Brian Simpson - "All That Matters" Release on Shanachie June 25th #jazz

CHART-TOPPING PIANIST, COMPOSER AND PRODUCER BRIAN SIMPSON RELFECTS ON LESSONS FROM THE PAST YEAR ON
new album ALL THAT MATTERS

 
 Simpson’s Milestone Album Marks His 10^th Recording As A Leader & 
Features Label mates Najee And Steve Oliver Among Others
 

“The title of my new recording was purely inspired by the events of the past year and half,” reflects acclaimed pianist, composer and producer Brian Simpson. “My family and loved ones became more important than ever and all that matters became more apparent after witnessing the tragic loss of others.” On June 25, 2021, Shanachie Entertainment will release a milestone recording from Simpson, who will commemorate his tenth recording as a leader. Revered for his ability to sculpt timeless love songs, soulful party anthems and breath-taking melodies that stay on your mind, Simpson delivers all this and more on his new recording All That Matters. From penning the #1 pop hit “The First Time” for R&B group Surface to touring and or recording with Janet Jackson, Stanley Clarke and Dave Koz, Simpson’s golden touch, has long made him one of the go-to guys in the industry.
 
All That Matters is the perfect amalgamation of influences that are close to Brain Simpson’s heart: Jazz, R&B, Funk, Soul.  It’s a joyous celebration of life and a shining demonstration of Simpson’s ongoing quest for the ultimate sound. “I will forever be in search of the perfect song, with the perfect melody that is performed perfectly,” confesses the pianist, who is the Musical Director of the wildly popular Smooth Jazz Cruise. The recording process for All That Matters was dramatically different for the pianist who tours relentlessly. The absence of touring during the pandemic afforded Simpson the opportunity to focus solely on recording. He eagerly jumped into the project and surrounded himself by friends to help with the compositional process; guitarist and labelmate Steve Oliver and keyboardists Nicholas Cole and Oliver Wendell. The collective commenced remotely and later were able to collaborate in person.  As the album progressed Simpson also enlisted saxophonists Najee (and flutist) and Steve Alanis, trumpeter Ron King, drummers Michael White and Tony Moore, bassist Dwayne “Smitty” Smith and Roberto Vally, percussionist Brain Kilgore and guitarists Ray Fuller and Yarone Levy.

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Smooth Jazz Chart - Weekly Top 100 - June 7, 2021 #jazz

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Flugelhornist Gabriel Mark Hasselbach tongues contemporary jazz grooves on new album #jazz

Award-winning musician to mark his 30^th anniversary as a recording artist with the release of “Tongue & Groove” on June 4.

 

He’s spent more weeks on the Billboard Contemporary Jazz chart than any other Canadian recording artist and with his 15^th album, “Tongue & Groove,” set to drop June 4, trumpeter/flugelhornist/flautist Gabriel Mark Hasselbach looks to land his eleventh Billboard hit. The Mesa/Bluemoon Recordings release is preceded by “Chill@Will,” the current radio single that Hasselbach wrote and produced with urban-jazz keyboardist Bob Baldwin.      

 

The release of “Tongue & Groove” coincides with the 30^th anniversary of Hasselbach’s debut disc, “Solar Winds,” which launched an award-winning catalogue consisting of contemporary and straight-ahead jazz recordings.

 

“‘Tongue & Groove’ is definitely my most in-depth and exciting album to date. I love improvised jazzy music in a framework, that is lyrical and succinct, not overly extrapolated or excessive. I come from a Chet Baker/Blue Mitchell frame of reference, laid over contemporary grooves and original concepts. I always aim for strong and concise content in whatever I play. It is all just jazz to me, the essence which should be a rich yet highly listenable sound for the head, heart and feet,” said the Vancouver-based Hasselbach, a Juno Award winner (Canada’s GRAMMY equivalent).

 

Hasselbach wrote and recorded “Tongue & Groove” last year while in quarantine, an experience reflected in the first two cuts: “Presence of Mind” and Chill@Will. 

