Arnaldo DeSouteiro 2019 Bio

Arnaldo DeSouteiro – Biografia ultra-resumida 

Produtor de discos, com cerca de 530 álbuns em sua discografia (incluindo novos CDs, reedições, coletâneas, trilhas sonoras, projetos especiais), conforme consta no All Music Guide, principal e mais acessado website sobre música no mundo. Jornalista e publicitário (formado em Comunicação pela PUC-RJ), tendo escrito para os jornais Tribuna da Imprensa (de 1979 até sua extinção em 2009, com 3.200 artigos publicados), Última Hora, O Globo e O Estado do Paraná, revistas Billboard, Keyboard (USA), Cuadernos de Jazz (Espanha), Swing Journal (Japão), Revista do CD (Brasil) etc. 

Roteirista de shows (João Gilberto, João Donato, Ithamara Koorax, Renato Piau, Marcos Valle, Eumir Deodato, Bjork, Antonio Carlos & Jocafi, Pingarilho, João Donato, Rodrigo Lima, Doris Monteiro etc) e de especiais de TV para as emissoras Globo (Antonio Carlos Jobim & João Gilberto) e Manchete (Dizzy Gillespie, Tony Bennett, Chuck Mangione, Airto Moreira & Flora Purim etc) no Brasil, e também na Europa e Ásia (o especial "Bossa Nova Saúde, Saudade", Diana Krall, João Gilberto, CTI All Stars, Dave Brubeck etc). Dirigiu e roteirizou shows de Ithamara Koorax em mais de 20 países, incluindo Japão, Coréia, EUA, Inglaterra, França, Portugal, Alemanha, Sérvia, Bulgária, Finlândia etc.

Nascido no Rio de Janeiro (Brasil) em 1963, radicou-se em Los Angeles (EUA) em 1999. Estudou piano clássico e harmonia com sua mãe, a pianista e maestrina Delza Agricola. É membro da Associação Brasileira de Imprensa (ABI) e da Ordem dos Músicos do Brasil (OMB) desde 1979, membro catedrático titular efetivo da Academia Internacional de Música desde 1985, membro votante do Grammy-Naras (National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences) desde 2006, membro votante da Los Angeles Jazz Society (único brasileiro) desde 2007, e também único brasileiro que é membro votante da Jazz Journalists Association (sediada em Nova Iorque) desde 2002. Atua como consultor e parecerista para diversas empresas, centros culturais e festivais de música no Brasil e no exterior.

Também foi membro honorário e primeiro membro brasileiro da Associação Internacional de Educadores de Jazz (IAJE – International Association of Jazz Educators) durante 12 anos, até sua extinção em 2008, tendo realizado palestras e "panel sessions" nas convenções anuais realizadas nos EUA. 

Fundador e Presidente da gravadora JSR (Jazz Station Records), sediada em Los Angeles – EUA desde 2001, uma divisão da Jazz Station Marketing & Consulting. Dirige também a JSR Casting e a LaCalifUSA Pictures, empresa de cinema que produz conteúdo e trilhas sonoras (composição, produção, seleção) para filmes e séries de TV. 

Produziu discos e sessões de gravação com artistas como Luiz Bonfá, João Gilberto, Dom Um Romão, João Donato, Palmyra & Levita, Mario Castro-Neves, Claudio Roditi, Gaudencio Thiago de Mello, Dexter Payne, Bjork, Rodrigo Lima, Don Sebesky, Hubert Laws, Fabio Fonseca, Marcos Ozzellin, Herbie Hancock, Jorge Pescara, Paula Faour, Anna Ly, Pascoal Meirelles, Yana Purim, Carlos Pingarilho, Nelson Angelo, Marcelo Salazar, Ithamara Koorax, Ron Carter, Antonio Carlos Jobim, Steve Swallow, Herbie Hancock, Hugo Fattoruso, Larry Coryell, Sadao Watanabe, Jurgen Friedrich, Claus Ogerman, Gazzara, Eumir Deodato, Azymuth, Marcio Montarroyos, Sivuca, Laudir de Oliveira, Marcos Valle, David Matthews, Gene Bertoncini, John McLaughlin, Raul de Souza, Hermeto Pascoal, Jadir de Castro, Lew Soloff, George Young, Gonzalo Rubalcaba, Alphonso Johnson e muitos outros. 

