Category: releases

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contemporary jazz jazz releases United States Vijay Iyer world

Vijay Iyer introduces new band and album Tirtha on March 8, 2011

(Left to right: Nitin Mitta, Vijay Iyer, Prasanna)               Photo credit: Alan Nahigian       

Vijay Iyer, 2011 Grammy nominee & JJA Musician of the Year, Chennai (formerly Madras)-born guitarist-composer Prasanna, and Hyderabad native and tabla player Nitin Mitta have achieved a fully realized, deeply thoughtful, and truly innovative collaboration called Tirthia. 
Tirthia, to be released on March 8, 2011, combines the elemental directness of rock, the chamber-like intimacy of raga, and bebop’s hard, angular drive, and achieves a profound interplay of melody and rhythm that characterizes jazz.
“Tirtha (the band) formed in response to an invitation,” said Iyer in a news release. “In 2007, I was asked to put together a concert celebrating 60 years of Indian independence. Normally I’ve steered clear of fusion experiments that attempt to mix styles – to “create something,” as John Coltrane famously admonished, “more with labels, you see, than true evolution.” For this event, I hoped to avoid those pitfalls, and offer something personal.
“I invited along Prasanna and Nitin Mitta, two outstanding musicians from India who have settled in the States. None of us had collaborated previously, but at our first rehearsal we felt a jolt of recognition. There was no question of “fusion,” no compromise, no attempt to sound more or less “Indian”; just a fluid musical conversation among three individuals, an atmosphere of camaraderie, a sense of beginning.”
Composer-pianist Iyer is one of today’s most acclaimed and respected young American jazz artists. He received the Musician of the Year Award in the 2010 Jazz Journalists Association Jazz Awards, the 2010 Echo Award (the “German Grammy”) for best international ensemble with his trio, and the Downbeat Critics Poll for rising star jazz group of the year. His latest recordings on the ACT label include Solo (2010) and the trio album Historicity (2009). Historicity subsequently received a Grammy Nomination for Best Jazz Instrumental Album.




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contemporary jazz jazz Ralph Peterson releases United States

Drummer Ralph Peterson set to release album Outer Reaches on April 5

Outer Reaches, drummer Ralph Peterson‘s  15th album as a leader overall, is also the inaugural release on his Onyx Music label and will be available on April 5, 2011.
The composer-bandleader and talent scout extraordinaire Ralph Peterson has carried on in the tradition of his mentor and idol Art Blakey, who was renowned for his hard-driving approach to the kit and his uncanny knack for discovering new talent. Similarly, Peterson helped launch the careers of several promising young players in his various bands over the years, including trumpeters Sean Jones and Jeremy Pelt, saxophonists Steve Wilson, Ralph Bowen and Tia Fuller, vibist Bryan Carrot and pianist Orrin Evans. With his Unity Project, Peterson adds three new names to the list – trumpeter Josh Evans, tenor saxophonist Jovan Alexandre and Hammond B-3 organist Pat Bianchi. Together with their fearless leader, they collectively push the envelope to extremes on Outer Reaches, an exhilarating homage to Larry Young’s classic 1965 Blue Note recording Unity.
“This is something that I’ve always wanted to do,” says Peterson in a news release of his new Unity Project release. “It was another goal realized, and now we’re trying to wake everybody up to the good news about it as I plot the next move.”
A respected educator who is a professor at the Berklee College of Music, Peterson’s protégés include such potent new drummers on the New York scene as Ari Hoenig, E.J. Strickland, Justin Faulkner, Rodney Green, Vince Ector, Jonathan Blake, Dion Parsons and Mark Whitfield Jr. He is also a clinician and endorser for Mapex Drums, Vic Firth Sticks, Axis Pedals as well as Bosphorus Cymbals, where he designed their newest cymbal line aptly called The Oracle.

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books Gabe Lyons releases religion United States

Coming Up: Livestream with author Gabe Lyons on Feb. 17th @ 2pm ET.