 

“The first two tunes had a bit of a theme. We can - and had to – keep the mind present and calm during the pandemic. When Bob Baldwin and I started working on ‘Chill@Will,’ we built it from the vibe up, and the music just fell into place. It started out as a sketch from Bob, which I did a little work on to move it forward. The tune sat around for a while but kept scratching at the door because it was so catchy. I took up the cause again and pressed the ever-busy Mr. Baldwin into service so we could help it see the light of day. Many of my top charting tracks, as well as some of Bob's, are collaborations between us,” said Hasselbach.

 

“Tongue & Groove” also features collaborations with other noteworthy musicians such as two-time GRAMMY winner Paul Brown and Billboard chart-topper Chris Standring on guitar. Another guitarist showcased on the disc is Grant Geissman, who played and recorded with contemporary jazz legend Chuck Mangione. Geissman guests on Hasselbach’s vibrant revision of the classic “Feels So Good.”  

 

“I wanted to honor Chuck Mangione and thus be known as ‘the flugelhornist of today’ as was Chuck back in the day. Mesa/Bluemoon label head George Nauful knows Grant Geissman, the guitarist on the original. When George hooked us up, it seemed like kismet. Grant even played the exact 1968 Gibson guitar he used on that session with Mangione, and I play the same model and vintage flugelhorn, too, coincidentally,” said Hasselbach, who also spotlights saxophonist and co-songwriter Daniel Seguin, guitarist Brian Hughes and pianist/organist Miles Black on “Tongue & Groove.”  

 

As for the album title, Hasselbach said, “The title is at minimum a double entendre. In woodworking, tongue and groove refers to interlocking, smooth and seamless assembly or construction, and trumpeters tongue their notes, and in my case, also nail the groove.”

 

Hasselbach wrote or co-wrote eight funky jazz grooves for “Tongue & Groove” and produced or co-produced the tracks. Generously clocking in at over an hour and containing two remixes, “Chill@Will (Raincoast Mix)” and “Feels So Good (Extended Mix),” “Tongue & Groove” is a soul-powered R&B and instrumental pop session piloted by Hasselbach’s flugelhorn, flute, alto flute and trumpet. His animated horns astutely maneuver through percussive rhythms, textured beats and lush harmonies, blowing expressive communications, impassioned poetics and playful banter.         

 

Hasselbach was born in Denver but migrated to Canada after high school and holds dual citizenship. His 2011 “Told Ya So” was named Album of the Year and won him the Artist of the Year honors at the Canadian Smooth Jazz Awards. A best of-type compilation, 2019’s “Radio Gold,” broke Spotify streaming records. Hasselbach produced pop-jazz singer Michael Bublé’s “Dream” album and played on three of the global superstar’s albums. Earning gold and platinum records, among the other artists he has recorded with are GRAMMY winner Jeff Lorber, Darren Rahn, Greg Manning, Marc Antoine, Bob Mintzer, Tom Schuman, Rob Tardik, Brian Bromberg, and the late Chuck Loeb and John Denver. For more information, please visit http://gabrieljazz.com.

 

“Tongue & Groove” contains the following songs:

 

“Presence of Mind” featuring Daniel Séguin

“Chill@Will” featuring Bob Baldwin

“Heading North” featuring Paul Brown

“Hang On To Your Love”

“Feels So Good” featuring Grant Geissman

“Show Me Another Way”

“Litmus Test” featuring Daniel Séguin

“Daahoud” featuring Chris Standring

“Slipstream Turbulence” featuring Brian Hughes

“Vanishing Summer”

“You Will Always Be The One”

“Chill@Will (Raincoast Mix)” featuring Bob Baldwin

“Feels So Good (Extended Mix)” featuring Miles Black & Grant Geissman

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Smooth Jazz Chart - Weekly Top 100 - May 31, 2021 #jazz

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A Memorial Day Worth Remembering

Andy Rooney On How Memorial Day Should Be Celebrated

The following is a weekly 60 Minutes commentary by CBS News Correspondent Andy Rooney.

