My name's Marcus Rosario and since late June of this year, I've been the host of One World, a weekly show devoted to all things world music that airs Wednesday nights into Thursday mornings from midnight until 2am PST. There's been a ton of amazing music I've been playing on the show and I'd like to let you know about some of my favorite new releases!
El Rego - El Rego (Daptone)
When it comes to Afro-soul, Theophile do Rego aka El Rego is one of the greats. With hugely varied influences in sound described as combining "traditional rhythms of Benin, John Lee Hooker-esque blues, Fela Kuti inspired Afrobeat, Afro-Cuban clave and straight up James Brown-style funk," this re-issue is definitely one for the books.
Adanowsky - Amador (Everloving)
If you've ever seen the hugely psychedelic movie Holy Mountain directed by Alejandro Jodorowsky, then you may have heard of his singer-songwriter son Adan. With this album being his US debut described as being surrealistic and eclectic, many of the songs are lovelorn and seductive, all sung in either English, French or Spanish.
Staff Benda Bilili - Très Très Fort (Crammed Discs)
This album is truly an astonishing piece of work as it was created by a group of paraplegic street musicians living in and around the zoo in Kinshasa, Congo. The level of organic talent and sound is definitively mesmerizing, so much that there has been a recent documentary made about them.
Joni Haastrup - Wake Up Your Mind (Tummy Touch / Soundway)
The Afro-soul sound could not become any more sweeter with this wondrous re-issue from the one they dubbed in 1970s West Africa as "Soul Brother Number One." Soulful and groovy in all its own right, this record is a timeless piece of work that captures one facet of a vibrant foundation when it comes to Nigerian music.
The Lijadu Sisters - Danger (KF)
Another re-issue of a classic! Originally released in 1976, these identical twins, also dubbed as the West African Pointer Sisters, provided a soundtrack of social commentary for what life was like in Nigeria at the time, largely addressing the political climate through their gorgeous harmonies backed up by some heavy Afro-rock beat headed by the late Biddy Wright.
San Diego New Jazz Music in the spotlight on The New Jazz Thing, Monday, November 7, 2011 6-8 PM PT!
Guitarist Nate Jarrell has a great new disc out, "The Next Chapter", and a CD release party this Friday, November 11, so we'll be chatting about the New with Nate at 6:40 PM PT!
Vocalist Leonard Patton's new "Expressions" has been out a week, we heard a lot from it at Anthology in October, and now we get to chat about this new collaboration with the great Geoffrey Keezer at 7:20 PM PT on TNJT!
New Keith Jarret, Manhanthappa...and San Diego's own Nate Jarrell (who will be on TNJT Monday 11/7 at 6:40 PM PT)...among some other great progressive, duo, debuts, and other great New Jazz Music! And being played for the first time on Jazz 88 on The New Jazz Thing, Monday, November 7, 2011 from 6-8 PM PT.
REZ ABBASI’S INVOCATION (FB, @RezTone)– “SUNO SUNO” (Progressive session, led by this guitarist, with an all-star band of progressive artists). AllABoutJazz (Something Else!): More important, in particular as it relates to this album, must have
been the impact of Coltrane—especially in the way this group often works
toward an almost unbridled release without losing musical coherence. That was the risk as Coltrane struggled through his spiritual awakening on the career-defining A Love Supreme,
and it remains so here—as Abbasi tries to blend his native country's
praise song forms and jazz. Invocation's exultations, in particular on
the more overtly Qawwali-influenced numbers like “Thanks for Giving" and
“Onus On Us," walk the same fine line—and they emerge with a statement
of similar artistic breadth, religious wonder and musical intrigue.
EMMET COHEN (@EmmetCohen)– “IN THE ELEMENT” (Debut release by this 20-year old pianist, mostly trio stuff, with trumpeter Greg Gisbert guesting on 3 tracks). AllAboutJazz.com (Edward Blanco): At the ripe old age of 21, jazz piano prodigy Emmet Cohen has already racked up an impressive list of awards among them, Downbeat's
Best Jazz Soloist and Best Jazz Combo (for the Emmet Cohen Trio),
placed first in the Kathleen T. and Philip B. Phillip's Piano
competition at University of West Florida and was selected as a finalist
for the 2011 American Pianist's Association's Cole Porter Fellowship.
