Jazz – 7th Level Music

Numero Group to release box set of Margo Guryan’s unreleased recordings.

Photo Credit: Courtesy of Jonathan Rosner

Numero Group announce Margo Guryan’s Words and Music, a 3xLP box set compiling the work of the late singer and songwriter, out June 7th, and unveils the set’s first offering, the inquisitive and trippy “Moon Ride,” which is her first known recording (1956). Witness to revolutions in jazz and pop, Guryan earned her place in the songwriting pantheon and then some. That she was largely unknown for decades is not the stuff of crushed dreams, but a result of her own choices and priorities. From humble beginnings to the peaks of her 1968 baroque pop masterpiece Take a Picture and the collected Demosto the recent viral ubiquity of “Why Do I Cry,” Words and Music captures the entirety of Guryan’s career, including 16 previously unreleased recordings and a 32-page booklet telling her whole story. The box set is produced by her stepson Jonathan Rosner,friend and historian Geoffrey Weiss, and Numero Group’s Douglas Mcgowan,Rob Sevier,and Ken Shipley.All of the tracks have been remastered by Jessica Thompson.

Listen to “Moon Ride”

Guryan released just one album in her heyday: 1968’s Take A Picture. But, as she was disinterested in performing, touring, and promoting the work, the album went barely noticed at the time. Nevertheless, by the 1990s, the recordhad become a highly sought after cult favorite. Then, a new generation of listeners came to learn about her work when Take A Picture was reissued in 2000, followed shortly by the collected Demos, an incredible compilation of unearthed alternate takes and new-to-the-public songs that Margo supervised herself. Guryan’s life in the intervening years remained filled with music; she became a music teacher, kept writing songs, and cultivated friendships with a growing circle of acolytes.

Born in 1937 in New York City, Guryan began learning piano at age six before eventually enrolling at Boston University to study music. She spent much of her early career immersed in the jazz world, including working for Impulse! founder Creed Taylor, writing for jazz artists, and attending Lenox School of Jazz in Western Massachusetts, where she worked in an ensemble alongside fellow students Ornette Coleman and Don Cherry. Her peers were, at that very moment, exploding the consciousness of jazz. Margo, a then-recent graduate in composition, had once been told that the highest mode of education is perception. So she mostly lingered and listened. It was at Lenox where Margo became friends with her teacher, Max Roach, who in 1961 even asked Margo to pen the liner notes for his first Impulse! album.

Her early tunes were recorded by bebop pioneer Dizzy Gillespie, bossa nova icon Astrud Gilberto, the famed South African singer and activist Miriam Makeba, and folk hero Harry Belafonte. Jazz singers Anita O’Day and Carmen McRae all released takes on her material, as did pop singer Claudine Longetand folk-rock icon Mama Cass Elliot. “Sunday Morning,” Margo’s biggest hit, was first popularized by soft-rockers Spanky & Our Gang, followed by recordings from torch singer Julie London and country royalty Glen Campbell and Bobbie Gentry. In 1967, Billboard called Margo “one of the most sought-after writing talents in the music business.”

Rosner, her stepson, says, “I was introduced to Margo as a very little boy. She became my step-mom when I was three to be exact. From the moment I stepped foot into the apartment on 16th street in NYC where my dad [David Rosner] and Margo lived, I saw Margo in action – writing songs, the songs that would become the “Demos” – and playing Bach – rinse and repeat. At first, this was on a Wurlitzer, and then on a Blüthner. I was there to watch “The Hum” and “Timothy Gone” take shape, and she’d play me (on record and on the pianos) songs she’d written earlier. I loved them, and they were part of my life as a young person. But this music was almost like a family secret never to see the light of day – until it finally did. It’s hard to express how wonderful it is – and was to Margo – to see people embrace these songs – sing and play these songs and celebrate her body of work.”

The story of Margo Guryan is one of a woman who dug deep from an early age and was never afraid to change. With her keen feel for tone, phrasings, tension, presence, and lyrics that cut, her name today is synonymous with sophisticated songcraft and inimitable 1960s cool.Her ingenuity and technique set her in the tradition of chamber-pop icons like Brian Wilson and Burt Bacharach while the bittersweet candor in her depictions of womanhood suggest a middleground between Carole King’s pop-factory and singer-songwriter eras. But the understated rigor of Margo’s artistic voice is all her own.

