John McLaughlin to Release “Black Light” in Fall

Album features 4th Dimension band

By JazzTimes

Since 1983, tenor saxophonist, composer, and arranger Bob Mintzer has been delving into the big band format and its myriad stylistic possibilities, collecting five Grammy nominations and one Grammy win in the process. His newest recording, Get Up!, which is his 20th big band album to date, will be released by MCG Jazz on June 23.

Mintzer describes the nine tracks on the new CD as "clearly R&B influenced, but [they] then go to many other places along the way. ... Using these relatively simple tunes as a springboard for harmonic, rhythmic, and melodic exploration was a real adventure, one that I had been thinking about for a long time."

Produced by MCG's Marty Ashby and arranged by Mintzer, Get Up! features guitarist Ray Obiedo and bassist Will Lee, as well as Mintzer's longtime colleagues in the Yellowjackets, pianist Russell Ferrante and drummer William Kennedy. Besides five originals by the leader, including the James Brown-inspired title track, the set is made up of Mintzer's vibrant arrangements of the Wayne Shorter-penned Weather Report classic "Elegant People" and three of his favorite R&B tunes from the late 1960s: the Isley Brothers' "It's Your Thing," Sam & Dave's "I Thank You" (written by David Porter and Isaac Hayes), and Sly & the Family Stone's "Sing a Simple Song."

"I grew up listening to this music," says Mintzer, whose radio dial was tuned to WNEW-FM when he was growing up in New Rochelle, New York. "There was less concern with classification and categorization back then. There was a kind of connection between what people like John Coltrane and Charles Lloyd were doing and what some of the rock guys were doing in terms of Indian and Eastern influences and stretching out on long vamps. For people like myself who like all different kinds of music, this was a great time for music and art."

Ashby, who has worked with Mintzer on all five of his big band dates for MCG Jazz, sees Mintzer as having "created such an important body of work for large ensemble that it just cannot be overlooked. Few bands write mostly original music for large ensemble, and hardly any then have much of the music available in a published format for other bands and students to study and play. Because his range of writing for the band extends from Brazilian to funk to R&B to straight-ahead to fusion and everything in between, I think Bob stands alone as the preeminent composer/arranger for big band at this time. His passion for the idiom puts him at the top of the pyramid."

Mintzer connected with Manchester Craftsmen's Guild in 2004. The Big Band debuted with Live at MCG and followed up with Old School, New Lessons (2006), both of which featured Kurt Elling, and Swing Out (2008). On the Grammy-nominated For the Moment (2012), the spotlight was on Brazilian music, with guitarist/composer Chico Pinheiro as special guest.

The lifelong New Yorker, who's considered one of the tenor saxophonists to come out of the school of New York players in the 1970s (also including Michael Brecker, Bob Berg, Dave Liebman, and Steve Grossman), and whose big band dates to 1983, when the Brecker brothers asked him to put together an ensemble for their club Seventh Avenue South, has been based in Los Angeles since 2008. He lives in the former house of composer Arnold Schoenberg (his first L.A. residence, 1934-1936), and is the recipient of the Buzz McCoy-endowed chair of jazz studies at the University of Southern California.

Mintzer continues to tour with the Yellowjackets (which he joined in 1990), does workshops all over the world, and serves as a guest conductor/soloist with college and pro bands. His upcoming dates with the Yellowjackets include: 5/27 Howard Theatre, Washington, DC; 5/28-29 Blue Note, NYC; 6/26 Rochester (NY) Jazz Festival; and a European tour 7/1-15. Mintzer will be appearing at the Hong Kong Jazz Festival 6/3-9 with big band and orchestra; touring Europe 6/15-20 with the Hammond Eggs trio; and serving on faculty at the Centrum Jazz Camp in Port Townsend, WA 7/20-25. Finally, Mintzer will be part of a Jaco Pastorius tribute, with Vince Mendoza, at the Hollywood Bowl 8/13 (also with the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra) and the Monterey Jazz Festival 9/18.