Como compositor e letrista, tem parcerias com Dave Brubeck (“Broadway Bossa Nova”), Francesco Gazzara (“O Passarinho”), Mamoru Morishita (“Hotaru”) e Fabio Fonseca (“Samba da Copa”, executado na cerimônia de abertura da Copa do Mundo de 2006). 

Produziu reedições de discos de Sergio Mendes, Flora Purim, Tamba Trio, Ivan Lins, Carlos Lyra, Miucha, Antonio Carlos Jobim, Ron Carter, Idris Muhammad, Hank Crawford, Lonnie Smith, Johnny Hammond, Luiz Bonfá, Phil Upchurch, Tennyson Stephens, Eumir Deodato, Grant Green, Mario Castro-Neves, João Donato, Claus Ogerman, David Matthews, Esther Phillips, Joe Beck, Eric Gale e muitos outros.

Produziu as séries “A Trip To Brazil” (cujo Volume 1 chegou ao primeiro-lugar na parada de world-music na Europa em 1998, superando “Buena Vista Social Club”), “Brazilian Horizons”, “CTI: Acid Jazz Grooves”, “Jazz Club”, e retrospectivas - lançadas mundialmente entre 2006 e 2010 pelo selo Verve – das carreiras de Quincy Jones (“Summer In The City: The Soul-Jazz Groves of Quincy Jones”), Eumir Deodato (“Do It Again: The Fantastic Jazz Funk of Eumir Deodato”) e Chick Corea (“Electric Chick”).

Desde 1981, tem realizado, como free lancer, produção musical para diversas gravadoras, como RCA/BMG, Sony, Verve/PolyGram/Universal, CTI, King, Paddle Wheel, Pausa, Milestone/Fantasy, Warner/WEA, Motor Music, JVC/Victor, Sanyo, Movieplay, Imagem, Eldorado, CID, Alfa, RGE, Mr. Bongo, Terra Música, Blue Moon, Bomba, Cedar Tree, Treasure Trove, Irma, Vivid Sound, Motéma, e Huks Music, no Brasil, Europa, Estados Unidos, Japão, China, Taiwan e Coréia. 

Entre 1982 e 1984, atuou como assessor cultural do Serviço de Comunicação Social da Petrobras. Em 1983, criou, produziu e apresentou o programa "Jazz espetacular", transmitido pela Rádio Tupi FM. Em 1984, assumiu a responsabilidade da programação de bordo (musical e audiovisual) transmitida nos vôos internacionais da Varig, função que exerceu durante 14 anos. Também nesse período (1985 a 1987), participou da comissão de seleção do Free Jazz Festival. 

Escreveu textos de contracapa para discos de diversos artistas, como Toots Thielemans, Ella Fitzgerald, Eliane Elias, Antonio Carlos Jobim, Jeff Kinsky, Paulo Bellinati e Carlos Barbosa Lima, entre outros. Assinou textos para divulgação ("press releases") de artistas como João Gilberto, Stan Getz, Oscar Peterson, Pat Metheny, Bill Evans, Jimmy Smith, Elvin Jones, Stanley Turrentine e Tony Bennett.

Atuou como entrevistador - entre 1979 e 2018 - em depoimentos prestados para o Museu da Imagem e do Som (Rio de Janeiro e São Paulo) por João Donato, Stellinha Egg, Maestro Gaya, Eumir Deodato, Airto Moreira, Flora Purim, Carlos Barbosa Lima, Wanda Sá, Bebeto Castilho e Chico Batera, entre outros. Em 2001, recebeu o prêmio de International Man of The Year, concedido pelo International Biographical Centre, de Londres. Foi o primeiro brasileiro a receber essa premiação, oferecida anteriormente a apenas quatro outros produtores: Arif Mardin, Tommy LiPuma, Quincy Jones e Phil Ramone. Ainda nesse ano, a JSR (Jazz Station Records), de sua propriedade, foi considerada uma das cinco melhores gravadoras de jazz do mundo, em relação publicada na edição de dezembro da revista especializada norte-americana "Down Beat", premiação que se repetiu por quatro anos (7º lugar em 2003, 9º lugar em 2004, 5º lugar em 2005 e 6º lugar em 2006).  

