In late 2006, the New Morning presented an incredible meeting of legendary blues players specially flown in from Nashville & Tokyo, to live it up in Paris. As the climax of the club's 25th Anniversary Festival - and a birthday gift from the musicians - this Franco-American guitar summit brought together for the first time the members of Autour du Blues (the cream of France's top studio musicians) and two of America's most brilliant guitar heroes, Larry Carlton and Robben Ford. The show was a smash success with the people of Paris. It took the enthusiasm and generous friendship of these musicians to make this memorable get-together happen at the New Morning - the club where you come to hear and to play the music you like with the people you like. All aboard, then, for this trip "Round About the Blues" (Autour du Blues) ... with Larry Carlton, Robben Ford, Francis Cabrel, Denys Lable, Michael Jones, Patrick Verbeke and their friends, united - for once beyond show business constraints - to give back to the blues what it has always given them... A real treat to be sure!
Track Listing: •Black Night •Got My Mojo Working •Rock Me Baby •Stormy Monday •Reconsider Baby •Ain't That Particular •You Gotta Move (Tu Dois Partir) •Down In Mississippi •Mama Talk To Your Daughter •Blackjack •Bad Bad Whiskey •A Change Is Gonna Come •She Belongs To Me
"Most people, if they have different bands, they do separate albums, but I felt I'd be making more of a statement if I put it all on one joint." Says Glasper. The result, in essence, is a snapshot of Glasper's life.
To pre-order Double-Booked at amazon.com click: Double Booked
One artist, two distinct but interwoven concepts: this is the captivating logic behind Double-Booked, pianist Robert Glasper's third album for Blue Note, following up Canvas (2005) and In My Element (2007). An artist who "unfailingly gets the feeling right" (New York Magazine), Glasper has made waves throughout the music world as leader of both the acoustic Robert Glasper Trio and the electric, hip-hop-oriented Robert Glasper Experiment. With Double-Booked the 32-year-old Houston native puts his enviable versatility front and center, emphasizing these different hemispheres of his musical brain at the same time.
The first six tracks on Double-Booked feature Glasper in Trio setting with longtime bassist Vicente Archer as well as drummer Chris Dave, who plays in Glasper's Experiment band but recently came on board the Trio as well. As on In My Element, Glasper underlines the Trio's hip-hop leanings with short fade-in interludes ("little Pete Rock-isms," Glasper says) that function as short codas to some of the tunes. From the outset, with the lyrical flow and supple interaction of "No Worries," one hears what Nate Chinen of The New York Times describes as "spongey, changeable adaptations of hip-hop rhythm tracks...Glasper himself plays as if he's a living sample...in a kind of real-time loop."
"Downtime," set mainly in 7/4, evokes a memory of Glasper looking out the window at the rain - "kind of like the 'F.T.B.' of this record, if you will," Glasper says, referencing a standout track from In My Element. Both "Yes I'm Country (And That's OK)" and "59 South," meanwhile, touch upon Glasper's hometown environment in Texas. The latter references a heavily trafficked highway in Houston, a cultural reference not unlike the Brooklyn Bridge in Glasper's current home base, New York. The Trio portion of Double-Booked culminates with an astonishing treatment of Thelonious Monk's "Think of One." In an ingenious and totally natural overlay, Glasper seizes an opportunity in last A section to quote Ahmad Jamal's "Swahililand," the chord progression that formed the basis of De La Soul's 1996 hip-hop classic "Stakes Is High," co-written by Glasper's hero and friend, the late beatmaster J Dilla.
From that point forward, we are firmly in Experiment-land, with Chris Dave remaining on drums - although the drum sound on this half of the album can be markedly different from the first. "4Eva," a live excerpt featuring rap icon Mos Def, leads us straight into another world. "Butterfly" is originally from Thrust, Herbie Hancock's 1974 landmark album. Casey Benjamin's vocoder effects heighten the mystery of the melody, and a J Dilla beat called "F--- the Police" serves as a rhythmic foundation. Benjamin's arsenal of sonic effects is at the fore of "Festival," colored by Glasper's Fender Rhodes, taking wild, digressive turns over the course of 10 minutes - the Experiment sound at its most representative and expansive.
