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For a decade now, Veda Brown’s BlackGospelPromo.com’s online media marketing has served as one of the most effective methods to reach the black gospel consumer. It reaches nearly 200,000 people daily and advertises everything from Tyler Perry movies to gospel superstar Kirk Franklin’s CDs. For a few years now, Brown has had the desire to create a compilation CD of gospel songs to market via her firm, and now the time has finally come just in time for Black Music Month.
“I’ve been wanting to do this for years,” says Brown, who is based in Philadelphia, Penn., in a news release. “So many of my friends in the industry have stepped up and allowed us to use their songs for this project, and I’m grateful. Indie labels and artists have become a major force in music so we’ve selected some of the best indie tracks to create a must-have CD compilation. “ Habakkuk Music has signed on to release not just one installment but also a series of compilation CDs with BlackGospelPromo.com. The first CD is entitled, “Got Gospel? The Best Indie Tracks, Yesterday, Today & Forever.” The project hits stores on Tuesday, June 5, 2012, and features this exciting mix of recent hits and future classics: 1. God is Great – Ricky Dillard and New G 2. Lord, You’re Mighty – Youthful Praise featuring J.J. Hairston 3. I Want To Say Thank You – Lisa Page Brooks 4. Window – Canton Jones 5. No Looking Back – Damita 6. I Give Myself Away – William McDowell 7. You That I Trust – The Rance Allen Group 8. The More I Seek You – Gail Holmes 9. Big -Valencia Lacy & Unquenchable Worshippers 10. Send Your Rain – Clint Brown featuring Marvin Winans 11. Alright – Gerald Scott 12. Mario Winans’ “Overcomer” Remix – Vickie Winans 13. Be Like You – Cheneta Jones 14. The Best Time of My Life – Bryan Wilson To learn more about Habakkuk, visit www.habakkukmusic.com for more information.
Deep into a period of startling creative output, tenor saxophonist Ivo Perelman now releases not one but two recordings – both of which underscore his mastery of free improvisation and his command of his instrument’s hidden resources; and each of which embroiders a thread from his voluminous past catalog.
OnThe Passion According to G.H.,Perelman has recorded with the Sirius Quartet; this remarkable string ensemble comprises top-drawer classical musicians who also have the rare ability to improvise at the level demanded by Perelman’s concept. In so doing, Perelman recapitulates his previous foray into string-quartet music (The Alexander Suitefrom 1998), but brings the potential of this collaboration to new heights of development. Despite the fact that sizable passages sound pre-composed, with the string quartet seeming to frame or echo the saxophone solos, the album is entirely improvised by all five musicians. As veteran jazz writer Neil Tesser says in the liner notes, “. . . Perhaps the most remarkable aspect of this album is this: not one note of it was written in advance.”
The uncannily cohesive nature of the music would seem to belie that claim, but, as Perelman explains, “Sometimes, I would start playing; or I would say to them, ‘OK, you start’; or we would start together – or we would say, ‘Well, the tape’s rolling, we should play.’ Not all musicians are born for this; some are born to interpret Mozart, and that’s a wonderful gift, too. But these are highly skilled conservatory musicians who are also mad improvisers.”
Meanwhile, the simultaneous release of Perelman’s trio album The Foreign Legion spins arich tapestry from another, more recent thread. On it, Perelman continues the invigorating and illuminating project in which he partners with various combinations drawn from his acclaimed working quartet (pianist Matthew Shipp, bassist Joe Morris, and drummer Gerald Cleaver). Like the previous Family Ties, this new album features two-thirds of that band’s rhythm section – but not the same two-thirds. Cleaver remains on drums, but for The Foreign Legion,with pianist Matthew Shipp taking his place in the trio.
The result is a wildly different sound and substance from the previous disc. As Perelman has explained, “I was so pleasantly surprised [with the quartet] … I decided I want to explore my relationship with each member of the band. I realized that I was dealing with a quartet; but I was also dealing with a trio, and a duo, and another duo – it would become a different band each time one player would drop out for a while. Each occupies such a deep space that when he’s missing, it opens everything up so much.”
