Category: music

Oklahoma City chosen among other cities for Mary Mary’s Christmas tour

Post author By mitchmuse
Post date November 9, 2011

Black Liberated Arts Center (BLAC) Inc. presents gospel group Mary Mary on Dec. 11 at Frederick A. Douglass High School Auditorium in their first performance in Oklahoma City.

Anita G. Arnold, BLAC Inc. executive director, said the concert is part of an eight-state tour for Mary Mary. Doors will open at 7 p.m., and the show starts at 8 p.m. The musical group “Committed” will open for Mary Mary.

Ever since siblings Erica Campbell and Tina Campbell broke through in 2000 with pioneering crossover hit “Shackles (Praise You),” the chart-topping sister act has never waived from defying convention to fulfill its mission: sending uplifting messages through music and words that are relatable to everyone.

“It’s about making music that touches both adults and young people,” says Erica. Tina adds, “It’s about spreading good news for the world but doing it in the “Mary Mary” way: banging beats and melodies, intertwined voices and messages of hope.”

Now 10 years later, having earned three Grammy Awards, two American Music Awards, an NAACP Image Award and a BET Award, the “Mary Mary” way sounds just as fresh and innovative on the duo’s sixth album, Something Big. Well-known for singles such as “God in Me,” and R&B/hip-hop crossover hit, “Walking,” the sisters strike out anew with a Christmas album that is designed to appeal everyone.

Tickets are on sale online through BLAC Inc.’s website, www.blacinc.org; at BLAC Inc.’s office at 4915 N. Lincoln Blvd. in Oklahoma City; and other locations including Capitol Square Station, Charlie’s Jazz, Rhythm and Blues Store, Hopkins Hair Care, KM66, Learning Tree Toy Store and Urban Roots.

The concert is made possible through funding from the Oklahoma Arts Council. For more information, call BLAC Inc. at (405) 524-3800.

culture Enja Records jazz music Pakistan releases Rez Abbasi United States world jazz world music

Guitarist Rez Abbasi embraces Pakistani musical influences on new album “Suno Suno”

Post author By mitchmuse
Post date November 9, 2011

In guitarist Rez Abbasi‘s Suno Suno (“Listen Listen” in Urdu) the music has a heaven-and-earth quality. It’s built on melodies with an elusive, indefinable vocal quality, and solid grooves. It has an almost indescribable center and a hard edge. There is nothing standard about the songs or the soloing.

Much of the inspiration for this music came from Pakistani Qawwali, a devotional Sufi music (popularized in the west by Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan) which, not unlike gospel, is meant to elevate the spirit and bring the listener and participants closer to a higher power. However, in Suno Suno there are no obvious references — not for most Western ears anyway. In fact, Abbasi reaches beyond a simple ‘translation into jazz’ for something more essential.

“I’ve been listening to Qawwali most of my life,” says Abbasi in a news release, “and making a conscious effort to bring that element into my compositions, was a natural and powerful step. Something I was intent on notdoingwas imitating for example, Qawwali melodies. Rather, I wanted to utilize my history with the music as an intuitive tool for composing.”

He continues, “People are used to hearing overt influences in what is called a jazz hybrid, but I think the new paradigm that gets the best results is to write from the raw elements and feelings that lie just under the musical radar. This way the result remains organic and not simply a juxtaposition of genres.”

Performed by a group of singers, two harmoniums, and a percussionist, and paced by the clapping of the ensemble, Qawwali is an expression of praise whereby melodies are often repeated without variation in order to create a trance-like euphoria.

In Suno Suno, his eighth recording as a leader, Abbasi says in the album notes, “The challenge was to capture some of the power, passion and joy of Qawwali with an instrumental jazz group, without direct imitation.” His group, “Invocation” comprises Rudresh Mahanthappa, alto saxophone; Vijay Iyer, piano; Johannes Weidenmueller, bass, and Dan Weiss, drums.