There will also be a limited-edition variant of the box set that comes with a bonus 10″ of Margo’s Chopsticks Variations. This will be the first-ever vinyl pressing of that release.

Pre-order Words and Music

Words and Music Tracklist:
Side A
1. If I Lose (1956)
2. You Promised (1957)
3. The Wise Man Knows (1956)
4. The Morning Aer (1958)
5. Moon Ride (1956)
6. More Understanding Than a Man (1957)
7. More Understanding Than a Man (Instrumental) (1957)
8. There I Was (1957)

Side B
1. Kiss and Tell (1966)
2. Half-Way In Love (1966)
3. Goodbye July (1966)
4. Four Letter Words (1966)
5. Hurry on Home (1966)
6. I Ought to Stay Away From You (1966)
7. I Love (1967)
8. Under My Umbrella (1968)
9. I Don’t Intend to Spend Christmas Without You (1967)

Side C
1. Sunday Morning (1967)
2. Thoughts (1968)
3. Love Songs (1967)
4. Don’t Go Away (1967)
5. Take a Picture (1968)
6. Sun (1968)
7. What Can I Give You (1968)
8. Come to Me Slowly (1968)

Side D
1. The 8:17 Northbound Success Merry-Go-Round (1968)
2. Something’s Wrong with the Morning (1970)
3. Think of Rain (1967)
4. Can You Tell (1968)
5. Someone I Know (1968)
6. Love (1968)

Side E
1. Why Do I Cry (1968)
2. Spanky and Our Gang (1968)
3. Most of My Life (1971)
4. It’s Alright Now (1971)
5. Timothy Gone (1972)
6. The Hum (1974)
7. Please Believe Me (1974)
8. Yes I Am (1974)

Side F
1. I Think A lot About You (1972)
2. Iʼ’d Like to See the Bad Guys Win (1973)
3. Values (1974)
4. California Shake (1975)
5. Hold Me Dancin’ (1978)
6. Shine (1975)
7. Goodbye July (1966, recorded 2001)

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[Thanks to Yuri at Pitch Perfect PR.]

Prefuse 73 signals “The End of Air” on his upcoming dark ambient album.

Today, pioneering electronic musician and producer Prefuse 73 aka Guillermo Scott Herren releases the new single, “The End Of Air,” from his new album, New Strategies for Modern Crime Vol. 1, out March 22nd on Lex Records. One of the darkest yet cohesive releases of his career, New Strategies for Modern Crime Vol.1 was inspired by Herren’s experiences of living in New York. He reflects: “I’ve lived in NYC since the 90s but I think during the post-COVID era, most ‘media’ has become obsessed with crime statistics and inflated ‘fear’ over basic human needs. I wanted to channel this surreal landscape – where crime has become a strange form of entertainment and journalistic distraction into sound.”

Listen to “The End Of Air”

“I always have a movie or some random visuals playing on mute behind me in the studio,” reveals Herren of his creative process. “It could be horror from any era or just an old Fellini film; they tend to be playing on a loop. I will turn around from the mixing board and just stare at the images to get inspired.”

Talking with the excitement of someone working on their first ever album, the re-energized veteran (once described by Pitchfork as an artist who possessed “a range of emotional grappling usually foreign to instrumental hip-hop”) adds: “It means that when you do finally hear my music, it’s hopefully created in a way that prompts you to see a whole scene play out in your head.”

This cinematic method of creating an enticing gumbo of lost soundtracks, jazz, primitive electronic production and hip hop is especially prevalent on his bold new album, New Strategies For Modern Crime Vol. 1, which sounds like the score for a surreal Robert Siodmak noir set in the year 3000

Whether pairing up MF DOOM and Aesop Rock to have a lo-fi rap existential crisis; bluntly bending an innocent Linda Perhacs psych-folk song about swirling raindrops, so it sounds more like a lost alien signal filtering in from a techno rave on another galaxy; or using the sounds of kids banging their rulers and pencils on a school table to create DIY euphoria and an innovative mimicry of Doug E. Fresh-level beatboxing, Herren (who has also operated creatively under aliases including Delarosa, Asora, and Piano Overlord) has been a consistent innovator. Having collaborated with a diverse array of artists, including MF DOOM, Ghostface Killah, GZA, El-P, Sam Prekop, Helado Negro, and more, his work reflects a constant evolution, with each album offering a new perspective on the intersection of electronic and hip-hop music.