A short transitional piece, "For You" by Benjamin and drummer Sameer Gupta, leads into "All Matter," a striking, unclassifiable original by vocalist Bilal Oliver. Glasper offers: "You can really do this song in any situation, and it does stick with you. So pretty." Derrick Hodge, the Experiment's bassist, an accomplished composer as well as a top-shelf jazz and hip-hop sideman, contributes the final track, "Open Mind," also featuring Bilal. It's "a spiritual tune" in Glasper's words, with additional textures and voice elements from turntablist Jahi Sundance, the son of alto saxophone great Oliver Lake.
100 Percent Jazz - 100 Percent Jazz (100 Percent ) Akerman Quartet / Jansson - Good Old Sverige (Calibrated ) Andrews Sisters - 4 Original 45 EP's (Phantom ) Anna Kruse - Lyckokat (Calibrated ) Arbors All Stars - Pizzarelli Party (Arbors ) Archie Shepp - Phat Jam In Milano (Dawn Of Freedom ) Art Blakey - Moanin' (Emm/Blue Note ) Art Blakey - Moanin (Apo ) Art Taylor - At's Delight (Analogue Prod. ) Arturo O'Farrill - Live in Brooklyn (ZOHO) Aurora - Aurora (Calibrated ) Benita Haastrup - Sunrise (Calibrated ) Best Of British Jazz - The Best of British Jazz Vol. 9 (United States Of Dist. (Uk) ) Bill Evans - Everybody Digs Billevans (Phantom ) Billy Holiday - 4 Original 45 EP's (Phantom ) Bob Florence - Legandary (MAMA ) Bob Florence - Legendary (Mambo Maniacs ) Bob Florence / Limited Editio - Legendary (Maa ) Bob Florence / Limited Editio - Legandary (Maa ) Cancura / Gray / Morris - Wildlife (AUM Fidelity ) Chico Castillo - Vuelvo (Universal Music Latino ) Cory Weeds Quartet - Everything's Coming Up Weeds (Cellar Live ) Count Basie / Duke Ellington - First Time Count Meets The Duke (Pure Pleasure ) Daryl Sherman - Johnny Mercer: A Centennial Tribute (Arbors ) Dave Liebman / Manhattan Scho - Porgy And Bess (JZH ) Dave Liebman / Manhattan Scho - Porgy & Bess (JZH ) David Berkman - Live At Smoke (Challenge ) David Berkman Quartet - Live At Smoke (Challenge ) David Liebman - Porgy & Bess (Jazzheads, Inc. ) Dexter Gordon - Dexter's Calling (Apo ) Endzeit Bunkertracks - Complete Louis Armstrong and the Dukes of Dixieland (Alfa Matrix ) Enrico - La Macchinda Dei Sogni (Phantom ) Eric Bibb - Bibb:Rainbow People (Opus 3 ) - SACD Eric Bibb / Ed Epstein - Rainbow People (Opus 3 ) Eric Vloeimans - Live At Yoshi's (Challenge Jazz ) Fini Hostrup - Following (Calibrated ) Four80East - Roll On (Native Language ) Frank Glover - Politico (FGA ) Franz Koglmann - Lo-Lee-Ta Music Of Nabokov (Cno ) Franz Koglmann - Lo-Lee-Ta Music On Nabokov (Cno ) Fred Jackson - Hootin & Tootin (Apo ) Fred Jackson - Hootin' `N Tootin' (Apo ) Fugimundi / Eric Vloeimans - Live At Yoshi's (Challenge ) Gabriel Espinosa - From Yucatan To Rio (Zoho Music ) Gabriel Espinosa A. - From Yucatan To Rio (Zoho Music ) Harry Allen / Joe Cohn Quartet (T - Harry Allen-Joe Cohn Quartet Plays Music From South Pacific (Arbors ) Harry Allen / Joe Cohn Quartet (T - Plays MUsic From South Pacific (Arbors ) Hein Van De Geyn - Friendship: Live At The Muziekgebouw (Challenge Jazz ) Hess / Pettersen - Word (Calibrated ) Hot N