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Chick Corea’s “Antidote”, Featuring Bassist Carlitos Del Puerto

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The Spanish Heart Band – Antidote, due out June 28 on Concord Jazz, revisits songs from Corea’s classic albums My Spanish Heart and Touchstone with a multi-cultural octet, plus new compositions and guest appearances by vocalists Rubén Blades, Gayle Moran Corea, and Maria Bianca 

Throughout his storied career, iconic pianist/keyboardist Chick Corea has explored a wealth of music from across borders both geographical and stylistic. Time and again over the decades he’s returned to what he calls his “Spanish Heart” – the Spanish, Latin and flamenco traditions that have indelibly shaped his unmistakable sound. Now, with his new album Antidote, recorded with his brand-new Spanish Heart Band, Corea once again delves deeply into the Latin side of his musical heritage with a stunning collection of musicians from Spain, Cuba, Venezuela and the U.S.

Corea’s debut release with the Spanish Heart Band revisits classic pieces from two of the bandleader’s most beloved albums, My Spanish Heart and Touchstone, along with new compositions and favorites by revered composers like Antônio Carlos Jobim, Paco de Lucía and Igor Stravinsky. 

Due out June 28, 2019 from Concord JazzAntidote is just that – a musical cure for a turbulent time, bringing together artists from diverse cultures to make harmonious music together. In addition to this stellar new ensemble, the recording features guest appearances by the acclaimed Panamanian vocalist Rubén Blades and gifted singers Gayle Moran Corea and Maria Bianca.  

“My genetics are Italian,” Corea says, “but my heart is Spanish. I grew up with that music. This new band is a mix of all the wonderful and various aspects of my love and lifetime experience with these rhythms that have been such a big part of my musical heritage.”

To embark on this vibrant exploration, the 77-year-old keyboard virtuoso has assembled a brilliant eight-piece band: Flamenco guitarist Niño Josele and saxophonist/flutist Jorge Pardo both hail from Spain and have both worked with the late flamenco master Paco de Lucía. Bassist Carlitos Del Puerto was born in Havana, Cuba and played on Chinese Butterfly, Corea’s 2017 collaboration with legendary drummer Steve Gadd – as did Venezuelan percussionist Luisito Quintero

Trumpeter Michael Rodriguez and trombonist Steve Davisform an unstoppable horn front line, while Marcus Gilmore follows in the footsteps of his grandfather, the great Roy Haynes, as a master drummer (and close collaborator with Corea). The band is augmented by the fiery footwork of rising star flamenco dancer Nino de los Reyes.

“Continuing along the lines of his landmark recordings, Touchstoneand My Spanish Heart,” says John Burk, Concord Records President, “Chick applies his creative genius to further explorations of Spanish and Afro-Cuban styles with an exceptional cast of musicians, to produce some of the most thrilling, dynamic, and deeply musical work of his entire career.”

With a band of incredibly versatile musicians and his usual wide horizons, Corea composed a set of music that draws from a wealth of sources – jazz and Latin music, naturally, but also classical, funk and fusion elements. “This is the mixer,” he says, pointing to his head. “I drink in the culture around me, which is rich in ideas. I’m excited about this record because there are a lot of influences that come through in it.”

There has been a Latin tinge to Corea’s music almost as long as he’s been performing. His first gig upon arriving in New York City in 1960 was with the influential Cuban-born percussionist Mongo Santamaría at Birdland. As he recalls, “Four doors up from Birdland on Broadway was the Palladium, where you could hear people like Tito Puente, Machito, Ray Barretto, Eddie Palmieri. I used to jump out of my gig [during breaks] and go stand in front of the bandstand at the Palladium. So the jazz scene that I came up in was very much a part of what I call my ‘Spanish Heart.’”

Corea has made no secret for his love of Spanish, Latin and flamenco music. In 1972 he debuted perhaps his most well-known composition, “Spain,” inspired by Joaquin Rodrigo’s Concierto de Aranjuez. The piece has been recorded countless times since, including versions by de Lucía and Tito Puente. In 1976 he released My Spanish Heart, an innovative session combining jazz fusion with traditional Latin music; it went on to become one of Corea’s most successful albums and is universally considered a classic. 16 years later, he visited similar terrain on the even more expansive Touchstone, which spotlights his collaboration with de Lucía.

