It takes a minute for a band to hurdle growth spurts and become the eloquent ensemble it hopes to be. But striving for a truly individual sound, one that depends on the contributions of each member is a noble goal. After three years as a quintet with two saxophones up front, Blue Cranes have achieved such a victory. They prove it with Observatories.

On its third album, everything gels for the acclaimed instrumental outfit from Portland, Oregon. Working that thin line between prog-jazz improvisation and indie rock catchiness, the band arrives at a unique spot. Like forebears such as The Ordinaires and The President, and contemporaries like Todd Sickafoose’s Tiny Resistors and John Hollenbeck’s Claudia Quintet, Blue Cranes have found ways to make exploration seem like the most enjoyable process around.

The songs and performances on Observatories are all about rewards of collective articulation. Reed Wallsmith, the group’s straw boss, saxophonist and main composer, says the new album finds them putting their best foot forward.

“Homing Patterns, the record before this, was a quintet with two horns; Sly Pig joined us on tenor saxophone a year before we made it.  But, I had conceived of a lot of the music originally for quartet.  Since then, with more time under our belts, I think our compositions more fully incorporate all five of us.  For Observatories we wrote more contrapuntal lines, not just melodies and support riffs.  I hope that the entire group unity comes through. It feels great to hear it happen.”

Blue Cranes is comprised of drummer Ji Tanzer, bassist Keith Brush, keyboardist Rebecca Sanborn, tenor saxophonist Joe “Sly Pig” Cunningham, and Wallsmith himself. The alto saxophonist says that the camaraderie of gigging on the road has bolstered the band’s unity.

photo credit: Jason Quigley

“We’ve done seven tours now, and gone out for a week and a half at a time. That kind of continuity is such a great way to get tight as a band – performing every night and being able to talk about the music every day. We have fun on the road. Sharing music on iPods, hanging out, laughing about everything. It’s such a blast to get to know each other better. It’s not just my vision driving the action anymore; it’s all of ours – which has always been my goal.”

Blue Cranes’ music is refreshingly diverse. They may be a left-of-center instrumental outfit, but their book has lots of room for old-fashioned beauty. Wallsmith’s “Grandpa’s Hands” is a bittersweet anthem with a luminous theme that boasts echoes of Steve Reich. Cunningham’s “Broken Windmills” is an evocative lament that could easily snuggle up to an Ornette Coleman ballad. Waxing rustic isn’t forbidden with Blue Cranes, and that decision widens the record’s emotional palette. On “Yellow Ochre,” the group sounds like The Band sauntering its way through The Beatles’ “Let It Be.”

“Tim Young, the guitarist from Wayne Horvitz’s band, made a comment I liked,” says Wallsmith. “He said ‘You guys aren’t afraid to just play melodies.’ I think that’s true. ‘Yellow Ochre’ feels old fashioned to me. ‘Maddie Mae,’ too. I’m proud of that tone. But the album wouldn’t work if it was full of tunes like ‘Yellow Ochre.’ We wanted to make it flow, to have the pretty stuff move right into the in-your-face stuff.”

Indeed, Observatories does strike a balance between genteel and rambunctious. Crescendos crop up in all sorts of places, and the physical thrust of the rhythm section gives several moments a wonderfully vicious clout. “Richie Bros.” has an intricate pounding intro, a dreamy head, and an explosive middle. “We don’t get super mathy, but ‘Richie Bros.’ is aggressive,” Wallsmith concurs. “I like the power of it, but I also like the fact that it’s followed by the softness of ‘Maddie Mae.’

Sly Pig also played and recorded with indie rock superheroes, The Decemberists. It seems he and Wallsmith have found the perfect formula for cogent abstraction.

“From the first day we started playing, I felt unexpectedly in-synch with him,” says Wallsmith. “We started at an all-improvised gig, and when we played together, I had this feeling that we were long lost brothers.’ I’ve never really met another sax player who approaches music like me. Wherever we’re coming from, it’s a similar same place. We work as a team.”