Born in 1961 in São Paulo, Brazil, Perelman was a classical guitar prodigy who orbited a series of other instruments before finally gravitating to the tenor saxophone. His initial influences – cool jazz saxophonists Stan Getz and Paul Desmond – could hardly have presaged the galvanic, iconoclastic improvisations that have become Perelman’s stock-in-trade. But those early influences helped shape the romantic warrior at the heart of his most heated musical adventures.
In 1981, Perelman entered Berklee College of Music in Boston, where he focused on the mainstream masters of the tenor sax, to the exclusion of such pioneering avant-gardists as Albert Ayler, Peter Brötzmann, and John Coltrane – all of whom would later be cited as precedents for Perelman’s own work. He left Berklee in 1983 and moved as far from Boston as possible – to Los Angeles, where he studied with mainstream vibraphonist Charlie Shoemake, at whose monthly jam sessions Perelman discovered his penchant for post-structure improvisation. “I would go berserk, just playing my own thing,” he explains now.
Emboldened by this approach, Perelman began to research the free-jazz saxists who had come before him. In the early 90s – shortly after recording the first of the nearly 40 albums now under his name – he moved to New York, a far more inviting environment for free-jazz experimentation, where he lives to this day.
Critics have lauded Perelman’s no-holds-barred saxophone style, calling him “one of the great colorists of the tenor sax” (Ed Hazell in the Boston Globe); “tremendously lyrical” (Gary Giddins); and “a leather-lunged monster with an expressive rasp, who can rage and spit in violence, yet still leave you feeling heartbroken” (The Wire). The Passion According to G.H. and The Foreign Legion bring to 18 the total of albums Perelman has recorded for the Leo label.
The box of Post Honey Bunches of Oats was there, sitting in the pantry for me to try one morning as I mulled breakfast options before work. I was in a hurry, so cooking was out of the option. Cereal it was – Post Honey Bunches of Oats, that is. It was my first time sampling it, so I was intrigued by the 10 grams of Whole Grain and 9 essential vitamins and minerals named by Post. It was certainly tasty, as I had the Honey Roasted flavor, which contained only 6 grams of sugar. My husband certainly liked the Whole Grain factor.
I must say I was sufficiently satisfied, and after eating, I was soon out of the door to enjoy the rest of my day. For more information, check out the Honey Bunches of Oats on Facebook at www.facebook.com/HoneyBunchesofOats. There you can get a $1 off coupon and interact with other breakfast lovers there. Ciao!
Editor’s Note: Post provided a free sample of their Honey Bunches of Oats – Honey Roasted for this post. However, all of the opinions expressed here are my own, and participation was voluntary.
In a recent news release, Anita Arnold, executive director of Black Liberated Arts Center Inc. in Oklahoma City, said, “The 27th annual Charlie Christian International Music Festival promises to be full of nostalgia, great music of many genres, food, arts and crafts and so much more. The event will be spread out in four different venues.”
The festival kicked off at 8:30 a.m.Tuesday, May 29, 2012, at the Oklahoma City Council Chambers at 8:30 a.m. with the Morris McCraven Trio setting a jazzy atmosphere for the festival. Mayor Mick Cornett officially proclaimed this week as Charlie Christian Festival week (May 29 through June 3, 2012). Urban Roots, located in the heart of Deep Deuce featured at 6 p.m. music, the opening of the Deep Deuce Photo Exhibit and a book signing by Anita G. Arnold, author of “Oklahoma City Music: Deep Deuce and Beyond.”
On Wednesday, May, 30, Douglass High School is the venue for the Frederick A. Douglass High School Band program, which includes a performance by the award-winning Douglass band, acknowledgement of those who contributed to the band drive to outfit a 100-piece marching band, and a special exhibit of the school’s fine arts department during its hey day from the 1940s through the 1950s. The Oklahoma History Center is the curator of the exhibit that will include a saxophone from the 1940s belonging to Jack Washington, photos of bands, choirs, choruses, sheet music and more.
Arnold said, “It is time to reclaim our excellence and history. These two exhibits acquaint young and old with a golden period in the African American experience.” The free event is open to the public and opens at 1:00 p.m.