Foi entrevistado em vários programas de TV, seriados (incluindo os documentários "Laurindo Almeida, Muito Prazer" exibido pelo canal GNT no Brasil, e "Bossa Nova Saúde, Saudade!" para FUJI Television Network no Japão) e filmes como o premiado "Beyond Ipanema", no qual foi entrevistado ao lado de Creed Taylor, Lalo Schifrin, Wayne Shorter, Gene Lees e Norman Gimbel. Depois de apresentado em diversos festivais de cinema nos Estados Unidos e Europa, "Beyond Ipanema" foi transformado em série de televisão transmitida em território brasileiro pela emissora Canal Brasil em 2014. 

Trabalhou como roteirista, consultor e entrevistador para o documentário "LA + Rio", em 2017, entrevistando nomes como Arthur Verocai, João Donato, Alex Malheiros (Azymuth), Wanda Sá, Chico Batera, Ricardo Silveira, Dori Caymmi, Hermeto Pascoal, Laudir de Oliveira, Raul de Souza, Marcos Valle e Cesar Camargo Mariano. É especialista também em gestão de carreira e gerenciamento artístico, tendo trabalhado em 2017 e início de 2018 com a cantora Zanna.

Também em 2018 escreveu a letra da música "Until We Meet Again" para o álbum "Mamoru Morishita Songbok" lançado no Japão pela Universal Music; produziu novos discos para Daniel Migliavacca, Jorge Pescara e Ithamara Koorax; fez o roteiro para o show de lançamento da caixa "A Mad Donato" (de João Donato) no Blue Note-Rio, e para os shows de Ithamara Koorax na Sala Baden Powell e no Blue Note-Rio; e criou/dirigiu a série "Discos Históricos da MPB" que incluiu shows de João Donato ("Quem É Quem") e Wanda Sá ("Vagamente") realizados na Sala Baden Powell-Rio de Janeiro. Ainda em 2018, foi também um dos entrevistadores da série "Depoimentos Para A Posteridade", realizada no Museu da Imagem do Som-RJ e focalizando as carreiras de nomes como Wanda Sá, Bebeto Castilho (Tamba Trio) e Chico Batera.

Jazz Station Records (JSR), a division of Jazz Station Enterprises
CEO & Founder · Los Angeles 

            (Arnaldo DeSouteiro during a recording session in 2014)

"People are going to talk about you, especially when they envy you and the life you live. Let them. You affected their lives, they didn't affect yours... you will eventually lose someone you love & love someone you never thought you'd find..."

Arnaldo DeSouteiro - Short Bio

Music Producer (with over 530 albums to his credit according to the All Music Guide), Voting Member of NARAS-GRAMMY and Jazz Journalists Association (NY), Member of LAJS (Los Angeles Jazz Society), Musical Philosopher, Journalist, Jazz & Brazilian Music Historian, Publicist, Public Relations, Composer (having written successful jazz & pop songs, some dance hits like "O Passarinho" for the Italian TV reality show "La Pupa e Il Secchione", and "Samba da Copa" for the "2006 World Cup" in Germany, plus many other soundtracks for movies, soap operas & TV series in the USA, Europe and Asia), Lyricist (he wrote lyrics to Dave Brubeck's "Broadway Bossa Nova" at the invitation of Brubeck himself, among other songs), Arranger, Percussionist, Keyboardist, Programmer, Educator (conducting clinics and panel sessions worldwide as the first Brazilian member of IAJE-International Association of Jazz Educators during its existence). He has also acted as consultant for several companies and jazz festivals all over the world.