Corea revisits songs from both classic albums on Antidote. The title song from My Spanish Heart opens with a lush, moving vocal choir recorded by Corea’s longtime musical and life partner, Gayle Moran Corea. Stark piano chords lead into the familiar song, rendered here with an emotionally stirring vocal by Rubén Blades. The band then breaks into the electrifying dance of “Armando’s Rhumba,” a song penned by Corea in tribute to his father from the same album. 

From Touchstone, Corea first offers an atmospheric rendition of “Duende,” with an evocative palette featuring Pardo’s soaring flute and thrilling interplay between the eloquent horns of Davis and Rodriguez. Quintero’s percussion dialogues with the rapid-fire patter of Nino de los Reyes’ dancing feet to open “Yellow Nimbus,” originally written as a duet for Corea and de Lucía. Here the pianist’s flurries are joined by the flamenco master’s virtuosic protégé, Niño Josele.

De Lucía composed “Zyryab,” named for the Persian-African poet and musician from 9th-century Spain who was credited with introducing the lute to the Spanish court, destined to evolve into the flamenco guitar. Corea recorded the original version with the guitarist in 1990 and revisits its blend of Spanish and Middle Eastern influences in intriguing fashion here. 

Another blend of disparate genres shines through on “Pas de Deux,” a piece from Stravinsky’s ballet “The Fairy’s Kiss.” Corea’s solo piano arrangement weaves into his original piece “Admiration,” celebrating the feeling the bandleader has towards not only his inspirations but the remarkable ensemble that navigate his tricky stylistic mergers. The final composition Corea chooses to explore is Jobim’s classic “Desafinado,” which features the soulful vocals of Maria Bianca relating the tale of a love affair gone slightly out of tune.  

The album opens with the title track, “Antidote,” a heartfelt entreaty written by Corea for Blades. The pianist’s lyric is a mission statement, defying the divisive issues we face with the fact that, “Music, musicians and all artists are the antidote to man’s inhumanity to man.” The music on Antidote captures that feeling with healing camaraderie, with the added spirit that Corea embraces in his lyric for “My Spanish Heart.”

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New Album: Iron Axxis, 2286

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New Album: Iron Axxis, 2286

Iron Axxis, 2286…

New York’s metal scene is growing and mighty, and bringing the genre to new heights is instrumental metal band Iron Axxis.

Iron Axxis is gearing up for the release of their forthcoming album 2286. Due out March 29, 2024, the album highlights the band’s unique progressive, guitar-driven songwriting. “The sound is closer to Dream Theater than Van Halen, but there are some neat tips of the hat to Eddie, with some playful bends and whammy bar horse whinnies, while the track also crosses into Vai-esque meditative phrases and Holdsworthian scalic runs.” (GuitarWorld)

The band states, “‘‘2286’ is our first full-length album release. The album blends the high-risk Influences of the ‘guitar & bass guitar virtuosos’ of yesteryear and looks into the future by incorporating modern metal.. for a futuristic take on ‘guitar music. The listener will hear that ‘2286’ runs deep with their favorite metal influences with badass heavy riffage, thundering bass lines, and monstrous drum grooves, all while exploring metal through a wide cinematic lens, which ultimately takes it up a notch to an untamed guitar universe. “

Iron Axxis was forged from a friendship between Anupam Shobhakar and Phil Duke, two metal heads. They have worked together on previous recording studio projects and were in Book of Harmony, which was signed to Sony affiliates. Hailing from Brooklyn, they began to develop Iron Axxis at their studio in 2022.

Visit online at ironaxxis.live

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New Solo Album: Derek Frank, Origin Story

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New Solo Album: Derek Frank, Origin Story

Former Gwen Stefani/Shania Twain Bassist Announces New Solo Album “Origin Story”…

Veteran session/touring bassist Derek Frank is thrilled to announce the release of his new instrumental album “Origin Story” on March 25th, 2024. 

Origin Story is Derek’s third album as a solo artist, and his second album project with multiple Grammy award-winning producer Jim Scott (Tedeschi Trucks Band, Tom Petty, Wilco, Sting, Red Hot Chili Peppers). He is joined by his touring band, which includes guitarist Joshua Ray Gooch (Derek’s longtime bandmate with Shania Twain), keyboardist Carey Frank (Social Distortion, Tedeschi Trucks Band), drummer Randy Cooke (Smashmouth, Brit Floyd), percussionist Demian Arriaga (Miley Cyrus, The Jonas Brothers), along with keyboardist Matt Rohde (Janes Addiction, The Chicks), guitarist Anthony King (Buffy Sainte-Marie), Vegas horn Section The Fat City Horns, featured guests Karl Denson (saxophone), Brent Mason (guitar), among others. 