"There is more bravery at war than in peace, and it seems wrong that we have so often saved this virtue to use for our least noble activity - war. The goal of war is to cause death to other people."



Tomorrow is Memorial Day, the day we have set aside to honor by remembering all the Americans who have died fighting for the thing we like the most about our America: the freedom we have to live as we please.

No official day to remember is adequate for something like that. It's too formal. It gets to be just another day on the calendar. No one would know from Memorial Day that Richie M., who was shot through the forehead coming onto Omaha Beach on June 6, 1944, wore different color socks on each foot because he thought it brought him good luck.

No one would remember on Memorial Day that Eddie G. had promised to marry Julie W. the day after he got home from the war, but didn’t marry Julie because he never came home from the war. Eddie was shot dead on an un-American desert island, Iwo Jima.

For too many Americans, Memorial Day has become just another day off. There's only so much time any of us can spend remembering those we loved who have died, but the men, boys really, who died in our wars deserve at least a few moments of reflection during which we consider what they did for us.

They died.

We use the phrase "gave their lives," but they didn’t give their lives. Their lives were taken from them.

There is more bravery at war than in peace, and it seems wrong that we have so often saved this virtue to use for our least noble activity - war. The goal of war is to cause death to other people.

Because I was in the Army during World War II, I have more to remember on Memorial Day than most of you. I had good friends who were killed.

Charley Wood wrote poetry in high school. He was killed when his Piper Cub was shot down while he was flying as a spotter for the artillery.

Bob O'Connor went down in flames in his B17.

Obie Slingerland and I were best friends and co-captains of our high school football team. Obie was killed on the deck of the Saratoga when a bomb that hadn’t dropped exploded as he landed.

I won’t think of them anymore tomorrow, Memorial Day than I think of them any other day of my life.

Remembering doesn’t do the remembered any good, of course. It's for ourselves, the living. I wish we could dedicate Memorial Day, not to the memory of those who have died at war, but to the idea of saving the lives of the young people who are going to die in the future if we don’t find some new way - some new religion maybe - that takes war out of our lives.

That would be a Memorial Day worth celebrating.

Written By Andy Rooney © MMV, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.
This segment was originally broadcast on May 29, 2005.

Smooth Jazz Chart - Weekly Top 100 - May 24, 2021 #jazz

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Smooth Jazz Chart - Weekly Top 100 - May 17, 2021 #jazz

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African-jazz saxophonist Isaiah Katumwa is ready to “Dance Again” #jazz

The joyous album featuring collaborations with contemporary jazz hitmakers Darren Rahn, Adam Hawley and Dave Koz drops July 9; the title track goes for playlist adds on Monday.

 

As COVID-19 raged last summer and tension soared in the wake of the civil unrest that erupted after the death of George Floyd that occurred miles from his home, saxophonist Isaiah Katumwa was at work on his first major US release that he envisioned lifting spirits by uniting the world in dance. The Ugandan-born artist felt that to confront global issues - a pandemic and systemic racism – it would take a global response. Katumwa assembled a collective of African, American and Latin musicians to help craft “Dance Again,” the global jazz album dropping July 9 from Beyond Music. The festive African beat title track led by Katumwa’s agile soprano sax goes for playlist adds as a single on Monday.

 

Katumwa wrote or co-wrote all ten songs on “Dance Again,” each of which is brimful of joyous light and sunny optimism. Fellow saxophonist Darren Rahn, a multiple GRAMMY nominee who has produced more than 25 No. 1 singles, produced six tracks for the set, and Billboard chart-topping guitarist Adam Hawley produced three. Rwandan producer Marc Kibamba helmed “The Sun Will Shine Again,” a jubilant African rhythmic groove illumined by a vocal chorus.   

          

 

“During the scary times of the pandemic and when people took to the streets in anger to protest, I often wondered whether we’ll ever dance again in unity. It had become a very strange thought. ‘Dance Again’ is an answer to share positivity and contribute to the healing process that we all need right now. It’s music with the purpose to help us as we recover, which I believe is one of the purposes of music,” said Katumwa.

