Long before the recent presidential election was decided, U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer (Democrat-NY and chairman of the 2013 Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies) selected The Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir to perform its new rendition of “The Battle Hymn of the Republic” at the official swearing-in ceremony of the 57th Presidential Inauguration scheduled to take place on the steps of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 21, 2013, before an expected crowd of a half million people on the National Mall. Attendees will include former presidents, senators, representatives, and cabinet officials. The event will be broadcast live around the world.
“I’m pleased to invite The Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir to perform at the 57th Inauguration in January,” Schumer said in a news release this past June when he announced the choir’s addition to the program. “As a frequent visitor to their wonderful congregation, I know from first-ear experience how amazing this choir is, and I know they will wow the whole nation, too.”
The novel rendition of “The Battle Hymn of the Republic” was arranged by the choir’s founder, Carol Cymbala, and its music director, Jason Michael Webb, with majestic orchestral accompaniment that’s punctuated with innovative new harmonies while maintaining the classic feel of one of America’s most beloved anthems. Alicia Olatuja, a mezzo-soprano who has performed at Carnegie Hall, leads the song. It will be bundled with the rousing new anthem, “Let Your Kingdom Come,” as an iTunes (and other online music retailers) digital download and made available to the public on Jan. 15. Both tunes are featured on the choir’s forthcoming spring CD release, “Love Lead The Way” – it’s 28th recorded album. Preview: https://soundcloud.com/brooklyntabernaclechoir.
The 300-voice choir is a blend of ethnic and economic backgrounds, with members ranging from lawyers and doctors to former drug addicts. Over the years, the choir has performed at major venues such as Radio City Music Hall and Madison Square Garden. Their amazing legacy includes six Grammy Awards, seven Dove Awards, two No. 1 Billboard charting CDs and over four million albums sold. For more information, call http://www.brooklyntabernacle.org.
According to a recent news release, ten-time Grammy award winner George Benson is teaming up with PledgeMusic to support Benson’s latest release, a lush orchestral album saluting the gorgeous and timeless work of jazz pianist Nat “King” Cole. Benson is best known for the stunning pop-jazz crossover album Breezin’ (Warner Brothers) which topped the Billboard 200 in 1976 and went triple platinum. Benson is most notable for his silky technique and his ability to imbue his astounding musicality into elegantly accessible settings. This lavish tribute to the sublimely melodic Nat “King” Cole features Benson at his best: expressive, masterful and accompanied by heavenly orchestral arrangements. The campaign has currently reached 58 percent.
For five decades, George Benson has created a body of work that mesmerizes music fans and dazzles guitarists. For this project, Benson accompanied by a 42-piece orchestra. To thank his fans and pledgers, Benson offers exclusives for the campaign.
“I will personally autograph CDs and vinyl. You can get your name listed in the album artwork! You can even purchase my newly developed Ibanez LGB300 signature guitar which I’ll personally sign for you over a Skype chat!,” he says. A portion of all proceeds will be donated to the victims of Hurricane Sandy through MusiCares.
Since 2009, PledgeMusic has been committed to nurturing a broad range of talent through innovative methods that yield career-making results. The company has become the leading international direct-to-fan company. PledgeMusic is highly regarded for interactive innovations that offer artists and fans direct and unique ways for each to share in the music making experience. Twenty-nine PledgeMusic artists have been upstreamed to both major and independent labels and publishers. These campaigns have yielded six top 40 albums to date. Some successful campaigns include Dave Weckl, Charlie Hunter, Rachael Yamagata, Rhett Miller, Ben Folds Five, The Libertines, Juliana Hatfield, Luscious Jackson, David Lynch Foundation Music, The Beach Boys, The Damnwells, Funeral For A Friend, Margot & the Nuclear So and So’s, Madi Diaz, The Lumineers and Kopecky Family Band, among others.