Whether New Strategies for Modern Crime Vol. 1 paints a vivid, Philip K. Dick-esque movie in your mind or not, it’s clear the artist known as Prefuse 73 is continuing to push forward artistically.

Watch Prefuse 73’s “A Lord Without Jewels” Video

Pre-order New Strategies for Modern Crime Vol. 1

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[Thanks to Patrick at Pitch Perfect PR.]

Ethnic Heritage Ensemble’s new album is due in March, but you can hear “Compared to What” from it now.

Today, Kahil El’Zabar’s Ethnic Heritage Ensemble, in conjunction with the legendary group’s 50th anniversary, announces its new album, Open Me, A Higher Consciousness of Sound and Spirit, out March 8th, 2024 via Spiritmuse Records, and shares lead single, “Compared To What.” In addition, the ensemble announces their 50th annual February North American Tour in honor of Black History Month.

Open Me is a joyous honoring of portent new directions of the Ethnic Heritage Ensemble; it’s a visionary journey into deep roots and future routes, channeling traditions old and new. It mixes El’Zabar’s original compositions with timeless classics by Miles Davis, McCoy Tyner, and Eugene McDaniels. Thus, the Ethnic Heritage Ensemble continues affirming their indelible, half-century presence within the continuum of Great Black Music.

The Ethnic Heritage Ensemble (EHE) constantly shifts gears and tempos in a jazz-blues continuum, in perpetual spontaneity, and “Compared To What” is a powerful statement on their incomparable sound. It’s a deeply funky read of Eugene McDaniel’s eternal protest song first recorded by Robert Flack, and later, Les McCann and Eddie Harris. Featuring vocals and kalimba by El’Zabar, backed by bassist Alex Harding, the EHE’s “Compared To What” is 8 minutes of contemplative, dynamic rhythms combined with El’Zabar’s deep captivating vocals, and accompanying horn and string cacophony that tunes the listener to their higher consciousness.

“Compared To What’ was my father, Clifton Blackburn Sr’s favorite tune,” says El’Zabar. “On Saturdays he would play jazz all day, and later in the evening, he would scat, sing rhythms, and then he and I would improvise together on the grooves that he taught me. It was all ‘Compared to What.’”

Watch Video for “Compared To What”

Open Me, El’Zabar’s sixth collaboration with Spiritmuse in five years, marks another entry in a run of critically acclaimed recordings that stretch back to the first EHE recording in 1981. The storied multi-percussionist, composer, fashion designer, and former Chair of the Association of Creative Musicians (AACM) is in what might be the most productive form of his career, and now in his seventies, shows no signs of slowing down. Few creative music units can boast such longevity, and fewer still are touring as energetically and recording with the verve of the Ethnic Heritage Ensemble.

The EHE was founded by El’Zabar in 1974 originally as a quintet, but was soon paired down to its classic form — a trio, featuring El’Zabar on multi-percussion and voice, plus two horns. It was an unusual format, even by the standards of the outward-bound musicians of the AACM: “Some people literally laughed at our unorthodox instrumentation and approach. We were considered even stranger than most AACM bands at the time. I knew in my heart though that that this band had legs, and that my concept was based on logic as it pertains to the history of Great Black Music, i.e. a strong rhythmic foundation, innovative harmonics and counterpoint, well-balanced interplay and cacophony amongst the players, strong individual soloist, highly developed and studied ensemble dynamics, an in-depth grasp of music history, originality, fearlessness, and deep spirituality.”

With El’Zabar at the helm, the band’s line-up has always been open to changes, and over the years the EHE has welcomed dozens of revered musicians including Light Henry Huff, Kalaparusha Maurice Macintyre, Joseph Bowie, Hamiett Bluiett, and Craig Harris. The current line-up has been consolidated over two decades — trumpeter Corey Wilkes entered the circle twenty years ago, while baritone sax player Alex Harding joined seven years ago, after having played with El’Zabar since the early 2000s in groups such as Joseph Bowie’s Defunkt.