The Blue Cranes have received kudos from a few key contemporaries. They’ve shared bills with keyboard icon Wayne Horvitz (his “Love Love Love” is part of Observatories) and he’s now a fan.  Wallsmith was a Happy Apple zealot when he was in college in Minneapolis and when drummer Dave King, now of The Bad Plus, posted a “don’t miss John Hollenbeck’s tour” missive on the The Bad Plus’ blog, Wallsmith made a point to catch the drummer-composer. “After the gig I gave someone at the venue a CD to give to John.  He later contacted me out of the blue to say that, although he didn’t expect to, he really liked it.  What an honor!”  Blue Cranes have since shared the stage with bands as diverse as Hollenbeck’s Claudia Quintet, the dub/hardcore Mi Ami, trumpeter Cuong Vu and violinist Michael White.

Ultimately Observatories is about breadth. Blue Cranes is a band that sees things from various perspectives. A toy piano is the first sound you hear on the disc; a baby’s voice is the final. Variety is central to the action. Tanzer is the go-to guy when it comes to album titles; he’s named the previous Blue Cranes albums. But it was the band’s friend and Tanzer’s band mate, Spinanes leader Rebecca Gates, who came up with the current moniker, and one thing’s for certain: Observatories is dead on, because the Blue Cranes are here to show us all sorts of things.

RELEASE DATE: SEPTEMBER 14, 2010

For more information, please contact Matt Merewitz at Fully Altered Media / (347) 527-2527 or matt@fullyaltered.com

In-Demand New York Drummer for Dave Binney, Rudresh Mahanthappa’s Indo-Pak Coalition, Vijay Iyer & Many Others

One of Five Drummers to Watch (and Hear)
According to NY Times Critic Ben Ratliff
Release Date: March 16, 2010

Album Features: Jacob Sacks & Thomas Morgan (+ Jack Lemmon cameo)

‘Timshel’, meaning ‘Thou Mayest,’ is a Hebrew word which challenges the traditional biblical phrase, ‘Thou Shalt.’ I came across this word as I read John Steinbeck’s East of Eden, and the idea behind the word was very inspiring to me. ‘Thou Mayest’ characterizes man as the maker of his own fate. We are all free to choose our own destiny. This gives us the innate power to create and to be creative.” – Dan Weiss, from the liner notes

The best drummers, like Art Blakey, Max Roach and Billy Higgins, don’t lead by propulsive pyrotechnics; rather, they lead by inspiring their fellow musicians to the heights of their musical plateaus. The endlessly inventive New York-born drummer, tabla player, and composer Dan Weiss, a seasoned veteran of the Manhattan jazz scene, as evidenced by his sterling sideman work with everybody from Lee Konitz, David Binney and Vijay Iyer, to Miguel Zenon, Uri Caine and Ben Monder, is such a drummer. Weiss, with the release of his Sunnyside debut, Timshel, signals the end of his anonymity.

Backed by his long-time trio mates, pianist Jacob Sacks and drummer Thomas Morgan, Weiss weaves elements of different compositional styles and knowledge of Indian rhythms into the language of jazz on his twelve-track CD, to create something new and eternal, foreign and familiar. “Each piece in this record draws upon a specific inspiration which has captured my curiosity and imagination the last couple of years,” Weiss writes in the liner notes. “The intention behind this record was to take the essence of each of these inspirations and to create a musical narrative. It is intended to be listened to as one piece, uninterrupted. While each piece is its own song, they each serve a larger purpose which is the suite.”

Weiss and his terrific triad offer a sensitive and sophisticated take on how a twenty-first century trio should sound. Weiss’ expert drumming soothes, swings, and flies, with Sacks’ elegiac pianism and Morgan’s steady and supportive bass lines. “Stephanie” dances with a Latin tinge, contrasted by the dark and lovely lullaby excursions of “Dream,” the title track “Timshel,” the Chopinesque “Frederic,” and the tabla-tantric “Teental Song.” “Florentino and Fermina,” two characters from Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s immortal novel, Love in the Time of Cholera, evolves from a sensuous tone poem to an urgent, 4/4 cadence. Weiss pays tribute to another extra-musical medium: film, with his ingenious “Always Be Closing,” which comes from a line from the film Glenngarry Glen Ross, starring Jack Lemmon, where Weiss’s devilish drum work mimics Lemmon’s dialog. “Dream” is a work that melds all of the CD’s myriad moods and grooves, while “Chakradar #4” and “Interlude” highlight Weiss’s expert adaptations of sub-continental Indian scales and tabla rhythms to jazz.