Born in Karachi, Pakistan, Abbasi has lived in the United States since he was four. He began his studies at the University of Southern California and soon moved to New York City to attend the Manhattan School of Music. His influences in guitar evolved quickly from George Benson, to Pat Martino, Wes Montgomery, and, most decisively, Jim Hall. Other notable influences were John Coltrane, Keith Jarrett, Bela Bartok and Claude Debussy.

contemporary jazz jazz Mack Avenue Records music performances United States vibraphonist Warren Wolf

Vibraphonist Warren Wolf to perform Nov. 16 at “The Checkout: Live From 92YTribeca”

Post author By mitchmuse
Post date November 7, 2011

Warren Wolf

Jazz vibraphonist Warren Wolf is set to perform at 92YTribeca in New York City at 8 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 16 in support of his new self-titled, debut album (available on Mack Avenue Records). The performance is part of 92YTribeca and WBGO’s new series, The Checkout: Live From 92YTribeca, and is a shared double-bill with guitarist Lage Lund. The new series is syndicated and archived via NPRMusic.org. Joining Wolf on-stage for the evening will be saxophonist Tim Green, pianist Lawrence Fields, bassist Kris Funn and drummer John Lamkin.

It’s no exaggeration to state that the release of Warren Wolf, makes it as apparent to jazz fans as it already is to jazz insiders that the 31-year-old vibraphonist is the next major voice on his instrument. Joined by a unit of authoritative swingers (bassist Christian McBride, pianist Peter Martin, drummer Greg Hutchinson, alto and soprano saxophonist Tim Green, and, on two tracks, trumpeter Jeremy Pelt), Wolf offers a ten-piece program that admirably represents his singular blend of efflorescent chops, muscular attack, lyric sensibility, harmonic acumen, encyclopedic knowledge of hardcore jazz vocabulary, tireless groove and downright musicality.

“I’m trying to bring forth what most cats did back in the day, coming out right at you swinging, nice and hard, not a lot of hard melodies or weird time signatures,” Wolf says in a news release. “I like to play really hard, fast and kind of flashy. I like to take it to a whole other level.”

The Checkout: Live From 92YTribeca is a new music series presented by 92YTribeca and WBGO, and created by WBGO’s Josh Jackson, host of the hour-long jazz radio program, The Checkout. The series pairs some of New York City’s most exciting jazz musicians and brings them to the mainstage at 92YTribeca for a live performance and broadcast on WBGO (as well as the station’s website, WBGO.org). Portions of the recorded performance will also be used for future playback on The Checkout, as well as the show’s podcast, and syndicated and archived via NPRMusic.org. The mainstage at 92YTribeca, 92nd Street Y’s downtown cultural venue, regularly features jazz as part of its eclectic offerings, which also include film, performance, visual art and a huge range of musical genres.

“Our message is growing, and so are the ways we can deliver it – on a clear and consistent radio signal, on WBGO.org, and on mobile telephony,” says Jackson. We’re excited to work with 92YTribeca to create new opportunities to discover, engage, and build the jazz community.”

comtemporary jazz jazz music releases United States Vince Mendoza world world jazz world music

Vince Mendoza presents all-star cast for new project “Nights on Earth”

Post author By mitchmuse
Post date October 29, 2011

After a remarkably productive decade which saw him writing stellar orchestral arrangements for recordings by such popular singers as Bjork, Melody Gardot, Sting and Joni Mitchell (he won two of his six Grammy Awards and 25 nominations for his contributions to her Both Sides Now in 2000 and Travelogue in 2003), Vince Mendoza has shifted focus back to his own compositions for the first time in 13 years. His most personal and compelling project to date, Nights on Earth is yet another crowning achievement in the career of the acclaimed composer-arranger-conductor.