Founder and CEO of JSR (Jazz Station Records), a Division of Jazz Station Marketing & Consulting - LA, Calif. Most recently, founded LaCalifUSA Pictures and JSR Casting in 2007 for movie & TV productions featuring music & fashion.

Produced the acclaimed CD compilation series "A Trip To Brazil," "CTI Acid Jazz Grooves," "Brazilian Horizons," "Focus on Bossa Nova," "Focus on Brazilian Music Grooves", "Bossa Nova Singers," "Bossa Nova Guitar","Jazz Rock" etc.

Produced special compilations for Quincy Jones ("Summer in the City - The Soul Jazz Grooves of Quincy Jones"), Chick Corea ("Electric Chick") and Deodato ("Do It Again - The Fantastic Jazz-Funk of Eumir Deodato"), all released by Verve/Universal. His latest CD for Verve is "Bossa Nova USA," featuring Dave Brubeck's title track performed by Quincy Jones.

Supervised and/or Directed TV specials featuring João Gilberto, Antonio Carlos Jobim, Dizzy Gillespie, Chuck Mangione, Flora Purim & Airto Moreira, Dom Um Romão, Eliane Elias, Diana Krall, Eumir Deodato, Bjork et al. Worked with producers Creed Taylor, Yoichi Nakao, Susumu Morikawa, Matthias Kunnecke, and photographers Pete Turner, Victor Skrebneski, Robert Mappelthorpe, Duane Michals.

Mr. DeSouteiro has also worked in his native Brazil for TUPI-FM radio station (as musical programmer-DJ as well as hosting his own radio show, "Jazz Espetacular"), Manchete TV network (anchoring & supervising the "Terça Especial" series for which he interviewed such jazz giants as Dizzy Gillespie, Tony Bennett, Chuck Mangione, Airto Moreira, Flora Purim etc), Globo TV network (screenplay, coordination and mix for the TV special "João Gilberto & Antonio Carlos Jobim - O Grande Encontro" in 1992, the last time these 2 geniuses performed together, plus the texts and screenplay for the "Minuto da Bossa" series), and as the jazz columnist for the "Tribuna da Imprensa" (Press Tribune) daily newspaper during 29 years (from 1979 to 2008). Before moving to the USA, he also worked as Brazilian correspondent of "Keyboard" magazine (from 1985 to 1994), as a free-lancer to Billboard, Cuadernos de Jazz, Swing Journal and International Music Magazine, and as entertainment-in-flight programmer for several airline companies like Varig Brazilian Airlines (from 1983 to 1998).

Produced over 530 albums and sessions featuring: Luiz Bonfa, João Gilberto, Dom Um Romão, Thiago de Mello, Dexter Payne, João Donato, Palmyra & Levita, Mario Castro-Neves, Jorge Pescara, Paula Faour, Fabio Fonseca, Claudio Roditi, Rodrigo Lima, Hermeto Pascoal, Ithamara Koorax, Don Sebesky, Sammy Figueroa, Bjork, Anna Ly, Carlos Barbosa-Lima, Pascoal Meirelles, Yana Purim, Pingarilho, Nelson Angelo, Marcelo Salazar, Ron Carter, Antonio Carlos Jobim, Steve Swallow, Herbie Hancock, Hugo Fattoruso, Larry Coryell, Sadao Watanabe, Jurgen Friedrich, Eloir de Moraes, Gazzara, Deodato, Jadir de Castro, Azymuth, Marcio Montarroyos, Sivuca, Laudir de Oliveira, Marcos Valle, Jay Berliner, George Young, David Matthews, Lew Soloff, Alphonso Johnson, Gene Bertoncini, John McLaughlin, Claus Ogerman, Raul de Souza, Gonzalo Rubalcaba and many others.

