Category: releases

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jazz music New York releases United States world Yotam

Israeli Guitarist Yotam to release “Resonance” on May 4

Israeli guitarist-composer Yotam (full name Yotam Silberstein) swings hard with an all-star cast for his debut compact disc, “Resonance” (to be released on  Jazz Legacy Productions).
The New York-based guitarist is joined by the stellar rhythm section of Christian McBride on bass, Aaron Goldberg on piano and Greg Hutchinson on drums. Special guest trumpeter Roy Hargrove also appears on faithful recreations of Clifford Brown’s “Daahoud” and Joe Henderson’s “Mamacita.”  
“Aaron, Christian, Greg and Roy, in my opinion, are a few of the giants of their generation,” Yotam says in a news release. “I was very honored to have them on the record. We have have forged a special chemistry together. And I think you can hear that on the album.”
Yotam is known for his unusual musical blend of bebop, Brazilian music, American blues, Jamaican reggae and Israeli folk songs. According to his bio, he was born and raised in Tel-Aviv, Israel, and started playing guitar at the age of 10, focusing mostly on rock and blues.
In August 2005, Yotam  received a scholarship to further his jazz studies at the New School in New York City. Less than a month later, he was selected as one of 10 top guitar players to participate in the semi-finals of the distinguished 2005 Thelonious Monk International Jazz Guitar Competition. In 2009, in addition to releasing his second release, he toured with the Sam Yahel Trio, opening for Steely Dan in major concert halls. 
Since then, he has played in many of the city’s great venues with great jazz artists like James Moody, Benny Golson, Curtis Fuller, Louis Hayes, Jimmy Heath, Frank Wess, Junior Mance, James Spaulding, Pat Martino, Antonio Hart, Slide Hampton and Dizzy Gillespie Alumni All-Stars to name a few.

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Dorival Caymmi Kenia music releases United States world jazz

Brazilian vocalist Kenia releases “Kenia Celebrates Dorival Caymmi” on April 27

Brazilian vocalist Kenia, who reemerged on the jazz scene two years ago with the critically-acclaimed album “Simply Kenia,” will release on April 27 her latest project “Kenia Celebrates Dorival Caymmi” (Mooka Records).
Known for her ability to translate the complex rhythms of her homeland into jazzy creations that made her a star of the smooth jazz movement two decades ago, Kenia digs into Brazil’s cultural legacy on the 15-track session. She tackles the musical legacy of Brazilian composer and singer Dorival Caymmi who spent more than seven decades creating an aural portrait of Bahia, the stronghold of Brazil’s vibrant African culture. The author of such fabled standards as “Samba da Minha Terra,” “Doralice” and “Voce Ja Foi a Bahia,” Caymmi has long been recognized as a singular figure in Brazilian popular culture.
“Dorival’s music lies just between the two major movements in MPB (Música Popular Brasileira, or Brazilian Popular Music),” Kenia said in a news release, “the Samba of the 1920s and 30s and the Bossa Nova of the late 1950s and ’60s. Caymmi’s music served as a kind of a smooth transition between these two styles. And, although he had two very distinct lines of composition, the link between these two movements is characterized by his firm foundation of Samba, sprinkled with some Bahian spices.”
Brazilian musicians such as pianist Fernando Merlino, bassist Leo Traversa, percussionist Airto Moreira, guitarists Eric Susoeff and Marty Ashby, the singer’s son Lucas, who contributes his growing skills as a percussionist, and trombonist Jay Ashby, and sound engineer Jay Dudt collaborated with Kenia on this project.
Kenia is best known in the United States when she recorded with trumpeter Claudio Roditi on his album “Red on Red.” Several years later, she launched her solo recording career, producing four popular and critically-acclaimed albums for the MCA and Denon labels between 1987 and 1991. She also established herself as one of the most popular and successful U.S. based Brazilian musicians since the heyday of Sergio Mendes and Brazil ’66. In 1997, Kenia launched her own label, Mooka Records.

