Arnaldo DeSouteiro - Bio 2020

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/Rio de Janeiro

            (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... 

Dan Willis accents Thelonious Monk's singularity with his own on "The Monk Project"

Dan Willis puts his idiosyncratic spin on the tunes of the godfather of jazz idiosyncrasy with the July 17 release of The Monk Project (Belle Avenue). The saxophonist/multi-reedist's fourth album with his ensemble Velvet Gentlemen -- guitarist Pete McCann, keyboardist Ron Oswanski, bassist Evan Gregor, and drummer John Mettam (with special guests bassist Kermit Driscoll and drummer Ian Froman) -- is an intriguing and highly exploratory set of performances that, like Thelonious Monk's compositions, could never be mistaken for the work of anyone else.

Though it follows up The Satie Project, Velvet Gentlemen's two-volume assaying of the French modernist composer, The Monk Project actually began life as a solo saxophone concept for Willis. Not far into it, however, he realized that his non-chordal instrument was insufficient to the task of Monk's ideas. "Monk plays orchestrationally," Willis explains. "On saxophone, I can only play one note at a time. There was no way I could play up to what Monk performed."

Bringing in the band let him account for the composer's multiple layers of melody and meaning. In the process, it expanded Willis's personal palette for the project: He plays three different saxophones (tenor, soprano, and baritone), along with two wind instruments from central Eurasia, the duduk and the zurna -- and, in several places, the electronic wind instrument (EWI).

If this sounds cerebral and highfalutin, however, it's anything but. Tunes like "Eronel" and "Criss Cross" take on a seamy, creeping funk, while "Crepuscule with Nellie," "Rhythm-a-Ning," and "Pannonica" capture the dark, earthy mystery of New Orleans and the Mississippi Delta, where jazz and blues came to be. "Our aim," says Willis, "became to get a lot more lowdown and dirty to fully capture the blues aspect of this music."

Velvet Gentlemen: Evan Gregor, Dan Willis, John Mettam, Pete McCann. 

Group effort though it became, The Monk Project still manages to be a tour de force for Willis himself. On "Epistrophy" alone, he masterfully wields three different axes, alternating tenor sax and EWI on the main theme before laying down a simmering solo on a distortion tenor saxophone. The EWI becomes the primary voice for the album-closing "Think of One" -- a tip of the hat to Michael Brecker. The instrument, Willis says, is particularly suited to Monk's "orchestrational" approach to composition: "You can play one note and make it sound like a large orchestra."

Dan Willis was born Daniel Wieloszynski in Fredonia, New York, on September 23, 1968. The scion of a large musical family that included his father, arranger and multi-instrumentalist Stephen Wieloszynski, Willis experimented with drums, piano, and trumpet before finally settling on saxophone. By the time he was 12, he was sitting in on jazz gigs in nearby Buffalo.

Following in his father's footsteps, Willis enrolled after high school in the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York. There was no undergraduate jazz program at the time; however, while Willis formally majored in oboe (and was a featured soloist on English horn with the Eastman Philharmonia), he nonetheless studied jazz with eminent faculty members Bill Dobbins, Ramon Ricker, and Dave Liebman.

Upon graduation he embarked for Europe with a touring production of West Side Story, then settled in New Jersey to become a freelance musician and study with Bob Mintzer. He made his first recording, Dan Willis Quartet (1998), with a band featuring guitarist Ben Monder, bassist Drew Gress, and drummer John Hollenbeck. The following year's Hand to Mouth brought guitarist Pete McCann into Willis's orbit; pianist/keyboardist Ron Oswanski arrived in 2003 with Velvet Gentlemen, establishing Willis's primary musical vehicle that after nearly two decades is still thriving.

"The pandemic has touched our lives in such a profound way," says Willis. "Aside from the economic hardship of the disappearance of performance opportunities it has, for some, been a very difficult time where we hesitate to create for fear of an uncertain future. I think of 'what would my heroes do or say to me for advice?' I almost immediately began to wonder if this would be for me what it was like for Sonny Rollins and his almost two-year-long self-imposed isolation. Would I create my The Bridge [Rollins's 1962 masterpiece]? Ultimately, life is about the journey, not the destination." 

Web Site: danwillismusic.com

Latin Jazz CD of the Month - "Gonzalo Rubalcaba & Aymée Nuviola: Viento y Tiempo"

Latin Jazz CD of the Month
Gonzalo Rubalcaba & Aymée Nuviola: "Viento y Tiempo" (Top Stop Music/Sony Latin)
Rating: *****

Fulfilling a longtime dream of working on a project together, award-winning artists Gonzalo Rubalcaba and Aymée Nuviola release "Viento y Tiempo - Live at Blue Note Tokyo," a thrilling and explosive album that features a fabulous rendition of "El Manisero."

Childhood friends from Havana, Cuba, who have both received widespread acclaim for their work, joined forces for this live album recorded during the pair's six-night sold out stint at Tokyo's prestigious Blue Note Tokyo on August 2019. Available as of May 29, 2020 on all music platforms by their label Top Stop Music, the album was produced by Gonzalo Rubalcaba and Gregory Elias.

Both from Havana, Cuba, Gonzalo Rubalcaba and Aymée Nuviola have been friends since childhood. Finally, after years of planning and preparation, these two consummate artists come together to produce a work of true artistic significance. This firey new release features unique renditions of Cuban classics such as "El Manisero," "Bemba Colorá" and "Lágrimas Negras", as well as an original composition by Nuviola, "Rumba Callejera," which features her sister Lourdes Nuviola.