Produced and supervised CD reissues of albums by Ron Carter, Hank Crawford, Johnny Hammond, Sergio Mendes, Hubert Laws, Grant Green, Idris Muhammad, Joe Beck, Esther Phillips, Lonnie Smith, David Matthews & Whirlwind, Phil Upchurch, Tennyson Stephens, Miucha, Flora Purim, Carlos Lyra, Tamba Trio, Ivan Lins, Raul de Souza, Trio 3-D and many others. As annotator, he wrote liner notes and press releases for albums by Toots Thielemans, Hank Crawford, Stan Getz, Ella Fitzgerald, Pat Metheny, Eliane Elias, Carlos Barbosa-Lima, Jeff Linsky and dozens of others for labels like RCA, CTI, Kudu, Milestone, Fantasy, Verve, Columbia, Irma, Alfa, JVC, Caju, Sonet, Paddle Wheel, JHO, Mercury, Imagem etc.

Worked as musical director and/or screenplay writer for concerts by Joao Gilberto, João Donato, Ithamara Koorax, Marcos Valle, Renato Piau, Deodato,  Bjork, Pingarilho, Wanda Sá, Rodrigo Lima, Antonio Carlos & Jocafi etc.

Mr. DeSouteiro also had the honor to be associated with some of the world's greatest photographers like Pete Turner (who did the cover photos for Rodrigo Lima's "Saga" and Jorge Pescara's "Grooves in the Temple," released on his own JSR label and featured on Turner's new book "The Color of Jazz"), Victor Skrebneski (the CD reissue of "Upchurch/Tennyson"), Bruce Weber (Esther Phillips' "For All We Know"), Robert Mappelthorpe ("Brazilian Horizons"), Alen MacWeeney, William Cadge, and Duane Michals (many of the CTI CDs) and so on.

He has appeared in several movies and TV series such as the Award Winning documentary movie "Beyond Ipanema," for which he was interviewed alongside Creed Taylor, Lalo Schifrin, Wayne Shorter, Gene Lees and Norman Gimbel. In 2017, he contributed to the "LA + Rio" documentary as screenplay writer, interviewer and consultant, interviewing such artists as Arthur Verocai, Cesar Camargo Mariano, Dori Caymmi, Hermeto Pascoal, Wanda Sá, João Donato, Laudir de Oliveira, Raul de Souza, Ricardo Silveira, Chico Batera, Alex Malheiros (Azymuth) and Marcos Valle. In 2018, worked with singer Zanna, wrote songs for Mamoru Morishita, directed concerts by João Donato, Wanda Sá and Ithamara Koorax, and produced new albums for Daniel Migliavacca, Ithamara Koorax and Jorge Pescara.

Jazz Station Marketing & Consulting, JSR Casting, LaCalifUSA Pictures
CEO & Founder: Arnaldo DeSouteiro

Jazz Station Records (JSR), a division of Jazz Station Enterprises
CEO & Founder · Los Angeles/Rio de Janeiro

(PLEASE, DO NOT SEND UNSOLICITED MATERIAL; any unsolicited CD or promo packets will be returned. If you wish to submit material, please contact us through comments on this post or through Facebook. Thx!)

People are going to talk about you, especially when they envy you and the life you live. Let them. You affected their lives, they didn't affect yours... you will eventually lose someone you love & love someone you never thought you'd find... 

R.I.P.: James Ingram (1952-2019)

(born February 16, 1952 in Akron, Ohio, USA;
died January 29, 2019 in Los Angeles, California, USA)

Two-time Grammy winner singer James Ingram, famous for his collaborations with Quincy Jones ("Just Once," "One Hundred Ways" etc) and Patti Austin ("How Do You Keep The Music Playing?") passed away at the age of 66. The LaserDisc of his concert in Japan with Quincy Jones leading an all-star band (with Rod Temperton, Greg Phillinganes, Louis Johnson, John Robinson, Jerry Hey, Toots Thielemans, Jerome Richardson) is legendary. Rest in Peace.

R.I.P.: Michel Legrand (1932-2019)

(born 24 February 1932 in Paris, France)

died 26 January 2019 in Neuilly-sur-Seine, France)

R.I.P.: Michel Legrand. 