 

The seeds for “Dance Again” were first planted a couple years ago when Katumwa wrote and recorded “Home Away” with Rahn, a sweetly melodic composition that referred to Katumwa’s quest to find an artistic balance between making commercial instrumental music in America while remaining true to his African roots. Last year, Katumwa and Rahn collaborated on the radiant “Smile On,” which was issued as a single last May. 

 

“When we dropped ‘Smile On,’ it was to add positivity, to use music to bring light to the world in our dark times. It’s a reminder that no matter what challenges life brings, we can always use our ability to smile as a resource to uplift and encourage,” said Katumwa of the single that earned most added status at Billboard for three consecutive weeks.

 

Coronavirus restrictions forced Katumwa and his collaborators to write and record remotely. But that didn’t dampen his excitement about recording with sax superstar Dave Koz.

 

“The format and nature of the recording process was very interesting, working remotely throughout the entire process. The highlight for me through the many special moments of working with Darren and Adam in the process was my longtime idol, Dave Koz, agreeing to be featured on the album. His alto sax work on the Afropop fusion track ‘Nsiima’ was magical. Nsiima means grateful and for me, that sums up my musical journey thus far along with being grateful for the opportunity to record with my idol. Looking at the bigger picture, I’m grateful to be making it through the pandemic alive,” said Katumwa.

 

Katumwa released numerous gospel-flavored recordings in Africa in the early 2000s. His 2006 release, “Sinza,” was his first as a mixologist serving a blend of African and contemporary jazz. The saxman’s 2016 disc, “This Is Me,” received international airplay and included a mix by Rahn on the cut “Pamojja,” which was the first time they teamed up. “Dance Again” is Katumwa’s first collection recorded specifically with the US market in mind.      

 

“Dance Again” contains the following songs:

 

“Dance Again”

“Smile On”

“Nsiima” featuring Dave Koz

“Swahili Breeze”

“Home Away”

“My Joy”

“Nkwagala”

“What Is Love”

“The Sun Will Rise Again”

“My Prayer”

 

 

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

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Smooth Jazz Chart - Weekly Top 100 - May 10, 2021 #jazz

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Contemporary jazz saxophonist Matt Willard discovers a tropical sound in an unlikely locale: Nashville #jazz

Contemporary jazz saxophonist Matt Willard discovers a tropical sound in an unlikely locale: Nashville

 

His debut single, “Por la Orrilla del Mar,” offers an enticing taste of what’s to come.

 

While Nashville is primarily known as a launch pad for country music careers, Music City also has a burgeoning jazz scene. Trekking south from his Virginia home, saxophonist Matt Willard entered a Nashville recording studio with some of the city’s finest contemporary jazz musicians to record his debut single, “Por la Orrilla del Mar.” Willard wrote the single that just dropped on the Creative Soul Jazz imprint and produced it with the label’s Eric Copeland and Sunset Blvd. Studio’s Steve Dady. The exotic track showcasing the tenor saxman’s impassioned play is the first in a series of singles and accompanying videos that will precede Willard’s first album that is expected to drop by the end of the year.

 

A staccato Latin rhythm constructed by drummer Steve Brewster and bassist Jacob Lowery is the pedestal for the lush melodies of “Por la Orrilla del Mar.” Guitarist Dave Cleveland adds to the harmony while keyboardist Jason Webb shines when trading solos with Willard, who’s deft saxplay runs the gamut of emotion: from intense, raw and emotional to restrained, poised and harnessed. A horn section underscores and illumines Willard’s saxophone excursions.

 

Willard struggled to come up with a title for the single that has Caribbean nuances and conjures up soothing beach scenes. He felt it needed a Spanish title, but since he doesn’t speak the language, he turned to family members for help.