MIKE DiRUBBO (FB, @MikeDiRubbo) & LARRY WILLIS – “FOUR HANDS, ONE HEART” (Sax/piano duet recording, doing mostly standards). JazzWrap (Stephan Moore): This is the first album on DiRubbo's own label and its a great way to begin. Four Hands, One Heartis
a wonderful contemporary album that merges both the talent of a
legendary pianist and the already accomplished and well respected
saxophonist. This is great stuff that deserves everyone's ears...
HARRIS EISENSTADT – “CANADA DAY II” (Drummer, leading a quintet, with a mix of contemporary and straight-ahead originals). AllAboutJazz.com (Mark Corroto): If you believe most recordings by drummer/composers are positive statements, then Harris Eisenstadt's Canada Day II is more than a glass half full. It is a brimming cup of music. The disc follows 2009's Canada Day, on Portugal's Clean Feed label, with the same lineup. The glue here is the perpetual groove, be it applied by the drummer,
bassist, or vibraphone as on "To Be," someone is always carrying the
freight. That makes for better solos and a crisp accessible sound.
KALI Z. FASTEAU (FB)– “AN ALTERNATE UNIVERSE” (Progressive, pianoless trio, recorded in the 90’s, newly released). Squidco: "A recording of three musicians with superlative and fascinating
careers. The musical lineage of multi-instrumentist and composer Kali.
Z. stems from her musician grandparents hosting sessions with the
Gershwin brothers and Kali's college and graduate studies of world music
and jazz. Her musical trajectory then flows through her marriage and
musical partnership with the great multi-instrumentist and composer Don
Rafael Garrett (he recorded 4 albums with John Coltrane), and decades of
living in 16 countries, leading ensembles of wonderful musicians,
recording some 18 albums of her world jazz, and performing on more than a
dozen instruments.On this recording, these extraordinary artists deliver their unique
powers to the collective sound, combining their creativity in fiery
sessions recorded in the first days of 1992. An Alternate Universe, finds these musicians roaring along the high energy road.
KEITH JARRETT – “RIO” (Double-disc solo piano improvisation concert, complete with humming). The Guardian (John Fordham): The story goes that Jarrett was on the phone to ECM boss Manfred Eicher
barely before the applause had died down, convinced this was his best
gig in years – and he's right. Warmer and less abstract than his
still-remarkable 2006 Carnegie Hall solo show, a constantly changing
(and totally improvised) soundscape of rocking African and Latin vamps,
fragile love songs, guitar-like blues and sparingly deployed free jazz, Rio represents Jarrett at his most exuberant.
NATE JARRELL (FB) – “THE NEXT CHAPTER” (Local guitarist, in an edgy outing, with a mix of originals and jazz tunes). San Diego Reader (Robert Bush): The Next Chapter is an excellent example of modern electric jazz guitar, which, in it's best moments, veers slightly to the left of center. Creative stuff, highly recommended.
RUDRESH MAHANTHAPPA (FB, @RudreshM)– “SAMDHI” (Typically progressive outing from this Indian saxophonist). AllAboutJazz.com (Mark F. Turner): About halfway through the aptly named "Killer," it becomes apparent that saxophonist Rudresh Mahanthappa's Samdhi
is up to something just a little different. Amid the track's impossible
changes and blistering tempo, the saxophonist's alto undergoes
acoustic-electric alterations that are processed through a laptop. Samdhi is the product of Mahanthappa's receiving a Guggenheim
Fellowship in 2008, which allowed him to explore the fusion of
electronic music, ancestral Indian music and jazz. It spawned a new
group with a number of early dates and the results are striking. From start to finish, the music never abandons its flavor. Stimulating,
open-minded, and never pretentious, this is Mahanthappa's most
accessible release to date.
JEREMY MONTEIRO – “COMPOSITIONS: GOLDEN YEAR INAUGURAL, VOL.1” (A variety of guest artists, performing his original compisitions). AllAboutJazz.com (Ian Patterson): Jeremy Monteiro has come a long way since starting out as a professional
jazz pianist when not quite seventeen, back in 1977. As a leader, he's
recorded over twenty albums, though it wasn't until Homecoming (Jazznote, 2007) that he released one of all-original compositions. Released as part of his fiftieth birthday celebration, the original
material here stretches from his much vaunted Montreux appearance in
1988 to a performance in Borneo in June, 2010. Whether playing a blues, a
lilting samba or soul-inflected jazz, or heating up the keys on a
straight-ahead workout, Monteiro's music always swings.