Spicy - Female Intuition (Calibrated ) Intro Collection - Late Night Jazz (Intro ) Jakob Elverstrom - Make It Flow (Calibrated ) James Carney Group - Ways & Means (Songlines ) Jennifer Warnes - Hunter (Cisco ) Joakim Pedersen - Adult Jazz (Calibrated ) Joe Morris - Wildlife (AUM Fidelity ) Julie London - Julie Is Her Name (Boxstar Records ) Ken Colyer - Fifty Years On: A Celebration of the Music of Ken Colyer (United States Of Dist. (Uk) ) Ken Colyer - Live At York Art Centre (United States Of Distribution LTD. ) Ken Colyer's Allstars - Live At York Art Centre (United States Of Dist. (Uk) ) Kenneth Knudsen - Plastic (Calibrated ) Late Night Jazz - Late Night Jazz (Intro ) Lisa Ono - Look To The Rainbow (Avex Trax Japan ) Lisa Ono - Cheek To Cheek (Avex Trax Japan ) Lizzy Parks - This & That (Tru Thoughts ) Ludovic Beier - Django Brasil (Le Chant Du Monde FR ) Mac Duncan - Live At The Lord Napier (United States Of Dist. (Uk) ) Magnus Fra Gaarden - Magnus Fra Gaarden (Calibrated ) Mames Babegenush - Klezmer Killed The Radio Star (Calibrated ) Maxime Piolot - Le Regard Des Gens (Gall ) Michael Salling - Nice Vibrations (Calibrated ) Miles Davis - Milesin' (Phantom ) Neil Balle - Flood Of Light (Calibrated ) Nina Simone - Live At Berkeley/Gifted and Black (Snapper (Uk) ) Ohm Square - Taking Shape (Mole Listening Pearl ) Pete Allen - Running Wild (United States Of Distribution LTD. ) Pete: Jazz Band Allen - Running Wild (United States Of Dist. (Uk) ) Quartet Offensive - Carnivore (Self Produced) - Book Quincy Jones - Jazz Manifesto (Delta (Uk) ) Quintet / Weeds, Cory - Everything's Coming Up Weeds (CLF ) Sammy - DavisJr- - 4 Original 45 EP's (Phantom ) Sammy Davis Jr. - Essential Sammy Davis Jr. (Metro Music ) School Of Music Conservatorium-Monash University - Sound Series 2008 (Phantom ) Simon Fell / Joe Morris / Alex Ward - Necessary & The Possible (Victo ) Simon Krebs - Blur (Calibrated ) Sonny Morris - In Germany (United States Of Distribution LTD. ) Sonny Morris & Friends - In Germany (United States Of Dist. (Uk) ) Sun Ra - Medicine For Nightmare (Phantom ) Sylvan Street - Perfect Leaf, The (Summit ) Sylvan Street - The Perfect Leaf (Summit ) Sylvan Street - Perfect Leaf (Summit ) Temperance Seven - 33 Not Out (United States Of Dist. (Uk) ) Thomas Hass - Love At Copenhagen Jazz House (Calibrated ) Tim Friese-Greene - 10 Sketches For Piano Trio (LTM / Boutique NL ) Van de Geyn / van den Brink - Friendship: Live At The Muziekgebouw (Challenge ) Wonderland - Best Of Wonderland (Revisited )
Reissues Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers - Moanin' (Pid ) Art Taylor - A.T.'s Delight (Blue Note) Miles Davis - Miles Davis & Horns (Victor)
What makes Jessy J so attractive? The fact that she graduated as the "Most Outstanding Jazz Student" of her class at the University of Southern California or that she already performed with Jessica Simpson, Michael Buble, Burt Bacharach, the Temptations, and that she is currently on tour with Michael Bolton? No, it's the fantastic mix of female beauty and professional music presented by this high-talented sax player.