On this eagerly-awaited follow-up to Epiphany (which he recorded in 1997 with the London Symphony Orchestra), Mendoza recruited an all-star cast of longtime collaborators like guitarists John Abercrombie, John Scofield and Nguyen Le, drummer Peter Erskine, percussionist Luis Conte, organist Larry Goldings, steel drummer Andy Narell, pianists Kenny Werner and Alan Pasqua, saxophonists Bob Mintzer and Joe Lovano. He is also joined by such new friends as Brazilian vocalist Luciana Souza, Malian kora player and singer Tom Diakite, Argentinian bandoneon master Hector del Curto, Algerian drummer Karim Ziad, French saxophonist Stéphane Guillaume and young American jazz stars in bassist Christian McBride, drummer Greg Hutchinson and trumpeter Ambrose Akinmusire, a winner of recent awards from the Jazz Journalists Association and DownBeat. Along with members of the Metropole Orkest, the Dutch ensemble that Mendoza has presided over as chief conductor for the past six years, they bring to life these evocative pieces that flow directly from the composer’s heart to his pen.

“I always thought that being a musician is about having a community of artists that inspires you,” says Mendoza in a recent news release, “and I think part of the process of the creation of this recording has to do with the people that I have met and learned from along the way. A lot of what this music has to do with is celebrating that community of the musicians from the many traditions that they represent.”

While names such as Abercrombie, Scofield, Lovano, Werner, Mintzer and Erskine represent the jazzier side of Mendoza’s community of artists (they appeared on his 1990 Blue Note album Start Here and his 1991 follow-up for the label, Instructions Inside), musicians like Souza, del Curto, Diakite and Ziad represent his adventurous explorations into world music (as on 1992’s Jazzpana and more recently on 2009’s Viento: The Garcia Lorca Project).

“I have an affinity with these musicians and their music, as they also have with my writing,” says Mendoza. “I wanted to incorporate them into my compositions, to frame their voice in an interesting way. And I thought they would have a connection to my writing style in their improvisations.”

gospel music releases rhythm and blues Shirley Murdock Tavis Smiley television Tyscot Records United States

Shirley Murdock interview with Tavis Smiley airs this weekend

Post author By mitchmuse
Post date October 28, 2011

According to a recent news release, vocalist Shirley Murdock recently sat down for an interview and talked about her journey through life and music with media personality Tavis Smiley on Public Radio International’s “The Tavis Smiley Show.” The interview airs on Public Radio International (PRI) from Friday, Oct. 28 through Friday, Nov. 4. Local stations can be found at www.tavissmileyradio.com/where.html.

The Dayton, Ohio-based singer is best known for her top 10 ’80s era R&B hits “As We Lay,” “Go on Without You,” “Husband” and “In Your Eyes.” However, in recent years, she’s become equally known for her gospel and inspirational tunes such as 2007’s “I Love Me Better than That.”

Murdock talked with Smiley about her transition from R&B to gospel and all the twists and turns in between. She also discussed her new, first live CD “Live: The Journey” and its companion music DVD.
The 17-track collection was produced by Grammy Award winner Cedric Thompson (who’s produced Yolanda Adams and Marvin Sapp) and recorded live at The Broadcast Group Complex in Charlotte, NC. R&B singers Kelly Price and Regina Belle as well as gospel singer Beverly Crawford each performed a song with Murdock and did one song as a foursome. The “Live: The Journey” (Tyscot Records) CD has debuted at #24 on Billboard’s top Gospel Albums chart while the “Live: The Journey” (Tyscot Records) music DVD debuted at #40 on Billboard’s top Music Videos chart where it shares rank alongside projects such as Taylor Swift’s “Journey to Fearless” and the band Journey’s “Live in Manila.”

Meanwhile, Murdock’s current inspirational/gospel radio single “Dream” is moving up the gospel radio playlists around the country. It’s receiving heavy substantive rotation on Sirius XM satellite’s Praise Channel 64 and Murdock was also recently a guest in the VIP Lounge with DJ Cayman Kelly on Sirius’s XM’s Heart & Soul Channel 48. Murdock also recently sang the song on The National Mall during the recent Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Unveiling ceremony where President Barack Obama spoke about Dr. King’s legacy.

