CD Box Set CD of the Month - "Herbie Hancock: The Complete Columbia Album Collection"

CD Box Set CD of the Month 
Herbie Hancock: "The Complete Columbia Album Collection 1972-1988" (Sony)

Historical CD of the Month - "Art Pepper: Unreleased Art Vol. VIII"

Historical CD of the Month
Art Pepper: "Unreleased Art Vol. VIII - Live at the Winery, September 6, 1976" (Widow's Taste) 2013

This recording was made from the soundboard at a jazz festival held at the Paul Masson Winery on the afternoon of Sept. 6, 1976
Featuring: Art Pepper (alto sax), Smith Dobson (acoustic piano), Jim Nichols (acoustic bass) & Brad Bilhorn (drums)
Label Graphic by Tonia Carnasale
Logo by K.C. Kyle
All Artwork & Photos: Laurie Pepper
Mastering by Wayne Peet Newzone Studio

Live at the Winery, the eighth consecutive release in a series of critically acclaimed, previously unheard Art Pepper recordings on the Widow's Taste label, was just released on November 5. Laurie Pepper began her company in 2006 in order, she said, to unearth previously unreleased Art and share it with his loyal and very grateful fans.

This 1976 concert dates from the exhilarating early days of the alto saxophonist's last comeback. "I thought it was time to focus on the music Art made with some of his alternate sidemen," says Laurie. "I also chose it because I listened to the first track, 'Caravan,' and it knocked me out. I knew it had to be heard."

Recorded (anonymously) from the soundboard during a Labor Day jazz festival at the Paul Masson Winery, in Saratoga, California, this set features Art's Northern California band. He'd first encountered them in 1974 at Pete Douglas's Beach House -- aka Bach Dancing and Dynamite -- up in Half Moon Bay. He fell in love at once with pianist Smith Dobson (pictured below), a jazz educator and local performer who had worked with almost every jazz star who came through The Reunion in San Francisco and other Northern California venues. Art worked with him quite a few times and talked about taking him on the road. (Listen to Art's heartfelt little speech right after they play "Rainy Day.") The other band members were regulars Smith worked with: Jim Nichols on bass and young Brad Bilhorn on drums.

This recording was made on the last day of a three-day gig, so the band was tight and relaxed. Art began the set with the aforementioned "Caravan," which seems, despite its quaintly Oriental or Saharan references, absolutely hurtling through a Latin landscape. That's followed by one of Art's most beautiful and idiosyncratic originals, "Ophelia." Written for Art's drug addicted second wife, it's a tune that is, by turns, tender, swinging, wildly raging, and finally as fresh and pretty as the morning after a storm. The third tune, "Here's That Rainy Day," is a classic ballad Art played frequently in those days -- during which he was still earning part of his living working "casuals," Bar Mitzvahs, and weddings. It was a regularly included standard at those functions, and Art loved to play it. Ballads were his forte, after all, and this time it moves him more than usual. You can hear his voice break as he singles out Smith Dobson's solo.

If "Rainy Day" is heavenly, the next track is earthy. At casuals Art played "Ode to Billie Joe" and "Watermelon Man" for dancing and enjoyed that tremendously. "What Laurie Likes," his own original, reflects the joy he got from playing funk. But as his jazz comeback accelerated, he succumbed to his public's perception of "jazz rock" as too simple and passé and dropped that kind of thing from his repertoire, so we only get to hear this funky stuff in concerts like this one, from the '70s.

Art usually ended his sets with "Straight Life," his original, which had become his signature. This one is as breakneck and exciting as can be. And then, as an encore we get another Pepper signature, a slow, sweet blues ("Saratoga Blues").

Widow's Taste Records is doing well, and Laurie hasn't come to the end of what she thinks the public needs to hear. Her next CD release will not be entirely "unheard." She'll respond to the pressure of the fans and put out the complete blues and ballads set released in by Omnivore in 2011 on vinyl as "Neon Art." She says she also wants to release a DVD of a rare Pepper performance in Norway, but she'll have to go to a public funding source to pay for the expensive sync licensing she'd have to deal with. At that point, she threatens to also release on DVD her own Art Pepper Movie which, for the past eight years, has had to take a backseat to the record company.

In the meantime, Laurie has completed her memoir of her life with Art: ART: Why I Stuck with a Junkie Jazzman. It will be available both in print and as an ebook and will be published in the spring of 2014. 

 

Web Site: www.artpepper.net
Blog: www.artpeppermusic.blogspot.com

Latin Jazz CD of the Month - "Salsa De La Bahia"

Latin Jazz CD of the Month
"Salsa De La Bahia - A Collection of SF Bay Area Salsa and Latin Jazz" (Patois Records) 2013

A groundbreaking anthology of afro-cuban music, "Salsa De La Bahia" reveals the hidden history of tropical heat from the San Francisco Bay Area. A 2-CD companion piece to the upcoming documentary film "The Last Mambo," featuring latin music giants Orestes Vilató, John Santos, Jesus Diaz, John Calloway, and Benny Velarde.
Cover and Back Cover Artwork by Pete Escovedo.
Liner Notes by Wayne Wallace, Jesse "Chuy" Varela and Willie Colon

Rating: ***** (musical performance & sonic quality)

Rather than dwelling on the reasons why the San Francisco Bay Area’s longtime role as a creative hothouse for Latin jazz and salsa has been overlooked and undervalued for half a century, trombonist/arranger Wayne Wallace and filmmaker Rita Hargraves decided to let the music speak for itself. Released on Wallace’s Patois label, it's a two-CD companion piece to Hargraves’ celebratory documentary "The Last Mambo," which traces the evolution of the Bay Area’s Latin music scene from Cal Tjader, Benny Velarde, and the Escovedo Brothers to present day masters such as John Santos, Jesus Diaz, and Anthony Blea y Su Charanga (with violinist Alfredo De La Fe, who recorded with Manolo Badrena in the 70s). "The Last Mambo" DVD will be released on Patois in spring 2014.

