Talia Schlanger for NPR – “If you’re into Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, Dr. John or Louis Armstrong and play almost any instrument under the sun, let’s jam!”

That’s the gist of what musician Zach Lupetin said in a Craigslist ad more than a decade ago when he was looking to put together a band in Los Angeles. Among the respondents, he found a trumpet player, mandolin player, a retired principal and a chiropractor — a real mixed bag, but one that formed the bones of what would become The Dustbowl Revival, Lupetin’s high-octane, bluegrass-meets-soul, New Orleans-meets-Memphis, brass-meets-fiddle conglomerate with a rotating cast of characters that, at one point, swelled to a whopping 25 musicians on stage.

These days, The Dustbowl Revival is eight members strong, including trumpet, trombone, fiddle, bass, guitar, drums, mandolin and some big vocals from Lupetin and singer Liz Beebe. You’re going to hear a real party of a live performance and a big group interview where you might not know who’s who, but I’ll shout ’em all out at the end.

Listen to the session on NPR

The Dustbowl Revival on TKA

The Kurland Agency wants to congratulate Cécile McLorin on winning a Grammy for Best Jazz Vocal Album for her Mack Avenue Records album ‘Dreams and Daggers’.

Cécile McLorin Salvant on TKA

Pablo Gorondi for AP: Compared to other genres, flexibility of lineups is one of the most fascinating aspects of jazz bands. Musicians are constantly looking for new partners, reuniting with old ones, the musical colors of ensembles shifting as this sax player or that guitarist comes and goes and another one sits in.

The leaders of The Chick Corea + Steve Gadd Band have played together occasionally for over 50 years but “Chinese Butterfly” is the first joint album by the keyboardist/composer and the drummer under that not-so-imaginative name. Beyond that small grievance, however, there’s an album full of creativity and chops.

The first half is comprised of five “shorter” tracks, each below 12 minutes. Leading the way is “Chick’s Chums,” a funky, relatively recent Corea tribute written by John McLaughlin with a decidedly 1970s vibe, a powerful sax solo by Steve Wilson and a wide range of Gadd dynamics. “Serenity” has some gentle Brazilian breezes and the disc closes with the title track, a real group effort with strong contributions by all band members, also including guitarist and vocalist Lionel Loueke, Carlitos Del Puerto on bass and percussionist Luisito Quintero.

Read the full review on The Washington Post

Chick Corea on TKA

 

Nate Nurrell for BILLBOARD – It’s been 18 years since Squirrel Nut Zippers‘ last album, and group leader Jimbo Mathus saw no need to reinvent the proverbial wheel for Beasts Of Burgundy, which comes out March 23 and whose “Karnival Joe (From Kokomo)” is premiering exclusively below.

“There’s kind of a template there for (the band), that kind of New Orleans hot jazz, cabaret, vaudeville era,” Mathus tells Billboard. “We work with early 1900s, old American weirdness, y’know? I didn’t want to break the mood of that template. You can fit a lot in there, for sure. I just wanted to make the best Zippers record that ever has been made. I think that’s what we’ve done.”

Mathus says a new album was not a foregone conclusion when he reactivated SNZ during 2016, after a six-year hiatus. But after touring with the current lineup, a hot group of virtuosos recruited mostly from around New Orleans, it became clear that the goods were there to take the group into the studio once again. “I wanted to use the strengths of the cast, the gentlemen and ladies I have in the group now, which is a lot of talent,” says Mathus, who co-produced the album with fiddle player Dr. Sick, recording in Nappy’s Dugout studio with longtime engineer Mike Napolitano. “Everybody’s just very talented, and I was able to really bring them in and get something more than I could’ve before, by myself. I wanted the record to be real New Orleans-centric, especially the old New Orleans.”

Listen to new song “Karnival Joe (From Kokomo)” on Billboard

Squirrel Nut Zippers on TKA

Jon Blistein for ROLLING STONE – Singer-songwriter Meshell Ndegeocello unveiled a gorgeous cover of Prince’s “Sometimes It Snows in April,” the first offering from her upcoming covers LP, Ventriloquism.

Ndegeocello puts a unique yet faithful spin on Prince’s Parade ballad, opening her version with a rumbling tangle of bass and guitar that delicately unravels into the melody. Ndegeocello delivers a enthralling vocal performance, with her rich voice jumping between registers as each resonant syllable rounded off with a hush.

“I had to make something of him, for him,” Ndegeocello tells Rolling Stone of her Prince cover. “I’ve made so much because of him. I still can’t believe he’s not on the planet and this was as close to closure as I’d get.”

Ventriloquism is available to pre-order. The record will also feature covers of TLC’s “Waterfalls,” George Clinton’s “Atomic Dog 2017,” Janet Jackson’s “Funny How Time Flies (When You’re Having Fun),” Tina Turner’s “Private Dancer” and Sade’s “Smooth Operator.”

Ndegeocello also shared her cover of Force MDs’ song “Tender Love,” in which she flips the R&B ballad into an acoustic folk tune tinged with a harmonica that unmistakably recalls Neil Young.