“The song is anointed because it’s full of the word,” Murdock says of the inspiring ballad of hope and perseverance. “It’s like the voice of God speaking directly to your spirit, reminding you, that He’s not a man that He should lie … if He spoke it, will He not do it? This song will stir up and rekindle that word, that’s been spoken into your spirit and remind you that your dream can not…will not die.” For more information on Shirley Murdock, go to www.tyscot.com or http://twitter.com/#!/ShirleyMurdock

contemporary jazz Curtis Brothers jazz music releases Truth Revolution United States world

Curtis Brothers team with musical mentors on sophomore release “Completion of Proof”

Post author By mitchmuse
Post date October 27, 2011

Brothers Luques (bass) and Zaccai Curtis (piano) follow in the rich family tradition of jazz. Jazz music has frequently been the family tie that binds. And as with the Curtis Brothers, those are also siblings that recorded and performed together. Based on the brilliance of Completion of Proof, clearly Luques and Zaccai Curtis have joined that auspicious tradition.

Significant clues to the Curtis Brothers desire for self-determination can be found in not only the declarative title of this date – Completion of Proof, but also in the bold moniker they’ve chosen for their record label, Truth Revolution. There is an obvious sense of the Curtis Brothers on a quest for artistic truth, and in the case of their label they’re just as obviously seeking freewill in the business side of their recorded life as well. In this time of artists eschewing the tired, old pie-in-the-sky sense of waiting for a mythical record “deal,” Luques and Zaccai have clearly set out on a path of autonomy on the recorded side of their respective and collective careers.

For Completion of Proof, the Curtis Brothers have enlisted a powerhouse crew of musicians – many of whom serve as mentors to the Curtis Brothers – including drummer Ralph Peterson, Jr., Brian Lynch on trumpet, and their Artist Collective mentor, Jimmy Greene on saxophones. The date also includes alto saxophonist “Big Chief” Donald Harrison. It was Harrison who gave the Brothers their first touring band experience.

“He really showed us how to act, play, and what not to do on the road,” says Zaccai. The underrated fire-breathing saxophonist Joe Ford “has always been an influence from a very early age.” The brothers play in Lynch’s band and alongside Ford with Jerry González Fort Apache Band as occasional subs for Andy González and Larry Willis. Percussionists Rogerio Boccato, Pedro Martinez, and Reinaldo De Jesus help bring further folkloric Pan African flavor to the date.

In developing this venture the brothers had this group of mentors in mind. “We wrote all the music to fit this band,” says Zaccai in a news release. “We thought of the sound of each band member and tried to feature each one in the music. We set a date and nailed the music at the studio; no rehearsals and all within 1 or 2 takes! These guys are really the best jazz musicians alive, and we are honored to be blessed with their presence on this recording.”

Asked how their background and upbringing influenced the sundry aspects of Completion of Proof, Zaccai referred to the date as “American Classical Music in every way. Jazz is an interesting study to me. It is a science in all respects, but “soul” is the base. We named the CD Completion of Proof or in Latin Q.E.D. – quod erat demonstrandum – because this is how scientists indicated that they have proved their theory correct.”

For the Curtis Brothers, Completion of Proof is an affirmation of the basic root sources of jazz. Their music is rife with the blues, swing rhythms in recognition of the Africa-Caribbean-New Orleans lineage, and the basic core elements that make the music such a spicy, hard bop melting pot. In many ways, the music on Completion of Proof is for the Curtis Brothers a refutation of what they view from some of their peers as a denial or dismissal of those root sources.

“Fast forward to today’s modern jazz, and you are lucky to hear just one of those elements come from a performance or recording,” Zaccai said. “Blues harmonies seem to be replaced with simplified classical harmonies. Drums and rhythms have been mixed down in the modern recording so you can barely hear them! Swing has been ripped from the music. In most cases there are no elements of the jazz language… never mind bebop!

“This CD is a response to this modern, swing-less, no-language – ‘jazz’ – that the labels are pushing, just like the Hard Bop response to Cool Jazz in the ’50s and ’60s.”

Christian McBride contemporary jazz Conversations with Christian jazz Mack Avenue Records music releases United States

Bassist Christian McBride teams up with others on CD “Conversations with Christian”

Post author By mitchmuse
Post date October 23, 2011

On his eight CDs that precede Conversations With Christian, bassist Christian McBride has framed himself in ensemble contexts, most recently on the widely lauded 2009 Mack Avenue release Kind of Brown, which showcases the Inside Straight quintet (his return to the acoustic jazz format as a leader) and The Good Feeling, released in September, comprising a suite of well-wrought charts for an A-list 17-piece big band.