After the success of her debut album Tequila Moon charting on #1 for eight weeks and as featured artist in Jazziz Magazine, People Espanol, and Jazz Times Jessy generates great attention with her upcoming album True Love. Supported by Peak Records, a division of Concord Records, and with a prestigious tour schedule she's born under a lucky star and promise to continue her previous success.
Like the predecessor True Love is produced by hit maker Paul Brown and furthermore accompanied by keyboardist Gregg Karukas, bassist Roberto Vally, drummer Sergio Gonzalez and percussionist Richie Gajate Garcia.
Jessy J likes it hot. So we start in the muddy atmosphere of the Tropical Rain. Jessy gives her sax a mellow blow while the band grooves in the Samba rhythm. The song captivates with soft sax tones and Garcia's fantastic and authentic percussion. "El Pulpo" (which means the octopus in Spanish) is a sought after percussionist who has accompanied artists such as Phil Collins, Sting, Celia Cruz, Tito Puente, Diana Ross, Hiroshima, Patti Labelle, Amy Grant, Brooks and Dunn, Luis Miguel, John Denver, Art Garfunkel and many, many more.
If it ever needed a prove, Jessy delivers it with Forever. Her sax performance is sensationally enticing. A soft breeze of acoustic guitar introduce into the weaving melody of True Love. A welcoming invitation to the world of Cuban bolero. Mr. Prince is certainly an homage to the great musician, but there is no musical cite of his music. Instead Jessy celebrates her vision of smooth jazz.
Morning of the Carnival is a famous theme of the movie Black Orpheus (1959) by French director Marcel Camus. The score was composed by Antonio Carlos Jobim and became a huge success. Jessy reveals her fresh and unspent vocals in combination with her sax skills. How smooth a sax can sound demonstrate Jessy on the traditional Samba Somewhere In A Dream.
Jessy's Blues shows the more edgy contemporary site of Jessy J. Await more on her live shows! Jessy J's Llegesta Tu (You Arrived) is a captivating and uplifting pop song composed by Jessy in collaboration with Pablo and Paulina Aguirre, a couple from Quito, Ecuador, now working in the States as composer, singer and more.
An awesome duet between Jessy and Sergio Aranda is called Brazilian Dance. Very authentic and emotional. Sergio has already performed with Paul Anka, Marta Sanchez and more. Baila! is the Portuguese invitation to dance and that's the character of the song indeed.
Jessy J is the ultimate Latin answer to Smooth Jazz. This album is especially interesting and irresistible for all lovers of the Latin flavored sax.
Echoing the results of last year's poll, Manfred Eicher and ECM are voted Producer of the Year and Label of the Year in the 57th Annual DownBeat Critics Poll. This double-win is announced in the August issue of the venerable US jazz magazine (founded 1934).
The awards arrive in ECM's 40th anniversary year. It was in the autumn of 1969 that Eicher founded his label; seven years later, in 1976, he won DownBeat's Top Producer award for the first time.
The 57th Critics Poll includes ECM musicians past and present in almost all of its categories, with Keith Jarrett taking first place slots for Top Pianist and Best Jazz Group (the 'Standards' trio with Gary Peacock and Jack DeJohnette). Steve Swallow is, once again, #1 in the Electric Bass category, and old friends Bill Frisell, Gary Burton and Chick Corea are also first-place winners.
Russ Hewitt redefines “Nuevo Flamenco” style with infectious songs backed by an all-star ensemble.