For Open Me, El’Zabar has chosen to push the sound of the EHE in a new direction by adding string instruments — cello, played by Ishmael Ali, and violin/viola played byJames Sanders. The addition of strings opens new textural resonances and timbral dimensions in the Ensemble’s sound, linking the work to the tradition of improvising violin and cello from Ray Nance to Billy Bang, Leroy Jenkins, and Abdul Wadud.

Open Me contains a mixture of originals, including some El’Zabar evergreens such as “Barundi,” “Hang Tuff,” “Ornette,” and “Great Black Music” (often attributed to the Art Ensemble of Chicago but is, in fact, an El’Zabar composition). There are also numbers drawn from the modern tradition, which El’Zabar uniquely arranges, including a contemplative interpretation of Miles Davis’ “All Blues.” As a milestone anniversary celebration and a statement of future intent, Open Me effortlessly carries El’Zabar’s healing vision of Higher Consciousness of Sound and Spirit.

Pre-order Open Me, A Higher Consciousness of Sound and Spirit

Open Me, A Higher Consciousness of Sound and Spirit Tracklist
1. All Blues
2. Barundi
3. The Whole World
4. Return Of The Lost Tribe
5. Hang Tuff
6. Can You Find A Place
7. Great Black Music
8. Passion Dance
9. Ornette
10. Compared To What
11. Kari
12. Open Me

Ethnic Heritage Ensemble 2024 Tour Dates:

Thu. Feb. 1 – Chicago, IL @ The Promontory
Sat. Feb. 3 – Ann Arbor, MI @ Blue Llama
Tue. Feb. 6 – Washington, DC @ Rhizome
Wed. Feb. 7 – Philadelphia, PA @ Solar Myth
Sat. Feb. 10 – Baltimore, MD @ An die Musik
Sun. Feb. 11 – Erie, PA @ City Gallery
Mon. Feb. 12 – Rochester, NY @ Bop Shop
Tue. Feb. 13 – Burlington, VT @ Radio Bean
Wed. Feb. 14 – Montreal, QC @ La Sala Rosa
Fri. Feb. 16 – Toronto, ON @ Caliban Arts @ Redwood Theatre
Sat. Feb. 17 – Detroit, MI @ N’Namdi Center For Contemporary Art
Sun. Feb. 18 – Madison, WI @ Cafe Coda
Fri. Feb. 23 – Portland, OR @ PDX Jazz Festival
Sun. Feb. 25 – Santa Monica, CA @ First Presbyterian Church (Jacaranda Performance Series)
Mon. Feb. 26 – San Francisco, CA @ The Chapel

Keep your mind open.

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[Thanks to Sam at Pitch Perfect PR.]

Astrid Sonne gives us a “Boost” with her new single.

Putting a contemporary spin on baroque composition, Astrid Sonne’s music feels at once alien and traditional. The Danish, London-based composer’s output is aloof, yet ornate—a formula that yields itself well to upcoming UK tour dates with beloved dream-pop artist and scene-mate, ML Buch.

Where Sonne’s prior work landed in the experimental, even ambient camp, the new material sees her stepping into both contemporary songwriting and beat driven productions. Her new single “Boost”, premiering on Gorilla vs. Bear today,is a perfect example of the latter, pushing into more eclectic, driving terrain. It opens with woozy synth chords, which give way to pounding drums that filter in and out of murky effects. In the final minute, the track disintegrates into a misty, freeform outro.

“Boost” concludes a run of candidly released material (“Staying here,”“Overture,”“Do you wanna”) from the recently announced album Great Doubt, which notably features the composer’s own voice in a unique blend of quintessential Astrid Sonne productions and a personal take on the art of writing a song. Great Doubt will be released January 26 via Copenhagen’s Escho.

On the single, Astrid Sonne shares: “I made Boost lying in my bed, it’s a quite energetic track coming from a not very energetic place. There’s a sense of release to Boost and a feeling of not caring too much, which can be good sometimes when you need to seek out new settings.”

