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. 

 

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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.

 

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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.

 

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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.

 

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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.

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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.

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Jon Bream for Star Tribune – Bobby McFerrin, vocalist extraordinaire, has a philosophy for his all-improvisational concerts: “We enter the stage empty, but we exit full.” The same could be said for his interviews. Calling last week from his home in Philadelphia, McFerrin hesitatingly answered a few questions and then declared: “Gosh, it’s been three years since I’ve done an interview. I forgot how to answer any of these questions.” He agreed to a chat before his rare four-night stand this week at the Dakota, a return to the Twin Cities, where he lived from 1994-2001 when he served as creative chair of the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra. For the interview, the 68-year-old, 10-time Grammy winner phoned 10 minutes early, something that rarely happens in show business. He started answering questions laconically and eventually blossomed.

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Lee Zimmerman for Glide Magazine – One might think it’s a bit early in their infancy for string band Twisted Pine to offer up a covers EP. Having written every song on their well-received debut, Dreams might have been conceived as a stopgap of some sort, one designed to give them ample time to write more material of their own origination. After all, a lifetime’s worth of accumulated compositions goes into an initial outing, but there’s a lot less time allowed for a follow-up.

Consequently, it’s understandable that this perky and playful ensemble might want to bide their time and simply offer a set of songs that betrays both influences and intents. While many outfits and artists that aim to revive some standards make no attempt at all to re-imagine the music, Twisted Pine do just that, remaking each of these songs in ways that reflect their own distinctive style. Some of the material is all but unrecognizable unless one leans in and listens, but even then, the group’s giddy approach tends to dominate in ways that ensure these tunes become their own.

Find the full article at Glide Magazine

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Aaron Irons for THE 11TH HOUR – It’s already been a great year for Marcia Ball. Her latest album, Shine Bright, is a boogie woogie banquest of high-energy original songs as well as a few cuts from some of Marcia’s heroes and contemporaries. She’s as excited as he’s ever been in her 50+ year career. Not only has she been named the official Texas State Musician for 2018, but this fall, Marcia will be inducted into the Austin City Limits Hall of Fame. Speaking to me from her home in Austin, TX, Marcia took me to school and gave me a history lesson on the Live Music Capital of the World.

 

 

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Michael Bialas for Pop Matters – Heralded as an unconventional Americana string quartet based in Boston, the four versatile members of Twisted Pine have emerged from underneath the covers to reveal their love for the Beatles, Scissor Sisters, the Cranberries and, yes, disco-era Blondie.

The result is a charming, refreshing take on oldies but goodies by the figurative twisted sisters and brothers who all lend their voices to this band that includes lead vocalists Kathleen Parks (fiddle) and Rachel Sumner (guitar), mandolinist Dan Bui and bassist Chris Sartori.

As they prepare for the Friday (June 8) release of Dreams (via Signature Sounds), their EP of seven wildly innovative covers of songs including “Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds”, “I Don’t Feel Like Dancin'”, and the title cut, the fearless foursome present the music video premiere of Blondie’s “Heart of Glass” today (June 5) at PopMatters.

The song written by new wave wonder woman Debbie Harry and her musical partner Chris Stein launched Blondie and their third album, 1978’s Parallel Lines, into the pop culture stratosphere with her sexy vocals and the band’s propulsive disco beat.

Twisted Pine’s Parks elevates the new music video with breathy vocals, fiddlelicious fury and smooth dancehall moves during a spirited performance under the direction of her best friend, videographer Zoe Mitchell, who shot it during a sunny and breezy afternoon on the first day of May in an alleyway of Boston’s North End.

Read the full article at Pop Matters

Find the video on YouTube

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