Blending Latin, jazz and flamenco styles, guitarist Russ Hewitt brews an intoxicating oasis of sound on Bajo el Sol, Hewitt’s long-awaited 10-song debut solo album. Hewitt’s lightning runs on guitar and strong “rumba flamenco” rhythms are fused with Arabic and Indian textures on songs like “bajo el sol,” “lydia” and “palma de mallorca.” With an extensive use of exotic scales and a keen sense for composition, Hewitt’s evocative instrumental music speaks volumes. Bajo el Sol, or Under the Sun, was inspired by Hewitt’s travels: “After backpacking through Europe and traveling in Turkey, China and Egypt, I was so awed by my exposure to the authentic music of each region. I was also able to jam with players on my travels as well, which was amazing. When I got home, I was inspired to create the original music on Bajo el Sol that I call “Latin world.”
Hewitt’s debut, Bajo el Sol, is sure to be met with high anticipation. Russ worked with world-famous players Walfredo Reyes Jr (Santana, Strunz and Farah, Ricky Martin) on drums, Rafael Padilla (Miami Sound Machine, Shakira) on percussion, Bob Parr (Cher, Brian Setzer Orchestra) on bass, and flamenco guitar prodigy Alfredo Caceres. With over 220 gigs in 2008, Hewitt’s seasoned band expresses flair, facility, and bravura.
On Bajo el Sol, Hewitt’s considerable promise is fulfilled, and it’s clear he’s as talented as a Latin, jazz and flamenco stylist. Along with his plan to do the festival circuit for 2009, Hewitt is currently enjoying chart success with his first single “Bajo el Sol” at #25 as of February 20th on the smooth indie star charts and he concludes, “I’ve been doing Nuevo Flamenco for the last 10 years, so although my degree is in classical performace, it’s second nature to me. I’m so excited this album has finally come together. I called it Bajo el Sol because it’s all about bringing together music from around the world ‘Under the Sun.’
As they say, music is the universal language, and I hope my record speaks to everyone.”
The Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland starts its 43rd annual round of show today, featuring 100 artists from various genres, including rock, pop, soul, blues and of course jazz. British hip hop singer Lily Allen will do a gig, as will the rambunctious Jamaican vocalist Grace Jones.
Jazz great Herbie Hancock and the virtuoso Chinese classical pianist Lang Lang are set to perform together a piano project they have been working on for over a year.
Guitarists George Benson and BB King will also play their jazz and blues licks at center stage.
Classic rockers Alice Cooper and John Fogerty will perform at the festival which will also put on shows by more modern alternative acts like Bloc Party and the jam outfit the Dave Matthews Band. Marianne Faithful will bring her voice to Switzerland as well.
Various electronic-oriented performers are scheduled to mix their records live.
Along with the main stage concerts, dozens of artists will play music through all hours of the day and night for free in the scenic area at the eastern end of Lake Geneva.
If the sun plays along and the weather stays fair, the festival could attract well over 200, 000 people before it closed on July 19.
It's official: Jammie Thomas-Rasset intends to appeal her case, one of her lawyers told CNET News on Wednesday.
"She's not interested in settling," attorney Joe Sibley said in a brief phone interview. "She wants to take the issue up on appeal on the constitutionality of the damages. That's one of the main arguments--that the damages are disproportionate to any actual harm."
Thomas-Rasset has a brief period to file a notice of appeal, legal experts said. The actual appeal can come later.
What this means is that the Thomas-Rasset drama will have a third act. In October 2007, a jury rendered a $222,000 verdict against her but that decision was later tossed out.
Then, two weeks ago, a federal jury in Minnesota found Thomas-Rasset liable for willful copyright infringement and ordered her to pay $1.9 million. Since then, the blogosphere has churned with speculation about how she will proceed. The 32-year-old Minnesota resident said after her latest trial that she would refuse to pay. Still, with $1.9 million in damages strapped around her neck, many have wondered whether Thomas-Rasset would fight on--or cut her losses and settle.
The Recording Industry Association of America said on Monday that it had made a phone call to Sibley and law partner Kiwi Camara last week to ask whether Thomas-Rasset wanted to discuss a settlement. An RIAA representative said that its lawyers were told by Sibley that Thomas-Rasset wasn't interested in discussing any deal that required her to admit guilt or pay any money.
In settlement talks, there's often maneuvering, so the RIAA was unsure which way Thomas-Rasset would go--at least until Sibley made it clear.