More than a historical survey of the singular sounds that have emerged from the Bay Area, the album opens and closes with three thrilling pieces recorded especially for the project by Estrellas De La Bahia, an all-star orchestra encompassing many of the scene’s key players. The package includes extensive liner notes by Jesse “Chuy” Varela, who has incisively chronicled the Bay Area scene for more than three decades as a journalist (JazzTimes, Latin Beat, The San Francisco Chronicle) and DJ and music director for KCSM.
“Rita was inspired to make The Last Mambo by the closing of Jelly’s,” Wallace says, referring to one of several popular San Francisco salsa spots that closed in rapid succession in 2010. “I suggested we do something that documented and captured the whole scene. We’re calling this ‘volume one’ because we had to leave some bands out, like Conjunto Céspedes, but we were able to really capture what was a golden age, and to show what’s going on in our scene today (which very well may look like a golden age in retrospect).”

The fact that all of the bands featured on the CD are active, save for the Machete Ensemble, speaks to the scene’s vitality. At the same time, all the music, except for the three Estrellas De La Bahia tracks, was originally released on indie labels, which goes a long way toward explaining why so much of it stayed under the national media radar.

The album opens with “Canto, Clave y Candela,” a benediction by Edgardo Cambom that serves as a roll call for the album’s guiding spirits. Wallace’s “El Espirtu Del Mambo” provides a vital survey of the scene’s essential voices, with brief, incisive solos by Bahia bandleaders (John Santos and Jesus Diaz) and invaluable sidemen (such as pianist Murray Low, bassist David Belove, and saxophonist Melecio Magdaluyo). The project closes with “Rumba Para Paul,” a beautiful and soulful tribute to the beloved drummer Paul van Wageningen, an integral part of the Bay Area scene for more than three decades until his death in 2012.

Part of what makes the Bay Area’s Latin music scene so distinct from New York or Miami is the lack of a Caribbean critical mass. The region received an infusion of Cuban rhythms in the early 1950s via vibraphonist/drummer Cal Tjader, who became fascinated with Cuban grooves as a member of the George Shearing Quintet. When Tjader launched his own Latin jazz band in the early 1950s he ensured a steady flow of top Cuban percussion talent to the Bay Area, most notably masters such as Armando Peraza, Mongo Santamaria, and Willie Bobo.

The Panamanian-born percussionist Benny Velarde was present at the creation, recording with Tjader on his classic 1954 Mambo albums for Fantasy. He’s represented here by two tracks with his Su Super Combo. The following generation, who came of age in the 1970s, is vividly captured via tracks by flutist/composer John Calloway and percussionist John Santos, whose improvisation-laced Machete Ensemble embodied the experimental edge of the Bay Area Latin music scene during its two-decade run.

As the name suggests, Salsa De La Bahia doesn’t focus only on the Latin jazz side of the equation. The salseros share the spotlight, with hard-charging work by Santana timbalero Karl Perazzo’s Avance, Cuban percussionist Carlos Caro’s Vission Latina, Uruguyan percussionist Edgardo Cambon’s Edgardo y Su Candela, and Louie Romero y Su Grupo Mazacote. “I was looking to showcase the diversity of the scene,” Wallace says. “A central theme of the project is the synergy between the dance community and the musicians. I wanted to highlight all of the colors. Everyone who recorded salsa also plays Latin jazz. You can’t disconnect the two things.”

With less pressure to stay in fashion, older styles have flourished in the Bay Area. Orquesta la Moderna Tradición, an 11-piece charanga ensemble co-led by Cuban percussionist and dancer Roberto Borrell and violinist Tregar Otton, focuses on stately danzón, a 19th century style that has largely disappeared. But one shouldn’t overstate the divide between the East and West Coast. Before he moved to the Bay Area in 1981 to join Santana, legendary Cuban timbalero Orestes Vilató helped found contemporary New York salsa through his seminal work with the Fania All Stars, Ray Barretto, Ruben Blades, Celia Cruz, and Johnny Pacheco; not to mention Santana and even Annette Peacock. His piece “Toca Vilató” is a tour de force arranged by the great pianist Rebeca Mauleón (who is a shoe-in for inclusion on volume 2), with whom I fall in love after seeing her on the "Latina Familia" video project with Tito Puente, Pete Escovedo & Sheila E. The underrated tenor sax player Justo Almario also shines on this track.

A later wave of Latin American artists helped invigorate the Bay Area scene. Cuban percussionists Carlos Caro and Jesus Diaz both brought new rhythmic information directly from the source when the settled near San Francisco. But one vitally important facet that can’t be covered by the CD also helps explain the high level of Latin jazz creativity in the Bay Area, namely a widespread commitment to passing on hard-won knowledge. Many of the players documented on Salsa De La Bahia are influential educators, particularly John Santos, John Calloway, Jesus Diaz, and Wayne Wallace.