More Information: http://www.bobmintzer.com

Report: New Unreleased Sun Ra Material Coming in Fall

Music will span 1962-1991

By JazzTimes

LIZZ WRIGHT MAKES HER CONCORD RECORDS DEBUT WITH THE POWERFUL FREEDOM & SURRENDER 

Five years after the release of her critically acclaimed, gospel-laden disc, Fellowship (Verve), Lizz Wright makes her Concord Records debut with the powerful Freedom & Surrender, set for release on September 4, 2015. The 35-year-old singer-songwriter - renowned for her earthy alto voice and emotive yet straight-forward vocal serenading - teams with four-time GRAMMY-winning bassist and producer Larry Klein, who's best known for his work with such leading lights as Joni Mitchell, Madeleine Peyroux and Tracy Chapman.

Wright enlisted Klein based upon the recommendation of trusted colleagues. Already a fan, she was well aware of his production brilliance, particularly through his work with strong-minded women artists. "We talked over the phone; then we met and did as much talking as we did laughing," she recalls. "I don't laugh to just mess around and make people feel good; I laugh because I actually get you. Just the fact that I felt that way with him - I just said, ‘OK, we're cool.'"

For the sessions, Klein and Wright gather a cadre of great musicians that includes drummer Vinnie Colaiuta, bassist Dan Lutz, percussionist Pete Korpela, guitarist Dean Parks and Jesse Harris; and keyboardists Kenny Banks, Pete Kuzma, and Billy Childs. In addition, Klein also recruited his longtime songwriting partner David Batteau to collaborate with Wright in the songwriting process. "I loved writing with them," Wright enthuses.

Freedom & Surrender was initially supposed to be a disc of mostly cover-songs, centered on themes of "the circuitous dance of love." Instead, it became the very opposite - an album of mostly originals - while keeping the initial theme intact. Wright explains, "There's a time for everything. There's a time to do cover-song records, which can be like sharing good homework after doing really beautiful research. It can be amazing and very creative in that way. But I just knew it wasn't time for me to be doing that. I had to prove it and buckle down and make it happen."

Without a doubt, Wright certainly made it happen with Freedom & Surrender, her sexiest, most sensual album yet. She wrote ten of the disc's 15 songs, six with Klein and Batteau. The three penned "The New Game" - the disc's original working title - a rollicking, country-blues ditty with poetic lyrics and verses. The album as a whole touches upon fresher emotional terrain, especially the ethereal, acoustic guitar and Hammond organ-powered "Somewhere Down the Mystic," the beautiful lament "Here and Now," (which was inspired in part by the passing of Maya Angelou), the salty and spiteful "You," the tender R&B ballad "Blessed the Brave," and the erotic blues drag "If You Lead Me."

Freedom & Surrender also finds Wright joining forces with celebrated songwriters J.D. Souther and Maia Sharp on "Right Where You Are" and "Real Life Painting," respectively. The former is a mesmerizing love slow jam, featuring Wright in an amorous duet with Gregory Porter, while the latter is a bucolic evocation about dwelling in the momentary carnal bliss of a love affair.

Souther invited Wright to his small farm in Nashville for a writing session where she recalls playing a lot of piano in his barn. "I gave him a few chords and turned them around into something that we liked. I didn't think he was going to do anything with them but then he sent me part of the song all the way through to the B section," Wright recalls. "I respect his clarity and speed."

Wright was also delighted to have the song feature Porter, whom she toured with in 2013. "The song is very tender and slow. To trust him with that was easy; to hear him move through a suspended, vulnerable space, you can get into the machinery of his voice," she offers.

Wright is equally enthusiastic about her writing sessions with Sharp, which yielded "Real Life Painting," containing reflections with cinematic-like qualities. "She is a real fast writer and a wonderful guitarist," Wright notes.

On "Freedom" and "Surrender" - two songs which bookend the disc - Wright reconnected with Toshi Reagon, who played tremendous roles on her three previous discs - Dreaming Wide Awake (2005), The Orchard (2008) and Fellowship (2010). The gentle yet lusty waltz "Surrender" showcases Wright in a seductive splendor, while the declarative, funk-driven "Freedom" displays Wright in a feisty independent mode. ‘Freedom' is so unapologetic; it has weight to it that differs from the other songs," Wright explains. "Larry totally got it; he thought the song was just killing. There's something about Toshi in which she always calls my spirit to be true in whatever I do."