Iyer’s trio also won this poll in 2009 for their breakout album Historicity. The Rhapsody poll is now considered the most comprehensive and authoritative list of critics in North America, with 119 critics voting.
The band will follow up this banner year with a weeklong-run at New York’s Jazz Standard.
The Ensemble Theatre, 3535 Main St. in Houston, Texas, will debut its first production from Jan. 31 to Feb. 24, 2013, by award winning playwright Charles Smith as its 2012-2013 season continues. The show will be directed by visiting artist Chuck Smith, resident director at Chicago’s Goodman Theatre.
“Knock Me a Kiss” takes place during the 1920s in Harlem. The story follows Yolonda DuBois, a woman torn between two lovers. One is a fast-living musician, Jimmy Lunceford, the other a poet, Countee Cullen, sanctioned by her father, activist W.E.B. DuBois. This fictional account is inspired by the actual events surrounding the 1928 marriage of W.E.B. Du Bois’ daughter Yolande to one of Harlem’s great poets, Countee Cullen. The marriage marked the height of the Harlem Renaissance and was viewed as the perfect union of Negro talent and beauty. It united the daughter of America’s foremost black intellectual, co-founder of the NAACP and publisher of Crisis Magazine, with a poet whose work was considered to be one of the flagships for the New Negro movement. At what personal cost does a leader pay to make life better for so many others when he is blind to those living in his own home?
The Ensemble Theatre’s 2012-2013 Season is sponsored in part by grants from the City of Houston through the Houston Arts Alliance and Texas Commission on the Arts. United Airlines is the exclusive airline sponsor for The Ensemble Theatre. For more information, call (713) 520-0055.
Thirteen years after arriving in New York City, trombonist/composer Ryan Keberle has performed with a jaw-dropping roster of legendary musicians across a vast array of styles. At 32, his resume is more eclectic and impressive than that of many musicians twice his age.
Keberle has performed with jazz greats including Maria Schneider and Wynton Marsalis as well as being an original member of up-and-comer Darcy James Argue’s Secret Society; hip-hop and R&B superstars like Justin Timberlake, and Alicia Keys; Latin jazz leaders like Pedro Giraudo and Ivan Lins; contemporary disco band Escort; played in the house band at Saturday Night Live, on soundtracks of films by Woody Allen, and in the pit for the Tony-winning Broadway musical In the Heights; and most recently toured with indie rock ground-breaker Sufjan Stevens, ushering him into a new arena of fresh, emotionally charged music.
For a musician with such a stunning range of ability and experience, it can seem daunting to find a common thread running throughout the entire range of inspiration and influence. The shared influence that Keberle found as he studied all of the music he most responded to was the direct emotional connection with listeners stemming from a shared root in the blues. So he set out to forge just such a bond with his own music, assembling an incredible new group in the process.
On his third CD, Music Is Emotion (to be released by Alternate Side Records on Feb. 19, 2013),Keberle combines that wealth of influence and experience into a bold group sound with the debut of his pianoless quartet, Catharsis. The band comprises some of the most compelling up-and-coming voices in jazz – trumpeter Mike Rodriguez, bassist Jorge Roeder, and drummer Eric Doob – for a vigorous set of melodic invention, heavy groove, and a subtle indie rock sensibility.
“When you boil down everything else that you love about music, it really comes down to the emotional connection that people make with it,” Keberle says in a news release. “Good popular music has this inherent emotional connection because of the history of the blues in our musical society. With all the social media and technology these days, it seems like it’s getting harder and harder to find that interaction on a personal level. So I’ve been trying to capture that more consciously in my own music.”
Born and raised by music educator parents in Spokane, Washington, Keberle started out playing classical violin and piano before adopting the trombone. He studied at the Manhattan School of Music under the tutelage of renowned trombonist Steve Turre and became a member of Jazz at Juilliard’s first graduating class in 2003.