If it takes a village to raise a child, then it took a world city like New York to create a global musician like Dan Weiss. Born in New Jersey, Weiss started playing the drums at the age of six. Weiss attended Manhattan School of Music and studied drumset with John Riley, composition with David Noon and frame drums with Jamey Haddad. Weiss has studied the tabla for twelve years under the guidance of his guru, Pandit Samir Chatterjee, and has performed classical Indian music with Ramesh Mishra, Mandira Lahiri, Subra Guha, Anoushka Shankar, Anirban Dasgupta, Joyas Biswas, and Steve Gorn. He has also performed in recitals with his teacher in Kolkata, India. His two previous recordings as a leader: Tintal Drumset Solo (Chhandayan, 2005) and Now Yes When (Toap, 2006).

So, from drumkits to tablas, as Timshel aurally illustrates in all of it’s syncopated splendor, that Dan Weiss has got the rhythms covered. “I feel grateful to have been exposed to such beautiful things, and I feel even more grateful for the opportunity to now share these things with you.”

Dan Weiss’ Official Website

Dan Weiss Trio on MySpace

For more information, please contact
Matt Merewitz at Fully Altered Media
matt@fullyaltered.com
347-527-2527 (office)

The highly anticipated New York debut of Sam Sadigursky’s Words Project III: Miniatures, the NY-based saxophonist and composer’s third installment in the critically acclaimed Words Project series on New Amsterdam Records, will take place Friday January 29th at Galapagos Art Space in DUMBO (16 Main St. at the corner of Water St and Main St. Brooklyn, NY 11201) as part of New Amsterdam’s ARCHIPELAGO Series. These releases mix modern and post-modern poetry with Sadigursky’s unique compositional vision that draws stylistically from both jazz and new music. Source material includes poems by Emily Dickinson, Carl Sandburg, Maxim Gorky, Léon de Greiff and William Carlos Williams sung by a range of New York-based vocalists including Michael Leonhart, Monika Heidemann, Becca Stevens, Heather Masse and Matt Kanelos.

Here’s what Sam has to say in his own words (from the Naxos blog at Sequenza21.com).

Here’s what the critics are already saying about Words Project III:

The highly respected veteran jazz journalist Doug Ramsey writes on his ArtsJournal blog, Rifftides:

“As we pointed out in a Rifftides posting two years ago today, jazz and poetry never really became a movement. Over the past 90 years or so, the hybridform has had a few peak periods and some embarrassing lows. On the strength of Sam Sadigursky’s work, we may be at one of the peaks.”

Fort Worth Weekly music scribe Ken Shimamoto captures the difference between Words Project III and other poetry-jazz hybrids.

“It would be wrong to call Words Project III: Miniatures a “poetry-jazz” record. To many folks, that description evokes a ’50s movie cliché of goateed beret-and-turtleneck wearers in a smoky basement, snapping their fingers to signify approval of some “Howl”-era Ginsberg caricature backed by stale bebop. What New York-based composer Sam Sadigursky’s up to here is something entirely other. The phrase that pays is “art song.” The record is as redolent of classical music as it is of jazz, while the vocalists’ delivery and Sadigursky’s setting produce a resolutely contemporary sound.“

Friday January 29th
8:00 PM – one set

Sam Sadigursky’s Words Project III: Miniatures Premiere/Release Party
New Amsterdam Records’ ARCHIPELAO Series

Galapagos Art Space
16 Main St. (corner of Water and Main)
Brooklyn, NY 11201 (DUMBO)

Personnel:
Monika Heidemann, Becca Stevens, Heather Masse, Michael Leonhart, Matt Kanelos – voice
Sam Sadigursky – saxophones
Pete Rende – piano, accordion
Nate Radley – guitar
Gary Wang – bass
Richie Barshay – drums/percussion