Astrid Sonne is a Danish, London-based composer and viola player. Throughout her acclaimed discography, Astrid Sonne has been carefully crafting different moods through electronic and acoustic instrumental endeavours. On her forthcoming album Great Doubt, to be released January 26, 2024 via Copenhagen’s Escho, this skill is refined, now with the distinct addition of the composer’s own vocal in front. The tone of each track is unmistakably Sonne’s, structured around contrasts through an impeccable sense of timing. Lyrics on the album are sparse, merely highlighting different scenes or emotional states of being, leaving the music to fill in the blanks. Yet they also form a pattern of ambiguity, consolidated through the album title, searching for answers through looking at how and what you are asking, questions for the world, questions of love.
The viola, a trusted companion since Astrid Sonne’s youth, appears effortlessly throughout the album, fully integrated into the sonic universe; through a pizzicato driven arrangement in the poignant track “Almost” or along with booms and claps in mutated cinematic stabs during “Give my all”, paraphrasing Mariah Carey’s 1997 ballad. Yet the string section also gives way to explorations of woodwinds, counterbalancing the bowed movements with digital brass and airy flutes. Finally, beats and detuned piano are fresh additions to the soundscape, cementing how Sonne’s practice is always evolving into new territories.

Live Dates
2/3 – Oslo, NOR @ Trekanten 2/6 – Copenhagen, DK @ ALICE 2/8 – Aarhus, DK @ PART 2/14 – Barcelona, ESP @ Casa Montjuic 2/15 – Lisbon, PT @ ZDB 2/27 – London, UK @ ICA *2/28 – London, UK @ ICA *2/29 – Bristol, UK @ Strange Brew *3/01 – Manchester, UK @ White Hotel *3/02 – Glasgow, UK @ The Flying Duck *
* = w/ ML Buch

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[Thanks to Andi at Terrorbird Media.]

Top 25 albums of 2023: #’s 5 – 1

Here we go with my favorite albums of 2023.

#5: Sound Cipher – All That Syncs Must Diverge

This is a cool synthwave album of cinematic sounds that often catches you off-guard. It’s the soundtrack to a movie you’ve never seen, but want to find just from hearing it. It might exist in another dimension, or on a dark web torrent stream. Either way, it’s one of the neatest records I heard all last year.

#4: Mandy, Indiana – I’ve Seen a Way

Speaking of cool synthwave, Mandy, Indiana‘s debut album was a stunner on multiple fronts, as it covers not only synthwave, but also cold wave, dance punk, goth, and general chaos. They’re quickly becoming one of those “bands everyone’s talking about,” so don’t miss this record.

#3: King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard – PostDragonic Apocalypse; or, Dawn of Eternal Night: An Annihilation of Planet Earth and the Beginning of Merciless Damnation

Only King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard could get away with naming an album something like that. It was their return to thrash metal, this time built around one of their favorite subjects – protecting our fragile planet. It was one of the best metal records of the year.

#2: Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs – Land of Sleeper

This album held my top spot for a long while, as it’s a powerful stoner / psych / cosmic rock record that hits hard with shredding guitar, pleading vocals, and roaring drums. It’s all about dreams, death, and what-the-hell-are-you-doing-with-this-life-you-have-that’s-gone-like-a-flash-of-lightning-you-git introspections.

#1: Matthew Halsall – An Ever Changing View

Simply put, this is the most beautiful record I heard all year, and it’s a prime example of why you should always read old e-mails. This sat in my e-mail box for about four months before I finally got to it. I’m glad I didn’t delete that e-mail in a big purge, because Halsall’s album of ambient jazz, field sounds, and slight trip-hop touches is one of those albums that changes the attitude of the room wherever it’s played.

Thanks for reading and for sticking with me another year. Onto 2024!

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Olivia Belli shares a beautiful single, “Anima I,” from her album due this spring.

Italian pianist and composer, Olivia Belli is known internationally for her delicate, melodic compositions that draw inspiration from the natural world. Whether reflecting on the sun or the night sky or on her beloved local Italian landscape, this sensitive artist draws her creative impulses from nature which she shares with her audiences through her captivating, filigree-like compositions.

This first single from the Spring 2024 album already gives listeners a hint that Belli is taking things one step further here, representing in music not only the natural world around her but also the deep and meaningful spiritual world within. The word anima refers to an original animating principle or essence, translated from the Greek ‘psyche’. For Belli, ‘Anima I’ (pronounced “Anima Uno”) represents that auspicious moment just before a journey of transformation begins.

Says Belli of this first taster from the new album: “’Anima I’ has a calm, elegiac quality. I composed it during a deeply meditative moment, where I was contemplating deeper meanings in life than superficial material gains and was searching for a way to share a more profound and spiritual connection with listeners.”

