, 2021
  9. Cheek To Cheek (I. Berlin)

Online stream: https://bfan.link/new-days-ahead

World Music Mix: Giorgio Panico(Italy)-Album: I Ching (Dodicilune Records, 2022)

Posted on by
Giorgio Panico-I Ching

Giorgio Panico(Italy)-Album: I Ching (Dodicilune Records, 2022)

This album is based on the homonymous ancient Chinese divination text. The tracks were composed by elaborating the underlying philosophical and mathematical concepts. The musical choices were confirmed by consulting the oracle itself.

“The method of the I Ching does indeed take into account the hidden individual quality in things and men, and in one’s own unconscious self as well.” (C. G. Jung – Zurich, 1949)

Tracks
1. Ch’ien the creative, heaven 2. Sun the gentle, wind, wood 3. K’an the abysmal, water 4. Li the clinging, fire 5. Tui the joyous, lake 6. The effect of signs on building character 7. K’un the receptive, earth 8. The inner world arrangement 9. The primal arrangement 10. Chên the arousing, thunder 11. Kên keeping still, mountain 12. Cultural history

Musicians
Giorgio Panico: bass, pipa Carlo Cantini: violin Luca Maria Burocchi: guitar, banjo Emanuele Pellegrini: drums, percussions Music by Giorgio Panico

Produced by Giorgio Panico and Maurizio Bizzochetti, Gabriele Rampino, Dodicilune Label manager Maurizio Bizzochetti (www.dodicilune.it)

Recorded March, May 2021 at Studio Teclas, Perugia, Italy Sound engineers Luca Maria Burocchi, Daniele Marinelli Mixed and mastered September 2021, January 2022 at Studio Teclas, Perugia, Italy Sound engineer Luca Maria Burocchi Cover artwork by Anna Gebbia Photos by Anna Gebbia, Leonardo Corgna

Website CD Store

World Music Mix

World Music Mix: Shugorei(Australia)-Meet The Sun (feat. Shêm Allen)

Posted on by
Shugorei-Meet The Sun

Shugorei(Australia)-Meet The Sun (feat. Shêm Allen)
4000 Records (2023)

Meet The Sun’ features local vocalist Shêm Allen, who has performed with Nonsemble, Skinny Jean and Yr Familiar. Their distinct, unguarded and unaffected tone is reminiscent of Jeff Buckley, and on this track he lends Shugorei an entrancing, expressive depth.

After playing a show together in early December, Shêm and Shugorei mutually approached each other to collaborate and within a fortnight they were in the studio recording this track.

‘Meet The Sun’ celebrates the risks artists take to pursue their dreams. Like many Shugorei songs, the message is delivered bilingually (here, in English and Japanese). It is also embellished by a lush string arrangement, performed by members of Black Square Quartet.

website CD Store

World Music Mix