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jazz Jimmy Amadie music releases United States

Pianist Jimmy Amadie to release project “Kindred Spirits” on May 11

According to a news release, veteran pianist Jimmy Amadie adds another chapter to his remarkable life story with the May 11 release “Kindred Spirits,”  which features an all-star lineup on a tailor-made selection of blazing swing and tender ballads. Each track features a collaboration with one of three saxophone giants: Lee Konitz, Joe Lovano, and Lew Tabackin. As always, Amadie calls on his crack rhythm team of drummer Bill Goodwin and bassists Steve Gilmore and Tony Marino, who adapt to each guest star with stunning dexterity.“Kindred Spirits” finds common ground linking individualistic musicians. As Amadie’s seventh CD, it follows in the footsteps of his last effort, “The Philadelphia Story,” which teamed the leader with Benny Golson, Randy Brecker, and Tabackin.
“I’ve been fortunate enough to record with some of the greatest players who’ve ever lived,” Amadie says. “It’s such an unbelievable experience because you get a chance to learn from them.”
For fans who follow Amadie, the journey has been a long one for him. Amadie has not only struggled with the extreme tendonitis in his hands which waylaid his musical life for decades, but he was diagnosed with lung cancer after the recording of “The Philadelphia Story.” He entered a year-long treatment of chemotherapy and radiation, but it has not stalled his love for music.
“There isn’t anything negative about the playing I did,” Amadie insists in a news release. “I did not play under bad circumstances.”

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Bethany Baptist Church concert gospel releases United States

Abundant Harvest Entertainment showcases talent in concert at Bethany Baptist Church

According to a news release, Abundant Harvest Entertainment will showcase some of gospel music’s dynamic future superstars in concert on Friday, April 16, 2010, at the Bethany Baptist Church’s Harvest Hall in Lindenwold, NJ.
The company has signed Cherry Hill, New Jersey’s homegrown rapper, Christawn; Long Island, New York, vocalist Karen Orlando; and Delaware-based female group known as His Own.
The purpose of the concert is to introduce the tri-state area of New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Delaware to these exciting new artists who will release new CDs sometime this year. 
Hip-Hop minstrel Christawn’s debut CD “Life Story” will debut May 18, 2010. The guitar-
driven radio single “Save Me” features Micah Stampley’s dramatic wail and retells the real-life story of the day that Christawn escaped getting arrested for drug possession. $10 pre-orders of his CD will be sold at the concert.
Although, she was diagnosed with brain damage at birth and was tone deaf until age 14, Karen Orlando has defied the odds. Through her faith, she triumphed over the diagnosis and was rewarded with a beautiful singing voice. She’s recorded several praise-and-worship CDs,
is a conference speaker and hosts a local Christian TV show “Straight Talk.” Her next project is expected to drop in late summer 2010. 
The seven-member female vocal group, His Own, met at Delaware State University and is working on their debut CD. The group will perform songs from their forthcoming projects at the concert, as well.
Abundant Harvest Entertainment (AHE) is a recording label founded by Bishop David G. Evans, pastor of the 27,000-member Bethany Baptist Church in Lindenwold, NJ. Evans co-founded Sweet Rain Records, the company that made Grammy winner Hezekiah Walker a star. AHE is
distributed by the Universal Music Christian Group. The label is enjoying success with the Top 20 Billboard smash “This Joy” from the Automatic Praise CD and the CD “Pure Love” that features several radio hits.

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gospel kingdom records music releases United States

Phil Tarver to release project “Place of Worship”

According to a recent news release, Kingdom Records is preparing for the highly anticipated rollout of Elder Phil Tarver’s third solo U.S. CD release. 
Tarver’s new praise-and-worship project “Place of Worship” will hit stores nationwide on May 18, 2010. The project was recorded live before 3,000 people at Valley Kingdom Ministries International in Oak Forest, IL, in February. 
The million-selling Shekinah Glory Ministry is a dynamic ensemble of psalmists, minstrels, praise dancers, encouragers and banner bearers who say that they perform “under the anointing of the Holy Spirit. “ Their Hebrew name means “the glorified presence of God.” The group’s projects “Praise is What I Do” (#5 peak Top Gospel Albums) and “Shekinah Glory Ministry Live” (#3 peak Top Gospel Albums – 103 weeks on the chart) were both certified gold in 2005 and 2008 respectively. The “Shekinah Glory Ministry Live” DVD was certified gold and platinum in the summer of 2008. Tarver is their worship and praise leader. He’s recorded four solo CDs (including one only available in South America), and his latest CD “Draw Nearer” features the Top 20 single “Better Than That.” For more information, go to www.kingdomrecordsinc.com.