 

“After spending many hours trying to come up with the perfect song title, the idea to ask my uncle popped into my head. He speaks fluent Spanish along with many other languages. I sent him the track, and he and my aunt picked up on the Latin feel to the song, and ultimately, they came up with ‘Por la Orrilla Del Mar.’ It means ‘by the sea shore.’”    

 

Willard’s soulful and inspired sound meshes perfectly with the ethos of Copeland’s label. Creative Soul Jazz is a purveyor of improvisational jazz that they describe as “different and has spiritual roots.”

 

“As a label and production company, our mission is to use our God-given talents to show the beauty, the intensity, the passion and the spiritual effect of jazz. Our souls are rooted firmly in the freedom and pure art form of jazz,” said Copeland.    

                            

Willard began playing baritone sax in sixth grade and switched to tenor after graduating high school. Having played in jazz ensembles as well as his school’s marching band, he landed professional gigs playing at restaurants, special events and weddings. Willard tested the waters by issuing several recording projects locally, but teaming up with Dady, Copeland and Creative Soul Jazz is about taking his craft to the national level. “Por la Orrilla del Mar” offers a promising glimpse of what’s to come from this artist.   

 

Willard said, “I had a blast recording in Nashville and cannot wait to see everyone’s reaction to the music as we release it. I hope that these songs touch as many lives as possible like they did mine when writing them. I am truly blessed to have a great team working with me to write and produce this record. Collaborating with Nashville session players is an amazing experience. The entire production team has knocked it out of the park. The album is going to be great!”

 

For more information, please visit www.mattwillardsax.com. 

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Rale Micic’s heartwarming fusion of heritage, taste, and jazz guitar sophistication shines on “Only Love Will Stay” available on May 7, 2021 on Whaling City Sound #jazz

A World of Talent

Rale Micic’s heartwarming fusion of heritage, taste, and jazz guitar sophistication shines on Only Love Will Stay

It goes without saying, though we’ll say it once, right from the top here, that Rale Micic is a unique voice in jazz guitar. He combines an absurdly melodic approach and an intricate insight into harmonies, with a sort of deep personal story from his native Serbia. His life experience and heritage exert a soft and loving influence on his artistic approach: the rhythm, tone, and feel of the music of his life. This approach, in the works for a while now, culminates on his new recording, Only Love Will Stay.

 

Micic has played with such artists as Tom Harrell, Don Friedman, Peter Bernstein, Eric Alexander, and Greg Hutchinson, but it’s the striking originality with which he plays his own music that really distinguishes him from other jazz guitar talents. The session, with Jared Gold on keys and Geoff Clapp and Johnathan Blake on drums, is both relaxed and substantial, joyful and chill, starring the filigreed sounds of Micic’s Sadowsky archtop and the tasty choices of empathic accompanists. “I first played with Johnathan Blake when we were in Tom Harrell’s group,” says Micic. “We have been playing together for over 10 years and he was also on my previous album, Night Music. Geoff is another great drummer and we have toured and played quite a bit in the last four, five years. It’s great how both of them brought something special to the music. This is the first time I worked with Jared Gold, but it felt so nice and easy. I think the musical chemistry is pretty apparent.”

 

Only Love Will Stay features Micic and the band creating layers of original sounds, featuring a backbone in acoustic jazz ala John Abercrombie, the intricate textures of his internal conversations, and continuing through the loving melodic rhythms of his native Serbia. “Early on,” he says, “I loved listening to the very different way that John Abercrombie was using organ with his groups and keeping it very open and cool sounding. So, I guess this record is a nod to John. He was a big influence on me. I was fortunate to play and record with him before he passed away. That’s one of the reasons I included his song ‘Even Steven’ on the album.”

 

Elsewhere, tunes like the dark and dramatic title track which opens the record, right through to the lush, atmospheric closer “Lipe Cvatu,” in 7/8, are enrapturing without going too far astray, too deep into the margins. They are intoxicating without over-exerting. Micic’s Only Love Will Stay is a joyful experience and a stunning excursion into the mind of a truly original artist.

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

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

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

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

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