Earlier this year, the artists teased their collaboration with the release of the single "Azúcar Pa' Tu Café," song that blends Tropical Latin Jazz with Funk, and features a special appearance by Cuban artist CimaFunk.

"It brings me joy, satisfaction, melancholy, and pride to hear this project. It's brought on by many things: the grandness of Aymée, the place and its inhabitants, the band, the loved ones and business partners present, and the awakening of memories now converted to a wish to see my mother & other loved ones dance to this music that had already existed then and continues to flourish now. Thanks to the music!" said Gonzalo Rubalcaba on this new project.

"Viento y Tiempo" is a childhood dream come true. In a way, it's telling our mothers, who are no longer with us, that their efforts weren't in vain, and that those two kids that they fought for are still united. It's a tribute to the music that flows through the streets of Havana which we grew up with. I thank God and Top Stop Music's visión for making this dream a reality," said Aymée Nuviola.

Rubalcaba is a virtuoso musician considered one of the leading artists in Afro-Cuban jazz. He has received worldwide acclaim from outlets such as the Wall Street Journal, NPR, Downbeat, the Chicago Tribune, and others. He has been nominated for 16 GRAMMY® and Latin GRAMMY®  Awards and has won two each.

Nuviola, who has been nicknamed "La Sonora del Mundo," has effectively fused Timba, Jazz, Son and Salsa, with led to Fer winning the GRAMMY® award for Best Latin Tropical Album in 2020 for her most recent release "A Journey Trough Cuban Music"; and in 2018, she won the Latin GRAMMY®  for Best Tropical Fusion Album, for her album "Como Anillo Al Dedo."

Vocal Jazz CD of the Month - "Naama Gheber: Dearly Beloved"

Vocal Jazz CD of the Month
Naama Gheber: "Dearly Beloved" (Cellar Music)
Rating: ****

Noted vocalist Naama Gheber makes her auspicious, radiant recording debut with Dearly Beloved, released last April on Cellar Music Records, preceded by the release of two singles -- the title track on February 14 and "So in Love" March 13. The New York-based singer (by way of Beér Sheva, Israel), who first turned heads during her yearlong residency at Manhattan's Mezzrow Jazz Club, engages the superb trio that has long supported her at that residency (pianist Ray Gallon, bassist David Wong, and drummer Aaron Kimmel) for a dozen interpretations of classic jazz standards. She is given a further helping hand from esteemed vibraphonist Steve Nelson, who features on five tracks.

Gheber fell in love with the singers and tunes from the Great American Songbook while studying at the Center for Jazz Studies in Tel Aviv. "I immediately felt at home with standards and worked on finding my own voice within them," she explains. "I was just trying to sound like myself." When it came time to make an album, she chose the ones for which she felt the deepest personal significance. "Recording songs that I feel strongly connected to was a way to bring myself to the album."

There can be no doubt about those strong connections in Gheber's singing of "So in Love," infusing it with pitch-perfect mood and intimacy, or in her fond playfulness on "Just Squeeze Me" and "I Can't Give You Anything But Love." Her feeling for the material also allows her to give sophisticated expression to them, as in her charming mix of ruefulness and romance on "Since I Fell for You" or the astonishing compound of joy, tenderness, and a tinge of longing on "Good Night My Love."

The impact of Nelson's presence on Dearly Beloved is difficult to understate. He is a vibraphonist of considerable prowess, which he honed through years of work with the likes of Dave Holland, Mulgrew Miller, and Donald Brown. But for all his virtuoso chops, he improvises behind Gheber using first and foremost his gift for memorable, lyrical melodic statements (as on his solo on the title track, and both his solo and luminous fills on "You Stepped Out of a Dream"). Likewise, Gheber has formulated a powerful chemistry with the trio of Gallon, Wong, and Kimmel, clearly evident in the delight and aplomb the quartet lend to Gershwin's swinging "'SWonderful."

Naama Gheber was born in Beér Sheva, Israel on January 2, 1991. Though she primarily grew up in the city in the Negev Desert, she spent four of her early childhood years living in Baltimore, Maryland, while her parents attended Johns Hopkins University. It was the start of a lifelong bond with America and American culture.

The child of a musical family, Gheber sought to be a singer from her youth. Instead, she trained as a classical pianist until her final year of school, when a graduation gift from her grandparents enabled her to take voice lessons from legendary Israeli singer Riki Gal. She learned Gal's Hebrew songs, but it was on an unusual attempt at Ray Charles's "Hit the Road, Jack" that both Gheber and Gal realized her gifts were uniquely suited to American music.

Thus inspired, she enrolled in Tel Aviv's Center for Jazz Studies after completing her mandatory military service, where she first encountered such singers as Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday, and Helen Merrill. "I was seduced by their urbane lyrical style," she recalls; Gheber had found her creative direction.

She left Tel Aviv for New York in 2015, after receiving a scholarship to study music at the New School. (She graduated in 2017.) Though she was a stranger in a strange land, she began frequenting jazz clubs to ingratiate herself with the scene, drawing on her experiences in Baltimore to relate to her new acquaintances. She soon developed a network of connections -- not least among them pianist Ray Gallon, bassist David Wong, and drummer Aaron Kimmel, a relationship that was solidified when they began accompanying her in regular late-night sets at Mezzrow in Greenwich Village. Gheber's CD release show should have happened at Cafe Bohemia, NYC. European shows were booked for Hot Club, Lyon, France; Clarence Jazz Club, Malaga, Spain; Ultamar Jazz Club, Girona, Spain; La Boveda, Zaragoza, Spain, but all had to be cancelled.