At 6 p.m. Thursday, May 31, there will be jamming across Oklahoma City as musicians and singers sit in with bands at Woody’s Sports Bar and Grill and Urban Roots. Musicians are admitted free and are invited to jam with the house band as their admission to the event. Everybody else pays $5 at the door. The public is invited to come out and check it out.
The outdoor festival on Friday, June 1 and Saturday, June 2 begins at 6 p.m. at the Metro Technology Amphitheater, 1900 Springlake Drive. Reality and the New Era opens the festival on Friday with follow-up artists Equilibrium, Billie Jeane and the Robert Banks Band. Popular group After Five Jazz will headline and close out Friday night’s big fun in the park. This will be the first appearance of the group since the mid-1990s when the group went on to other things. Congo Drummer Tre Balfour of Palmdale, Calif., will join soul mates drummer Walter Taylor, keyboardist David Carter, and guitarist Maurice as they bring back their heart wrenching, top tapping sound that landed them gigs, backing artists such as Lala Hathaway and opening for guitarist George Benson, among others.
On Saturday, June 2, Miss Cooki, noted for her distinct vocals, will open and insure a memorable experience. Spencer Brown and The Dudes follow and set the stage right for Jeremy Jackson and Sultry Sound. The fresh new sounds in this year’s festival flow right into the smooth jazz sounds of Tulsa saxophonist Grady Nichols, who opens for headliner Jeremy Thomas Quartet. Thomas recently returned from touring with David Sanborn. Thomas is, the drummer for two-time Grammy Award nominee and world renowned jazz organist Joey Defrancesco. Thomas will leave on two tours in June and is scheduled for a Jazz Cruise next year.
Doors open at 5:30 p.m. for both days. Attendees are encouraged to bring blankets, lawn chairs or comfortable seating. No food or beverages will be allowed through the gates.
At 5 p.m. on Sunday, June 3, at Frederick A. Douglass High School Auditorium, the Rev. Dr. A. Cortes Rex will be featured in a gospel show, “A Tribute to James Cleveland.” Rex, who was influenced by Cleveland, the late founder of the Gospel Music Workshops of America, will narrate and sing during the tribute. Rex was born in Wichita, Kan., but grew up in Tulsa. He lives in California, where he as been a resident since graduating from Langston University. Rex has established a reputation with two of his most popular shows that pay homage to James Cleveland and Dr. Martin L. King.
Tickets are on sale for the show and the outdoor festival at Charlie’s Jazz, Rhythm and Blues Store, Guestroom Records, Hopkins Haircare, Learning Tree Toys and Books and Woody’s Sports Bar & Grill. The Charlie Christian International Music Festival is sponsored by BancFirst, Oklahoma Arts Council, City of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Natural Gas Co., Oklahoma Gas and Electric Co., EMSA, Friends of the Historical Society Archives, and Tinker Federal Credit Union. This is a BLAC Inc. production.
Charlie Christian International Music Festival Band Line Up
In an interview, drum great Billy Hart summed up his attitude toward The Cookers succinctly but emphatically: “Believe in us,” he insisted (tacking an expletive onto the end that served to press the point home). Over the course of two albums, The Cookers have given jazz audiences plenty of reason to believe, and their Motéma Music debut, bearing the simple but eloquent title Believe, finds the all-star septet continuing to keep the faith in swinging fashion – their third release, celebrating their fifth anniversary as a working ensemble.
The credentials of these seven musicians are beyond reproach, but simply gathering a group of legends and throwing them into a recording studio isn’t necessarily a recipe for success, points out David Weiss, the band’s founder, chief organizer, and trumpeter.
“A lot of basketball teams throughout the years have signed a group of all-stars and assumed they would win it all because they had assembled the best group of players imaginable and in the end lost because they never really considered that the group would not gel and could not play together,” Weiss points out by way of illustration. “You can’t just put a bunch of names together and expect it to be great. These guys just turned out to be the perfect combination.”