Only a streak of modesty could have kept Wallace from featuring his own work more prominently, as he could have easily included numerous tracks from his own Grammy-nominated albums. Steeped in jazz and R&B, the trombonist followed his passion for Afro-Caribbean music to Cuba, where he made several trips to study with top players. Over the past three decades, he’s been an essential force on the Bay Area’s Latin music scene through his work as an improviser, arranger, producer, and music director of landmark bands such as Pete Escovedo Orchestra, the Machete Ensemble, and Conjunto Céspedes. His work as an arranger and player is well represented here, but he was determined to make a compelling case for the depth and breadth of creativity on the Bay Area’s Latin music scene.


“These people are alive and the music is present,” Wallace says. “John Santos and John Calloway are at the height of their careers. So much great music has come out of this funny little outpost for Cuban music, where so many of us have gone down there and brought back contemporary and archaic strains of the tradition. We don’t have an overt Cuban population but the Bay Area really embraced the music, and Salsa De La Bahia offers a good place to start checking it out.”

Blu-spec CD of the Month - "Wayne Shorter: Native Dancer"

Blu-spec CD of the Month
Wayne Shorter: "Native Dancer" (Columbia/Sony) 1975/2013

Rating: ***** (musical performance & sonic quality)

Produced by Jim Price
Recorded September, 1974 @ Village Recorders (Los Angeles)
Engineered by Robert Fraboni (assisted by Joe Tuzen)
Photos: Kenneth McGowan
Featuring: Wayne Shorter (soprano & tenor saxophones), Milton Nascimento (acoustic guitar, vocals on "Ponta de Areia," "Tarde," "Miracle of the Fishes," "From The Lonely Afternoons" and "Lilia"), Herbie Hancock (acoustic & electric pianos), Wagner Tiso (electric piano, organ), Dave McDaniel (electric bass), Robertinho Silva (drums), Airto Moreira (percussion), Jay Graydon (electric bass & electric guitar), David Amaro (acoustic & electric guitars)

In a few words: Wayne Shorter's best solo album ever, including the best five tracks ever recorded by Milton Nascimento in the USA (although Milton's self-titled debut LP for A&M, recorded in Malibu in 1976 with Shorter, Hancock, Airto, Robertinho, Hugo Fattoruso, Raul de Souza, Novelli, Toninho Horta and Maria de Fatima Fattoruso is splendid too). Besides Milton's tunes, the session also includes three beautiful compositions by Shorter: the etheral ballad "Diana" (dedicated to Airto & Flora Purim's daughter, later covered on VSOP's "Tempest on The Colosseum") and two themes that became contemporary jazz classics: "Beauty and The Beast" and "Ana Maria" (a quasi-bossa dedicated to Shorter's Portuguse wife). The date closes with a Herbie Hancock ballad, "Joanna's Theme." Timeless. PS: David Amaro, if you read this, I would like to sign you for my JSR label. Just drop me a note and we'll do an album.

Blu-ray Audio of the Month - "Diana Krall: The Look of Love"

Blu-ray Audio of the Month
Diana Krall: "The Look of Love" (Verve) 2001/2013

Arranged & Conducted by Claus Ogerman
Produced by Tommy LiPuma
Recorded & Mixed by Al Schmitt
Featuring: Diana Krall, John Pisano, Christian McBride, Jeff Hamilton, Peter Erskine, Russel Malone, Luis Conte, Paulinho da Costa et al

R.I.P.: Chico Hamilton

born Foreststorn Hamilton on September 20, 1921 in Los Angeles, CA;
died November 25, 2013 in New York, NY)

http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/music/posts/la-et-ms-jazz-great-chico-hamilton-dies-at-92-20131126,0,333720.story#axzz2nILvgRzt

West Coast jazz great Chico Hamilton dies at 92

Chico Hamilton's music career began with some notable high school classmates including future legends in their own right, Dexter Gordon and Charles Mingus. (Susan Walsh / Associated Press / June 22, 2004)

By Chris Barton for the Los Angeles Times

November 26, 2013, 9:10 a.m.

Bandleader, drummer and NEA jazz master Chico Hamilton has died. He was 92 years old.

Born Foreststorn Hamilton in Los Angeles in 1921, Hamilton's music career began with some notable high school classmates including future legends in their own right, Dexter Gordon and Charles Mingus. He eventually went on to perform and tour with Lester Young, Lena Horne and Gerry Mulligan before putting together his first quintet in 1955.

A landmark group that forged the sound of West Coast jazz while featuring the reeds of Buddy Collette, guitarist Jim Hall, Carson Smith on bass and cellist Fred Katz, the group evolved through a wealth of jazz talent, including Eric Dolphy, Gabor Szabo and Charles Lloyd, who joined the band in 1960.

Hamilton's profile was such that he eventually felt the pull of Hollywood, and his group made a notable cameo in "Sweet Smell of Success" in 1957, which starred Tony Curtis and Burt Lancaster and also featured Hamilton's music. He later wrote the soundtrack for Roman Polanski's thriller "Repulsion" in 1965.
Hamilton continued leading a number of ensembles, including a soul-jazz album featuring Larry Coryell, "The Dealer," in 1966 and later the group Euphoria in the '80s and '90s. He also moved into education, teaching at the Parsons New School of Jazz in New York City and the Mannes College of Music at the New School University. 

He was named an NEA Jazz Master in 2004 and continued to record up to his 90th birthday in 2011.
Hamilton's death was confirmed this morning by his nephew, Raoul Hamilton. Below, listen to a clip of Hamilton's first, chamber-leaning quintet performing the contemplative piece, "The Wind."