Sam Sadigursky’s website
Sam Sadigursky’s MySpace page
Sam Sadigursky’s Facebook Fan Page
New Amsterdam Records
Galapagos Art Space

For more information, please contact Matt Merewitz at Fully Altered Media / 347-527-2527 or 215-629-6155 / matt@fullyaltered.com

See what the Times critics had to say about their work:

Ben Allison Album Preview

BEN ALLISON The brave commingling of progressive jazz and indie-rock continues apace on “Think Free,” the new album from this ever-shrewd bassist and composer. He has good people for the job: the guitarist Steve Cardenas, the trumpeter Shane Endsley, the violinist Jenny Scheinman and the drummer Rudy Royston. Oct. 13. Palmetto. (Nate Chinen)

Ben Ratliff on Vijay Iyer’s new album, Historicity (ACT Music)

VIJAY IYER’S piano trio sneaked up on listeners when they weren’t really paying much attention to it. It was there in some of the best parts of Mr. Iyer’s impressive recent quartet album, “Tragicomic” (Sunnyside), that don’t include the group’s saxophonist, Rudresh Mahanthappa; it surfaced in occasional gigs or commissions over the past four years for the band’s three other musicians, the pianist Mr. Iyer, the bassist Stephan Crump and the drummer Marcus Gilmore. But “Historicity,” to be released on Oct. 13 by the German label ACT, is piano-bass-drums from beginning to end, and so it’s probably the moment to say: Presto! Here is the great new jazz piano trio.

The new music by this New York pianist, 38, is just as quick coursing and strict rhythm dodging as the rest of his work back to the mid-1990s. (He loves working with long, percussive piano vamps in odd time signatures, and Mr. Gilmore can make them dance and stagger.) But here the result is sleeker, more stylish and tuneful, powerful without unnecessary bulk.

It’s also Mr. Iyer’s first serious attempt at a repertory album, dotted with other people’s songs, including M.I.A.’s “Galang,” Andrew Hill’s “Smoke Stack,” Leonard Bernstein’s “Somewhere” (from “West Side Story”), Stevie Wonder’s “Big Brother” and Ronnie Foster’s “Mystic Brew.”

In a highly functioning jazz-piano trio playing original music, Mr. Iyer explained in a recent conversation, “everyone is contributing structural information.” In other words, “you’re not just playing over something: you are that something at the same time.” The next step, then, was to work with other people’s structures and see if the principle held.

None of the covers on the new album were written for piano trio, and that alone would legitimize a lot of overhaul. But Mr. Iyer doesn’t go coy or perverse. Through the band’s own interactive arrangements you can hear the melody of each song, and its intended mood too. (With “Big Brother,” full of Mr. Crump’s ominous bowed bass, Mr. Iyer took special care, because when you play it without words, he said, “you forget that it’s a really dark song.”)

Mr. Iyer talks about the “disruptive” quality of the songs he covers, and by that he means the questioning spirit of the music that he identifies with as a listener. With one exception.

“I don’t think ‘Somewhere’ has a disruptive quality,” he allowed. “But if Coltrane can do ‘My Favorite Things,’ I can do ‘Somewhere.’ ”

A version of this article appeared in print on September 13, 2009, on page AR64 of the New York edition.

Related content:
Official Web site, with music streams: Vijay Iyer
Video: Galang (YouTube)

Release Date: October 6, 2009

The title of Linda Oh’s debut CD, Entry, describes not only her emergence as a leader, but her arrival amongst the ranks of bassists who step out of the sidelines into the spotlight with a strong, cohesive vision. Alongside Ambrose Akinmusire on trumpet and drummer Obed Calvaire, Oh offers a compelling three-way conversation in which she serves as both equal voice and steely anchor.

“So many musicians want to do everything with their first album,” Oh says. “Especially bass players who play upright and electric — Here’s me doing a funk tune, here’s me doing a swing tune…I wanted to steer completely clear of that and have something kind of raw as well as challenging. Basically, I knew I wanted to do something different.”

Though she achieves that goal musically throughout Entry, Oh’s backstory alone ensures her uniqueness, even on the globally-oriented New York scene. Born in Malaysia to Chinese parents and raised in Western Australia, she arrived in NYC three years ago having followed a circuitous route, culturally and musically.