It’s impossible to foresee how any ensemble will gel until the first notes are played, of course, but The Cookers had an inherent advantage in the fact that these legendary jazzmen had all proven themselves integral components in great bands of the past. Harper was a member of groups led by Lee Morgan and Max Roach and served a two-year stint with Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers; trumpeter Eddie Henderson and drummer Billy Hart were both part of Herbie Hancock’s electric Mwandishi ensemble; pianist George Cables played alongside Dexter Gordon and Art Pepper; and bassist Cecil McBee anchored Charles Lloyd’s famed 1960s quartet with Keith Jarrett and Jack DeJohnette.
“This is a band,” Weiss says, emphasizing the fact that the unit has cohered into something that transcends its all-star status. “But it’s a band of guys who have been in a lot of the most important bands in the history of this music. They know what it’s like to be in a band and what makes bands great.”
The line-up is completed by Weiss and altoist Craig Handy, players from a later generation who nevertheless follow in their bandmates’ fiery footsteps. The name comes from the Freddie Hubbard’s classic two-volume album Night of the Cookers, classics featuring Lee Morgan, Harold Mabern, James Spaulding, Pete LaRoca, Big Black, and Larry Ridley. These Cookers approach their material in the same sense of adventurous exploration as Hubbard and his ensemble did, generating brilliant music out of seemingly basic elements.
Like their previous two critically acclaimed releases, Cast The First Stone (Plus Loin, 2011) and Warriors (Jazz Legacy Productions, 2010), Believe consists almost entirely of music written by the band members themselves, culled by Weiss from throughout their storied careers.
“Once you get these guys together and really see what they can do,” Weiss says, “you see that they’re not truly being recognized. They have direct ties to all the music that everybody, even younger people, came to this music listening to. They were part of what made jazz what it is and the classic records that attract most people to jazz, the greatest era of this music. Let’s not forget where this thing came from and why it was so good: it’s exciting music played with compassion and conviction and intensity. That’s what these guys are doing.”
It’s that urge, to recognize and celebrate these tremendous artists while they continue to create at the height of their powers, that inspired the band to distill Hart’s directive down to that one single word: Believe.
“It’s a simple word for a philosophy,” Weiss says. “Just believe in something. Care about something. And since you have this record in your hand, believe in this.”
Anita Arnold, right, receives framed Tribute to Charlie Christian.
During an evening of celebration and tribute to Charlie Christian in Bonham, Texas, Anita Arnold, executive director of Black Liberated Arts Center (BLAC), Inc. of Oklahoma City, OK, was presented a framed Tribute to Charlie Christian made from the wood of the house where the jazz legend was born.
The tribute contained the words to the song “Rose Room” that launched Christian’s career with Benny Goodman and, ultimately, led to his iconic stature in the music world. A picture of Charlie Christian and his birthplace are, also, included in the tribute that sold for $1,000 in an auction and was donated by the owner of the piece.
The evening was filled with Charlie Christian music played by the James Deering Quartet of Grayson College. The talented guitarist, Seve Mexia, featured in the quartet played music that he transcribed from music played from Charlie Christian CDs as a final test from his jazz music professor at the college. Arnold narrated the concert with little-known information about Charlie Christian throughout the evening. The evening concluded with a book signing by Arnold, author of the book, “Oklahoma City Music: Deep Deuce and Beyond.”
With the smooth vocal style of Tank or Tyrese, Brian H. (aka Brian Harris), became a TV sensation as J-Rome after his stint on P. Diddy’s reality TV show, “Making the Band 4.” Now, he’s aiming to make rhythmic noise all over again. He has teamed up with rising star, Jamia Alesia, to record the sultry movie soundtrack, “Truly Everlasting” (Emtro/$13.99). It’s the companion CD to the film that has just been released on DVD.
The Jacksonville, Fla., singers sang two duets, “One Love” and “I Think I Love You.” Alesia did three solo tracks. The mid-tempo, “He’s So Fine,” is reminiscent of SWV back in the `90s. Her warm alto shines on the groove “The One” and she shows her sass on the track, “Changed.” Brian H. rounds the collection out with five tracks: the computerized “Beautiful Girl” and the aching jam, “Truly Everlasting.” There’s also a cozy acoustic version of the latter, as well as, the catchy love songs “Take It Slow” and “Imagine.”