Blu-ray of the Month - "Santana & McLaughlin: Live at Montreux"

Blu-ray of the Month
Carlos Santana & John McLaughlin: "Invitation To Illumination - Live at Montreux 2011" (Eagle Vision) 2013

Rating:
***** (musical performance & sonic quality)
**** (video editing)

Chairman & Executive Producer for Montreux Sounds: Claude Nobs
Produced by Carlos Santana & John McLaughlin
Executive Producers for Eagle Rock: Terry Shand & Geoff Kempin
Packaging Design: James McAllister

On July 1st, 2011, when Claude Nobs was still alive, the Montreux Jazz Festival hosted the reunion of two master guitarists: Carlos Santana and John McLaughlin presented their "Invitation To Illumination"  concert, finally released now in 2013. Both musicians have been regulars at Montreux across the years but this was the first time they headlined their own concert together. The show featured most of the tracks from their landmark 1973 album for Columbia, "Love Devotion Surrender" (including John Coltrane's classics "Naima" and "A Love Supreme" plus "Let Us Go Into The House of Lord") mixed in with a wealth of other material like Pharoah Sanders/Leon Thomas' "The Creator Has A Master Plan" (from Sanders' 1969 gem "Karma" for Impulse!) The evening was a showcase of supreme musical virtuosity and spirituality and typified the approach of these two great artists.

DVD of the Month - "Fourplay: Live in Tokyo"

DVD of the Month
Fourplay: "Live in Tokyo with New Japan Philharmonic Orchestra" (Fourplay/GRP Studios) 2013

Rating: ***** (musical performance & sonic quality)

Featuring: Bob James (piano), Nathan East (electric bass & vocal), Harvey Mason (drums) & Chuck Loeb (electric guitar)
Total Time: 91 minutes
Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround, NTSC
Arranged by Bob James
Orchestrations by Bob James, Jeremy Lubbock et al
Conducted by Taizo Takemoto

Produced by Kohshiro Yamashita of WOWOW, Japan
Executive Producers: Sonny Abelardo & Sakae Kobayashi
On line Editing and MA: Hideki Matsui & Akihiko Numata
Mixed by Ken Freeman
Recorded live @ The Sumida Triphony Hall (Tokyo, Japan)

SHM-CD of the Month - "Till Brönner"

SHM-CD of the Month
Till Brönner: "Till Brönner" (Verve) 2013

Featuring: Till Brönner (trumpet & flugelhorn, brass and woodwind arrangements), Magnus Lindgren (tenor saxophone, flute, bass clarinet, brass and woodwind arrangements), Roberto Di Gioia (Fender Rhodes, analog synthesizers), Jasper Soffers (Fender Rhodes), Bruno Müller (guitars), Albert Johnson & Christian von Kaphengst (electric bass), Matteo Scrimali & Wolfgang Haffner (drums), Roland Peil & Liam Mario (percussion), Tilmann Dehnhard (flutes), Nan Schwartz (string arrangements, conductor), Stefan Pintev, Rodrigo Reichel, Boris Bachmann, Rukandra Klein, Juliane Merse, Alexandra Psareva,Maja Hunziker, Veronika Passin & Alexander Affanasiev (violin), Erik Wenbo Ku & Thomas Depen (viola), Alexander Bagrintsev & Sebastian Gaede (cello)

Produced by Till Brönner, Samon Kawamura & Roberto Di Gioia
Recorded by Arnie Schumann @ Hansa Studio & Till's Studio (Berlin, Germany)
Strings Recorded by Arne Schumann & Sven Kohlwage @ Gaga Studio (Hamburg, Germany)
Mixed by Arne Schumann @ Schumann&Bach (Berlin)
Mastered by Götz-Michael Rieth @ Eastside Mastering Studios (Berlin)
Copyist: Florian Höfner
Photos: Andreas H. Bitesnich
Design: Büro Dirk Rudolph

Till Brönner, the brilliant German jazz trumpeter who remains ignored by U.S. audiences and press despite a hugely successful career in Europe, released his latest project (a self-titled album) last year. Now it comes out also on SHM-CD in Japan. The project, inspired by Creed Taylor's legendary CTI label, including some lush string orchestrations a la Claus Ogerman/Don Sebesky by the brilliant LA-based arranger Nan Schwartz, is also a heartfelt tribute to Till's idol Freddie Hubbard, who reached the apex of his career at CTI. Curiously, since Till Brönner records for Verve Germany, the album cover includes the logo of that famous label, another company that Taylor popularized (during the '60s, before the CTI era).

The repertoire includes Brönner's "F.F.H. (For Freddie Hubbard)" and a rendition of Hubbard's "Gibraltar" (originally recorded by tenor sax master Stanley Turrentine on "Salt Song," and later revisited by Hubbard himself on some live dates).

There are also hauting takes on the gorgeous ballads "Once Upon A Summertime" (the first tune ever composed by ever Michel Legrand, back in 1954, under the original title "La Valse des Lilas", and a definitive proof that the French maestro is a genius!) and "Lazy Afternoon," recorded for CTI by Jackie & Roy on "Time & Love", but covered by Hubbard, some years later, for the best album of his Columbia years, "The Love Connection," arranged & produced by Claus Ogerman.

Till always loved both songs, and previously recorded "Once Upon A Summertime" in another superb project, "Love Is What Stays," which he produced (and Nan Schwartz arranged) for Mark Murphy in 2007.