An absolute GENIUS -- in the same level of J.S. Bach, for example -- is gone. One of the greatest arrangers and composers in music history. And a fabulous pianist too. I've met him in person for the first time in 1983. Had the chance to attend several of his concerts (two of them in Brazil at the time of the Moliere Award, with Ron McClure on bass and Christiane Legrand singing.) Unforgettable moments in my life. 

I treasure his huge discography, specially "Legrand Jazz" (with Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Bill Evans, Art Farmer, Herbie Mann etc), "Twenty Songs Of The Century" (a lesson in orchestration feat. Toots, Airto, Gene Bertoncini, Eddie Daniels), the splendid albums for RCA in the 70s ("Live At Jimmy's," "Legrand Live" (with Randy Brecker, Phil Woods, Ron Carter, Grady Tate, Joe Beck), "The Concert Legrand," the Grammy-winning "Images" with Phil Woods, "Le Jazz Grand" with Gerry Mulligan, Jon Faddis and Portinho) and such landmark soundtracks as "The Umbrellas Of Cherbourg," "F For Fake," "Pieces Of Dreams," "Summer of '42," "The Other Side Of Midnight" + dozens of others.) He personified a kind of musical sophistication and elegance that is gone, that's the true.

(Arnaldo DeSouteiro & Michel Legrand in 1983)

R.I.P.: Vicente Viola (1959-2019)

(born on July 20, 1959 in Leopoldina, State of Minas Gerais;
died on January 25, 2019 in Leopoldina, State of Minas Gerais)

Brazilian composer, arranger, guitarist, singer and producer. Co-wrote songs with lyricists Aldir Blanc and Renato Carvalho, and worked/recorded with singer Ithamara Koorax and pianist Anselmo Mazzoni.

R.I.P.: Julio Barbosa (1926-2019)

(born May 5, 1926 in Nova Friburgo, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil;

died on January 7, 2019 in Munich, Germany)

R.I.P.: Julio Barbosa aka Julinho do Trompete, aged 92. Great Brazilian trumpeter, composer and arranger, based in Germany since 1975. 

Besides leading his own bands (which included such names as Oberdan Magalhães, Dom Salvador, Luiz Alves and Robertinho Silva), he also worked in Brazil with Elizeth Cardoso, Moacyr Silva, Moacir Santos (recording the legendary "Coisas" album), Paulo Alencar, Maestro Cipó, Waltel Branco, Paulinho Magalhães (on the combo Os Cobras), Eumir Deodato (as lead trumpeter on the album "Los Danseros En Bolero" by the Orquestra Los Danseros, later reissued as "Amor, Som E Bolero" by Don Camacho, "The Sound of The Night" by The Midnight Orchestra and "Lounge 64," finally under Deodato's name), and many others. 

He was also briefly a member of Severino Araujo's Orquestra Tabajara. 

In the 2000s, he formed a new group, called Embalo (Hermeto Pascoal, Dom Chacal and Azymuth's drummer Ivan Conti were festured on their debut album); recorded a full project in Rio with the UFRJazz Ensemble (led by José Rua); and often performed at the Unterfarht jazz club in Munich.

R.I.P.: Urbie Green (1926-2018)

R.I.P.: Urbie Green, aged 92, one of the world's greatest trombone players. Born Urban Clifford Green on August 8, 1926 in Mobile, Alabama. Died on December 31, 2018 in Saucon Valley Manor, Hellertown, Pennsylvania.

I grew up listening to Urbie's miraculous performances on such Antonio Carlos Jobim's albums as Stone Flower, Tide, Wave, The Wonderful World and Matita Perê.

The first one I heard was Stone Flower (1970), when I was 7 yo; and, from the moment he started playing in the opening track (Tereza My Love), I fell in love with his warm & velvery tone and subtle phrasing. It was really love at first sight.

A few years later, when I heard the tracks Rancho das Nuvens and Nuvens Douradas, two haunting moments from Matita Perê (1973), I wanted to marry him.