Editor’s note: Release dates are subject to change by record label. Mr. Tarver’s project is now set to drop on June 29.

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jazz Julia Dollison Kerry Marsh Maria Schneider releases United States vocal performance

Jazz vocalists Julia Dollison and Kerry Marsh releases “Vertical Voices: The Music of Maria Schneider” on ArtistShare

Jazz vocalists Julia Dollison and Kerry Marsh have joined forces to produce their latest project “Vertical Voices: The Music of Maria Schneider” that compliment the multi-Grammy Award-winning composer’s musical techniques.  The album was released on March 16, 2010.
Using their two voices via studio multi-tracking, Dollison and Marsh created a virtual vocal orchestra by wordlessly singing the brass and woodwind parts in Schneider’s lush, harmonically deep and rhythmically complex compositions. The tracks are all-new improvised solos featuring Dollison and Marsh, which reflect their personal vocal character and expression.
According to a news release, Dollison was the first vocalist to perform wordlessly with the Maria Schneider Orchestra at New York’s Jazz Standard in 2000, singing “Hang Gliding,” “Journey Home” and “Allegresse.”  According to her bio, she has performed under the direction of Michael Tilson Thomas and Erich Kunzel as well as with Ben Folds during his performances with the Boston Pops Symphony and National Symphony Orchestra. Dollison can be heard on the Academy Award-winning Vera Drake film trailer and on film scores for The Stepford Wives and The Corpse Bride.
Marsh, also a beneficiary of Schneider’s guest artist visits to the Universities of Kansas and North Texas, became one of the very first project participants in ArtistShare history when he joined the 2003 Schneider recording project that became Concert in the Garden.  Schneider’s influence on Kerry’s composition and arranging techniques during his studies helped earn him a DownBeat Student Music Award for best collegiate jazz arrangement later that same year. According to his bio, Marsh has most recently worked as a vocal arranger and choirmaster for indie-pop singer/pianist Ben Folds, performing alongside Folds with major symphony orchestras on tour. Kerry’s arrangement of Folds’ “Selfless, Cold and Composed” was featured on the 2009 Epic Records release Ben Folds Presents: University A Cappella.
Regarding the “Vertical Voices: The Music of Maria Schneider” project, Schneider says in the news release, “I was a bit skeptical at first because of the enormous range of my pieces, the intricacy of the lines and the general extreme demands of the repertoire, but I decided to give it a shot. Julia was extraordinary! Her range, her sound, her ability to blend with the instruments and her absolutely perfect pitch just blew me away! She was nothing short of amazing.”
For more information on the project, go to http://www.artistshare.com/home/project_experience.aspx?projectID=225&artistID=108.

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gospel music releases United States

Gospel vocalist Lucinda Moore shares personal experiences in upcoming release

Gospel vocalist Lucinda Moore not only shares personal experiences (including depression, divorce) via her upcoming sophomore release “Blessed, Broken & Given” (Tyscot Records), but will launch a conference that will feature guest speakers
Bishop Noel Jones, Bishop Tudor Bismark and psalmist Judy Jacobs. The conference will take place at 7 p.m. each night (except Saturday – service is at noon) on April 22-24, 2010, at the Wake Chapel church, 3805 Tarheel Road, Raleigh, NC. Attendees may register online at www.lucindamoore.com or call (203) 887-1660 for more information.

CD “Blessed, Broken & Given” will be released on April 20. Moore said in a news release regarding her project: “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.” A portion of CD sales profits will benefit a North Carolina women’s organization called Impact that aides abused women in getting back their feet.
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jazz music One For All releases United States

One For All to release “Incorrigible” on April 6

Jazz group One For All is set to release their 15th project “Incorrigible” on April 6 for Jazz Legacy Productions.
One for All, which consists of tenor saxophonist Eric Alexander, pianist David Hazeltine, trumpeter Jim Rotondi, trombonist Steve Davis, bassist John Webber and drummer Joe Farnsworth, replicate the sound of the quintessential ’50s-’60s Blue Note vibe, of which fans may relate to the classic Art Blakey & the Jazz Messengers recordings.
According to a news release, the origins of One For All go back to Auggie’s, a jazz club on New York’s Upper West Side near the Columbia University campus where drummer Farnsworth held down a regular gig. The other members joined later at different times.