When I first saw the tracklist of Till's new album, I said to myself: "what do he and Nan think they can do once again with this ballad?" Now I know the answer and can assure you: the best vocal version ever of "Once Upon A Summertime" is on Mark Murphy's CD; and the best instrumental ever is on Till's new CD.

Vocal CD of the Month - "Ed Reed: I'm A Shy Guy"

Vocal Jazz CD of the Month
Ed Reed: "I'm A Shy Guy - A Tribute To The King Cole Trio & Their Music" (Blue Shorts Records) 2013

Rating: **** (musical performance & sonic quality)

Featuring: Ed Reed (vocals), Randy Porter (acoustic piano), Anton Schwartz (tenor sax), Jamie Fox (electric guitar), John Wiitala (acoustic bass) & Akira Tana (drums)
Produced by Ed & Diane Reed
Co-Producer: Laurie Antonioli
Executive Producers: Marjorie Slabach & Dianne Safholm
Musical Direction & Arranger: Randy Porter
Recorded & Mixed by Dan Feiszli  @ 25th Street Studios (Oakland, CA) on February 19 & 20, 2013
Mastered by Jeremy Goody
Front & Back Cover Photos: Irene Young
CD Tray Photo: Chuck Gee
Graphic Design: Cheryl Lynn F. Herrmann

In choosing the repertoire for I'm a Shy Guy, his fourth album, the acclaimed Bay Area jazz vocalist Ed Reed reached way back to an early inspiration and musical hero: Nat King Cole and the King Cole Trio. "Nobody else sounded like that," Reed recalls, "and the musicianship was just fantastic." Reed's affinity with the material is obvious from the first notes of the new CD, released by the singer's Blue Shorts label.

"Once Ed got settled in on that first day in the studio, the 'first takes' started coming one after the other," says vocalist and educator Laurie Antonioli, who co-produced the date with Ed and his wife, Diane Reed. "He'd do a song and my comment was: "That's as good as I can imagine the song sounding. Let's move on while you're on a roll!' And so he did. The end result is a recording that is completely fluid and swinging."

Reed pays homage to the King Cole Trio with 13 songs the group recorded during the 1940s, plus the post-trio Nat King Cole favorite "Unforgettable" from 1951. The song selection includes Reed's distinctive treatments of the trio hits "That Ain't Right," "I'm Lost," "Straighten Up and Fly Right," "I Just Can't See for Lookin'," "It's Only a Paper Moon," and "I'm a Shy Guy," as well such lesser-known trio gems as "Baby, Baby All the Time," "Is You Is or Is You Ain't My Baby," "Meet Me at No Special Place," "'Tis Autumn," and "This Will Make You Laugh."

"I revisited over 200 tunes recorded by the Trio," says Reed, now 84, "and it was difficult trying to narrow them down to just a few." Empathetic support is supplied by Reed's longtime accompanists of choice: pianist Randy Porter, guitarist Jamie Fox, bassist John Wiitala, drummer Akira Tana, and tenor saxophonist Anton Schwartz.

As a teenager in Los Angeles, Reed was an ardent fan of the King Cole Trio and had the opportunity to see them perform at his school, Jordan High in Watts. "I wanted to be just like him," Ed recalls. But after the concert, "seeing Nat in person, I was filled with such awe that when he spoke to me and held out his hand, I was too shy to even say hello, and I couldn't even shake his hand."

 

Reed's path to his current profession as a jazz vocalist was circuitous, even torturous. A 40-year heroin addiction undermined attempts to launch a singing career. He was in and out of prison during much of the 1950s and '60s, yet managed to continue singing. During his last of his three stretches at San Quentin, he performed with the Warden's Band, a 17-piece jazz orchestra that also included saxophonist Art Pepper.

He got into recovery from alcohol and other drugs in 1986, and by the early '90s had started singing again in public. In 2005 he attended JazzCamp West, where instructor Peck Allmond heard student Reed at a fireside jam session. The singer made such a strong impression on Allmond that the multi-instrumentalist, along with drummer Bud Spangler, ended up producing Ed Reed Sings Love Stories in 2007.

The following year came The Song Is You, along with expanded touring opportunities, a guest spot on Marian McPartland's Piano Jazz, and a Wall Street Journal profile by Nat Hentoff. Reed has also regularly placed in the "Rising Star Male Vocalist" category of the DownBeat Critics Poll since 2008.

His 2011 release, Born to Be Blue, was praised for "possess[ing] all the distilled emotion and narrative coherence of a jazz masterpiece" (Andrew Gilbert, San Jose Mercury News). In a DownBeat Editors' Pick review of the disc, Frank Alkyer wrote: "When Ed Reed sings, don't expect scat -- instead look for an intimate story every time."