OSCAR PEREZ NUEVO COMIENZO – “AFROPEAN AFFAIR” (Straight-ahead originals, with a Latin vibe, 3 vocal tracks).
What a great way to spend Halloween...talking with Mark Dresser, a true innovator and pioneer in improvisational music and collaborative methods and technologies...a dream for a geek like me! In addition to the interview, here are a couple other bits about Telematics and the show this Wednesday, November 2, 2011 7PM at UCSD...
Here is Part 1 of a YouTube video of Mark and his collaborators preparing for and rehearsing a previous telematic performance event he chatted about in our interview, called Deep Tones for Peace...(and here's a link to a playlist of all three parts of Deep Tones For Peace)
Here's a video performance of Telemotions (a piece he also plays with Jen Shyu on "Synastry")...
Here's a performance by Mark Dresser and Jen Shyu...
Vocalist Kevyn Lettau dropped by the Jazz 88 studios of The New Jazz Thing on Monday, October 24, 2011 to chat about her new release "Drawn To You". Check out the interview in video and audio formats!
Here's what we're adding to the Jazz 88 Music Library this week and debuting on The New Jazz Thing with Vince Outlaw 6-8PM PT, Monday, October 31, 2011...spooky!
ERIK , CHARLSTON JAZZBRASIL – “ESSENTIALLY HERMETO” (Vibraphonist, leading a sextet of familiar names, in a Brazilian groove).
KEVIN CRABB – “WALTZ FOR DYLAN” (Drummer, leading a quartet, doing a live recording of originals).
CHICO HAMILTON – “REVELATION” (Venerable drummer, leading a sextet, doing all originals).
CHICO HAMILTON – “REVELATION-EP” (…with additional tracks on this one).
BOB JAMES/KEIKO MATSUI – “ALTAIR & VEGA” (Normally smooth-jazz pianists, collaborating on a 4-hands collection of originals, with one Bach tune).
DARREN JOHNSTON’S GONE TO CHICAGO – “THE BIG LIFT” (Trumpeter, leading a progressive session of originals and standards).
TAKUYA KURODA (FB, @TakuyaKuroda) – “EDGE” (Another great, straight-ahead session from this trumpeter, leading a quintet, doing mostly originals).
PAT MARTINO – “UNDENIABLE” (Groovin’, straight-ahead live recording, with Eric Alexander, Pat Bianchi and Tain Watts).
HENDRIK MEURKENS – “LIVE AT BYRD’S EYE” (Harmonica player, also playing vibes on Brazilian-influenced tunes).
MILES ESPANOL – “NEW SKETCHES OF SPAIN” (2 disc set of interpretations of “Sketches of Spain” and some originals by band members).
AL NAYLOR – “LEGACY” (Trumpeter, leading a quintet, in a straight-ahead session of mostly originals).
ORGANAMIX – “GROOVIN’ AT GROOVE JUNCTION” (Organ/guitar trio, doing a collection of standards).
AllAboutJazz.com (Ian Patterson): Groovin' at Groove Junction captures the trio, nominally led by veteran pianist/organistJeremy Monteiro, in a live setting in Kuala Lumpar running through a set of standards with great aplomb. Although Monteiro is known as a pianist, here he returns to his roots as he started out teaching Hammond over thirty years ago; there are few signs of rust. Conceived very much as a group of equal billing, Organamix is the latest in a long line of Hammond-based groups which stretches from Wild Bill Davis, through Jimmy Smith, Jack McDuff and on down to today's practitioners like Joey DeFrancesco and Jeppe Tuxen. To that list add Monteiro, and his partners Lim and Hong.
LEONARD PATTON – “EXPRESSIONS” (Local vocalist, backed by Geoffrey Keezer, doing a very nice collection of originals, jazz tunes and new standards).
HOUSTON PERSON – “SO NICE” (Straight-ahead mix of jazz tunes and standards).
Pat Launer's Center Stage
