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Friday, July 30, 2021

R&B-jazz guitarist Gregory Goodloe finds hope “Somewhere Out There” #jazz

The new single, cowritten and produced by hitmaker Adam Hawley, drops August 27.

 

After releasing the single, “Cool Like That,” R&B-jazz guitarist Gregory Goodloe attempted to stay calm early in the COVID-19 pandemic despite the uncertainty and concern for his mother’s health. As we move closer to the other side of the pandemic, the man of faith ventured out earlier this year with a single, “Step’N Out,” that he wrote with fellow Billboard chart-topping guitarist Adam Hawley. Combining their energy felt so good that the pair reteamed to write the hopeful new single, “Somewhere Out There,” which drops August 27 on Hip Jazz Records ahead of its August 30 radio add date.  

 


As the world continues to recover and reemerge from the coronavirus, the Denver-based Goodloe is focused on moving forward. Produced by Hawley, Goodloe co-wrote “Somewhere Out There” to encourage and inspire. With a midtempo groove anchored by drummer Eric Valentine and bassist Melvin Brown, Goodloe’s lyrical fretwork and cool-toned electric jazz guitar calisthenics evoke his iconic influencers: George Benson and Wes Montgomery.         

 

“The title ‘Somewhere Out There’ came to me as a reflection of hope in an ever-changing world. Adam and I wrote the song with inspiration in our hearts, determined to face what’s ahead positively, and with hope for a brighter tomorrow. We wrote the track purposely to be an upbeat, feel-good tune. The song is bright and just feels so good, with its toe tapping steady groove and arrangement,” said Goodloe, who recently made his return to live concert performances at the Keystone Wine & Jazz Festival in Keystone, Colorado.

 

Two years ago, Goodloe scored his first Billboard No. 1 single, “Stylin’,” a collaboration with GRAMMY-nominated songwriter-producer-saxophonist Darren Rahn that has garnered more than three million Spotify streams. After a successful outing last year with urban-jazz keyboardist Bob Baldwin on “Cool Like That,” which was Billboard’s No. 1 most added single in its debut week, the guitarist began a fruitful creative relationship with Hawley. 

 

“Adam Hawley is a genius arranger/producer with a feel for music that is extraordinary,” gushed Goodloe who wrote, produced and performed his debut recording project, “It’s All Good” (2016), entirely on his own.

 

Since the self-taught musician and US Army veteran arrived on the scene, Goodloe has performed with or opened for a wide variety of R&B, jazz and gospel headliners, including Howard HewettTankBen TankardNorman BrownDave KozBrian CulbertsonMichael McDonaldJames IngramRoy AyersShirley CaesarAngela SpiveyJohn P. KeyThe Rance Allen Group and fellow Denver native Larry Dunn of Earth, Wind & Fire fame. Goodloe has also served as musical director for R&B-pop group Surface and soul-jazz singer Aysha.

 

With the upcoming release of “Somewhere Out There,” Goodloe has his sights firmly set on the promise that lays ahead, saying “We can believe in our dreams and hold on to hope for a brighter tomorrow.”

 

For more information, please visit https://gregorygoodloe.com.




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Monday, July 26, 2021

Smooth Jazz Chart - Weekly Top 100 - July 26, 2021 #jazz

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Wednesday, July 21, 2021

Multidisciplinary artist Harley Cortez to release “An Inventory of Memory: Vol. II,” an ambient-classical album, on August 13 #jazz

Turning loss into beauty

If we were only to focus on Harley Cortez’s forthcoming second chapter in his four-album “An Inventory of Memory” recording series, it would be like having a phone conversation with someone with spotty cell service that allows you to hear every fourth word. The Los Angeles-based musician turned painter, filmmaker and writer utilizes the full scope of his artistic gifts to communicate his messages and themes. Set to release “An Inventory of Memory: Vol. II” on August 13, Cortez’s examination of genetic memory has been the muse of his multidisciplinary art for several years, but this musical exploration delves deeply into loss and how to process it after the passing of his mother and nephew with the goal of turning loss into beauty.      