Although McBride’s leader and sideman c.v. includes no small number of pungent duos with various game-changers — to name two, McCoy Tyner and Jim Hall — he has heretofore refrained from devoting an entire recording to the genre. That discographical gap is now rectified with Conversations with Christian, on which the 39-year-old maestro places himself in the forefront of the flow on a duet apiece with “13 of my closest musical friends and cohorts”– singers Angélique Kidjo, Sting and Dee Dee Bridgewater; pianists George Duke, Eddie Palmieri and Chick Corea, as well as Dr. Billy Taylor and Hank Jones (who both passed away in 2010); violinist Regina Carter; trumpeter Roy Hargrove; guitarist Russell Malone; tenor saxophonist Ron Blake; and actress Gina Gershon. In the process, McBride unleashes the full measure of his already legendary skills, crafting as complete a portrait of his diverse interests-different vibrations of the blues and African-American church experience, bebop, the American Songbook, the Latin Tinge, the Freedom Principle, even comedy-as he has ever presented.

“I love and appreciate so many different styles and cultures,” he said in a news release. “Changing hats, going from one project to another, from a straight-ahead session to an R&B session to a pop session, has always fueled my activity. I try to put all those different sounds into one pot and make it a coherent, jazz-inflected sound.”

McBride first considered a proposal to do a duet project during the latter ’90s, when he was signed to Verve. “At the time,” he recalls, “I didn’t feel I was ready, or that it was the project I wanted to do. I had other things in mind. But as time progressed, I got to do other projects-putting together the Christian McBride Band and experimenting with a lot of different sounds and layers-and my focus returned to the duets idea.”

This renewed interest coincided with McBride’s involvement with the National Jazz Museum In Harlem (he is co-director), where he launched a still ongoing series of public talks and interviews. “My manager, Andre Guess, and my wife, Melissa Walker, noticed that I had a good rapport with almost everyone I interviewed,” recalls McBride, whose warmth comes through as palpably in conversation as in notes and tones. “They both suggested that it might be time.”

In conjunction with the project, McBride conducted videotaped interviews with each participant. Available as discrete podcasts since 2009, this series eventually led to the popular Sirius-XM radio show, The Lowdown: Conversations With Christian.

“I think the duet is a logical extension of the nature of the bass itself,” McBride says. “It’s the root. Joe Zawinul once stated that the drums are the father of all music, and the bass is the mother. I had a hard time disagreeing. The bass has the rhythm and the pulse, and also the notes and harmonies. That would seem to make it the ideal instrument for any sort of duet.”

The operative principle throughout is McBride’s dictum, “Most of what I enjoy doing is based in, around, and upon the groove; I want to hold down the fort, but have the ability to visit the roof if I want.” Conversations With Christian will assume its place as a masterpiece of the duo idiom.

Academy of Country Music Honors awards Gordon Mote gospel music southern gospel United States

Academy of Country Music honor Gordon Mote with 2011 ACM Award

Post author By mitchmuse
Post date October 20, 2011

Gordon Mote accepts his second Academy of Country Music Honor for Piano/Keyboard Player of the Year with wife Kimberly. (Photo courtesy of ACM)

