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Monday, March 30, 2020
Mariea Antoinette’s “All My Strings’ pays tribute to the evolution and magic that strings contribute to music #jazz
The urban-jazz harpist’s “Loving You” courts programmer’s ardor in advance of the release of her third album, dropping April 24.
Mariea Antoinette is upping the ante. Her previous albums have been designed to place the classical harp in surprising, unimagined contexts: R&B, jazz and hip hop. The motif expands on her third outing, “All My Strings,” which drops April 24 from Infinity/Maasai Productions. Teaming with producer Allan Phillips, who wrote four songs for the album, Antoinette’s focus is vibrational, celebrating the progress and unique contributions made by stringed instruments in music.
“The idea was to create an organic sound where most of the instrumentation of the album is
Antoinette began telling the story a couple years ago when she released the album opener, “Overture,” as a single, which went Top 5 on the Billboard chart and was named Best Jazz Single by the Black Women in Jazz & the Arts Association. With sweeping strings that build to a dramatic crescendo over funky beats, the track provided an exciting preview of what was to come on “All My Strings.” Last fall, Antoinette provided a second glimpse with the release of “That Thing (Doo Woop),” a reinvention of the Lauryn Hill hit. A third sampling came when “Loving You” began collecting airplay and playlist adds last week. The single earned Most Added status at Billboard. Antoinette tells the story behind why she elected to record the Minnie Riperton signature tune.
“For years, Allan (Phillips) had the idea of recording a tribute to my first producer, the late Carl Evans, a founding member of the contemporary jazz group Fattburger. Carl had inspired countless musicians in Southern California and first introduced me and Allan. After years of searching, Allan suggested ‘Loving You.’ The original has a sublime effect that naturally seemed to work great with the harp. Then Allan gathered the surviving original members of Fattburger to record the song. We used a hallmark arrangement typical of Fattburger’s chart-topping style along with the string ensemble that appears throughout ‘All My Strings.’ The result is a fresh and exciting new version of a classic so dear to everyone’s heart. It also honors Carl who taught us to always spread love through our music - no matter what.”
Another compelling selection from the set is “Garden of Peace,” a soothing original spoken word number delivered by Antoinette over music by Lonnie Liston Smith.
“I believe in the healing power of music and spoken word where it drives all the tension from a room.
With spoken word, you can take people on an unforgettable journey through the power of words, something I do on all my projects. That was my intention with ‘Garden of Peace.’ Coupled with a pure harp solo, it creates a journey that is inspirational, creative and metaphysical. I love music that comes from an unknown place allowing you to simply close your eyes and listen.”
Antoinette wrote the album closer, “Gaia,” and spoke about its spontaneous origins.
“I was taking a break in the studio after we recorded ‘Sekmet: Lioness Goddess.’ I began playing the harp, channeling what was in my heart. Allan walked into the room and asked what I was playing. He said we had to record it. It wasn’t planned at all. Totally impromptu. Suddenly, 'Gaia’ was born.”
After earning a master’s degree in harp performance, Antoinette debuted as a solo artist in 2003 on the Evan’s-produced “Sexy Paradise.” She began serving as principal harpist with the Los Angeles Southeast Symphony Orchestra in 2007 and later played a private event for President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama. Antoinette also accompanied Ne-Yo during a BET Awards performance. Her 2015 “Straight From The Harp: Special Edition” album, produced by Phillips, went Top 5 on the Billboard chart. Antoinette’s honors include winning a 2018 Black Music Award and the Instrumentalist of the Year title from the San Diego Prestige Awards the same year. In addition to playing club, theater and festival dates with her own ensemble, Antoinette has toured with the female-powered supergroup Jazz in Pink.
“All My Strings” contains the following songs:
“Overture”
“Yearning For Your Love”
“All My Strings”
“Loving You”
“Ain’t Playin’”
“That Thing”
“Sekmet: Lioness Goddess”
“Garden Of Peace”
“Gaia”
For more information, please visit https://www.marieaantoinette.com.