 


The evocative, cinematic music Cortez composed for “An Inventory of Memory: Vol. II” is indeed beautiful. He wrote and performed the eight Avant-classical tracks that he brought to life with the aid of accompaniment by Modeste Colban on flute and saxophone, violinist Andy Baldwin and Nancy Kuo’s (Janelle Monae) strings.

 

The album opens with the minimalist “Metaphors,” a soothing, electronic vibrational mantra. The gentle piano cadence on “Y” and its gorgeous melody intimately convey raw emotion, planting the seed of renewal and the blossoming of hope in its radiance and simplicity. “How We Become Butterflies” is transcendental, nurtured by airy piano passages, a plunging upright bass line, and gentle dancing upon a ride cymbal. A string quartet illumines “Be Still,” turning it into a sweeping, emotionally poignant meditation. A somber majesty reigns on the contemplative “Seven Mountains” while “After the Tz’utujil Ceremony in Atitlan” includes an audio sample from a Mayan tribe recorded in Cortez’s mother’s native Guatemala. A serene interlude, “Selected Memories” feels transitional, offering comfort and optimism. The recording closes with a “How We Become Butterflies” (Reprise) on which Colban’s moody saxophone plunges to vaster depths than on the original.    

 

After a hard year of many losses, I decided to resume finishing these albums. The thing I realized is that we all experience loss in some form, but it’s a whole other thing to create beauty from it. I suppose the job of the artist is to be the vessel, one that the traumatic experience can filter beauty from,” said Cortez, who has exhibitions of his paintings and sculptures opening in Mexico City at the Museo Tamayo in October and at another venue (to be announced) in the same city in November.

 

“The album series title comes from an idea of genetic memory —it has been a focus of mine for a few years now and a narrative that is at the center of a lot of my exhibitions. It’s usually an attempt to dissect ancestral language in some way. Art for me is a way to call on the duende (or soul). I sometimes think souls speak a language that is beyond human understanding, and so we have art.”

 

The music heard on the “An Inventory of Memory” series is vastly different from Cortez’s earlier career, which included solo, duo and group projects as part of Just an AnimalRed Cortez and the Weather Underground as well as touring as the opening act for Morrissey. This four-part series is entirely instrumental.    

 

“As I have explored the world of classical and ambient music and less pop, lyrical music, it has become something I have been exploring more. I decided to release a series of albums not just because I had so much material, but because I wanted to gather it and split it up in a way that felt like individual experiences. Each volume has its own field recording from different places I’ve been to around the world. Usually, these field recordings have a spiritual or religious ritual specific to that place such as on ‘After the Tz’utujil Ceremony in Atitlan,’ which was recorded in Atitlan, Guatemala,” said Cortez, who will release a companion book of short stories, poetry and other recollections titled “An Inventory of Memory” early next year.

 

Cortez grew up in Los Angeles and Queens and lived for a short time as a young kid in Guatemala. His paintings, drawings and abstract pieces have exhibited in Los Angeles, New York City and Tokyo. As a filmmaker, he’s released short films, experimental films and music videos. In fact, “How We Become Butterflies” from “Inventory of Memory: Vol. II” is the theme song to the film he made about his experiences with his younger brother, who is schizophrenic.

 

“An Inventory of Memory: Volume II” contains the following songs:

 

“Metaphors”

“Y”

“How We Become Butterflies”

“Be Still”

“Seven Mountains”

“After the Tz’utujil Ceremony in Atitlan”

“Selected Memories”

“How We Become Butterflies” (Reprise)

 

 

For more information, please visit https://www.harleycortez.com.  