"The creation of this record has been a yearlong adventure," says Gheber. "I feel like I went through a full range of experiences -- failure, success, excitement, anxiety, disappointment, and fulfillment. In the end, this process, like this album and, really, like life itself, is a lot of everything. What makes it mine is the unique balance within these factors. A balance that is only true to me."

Web Site: naamagheber.com

Big Band CD of the Month - "Bill Warfield: Smile"

Big Band CD of the Month
Bill Warfield and the Hell's Kitchen Funk Orchestra: "Smile" (Planet Arts)
Rating: ****

Trumpeter Bill Warfield's Hell's Kitchen Funk Orchestra lives up to its name on Smile, the little big band's second album, released on June 5 by Planet Arts Records. The 12-piece ensemble locates and unleashes grooves from a pair of Warfield originals and several R&B and fusion classics, as well as a few more unlikely sources. They have some major league help: keyboardist and longtime David Letterman sidekick Paul Shaffer and esteemed tenor saxophonist "Blue" Lou Marini take seats in the HKFO alongside Warfield and his regulars, including trumpeter John Eckert, bassist Steve Count, drummer Scott Neumann,and vocalist Jane Stuart.

Smile's title refers naturally to the iconic Charlie Chaplin standard, which bookends the album in two versions (vocal and instrumental). Yet it also serves as a succinct description of the overall recording: an array of one joyful, kinetic performance after another, which gave the musicians of the HKFO as much delight to play as it does for the listener to hear. "We had so much fun making this album, and I think it sounds it," says Warfield, who arranged all 12 tracks. "For me, that's what it's all about."

Half of the fun is in guessing how the band might repackage the rhythms on Smile -- especially its less obviously groove-ready tunes. Indeed, surprises abound in their treatments of country classic "Ode to Billie Joe," featuring a soul-drenched Stuart vocal; beloved Muppet anthem "The Rainbow Connection," here a powerful jazz waltz with guest singer Carolyn Leonhart taking a tender turn; and the album highlight, Mike Post's "Theme from Law & Order," which becomes an amazing mash-up with John Coltrane's "A Love Supreme."

Neither, though, do Warfield and company take the predictable routes on the Weather Report staple "Cucumber Slumber," Booker T. & the MGs' Southern soul linchpin "Hip-Hug-Her," or the Gladys Knight smash "I've Got to Use My Imagination." In each case, Warfield's arrangements find resourceful new ways to turn up the heat. "I approach these songs from a different standpoint," he explains. "with a deep understanding of what goes into making commercial music, but with a jazz sensibility." His charts are ably augmented with hard-charging, rewarding solos by the likes of guitarist Matt Chertoff, alto saxophonist Andrew Gould, and bari man Matt Hong as well as Shaffer, Marini, Eckert, and Warfield himself.

Bill Warfield was born March 2, 1952 in Owings Mill, Maryland, just outside Baltimore. While his was a musical family (his father played guitar and sang, and both parents played piano), it had no hi-fi record player until Bill himself brought one home in eighth grade. He quickly became enamored with the trumpet sounds he was hearing on contemporary records and radio, taking up the instrument himself. He was soon good enough to join the Maryland Youth Symphony Orchestra and to study at the Peabody Conservatory Preparatory School.

A serious car crash when he was 18 -- one of two such accidents that would nearly end his musical career before it began -- scuttled his plans to join the U.S. Air Force jazz ensemble. Warfield instead attended Maryland's Towson State College (now Towson University), studying with Ray Moore and Hank Levy before leaving school to become a full-time musician in the Baltimore area, including directorship of the City of Baltimore's Port City Jazz Ensemble.

Moving to New York in 1980, Warfield quickly busied himself on the music scene: He toured with Paul Anka, joined the Bill Kirchner Nonet and the Musicians of Brooklyn Initiative (MOBI), subbed in the Mel Lewis Jazz Orchestra, and formed his own band. In the meantime, he completed his academic studies at Manhattan School of Music (where he went on to earn a Master's in music), then took a job on Wall Street before returning in 1990 with his debut big band album, New York City Jazz.

(Bill & the Hell's Kitchen Funk Orchestra at the Zinc Bar, NYC)

From there, Warfield's career kicked into high gear. A string of successful big band engagements and albums followed, as did stints with Ornette Coleman, Mari Okubo, and Dave Stryker. He also became director of the New York Jazz Repertory Orchestra. The Hell's Kitchen Funk Orchestra premiered in 2015 with Mercy, Mercy, Mercy; Smile is the little big band's follow-up.

"I look at the world around me and I'm often baffled, shocked, even frightened by what I see," says Warfield. "No matter what I face, I still search for the spiritual strength, the peace to reflect. I am certainly no stranger to adversity, and realize that no matter how difficult a situation I find myself in, that this too shall pass. Confident in this knowledge, while I'm waiting, it just seems easier to smile."

Photography: John Abbott (Warfield), Carol Green (band)
Web Site: billwarfield.net

Crossover CD of the Month - "Bergcrantz/Laurin/Fjeldsted Trio: Julsanger"

Vocal Crossover CD of the Month
Iris Bergcrantz/Anna-Lena Laurin/Anders Fjeldsted: "Julsanger" (Vanguard Music Boulevard VMBCD 138)
Rating: *****

Featuring: Iris Bergcrantz (vocals), Anna-Lena Laurin (piano) and Anders Fjeldsted (bass)
Photos: Nadja Hallström and Lasse Fagerberg.
Artwork: James Djordjevic.

Fresh-water beauty. Five Christmas Carols. But don't worry about the season. It's timeless music, a true sonic dream. Beyond words.