Wednesday, March 25, 2020
Pierre Bensusan - "Azwan" Released 03/13 on Dadgad Music #jazz
World music fingerstyle guitar master Pierre Bensusan drops “Azwan” about our oneness and interconnectivity in the midst of a unifying global crisis
Best laid plans, right? After spending the last few years off the concert trail in order to meticulously craft a new album, “Azwan,” preceded by an accompanying book, “Pierre Bensusan Guitar Collection,” and the unveiling of a handmade Lowden Guitars signature model, all of which were to be supported by an extensive 110-date US and Canadian concert tour running from March 7 into July, world music fingerstyle guitar virtuoso Pierre Bensusan suddenly finds himself back home on French soil after having to pull the plug one week into the concert trek due to the Coronavirus outbreak. While the entire tour is being rebooked for 2021, until then, listeners will have to discover the magic and masterful musicianship showcased on the 12-track digital and CD release composed and coproduced by Bensusan for his 3DADGAD Vision label, which is distributed by MVD Entertainment Group.
The COVID-19 global pandemic that has ensnared humanity underscores the oneness of our world and our interlocked connectivity. That’s Bensusan’s message and the meaning behind “Azwan,” the award-winning artist’s 15th album that dropped March 13. The French-Algerian guitarist-vocalist said, “Along my life’s journey, I have experienced unity off and on, being more or less aware of the impact and influence of every action upon the entire universe. As time goes on, the more I feel connected to all people, animals and universally to the whole of nature. Being that we are all connected, my intention is that every action and behavior contributes, supports and adds value to our interconnectivity, especially through my music. It feels like a nurturing or even a healing process for me and those with whom I share the music.”
Voted by Guitar Player magazine readers as Best World Music Guitarist, Bensusan’s music is contemplative, wistful, sublime and prodigiously performed with inspiration rooted in nature. “The concept of ‘Azwan’ came from observing bees, those solar insects working in the darkness together as one, and by observing flocks of birds flying and dancing together as one. It has been an inspiring symbolic representation of the continuum of music. When seeing ‘Azwan’ written, it can evoke a place, a city or a mood, but when hearing it said out loud, it sounds like ‘as one.’ I’ve been contemplating all the music from ‘Azwan’ for years before actually recording it, taking time to allow all the notes to come together as one.”
Bensusan is a storyteller, using expressive and lyrical acoustic guitar parlance and ethereal vocalization to allure, transfix and transport. “‘Azwan’ is primarily a solo instrumental album on which the guitar is conceived as an orchestra, delivering melody, bass, chords and counterpoint in the same space. To it, we add some vocal elements and several collaborations with guest musicians,” said Bensusan who has lived in Paris since age four.
“Azwan” opens with “Fils de la Rose,” a fragrant guitar and violin bouquet that welcomes the musical journey prepared to blossom. “Optimystical” is a seamless swoon of exquisite guitar, atmospheric vocalization and even sweet whistled melodies. On the title track, Bensusan’s simple, meditative and evocative fretwork dispenses poise, hope and grace. “Abeilles” (“Bees” in English) enchants with a touch of celestial vocal harmonization and string accoutrements. Bensusan deploys an endless array of dexterous fretwork on “Balkangeles,” which includes a special appearance by French guitarist Jean-Marie Ecay, who coproduced “Azwan.” Bensusan indulges his wanderlust on “Return to Ireland” and seductively romances with a Latin flair on “Without You.” On “Wee Dander,” Bensusan seems to delight by deftly constructing melodic licks over complex guitar rhythms at constantly vacillating cadences. Adding Christophe Cravero on alto and violin and Stephane Kericky on upright bass lend dramatic sensibilities to “Dia Libre.” Bensusan’s music is genre-defying and genre-uniting, which “Portnoo” exemplifies in its unique alchemy. The artist sings in French on the fun and playful romp “Corps Vaudou” and closes the set poignantly with the sensitive “Manitowoc,” an Indian title meaning “land of the great spirits.”
Teaching himself to play guitar at age eleven after four years of piano training, Bensusan inked his first record deal when he was 17, winning the Rose d’Or at the Montreux Festival for his 1975 debut album, “Près de Paris.” More recently, he won an Independent Music Award in 2014 for “Encore: Live,” a triple live record. He’s regarded as one of the greatest acoustic guitar players of the 21st century, known for his immense sound vocabulary utilizing hues of world music, new age, jazz, classical, traditional, folk and pop with French, Arabic, Latin and Celtic cultural references.