Starting with classical piano lessons at age four, Oh’s musical dabblings progressed through various woodwind instruments throughout her school years before settling on the bassoon during high school. But at the same time, an uncle gave her an electric bass, which she played by day in her school jazz band at night, emulating Flea on Red Hot Chili Peppers covers by night.

Oh’s musical tastes had been forged through the influence of her older sister, who introduced her to “everything from the Red Hot Chili Peppers to Faith No More to Fela Kuti to Jaco Pastorius.” That influence persists on Entry via the trio’s hushed, tender version of the Chili Pepper’ early-90s B-side, “Soul to Squeeze”, which closes the album.

Having split her attentions between bassoon and bass throughout high school, the time came to make a choice when Oh decided to further her studies. She settled on the bass and in 2002 was accepted into the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts, where she began playing the upright bass for the first time.

“Being brought up in Australia, especially in such an isolated, pretty town as Perth, there were some very amazing, incredibly underrated musicians,” Oh says. “And because Australia is so small, I find it to be brutally honest. Here, I see a lot of people getting by because they have the right publicist or the right look, but over there people are a bit more willing to say, ‘This sounds like crap.’ That was a huge influence on me because it made me really learn fast.”

When it came time to record her own debut as a leader, Oh decided to assemble a stripped-down trio for a darker, moodier sound. “The dark blue color that I chose for the album cover reflects what I felt the colors of the tunes were,” she says. “It’s kind of strange, but I was looking for something a bit more honest. I wanted it to have a darker sound, so I had to constantly tell Ambrose to aim lower than what he would usually aim for.”

Oh chose two of New York’s most innovative talents for her trio, both fellow Manhattan School grads. Akinmusire has followed his victory in the 2007 Thelonious Monk International Jazz Competition by playing with legends like Herbie Hancock and Wayne Shorter. Calvaire lists Wynton Marsalis, Danilo Perez, Stefon Harris, and a two-year stint with Steve Turre on his résumé.

The three make for a formidable unit, maintaining a taut electricity while volleying ideas between them at the speed of inspiration. “I wanted the melodies and the harmonies to be simple and direct to create that raw sound,” Oh says. “Everything else — the rhythms, the ideas — could go wherever they wanted to. Basically, I was looking to put together my own tunes in the way that I wanted to, while giving the other guys the freedom to really characterize them.”

That combination of edge and electricity is present right out of the gate, in the tense pulse of “Morning Sunset”, met initially with smears and chirps from Akinmusire’s horn before building in momentum, with that throbbing heartbeat maintained throughout, traded among the instrumentalists.

It’s also present in the nervous energy of Oh’s opening bass lines on “Fourth Limb”, accompanied by Calvaire’s equally caffeinated chattering percussion, soothed by the entrance of a calmingly soulful trumpet melody.

Despite Oh’s focus on dark colors and raw sounds, there is no shortage of beauty on the album, whether in the form of Akinmusire’s chorus-like fanfare at the outset of “Numero Uno” or the bop-funk head of “Gunners”, which hides a punk snarl inside.

It’s not quite accurate to call this a three-sided dialogue, however — by devising clever tunes with built-in space for constant reinvention, Oh offers a suite of tunes that reward the listener who digs into the spaces that the trio carves out. In that sense, it’s a cooperative effort that works via four minds converging.

For more information, contact Matt Merewitz (matt@fullyaltered.com / 215-629-6155)

Bassist/composer Ben Allison’s ninth album, Think Free, is part of a paradigm shift that began with his 2005 Palmetto Records release, Cowboy Justice. “I wanted a band that rocked,” says Allison of his changing sound. “I was moving away from the chamber-jazz elements of Medicine Wheel and Peace Pipe and trying to incorporate other sounds into my music. I continue to try to get to something personal. Cowboy Justice, Little Things Run the World (Palmetto, 2008), and now Think Free are all one continuous train of thought.”