Instrumental Jazz CD of the Month - "John Stein: Watershed"

Instrumental Jazz CD of the Month
John Stein: "Watershed" (Whaling City Sound WCS 121)
Rating: *****

A brilliant new release that already deserves to be considered one of the best albums of the year! Classy, sultry, elegant and sensual performances by guitarist John Stein and his flawless Brazilian band, which features Zé Eduardo Nazario on drums, Daniel Grajew on piano & keyboards, reedman Teco Cardoso and the São Paulo-based German bassist Frank Herzberg.

The brilliant repertoire includes many ingenious originals by Stein such as "Brazilian Hug" (that evokes "The Good Life") and "Wally," my friend Bobby Scott's "A Taste of Honey" (a twice in a row pop hit when recorded by the Beatles and Herb Alpert in the 60s), Jim Hall's pretty & hip "Waltz New" (a showcase for Herzberg's improvitional talents), Pat Martino's intrincate "Cisco" (Hall and Martino are big influences on Stein), Henry Mancini's ultra-sophisticated ballad "Dreamsville," and Joe Henderson's "The Kicker" approached as a dynamite samba-jazz number by Zé Eduardo Nazario's fiery arrangement featuring the drummer himself, Cardoso on tenor sax and Grajew on Rhodes. Great sonic quality and amazing artwork too.

Internationally renowned jazz guitarist John Stein was born and raised in Kansas City, Missouri USA where he took up his instrument at an early age. His talent for and love of music ultimately earned him a faculty position at Berklee College of Music in Boston, where he is a Professor in the Harmony Department.

John Stein is an experienced teacher, clinician, recording artist, and author. John has performed as a leader or a sideman with some of the world’s finest jazz acts, and his compositions and performances cover the spectrum of jazz styles. John is a prolific recording artist as a leader, in addition to the contributions he has made to other artists’ projects.

John published educational columns in Just Jazz Guitar Magazine for many years that focused on composition and arranging for jazz guitar. Berklee Press published John’s arranging materials in a book that is now available, entitled: Berklee Jazz Standards For Solo Guitar. John compiled the compositional materials into two books that are now available: Composing Blues For Jazz Performance, and Composing Tunes For Jazz Performance.

“My music is the result of a lifetime’s involvement with my instrument, the guitar, and many hours studying theory, composition, arranging, and musical history,” says John. His warm and deeply expressive creative jazz performances move and excite audiences wherever he appears.

R.I.P.: Mario Castro-Neves (1935-2020)

R.I.P.: Mario Castro-Neves -- a brilliant Brazilian pianist, arranger, composer and band-leader born in Rio de Janeiro on November 12, 1935 -- just passed away this afternoon, May 4, 2020 in his home in Plainsboro, New Jersey, USA. I had the honor to work with him in several occasions, having produced his last album, "On A Clear Bossa Day," recorded for my JSR label in 2004.

Mario dedicated to me a song titled "Someday," that he recorded with Ithamara Koorax on her "Love Dance" album for JSR/Milestone Records. That led to sold-out performances at both Mistura Fina and Partitura jazz clubs in Rio.

I have also produced (in 2001) the first official CD reissues in Brazil and abroad of his debut album as a leader, "Mario Castro-Neves & Samba S.A.", recorded for RCA in 1967. Besides other brilliant solo albums for Decca and CTL labels, Mario worked with Tito Madi, Wilson Simonal, Elza Soares, Tony Camillo, Angel Sessions, L.J. Reynolds, Carmen McRae and Pat Martino, had his songs recorded by Doris Monteiro and Rosa Maria, did albums with groups like Musicanossa and Turma da Pilantragem, formed his combo Jovem Brasa (an amazing fusion of bossa nova and the Brazilian rock style known as "jovem guarda"), and led his own orchestras in England and Canada (two countries on which he lived for many years before relocating to the USA), where he was a teacher at the Princeton University during the 80s. In that same decade, he led his jazz quintet Subtle Chemistry.

During the 90s he concentrated on his work as producer and keyboard programmer at TC Studios in Hillsboro, New Jersey, recording for the Volt label with soul music, funk and hip hop artists such as Angel Sessions, L.J. Reynolds, The Dramatics and rapper Kenne Davis.

Mario was the older brother of guitarist Oscar Castro-Neves, bassist Iko, drummer Leo, clarinetist Zeca (all deceased) and singer Pepê Castro-Neves.

I was introduced to Mario's unique style through radio DJ Simon Khoury who gave a lot of airplay to a track, "Helena And I", from his 1973 album "Brazilian Mood," produced by Franlyn Boyd for Decca Records. Three decades later, I was able not only to include that same recording of "Helena & I" on a compilation I produced for Verve ("A Trip To Brazil Vol.2: Bossa & Beyond") as well as to record a new version of that stunning song for "On A Clear Bossa Day." Another highlight of his final album was "Mamadeira Atonal," an iconic song written in 1955 with Ronaldo Boscoli.

Among the members of Mario's Samba S.A. bands were Novelli, Normando, Thais do Amaral, Biba, Manuel Gusmão, Cesar Machado, Ithamara Koorax and Ana Zinger. He also played with Paula Faour, Jorge Pescara, Enio Santos, Cesar Machado, Memo Acevedo, Ken Ramm and Gary Morgan.

As I wrote on the notes for the "On A Clear Bossa Day" CD: "His superb orchestrations on that masterpiece album Brazilian Mood would be enough to place Mario Castro-Neves among the best arrangers in the music history, alongside Sebesky, Ogerman, Mancini, Legrand, Schifrin, Mandel, Gil Evans, Deodato and Gaya."