The result is a restorative, intimate and tranquil track that offers respite from turmoil and stress and welcome balm for the soul.

Born in Mantova and raised in Trieste, Belli studied piano and soon developed an affinity for composers of the 20th and 21st century, such as Glass, Ligeti, Reich and Stockhausen. Always surrounded by art and music, she founded her own arts festival and worked collaboratively across a range of genres with other artists including dancers, actors, photographers, writers and painters. Despite having always performed and composed, Belli had never thought to put her own compositional work into the public arena, having always kept it private. Once she did start sharing her own music on social media and streaming sites, however, she was hugely encouraged to continue by the overwhelmingly positive responses that she received, as ever more listeners connected to her deeply personal musical messages. This process lead to her signing with XXIM Records and an outpouring of her intricate and beguiling music.

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[Thanks to George at Terrorbird Media,]

Review: Matthew Halsall – An Ever Changing View

To simply put it, trumpeter / composer / bandleader Matthew Halsall has created one of the most beautiful albums of the year with An Ever Changing View.

Combining jazz with spiritual music, world music, ambient electronica, and maybe a touch of synthwave, An Ever Changing View drifts like a bird gliding over the waters of the album’s cover, or caresses you like wind through the grass on the album cover’s foreground. Halsall has described his writing process for the album as “hitting the reset button,” and “a real exploration of sound.” Both are accurate, because the album instantly resets you wherever you are and during whatever you’re doing. It’s also like finding an oasis or a garden or a library or a back room chill lounge when you need any of those things the most.

After a brief intro (“Tracing Nature”), the record gives you a nice hug and invites you to have a cup of tea and just forget about everything for the next eight minutes with “Water Street.” Harp, flute, trumpet, and hand percussion all meld in perfection. The title track clicks and snaps with late night jazz beats and Halsall’s trumpet echoing from some rooftop club where they have cool drinks and warm people.

Jasper Green‘s Rhodes organ on “Calder Shapes” is as smooth as melting wax and Matt Cliffe‘s alto sax is practically the voice of a jazz crooner. “Mountains, Trees and Seas” is instant stress relief, and, I dare say, perhaps the sexiest song on the whole album. I’m not saying the song will guarantee you’ll get laid, but it will certainly enhance the mood. Liviu Gheorghe‘s work on the Rhodes organ is superb throughout the whole track.

If you somehow need further resetting, “Field of Vision” is just over a minute of bird song and harp-like field recordings. “Jewels” might be the closest to a “dark jazz” (Is that even a thing? If not, Halsall might’ve invented it right here.). “Natural Movement” is a splendid, toe-tapping mix of Halsell’s trumpet, Sam Bell‘s congas, and harp work by Alice Roberts. Lastly, Chip Wickham‘s flute on “Triangles in the Sky” picks you up from the ground and Alan Taylor‘s simple, snappy, yet subtle beats carry you along as you stroll down the street about two inches off the pavement.

You need this record. Heck, everyone in this day and age needs this record. It soothes the soul. It’s probably going to be the most gifted music I buy for people this Christmas season.

Keep your mind open.

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[Thanks to Mark at Clandestine Label Services.]

WSND DJ set list: Deep Dive of Tony Bennett

Thanks to all who tuned in for my Deep Dive of Tony Bennett on WSND. Here’s the set list in case you missed it.

Tony Bennett – I Left My Heart in San Francisco
Eddie Cantor – Margie
Bing Crosby – Swinging on a Star
Jack Teagarden – Harlem Jump
Astrud Gilberto and Stan Getz – The Girl from Ipanema
Joe Bari / Tony Bennett – Fascinating Rhythm
Pearl Bailey – St. Louis Blues
Tony Bennett – The Boulevard of Broken Dreams
Tony Bennett – Because of You
Hank Williams – Cold, Cold Heart
Tony Bennett – Blue Velvet
Tony Bennett – Stranger in Paradise
Count Basie Orchestra and Tony Bennett – Chicago
Tony Bennett – All the Things You Are (live)
Tony Bennett and Billy Joel – The Good Life
Tony Bennett – If I Ruled the World
Tony Bennett and Bill Evans – Days of Wine and Roses
Quacky Duck and His Barnyard Friends – Barnyard Song
Tony Bennett and Henry Mancini – Life in a Looking Glass (live)
Tony Bennett – Steppin’ Out with My Baby (live)
Tony Bennett – Fly Me to the Moon (live)
Tony Bennett and Amy Winehouse – Body and Soul
Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga – Cheek to Cheek
Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga – I Can’t Give You Anything but Love (Giorgio Moroder remix)
Tony Bennett and Sammy Davis, Jr. – Don’t Get Around Much Anymore (live)
Tony Bennett – I’ll Be Seeing You

Next week will be a new version of the Deep Dive in which I dive deep into one album. That album will be The Beatles‘ classic Help!. Don’t miss it!