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Monday, July 19, 2021

Smooth Jazz Chart - Weekly Top 100 - July 19, 2021 #jazz

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MPS continues the jazz royalty reissue parade #jazz

Albums by Oscar Peterson, The Count Basie Orchestra and Rolf Kühn are reissued Friday via Edel Germany in partnership with Bob Frank Entertainment

 Record collectors continue to rejoice as Germany’s first jazz label, MPS Records, reissues albums on vinyl and CD by many of the biggest artists in the genre. On Friday, albums by Oscar Peterson and his trio, The Count Basie Orchestra, and Rolf Kühn resurface via Edel Germany in partnership with Bob Frank Entertainment.

 

Reissued on standard black vinyl and CD earlier this month, Peterson’s “Motions & Emotions” was released Friday as a limited edition numbered blue vinyl LP. Always a swinger who exhibited extraordinary speed and dexterity, the Canadian jazz pianist interpreted a popular songbook on this 1969 release, interpreting material by John Lennon Paul McCartneyBurt Bacharach & Hal DavidHenry ManciniAntonio Carlos Jobim and Jimmy Webb, among others. The ten-track album captures Peterson with his astute quartet lavishly illumined by an orchestra.          

 

Peterson tipped off MPS about the vocal group from Chicago called The Singers Unlimited, a studio foursome led by Gene Puerling known for crafting elaborate layers of vocal tracks in their recordings. The pianist’s trio – Peterson, George Mraz on bass and Louis Hayes on drums - teamed with The Singers Unlimited for 1971’s “In Tune,” the first release spawned during a decade-long recording relationship between the sophisticated singers and MPS. Arriving Friday on vinyl and CD, the collection showcases Peterson’s nimble piano and the group’s vocal harmonies venturing through a varied set list that boasts a swinging strut down “Sesame Street,” a couple of Brazilian numbers (Jobim’s “Children’s Game” and Luiz Bonfá’s “The Gentle Rain), and classics culled from the Great American Songbook, including “It Never Entered My Mind,” “The Shadow of Your Smile” and “Once Upon A Summertime.”  

 

Count Basie’s 17-piece orchestra fills 1970’s “High Voltage” with swinging, big band renditions of standards the outfit had never recorded previously in its 30-year history. Recruiting Cuban composer/arranger Chico O’Farrill to arrange, The Count Basie Orchestra rifles through a dozen popular selections such as “The Lady Is A Tramp,” “Bewitched,” “Get Me To The Church On Time,” “On The Sunny Side of the Street” and “I Didn’t Know What Time It Was.”     

 

In honor of Kühn’s 90th birthday two years ago, the clarinetist is the subject of a nine-LP boxset entitled “The Best Is Yet To Come,” which is comprised of seven newly remastered vinyl albums from his catalogue along with a pair of live recordings of the Rolf + Joachim Kühn Quartet from 1966’s Berlin Jazz Days and 1967’s Newport Jazz Festival that had never before been released. A rare-bred German who managed to find success living and playing jazz in America, Kühn was an exceptional artist with a unique sound and distinctive style, a quintessential jazz man who evolved throughout his career from big band swing to more adventurous and improvisational jazz. 

                                                                                                                  

For more information and to see what else is coming soon from MPS, please visit https://www.mps-music.com.









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Thursday, July 15, 2021

MPS cracked open the vault to reissue albums by jazz illuminati on vinyl and CD #jazz

Albums by Ella Fitzgerald, Freddie Hubbard, George Duke, Oscar Peterson Trio, Baden Powell, Bill Evans and Joe Henderson dropped Friday via Edel Germany in partnership with Bob Frank Entertainment

 

The treasure trove of MPS Records album reissues that began last month from Germany’s first jazz label continued last Friday with vinyl and CD releases of albums by such luminaries as Ella FitzgeraldFreddie HubbardGeorge DukeOscar Peterson Trio and Baden Powell while albums by Bill Evans and Joe Henderson dropped as limited-edition colored vinyl LPs. The records arrived via Edel Germany in partnership with Bob Frank Entertainment.    