Brenda Jackson, known as the Diva of Romance, is the best-selling African-American romance novelist of all time. She began reading romance novels to distress herself from her hectic job as an insurance executive and wondered why there weren’t more romance novels revolving around black people and started to write her own. She’s written 80 romance novels that have sold over 3 million copies and made her the top in her field. She’s now taken one of her most popular books and bankrolled the independent film, “Truly Everlasting” that is based on her best-selling 1998 book of the same name.
In the story, a man named Trask and woman named Felecia who have hated each other since childhood are drawn together when Felecia’s son wishes for a father to spend Christmas with since his biological father is dead. When Trask hears of Austin’s unique request from one of Felecia’s relatives, he volunteers to be Austin’s dad for the holidays. Against her better judgment, Felecia relents and allows Trask to act as Austin’s father. Forced to be around each other for the child’s sake, the adults fall in love and the story takes on a unique twist that includes a protracted custody battle for Austin.
In fashion circles, the adjective “bespoke” denotes custom-made suits and shirts and signifies the person who designs and constructs them. On The Bespoke Man’s Narrative, his brilliant Mack Avenue Records debut, pianist Aaron Diehl extrapolates this notion to matters of musical invention.
“The idea for the metaphor was that the composition and concept were specifically for these musicians,” Diehl says in a news release, referring to his working quartet of 30-ish all-stars – vibraphonist (and Mack Avenue artist) Warren Wolf, bassist David Wong and drummer Rodney Green – that interprets the five originals and five arrangements comprising the program. “There’s a sequence, an arc, a beginning, middle and end. Each piece has something to do with my musical development.”
The project gestated in April of 2011 in Indianapolis after Diehl, 26, earned first place in the rigorous Cole Porter Fellowship in Jazz Competition of the American Pianists Association. The award garnered him $50,000 in career support and an opportunity to record with Mack Avenue Records.
“I thought it would be wise to use the opportunity to document this ensemble,” Diehl states. “I decided to compose and arrange music in line with our own sound and conception, while using the strategies of bandleaders like John Lewis and Duke Ellington, who developed their music in line with the abilities of their personnel.”
Diehl is singularly positioned within his generation to apply these lessons to a contemporary context. An alumnus of Todd Stoll’s Columbus (Ohio) Youth Jazz Orchestra, which specializes in performing a broad timeline of Ellington’s music, he spent the last six months of his sophomore year at Juilliard – he was 19 at the time – helping pianist John Lewis’ widow, Mirjana, to organize her late husband’s archive of manuscripts, scores, reel-to-reel tapes and recordings. Already intimate with the stride piano canon from his teens, Diehl applied the quality time with Lewis’ Bach-to-blues oeuvre towards finding a conceptual space in which to coalesce his varied interests.
This quartet initially took shape in 2008 – then with drummer Quincy Davis – when Diehl was asked to play a concert of Lewis’ music. By an April 2010 performance of this repertoire at Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola, Rodney Green had assumed the drum chair.
“Warren is a virtuoso,” Diehl says of his fellow Mack Avenue artist. “There couldn’t be anyone more appropriate to play the part of Milt Jackson. David is a fluid, precise player with a lot of finesse and a strong bow, who comes straight out of the bebop-based approaches of Percy Heath and Paul Chambers. Mrs. Lewis said that John would have loved him.
Photo Credit: John Abbott
“I hadn’t realized it, but Rodney listened a lot to Connie Kay, and told me that one reason he wanted to be part of this project was to get more inside Connie’s approach.”
In preparing this program of creative refraction of the aforementioned oeuvres, Diehl focused on nurturing an ensemble sound. “Rather than feature just my piano playing, I like to involve everybody in the process,” he says. “Sharing the wealth allows for more musical possibilities.”
For all his collective orientation, Diehl commands attention at the piano. Addressing a Fazioli F-228 grand piano, he showcases a nuanced touch, a comfort zone with tempos ranging from rubato to brisk, encyclopedic harmonic knowledge, an abiding sense of blues expression and a will – when necessary – to swing. He’s assimilated vocabulary across the timeline, finding fresh, idiomatic ways to mix-and-match ideas drawn from a diverse cohort including, among others, Lewis, Ellington, Ahmad Jamal, Marcus Roberts and Kenny Kirkland. As he puts it, “My overall goal is trying to figure out how to connect all the language to make an interesting and engaging performance, and also develop my own voice. Why limit yourself to just playing something here and something there? It’s all gold.”
