Grammy Award-winning artist Cécile McLorin Salvant has partnered with the Haitian Global Health Alliance to release an intimate fundraising performance, At Home, recorded in her Brooklyn loft. The video will be available for viewing from May 10 – 31, with all proceeds benefiting GHESKIO, a world-renowned public health organization serving patients in Haiti.
02
May
[ May the 7th, 2021 release via Libra Records: Satoko Fujjii’s Tokyo Trio – Moon on the Lake ]
release date: 04.05.2021 via Libra Records
“The music rattles the bones as often as it soothes the soul and no composer is more masterful at balancing and grounding those extremes…continually absorbing and unlike anything else.”
– Karl Ackermann, All About Jazz
Pianist-composer Satoko Fujii brings together a new piano trio on her latest release Moon on the Lake captured live at Tokyo’s famous jazz venue, Pit Inn. The Tokyo Trio features Fujii with two of the most in-demand younger musicians on the Japanese jazz scene, bassist Takashi Sugawa and drummer Ittetsu Takemura. They form a lithe, quick witted trio, capable of terrific speed and excitement as well as subtle textures and tone colors. Moon on the Lake puts their wide range and capabilities on full display
01
May
[ May the 7th, 2021 release via Sunnyside Records: Noah Haidu – Slowly:Song for Keith Jarrett ]
release date: 07.05.2021 via Sunnyside Records
5-stars “…a stunning album. Not only does it sum up the spirit of so many Jarrett/DeJohnette/Peacock performances, but it realises a fresh and inspiring take on the piano/bass/drums trio format… it brings together three great musicians who just play their hearts out, with skill, intelligence and a quintessential jazz verve.” – Mike Gates, UK Vibe
“Haidu’s ability to express deep feelings is striking.” – Tony Hall, Jazzwise (UK)
“Infinite Distances pulses with soul…a sumptuous record that swings and grooves with far out moments.” – Dan Ouellette, DownBeat Magazine
29
Apr
[ May, the 3rd, 2021,11 am-11:30 am EDT, Livestream – Wadada Leo Smith’s Symphony No. 2 Winter in a live streamed, multi-location presentation ]
May 3, 11 am-11:30 am EDT – Register for Livestream
The inaugural MM Performer-Composer class will perform Wadada Leo Smith‘s Symphony No. 2 Winter in a live streamed, multi-location presentation. The performance is part of the Performer-Composer Stone Lab, a workshop led by artists-in-residence at The Stone, “a not-for-profit performance initiative dedicated to the experimental and avant-garde.”
The new Performer-Composer Master of Music (MM) degree at The New School’s College of Performing Arts is designed for musicians whose passion lies at the intersection of composition, performance, and improvisation.
20
Apr
[ April the 30th, 2021 re-issue/release via Crammed Discs: Aksak Maboul, Benjamin Lew, Minimal Compact, Tuxedomoon : Made To Measure Vol.1]
release date: 30.04.2021 via Crammed Discs
Crammed Discs‘ legendary Composers’ Series is reactivated in 2021, with the release of new albums remastered vinyl reissues of several classics starting with: MADE TO MEASURE Vol.1 : Minimal Compact, Benjamin Lew, Aksak Maboul and Tuxedomoon (April 30th – further details below) and MADE TO MEASURE Vol.5: Hector Zazou‘s Geographies (May 28th)
16
Apr
[ April the 21th, 2021 selfrelease album: Petter Rylen & George Goom – The Bended Tree ]
release date: 20.04.2021 – self produced
Swedish pianist and Welsh artist find solace under ‘The Bended Tree’ during isolation
The double album is a collaboration between Welsh artist and music maker George Goom (who also made the artwork for The Bended Tree and created all graphic art around it) and Swedish born, Welsh living pianist Petter Rylen . The first album consists of piano compositions written and performed by Petter, which inspired the second album of remixes created by George. Those Two started to work together during the last year, when Petter released his Trio album After the Meltdown, for which Goom designed the cover too which we reviewed and published on here.
13
Apr
[ April the 16th, 2021 release via RBP: Rubén Blades y Roberto Delgado Orquesta – SALSWING! ]
release date: 16.04.2021 via Rubén Blades Production
The album will also be released in separate editions, SALSA PLUS! on April 23 and SWING! on April 30. Only digital for now, but physical copies are expected to be produced at a later date.
“SALSWING! as an album has different purposes. One, to present the Roberto Delgado Orchestra as an outfit capable of expanding its original Panamanian roots to cover other musical genres,” says Blades. “Another, to present my interest in exploring other vocal directions and thus eliminate the stereotype that affirms that we are conditioned to only exist artistically within specific boundaries, according to our nationality. Perhaps the most important point is to exemplify that, as artists, we address our music to the world, not just to a specific segment of its population.”
08
Apr
[ April the 16th,2021 release via Red Hook Records: Masabumi Kikuchi – Hanamichi ]
release date: 16.04.2021 via Red Hook Records
“[Kikuchi] was continually searching for his ‘voice’ that he couldn’t articulate with words. It wasn’t until a few years before he died that his ‘voice’ found him!” – Gary Peacock
Six revelatory tracks by the late Japanese pianist Masabumi Kikuchi are featured on Hanamichi, the debut release by Red Hook Records, due out April 16, 2021, in
The final studio recording from the late Japanese pianist Masabumi Kikuchi, Hanamichi is the culmination of a lifetime of musical exploration and discovery
02
Apr
[ April the 9th,2021 release via Libra Records: Satoko Fujii & Natsuki Tamura – Keshin ]
release date: 09.04.2021 via Libra Records
“ The wife-husband team from Japan . . . consistently reveals a wide-open and unpredictable nature that makes its performance a thrilling ride for the listener.” – Steve Feeney, Portland Press Herald
“ Intuition and communication like that is rare.” – Adam Kinner, The Montreal Gazette
25
Mar
[ April the 2nd, 2021 release via Dry Bridge Records: Naoh Preminger & Kim Cass – Thunda ]
release date: 02.04.2021 via Dry Bridge Records
When lighting strikes, thunder follows. Such was the electrifying energy when longtime friends and colleagues Noah Preminger and Kim Cass collaborated during the second half of 2020, one of the most trying and unusual years on record. The result is THUNDA, featuring ten entirely original tracks by award-winning saxophonist Preminger and acclaimed bassist Cass.