He is survived by his wife Mara, one brother (Pepê), one sister (Maria Lina), two daughters (Lili and Andrea), and one son (Mario Castro-Neves Filho).
My condolences to all his family.
******
Gênio que antecipou e transcendeu a bossa-nova, Mario Castro-Neves – o brilhante pianista, arranjador, compositor e band-leader nascido no Rio de Janeiro em 12 de novembro de 1935 – faleceu nesta tarde, 4 de maio de 2020, em sua casa em Plainsboro, Nova Jersey (EUA), aos 84 anos. Tive a honra de trabalhar com ele em várias ocasiões, tendo produzido seu último álbum, “On A Clear Bossa Day”, registrado para minha gravadora JSR em 2004.

Mario me dedicou uma música intitulada “Someday”, que ele gravou em 2002 com Ithamara Koorax no álbum “Love Dance,” lançado pela Milestone Records. Por conta do sucesso da música, Mario realizou apresentações com lotação esgotada, ao lado da cantora, nas casas noturnas Mistura Fina e Partitura, no Rio.

Também produzi (em 2001, para a BMG) o primeiro relançamento oficial em CD, no Brasil e no exterior, de seu álbum de estréia como líder, “Mario Castro-Neves & Samba SA”, gravado para a RCA em 1967, com brilhantes recriações de músicas de Antonio Carlos Jobim, João Donato, Moacir Santos, Dorival Caymmi e Chico Buarque. Incluí algumas dessas faixas nas compilações “Focus On Bossa Nova” e “Focus On Brazilian Music Grooves”, lançadas na Europa e Japão. "Candomblé", de Danilo Caymmi & Edmundo Souto, tornou-se um grande sucesso nas pistas de dança na Europa.

Além de outros brilhantes álbuns para os selos Decca e Canadian Talent Library, Mario trabalhou com Tito Madi, Elza Soares, Wilson Simonal, Tony Camillo, Carmen McRae e Pat Martino, teve músicas gravadas por Doris Monteiro, Rosa Maria e Ithamara Koorax, lançou discos com grupos como Musicanossa e Turma da Pilantragem, criou a banda Jovem Brasa (dedicada à uma inusitada fusão entre Jovem Guarda e Bossa Nova), e ainda formou suas próprias orquestras na Inglaterra e no Canadá, dois países em que viveu antes de se mudar para os EUA em 1977, onde lecionou na Universidade de Princeton. Sua gravação de “Summersoft” (Stevie Wonder) ganhou o status de cult-hit na cena internacional do acid-jazz.

Tornei-me, aos 10 anos de idade, um grande fã do estilo único de Mario graças ao radialista Simon Khoury, que tocava bastante na JB-AM a faixa “Helena And I”, do álbum “Brazilian Mood” (1973). Três décadas depois, pude não apenas incluir a mesma fascinante gravação de “Helena And I” em uma compilação que produzi para Verve (“A Trip To Brazil Vol.2: Bossa & Beyond”), bem como gravar uma nova versão daquele tema sofisticadíssimo para o álbum “On A Clear Bossa Day”.
Outro destaque daquele que agora se tornou seu último CD foi “Mamadeira Atonal”, uma música icônica escrita em 1955 com Ronaldo Bôscoli e que absurdamente permaneceu inédita em disco até 2004.

Entre os membros de seu lendário grupo Samba S.A. estavam Novelli, Normando, Thais do Amaral, Biba (na primeira formação), Manuel Gusmão, Cesar Machado, Ithamara Koorax e Ana Zinger. Também tocou com Paula Faour, Jorge Pescara, Enio Santos, Memo Acevedo, Gary Morgan e Pat Martino. No final dos anos 90, enveredou pelo funk e hip-hop, gravando para o selo Volt com Angel Sessions, L.J. Reynolds, o grupo The Dramatics e o rapper Kenne Davis.

Como escrevi no encarte do CD “On A Clear Bossa Day”: “Seu excelente trabalho de orquestração no álbum Brazilian Mood seria suficientes para colocar Mario Castro-Neves entre os melhores arranjadores da história da música, ao lado de Sebesky, Ogerman, Mancini, Legrand, Schifrin, Mandel, Gil Evans, Deodato e Gaya.

Mario era o irmão mais velho do violonista Oscar Castro-Neves, do baixista Iko, do baterista Leo, do clarinetista Zeca (todos já falecidos) e do cantor Pepê Castro-Neves.
Ele deixa sua esposa Mara, seus irmãos Pepê e Maria Lina, suas filhas Lili e Andrea, e seu filho Mario Castro-Neves Filho.

Latin Jazz & Big Band CD of the Month - "Spanish Harlem Orchestra: The Latin Jazz Project"

Latin Jazz & Big Band CD of the Month
Spanish Harlem Orchestra: "The Latin Jazz Project" (ArtistShare)
Rating: *****

A splendid CD already destined to appear in the Jazz Station list of "best albums of the year"! Flawless sonic quality and a gorgeous artwork too.

Multi-GRAMMY® Award Winning Spanish Harlem Orchestra expands their repertoire with the release of The Latin Jazz Project, due out on ArtistShare on May 22, 2020. After flashing glimpses of their Latin Jazz prowess over the course of their previous six recordings, SHO goes ‘all in’ on The Latin Jazz Project, their first full length Latin jazz release. A litany of top-tier jazz artists join the ensemble as featured guests soloists: Kurt Elling, Miguel Zenon, Tom Harrell, Dave Liebman, Bob Mintzer, Joe Locke, and others. This is a fan-funded project through ArtistShare.