After years of touring the world with artists such as Gwen Stefani, Shania Twain, Shakira, Air Supply, and others, veteran LA bass player Derek Frank decided it was time to take a slight detour from the life of a “hired gun” musician and focus on his own instrumental quintet. Described as “Seventies-Inspired Funky Instrumental Jams With Fewer Bass Solos Than You Would Expect”, Derek and his band blend funk, blues, soul, jazz, southern rock, and seventies soundtrack music into a genre all their own. 2020 saw the release of “Eleven Years Later”, Derek’s first solo album since his 2009 debut “Let the Games Begin…”, and now Origin Story is set for release on March 25th, 2024 on all download and streaming platforms. The 2-disc vinyl version (with bonus live tracks) will be available sometime in May 2024. 

In concept, Origin Story is an instrumental homage to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the city where Derek was born, grew up, discovered his love for music, and decided what he wanted to be when he grew up. 

For more information, visit online at derekfrank.com 

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New Album: Tom Kennedy, New Start

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New Album: Tom Kennedy, New Start

Tom Kennedy, New Start…

Autumn Hill Records is pleased to announce the March 22nd release of Tom Kennedy’s New Start.  Autumn Hill Records is a worldwide leader in instrumental music, boasting 11 billion streams and counting, and Tom Kennedy ranks as one of the top electric and acoustic bass players on the planet.  The new album features the Grammy-winning and Modern Drummer Hall of Famer Dave Weckl, as well as performances from Eric Marienthal, Randy Brecker, Mike Stern, Bill Evans and others. It is the sixth solo album from Tom Kennedy.  New Start will be available digitally on all major streaming and download platforms March 22nd, 2024. 

Kennedy writes that “The legendary pianist Keith Jarrett once said of his recorded music, ‘If there were words to express it, there would be no need for the music.’ Ironically, Keith’s sentiment provided the perfect verbiage for describing the process I’ve experienced in creating the music for this album.  These compositions did not come to me in complete thoughts, but rather as bits and pieces of melody, harmony, or rhythm to build from, much as in a live improvisation.  A single note or chord could inspire a pathway to a new section or critical transition of a song, and at times a completely orchestrated idea would just pop into my head.  No method, no foresight…just the music.”

Kennedy’s musical roots were on the acoustic bass, an instrument he started playing at age 9 and took to so naturally that within a few years, he was performing with internationally known players such as Freddie Hubbard, James Moody, Nat Adderley, Sonny Stitt and Stan Kenton. At age 17, Tom would create a musical alter ego when he began playing the electric bass. Intrigued by the endless possibilities of the instrument, he began developing his now signature style best described as deep, soulful grooves merging seamlessly into acrobatic, horn-like soloing.

Gaining a reputation that soon traveled beyond his native St. Louis, Tom relocated to New York City, where he quickly gained work with multiple groups. Further accolades came through a recording with guitar great Bill Connors and tours with tenor saxophonist Michael Brecker in the world-renowned jazz-fusion group Steps Ahead. Additional tours and recordings with Brazilian pianist Tania Maria and guitarist Al DiMeola followed. In 1998, Tom became an integral part of Modern Drummer Hall of Famer Dave Weckl’s band, a group he toured, composed and recorded with for over nine years. Tom and Dave have continued to perform and record together on various of Tom’s own albums as well as projects for other artists, including Mike Stern, Didier Lockwood, Dave Grusin and Lee Ritenour.  They’ve been performing this music live for the last two years during tours of The Dave Weckl/Tom Kennedy Project.

Visit Online

www.autumnhillrecords.com
www.tomkennedymusic.com

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New Album: EZRA’s Self-titled Debut Album

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New Album: EZRA's Self-titled Debut Album

EZRA released their self-titled debut album with Adhyâropa Records…

Founded by award-winning composer and multi-instrumentalist Jesse Jones, EZRA is a collective of classical, jazz, rock, and bluegrass musicians focused on the creation of genre-crossing and style-inclusive new music. The ensemble consists of world-renowned mandolinist Jacob Jolliff, banjo virtuoso Max Allard, and bassist extraordinaire Craig Butterfield, with Jones on guitar- and keyboard-related instruments.