“Azwan” contains the following songs:
“Fils de la Rose”
“Optimystical”
“Azwan”
“Abeilles”
“Balkangeles”
“Return to Ireland”
“Without You”
“Wee Dander”
“Dia Libre”
“Portnoo”
“Corps Vaudou”
“Manitowoc”
For more information, please visit https://www.pierrebensusan.com.
Monday, March 23, 2020
Smooth Jazz Chart - Weekly Top 20 - March 23, 2020 #jazz
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Gina Kronstadt - "October Comes Too Soon" - Released 03/20/20 on FallOff Records #jazz
“The Threat” is real
Jazz singer-songwriter Gina Kronstadt’s new single, “The Threat of Love,” earns most added honors at Billboard as her new album and video arrive
Most of us have been tempted to fall for the wrong person at one time or another. Jazz singer-songwriter Gina Kronstadt journals an alluring temptation on “The Threat of Love,” the first single from her third album, “October Comes Too Soon,” which dropped last Friday on FallOff Records. Kronstadt wrote and produced the storybook musing on love, intimate relationships and astute observations. The single earned most added status on the Billboard chart in its debut week at radio. Debuting the same week was the sensual black and white video for “The Threat of Love” that was lensed on the streets of Los Angeles (https://youtu.be/OHpohgM9tsU).
Kronstadt writes music as therapy – mental and spiritual - and she composed the eight songs that comprise “October Comes Too Soon” during a challenging eight-month period while recovering from multiple shoulder surgeries. She cleverly uses “real” lyrics and her soothing-caress-of-a-voice to capture and convey honest thoughts and emotions, feelings of vulnerability and heartache, and ruminations on love, bliss and politics. When it was time to lay the tracks, Kronstadt called upon noted musicians to vividly illumine her tales: keyboardists John Beasley and Nicholas Semrad, bassist Benjamin Shepherd, drummer Joel Taylor, trumpeter Michael Stever and saxophonist/woodwind player Bob Sheppard. A first-call violin player who has performed on an extraordinary library of crème de la crème recording projects and concert stages, Hollywood box office hits and landmark television series, Kronstadt helmed the 12-piece string section that draped the tracks with lush backdrops, adding depth, drama and elegance.
While the first single garners attention from smooth/contemporary jazz radio programmers, cuts from “October Comes Too Soon” have also been proliferating playlists at a second radio format: straight-ahead jazz radio. In fact, Kronstadt’s disc is already making its way up the Jazz Week chart.
Kronstadt is eager to share the music from “October Comes Too Soon” with listeners live on stage although current global circumstances may force the delay of her album release concert slated for April 23 at Feinstein’s at Vitello’s in Studio City.
Below please find a taste of several early album reviews:
“Giving a new dimension to jazz/cabaret on this set of originals, this jazzy lady…is a marvel of fearlessness on all fronts…A jazz vocal date in the classic sense, this is the real deal. Hot.” – Midwest Record
“‘October Comes Too Soon’ is a rather luscious 8-song collection of songs that largely find Gina musing on the nexus between what makes great friendships work between men and women, and the x-factor that looms over the possibilities for the deeper intimacy of love.” – Exclusive Magazine
“She combines her soft voice with elements from jazz, sophisticated pop and funky R&B grooves…a crossover jazz album.” – Keys and Chords
For more information, please visit http://ginakronstadt.com.
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Monday, March 16, 2020
Smooth Jazz Chart - Weekly Top 20 - March 16, 2020 #jazz
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THE WORLD'S ONLY SMOOTH JAZZ ALBUM CHART - FORMERLY THE GAVIN REPORT Monday, March 09, 2020
Smooth Jazz Chart - Weekly Top 20 - March 9, 2020 #jazz
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THE WORLD'S ONLY SMOOTH JAZZ ALBUM CHART - FORMERLY THE GAVIN REPORT Tuesday, March 03, 2020
Monday, March 02, 2020
Cool jazz vibes embodying “the joy of living” #jazz Vibes Alive to drop their third album, “Vibrasonic,” on March 6
Vibes Alive to drop their third album, “Vibrasonic,” on March 6;
the title track was already added to SiriusXM’s Watercolors playlist.