 

Reissued in June as limited-edition color vinyl LPs exclusively through Vinyl Me, Please, Fitzgerald’s “Sunshine Of Your Love” and Hubbard’s “The Hub of Hubbard” are now available on traditional black vinyl and CD.       

 

Known as the Queen of Jazz, Fitzgerald challenged herself by electing to sing an album of rock and pop classics by such artists as Eric Claptonthe Beatles, and Burt Bacharach along with a few standards. Half of “Sunshine Of Your Love” (1969) was recorded live using a big band while the other half features Fitzgerald’s longtime accompanists, the Tommy Flanagan Trio.

 

While on a European tour in 1969 with his world-class quintet, Hubbard trekked to the German Black Forest to record “The Hub of Hubbard” for MPS. The trumpeter had already forged a unique sound that mixed hard bop, soul and fusion. Hubbard and the band, which features saxophonist Eddie Daniels, pianist Roland Hanna and a taut rhythm section formed by bassist Richard Davis and drummer Louis Hayes, stretch out on the four-song set that includes a 13-minute exploration of the standard “Without A Song.”

 

A pair of jazz-fusion albums by Duke, “Feel” and “I Love the Blues, She Heard My Cry,” were reissued on vinyl and CD. When “Feel” was released in 1975, it came at a transitional time when Duke was establishing himself as a solo artist after being a noted sideman. Mixing fusion and rock, the keyboardist exhibits experimental use of synthesizers to create orchestral textures on the disc that includes appearances from frequent collaborator Frank Zappa and a Brazilian jazz expedition alongside iconic vocalist Flora Purim and percussionist Airto Moreira.

 

On “I Love the Blues, She Heard My Cry” (1976), Duke diversifies his blend of fusion further while singing frequently throughout the record. He packs a punch on metal/hard rock tracks mashed up with funk, soul and blues. With the rhythm section anchored by longtime collaborator Ndugu Chancler on drums, among the guitarists who shred on the record are Lee Ritenour and George Johnson (Brothers Johnson). Purim and Moreira reappear to provide Brazilian nuances.   

 

Canadian jazz pianist Oscar Peterson leads an astute trio completed by bassist Georg Mraz and drummer Ray Price on a set list that includes some of Peterson’s original compositions along with pages from the Great American Songbook on 1970’s “Walking The Line.” The vinyl and CD reissues capture the threesome reimagining timeless tunes by Cole PorterMichel LegrandSammy CahnRichard Rodgers and Johnny Mercer.     










 

Powell began his nine-year association with MPS with 1966’s “Tristeza on Guitar,” and despite the title, it is far from a sad-themed outing. Deploying sambas and Afro-Brazilian rhythms, the Brazilian guitar master runs the gamut of emotion - from intimacy and mystery to celebration and exuberance - on the reissued vinyl LP and CD.

 

Released as a limited-edition orange vinyl LP, Evan’s “Symbiosis” is an adventurous outing by the legendary jazz pianist who typically performed in trio settings. This 1974 album is a rare treat, pairing Evans with a philharmonic conducted by prolific composer-arranger Claus Ogerman. Whether on acoustic or electric piano, Evans’ lyrical play guides listeners through sprawling expanses ranging from big band grandiosity to minimalism, from exotic samba to jazz, and from lavish string arrangements to dramatic film music.         

 

Henderson’s “Mirror Mirror” garnered reissue as a limited green vinyl LP. The GRAMMY-winning tenor saxophone titan surrounds himself with greatness on this all-star 1980 recording that could have been attributed to a quartet since the musicians – pianist Chick Corea, bassist Ron Carter and drummer Billy Higgins - share the spotlight equitably.

  

For more information and to see what else is coming soon from MPS, please visit https://www.mps-music.com.





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Monday, July 12, 2021

Smooth Jazz Chart - Weekly Top 100 - July 12, 2021 #jazz

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When it updates, this post will be repeated with the most recent chart. 