Check out author Gabe Lyons on Feb. 17th @ 2 p.m. ET (1 p.m. CST). The event will be moderated by Tim Keller, and Gabe will be answering questions about his new book – The Next Christians. 

Watch live streaming video from waterbrookmultnomah at livestream.com
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gospel Greater Mount Calvary Holy Church music releases United States

Greater Mount Calvary Holy Church recording debuts at #7 on Billboard’s Top Gospel Albums chart

Bishop Alfred A. Owens Jr. and co-Pastor Susie C. Owens, founders and pastors of the Greater Mount Calvary Holy Church, celebrate the Greater Mount Calvary Recording Choir and Calvary Records’ new CD, Greater Mount Calvary LIVE As Told By The Music Ministry, for debuting at #7 on Billboard’s Top Gospel Albums chart in its first week sales. “I believe it’s truly a testament to the vision of the church and will give people another chance to experience Calvary,” Bishop Owens said in a recent news release.

This is the first time that Calvary Records and its Choir have landed on a Billboard chart. However, its music ministry is no stranger to the spotlight. The music department produced the Greater Mount Calvary Men of Valor ensemble that won Verizon’s “How Sweet The Sound” Regional (Washington, D.C.) and National VCast People’s Choice Awards gospel choir competition in 2010. Stellar Award winner Maurette Brown-Clark, Courtney Nero, and Grammy-Award winner Steve Lawrence (Bishop T.D. Jakes & The Potter’s House Mass Choir) all hailed from Calvary’s music department.
Greater Mount Calvary LIVE As Told By The Music Ministry is a power-packed, 17-song live set that gives its listeners a front row seat to experience the Pentecostal fervor of a Sunday morning service at the 3,000 member Greater Mount Calvary Holy Church that was founded in 1976. The album was produced by Grammy Award winner Steven Ford who has also produced other artists such as Vickie Winans, Tye Tribbett and Richard Smallwood.
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contemporary jazz jazz music releases United States world yellowjackets

The Yellowjackets mark 30th anniversary with new Mack Records release on March 15

The Yellowjackets will release Timeline on March 15 on Mack Records. Spearheaded by keyboardist Russell Ferrante and bassist Jimmy Haslip, The Yellowjackets offer fans its 21st official recording, not including special side projects and guest spots. The band’s background gleams with various honors, including 17 Grammy nominations and two Grammy awards to show for their efforts.

“We get extremely engaged with every project and we try to elevate and open things up,” Haslip said in a news release. That’s always the goal with every project. I’m not saying we always succeed. But the focus is to always try to do something that is hopefully engaging. And being that Russell, myself and the guys in the band have a certain chemistry. It’s not easy to accomplish this after 30 years.”
The band moves forward with a new relationship with respected jazz label Mack Avenue Records, and the first new album with an important alumnus back in the ranks, the dynamic and flexible drummer Will Kennedy. Kennedy, who worked with the group for 10 years and appeared on half its discography to date, returns to the ranks after a dozen years away. He fits seamlessly into the band, alongside Ferrante, Haslip and the multi-talented saxophonist-composer Bob Mintzer, whose critical role in helping define the group’s current sound goes back to 1991.
Timeline is described as characteristically diverse but also cohesive, melodically accessible and also experimental, in keeping with the Jackets’ concept for three decades. Beautiful balladry, such as Ferrante’s “Indivisible” and Mintzer’s “My Soliloquy,” intertwine with modern-day variations on traditional swing themes, on Mintzer’s “Like Elvin” (also one of the songs featuring a new sound for the band, guest trumpeter John Diversa) and Ferrante’s “Numerology.” Kennedy’s one composition, “Rosemary,” explores an inventive rhythmic-melodic feel, with its lyrical balladic melody laying atop an exotic drum groove.