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Rewind Review: Esquivel – Music from a Sparkling Planet (1995)

Music from a Sparkling Planet is a wonderfully titled compilation of Esquivel‘s space-age bachelor pad music consisting of Esquivel’s arrangements of other contemporaries’ music and his own compositions.

“Cachita” instantly plunges you into the groovy swimming pool of his music with his trademark blend of “latin-esque” sounds, beats, and grooves. “Cherokee” is idyllic to the point of mild hypnosis. “Third Man Theme” is more upbeat than anything you’d see in the Orson Welles movie. It belongs in a goofy European sex comedy from the 1960s about a guy who’s always bumped from hooking up with a lady because he’s the third wheel.

The electric piano on “La Bikina” is delightful. “La Paloma” and “Cachito” (the brother to “Cachita”) keep you in the lounging mood. The mellow accordion on “Cachito” is a neat touch. On “Granada,” he throws in those vocal “Zu zu zu” sounds that only he could make work in a tune, and combines them with Ennio Morricone-like trumpet.

“Question Mark (What Can You Do)” is one of his fully original compositions and arrangements, and it’s bold and bouncy and all-around fun (like the entire collection). “My Blue Heaven” is a quick, jumpy number that hops straight into his excellent version of “All of Me,” which practically throws you into a time machine and dumps you on the Las Vegas Strip circa 1965.

“Poinciana” is great example of Esquivel’s work. It has all the elements you want: Bold brass sections, jazzy piano, sultry vocal sounds, exotic percussion, and slightly psychedelic guitar work. “Flower Girl of Bordeaux” is perfect for rushing through the streets of a foreign land with someone beautiful in a quest of sexy adventure. “Boulevard of Broken Dreams” sends us out on a “cha-cha-cha.”

You can’t go wrong with stuff like this. It puts you in a better mood and transports you to faraway places that might be on Earth or in outer space.

Keep your mind open.

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DA Mekonnen announces solo LP and new single – “dragonchild.”

saxophonist, composer and ethnomusicologist DA Mekonnen of the renowned Ethiopian funk/rock/jazz unit Debo Band is announcing the debut self-titled album from his monumental new project called dragonchild, out April 21st, 2023 on FPE Records.

Featuring collaborations with claire rousay, Sunken Cages (aka Ravish Momin), and Ethiopian Records, the dragonchild debut takes Mekonnen’s exploration of Ethiopian music they began with Debo Band and explodes it into vivid, three-dimensional space. Where Debo called back to the sounds of 1970s Addis and added original material along those same lines, dragonchild shatters traditions and boundaries, incorporating sampled material, field recordings, experiments in high and low fidelity, and the through line that unites the diverse sounds, layers of Mekonnen’s rich and ecstatic saxophone.

Out today and premiering in The Fader is lead single “The Source,” a collaboration with Philadelphia-based percussionist and producer Sunken Cages. Mekonnen tells us the song “is about our Power coming from the Ancestors––both living and transitioned. The track includes a sample of Hailu Mergia’s debut solo cassette played in reverse on a US Library of Congress Tape Deck. We were influenced by South African gqom music (at least in regards to the sonic reference) and went for a banger EDM dance floor vibe.”

The dragonchild debut comes in two forms: It will be released as a full digital album, and a vinyl 4-LP set, titled BLACK, containing one 20-minute piece of music revealed when the four albums are played simultaneously. The physical release imagines a vinyl record as an art piece, with photography by Ethiopian photographer Michael Tsegaye, depicting an active volcano in Eastern Ethiopia. Each vinyl record is translucent, with music on one side and an engraved topographic map of the lava fields on the reverse.

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[Thanks to Jake at Ramp Global PR.]