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Recording

Stax Singles: Vols. 2 and 3

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers
March 3, 2015

Stax sounds like shorthand for “stacks of 45s." But the Memphis soul label actually was a hybrid of Jim Stewart and Estelle Axton's last names. Stewart and Axton were brother-and-sister business partners who started Satellite Records in 1957 and changed the company's name in 1961 to Stax. Back in the 1960s, soul labels in different parts of the country had their own regional flavor. Arctic in Philadelphia was sweet, Specialty in Los Angeles was bluesy, Red Bird in New York ...

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Recording

Miles on Monday: 56 years of Kind of Blue

Source: St. Louis Jazz Notes by Dean Minderman
March 2, 2015

It was 56 years ago today that Miles Davis went into Columbia Records' 30th Street Studio in New York City to begin recording Kind of Blue, his best-known work that has been cited variously over the ensuing years as the best-selling, most influential, and greatest jazz album of all time. During that first session on Monday, March 2, 1959, the tracks “So What," “Freddie Freeloader" and “Blue in Green" were recorded for side one of the original LP. A few ...

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Recording

Internationally Renowned Musician/Composer Kyle Eastwood Pays Homage To Late 50’s And Early 60’s Jazz With Time Pieces Set For Release March 10, 2015 On Jazz Village

Source: Sheryl Feuerstein
February 27, 2015

Limited Vinyl Edition Released April 14/US Tour Dates March 27 – April 18 In the 17 years since the release of From There To Here, Kyle Eastwood’s first album as a leader, the multi-talented double bassist, composer and producer has forged a dynamic musical path. His artistry is eclectic, yet refined and transcends the boundaries of jazz by exploring an ever-widening range of musical influences. While continuing to develop his parallel career as a composer and arranger on his legendary ...

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Recording

Get Fritzenized! Rising Star Keyboardist/Composer Jonathan Fritzen Releases Fifth Solo Album February 10, 2015 On Nordic Night Records

Source: Sheryl Feuerstein
February 27, 2015

Sweden’s Hottest Musical Import to U.S. Since Abba Los Angeles, CA: Take one of the hottest composers and keyboard players in instrumental pop, add in featured performances from the likes of Gerald Albright, Paul Taylor and Nils Landgren, hook them up with ten wonderful new tunes and what do you have? The answer is Fritzenized, the latest album from the Billboard chart-topping, artist Jonathan Fritzén. It is the Swedish American’s fifth solo CD and follows the critically acclaimed ‘Magical’ from ...

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Recording

Gavin Harrison (Porcupine Tree, King Crimson) Discusses Solo Album "Cheating The Polygraph" In New Q&A Video

Source: Fresno Media
February 27, 2015

ENGLAND - Porcupine Tree drummer, Gavin Harrison, widely acknowledged as one of the finest drummers on the planet, has posted a Q&A video discussing his sparkling new solo album, Cheating the Polygraph. Acclaimed British jazz musician, Laurence Cottle, joins Harrison to explain the process behind their reimagining of such Porcupine Tree gems as “Heart Attack in a Layby," “Start of Something Beautiful," “What Happens Now?" and more, to be released in North America on April 14 via Kscope (April 13 ...

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Recording

Alan Hampton Releases Sophomore Album "Origami for the Fire"

Source: K. Shackelford
February 26, 2015

Alan Hampton is a busy man. When he's not on the road, playing bass and singing with Andrew Bird, Gretchen Parlato Meshell N'Degeocello, and Robert Glasper, he might be in the studio laying down tracks for Sufjan Stevens, Luke Temple, Derrick Hodge, Kendrick Scott, Esperanza Spalding, or The New Pornographers. But somehow, in between tours and takes, Hampton has also been steadily crafting his own sound. When Hampton released his debut record, The Moving Sidewalk, in 2011, The New York ...

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Recording

Jazz Collective "Sasha’s Bloc" Sets "Heart On Fire" CD For March 2015

Source: Michael Ricci
February 25, 2015

Jazz Collective Sasha's Bloc, Featuring Guest Vocalist Jane Monheit and Conceived by Bassist Alex Gershman, Sets Heart on Fire CD for March 2015. A Big Jazz Band Sound, Featuring Original Music That Hearkens Back to the 1920s, 30s and 40s; An Upbeat, Modern Embrace of an Era That Gave Us the Music and Stage Presence of Fats Waller, Duke Ellington, Scott Joplin, Count Basie and More With the March, 2015 release of Heart on Fire, jazz collective Sasha's Bloc aims ...

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Recording

Vocalist Thana Alexa Immortalizes Personal and Musical Influences on Path to Self-Discovery with Debut Album, "Ode To Heroes"

Source: All About Jazz
February 24, 2015

Available March 10 via Jazz Village Album Features Collaborations with Antonio Sanchez, Donny McCaslin, and Scott Colley “Ode To Heroes is an impressive collection of ambitious music beautifully pulled together by the powerful vocals of Thana Alexa that gives it all continuity. Alexa's music is challenging, but her use of the musicians and her voice makes everything sound natural and easy." —Pat Metheny “Thana Alexa is a great new talent...has a beautiful voice and is a great composer and bandleader... ...

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