"The defendant can, of course, exercise her legal rights," said Jonathan Lamy, an RIAA spokesman. "But what's increasingly clear, now more than ever, is that she is the one responsible for needlessly prolonging this case and refusing to accept any responsibility for the illegal activity that two juries decisively found her liable for. From day one, we've been fair and reasonable in exercising our rights and attempting to resolve this case."
Sibley told CNET News that when RIAA lawyers called a couple of days after the second trial to gauge Thomas-Rasset's interest in settling, they didn't throw out any dollar figures. He did say that following Thomas-Rasset's first trial, the trade group offered to settle for $25,000.
Thomas-Rasset's case has already helped set a series of important legal precedents, including establishing that it is sufficient to show that defendants placed files in their P2P shared folder to prove they intended to make the music available across the network. With the case going to the appeals process, there's a good chance it will continue establishing legal parameters.
"They have an uphill battle," said Ben Sheffner, a former attorney at 20th Century Fox and a rising star on the pro-copyright side. Sibley and Camara "are asking the court to do something no federal court has ever done before. However, this is a good test case. You have a non-wealthy defendant and you have a huge damages award."
Acoustic Ladyland - Living With A Tiger (Phantom ) Barry Miles - Sky Train (Wounded Bird ) Cab Calloway - Hi-De-Ho Man: 1930-1933 (Rev-Ola ) Carmen Lundy - Solamente (Afrasia Prod. ) Charlie Parker - Great Quartets & Quintets (Disconforme ) Cherry / Coleman / Dorham / Giuffre - Lenox Jazz School Concert August 29 1959 (Disconforme ) Chris McGregor - Up To Earth (Fledg'Ling Uk ) Clifford Brown - Lost Rehearsals 1953-56 (Disconforme ) Dave Brubeck & Paul Desmond - Newport 1958: Brubeck Plays Ellington (Disconforme ) David Crowell - Spectrum (Innova ) Django Reinhardt - Le Jazz Manouche (Vogue Europe ) Duke Ellington - Live In Warsaw October 30 1971 (Disconforme ) Esther Ofarim - Esther Ofarim In New York With Bobby Scott & His (Bureau B ) Esther Ofarim - In New York With Bobby Scott & His Orchestra (Bureau B ) Fats Navarro - Complete Last Studio Session 9/20/1949 (Disconforme ) Freddie Fox - Feelin It (Nu Groove ) Freddie Fox - Feelin' It (Nu Groove ) Gayle Moran - I Loves You Then I Love You Now (Wounded Bird ) Gayle Moran - I Loved You Then I Love You Now (Wounded Bird ) Gene Segal - Hypnotic (Innova ) Gitte Haenning - Meets Kenny Clarke Francy Bola (MSI Music ) Gitte Haenning - Meets the Francy Boland/Kenny Clarke Big Band (MSI Music ) Jazz For Lovers - Jazz For Lovers (Universal Japan ) Josh Berman Aram Shelton Weasel Walter - Last Distractions (Singlespeed Music) Julie London - Julie Is Her Name (Boxstar Records ) Matrix - Tale Of The Whale (Wounded Bird ) Matt Wilson - That's Gonna Leave A Mark (Palmetto ) Miles Davis - Walkin' (Original Jazz Classics ) Miles Davis & Milt Jackson - Complete Recordings (Disconforme ) Miroslav Vitous - Remembering Weather Report (Universal Japan/Zoom ) Modern Jazz Quartet - Quartet Is A Quartet Is A Quartet (Wounded Bird ) Patricia Talem - Patricia Talem (Points South Music ) Peggy Lee - Man I Love (DRG ) Peggy Lee - Jump For Joy (DRG ) Peggy Lee - Black Coffee & Dream Street (Disconforme ) Razoof - High Tide Low Tide (Phantom ) Sammy Davis Jr. - Sammy's Swinginest Sides (Micro Werks ) Sonny Criss - Blues In My Heart (Disconforme ) Soulive - Up Here (Royal Family ) Steve Kuhn - Mostly Coltrane (ECM ) Swingle Singers - Swing Sing (Sony BMG Europe ) Tal Farlow - Guitar Genius: The Gibson Boy (MSI Music )
Reissues Count Basie - April in Paris (Cheapolata) Matrix - Wizard
Not your typical jazz record, Paris To Cuba, has been described as a cross between Pink Martini and Buena Vista Social Club. Utilizing jazzy piano melodies mixed with blazing horns, the album is the embodiment of summer; conjuring up images of beautiful complexions, mid-afternoon mojitos, linen garments, and vintage Cadillacs. This is music that immediately evokes sipping a Sancerre, watching a sunset on the Seine or puffing on a Petit Punch during a “paseo” through Plaza Vieja.