Photography: Irene Young 

Web Site:
www.edreedsings.com

Instrumental Jazz CD of the Month - "Michael Pedicin: Why Stop Now / Ubuntu"

Instrumental Jazz CD of the Month
Michael Pedicin: "Why Stop Now / Ubuntu" (Ground Blue Records)

Rating:
***** (musical performance)
**** (sonic quality)

Featuring: Michael Pedicin (tenor sax), Johnnie Valentino (electric guitar), Rick Germanson (acoustic piano & Fender Rhodes electric piano), Andy Lalasis (acoustic bass) & Vic Stevens (drums)

Produced by Joseph Donofrio
Executive Producer: Michael Pedicin
Recorded by Michael Tarsia @ Giant Steps Recording (Sicklerville, New Jersey) on May 27-29, 2013
Mixed by Joseph Donofrio & Vic Stevens @ Giant Steps Recording
Mastered by Greg Calbi @ Sterling Sound (New York, NY)
Saxophone Sound Consultant: John Mulhern
Photos: Phil Dempsey
Graphic Design: Christopher Drukker

A passionately soulful improviser, tenor saxophonist Michael Pedicin is in the midst of an impressive creative surge clearly reflected in his prolific work as a recording artist and composer. His new CD, Why Stop Now ... Ubuntu, is his 12th as a leader -- and 5th in the last six years. Released on his GroundBlue label, this brilliant album reconfirms his status as a masterful post-bopper, and it's an impressive follow-up to two other great sessions: the haunting Ballads... Searching For Peace (2011), that led him to be voted #3 Best Tenor Sax Player of The Year in the 33rd Annual Jazz Station Poll, and Live @ The Loft (2012), that assured him the #1 position in the Tenor Sax category in the 34rd Jazz Station Poll.
http://jazzstation-oblogdearnaldodesouteiros.blogspot.com.br/2011/12/dec.html
http://jazzstation-oblogdearnaldodesouteiros.blogspot.com.br/2012/12/the-best-jazz-of-2012-os-melhores-do.html

Much of the music on Why Stop Now was inspired by the 2012 Newtown tragedy, including the haunting ballad ("Newtown") by guitarist Johnnie Valentino and Pedicin's glowing impromptu solo passage ("Ubuntu"), which closes the album. "'Ubuntu' means 'human kindness,' an African philosophy focusing on our connections with one another," says Pedicin. "It echoes my constant hope for peace and connectedness in our world."

Along with Valentino, who's been an essential collaborator on all of Pedicin's recent recordings, the saxophonist is joined by regular bassist Andy Lalasis and two newcomers to his working quintet, tasteful drummer Vic Stevens and rising young pianist Rick Germanson. Pedicin continues his relationship with producer Joseph Donofrio, best known in the jazz world for his work on Pat Martino's Grammy-nominated Blue Note recordings and also at the helm for last year's Pedicin CD Live at the Loft.

Why Stop Now contains four originals by the leader, including "Trane Stop," a tribute to his musical hero, as well as two by Coltrane himself, "Tunji" and "Song of the Underground Railroad," a track heard on the expanded CD version of one of my favorite Coltrane albums, Africa/Brass, his Impulse! debut. "I lived my life admiring and idolizing Trane, every day, all day," Pedicin says unabashedly. "I identify with everything about him."

Michael Pedicin, 65, grew up in a musical family in the Philadelphia suburbs. By the time he was 13 and had heard saxophonist Willis "Gator Tail" Jackson in person and Coltrane and Cannonball Adderley on record, he knew he wanted to spend his life playing saxophone.

At 20, Pedicin began earning his living as a member of the horn section at Philadelphia's Sigma Sound Studios, where he worked for producers Kenny Gamble, Leon Huff, and Thom Bell, playing on sessions by such artists as the Spinners, the O'Jays, and Lou Rawls. He also went on the road with Maynard Ferguson, Stevie Wonder, and David Bowie.

In 1980, Pedicin made his first album, Michael Pedicin Jr. (Philadelphia International). Subsequently he toured with Brubeck, and was a mainstay in the Atlantic City casinos, hiring orchestras and playing behind such singers as Frank Sinatra.

Pedicin has since played a lot of straight-ahead jazz, formed his Brubeck Project (which released its debut CD in early 2011), and toured with such notables as guitarist Pat Martino. He also earned a Ph.D in psychology and, in addition to his musical activities, has a private psychology practice specializing in helping creative people. He's an active educator who founded Temple University's jazz studies program and is currently a Professor of Music and Coordinator of Jazz Studies at the Richard Stockton College of New Jersey.

"As I began preparing my thoughts and writing the music for this CD, I wanted to fulfill the opportunity of bringing forth a message of unity," says Pedicin. "I feel that I must continue to create, and that my inspiration must continue to evolve in a way that brings me to new places. My hope is for enduring connectedness, peace, and human kindness in our world through the voice that I have -- the saxophone. Ubuntu."

Photography: Paul Dempsey

Web Site:
www.michaelpedicin.com

CD Reissue of the Month - "Miroslav Vitous: Magical Shepherd"

CD Reissue of the Month
Miroslav Vitous: "Magical Shepherd" (Warner Bros.) 1976/2013

Rating: **** (musical performance & sonic quality)

Featuring: Miroslav Vitous (electric bass, electric guitar, 360 guitar synthesizer, MiniMoog synth), Herbie Hancock (Fender Rhodes electric piano, Hohner Clavinet, Arp Odissey and Arp Strings synths), James Gadson & Jack DeJohnette (drums), Airto Moreira (percussion), Cheryl Grainger & Onike Lee (vocals)

Produced by Miroslav Vitous and David Rubinson & Friends
Recorded @ Wally Heider Recording Studios & Funky Features (San Francisco, CA)
Engineers: Fred Catero, David Rubinson, Jack Leahy, Richard Greene
Mixed by David Rubinson
Cover Photo and Art Direction: Herbie Greene
Orion Photo: Lick Observatory

The psychedelic cover says it all. Well, almost. This is truly an one-of-a-kind and peculiar project. Very tasty funky-disco fusion session cut in San Francisco (in 1976) by Czech bassist Miroslav Vitous, a founding member of Weather Report who contributed to the group's first five albums (counting "Live in Tokyo.") The sound is very much in keeping with Herbie Hancock's early 70s funk albums – with lots of nice long electric cosmic grooves, and spare tasty keyboard jams. But in a deeper and wilder way. The album's got some great long tracks that really stretch out nicely, all served up on a host of vintage keyboards from Herbie and Miroslav himself. Not surprisingly, Herbie's producer and manager at that time, David Rubinson, co-produced the date.