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contemporary jazz jazz music releases smooth jazz Steve Cole United States

Saxophonist Steve Cole releases project “Moonlight” on Feb. 1, 2011

Saxophonist Steve Cole returns to the spotlight with a new release “Moonlight,” scheduled for Feb. 2011 on Mack Avenue/Artistry Music label. The project is described as ” a collection of classic pop songs and standards set against an orchestral backdrop.” The project includes such iconic songs as Burt Bacharach’s The Look of Love, the classic torch song Cry Me a River, Lennon/McCartney’s The Long and Winding Road, the Guess Who’s Undun and James Taylor’s Close Your Eyes.
Cole is considered one of the most celebrated players in contemporary jazz, having sold hundreds of thousands of albums worldwide and scored four #1 R&R Smooth Jazz hits. His previous projects are on the Atlantic, Warner Brothers and Narada Jazz music labels.
In a recent news release regarding “Moonlight,” Cole says,  “I am so anxious to have the opportunity to present this new project to audiences in live theater settings where I will have the chance to connect with them in an emotional way, providing a memorable night of music for all to enjoy. The legacy of popular music in an orchestral setting is timeless, and I am quite fortunate to be able to present this collection of timeless songs in this fashion.”


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jazz Kevin Eubanks music releases United States

Kevin Eubanks signs with Mack Avenue Records

Kevin Eubanks (Photo Credit: Raj Naik)



Mack Avenue Records recently announced the signing of guitarist Kevin Eubanks. The former leader of the Tonight Show Band is set to release Zen Food on Nov. 23, 2010, his debut for the label and first project since his Tonight Show departure. 
“It’s so refreshing to find a record label that feels ‘right’ from so many aspects,” said Eubanks, who completed his final and 18th season of The Tonight Show in May. “Mack Avenue Records is the company I’ve been hoping to find to release the music I’ve been wanting to play.” 
“When Kevin first announced that he was departing the Tonight Show with a desire to record and tour again I knew he would be an ideal artist for us,” says Mack Avenue Records President Denny Stilwell in a news release. “He is a musician of uncompromising artistry who has chosen an opportune moment to re-establish his roots in jazz and Mack Avenue is honored to be working with him.”
Over his 30-year career, Eubanks has performed with esteemed musicians such as Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers, Roy Haynes, Slide Hampton, Sam Rivers, Dave Holland, Greg Osby, and Jean Luc Ponty, among others. In 1992, Eubanks moved to the West Coast to assume the guitar spot in the Tonight Show Band and become the band’s leader from 1995 – 2010.
Hailing from a musical family (distinguished uncles, pianist Ray Bryant and bassist Tommy Bryant, and brothers, trombonist Robin Eubanks and trumpeter Duane Eubanks), the Philadelphia native and Berklee College of Music alumni has appeared on more than 100 albums, with releases on Elektra, GRP and Blue Note; as well as founding his own record label, Insoul Music.

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gospel kingdom records music releases religion Tonya Baker United States

Myron Butler to produce gospel artist Tonya Baker’s first live recording in July 2010

Kingdom Records has tapped Grammy-winning producer Myron Butler to produce Tonya Baker‘s first live recording. The live recording takes place at 7 p.m. Friday, July 23, 2010, at
The Ginghamsburg Church in Tipp City, Ohio. Admission is free. 

