Jaayaaazzzzzz

Really good Play in front of people

Pedal Pedaler - Part 1

itstherealmusic

jazzy pouy

From Tobias Meinhart's "The Painter" (4/30/21) on Sunnyside Records.

The creation of music shares much in common with creation in the visual arts. Both musicians and visual artists speak of and deal in colors, hues and textures in their compositional processes. Saxophonist/composer Tobias Meinhart has developed near synesthetic visualizations as he performs and hears music. His new recording, The Painter, presents his recent work of diverse, brilliant pieces meant to brighten the world’s canvas. 

The German born Meinhart has engrained himself in the New York City jazz scene over the past decade. His beautiful tone and catholic tastes have allowed the saxophonist to fit into an abundance of musical settings. Meinhart’s vision and thoughtful composing have attracted top-flight collaborators since his professional beginnings. 

The past year has provided a time of introspection and development for many. Meinhart is no exception. He found himself especially drawn to his friend, Igor Sokol, a painter. The two spoke of art and music, listened and appreciated and collected inspiration from the events that were affecting the world. Meinhart was drawn to the idea of composing and improvising as a sort of aural painting and he began to see colors and pictures when he reached a certain zone while playing.

With much to think about in craft and inspiration, Meinhart began to compose pieces that would be recorded on The Painter. The inspiration for the pieces drew from a number of sources: from the COVID-19 pandemic and the Black Lives Matter movement to meteors and Michael Jordan, all presenting hopeful messages of healing and progress. 

The ensemble that Meinhart assembled to record these new pieces consists of a number of the saxophonist’s favored collaborators, including pianist Eden Ladin, bassist Matt Penman and drummer Obed Calvaire. Since his recent release and collaboration with Kurt Rosenwinkel, Berlin People (Sunnyside 2018), Meinhart has been drawn to the sound of guitar, thus the addition of his neighbor and friend, Charles Altura. These musicians, in this and similar configurations, have been the saxophonist’s regular associates on stages like the 55 Bar and Birdland in New York City over the past two years. 

The frontline is completed by Meinhart’s longtime mentor and friend, trumpeter Ingrid Jensen. The two first met in Austria in 2003 at a jazz workshop, Jensen allowing the young saxophonist an opportunity to sit in with her band. They remained in contact in the subsequent years, performing together when opportunities presented themselves.

The Painter

White Bear

Tobias Meinhart - White Bear

Offering

Bloom

From The Forthcoming Compilation "Jamla Is The Squad" 1/28/14 from Jamla Records

Talib Kweli, Elzhi, and Phonte - No Competition prod. by Khrysis

Little remix i put together for fun. Hopefully not too offensive to people who aren't into it but love the original as much as i do. Much love!

Free Download

Roy Davis Jr Feat. Peven Everett - Gabriel (Dan Marshall Flip)

The first single from Phonte's much-anticipated solo album, Charity Starts At Home, to be released 9/27 on +FE Music.

Phonte - Not Here Anymore feat. Elzhi

Amplified

Let's Ride

One Love

99.9%

LITE SPOTS

Soul Jazz Records presents STUDIO ONE WOMEN

I Am in Love

Dreamin' Wild

Baby

In The Beginning: Before The Heavens

Things We Say

Constellations

[2015]

Tender soul splintered, folded in the inner
Another lonely night: veggie dinners for beginners
Forcing my own chin up 'fore I give up
The summer's coming back, but it feels more like it's winter
The line between my heart and my mind is growing thinner
I felt a similar way before, this I remember
Kinder egg center post-issues at the factory
My marbles scatter far, then rarely ever come back to me
Fast asleep with both eyes open
See, my description is known psychosis
Flow like an ocean, sink like a hammer
Troubled so I smoke and I drink not to panic
Restless mind not restricted by planets
Same old shell, different thinking mechanics
When life gives me lemons, I stick em' on a canvas
An interesting practice that'll rid me of madness
And I know that we could be together
But not now, no, not at all
Nah-nah-nah-nah-naaah

Beat: 'Soul Below' by Ljones

B-Sides & Rarities Vol.3 [2011-2015]

YOU FUCKERS WERE ASKING FOR THIS ONE

From Miho Hazama & m_unit's "Dancer In Nowhere" (2/8/19) on Sunnyside Records.

Hailed by veteran jazz journalist Dan Ouellette as “a vital young artist who is delivering a singular style of music steeped in a variety of idioms,” composer and bandleader Miho Hazama leads her boundlessly creative 13-piece m_unit in its third triumphant offering, Dancing in Nowhere. “Her music is complex, teeming with unexpected twists and jolting turns as well as pockets of frenzy that lead into wonder,” remarked Ouellette, assessing a growing body of work that includes the 2013 m_unit debut Journey to Journey and the 2015 follow-up Time River.

Now, quickly on the heels of The Monk: Live at Bimhuis, Hazama’s Thelonious Monk-themed collaboration with the Metropole Orkest Big Band, m_unit brings another fresh slate of original works to life, with a stellar core lineup and guests on the order of guitarist Lionel Loueke and drummer Nate Wood (Kneebody). The album was produced by former m_unit alto saxophonist Cam Collins (now thriving in a new role after throat problems sidelined him as a player).