Although they hadn’t officially named the band, One For All members began playing together as a complete unit at Auggie’s as early as 1995. According to their bio, they first documented their kindred hookup on Steve Davis’ sextet outing for the Criss Cross label, “Dig Deep” (1996). The official band name eventually came from a Steve Davis tune, the title track of Art Blakey’s final recording “One For All” (1990).

One For All members continue to do side gigs and recording solo projects. Davis (who debuted as a leader on JLP last year with “Eloquence”) plays in the Dizzy Gillespie All-Star Alumni Big Band, Jimmy Heath’s big band and Benny Golson’s New Jazztet. Alexander works with pianist Harold Mabern and guitarist Pat Martino while also recording prolifically as a leader. Webber  has performed with other notables such as Johnny Griffin, Etta Jones, Tommy Flanagan and Milt Jackson and continues to work with drummer Jimmy Cobb and pianist Hank Jones. Farnsworth works with the Cedar Walton trio and with tenor saxophonist Pharoah Sanders. Hazeltine and Rotondi have also worked in a variety of sideman settings while releasing several recordings as leaders. 
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gospel music performances releases United States

Shekinah Glory Ministry celebrates 10th year with live recording

Shekinah Glory Ministry celebrates its 10th year anniversary with a new, and as yet untitled, live CD/DVD recording that
will take place at 6 p.m. Sunday, May 16, 2010, at Valley Kingdom Ministry International, 5300 W. 151st St. in Oak Forest, IL.
Tickets are $15 in advance and $20 at the door. For more information on the live recording, visit www.kingdomrecordsinc.com.
According to a news release, the live recording event is the finale to Shekinah Glory Ministry’s first praise-and-worship conference to will begin Friday, May 14, 2010. During the workshops, attendees will learn the varied facets of performing praise-and-worship music from some of the genre’s most gifted practitioners.  The registration cost for the “Refreshed By Fire… Ascending Higher” conference is $60. For more information, visit http://www.kingdomrecordsinc.com/regform.html.
Since their evolution from 1999-2000, Shekinah Glory Ministry has earned five R.I.A.A. (Recording Industry Association of America) gold certifications for their musical projects, including “Praise is What I Do” and “Shekinah Glory Ministry Live.” Their debut CD spent 103 weeks on the Billboard gospel albums sales chart. They have become renowned around the world for their radio anthems “Yes,” “Jesus,” “How Deeply I Need You” and signature tune “Praise is What I Do.” Their acclaimed CD “Jesus” won the Stellar Award (the gospel industry’s Grammy equivalent) as Praise and Worship CD of the Year in 2009. 

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gospel releases Time Life United States

“Shoutin’ Down the Aisles” inches up on Billboard Charts

According to a news release, the “Shoutin’ Down the Aisles” release by Time Life is rocking the church rafters. It has debuted at #8 on Billboard’s Top Gospel Albums chart.
Opening with Vickie Winans’ 1997 smash “As Long As I Got King Jesus,” the collection takes on the aura of a Pentecostal church service with such up-tempo favorites as Fred Hammond’s “Jesus Be a Fence Around Me”, the Chicago Mass Choir’s “Holy Ghost Power” with Lemmie Battles’ earth-quaking hoops and hollers, Jimmy Hick’s “Born Blessed”, Shirley Caesar & Tonex’s “I Know the Truth”, Keith Wonderboy Johnson’s quartet staple “Let and Let God” and Bryan Wilson & the Bapolstogic band’s burner “If You’re Talking About Jesus.”
The compilation rounds out with two bonus cuts not featured on the previous Shoutin’ set. The Blind Boys of Alabama’s rootsy “Down in the Hole” and Deniece Williams’ praise jam “Glory to Glory to Glory” complete this must have album for any fan of traditional gospel music.