For the past 17 years, Spanish Harlem Orchestra has earned their reputation as today’s premier salsa ensemble. Considered “the leading light of the salsa reconstruction movement” (Newsday), SHO has released six critically acclaimed albums including Anniversary (Artist Share), which most recently won the GRAMMY® Award for Best Tropical Latin Album. They have performed on the world’s top stages and at nearly every major jazz festival including those in Newport, Montreal, and Monterey. Especially through their live performances, SHO has successfully built a bridge between Latin and jazz music, evidenced by their countless standing ovations at festivals and critical acclaim from the press. The Latin Jazz Project builds upon that legacy and brings SHO full circle into the Latin jazz arena.

The Latin Jazz Project is a natural progression for Spanish Harlem Orchestra. For starters, SHO Artistic Director Oscar Hernández is considered one of the most important Latin jazz pianists of his generation. His storied career extends back four decades and includes performances and recordings with an impressive list of Latin music greats including Tito Puente, Machito, Celia Cruz, Conjunto Libre, and Willie Colon, among others. Hernández spent six years playing with Ray Barreto and appeared on five of his recordings including the seminal Rican/Struction. Hernández then went on to join Ruben Blades’ Seis Del Solar band and eventually became his Musical Director, charting the musical course for the salsa legend. Hernández soon became the Musical Director for Paul Simon as well as the orchestrator and arranger for Gloria Estefan.

As a leader, Hernández has released two Latin jazz albums with Origin records: The Art of Latin Jazz (2017) and Love The Moment (2019), which went on to receive four stars by Downbeat Magazine. Now, Hernández has melded his Latin jazz expertise with Spanish Harlem Orchestra’s signature salsa dura sound to produce an instant classic in The Latin Jazz Project, the ensemble’s first all-Latin jazz recording. “We have always been steeped in the tradition of Latin jazz,” says Hernández, adding, “…it makes sense for us to finally get to this point. I couldn’t be more proud of this project and this band.

Spanish Harlem Orchestra has long collaborated with jazz greats; in 2015, Chick Corea and Joe Lovano appeared on their self-titled release and Anniversary featured a guest appearance by Randy Brecker. The tradition continues on The Latin Jazz Project, which features an impressive cadre of jazz elite including Miguel Zenon and Kurt Elling (“Invitation”), Bob Mintzer (“Bobo”), Bob Franceschini (“Acid Rain”), Tom Harrell (“Los Palmas”), Jimmy Haslip and Dave Liebman (“Silent Prayers”). Jonathan Powell (“Round Midnight”), Michael Rodrigeuz (“Fort Apache”), and Joe Locke (“Latin Perspective”).

The Latin Jazz Project presents a new side to Spanish Harlem Orchestra. Co-producer and trombonist Doug Beavers says: “…we really wanted to present SHO in a different light with this project- that of a world-class ensemble that can go toe-to-toe with any renowned jazz ensemble or jazz orchestra in the world.  For this, we thought the vehicle of Latin Jazz gave us the best medium to explore how different jazz masters would mesh with the orchestra and explore the idiom.The results came out very natural sounding and exciting, as if these jazz greats had been performing with SHO for years.”

With The Latin Jazz Project, Spanish Harlem Orchestra adds to an impressive discography that showcases a dynamic music legacy built by their previous six releases. These recordings have garnered five GRAMMY®  nominations and three wins (in 2004 for sophomore album Across 110th Street, in 2010 for Viva La Tradicion, and as noted, last year for Anniversary).

Classical CD of the Month - "Anna-Lena Laurin: Shards of Time"

Classical CD of the Month
Anna-Lena Laurin: "Shards of Time" (Vanguard Music Boulevard VMBCD136)
Rating: *****

Featuring: Gitta-Marie Sjöberg (soprano), Olle Persson and Aleksander Nohr (baritone), Maria Carlsson (mezzo soprano), Mats Jansson, Irin Emeliantseva, Francisca Skoogh and Martin Sturfält (piano)
Cover Photo and Art Direction: Michael De Pasquale
Graphic Design: Alexandra Liljebladh

The brilliant Swedish composer, pianist and conductor Anna-Lena Laurin belongs to the new pantheon of contemporary classical music. Her symphonic and chamber works are extremely originals in aesthetic and content. This new album represents a new chapter on her outstanding career. It includes some lyrical works for voice and piano ("Men Improve With The Years," "Gud Ar Inte Stum," "Sanger I Vinden," "Ser Du...") that are the most fascinating on that genre since Claus Ogerman's "Tagore Lieder." The solo piano pieces ("Wind," "Piece To Irina" and "Shards of Time") are no less impressive, always adventurous in concept and form, performed by the different soloists with dazzling authority. Superb sound quality and artwork too.

Vocal Jazz CD of the Month - "Karina Corradini: Bridge To Infinity"

Vocal Jazz CD of the Month
Karina Corradini: "Bridge to Infinity - Tribute to Zane Musa" (self-produced)
Rating: ****

‘Bridge To Infinity’ is the recording debut of Karina Corradini, a very talented and versatile singer who is equally skilled at straight ahead jazz, ballads, boleros and Latin American classics. Her beautiful tone, powerful voice, highly appealing jazz phrasing, ability to scat at even the fastest tempos, and warmth when caressing ballads make her one of the most promising singers on the jazz and Latin jazz scenes today.