There are also string contributions by drummer James Gadson (replaced in two tracks by Jack DeJohnette), Brazilian percussionist Airto Moreira, and Flora Purim-inspired vocal trips by Cheryl Grainger and Onike Lee (who also wrote most of the lyrics.) Flora's huge influence on the vocal concept is not a surprise either, since Miroslav and Flora had close ties around that time, and the bassist had been a key force on Flora's second album for Milestone, "Stories To Tell." Soon after Flora was arrested, and the only reason she didn't took part of "Magical Shepherd" was because she was still in jail when the album was recorded.

Tracks include "Basic Laws", the proto-disco "New York City," the ferocious title track "Magical Shepherd," "Synthesizers Dance" (the only instrumental track), "Aim Your Eye", and a very spaced-out cosmic ballad, "From Far Away," performed only by Vitous (who plays all the keyboards), Airto and Cheryl Grainger.

"Magical Shepherd" had been previously released on CD in the USA ten years ago, by the independent label Wounded Bird, but remained in-print for only six months and immediately became a much sought-after item. Hopefully, this new reissue, by Warner Music Japan, will open the ears of a younger audience for an adventurous project. 

Like fusion connoisseur Thom Jurek wrote when reviewing the album for the All Music Guide: "There is no soul-jazz here -- this is pedal-to-the-metal, booty-grindin' R&B crossed with edgy monitors bleeding into the red-jamming and dark-angel vocals, sending the whole thing off into the stratosphere. For anyone interested in the wilder, woolier music of the mid-'70s, "Magical Shepherd" holds up exceedingly well." 

Fusion CD of the Month - "Amanda Ruzza: This Is What Happened"

Fusion CD of the Month
Amanda Ruzza: "This Is What Happened" (Pimenta Music) 2013

Rating: **** (musical performance & sound quality)

Produced by Amanda Ruzza & Mauricio Zottarelli
Featuring: Amanda Ruzza (electric bass), Mauricio Zottarelli (drums & percussion), Mamiko Watanabe (Fender Rhodes electric piano), Cliff Korman (acoustic piano), Alex Nolan (acoustic & electric guitars), David Binney (alto sax & soprano sax), Lucas Pino (tenor sax & soprano sax), Chris Stiver (trombone)

Recorded by Michael Brorby @ Acoustic Recording Studios (Brooklyn, NY) and Matt Graff @ N.S. Studios (New York, NY, assisted by Nacho Amil)
Mixed & Mastered by Dave Darlington @ Bass Hit Studios (NYC, NY)
Package Design: Luke Moelmann
Photos: Samantha Knoop

All songs composed & arranged by the phenomenal NY-based Brazilian bassist Amanda Ruzza, except "Pagão" (Pixinguinha, with the melody played in unison by bass and trombone) and "Gin" (written by the excellent keyboardist Mamiko Watanabe, a Rhodes expert), a track that features the nice combination of trombone & soprano sax in the ingenious score. The brilliant drummer Mauricio Zottarelli, a revelation to my ears through the "Mozik" project a couple of years ago, shines throughout the CD in a fiery performance (an astonishing combination of technique, emotion & groove), confirming that he is one of the top drummers in the current jazz scene. On this dazzling debut album as a leader, the Berklee-graduate Amanda showcases her huge talent by combining her own musical personality with elements from bass masters like Larry Graham (to whom she dedicates the funkyfied opening track, "Larry and I"), Chuck Rainey, Marcus Miller and Will Lee. "Slap" it in your face!

Single of the Month - "Tamba 4: Berimbau"

7" Single of the Month
Tamba 4: "Berimbau" (A&M/CTI) 

Composed by Oswaldo Nunes
Arranged by Luiz Eça
Produced by Creed Taylor
Engineered by Rudy Van Gelder
Featuring: Luiz Eça (acoustic piano & vocals), Bebeto (flute & vocals), Ohana (drums & percussion) and Dorio Ferreira (acoustic guitar)

Maybe the rarest single in the CTI catalog. And certainly the rarest single on Tamba' entire discography. Recorded in 1969 for the third and final Tamba 4 album recorded for A&M/CTI, but a never released one. Only two tracks came out on single formats: "California Soul" (yes, the Ashford & Simpson hit, arranged by Johnny Pate) and "Berimbau" (arranged by Tamba's leader, Luiz Eça), which is not the famous Baden Powell/Vinicius de Moraes tune that Tamba Trio had previously recorded in Brazil some years earlier, more exactly in 1964 for the "Tempo" LP (Philips). This other "Berimbau" is a very swinging samba composed by Oswaldo Nunes (1930-1991), and also known as "Na Onda do Berimbau," a big hit in the Brazilian Carnival of 1965 Pure delight.

Lisa Marie Panagos Catches A Star @ The 7th Annual Hollywood F.A.M.E. Awards

My talented friend Lisa Marie Panagos received a Hollywood F.A.M.E. award at the Avalon Theatre. www.lamusicawards.net/hollywoodfameawards.html.
Her impressive credits include multiple Broadway shows and appearances in major films and television. Lisa Panagos is an active member of Actors Equity and SAG-AFTRA and is a 10 time award recipient from multiple U.S. and international organizations. Congrats!