Not even in my wildest dreams I could imagine that, two decades later, I would be selecting Urbie's tracks for compilations I produced for CTI and Verve, as well as supervising not only several reissues of Stone Flower but also of the first CD reissues of his two splendid solo albums for CTI: The Fox and Senor Blues, both arranged by my friend David Matthews and produced by Creed Taylor.

Not to mention that Urbie's killer version of Stevie Wonder's Another Star was featured on my best-selling compilation CTI Acid Jazz Grooves.

Urbie recorded over 500 dates with people like Frank Sinatra (more than 20 albums, among them the extremely underrated LA Is My Lady, on which he can be watched soloing with unparelled aplomb on its video version titled Portrait Of An Album), Quincy Jones, Miles Davis, Claus Ogerman, Bill Evans, Leonard Bernstein, Woody Herman, Louis Armstrong, Barbara Streisand, Billie Holiday, Gene Krupa, Count Basie, Buddy Rich, Tony Bennett, Herbie Mann, Ella Fitzgerald... the list goes on and on. PS: not surprisingly, he was the favorite trombonist of both Jobim and Claus Ogerman.

Vocal Jazz CD of the Month - "John Minnock: Right Around The Corner"

Vocal Jazz CD of the Month
John Minnock with guest Dave Liebman: "Right Around The Corner" (self-release)
Rating: **** (musical performance & sonic quality)

Recorded in September 2018 @ Sear Sound (NYC, NY)
Mixed in October 2018 @ Good Child Music Studios (Brooklyn, NY) by Thom Beemer
Mastered in October 2018 by Fred Kevorkian
Photos: Jason Ignacio
Album Design: Vickie Vidana

Featuring: John Minnock (vocals), Dave Liebman (soprano sax), Enrique Haneine (piano & Fender Rhodes electric piano), Carlos Mena and Will Woodard (bass), Pablo Eluchans and Diego Voglino (drums), Tony DePaolo (guitars)

New breed vocalist John Minnock is thrilled to announce the release of his new album, "Right Around The Corner." On his sophomore effort, Minnock presents jazz, blues and cabaret classics in a way that has never been heard before with the help of special guest, National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Master Dave Liebman on saxophone. John’s experiences as an openly gay man gives way to a unique perspective that is at once eye-opening, touching and down right fun. Supported by such great musicians as pianist/arranger Enrique Hanenine (whose latest album, "The Mind’s Mural," hit #1 on the NACC Radio Chart), John’s new “gay-ahead jazz album” is a groundbreaker as it explores LGBTQ subject-matter in a jazz setting. Minnock celebrated the release of his new album at the iconic Don’t Tell Mama in Times Square.

John Minnock’s first album, "Every Day Blues," introduced his signature wit and candor as he explored the American songbook from the perspective as a gay man in today’s world. His long-running show of the same name, presented through the years at the Metropolitan Room, the Triad Theater and, most recently, Don’t Tell Mama, has been an audience favorite, attracting a diverse cast of attendees from inquisitive cabaret fans to serious jazz listeners. "Right Around The Corner" features a mix of material frequently performed at his live show (Hoagy Carmichael's standard “Skylark”, a cool bossa-oriented version of Henry Mancini's “Moon River”, “I Love Being Here With You”, “You Don’t Know What Love Is”, “Do You Know What It Means to Miss New Orleans”) and impressive original compositions that tell stories of gay life that are seldom heard on the bandstand.

A stand out moment is Minnock’s original composition, “Right Around the Corner”; the title being a play on the Mel Torme/George Shearing classic “Love is Just Right Around The Corner”. John Minnock’s lyrics were lifted directly from a personal experience and offers plenty of nods to real life nightlife experiences in the New York City gay community. “Less so today, but in the past it was common for gay people to, when visiting a city, look for the neighborhood that designated LGBTQ and visit some or most or all bars there. This was a way to get to know the community in that city,” says Minnock, who takes listeners through all of his favorite corners, many of which are home not just to him, but others in the gay community as well: Vodka Soda/Bottoms Up on 46th and 8th, Rise on 56th and 9th, Arriba Arriba on 51st and 9th, Don’t Tell Mama on 46th and 9th and Hardware and DBL at 48th and 10th. The song was also synthed, which is a nod to electronic music pioneer Wendy Carlos; a pioneer as well in gender re-assignment.

