Recording News

Big Sam's Funky Nation - King of the Party (2010)

Source: Something Else!
January 26, 2011

By Nick DeRiso Big Sam's Funky Nation, all brass and sass, opens its latest CD with a floor-rattling invitation to shake every thing you've got. For all of its musical prowess, that remains the one and only goal of this fun-loving, funky-butt recording by New Orleans-based trombone-playing bandleader Sammie Williams, formerly of the Dirty Dozen Brass Band. Still, take a moment between sweaty turns around the dance floor and you hear a surprisingly complex musical vocabulary inside this party record. ...

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Forgotten Gems: Songs We Still Love by Prince

Source: Something Else!
January 26, 2011

By Something Else Reviews OK, there was the symbol thing. And the awful attempts at hip-hop phrasing. And the Sheena Easton thing. And the using of a certain ubiquitous letter of the alphabet ("Take Me With U," “I Would Die for U," “U Got the Look," “I Wish U Heaven," “Nothing Compares 2 U," so on) in the songs. And the spoken-word thing on The Gold Experience. And the complete redo of Purple Rain—your band versus the Time? Again?—for the ...

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Melvin Gibbs' free download series enters 10th and final week with a John Medeski feature

Source: Melvin Gibbs
January 26, 2011

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All About Jazz / SonicBids MP3 Download of the Month: Lola Danza's "Mountain Rabbit" from Vision Quest

Source:
January 26, 2011

All About Jazz has selected Lola Danza's “Mountain Rabbit" from Vision Quest as our featured SonicBids MP3 Download of the Month. You can download and listen to the track for free here. Enjoy! Your friends at All About Jazz and SonicBids

About the All About Jazz/SonicBids Download Program 6.4 million downloads and going strong! All About Jazz has offered a free full-length MP3 daily since 2005. We also select and feature at least one track per month through ...

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Pedro Luis Ferrer Releases "Tangible" New Music March 29

Source: rock paper scissors, inc.
January 25, 2011

Cuban Brass, Honey, and the Void: The Sensual, Spiritual World of Pedro Luis Ferrer on Tangible In the sheltered inner rooms of an old Havana house, an earthy philosopher plucks melodies and rhythms from the air and from Cuban music's rich soil. Working alone or with close friends and relatives, he turns dances from the sugar cane fields and troubadour trills into magical realist declarations of liberty, as grandchildren dash in and out, and chicken grills out on the veranda. ...

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Traffic's "John Barleycorn Must Die" Returns

Source: Universal Music Enterprises
January 25, 2011

Traffic to Release Deluxe Edition of John Barleycorn Must Die March 8 Deluxe Import Includes Alternate Takes, Live Tracks & Previously Unreleased Material Santa Monica, CA: John Barleycorn Must Die is the Traffic album that almost never was but which is now commonly regarded as their definitive work. By 1970, still only 22, Steve Winwood had already served time at the heart of The Spencer Davis Group, as a founder member of Traffic, and with the supergroup Blind Faith. What ...

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Italian crooner Klaus Bellavitis injects swinging Sinatra-esque jazz with good-natured humor

Source: Lauren Rogers
January 25, 2011

(Milan, Italy)—Even when he's in a “Bad Mood," such as on the opening track of his 2008 album, Jazz for Sale,Klaus Bellavitis is swinging away, his deep croon sometimes tossing comic darts or flirtatious come-ons. Bellavitis offers blue-eyed soul for the 21st century, reinvigorating Frank Sinatra-styled vocal jazz with sly wit, a dash of European charm, and enough rambunctious energy to light up a city. Bellavitis is scheduled to release a new album, Change, this month; currently being mastered, the ...

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Trio of Washington, DC Natives Release Killin' New Album!

Source: Michael Ricci
January 25, 2011

The Zack Cross Trio, an up-and-coming group comprised of members Luke Angle, Andy Randazzo, and Zack Cross, has just released their critically acclaimed debut album Up/Under! CapitalBop.com had this to say “CB's a big fan of Zack Cross (and the exciting new CD). We had this to say about Cross before his gig at Twins Jazz earlier this month: 'Young pianist Zack Cross plays with a serious but flexible swing, and shows the influence of Bill Evans in his harmonic ...

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