Utilizing vibraphone and guitar as lead instrumental voices isn’t just an unusual pairing on the contemporary jazz scene, but together they form an organically warm and earthy sound. Cast in settings etched from impassioned fusion expeditions and soul-powered funk grooves, Vibes Alive’s third album, “Vibrasonic,” is a refreshing listen. Dropping March 6 from Swingding Records, the 10-tracker written and produced by vibraphonist Dirk Richter and guitarist Randall Crissman is preceded by the invigorating title track, which has already been added to the SiriusXM Watercolors playlist and earned Most Added status on the Billboard singles chart.
Making albums with the frequency of a total eclipse, each Vibes Alive outing is equally rare and special. If there was a third member of the duo, it would be Jeff Lorber, the GRAMMY-winning keyboardist and fusion pioneer who has joined Richter and Crissman for all three Vibes Alive albums. Lorber plays keys, synthesizers, piano and synth bass on “Vibrasonic” and mixed a few of the tracks. Legendary drummer Vinnie Colaiuta anchors the rhythm section with Jimmy Johnson on bass and Luis Conte on percussion.
“Vibes Alive is a creative endeavor based on the friendship that I’ve had with Randall since we met when we were in college. Randall and I always got off on the way the Hammond organ, pianos and guitars sounded. Then getting into mallet percussions, specifically the vibraphone, because of the frequencies that are created – the overtones – the possibilities for harmonic enhancement, that kind of takes you to the next level. We wanted the music to be alive, to be spontaneous and creative and we want that creativity to lean into the idea of a good universe, of love for the planet and of love for your neighbor. Vibes Alive is that connection between what you love and what you feel most in love with and how to be creative in the midst,” said Richter about the duo’s inception and purpose.
Each Vibes Alive album takes years to construct, in part because Crissman is a prolific, in demand Emmy nominated composer of television soundtracks. There was an 11-year gap between their 1997 self-titled debut and the release of their sophomore set, “After Hours.” A dozen years later, here comes “Vibrasonic.” According to Richter, the new recording is purposeful.
“As it is these days for everybody, life’s kind of hard. We need things without bias, without judgement; open our hearts to love and sonic enhancement for the sake of healing. These frequencies and rhythms are the most base and obvious connection to our souls.”
“Sweet Vibes” opens and establishes the tone for the album. Lorber’s Minimoog intertwines with Richter’s vibraphone, adding spacy dimensions to the soul-jazz odyssey. “Vibrasonic” is a propulsive rocket ride into the outer orbit. Going downtempo, “Windchime” signals a return to the gravitational force of earth with Crissman’s electric fretwork and Richter’s vibes forming a magnetic melody. Richter’s vibes mesmerize and haunt “Earthtones,” which explores a frenetic Colaiuta-Johnson pocket. Crissman uses a nylon string guitar to pour sensitive hues into “Waterfall.” The welcoming “Going Home” spreads cheer and comfort, affording the players ample room to relish the homecoming. Vibes and guitar engage in imaginative discourse on “Daydream.” “Rainy Day” sets a contemplative tone. Lorber’s storming organ helps power “Spy,” a fun and mysterious vibraphonic frolic that breaks into a swinging jazz bridge. The record closes with “Guitar Noir,” a hypnotic number penned by Crissman, who shines on guitars, keys and bass.
“Randall and I have had this experience connecting with people – the musicians we record with - and have them willingly connect with us,” concludes Richter. “We have this opportunity to give love to the world, and to see what the world gives back is the greatest joy. It’s like a sign on a post that tells you you’re going in the right direction because everything is a blessing and it moves your heart. It’s almost like everything becomes a miracle. You know you’re in good company. You step back, take a deep breath…that’s Vibes Alive. It’s the joy of living.”
“Vibrasonic” includes the following songs:
“Sweet Vibes”
“Vibrasonic”
“Windchime”
“Earthtones”
“Waterfall”
“Going Home”
“Daydream”
“Rainy Day”
“Spy”
“Guitar Noir”