Keberle’s first two releases featured his Double Quartet, a malleable, brass-heavy octet that showcased his deft composing and arranging skills. Catharsis was formed in late 2010 after much experimenting with different line-ups. The four musicians gelled immediately and gave Keberle an opportunity to expand his compositional horizons.
“I’m very much piano-centric when it comes to arranging and composing,” he explains. “Catharsis pushed me out of that box and forced me to come at the music from more of a contrapuntal perspective. It’s really incredible how versatile these guys are; it was a meeting of the minds from the start.”
With his second Mack Avenue Records release, The Messenger (available on Feb. 19, 2013), acclaimed guitarist Kevin Eubanks continues to explore his own unique musical vision. This vision offers the listener an opportunity to share a musical journey that truly exemplifies where Eubanks is at this stage of his illustrious career; one that, for over three decades, has seen him incorporate into his creative process a willingness to embrace the broad spectrum of his musical experience, while continuing to seek out new vistas.
The Messenger is a project that reflects not only the guitarist’s virtuosity on his instrument, but also his impressive compositional skills-writing all but two tracks. Best described simply as a “Kevin Eubanks” recording-without specific categorization-as his intent with The Messenger is to communicate the breadth of his artistic influences.
“I wanted to branch out a little bit more on this recording,” Eubanks states in a news release. “I didn’t want to be as concerned with the ‘jazz sound’ as much; I wanted to let out a little bit more of what I’ve been musically exposed to.” Eubanks compares this philosophy to sports: “It’s like with professional athletes; most of those guys can play three or four sports. Society makes you choose one or the other. But that doesn’t change who you are inside,” or in Eubanks’ case, preventing him from showcasing his versatility on this album.
Eubanks is joined on most tracks by his sterling fellow quartet members: Billy Pierce on reeds, Rene Camacho on bass, Marvin “Smitty” Smith on drums and Joey De Leon, Jr. on percussion. This project also has a family flavor, featuring younger brother Duane on trumpet (“Sister Veil,” “JB,” “420”), and older brother Robin on trombone (“JB,” “Queen Of Hearts”). For Eubanks, in addition to his brothers making valuable contributions to this recording, their involvement is representative of something more.
“Their participation came about through some conversations that we’ve had, and I asked them if they’d like to be a part of the record. We’ve actually been talking about doing a family project for years, so their participation is really an entry to that,” he says.
The Messenger is Eubanks’ testament to being musically honest. It’s a realization of what he feels is particularly important at this point of career and his life.
“I feel that I’m at the point where I just have to be me,” he says. “I want to do what has the most immediate honesty, and just lay it out.” Throughout the album there is a feeling of exploration and revelation that invites the listener in. The guitarist never ceases to surprise, creating a program reflecting that honesty-offering a full range of moods, textures and tempos.
With this album, Eubanks takes another step in his evolution not only as a guitarist and composer, but also as a musical communicator. It’s his way of making a statement about his personal view regarding the musical spectrum and its place in our lives, with sincere ideas of spreading the word to others. Arriving at the name of the title tune, Eubanks explains, “There is an urgency about it; it has the energy of a message that really should get across. The Messenger, I feel, is in everyone. We’re at the point [in our lives], that whatever it is that you feel strongly about, that can help a person or persons that you love, or a situation that affects your life…you should let that message out”.
Rudresh Mahanthappa's new group - "Gamak." Photo Credit: Zak Shelby-Szyszko
Rudresh Mahanthappa. Photo Credit: Jimmy Katz
Rudresh Mahanthappa’s new group – “Gamak.” Photo Credit: Zak Shelby-Szyszko
The idea of hybridity has been central to the music of alto saxophonist/composer Rudresh Mahanthappa throughout his career. Most prominent, of course, has been his highly original fusion of east and west, jazz mixed with the sounds of his Indian heritage. But that’s too easy and linear a depiction of this open-eared and inventive composer, who has absorbed an enormous variety of music into his thinking and amalgamated it into a singular vision.