Karina Corradini was born and raised in Buenos Aires, Argentina, one hour away from downtown Buenos Aires. As a child, Karina listened to her parents' tangos, and sister's Beatles before she discovered Brazilian music in her pre-teens. “I started to pay attention to what was called ‘Tropicalismo’ and was crazy for Caetano Veloso, Gilberto Gil, Djavan, and Gal Costa. A bit later, I discovered my all-time favorite, Elis Regina, and the bossa nova masters. In my teens, I was fully into Van Halen, Sade, Stevie Wonder, Aretha, and all the current  80's rock music. I integrated everything. Growing up in South America, I was exposed to a lot of different rhythms: tango, salsa, southamerican folklore, boleros, and the whole Northamerican spectrum of music that enriched my musical world. Through my parent's music, I also listened to Louis Armstrong and to Nat King Cole's latin album that really called my attention with his sweet American accent as he sang latino tunes. When I was 16 years old, I met a group of young musicians who introduced me to jazz through Pat Metheny, Paco de Lucia, John McLaughlin, and Al DiMeola.  Right there I started to realized  that music was a call for me. I was very much into the mystic music of Egberto Gismonti and Lyle Mays as well.  But then, after discovering  Ella Fitzgerald, I realized that that was the music I wanted to sing, and if I only could sing a little like Ella, my purpose in life would be totally fulfilled. So, I started to study voice lessons with Liana Lecuona, an opera singer from The Colón Theater ( Like La Scala of Buenos Aires)".

She began singing professionally when she was only 18 year old, leading her own jazz sextet, ‘Karina Corradini and the Summer Band,’ which performed at the beach, bars and restaurants during the summer. When the summer season ended, she sang on Corrientes Avenue in Buenos Aires, including a twice a week engagement for two years that often ended up as a jam session with veteran musicians. Karina worked at many venues (including the Teatro Coliseo, Jazz Club de la Plaza, the Thelonious Bar and Clasica y Moderna), and also twice toured Southern Brazil with her group. By the time she decided to move to the United States in 1999, she was among the busiest jazz singers in Buenos Aires. Even now, when she returns to Argentina each year to visit family, she is always welcomed to perform at major jazz clubs.

“I moved to Los Angeles to learn Ella Fitzgerald’s language, and to study music in the land of jazz.” Karina attended Rhiannon’s workshop three times, seminars by Sheila Jordan, Mark Murphy and Kevin Mahogany, and studied music at Los Angeles City College and art El Camino College. After performing with a rhythm and blues band for a year, she formed her own jazz group and has since performed at a countless number of clubs, restaurants, concerts and festivals, mostly in Southern California.

The story behind the release of ‘Bridge To Infinity’ includes a lot of highs and lows for the singer. The first high, no doubt, was “One of the first people who I mentioned my idea to was my dear friend Christian McBride. He not only got excited for me but also wanted to be part of the project!” The great bassist—who would become the album’s producer and main arranger—was not immediately available, so Karina recorded six songs on a demo with pianist Mahesh Balasooriya, bassist Rene Camacho and drummer Marvin “Smitty” Smith. She used the arrangements of Eric Bulling—who had been the writer for the Ella Fitzgerald album Ella Abraça Jobim. The results were so rewarding that those performances are also included on the CD.

When Corradini and McBride finally got together in the studio with tenor and alto saxophonist Zane Musa, trumpeter Nolan Shaheed, pianist Mahesh Balasooriya, drummer Marvin “Smitty” Smith, and percussionist Munyungo Jackson, the other nine songs were completed in just two days. “It felt like a big party and was fun all of the time. All of those musicians are incredibly talented. But just as important to me, all of them have warmth, are non-judgmental, have an open minded vibe, and have a great deal of humanity.”

The wide-ranging program includes swinging standards (“You Turned The Tables On Me,” “Until I Met You,” and “Lover Come Back To Me”), boleros (“What A Difference A Day Makes” and “Tu Mi Delirio”), a tribute to Elis Regina (through Baden Powell/Paulo Cesar Pinheiro's “Cai Dentro”), samba (Pedro Caetano's "É Com Esse Que Eu vou," Dorival Caymmi's "Doralice") and bossa-nova classics (Carlos Lyra/Vinicius de Moraes' “Você E Eu” and Marcos Valle/Paulo Sergio Valle's "Preciso Aprender A Ser Só"), and romantic ballads (“I Could Have Told You” and “If You Went Away”).

Karina had one of her mentors, pianist Howlett “Smitty” Smith, guest on his original “When The Time Is Right,” and guitarist Barry Zweig is on two numbers including the uptempo “I’m Gonna Lock My Heart And Throw Away The Key.” Throughout the set, Karina’s singing is both inventive and beautiful while Zane Musa’s contributions consistently uplift the music.

Unforeseen developments and tragedies resulted in the release of ‘Bridge To Infinity’ being stalled until now. Karina caught a serious fungus, Systemic Candidiasis, that resulted in her being ill for three years until, through research and the help of a nutritionist, she cured herself. In 2015, her close friend Zane Musa died in an accident. And Karina later fell down a flight of stairs in Argentina, breaking a wrist and suffering from chronic pain syndrome for a year. Fortunately she is now fully recovered and quite active on the music scene.

“After all of that, 2018 is finally my year. I cannot believe that the project is finished and now everyone can hear it. I hope listeners really enjoy it. It is dedicated to the genius of Zane Musa.” While Karina recorded a demo with the Tom Garvin Trio in 2001 (which made it possible for her to be hired for many jobs) and an unreleased CD in 2005 that included her good friend the late bassist Jorge Pasquali, ‘Bridge To Infinity’ is her first recording to be released to the general public. Finally listeners who live far beyond Southern California will get to appreciate her wonderful voice, musical talents and ability to make every song sound as if it was written for her.

