Recording News

Booker T. Jones - The Road to Memphis (2011)

Source: Something Else!
May 11, 2011

His name is linked forever with the town, and the sound, of Memphis. But Booker T. Jones' influence moves beyond Beale, into hip hop and today's rhythm-and-blues—something that's underscored on The Road to Memphis, co-produced by The Roots drummer/bandleader ?uestlove and out today on Anti- Records. Not that Jones, a three-time Grammy winner and Rock and Roll Hall of Famer, doesn't stake his claim to all that is fonky. “Walking Papers" and “The Vamp" boast a Meters-level greasy grind, while ...

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An Introduction to the Self-Released Album

Source: HypeBot
May 11, 2011

You have been working hard, playing your music and finally have a couple songs or maybe even an album. The question is: How do I sell my music or get on iTunes? On Music Think Tank, Cameron Mizell shares his thoughts on the shifting trends in music retail and gives advice on how to release your own album.. (Read On) “Today, any resourceful individual with a little bit of money and a lot of creativity can make an album commercially ...

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Roy Orbison: Monument Singles

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers
May 11, 2011

With images of lower Memphis struggling with a swollen Mississippi River, I spent yesterday listening to Roy Orbison: The Monument Singles Collection (1960-1964), a newly remastered, three-disc set from Sony Legacy. As readers know, I love everything about Memphis—the energy, the kindness of strangers, the ribs and pork shoulder, the city's rich blues and rock history, and the humidity. So Orbison's recordings were just right, reminding me how delightfully dark and somewhat misunderstood this early rocker was. The new set's ...

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David Mott's Latest and Best Unaccompanied Baritone Set "Dragonhorn"

Source: Gapplegate Music Review by Grego Edwards
May 10, 2011

David Mott, baritone sax. Up there in Canada. A real player. He's had one or two solo baritone recordings out. They are very good. The new one, Dragonhorn (MAE 013), I think is his very best. With David's solo work, there is virtually always an energy component, motor repetition, sound color and structured improvisational ideas. What's generally true of his playing is particularly evident on this one. He sometimes circular breathes while articulating particular repeating note patterns (a little bit ...

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Kenny Werner - Balloons (Half Note, 2011)

Source: Music and More by Tim Niland
May 10, 2011

Pianist and composer Kenny Werner brings together a fine post-bop unit consisting of David Sanchez on tenor saxophone, Randy Brecker on trumpet, John Pattitucci on bass and Antonio Sanchez on drums. This album was recorded live at the Blue Note Club and features four long improvisations that allow for excellent ensemble playing and soloing on a variety of moods and textures.

The group opens with “Sada," a slow and probing composition that allows them to get their footing and explore ...

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Claire Ritter - The Stream of Pearls Project (2011)

Source: Something Else!
May 10, 2011

There is a sensuous, lush quietude to this recording, which notes on the front that it was “inspired by water." Ritter's playing—trickling and ruminative one moment, bubbly and adventurous the next—certainly echoes the theme. The Stream of Pearls Project, available for purchase through Ritter's Web site, eventually encompasses trips she took from Boston's Charles River ("The Beauty of the Stillness Overflowed Me Like a Tide,") to the Ocracoke Island on the Outer Banks of North Carolina, from New Hampshire ("Bolero ...

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Billie and the Blessed Child

Source: Riffs on Jazz by John Anderson
May 10, 2011

Billie Holiday recorded what was almost her last hit song, “God Bless the Child," on this date in 1941,with the Eddie Heywood Orchestra featuring Roy Eldridge on trumpet. Shortly before this session, she had co-written this tune with Arthur Herzog, Jr., asongwriter with whom she sometimes collaborated. In her autobiography, LadySings the Blues, Holiday claims that the song stemmed from an incident in her childhood when she asked for money from her mother and was refused. Unfortunately, Holiday wasnot the ...

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Tom McMahon's New Release "Spring 2011" Available at Bandcamp.com

Source: Michael Ricci
May 10, 2011

Tom McMahon has released a four song EP at Bandcamp. This is the first in what will be a series of releases featuring Ottawa musician and composer Tom McMahon on Baliset with Mike Tremblay on Saxophone and Mark Rehder on drums. A high emphasis on melody and texture, with the unique blending of Baliset and Sax, sets these recordings apart. Drawing from their diverse backgrounds the trio explores the terrains of classical harmonies and pop forms, all the while keeping ...

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