Think Free builds not only on the concept but also the personnel of its predecessors. Longtime compatriot Steve Cardenas returns on guitar, alongside trumpeter Shane Endsley, violinist Jenny Scheinman and drummer Rudy Royston. Each of them are composers and band leaders and bear impressive artistic résumés: Cardenas is a member of Paul Motian’s Sextet and Charlie Haden’s Liberation Music Orchestra; Endsley is a rising voice on trumpet, well known for his work in Kneebody and alongside Ani Difranco; Scheinman has been widely acclaimed for her performance as both violinist and vocalist; and Royston’s training in both the conservatory and the church contributes to his soulful precision behind the kit. The addition of Scheinman’s violin to the quartet of trumpet, guitar, bass and drums had been in Allison’s mind since 2005. “In the past few years I was fortunate to play a lot with Jenny, often in collaboration with Rudy and Steve. We all felt an immediate and strong musical connection.” Allison continues, “I think an extremely important part of being a composer/bandleader is assembling an interesting combination of musicians. Duke Ellington and Miles Davis were masters of this. Their music is very much an extension of the rapport between, and personalities of, the members of their groups. It could be said that choosing the right musicians is part of the compositional process.”

As on past records, Think Free is comprised of Allison originals both new and old. “Fred” wears its compelling simplicity on its sleeve, both musically and in its title given by Allison’s five-year-old daughter. Scheinman turns in an outstanding solo over the rocking groove provided by Allison and Royston. Her violin blends with Endsley’s round trumpet tone on the spacious head of “Platypus,” with Cardenas’ arpeggios churning underneath. Of his solo on Platypus, Steve Cardenas says “Ben asked me to play long tones, kind of an ‘anti-solo’. It’s amazing the way the 7/4 time feel just disappears.” The tune is named in honor of Charles Darwin, whose bicentennial passed while Allison was writing music for the album. “Broke” brings to mind, for Allison, the rusted tractors along the rural routes of Missouri, with a gentle lilt and melancholy delivered by muted trumpet and violin. Cardenas’ pulsing chords open “Kramer vs. Kramer vs. Godzilla” (a reference for Spinal Tap fans) before Allison and Royston join the party with a wallop of a backbeat. Endsley uncorks some moog-mangled trumpet, to which Scheinman responds with scratchy bowing and simulated feedback. “…vs. Godzilla” is an improvised miniature based on the same piece. Royston’s toms add an ominous undertone to Endsley’s Harmon-muted ostinato.

Longtime fans of Allison will recognize the rest of the repertoire: “Sleeping Giant” is the new metamorphosis of “R&B Fantasy” from Buzz (Palmetto, 2004), which juxtaposes the chamber-jazz tendencies of Allison’s earlier work with his new direction towards direct, rocking simplicity. “Green Al,” originally from the same album, is now dedicated to Gore in lieu of Green. “Peace Pipe,” from that band’s eponymous 2002 record, re-appears as well. “Re-interpreting one’s own music is a big part of the jazz tradition,” Allison says. “Like Monk when he was in his mid-career, I’ve probably written about 50 tunes. As my groups change, it’s always interesting to me to hear the ways in which a particular group of musicians deals with a tune. Different instrumentations always inspire me to rearrange material in novel ways.” This is evident most effectively on “Peace Pipe,” where Allison, Cardenas, and Scheinman combine to emulate Mamadou Diabaté’s kora from the original recording. Allison states, “My music is in flux.”

Think Free presents the latest phase of his promising and riveting evolution in the company of brilliant musical allies.

The album will be launched at NYC’s Jazz Standard (116 E. 27th Street), October 16-18, 2009.

For more information, contact Matt Merewitz (matt@fullyaltered.com / 215-629-6155)

Ben Perowsky Quartet – Esopus Opus (Skirl) – August 11
w/ Perowsky (drums), Chris Speed (tenor sax, clarinet), Drew Gress (bass), Ted Reichman (accordion, keyboards)

The Waitiki 7 – Adventures in Paradise (Pass Out Records) – August 18
w/ Zaccai Curtis (piano), Tim Mayer (saxes, flutes), Randy Wong (bass), Lopaka Colón (birdcalls, percussion), Jim Benoit (vibes), Helen Liu (violin), Abe Lagrimas, Jr. (drums, vibes, percussion) + special guest Mike Dease (trombone)