Jesse Harris, another longtime collaborator of Wright, co-wrote the lulling, erotically charged ballad "The Game" and the slinky "Lean In," which moves to a midnight groove that Marvin Gaye might have concocted with Leon Ware.

When it came to covers, Wright chose wisely. She slows the Bee Gees' 1967 ballad "To Love Somebody," to a smoldering crawl that maximizes both her gorgeous voice and the song's pleading lyrics. On bonus track Ewan MacColl and Peggy Seeger's classic "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" - a song made famous in 1972 by Roberta Flack - Wright delivers a haunting, almost noir-ish interpretation. And on Nick Drake's immortal folk classic, "River Man," Wright uncoils newfound emotional clarity through her mesmerizing delivery and the spectral arrangement, which also features noted German trumpeter Till Brönner blowing a blustery solo.

Wright has reached new heights in terms of singing and songwriting, and has delivered an album destined to become a classic.

from www.jazzcorner.com

ROBERT GLASPER PREMIERES NEW ALBUM WITH iTUNES FIRST PLAY; COVERED (THE ROBERT GLASPER TRIO RECORDED LIVE AT CAPITOL STUDIOS) WILL BE RELEASED JUNE 16 FOLLOWED BY TRIO SHOWS IN LA, SF & N 

Robert Glasper returns to his acclaimed acoustic Trio on his new album Covered (The Robert Glasper Trio recorded live at Capitol Studios), which can be streamed exclusively in the U.S. this week as part of the iTunes Radio First Play series ahead of the album's June 16 release. Listen at iTunesRadio.com/RobertGla.... Fans who pre-order the album on iTunes will receive two tracks right away; the Trio's covers of Radiohead's "The Reckoner" and Jhené Aiko's "The Worst." Watch video of Glasper's Trio performing "The Worst" live at Capitol Studios in Los Angeles via The Fader.

Glasper will celebrate the album's release with Trio shows in Los Angeles (El Rey Theatre, June 17), San Francisco (SFJAZZ, June 19-20), and New York City (Blue Note Jazz Club, June 24-27). Glasper will also make an appearance with the Blue Note supergroup Our Point Of View at the Playboy Jazz Festival on June 14, and bring his GRAMMY-winning Experiment band to New Orleans for the Essence Festival on July 5. Glasper embarks upon an extensive European tour throughout July and August. See below for a full list of tour dates.

Glasper's 2009 album Double Booked, which featured both his Trio and Experiment band and earned Glasper his first GRAMMY nomination, has also been reissued on vinyl for the first time as one of the 100 essential Blue Note titles in the label's on-going 75th Anniversary Vinyl Reissue Series. Glasper has also received wide recognition for his prominent role on rapper Kendrick Lamar's acclaimed new album To Pimp A Butterfly.

Ten years after making his Blue Note debut-and following two GRAMMY-winning volumes of his critically and commercially successful R&B-oriented Black Radio albums-Robert Glasper has returned to his acclaimed acoustic jazz trio on Covered. Glasper, bassist Vicente Archer and drummer Damion Reid-who form the original trio featured on Glasper's first two Blue Note albums: Canvas (2005) and In My Element (2007)-reconvened at the legendary Capitol Studios in Hollywood, California in December to record the album in front of an intimate live audience. The set list features songs by hip-hop and R&B stars like Kendrick Lamar, Jhené Aiko, John Legend, Musiq Soulchild, and Bilal alongside the jazz standard "Stella By Starlight." Displaying his trademark eclecticism, Glasper also includes tunes by Radiohead and Joni Mitchell, along with a stirring collaboration with legendary singer/activist Harry Belafonte. The Glasper originals on the album include a re-working of "I Don't Even Care," a bonus track from Black Radio 2 that featured Macy Gray and Jean Grae.