Gordon Mote was honored with the 2011 Academy of Country Music’s Piano/Keyboard Player of the Year Award at the recent annual ACM Honors ceremony held at Nashville’s historic Ryman Auditorium. Gordon, a seven-time nominee, was also honored with the coveted award in 2009.
Long recognized by the industry as one of Nashville’s most talented studio musicians who seemingly knows no limits in effortlessly crossing musical styles and genres, Mote’s talents can be heard on the recordings of some of the nation’s premier performers, including Bill & Gloria Gaither and the Homecoming Friends, Billy Ray Cyrus, Blake Shelton, Scotty McCreery, Elvis Presley, The Hoppers,Brad Paisley, Ernie Haase & Signature Sound, George Jones, The Isaacs, Josh Turner, Alan Jackson,Keith Urban, Luke Bryan, Jason Crabb, Martina McBride, Reba McEntire, Rascal Flatts and Alison Krauss, just to name a few.
Since releasing his debut Southern gospel recording in 2004, the talented singer and musician has enjoyed much success, including numerous Top 40 hits in multiple music genres and numerous Fan Award nominations. Mote’s video release, “The Best of Gordon Mote,” made its debut at No. 7 on the Billboard Music Video Chart in 2008. Mote’s travels on tour are global – include stops in the United States, Canada and Europe. He is a featured artist on the stage sharing his vocal and keyboard performances with music legend Bill Gaither and his Grammy Award winning Gaither Vocal Band and the Homecoming Friends.
The fifth annual ACM Honors represents an evening of musical tribute performances and special presentations celebrating the special honorees and non-televised category winners from the 46th annual Academy of Country Music Awards, held earlier this year.

concerts GBX hMAG music Music Fest 2011 New Jersey performances United States

hMAG’s free second annual Music Fest 2011 convenes Sunday, Oct. 16

Post author By mitchmuse
Post date October 12, 2011

hMAG’s second annual Music Fest 2011, sponsored by GBX, is happening from noon to 10 p.m. Sunday, October 16, 2011, at Pier A Park in Hoboken, New Jersey.

This all-day free music event is featuring six local bands and two headliners with a mix of indie, rock, punk, R&B and pop along with local vendors and giveaways throughout the day. For more information, go to http://www.h-mag.com/musicfest.

Christmas contemporary jazz Geri Allen gospel jazz Motema Records music releases United States

Pianist Geri Allen shares a collection of music on new CD “A Child is Born”

Post author By mitchmuse
Post date October 12, 2011

Despite its time-honored traditions and universally familiar iconography, Christmas remains a holiday celebrated by each family and even each individual in their own personal style. Pianist/composer Geri Allen offers her own interpretation with A Child Is Born, a collection of traditional and original Christmas music that is profound and exuberant, solemn and joyous, spiritual and intimate.

Allen’s third release for Motéma Music is a solo sequel to her critically acclaimed solo debut, 2010’s Flying Toward the Sound. Where that release paid tribute to three of her creative inspirations – Herbie Hancock, McCoy Tyner, and Cecil Taylor – A Child Is Born honors equally meaningful but perhaps even more deeply entrenched influences: family and spirituality. She refers to the album as “a joyous Christmas celebration and remembrance of a childhood where love was always unconditional.”

Geri Allen

This holiday offering finds Allen at a particularly celebratory time of life. Her tandem 2010 releases on Motéma, the solo, Flying Toward the Sound, and the quartet, Timeline Live, have shown her to be at the top of her game, gaining unanimous acclaim internationally and jostling with each other for space on numerous year-end top ten lists. A 2008 Guggenheim Fellowship helped Allen facilitate her debut solo project on Motéma; and Timeline Live, which features the startlingly talented Maurice Chestnut on ‘tap-percussion,’ has been selling out houses world wide and garnered a career first for Allen: an NAACP Image Award nomination for Outstanding Jazz Album, alongside Herbie Hancock, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Wynton Marsalis, and Bobby McFerrin. National respect for Allen as a virtuosic, innovative performer, composer, and educator (she is currently an Associate Professor of Jazz and Contemporary Improvisation at the University of Michigan) is undeniable, as evidenced by two powerful recent honors of 2011. She was invited to perform in honor of the historic Dr. Martin Luther King Monument Unveiling this August in Washington D.C.

A Child Is Born is dedicated to Allen’s family, in particular to her father, Mount Allen, Jr. and mother, Barbara Jean Allen.

“I am privileged and blessed to have grown up as the child of Barbara Jean and Mount Vernell Allen, Jr.,” she says in a recent news release. “I know God loved me because He gave them to my brother Mount and I. Memories of many loving Christmases with family remain as affirmations of the beauty of life and God’s never-ending love. Today, I share these timeless melodies and personal remembrances with my own children.”