On his new ACT release, Gamak (available Jan. 29), Mahanthappa continues that multi-directional evolution with a bold, striking set of music that melds leading-edge jazz with innovative reinterpretations of traditional Indian and Middle Eastern approaches, shot through with an electric jolt of prog-rock complexity. Mahanthappa’s distinctly personal sound hybridizes progressive jazz and South Indian classical music in a fluid and forward-looking form that reflects the composer’s own experience growing up a second-generation Indian-American. Just as his personal experience is never wholly lived on one side of the hyphenate or the other, his music speaks in a voice dedicated to forging a new path forward.
Gamak, Mahanthappa’s 13th album as leader or co-leader, marks the debut of a new band that is both a reprise and a reinvention. The album reunites the saxophonist with bassist François Moutin and drummer Dan Weiss, the rhythm section from his long-running quartet, which was last recorded for the 2006 album, Codebook. But the group takes on a radically different sound with the addition of David “Fuze” Fiuczynski, a master of microtonal guitar whose eclectic virtuosity offered Mahanthappa a vast new territory to explore.
“Dave has checked out so much music,”Mahanthappa says of Fiuczynski in a news release. “A lot of eastern music, whether it’s Chinese or Indian or Arabic, and a lot of 20th and 21st century classical music. Not to mention that he has this rock/punk aesthetic that’s evident in his band the Screaming Headless Torsos. And Dan and Francois come from a really wide perspective as well. Dan is just as much into Rush as he is Max Roach or Zakir Hussain. So I knew those guys were going to really bring this stuff to life.”
The name Gamak is derived from the word for ornamentation in Indian classical music, an element that is far more central to that culture than the English word implies. “In South Indian music particularly,” Mahanthappa explains, “melodic ornamentation isn’t random. It’s very specific and stylized and studied.” As for the word’s relevance to his current ensemble he says, “In recontextualizing these things, Gamak can refer to any sort of melodic ornamentation. It’s as applicable to Indian classical music as it is to R&B singers riffing or anything in between.”
Chrystal Rucker has been giving back to Kansas City for years with her annual “Sharing the Harvest” benefit concert. This year will be no different as she’s giving Kansas City some great gospel music while raising funds for The Brookside Charter School, Ronald McDonald House and Sarita Lynne Ministries (which manages two homeless shelters). Appearing on the program will be gospel megastar Vashawn Mitchell of “Nobody Greater” fame, Top 20 newcomer Anita Wilson, Sheri Jones Moffett, smooth jazz bass player Julian Vaughn, sister act Tobbi and Tommi and Kansas City worship leader, Na’Ron Hamilton.
Although, she’s been singing professionally for two decades, Rucker just released her first CD this year. The new project, “You Deserve” (EPM Music Group), debuted at No. 10 on Billboard Top Gospel Albums chart this summer and the dynamic radio single, “You Deserve” is a Top 30 smash.
“To say that Chrystal Rucker is a power vocalist is an understatement,” GospelFlava.com reviewer Gregory Gay writes in a recent commentary. “To her credit, she can preach in the middle of the song and close with a run that will leave the listener in awe, asking, `Now, how did she do that?’”
The event takes place at 7 p.m. Friday, Nov. 23 at Trinity Temple Church of God in Christ, 11922 Food Lane, Grandview, Mo., with host pastors Ben Stephens III and First Lady LaTanya Stephens. Tickets are $10 and available by calling (816) 665-0506. For more information on Rucker and other EPM Music Group artists, go to www.epmmusicgroup.com or www.chrystalrucker.net.
Take the polyrhythmic electro-acoustic beats of King Crimson and Stickmen drummer Pat Mastelotto, add fuzz-inflected lines of creative electric bassist and producer Lorenzo Feliciati, add jazz-informed textures of Fender Rhodes, Hammond B3 organ, piano and synthesizer player Roy Powell, and finally blend in the unique voice of avant-jazz cornetist Graham Hayne: You will have the raw ingredients of one of the most powerful and unique instrumental groups on the scene today.