ROBERT GLASPER - TOUR DATES:
June 14 - Playboy Jazz Festival - Los Angeles, CA
June 17 - El Rey Theatre - Los Angeles, CA
June 19-20 - SFJAZZ - San Francisco, CA
June 23 - Jane Mallett Theatre - Toronto, ONT
June 24-27 - Blue Note Jazz Club - New York, NY
June 28 - Montreal Jazz Festival - Montreal, QB
July 5 - Essence Festival - New Orleans, LA
July 8-9 - Festival Int'l de Jazz de Canaria - Canary Islands, Spain
July 10 - Malaga Jazz Festival - Malaga, Spain
July 12 - Cracovia Jazz - Krakow, Poland
July 13 - Jazz Tibet Club - Olomouc, Czech Republic
July 16 - Umbria Jazz Fest - Perugia, Italy
July 18 - Gretchen Club - Berlin, Germany
July 19 - Club Bahnhof Ehrenfeld - Cologne, Germany
July 20 - New Morning - Paris, France
July 21 - Granada Jazz Festival - Granada, Spain
July 25 - Langnau Jazz Nights - Langnau, Switzerland
July 26 - Locus Festival - Bari, Italy
July 28 - Tuscia Jazz - Rome, Italy
July 29 - Blue Note Jazz Club - Milan, Italy
July 31 - Nefertiti Jazz Club - Gothenberg, Sweden
August 1 - Faschings - Stockholm, Sweden
August 2 - Ystad Jazz Festival - Ystad, Sweden
August 4 - Mas Sorrer Jazz Bar - Girona, Spain
August 6 - North Sea Jazz Club - Amsterdam, Netherlands
August 7 - Chapiteau - Marciac, France
August 8 - Manchester Jazz Festival - Manchester, United Kingdom
August 9 - Brecon Market Hall - Brecon, United Kingdom
August 10 - Edinburgh International Fest - Edinburgh, United Kingdom
August 12-14 - Ronnie Scott's - London, United Kingdom
August 15 - Chastain Park Amphitheatre - Atlanta, GA

from www.jazzcorner.com

Pianist Donald Vega to Release Monty Alexander tribute Album

By JazzTimes

PRAXIS Releases Sound Virus On M.O.D. Technologies w/Buckethead, Bill Laswell, Brain PLUS John Zorn, Mick Harris, Yamatsuka Eye
(Published: June 20, 2015)

Post modern super group with an ever changing line-up. Mutant Metal, Noise, Dub and beyond... The core group of virtuoso guitar shredder Buckethead, futurist bassist / producer Bill Laswell and drummer Brain (Guns N' Roses, Primus, Godflesh, Tom Waits) is joined here by legendary composer / saxophonist John Zorn, Mick Harris, (Napalm Death, Scorn, Painkiller) and Yamatsuka Eye (Boredoms). Restored, enhanced, edited and remastered from original recordings. Intense, dark, humorous and virtuosic. An uncompromising ride. Play it loud!

TRACKS
1. Suspension 2:22
2. Warcraft Triad 9:15
3. Skull Crack Cathedral 4:16
4. Inferno 9.23
5. Low Time Machine 4:16
6. Stronghold 1:35
7. Turbine 6:45
8. Nine 3:17


AVAILABLE JUNE 30, 2015 AS HI-RES DIGITAL DOWNLOAD ONLINE AND VIA
WWW.MOD-TECHNOLOGIES.COM

This release is part of M.O.D.'s Incunabula Digital Series.



ABOUT THE LABEL
M.O.D. Technologies - revealing light on the development of new sound experiences in material culture. A multi-directional music / sound / information system. Initiated in 2010 by bassist / producer Bill Laswell and Giacomo Bruzzo, co-founder of the progressive / future music label Rare Noise.M.O.D. - A futuristic hybrid of music exploration - dub / dub step / reggae / world / africa / drum'n'bass / mutant hip hop / avant metal / experimental / vocal music / instrumental / DJ culture and much more. M.O.D. resumes and continues the legacy of AXIOM, the timeless imprint established in 1989 by Bill Laswell with Chris Blackwell, founder of Island Records.

ABOUT THE DIGITAL INCUNABULA SERIES
The digital-only Incunabula Series promises to present rare and unique, one time only captured events, in some cases originally experienced by a fortunate few and recover unusual, lost until now studio recordings. Documenting as far back as the early 80s up to present time. Moments seldom heard or experienced by anyone.

More Information: http://www.mod-technologies.com

Joe Albany Biopic Soundtrack, “Low Down,” Out Aug. 7

Includes music by the pianist plus Max Roach, Ben Webster, others

By JazzTimes

Cellist Erik Friedlander to Release Oscar Pettiford Tribute

“Oscalypso” features nine tunes by the influential bassist

By JazzTimes