LISA MARIE PANAGOS CATCHES A STAR AT THE 7TH ANNUAL HOLLYWOOD F.A.M.E. AWARDS!
On November 14th, 2013, Hollywood was all abuzz with a star-studded show at the Avalon Theater in Hollywood. Al Bowman, the Executive Producer and Founder of the Hollywood F.A.M.E. Awards and the LA Music Awards kicked off awards show season with a media-filled red carpet event. Lisa Panagos was presented with the 2013 Hollywood F.A.M.E. Award for Female Rising Star.

Celebrities receiving Hollywood F.A.M.E. awards this year included Director/ Producer Cass Warner (The Brothers Warner), actors Nathin Butler (General Hospital), Bill Blair (ARGO), and Ron Jeremy Hyatt (Ronin), actresses Leilani Sarelle (Basic instinct) and Meliani Paul (The Butterfly Effect), Grammy- nominated percussionist Victor Orlando (The Gap Band), music industry executive Steve Resnik, and legendary game show host and creator Wink Martindale (Tic-Tac-Dough).

“I was in amazing company at the 7th annual Hollywood F.A.M.E. awards, and feel so lucky to have won for Female Rising Star. I am so grateful to be recognized for my work in Music, Film and Television,” says Lisa. “It feels incredible when your hard work begins to pay off.” Other past HFA recipients include Brad Pitt, Sally Kirkland, Gwen Stefani, David Kershenbaum, and President Carter to name a few.

Legendary sportscaster Johnny Holliday (Washington Nationals, CBS, Voice of the Maryland Terrapins) endorsed Lisa for her talent as did Billboard-charting songwriter Alex Forbes (Don’t Rush Me, Too Turned On). Other congratulations came from prominent directors and celebrities in the industry such as Myrna Post (Publicist), director and coach to the stars Larry Moss (Million Dollar Baby),
Hillary Swank, Helen Hunt, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Larry Storch (F Troop).

Born and raised in Potomac, Md., Lisa had stars in her eyes as she trained diligently in her hometown before heading to NYC to pursue Broadway. After landing several roles in shows such as Annie Get Your Gun, Sophisticated Ladies, Jesus Christ Superstar, and West Side Story to name a few. Lisa made the transition to Hollywood seamlessly as she landed roles in Film, TV and simultaneously continued her recording career as a Singer-Songwriter- Producer.

This three-time award-winner at the LA Music Awards in 2012 and winner in 2013 at the Artists in Music Awards for Breakthrough Artist of the Year is now fresh off the stage from the Avalon Theater, having received a Hollywood F.A.M.E. award for Female Rising Star.

“Many thanks to all of my mentors, friends and fans who have helped me get to this point. Without you this would not have been possible. Thanks also to my parents, the late media mogul John Panagos and mother Mary Ann Panagos of Potomac, Maryland. It’s been a great journey and I’m looking forward to continuing to contribute to the entertainment business and striving to achieve more recognition.”

For more information about Lisa’s career visit her website www.lisapanagos.com. She is developing a line of products in addition to her music that are available on her website’s store. You can also find out more about her acting career at http://www.imdb.com/name/nm2166116.

Lisa is an active member of SAG-AFTRA and Actors Equity Association. She is also a 10 time award recipient from multiple U.S. and International organizations.
http://www.lamusicawards.net/hollywoodfameawards.

R.I.P.: Gaudencio Thiago de Mello

We were friends for 23 years! Luiz Bonfa and Carlos Barbosa-Lima introduced me to him. I produced many (7 or eight) of his albums as a leader, at least 4 of them for my own JSR label. Plus the very first CD reissue of his debut album as a leader, "Amazon - The Music of Thiago," which became a hit in the European dancefloor jazz scene, and the compilation "The Essential Thiago de Mello," a best-selling CD in Japan. 

Actually, we worked together in more than 30 projects, and I invited him to play in many albums I produced for Luiz Bonfa (our first recording session together, in New York, in May 1991), Pingarilho, Anna Ly and other artists. Thiago was a first-call member of the JSR All-Stars when we did the "Friends From Brazil 2001" for the European market (a project later retitled "Brazil All-Stars/Rio Strut" due to marketing purposes when released here in the U.S. by Milestone). I've also included Thiago's tracks on compilations I produced for Verve, Milestone and IRMA, Thiago's song "A Hug For Claudio" on Claudio Roditi's "Day Waves" CD, wrote liner notes for Thiago's projects with Carlos Barbosa-Lima and Antonio Mello, etc etc. Each and every time I visited NY, we had dinner listening to Dom Salvador at the River Cafe (that now has been closed for over one year after the Hurricane Sandy).

After many years performing with his Amazon band on Sunday nights at Sweet Basil, when Gil Evans used to perform there on Mondays, Thiago de Mello decided to not play in jazz clubs anymore after he had emphysema. At that time, Claudio Roditi and Paquito D'Rivera were in his band! But he continued to play in concert halls (mostly with Paul Winter and Sharon Isbin), and received 3 Grammy nominations for albums he did with them. Besides his innovative work as an arranger and band-leader, Thiago created the "organic percussion" style, played acoustic guitar, piano, and sang beautifully. His music will live forever. Rest in Peace, my friend Gaudencio Thiago de Mello.