On Ouroboros, their second release, the members of Naked Truth boldly push the envelope of contemporary electric instrumental music, an edgy blend of jazz, prog-rock, ambient music and electronica, as they themselves explain.
Graham Haynes, who succeeds original trumpeter Cuong Vu in the lineup and is a longtime collaborator of Bill Laswell as well as part of an ambient-electronica improv duo with DJ Hardedge, says in a news release, “The stuff I do with Hardedge is all completely 100% improvised – Naked Truth is very different in that we try to bring more structure to the music while keeping it loose at the same time.”
“I came to Bill Laswell’s studio in New Jersey with several pre-produced ideas, most of which already involved the drumming of Pat Mastelotto” adds Italian bass player Lorenzo Feliciati, who is also responsible for the whole of the post production and pre-mix of the recording.
Roy Powell continues: “I had several ambient textures recorded at my studio in Oslo with my prepared piano and new Moog things done on the iPad. Then after listening to it, Pat and Lorenzo put down a rhythm track – Pat using both electric drums and an acoustic kit simultaneously, which he is a monster at doing. And finally Graham found a space for his lyrical and inventively treated cornet work to round off the whole process.”
“The main thing for me,” says Haynes, “is I didn’t want to just play over loops, because I had already done that. I wanted to have some kind of flesh, some kind of harmonic content to deal with. So Roy and I each brought in some harmonic ideas, Lorenzo and Pat brought in different pre-recorded grooves and sketches, and we interacted with all these ideas playing live in the studio. Everybody brings in something, everybody’s got their own flavor. And a couple of guys have several flavors that they bring to the session.”
Feliciati adds “Graham in particular was terrific in coming up with melodies and ideas during this process. He really surprised me with his use of electronics on the cornet. It is not easy to hear a new or different approach these days from everything that Miles Davis had done with trumpet and electronics. But I think Graham is adding so much, creating his own vocabulary on the instrument that it is fresh and unique while also being in some way a sincere tribute to the great Miles, whom we are all very connected to.”
He continues, “Working with Bill Laswell, who produced the final mix of Ouroboros, was both a nerve-racking and exciting experience. “I admire Laswell so much,” he says. “He is a genius, one of the best and most forward-looking artists of the entire scene as well as a wonderful bass player. So you can imagine how happy and honored I am to have his touch on the music.”
Pat Mastelotto reflects how one tune from Ouroboros evolved during the sessions at Bill Laswell’s Orange Studios. “What eventually became ‘Dust’ began as a trippy kind of Pink Floyd thing that Roy brought in. It had no intrinsic time or tempo so to hold the fort I decided to throw down that double-timed beat box stuff that you hear, so then we had an anchor to improvise around. Then I started jamming on the drumkit to what Lorenzo was doing with all that high fuzzy feedback bass stuff he was playing. At some point I reached over and turned off my beatbox, and from there the attitude was, ‘whatever happens, happens.’ I just go for it and look for ‘happy accidents’ to come along in the process.”
Founder of the successful ’80s pop group Mr. Mister as well a member since 1994 of King Crimson and more recently in the power trio Stick Men (with noted stick players Tony Levin and Markus Reuter), Mastelotto says Naked Truth is unlike any band he’s ever been in. “For me, it’s the addition of the trumpet and keys that makes it different. It seems I work with gobs of guitar and stick players but seldom do I get to interact with a horn. And Graham is a killer improviser. He is really a powerful force. And while I have worked with keyboard players, it has been quite a while, so working with someone of Roy’s caliber is a special treat. Roy is over-the-top good on everything — piano, Hammond B3 organ, synthesizers. He also does killer iPad stuff, so he’s both old and new school. And like Graham, he’s a very smart and tasty improviser.”
