Daylan Williams for dailymotion – Daylan Williams sat down with Charles Lloyd and Lucinda Williams do discuss the new release by Charles Lloyd and The Marvels ‘Vanished Gardens’. In the interview, Lloyd mentions how “forces of nature” brought him and Williams together.

Their affiliation began backstage at the Lobero Theater in Santa Barbara. Lloyd and The Marvels had finished their set and Williams had made it backstage after the show. Upon meeting, Lloyd and Williams had a common understanding of the love of their art.

 

Find the interview on dailymotion

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Pranav Trewn for STEREOGUM – I couldn’t wrap my head around all the Royal Wedding hoopla that took place last month. I mean, beyond my inherent wariness of celebrating a colonialist institution and the usual skepticism that comes with excessive interest in the lives of people notable for hardly any reason beyond wealth, I just can’t understand getting that excited about a white wedding. Don’t take offense, I’m sure those celebrations are as lovely and moving as they’re depicted in the movies. I even hope to go to one someday! But I’ve been raised on Indian weddings my entire life, and Indian weddings are a thoroughly different beast.

Without even mentioning the richer color palettes, food with actual flavor, and music holding a timbre far more amenable to really getting down (a daily facet of these ceremonies, which typically run a glorious five days on average), the core leg up Indian weddings have on their Western counterparts is the baraat. The greatest among nearly a dozen functions, a baraat is essentially a parade by the groom’s wedding party held as they journey to the venue. The baraat often features its own band and set of dancers, but everyone in the procession typically contributes to the spirit with singing, stomping, and handclaps, all while the groom rides above regally veiled on a mare encircled by his loved ones.

Carried by the infantry march of the dhol — a shoulder-slung dual-sided drum smacked loudly with sticks, the most perfect instrument ever created — the amalgam of participants marches without break to the bridal party, who await to greet them upon arrival. (I’ve participated in this ceremony in both parties, and it is considerably more enjoyable to be with the groom – it can take hours for them to make their way down.) What follows is the milni, where the corresponding family members from each side (i.e. father and father, aunt and aunt, second cousin and second cousin, etc.) embrace one another with garlands, before a pissing contest ensues to see who can lift the other higher in their hug. It’s a huge amount of fun, and the best symbolic ritual I’ve seen for the community-minded unification love brings.

It is from within these musically-expressive traditions that Red Baraat came to be. The Brooklyn-based bhangra-fusion ensemble rose out of bandleader Sunny Jain’s early attempt at an Indian brass wedding band in New York, before he realized the need to spread the jubilant sonics and energy of South Asian marital customs to the masses. As the concept took shape prior to their 2010 debut Chaal Baby, the group’s sound blew up considerably beyond the trappings of mere “wedding band” music, encompassing a jazz-approached riot of big band Panjabi instrumentation with singed edges of psychedelic rock and hip-hop.

Red Baraat’s trademark is how they conjure a storm of stampeding percussion, courtesy of Jain’s frenetic dhol, which is highlighted by breakneck melodies and a dynamic tonal palette, stimulating over headphones the spirit of a grand nuptial caravan while also boldly weaving in settings from across the globe. Throughout their now decade-long discography, the troupe — newly slimmed down to a six-piece, additionally comprising a guitarist, drummer, and three-piece brass section — has wielded their compositional acumen to remain true to their roots in the South Asian diaspora, while also reflecting just how wide of an experience that can embody.

Find the full review on STEREOGUM

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Hank Shteamer for Rolling Stone – Charles Lloyd’s engagement with rock is no passing dalliance: In the Sixties and Seventies, the saxist-flutist played the Fillmore, gigged with the Beach Boys and recorded with the post-Morrison Doors. But even that history doesn’t prepare the listener for how graceful and engaged the 80-year-old NEA Jazz Master sounds on this program – the second release by his genre-blurring Marvels quintet – half of which features the gorgeously weathered voice of Lucinda Williams.

On “Dust,” a new version of a song from Williams’ 2016 LP The Ghosts of Highway 20, the saxophonist and singer trade places in the spotlight like a pair of seasoned dancers. Lloyd’s molten, warbling phrases bubble up from the background during the final chorus, spilling over into a trippy instrumental coda.

The rest of the band is just as integral to the album’s savvy stylistic blend. On Williams’ new “We’ve Come Too Far to Turn Around,” drummer Eric Harland shadows the singer with impressionistic cymbal flutters and snare rolls, while on an expansive version of “Unsuffer Me” (originally from 2007’s West), guitarist Bill Frisell and pedal-steel player Greg Leisz color her lines with twangy accents and shimmery ambience, respectively.