Another highlight is Minnock’s interpretation of “New York, New York” by Jay Brannon (not the famous Kander and Ebb tune). The lyrics call back to “My Favorite Things”- specifically the version made famous by John Coltrane. “I thought of it as My LEAST Favorite Things about New York!” said John. Soprano saxophonist David Liebman, a jazz musician who is quintessential “New York” and is arguably the greatest living bastion of Coltrane’s sound, joins John here to dazzling results. “Liebman’s playing here invokes for me the bluesy black and white bankrupt world New York was in the 1960’s and 1970’s… I tried to adapt my vocalizing to match the players,” he said. Liebman joins John again on a superb version of “Skylark”. Performed often at his live show, the studio version gives new life to the stalwart melody with a jaw-dropping saxophone-vocal duo. John’s presentation of “Skylark” is painted by his experience workshopping it with the revered Lina Koutrakos.

Minnock's other originals, “Are We All Alone” and “Everything Changes”, tell different stories within the context of a gay relationship. The first deals with the challenges of a relationship without much experience or support from family or friends, and the second tells of a more mature relationship with all of its peaks and valleys. “There’s a section of happiness like an anthem, then a section of doubt and complication, maybe a bit neurotic (I call this ‘the Seinfeld section),” says John, adding that “most of the subject matter comes from issues and topics of the LGBTQ community”.

John Minnock is a native New Yorker who has been “telling it like it is” in the cabaret and vocal jazz scene for over a decade. Recipient of the Hot House Jazz Fans Decision Award in 2016, John is a classically trained musician who immediately blossomed when he saw Ruth Brown’s live show, which incorporated energy, enthusiasm, and her personal life experiences. While Minnock has performed myriad styles from r&b, funk, soul and classical, jazz and blues have been the genres in which he is most comfortable.

Jazz and blues were, essentially, borne of the life experiences of an oppressed and discriminated against group – African Americans. The sound developed in and around New Orleans. Various cultures (beyond African Americans) have contributed their own experience and styles to the art form – and for John as a gay man, this same thing occurred in an evolutionary manner. “I personally understand oppression and have experienced discrimination. I believe this is an underlying reason I gravitate toward the music.”

On "Right Around The Corner," Minnock brings a much-needed, fresh perspective to the vocal jazz genre. In John’s own words: “In writing the original songs, it became clear ‘it had to be jazz”. This genre offers the flexibility to fully express yourself (as Madonna might say). At one point in writing, I had a specific question and I asked Enrique “can I do this..?” and he responded “you can do anything, it’s jazz”’.

Instrumental Jazz CD of the Month - "Marc Copland: Gary - Piano Solo"

Instrumental Jazz CD of the Month
Marc Copland: "Gary - Piano Solo" (Illusions ILL313009)
Rating: ***** (musical performance & sonic quality)

Limited Edition CD + Digital Album
package image;1CD 2-fold/3-panel digipack
Produced by Philippe Ghielmetti with Stéphane Oskéritzian & Gérard de Haro
Recorded, Mixed & Mastered @ Studio La Buissonne (Pernes-les-Fontaines, Côte d'Azur, France)
Recorded on April 12 & 13, 2018 by Gérard de Haro
Edited by Stéphane Oskéritzian & Gérard de Haro
Mastered by Nicolas Baillard
Piano prepared & tuned by Cecil Mathieu
Script lettering: Larry Kazal
Graphics & Photos: Philippe Ghielmetti

Piano – Marc Copland
All titles composed by Gary Peacock, except #2 by Annette Peacock
Recorded on April 12-13, 2018 at Studios La Buissonne, Pernes-les-Fontaines, France