Instrumental Jazz CD of the Month - "Richie Goods: My Left Hand Man"

Instrumental Jazz CD of the Month
Richie Goods & The Goods Project: "My Left Hand Man - A Tribute to Mulgrew Miller" 
Rating: *****

The consummate bassist’s third album as a bandleader, "My Left Hand Man," is a tribute to Goods’ late mentor Mulgrew Miller. Over the course of ten fresh takes of ten compositions by jazz luminary Miller , Goods achieves a clean, cohesive and unified sound wrought with thoughtful interplay from this large ensemble thanks to his mindful arrangements and the talented personnel that he carefully selected.

The album features Goods on acoustic and electric bass, along with Lil John Roberts on the drums. Mulgrew’s vacant piano bench is shared on this tribute by two remarkable pianists, Shedrick Mitchell and Mike King.  The release features the guitarwork of Tariqh Akoni and David Rosenthal.  A slew of notable artists make guest appearances on this release, including vocalist Jean Baylor, vibraphonist Chien Chien Lu, percussionist Danny Sadownick among others. Richie will be performing in Washington DC, Chicago, Detroit, Cleveland, New York and Philadelphia to support this release.

According to Goods, “Mulgrew is the person that really put me on the scene and helped me establish a name for myself. It was a real learning experience playing with him.”  The bassist toured and recorded with Miller for nine fruitful years. Goods’ tenure with Miller spurred a career that would eventually see the bass player performing with the likes of Alicia Keys, Common, Chris Botti, Whitney Houston and the Headhunters to name a few.  As Goods recalls, “Mulgrew would often introduce me as his left hand man because the left hand on the piano is the hand that plays the bass, so I acted as his left hand man.”  Thus spurred the name for this release.

Through his funk and R&B infused arrangements of Miller’s tunes, Goods aims to bring these compositions into the present day and educate listeners about the late pianist’s eclectic tastes and musical versatility. “[Mulgrew] was one of the most nonjudgmental, beautiful people I have ever known,” Goods remarks, “He was also a special kind of musician that had a very open mind, more open than a lot of people knew. Although people thought of Mulgrew as only a ‘straight-ahead’ jazz player, he used to play gospel music as well as R&B.”  On My Left Hand Man, There’s a successful updating, or contemporary sensibility here that lifts Mulgrew Miller’s enduring, sturdy compositions into the modern milieu with absolutely no sense of pandering or diluting of the late pianist’s original compositional intent.

The first track on My Left Hand Man, “Eastern Joy Dance” sets the tone for the release.  Departing from the tune’s traditional clave, this arrangement celebrates the marriage of jazz and funk with a driving groove adorned with bright guitar comping and the cohesion of the steadfast rhythm section made up of Goods and drummer Lil John Roberts, which can undoubtedly be referred to as ‘in the pocket’!  The ensemble takes turns masterfully improvising over the harmony laid out by composer Mulgrew Miller. “Second Thoughts” tells a more sensual tale.  The guitar melody, doubled by Jean Baylor’s stunning voice, gently floats over the tender musings of a fender rhodes.  The laid-back, contemplative track “The Sage” features a beautifully lyrical solo from bandleader Richie Goods performed on the upright bass.

“Song For Darnell” is a fine feature for guitarist David Rosenthal, someone Goods has come to rely on for his varietal approach.  The track features a stellar string arrangement by jazz messenger Geoff Keezer with Felix Umansky on the cello and Amy Schroeder on violin and viola.  The string arrangement of this piece adds a cinematic quality to amplify the haunting refrains of Mulgrew’s composition for his son.                           

“The idea of a Mulgrew Miller tribute record was actually my mom’s suggestion, remarked the bassist,  “I thought about it and at first I didn’t think it would fit into what I do with my band, but then I started listening to a ton of Mulgrew Miller music and realized there was so much of his music that would fit into what I do with my band if I just tweak some of the grooves.” And tweak he does, though never losing focus of Mulgrew Miller’s deeply sophisticated, original musical intent.

Music is the fulfillment of Richie’s destiny – it’s in his DNA. The youngest person ever inducted into the Pittsburgh Jazz Hall of Fame, bassist Richie Goods got an early start playing in church and clubs while still attending Pittsburgh Creative and Performing Arts High School. After graduating from the prestigious jazz program at Berklee College of Music, Richie moved to New York City, where he studied under jazz legends Ron Carter and Ray Brown. ​

Richie credits jazz luminary Mulgrew Miller for helping him hone his jazz skills early in his career. Richie toured and recorded with Mulgrew for nine years. That opportunity brought Richie to the attention of many in the jazz community and afforded him the opportunity to record and tour with a variety of jazz and popular artists ranging from the Headhunters, Lenny White, Louis Hayes and the Cannonball Adderley Legacy Band, Milt Jackson, Russell Malone, Vincent Herring, the Manhattan Transfer and Walter Beasley to Brian McKnight, DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince, Whitney Houston and Christina Aguilera.

​Richie’s lengthy discography also includes Grammy award-winning and platinum albums of Alicia Keys and Common. Richie most recently toured with Grammy-winning trumpeter, Chris Botti.

When not on tour, he can be found in his Westchester, NY studio, producing records for his company, RichMan Music, Inc. His first solo project with his fusion/funk band, “Richie Goods and Nuclear Fusion, Live at the Zinc Bar” and his latest release, “Three Rivers” received critical acclaim. Richie is busier and more excited than ever, touring and working on a new recording which will feature more of his acoustic bass work.