EZRA’s debut album EZRA includes nine works by Jones, and was recorded while Jones was on a one year sabbatical from his composition professorship at Oberlin Conservatory. Jones, who is also a luthier, used much of his sabbatical to build some of the instruments he plays on the album. He then invited longtime collaborator Butterfield, together with Jolliff and Allard, for an intense week of rehearsals and recording in Oberlin. It was the first time all four musicians had been in the same room, much less played together, but things fell into place from the first notes.

This speaks to the musicianship and camaraderie of all involved, but it is also due to the fact that Jones had been collecting these pieces for years, waiting for the right moment, and the right musicians. Jones says, “I sat alone in my living room for at least a decade playing through the dozens of compositions I had in my head. When I met Craig, who shared a lot of similar classical, roots, and folk interests, I decided to stretch myself and see if I could hang (musically) with a world-class musician like him. We hit it off, and from 2013 through 2019 we co-wrote and recorded three albums as a duo. I grew immeasurably as a musician as a result.”

Jones continues, “When the pandemic closed everything down, I found myself back in my living room, writing tune after tune alone with my instruments. In 2021, I fortuitously reconnected with an old friend, the phenomenal mandolinist Jacob Jolliff, and around the same time became acquainted with banjo wunderkind Max Allard. I jumped on the chance to get these guys together and record nine of the tunes I had lying around. The result was beyond what I could have imagined and was heaps of fun to rehearse and record.”

“Fabulous playing! So great to hear the next generation of string wizards dive in and continue the tradition forward.” — Mike Marshall

Jones began building instruments in 2020, studying with Alan Chapman of Chapman/Fisher Guitars. In the last year and a half, Jones has built a variety of instruments, including a quarter-tone Irish bouzouki, a 13-tone small instrument, a Pardessus, several steel string guitars, four classical guitars, two ukuleles, three mandolins (two of them experimental, single string designs), and a mandola.

On the track “Jarrah,” Jones plays the banjo-tuned guitar he built using jarrah wood, a deep red wood he particularly enjoys working with: “I have just a small block of it and used it for the rosette/headstock — when I got the instrument up and running, a tune fell from it into my hands, and I named it “Jarrah” after the wood.”

Jones explains that a lot of his compositions come about that way: “I play a lot of different instruments, and when I go down the rabbit hole on one of them (say the banjo in double C tuning), I tend to fall into several new tunes, almost by accident — Banjaleena, Dix-Neuf (at least the 4/4 melody part), Smoke in the Valley, and Garden Gate all came as I was searching and discovering new shapes and sounds on the banjo (the parts Max plays). “Cowboy Walks” just emerged from the first classical guitar I made.”

Though Jones wrote all nine compositions for the debut album, EZRA’s focus is centered around collaboration. Working up the arrangements together was part of the process (and the fun). Recorded and engineered by Paul Eachus at First Church in downtown Oberlin and mastered by Dave Sinko (Punch Brothers, Béla Fleck, Edgar Meyer), EZRA’s debut album captures lightning in a bottle.

EZRA is available on all services. For more information, visit online at ezraquartet.com

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New Album: Alberto Rigoni, Unexpected Lullabies

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New Album: Alberto Rigoni, Unexpected Lullabies

Alberto Rigoni, Unexpected Lullabies…

In an exhilarating revelation, the musical genius Alberto Rigoni has announced his latest masterpiece, “Unexpected Lullabies”, set to hit the airwaves on June 4th, 2024.

This album isn’t just any release; it’s a bold exploration of sound, merging the soothing essence of lullabies with the raw energy of rock-metal to create a musical hybrid that’s absolutely groundbreaking. Rigoni’s latest venture is a heartfelt ode to the circle of life, dedicated to newborns everywhere, symbolizing hope and the beautiful continuity of life with the poignant message: “There are no just tragedies in this world, life is going on!”

*A Stellar Lineup of Musical Legends*

What makes ‘Unexpected Lullabies’ even more exciting is the assembly of musical titans. The album features the legendary bassist Michael Manring, the keyboard wizardry of Alessandro Bertoni (of the Graham Bonnet Band) and Vitalij Kuprij (known for Artension and Trans-Siberian Orchestra), and many more yet-to-be-revealed guest artists.

Unexpected Lullabies is now available on pre-order from Shop Sliptrick at deadpulse.com/product/alberto-rigoni-unexpected-lullabies/

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