The instrumental tracks here bring the hybrid approach Lloyd first explored on Sixties staples such as Love-In to new heights of invention. “Vanished Gardens” suggests a beautiful sort of roots-music/free-jazz fusion, with Frisell’s sparkling loops and Lloyd’s abstract murmurs and cries hovering over an airy groove.

 

Find the full review on Rolling Stone

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Dorris Duke Charitable Foundation – In a short film released today by the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, the foundation’s president and CEO, Edward P. Henry, was joined by several previous Doris Duke Artist Award winners in announcing the 2018 recipients of the $275,000 award.

The new awardees include Dee Dee Bridgewater, Regina Carter and Stefon Harris for their continuing contributions to jazz; Michelle Dorrance and Okwui Okpokwasili for contemporary dance; and Muriel Miguel and Rosalba Rolón for theater. Each 2018 Doris Duke Artist is receiving $250,000 in flexible funding, along with up to an additional $25,000 to encourage contributions to retirement savings.

 

Find the full article on DDCF

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Andrew Read for Jazz in Europe Magazine – Already the recipient of five Grammy®  award nominations and since 2012, joining the auspicious list of Steinway endorsed artists; Christian Sands released his Mack Avenue Records debut “Reach” in April last year.

Having met with universal critical acclaim, “Reach”, as stated on the Mack Avenue website, indeed became one more milestone in his auspicious career. A little more than year on, Christian has backed up the release with a constant touring schedule that has taken him around the world and released a follow up live EP ahead of the release of a new full album this coming autumn. 

 

Find the full story in Jazz in Europe Magazine

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Jon Bream for Star Tribune – Saturday was a great night to be out and about listening to music. I caught Dee Dee Bridgewater at the Twin Cities Jazz Festival and the Devon Allman Project at the Dakota. Here are reports.

Dee Dee Bridgewater

Grammy- and Tony-winning jazz singer Dee Dee Bridgewater grew up in Memphis, listening to WDIA radio where her dad was a DJ. Even when the family relocated to Michigan, she kept listening to the R&B station. So, after recording mostly jazz albums for years, Bridgewater last year delivered “Memphis…Yes, I’m Ready,” a tribute to the music of her youth.

That material was the focus of her headlining performance at the Twin Cities Jazz Festival on a very pleasant Saturday night at jam-packed Mears Park in St. Paul’s Lowertown.

Backed by a first-rate R&B ensemble with horns and female backup singers, Bridgewater, 68, opened with what was the first song she heard on WDIA – “Giving Up,” an old Gladys Knight hit. The rest of the repertoire was a tour through ‘60s and ‘70s R&B and blues – Al Green’s “Can’t Get Next to You,” Barbara Mason’s “Yes, I’m Ready,” Carla Thomas’ “B.A.B.Y.” and Ann Peebles’ “Can’t Stand the Rain.”

Bridgewater did justice to them all, and she electrified with Otis Redding’s “Try a Little Tenderness,” which whipped her and the crowd into a soulful frenzy. B.B. King’s blues chestnut “The Thrill Is Gone” led into a medley of classics not on Bridgewater’s album including Aretha Franklin’s “Rock Steady” and Sly Stone’s “Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin).”

A dynamic performer with precise phrasing, Bridgewater encored with a nod to the Twin Cities, a reading of Prince’s “Purple Rain,” which has become an obvious go-to encore for visiting musicians since his passing in 2016.

 

Find the full article at Star Tribune

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Robert Ham for Downbeat – While many other jazz artists of his age and caliber are settling into a comfortable groove as they head into their golden years, trumpeter Arturo Sandoval still has a mind toward connecting with new listeners. That’s part of the reason that, when the 68-year-old was putting together a list of artists to record with for his new album Ultimate Duets (Universal), he went beyond the usual suspects and reached out to big-ticket names, like Pharrell Williams and Ariana Grande, as well as current Latin pop gods like Prince Royce and David Bisbal.

“The people who listen to Ariana or Pharrell or Josh Groban, maybe they’re not a big fan of the trumpet or jazz,” Sandoval said. “But because of them, I have a chance to reach a completely different audience that I’ve never had a chance to reach before.”

It remains to be seen if Sandoval’s gambit pays off, but it’s clear that the presence of those artists and friends, like Celia Cruz and Stevie Wonder, put a little extra fuel in the trumpeter’s tank. On the hip-shaking merengue tune “La Bilirrubina,” he interrupts a great vocal turn by Juan Luis Guerra to snap off a quick solo that finishes on a drawn-out high note. And when he joins forces with fellow Cuban expat Cruz for a rendition of the salsa classic “Quimbara,” Sandoval sidles in with a sly, frolicsome tone to his playing.