Nearly all tracks on the album are instrumental; with the exception of three songs that feature smoky Madeleine Peyroux meets Billie Holiday-esque vocals by Melissa Newman, creating a beautiful aural landscape to the tune of an old Jazz standard.
You may know of Mario due to his groundbreaking debut record on Reprise, Rhymes with Orange, which received critical acclaim and was produced by Oscar Castro-Neves and Miles Goodman and his work with Paul Schwartz on the International classical crossover hit series, Aria. Mario has also played a number of Jazz Festivals including the Festival International de Jazz de Montreal, the Toronto Jazz Festival, and the Newport Jazz Festival at Sea, just to name a few.
Whether he’s grooving onstage or laying down his latest batch of sensuous and funky tracks in the studio, there’s no better adjective to describe the effect Paul Taylor has on his legions of urban jazz fans worldwide than the title of his latest and fifth Peak Records CD, Burnin’.
With Burnin', Taylor follows the spectacular success of his 2007 disc Ladies’ Choice - the saxman’s first ever #1 (and #1 debut) on Billboard’s Contemporary Jazz Chart - with the most powerful and robust musical statement of his career. Burnin’ is an explosive set of decidedly retro and old school soul influences, which reunites the saxman for the fourth time with veteran R&B/jazz hit makers Barry Eastmond (Al Jarreau, Peabo Bryson, Jonathan Butler, Anita Baker) and Rex Rideout (Richard Elliot, Gerald Albright, Boney James, Najee). Pushing his artistic envelope as never before, Taylor stretches beyond his usual soprano and alto comfort zone and plays lead melody on nine of the ten tracks on tenor sax for the very first time.
“The focus on the tenor happened by very happy accident,” Taylor says. “I thought it would be cool to bring my tenor along with my soprano and alto to the sessions which kicked off the project. When I got to the studio and opened up my cases, I saw that the soprano was damaged. It made sense to use both alto and tenor to start writing, and I really started liking the way the lower tones of the tenor sounded. One of Barry’s strengths in jazz is producing the tenor, so we just kept rolling with it. It’s got a gutsier sound and as things turned out, lent itself to the retro ‘70s soul sounds that naturally emerged from our writing and recording sessions. I always think back to that Junior Walker ‘Shotgun’ blast and this was just my time to go in this direction.”
The clever Eastmond to Rideout to Eastmond track-to-track flow on Burnin’ essentially echoes the way Taylor has switched off on his previous collaborations with the producers, which include 2003’s Steppin’ Out and 2005’s Nightlife. Casual listeners might be having such a blast swaying and grooving that they may not notice the switch off. Another reason for this is the consistency of Taylor’s rhythm section under both producers--all the tracks feature Darrell Crooks on guitar and Michael White on drums; Melvin Lee Davis plays bass on seven tracks, while Ronnie Garrett handles it on three others.
1. Back in the Day 4:08 2. Revival 4:23 3. Groove Shack 4:09 4. Remember the Love 4:33 5. Burnin’ 3:56 6. Side Pocket 4:21 7. It’s Like That 4:11 8. Juke Joint 4:01 9. Me and Baby Brother 4:10 10. So Fine 4:05