Stefon Harris & Blackout – Urbanus (Concord Jazz) – August 25
w/ Harris (vibraphone, marimba), Marc Cary (keyboards, piano, effects), Ben Willams (bass), Casey Benjamin (alto sax, vocoder), Terreon Gully (drums)

Rez Abbasi – Things to Come (Sunnyside) – August 25
w/ Rudresh Mahanthappa (alto sax), Vijay Iyer (piano), Dan Weiss (drums), Johannes Weidenmuller (bass) + Kiran Ahluwalia (Hindustani vocals), Mike Block (cello)

September

James Weidman – Three Worlds (Inner Circle Music) – Sept. 15
w/ Marty Ehrlich (alto sax, clarinet), Ray Anderson (trombone), Jay Hoggard (vibraphone), Brad Jones (bass), Francisco Mela (drums)

Benny Reid - Escaping Shadows (Concord Jazz) – Sept. 15
w/ Richard Padrón (guitar), Jeff Taylor (wordless vocals), Ryan Fitch (percussion), Pablo Vergara (piano), Dan Loomis (bass), Kenny Grohowski (drums)

Digital Primitives – Hum, Crackle & Pop (Hopscotch Records) – Sept. 22
w/ Assif Tsahar (tenor sax, percussion), Cooper-Moore (percussion, diddley-bo, voice), Chad Taylor (drums, percussion)

Moodswing Orchestra – Moodswing Orchestra (El Destructo Records/The Royal Potato Family) – Sept. 29
w/ Ben Perowsky (leader, drums bells, percussion, voice), Glenn Patscha (keyboards, pianos, voice), Markus Miller (turntables, electronics); Special Guests: Oren Bloedow (bass, voice) and Jennifer Charles (voice) of Elysian Fields, Marcus Rojas (tuba, voice), Doug Wieselman (reeds), Steven Bernstein (trumpet), Pamela Kurstin (theremin), Miho Hatori (voice) of Cibo Matto, Elyas Khan (voice), Joan Wasser (voice) of Joan As Policewoman, Bebel Gilberto (voice)

Ahleuchatistas – Of The Body Prone (Tzadik) – Sept. 29
Power Trio w/ Shane Perlowin (guitar), Derek Poteat (bass), Ryan Oslance (drums)

Tyshawn Sorey – Koan (482 Music) – Sept. 29
Trio w/ Thomas Morgan (bass, guitar); Todd Neufeld (guitar)

October

Jon Irabagon – The Observer (Concord Jazz) – Oct. 6
w/ Kenny Barron (piano), Rufus Reid (bass), Victor Lewis (drums) + special guests Nicholas Payton (trumpet), Bertha Hope (piano)

Linda Oh – Entry (self-released) – Oct. 6
Trio w/ Oh (bass), Ambrose Akinmusire (trumpet), Obed Calvaire (drums)

Jason Stein’s Locksmith Isidore – Three Less Than Between (Clean Feed) – October 6
Trio w/ Jason Stein (bass clarinet), Jason Roebke (bass), Mike Pride (drums)

Jason Stein – In Exchange for A Process (Leo Records) – October 6
solo bass clarinet

Vijay Iyer Trio – Historicity (ACT Music) -  October 13
Trio w/ Marcus Gilmore (drums) and Stephan Crump (bass)

Ben Allison - Think Free (Palmetto) – October 13
Quintet w/ Jenny Scheinman, Shane Endsley, Steve Cardenas and Rudy Royston

Chad Taylor -  Circle Down (482 Music) – October 20
Trio w/ Angelica Sanchez and Chris Lightcap

Mike Reed’s People, Places & Things – About Us (482 Music) – October 27
Quintet w/ Tim Haldeman (t. sax, perc., piano), Mike Reed (drums, piano), Jason Roebke (bass, perc., piano), Greg Ward (alto sax, perc., piano) – 2nd part of a trilogy

To request any of these recordings, please contact Matt Merewitz (matt@fullyaltered.com) or Stephen Buono (stephen@fullyaltered.com) or call 215-629-6155.