The appearance of Williams in the credits for this album might raise some suspicious eyebrows. But the songwriter and producer known for hit singles like “Happy” and Robin Thicke’s “Blurred Lines” is a longtime fan of Sandoval. And in 2016, he even invited the trumpeter to play on the soundtrack he produced for Hidden Figures, a film that details the contributions of three African-American women to NASA. When the tables were turned and he was invited to participate in the sessions for Duets, Williams responded by writing an ode to Sandoval and bringing along Grande to lend her vocal talents to the tune.

“She is a talented, beautiful girl,” Sandoval said of the pop singer. “She was very nice and even posted a couple of things on her Instagram and Twitter from the studio, and I really appreciate that.”

In reality, the most surprising name to see in the liner notes is that of Anni-Frid Lyngstad, one-quarter of the Swedish pop juggernaut ABBA. Her appearance on Duets, singing a Spanish-language version of her former group’s 1980 single “Andante, Andante,” marks only the second time in more than 20 years that she has lent her talents out like this. And it almost didn’t happen.

 

Find the full interview on Downbeat

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Felix Contreras for NPR –  It’s not an exaggeration to say Cuba has produced it’s share and more of amazing pianists whose influence reach far beyond the shores of the island nation. There is a long and storied history of pianists who syncretized the late 19th century European piano tradition with the influence of jazz and Afro-Cuban culture while playing with the discipline of the Russian piano instructors who came to teach at Cuban academies in the early 1960s.

Pianist and composer Harold Lopez- Nussa is not only a product of that lineage; his extended family is a minor musical dynasty. His uncle Ernan Lopez-Nussa made a name for himself in the early 1970s as a self-styled rule breaker, influenced as much by Herbie Hancock as Ernesto Lecuona. Harold’s father and brother are both drummers and percussionists, and his mother taught piano.

Amid a crowded field of contemporaries, Harold holds his own and more. His new album, Un Dia Calquier, is the best example yet of his talents as a player and writer. On this week’s show, we spent a very nice bit of time talking music and getting very nerdy about the intricacies of Cuban music.

 

Find the interview audio on NPR

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Jonathon Ortiz for Westchester – It’s near impossible to hear a song these days that isn’t the love child of multiple genres merged together. Notable examples include hip hop and rock, EDM and funk, and, in the case of Béla Fleck and the Flecktones, bluegrass and jazz. (Yes, we just said that.)

If you’re thinking those two genres could never work well together, The Flecktones, led by the innovative 16-time Grammy winning banjoist Béla Fleck, are celebrating their 30-year anniversary, making a stop at Port Chester’s Capitol Theatre. Their concoction of jazz and bluegrass, while musically complex, grooves charismatically, held together by the rhythmic genius of the Wooten brothers: bass virtuoso Victor and the eccentric “drumitarist” Roy, a.k.a. “Future Man”. Howard Levy’s dynamic talent behind the piano and harmonica tie The Flecktones’ muso-minded sound together, reviving the original lineup that encouraged so many later musicians to step out of their comfort zone.

You’re a New York native and have performed in Westchester in the past. What’s your impression of the area? Is there any particular place or aspect that stands out to you the most?

I have great Westchester memories as I spent lots of time with my grandparents in Peekskill, got my first banjo there, and was in a band in Dobbs Ferry called Wicker’s Creek. And I’ve played all over it, especially back then — in the 70’s!

It seemed like the wild west to a Manhattan-raised teenager…

Of all your musical projects, the Flecktones stand as one of the most eclectic in sound and influence. How do you make such complex compositions so listenable, without coming across as “esoteric/obscure”?

I think it comes down to all of the guys in the group wanting to communicate. And the fact that there is such a strong rhythmic talent in the group, it makes folks want to tap their feet, even if the harmony or melodics are a little out there at times. The ‘out there’-ness seems like a draw for folks with us, while for some other groups it puts people off. Banjo and harmonica are not very threatening, I also suppose.

Find the full interview at Westchester

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Roseanna Vitro for Jazz Times – Sitting in the audience of a Catherine Russell concert, one can’t imagine that this charismatic pro was once a shy child who only hoped to reach the heights of her distinguished parents (bassist Carline Ray and pianist Luis Russell). That’s how far she has come.

Over the past few years, Russell has been at the top of her game, winning a Grammy for her participation in the 2012 soundtrack to the HBO series Boardwalk Empire, and a Grammy nomination for her own Harlem on My Mind in 2016. She appears regularly at Jazz at Lincoln Center in NYC and curates shows worldwide that explore the history of jazz. During the last year she’s been performing at festivals and theaters with John Pizzarelli, celebrating the music of Frank Sinatra and Billie Holiday. Harlem royalty and elegance radiate from her honeyed voice.

Russell is a seasoned musician who has earned her place, a natural-born singer with perfect pitch, timing, and a gift for storytelling. Singers young and old can learn much from her.

Find the full interview at Jazz Times

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