A Tokyo native, Manhattan School of Music graduate and winner of the BMI Jazz Workshop’s prestigious Charlie Parker Jazz Composition Prize and Manny Albam Commission in 2015, Hazama is regarded by fellow New York bandleaders as a pillar of the burgeoning big band scene. She is active as a mentor to composers including Marike van Dijk, Anna Webber and Jihye Lee, among many others. She is also a conductor for ensembles besides her own, mainly through her work as curator of The Jazz Gallery Composers Showcase, offering a platform for bands such as Brian Krock’s Big Heart Machine, Terraza Big Band and more. She is Associate Director of The New York Jazzharmonic, and has taken off in Europe as well: in addition to Metropole Orkest she has pursued collaborations with the Danish Radio Big Band and the WDR Big Band — opportunities that have involved work with Marilyn Mazur and Theo Bleckmann, among other major artists.

As for her own group, Hazama is fond of the ambiguity that a band name like m_unit affords. “I didn’t want to say ‘orchestra,’” she declares. “I wanted to open the door for more flexibility. I can call it a collective, or a unit, and that allows me to involve people I want to work with at a given moment.”

Dancer in Nowhere, as a title, suggests another kind of ambiguity as well. The closing title track, written specifically with drum juggernaut Nate Wood in mind, relates to dancing in the mental rather than physical sense: “There are times when you feel something, but you can’t really describe it in words,” says Hazama. “You don’t know how you’re going react to that feeling, and maybe you can’t really express it, but you feel it so strongly inside. I started wondering if I could somehow describe this through music. Not necessarily a struggle or something negative: it could be happiness, fear, passion, energy. The challenge of capturing these things became a theme for me.”

Dancer in Nowhere

Miho Hazama & m_unit - RUN

**ON TOUR NOW** 
bit.ly/yungbaetour

Nov 20th - Los Angeles, CA w/ Macross 82-99, Night Tempo & Vantage - SOLD OUT
Nov 21st - Los Angeles, CA w/ Macross 82-99, Night Tempo & Vantage 

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Bad Boy

Stream/Buy

Dum Surfer

From Michael Thomas's "Natural Habitat" (3/26/21) on Sunnyside Records. 

Saxophonist/bass clarinetist/composer Michael Thomas finds his sweet spot in his eclectic jazz style and his home base of New York City. The recording finds him alongside pianist Julian Shore, bassist Hans Glawischnig and drummer Johnathan Blake.

Natural Habitat

Michael Thomas - Natural Habitat

From Jennifer Wharton & Bonegasm's "Not a Novelty" (4/23/21) on Sunnyside Records.

Bass trombonist Jennifer Wharton might be considered by many as a unicorn in the world of music. In decades from the not-too-distant past, it was a rarity to even have a woman in prominent jazz bands and orchestras, but to have a bass trombone-slinging woman as leader was thought extraordinary. In efforts to highlight her perceived position as a rara avis, Wharton took it upon herself to not only raise the profile of women instrumentalists but also that of her chosen horn (and its smaller cousins). 

In 2019, Wharton presented her trombone-powered ensemble, Bonegasm, via its self-titled debut album (Sunnyside SSC-1529). Wharton enlisted fellow trombonists John Fedchock, Nate Mayland and Alan Ferber, along with the rhythm section of pianist Michael Eckroth, bassist Evan Gregor and drummer Don Peretz. The music performed included originals and arrangements the leader commissioned from prominent composers she knew as well as members of the ensemble. 

The overwhelming response to Bonegasm’s music was astounding, cementing Wharton’s assertion that this assemblage was no flash in the pan but an important exponent of shaping the trombone’s primacy in jazz music. Bonegasm’s new recording, Not a Novelty, wears its intentions on its sleeve, or perhaps more appropriately, tattooed on its arm. 

Wharton has spent a good deal of time developing her jazz chops in the period since the initial release. Trying to break the tradition of the bass trombone’s relegation to supportive roles in most ensembles, Wharton began a solid study of jazz and improvisation. She also demanded that the pieces commissioned for Bonegasm feature the bigger horn in some fashion; she was impressed by what composers and arrangers could do when they used their imaginations.

Not a Novelty sprang from the pandemic of COVID-19 in the States, essentially as a way to keep Wharton engaged in a project with a purpose. A beneficial grant from the New York City Women’s Fund ensured that the commissions and recording could take place without any hitches outside of the physical limitations of social distancing for rehearsals and recording. 

Once the pieces were received, there was a remote rehearsal utilizing MIDI recordings and click tracks before two socially distanced outdoor performances with the band. The entire ensemble, apart from one performer who was overdubbed later, met at Big Orange Sheep Recording Studio in Brooklyn in late September 2020 for a recording session with increased physical isolation among all involved.

Not a Novelty

Face Value

Jennifer Wharton's Bonegasm - Face Value

From Dan Blake's "Da Fé" (3/12/21) on Sunnyside Records.

Pondering the existential crises that face humanity today – global climate catastrophe, poverty, hunger – can be overwhelming, especially when compounded with the more mundane trials we face every day. Social activism, despite its daunting challenges, is fundamentally an act of faith: faith in a better future and in our species’ capacity for positive change. On his inspiring new album, Da Fé, saxophonist and composer Dan Blake pays tribute to the spiritual leaders and political activists who’ve offered him hope while adding his own singular voice to the optimistic chorus of those crying out for solutions. 

Due out March 12, 2021via Sunnyside Records, Da Fé is an outgrowth of Blake’s own activism. A practicing Buddhist since his college years, Blake has served since 2015 on the board of Buddhist Global Relief, an organization dedicated to combatting chronic hunger and malnutrition around the world. He has also organized concerts to benefit other charitable organizations, including Extinction Rebellion, the Poor People’s Campaign and Show Up for Racial Justice. While he’s quick to downplay his own role in favor of those who dedicate their lives to activism, his music follows a socially conscious path blazed by the likes of Max Roach and Alice Coltrane before him.

My Foolish Heart - Crazy in Mind

SOIL&"PIMP"SESSIONS