Drummer/percussionist Carmen Intorre is pairing up with producer Bob Belden on his debut album For The Soul (Random Act Records); the organ-based session covers a wide range of musical stylings from Stevie Wonder and Steely Dan to Chick Corea and Weather Report. Intorre is joined byJohn Hart on guitar, Jon Irabagon on alto and tenor sax, and Pat Bianchi and Joey DeFrancesco- two of the world’s most formidable jazz organists. The album swings within the tradition while expanding upon the vocabulary and boundaries of the idiom.
Currently, Intorre performs with legendary jazz guitarist Pat Martino, touring extensively throughout the world with the guitarist’s organ trio. He is always eager to uncover the latest information about music and drumming and to share that information with others.
“This is my job. I have to give back what I was given a chance to do,” Intorre said in a news release. “Music is an opportunity for me to give upmy soul, while in the process connecting with the audiences’ souls as well. I want the musicians on the bandstand and the members in the audience to feel uplifted after a performance, to feel great about themselves through the experience that they encountered. That is what For The Soul is all about.”
Born in Buffalo, NY, Carmen Intorre developed an early interest in music and began playing drums at age five. A graduate of The Institute for Jazz Studies at the Juilliard School, he has performed and recorded with numerous musicians such as George Benson, Larry Coryell, Wynton Marsalis, Monty Alexander, George Coleman, Eric Alexander, George Cables, Benny Golson, Richie Cole, Joe Locke, Lew Tabackin, Bobby Watson, Ira Sullivan, Bobby Watson, and many others.
A 2011 Grammy nominee for his performance on the critically acclaimed album by Joey DeFrancesco entitled Never Can Say Goodbye: The Music of Michael Jackson, Intorre also had the pleasure of performing alongside DeFrancesco and Dr. Lonnie Smith on the PBS show Legends of Jazz, hosted by Ramsey Lewis.
“Carmen is one of my favorite drummers; he has a very wide groove and strong beat, and most of all he swings his ass off! I love him!” says DeFrancesco.
Perhaps one word best describes Carmen Intorre and his music: Joy. Reminiscent of Billy Higgins, Intorre brings a palpable swing and drive to virtually all the tracks, making this a palatable musical feast “for the soul.”
According to a recent news release, Grammy Award nominated recording artist Deitrick Haddon made a big splash two years ago with his starring film debut in “Blessed & Cursed” that has aired on The GMC Channel and Showtime. Now, Tyscot/Manhaddon Films and Releve Entertainment are enjoying new success with Haddon’s second major film vehicle, “A Beautiful Soul,” which opened at selected AMC Theaters nationwide on May 4, 2012, and brought thousands of churchgoers into theaters around the country.
In the film, Haddon stars as Andre Stephens, an R&B superstar who loses his spiritual compass after he and his best friend barely survive a brutal attack. Haddon has assembled an ambitious twelve-song set of songs inspired by the movie and its theme entitled, “A Beautiful Soul” (Tyscot Records/ $9.99 SLP). The CD features the funky retro-styled radio single, “No Betta” (by Faith Evans and Deitrick Haddon), that is #35 on this week’s Top 100 Gospel chart.
The set also includes the breezy urban pop tune “Running to You” (Regula leads) and the straight up urban track “New Life” (featuring Fonzworth Bentley, Haddon and raspy-voiced, Nikki Potts). Adia leads the whimsical “Incomplete” and Haddon leads the title song, “A Beautiful Soul”. It’s 12 songs in all with Haddon’s choir, Voices of Unity, in the middle of the musical musings. Among the cameo soloists are Kierra Sheard; former P. Diddy sidekick, Fonzworth Bentley; Jason Champion; Joint Heirs; Candy West, among others. For more information, go to www.abeautifulsoulmovie.com.