“I recorded this album in California and I was driving around with Abe Rounds, my friend and the drummer I play with, and we were listening to [Young’s record] Harvest every day,” Ndegeocello says. “We’d go into the studio to record these tunes and it was dissonant. ‘Tender Love’ reminds me of life in D.C., as a young person, and I wanted to bring the two together. I like the genre-bending, I like making something new by way of another old gem.”

Listen to the song on Rolling Stone

Meshell Ndegeocello on TKA

WGBH – Cuban jazz pianist Harold López-Nussa performs “Conga Total” live at WGBH’s Fraser performance studio in Boston with his brother, Ruy López-Nussa on drums, and longtime friend and collaborator, Gastón Joya, on bass.

Watch the video on YouTube

Harold López-Nussa on TKA

The 39TH ANNUAL BLUES MUSIC AWARDS have revealed their nominees ahead of the event, taking place on May 10th, 2018 in Memphis, Tennessee.

Best Instrumentalist – Guitar:

Anson Funderburgh
Chris Cain
Christoffer “Kid” Andersen
Monster Mike Welch
Ronnie Earl

Best Traditional Blues Album:

The Cash Box Kings – Royal Mint
Elvin Bishop’s Big Fun Trio – Elvin Bishop’s Big Fun Trio
Kim Wilson – Blues and Boogie Vol. 1
Monster Mike Welch and Mike Ledbetter – Right Place, Right Time
Rick Estrin & The Nightcats – Groovin’ In Greaseland
Various Artists – Howlin’ At Greaseland

Find more information about the event, where to buy tickets, and merchandise at The Blues Foundation website.

View the full list of nominees here

Elvin Bishop on TKA

Ronnie Earl on TKA

TKA is proud to announce the signing of Delvon Lamarr Organ Trio! With a deep soul backbone augmented by jazz, rhythm & blues and rock ’n’ roll, the Seattle trio — Lamarr on B-3 organ, Jimmy James on guitar and David McGraw on drums — evokes a classic instrumental sound with a fresh, virtuosic sensibility all its own on debut LP Close But No Cigar. The band put out the album independently in 2016, and Colemine Records gives it a wide release in March.

All three musicians knew each other from the local soul scene. When Novo founded the Delvon Lamarr Organ Trio in 2015, Lamarr asked McGraw if he was interested in joining the band. After playing for a year with another guitarist in the group, Lamarr invited James to sit in as a substitute one night at the trio’s regular Tuesday gig, and he never left. That’s when the band truly found its sound. “We had chemistry right out of the gate, and that doesn’t always happen,” Lamarr says.

Read the full bio on their artist page here

Michael J. West for DOWNBEAT – Stacey Kent’s mezzo-soprano voice is a beautiful instrument for offsetting orchestral accompaniment, a fact that I KNOW I DREAM illustrates well. The orchestra, a 52-piece London studio assemblage, has a lushness that would smother Nelson Riddle – yet Kent cuts through it effortlessly.

In fairness, the arrangements hardly compete with Kent. But the singer has a relatively soft, restrained voice that on a less-skilled performer might easily be overpowered. Kent is incisive even at a near-whisper, as on the tender arrangement of Jobim’s “Photograph.”

Her voice becomes a featured instrument against saxophonist Jim Tomlinson’s vivacious samba “Make It Up.” Indeed the effect in a song with a segmented lyric line, like the French-language “Avec le Temps,” is very much like a concerto, with rich strings blooming in the spaces Kent leaves.

Along with the Jobim and other standards are several originals, composed by Tomlinson and several lyricists. One of the two best songs, the latter role is author Kazuo Ishiguro’s – Kent’s longtime collaborator and a Nobel laureate. “Bullet Train” puts Kent in a dream, with familiar faces around her.

The closing “The Changing Lights” is I KNOW I DREAM’s crown jewel, a bittersweet memory that could be a companion piece to Joni Mitchell’s “The Last Time I Saw Richard.” It’s the capstone of a nearly perfect vocal jazz album. ★★★★★

Order I Know I Dream here

Stacey Kent on TKA

Jackson Maxwell for GUITAR WORLD – Tommy Emmanuel has premiered the music video for his new single, “Djangology.”

The song is taken from Emmanuel’s upcoming album, Accomplice One. A duets album with an impressive guest list that includes Jason Isbell, Mark Knopfler, Ricky Skaggs and Rodney Crowell, among others, Accomplice One is set for a January 19 release via CGP Sounds/Thirty Tigers.

“Djangology”—which was recorded live at Abdala Studios in Havana, Cuba, with Frank Vignola and Vinny Raniolo—is a tip of the hat to one of Emmanuel’s biggest influences, legendary jazz guitarist Django Reinhardt.

“In 2016 I did a guitar camp in Havana with Frank Vignola and Vinny Raniolo,” Emmanuel said. “We worked up an arrangement of this famous Django Reinhardt song. We took all our guitar students to Abdala Studio to witness the recording as part of their education. You wouldn’t know it but there were over 80 people sitting quietly in the room as we recorded this track live. A big thanks to Frank and Vinny for bringing this beautiful song to my attention.”

“Tommy is very curious and eager to learn new songs,” Vignola added. “When I played ‘Djangology’ for him, he fell in love with it. Tommy is a complete musician. Although he doesn’t need anyone else, he certainly is a fabulous accompanist. A real professional.”

Watch the video on Guitar World

Tommy Emmanuel on TKA