Baker made her national debut with the acclaimed CD “Special Friend” in 2008, and Dayton, Ohio, native has been critically-praised for her unusual blend of jazzy vocal riffs with a straightforward gospel message.
“I would be lying if I said I weren’t a bit nervous,” Baker said in a news release. “I’ve been asked for several years, `When are you going to do a live recording?’  Well, I guess this is the time and I pray that God will be pleased with our offering and the people will be blessed and encouraged.  There’s nothing like the live experience.  You feel the energy from the people and the presence of God in the place. Most importantly, I don’t want the people to just come looking for a great show – but an encounter with God.”
Butler has produced projects with such notables as Smokie Norful and Tamela Mann from TBS’s “Meet The Browns” series. He’s also made a name for himself as an EMI Gospel recording artist with hits such as “Stronger,” “Set Me Free,” and his current single, “Revealed.”
Baker said, “Myron Butler is an incredibly anointed and gifted artist, songwriter, and producer.  I’m so thankful for the opportunity to work with him.  I’m equally thankful that Kingdom Records’ A&R director Michael Weatherspoon was able to make it happen.”
For more information about Tonya Baker’s recording, call (708) 339-9301 or visit www.kingdomrecordsinc.com.
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gospel Jasper Williams Jr. music releases United States

Pastor Jasper Williams Jr. makes musical comeback with “Down through the Years”

Jasper Williams Jr., pastor of the Atlanta-based Salem Bible Church is back on the music scene with his first new musical recordings in 20 years. 

Fans may best remember Williams from the 1960s through the 1980s when he recorded two dozen best-selling sermon LPs such as 1986’s “I Fell in Love With a Prostitute” and a handful of memorable gospel music albums. The radio single “Down through the Years” is a throwback to the old-fashioned but never out-of-style Pentecostal church services of the early 20th century. After just being released a few short weeks ago, the song has stormed into the Top 100 most played songs at gospel radio. 
“Every time I normally preach, I hit that song, and everywhere I go people cling to it,” Williams said in a news release. “When I sing it, they grab it. I told my producer, ‘Let’s do it the old way with no music.'” 
“Down through the Years” is one of 13 songs comprising Williams’ July 20, 2010, CD release “Landmark” (Church Door Records). The album is a celebration of William’s musical heritage. Amid gospel standards such as “Born Again,” “Calvary,” and other classics arranged by Salem’s Minister of Music/Producer Kelvin A. Manson, are new songs with an old-school feel by Dorinda Clark Cole’s tunesmith Derrick Starks, Bishop Means, Malcolm Williams, Morris Mingo, and Oscar Williams.
In the meantime, Williams is pleased with the buzz on the album. 
“If I leave this world now,” he said. “I feel that God has given me a fullness of life for which I’m proud and pleased and this would be a great exit for this album to hit and make it.”
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atlanta gospel Lucinda Moore music releases reviews United States

Mitch’s Reflections: Lucinda Moore “Blessed, Broken & Given”

What an incredible worship experience! Gospel vocalist Lucinda Moore draws in listeners with her sophomore CD “Blessed, Broken, & Given” (Tyscot Records). Moore doesn’t just project heartfelt praise; she is a living testimony that God can mend broken hearts. Once the listener starts to tune in to the songs on this CD, there is the realization that not about Moore, but it’s about giving praise and honor to God.
However, on the 15-track compact disc, Moore shares her story through inspiring ballads regarding deliverance from the pain of her past — childhood abuse, depression over her father’s death and a failed 16-year marriage to someone she says “never loved me.” Moore says of the first single “Blessed, Broken & Given”: “This is my testimony of what God did for me. He’s blessed me with a voice, but he had to break some things in me in order for me to be given to the nation.” She penned the song as she was going through a divorce.
“I’m doing it to help other people come out of what they are coming out of,” Moore said in a news release. “You don’t have to be unhappy and sit in abuse. This is the happiest time of my adult life.”
Moore is accompanied by the Elizabeth Baptist Church Mass Choir of Atlanta, Ga., background vocalists Donica Johnson, Natasha Cobbs, Claudius Craig, Trevon Davis, Tesha Lockley and Kim Edwards, as well as a host of musicians and band leader Natalie Ragins.
Stand-out track: “There’s a River.” There is a healing in the anointing, and this song makes you want to replay it. The “Bishop’s Prayer”  (Dr. Kevin A. Williams) follows, continuing the worship experience.


Editor’s note: Review CD supplied by Capital Entertainment.