Thursday, July 08, 2021

Celebrated Vocalist Kurt Elling Announces U.S. Tour Dates Ahead of Forthcoming Album SuperBlue out Oct 8 #jazz

New collection features Charlie Hunter along with Butcher Brown Band members Corey Fonville and DJ Harrison
 
The SuperBlue Band will make its live debut, performing songs from the album, at Chicago’s Ravinia Festival July 13


Grammy winning vocalist Kurt Elling has confirmed a new run of 2021 U.S. tour dates ahead of the highly anticipated October 8 release of new album SuperBlue on Edition RecordsThe follow up to his 2019 Grammy winner Secrets Are the Best StoriesSuperBlue is a head-turning torrent of roisterous funk, indelible beats and all-too-current lyrics that boasts the talents of producer-guitarist Charlie Hunter and two stars of the hip-hop generation: drummer Corey Fonville and bassist-keyboardist DJ Harrison (both of the genre-hopping band Butcher Brown).
 
Spread throughout the summer Elling’s new dates will see him perform with a variety of musicians, both as headliner and guest. The SuperBlue Band will make its live debut, performing songs from the album, at the Ravinia Festival in Highland Park, IL Aug 15. The full SuperBlue band tour will take place in October with dates to be announced in coming weeks.
 
Elling has always been a master of grooves, ranging from bebop to pure pop and progressive jazz to neo-soul, but he’s never filled an album with grooves quite like these.

Thanks to newly sprung melody and lyrics from Elling, along with Hunter & co.’s fresh grooves, SuperBlue features all-new songs, innovative takes on compositions from jazz lions Wayne Shorter and Freddie Hubbard, and a raw and stripped-down treatment of “The Seed,” a still-dynamic, decades-old riff on immortality written by Cody Chestnutt. There is even a slamming new version of a Tom Waits tune.

On SuperBlue, the grooves are generous and bountiful and the mix is phat and vibrant, creating springboards for some of the most vivid tracks of Elling’s career. The new rhythmic playground shows off Elling’s still-broadening vocal prowess. The arrangements extend the singer’s already remarkable range and expand his role as a gifted storyteller, adept at both hipster humor and soul-shattering pathos.

SuperBlue, continues Elling’s path of bold collaboration on a project guaranteed to gain new listeners and stretch the ears of his devoted admirers.
 
Kurt Elling on Tour:
7/13 – Ravinia Festival – Highland Park, IL w/ Charlie Hunter/Corey Fonville/DJ Harrison
7/20 – 92Y – New York, NY w/ Bill Charlap
7/24 – Great Lakes Center for the Arts w/ Kurt Elling Quartet
7/30 – 8/1 – Catalina’s Jazz Club w/ John Beasley’s Monk’estra Trio
8/4 – The Soiled Dove – Denver, CO w/ Kurt Elling Quartet
8/6 – Jas Café: St. Regis Hotel – Aspen, CO w/ Kurt Elling Quartet
8/15 – San Jose Jazz Festival – San Jose, CA – w/ SuperBlue band, Charlie Hunter/Corey Fonville/DJ Harrison
9/4 – Detroit Jazz Festival – w/ Dee Bridgewater and Ben Vereen
9/5 – John Coltrane Jazz Festival – High Point, NC w/ Kurt Elling Quartet
 
More dates to be announced soon.

Kurt Elling Online:
Website
Facebook
Instagram
YouTube

Edition Records:
Website

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Monday, July 05, 2021

Smooth Jazz Chart - Weekly Top 100 - July 5, 2021 #jazz

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Sunday, July 04, 2021

Have A Happy And Safe 4th Of July [Video] #jazz



Barbecues and fireworks, flags and parades, Independence Day evokes so many images of the American summer. Its original purpose to celebrate the birth of the American nation on July 4th, 1776 has given way to festivities that celebrate both America and the lives and freedoms that the accomplishments of American Independence have allowed. The commemoration of the signing of the Declaration of Independence is a time not only to reflect on what happened at America's founding but also to look again at the nation's values and recommit oneself again to those ideals.

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