Stefon Harris & Blackout - "Urbanus" cover art

Stefon Harris and Blackout to Release
Urbanus
On Concord Jazz August 25, 2009

Concord Jazz today announced the release of vibraphonist-composer Stefon Harris’s 7th album as a bandleader and Concord debut, Urbanus.   The new release picks up where 2004’s Evolution left off in that it features Blackout, his scintillating ensemble that’s as versed in modern jazz as it is with rhythms, melodies and soundscapes associated with R&B, pop, hip-hop and funk.  The 10-track-album will be available August 25, 2009.

The GRAMMY-nominated musician has been hailed as “one of the most important young artists in jazz” (Los Angeles Times), and is widely recognized by both peers and critics alike for his innovative compositions, blazing new paths on the vibraphone and marimba.  On Urbanus, Stefon Harris and Blackout display a deeper group rapport as well as a more expansive sonic palette as Marc Cary complements the acoustic piano with Fender Rhodes and alto saxophonist Casey Benjamin lends his captivating vocoder work to the proceeding.  Harris’ brilliance at broadening textures and colors comes to play with his sensational woodwind and string arrangements on a few of the compositions as well.

“One of the biggest indicators of our growth as a band is the level of contribution from all the members of the ensemble,” Harris enthuses. “The music not only incorporates all of our writing but everyone’s cultural backgrounds as well.”

To illustrate this point, he points to the disc’s opening track, “Gone,” which bounces to the pulsating polyrhythm of go-go, a sound indicative to Washington, D.C.’s urban landscape. Both bassist Ben Williams and Cary hail from Washington, D.C. It doesn’t hurt also that Harris is a big go-go fan. “How can you not like go-go? It’s so funky,” Harris says.  Blackout is rounded out by longtime Harris drummer, Terreon Gully. 

The delicate “For You” provides the perfect example of how Blackout balances the worlds of the acoustic with the electric co-written by Benjamin and Sameer Gupta.  Before Harris recorded it, “For You” was a favorite on Benjamin’s Myspace page and has since undergone several incarnations. Harris first heard the tune when the band was rehearsing in San Francisco. Cary had just recorded the song for another date and shared it with the band. “We checked it out then decided to play the tune,” Harris recalls. “That evening we went over it and actually played “For You” in the concert. It was a perfect vehicle for the chemistry in our band. Casey later added a bridge and we continued to expand on the composition.”

The album also includes a fantastic makeover of Stevie Wonder’s early-’70s song “They Won’t Go (When I Go)” from Wonder’s 1974 LP, Fullfillingness’ First Finale. Urbanus closes with the spellbinding ballad “Langston’s Lullaby,” which is dedicated to Harris’ newborn infant, Langston.

Recorded just a few days before the historic presidential inauguration of Barack Obama, Urbanus sparkles with optimism, ingenuity and emotional immediacy. “How could it not?” Harris says when asked if the anticipating for the inauguration had an impact on the sessions. “Being in the studio, knowing that we were getting ready for the inauguration of the first African-American president – how could that not change my life? I was extremely inspired and that created a great feeling of audacity and some fantastic energy.”

Stefon Harris and Blackout will be on tour this Fall to promote Urbanus.

September 7:         Detroit Jazz Festival
October 13 – 14:      Jazz Alley, Seattle, WA
October 16 – 17:     The Outpost, Albuquerque, NM
October 22-25        Dizzys Club Coca-Cola, Jazz at Lincoln Center, NYC
October 30:         Spivey Hall, Decatur, GA
November 5-8:     Jazz Showcase, Chicago, IL
November 13        Distance Learning Clinic, The Kennedy Center, Washington, DC
November 14:         The Kennedy Center, Washington, DC
November 22:         De Bartolo Performing Arts Center, Notre Dame IN
Dec 3 – 6:         TV performance, Melodies of Christmas, WRGB-TV, Albany, NY
January 30, 2010:     University of Missouri, Kansas City, MO
January 31, 2010:    Murry’s, Columbia, MO

FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:

Fully Altered Media
Matt Merewitz (matt@fullyaltered.com)
215-629-6155

Julie Murray Porter
jporter@concordrecords.com
310-385-4234