Sounds I’d expect from LTJ Bukem’s great label!
Free Seasonal MP3 – Sean O’Bryan Smith
How do you get your music heard in the age of the Internet? How do you get people’s attention when there are countless web sites and no major jazz labels? What is working for me is free Christmas MP3s. I just discovered bassist Sean O’Bryan Smith. He has a free MP3 of “Let It Snow” at AllAboutJazz. Just register at the site and you can download a new MP3 there every day.
Wayman Tisdale Has Part of Leg Amputated
NewsOK.com reports on the latest in Wayman Tisdale’s battle with cancer. The former basketball star and chart-topping contemporary jazz bassist had the lower part of his right leg removed on Monday. It’s expected that the surgery will eliminate the disease. Although he’s now resting at his home in Tulsa, he plans on quick rebound. Tisdale wants to get back on tour later this fall and host the Smooth Jazz Cruise in January. “There’s a lot more music inside me,” Tisdale said, “and once I am back on my feet, I look forward to sharing my joy with my fans, friends and fellow musicians.”
Legends on Tuesday – David Sanborn, S.M.V.
Tuesday, August 12, is a big day for contemporary jazz fans. It’s the day that several legends will drop new music – and all of them on two recordings. In fact, four of the five artists who were on the Legends tour about a decade ago are on them.
You’ve read the review – now it’s time to experience three bass masters collaborating on one recording. S.M.V. – Stanley Clarke, Marcus Miller, and Victor Wooten – together on Thunder. Read more about it.
Listen and buy the CD from Amazon.com!
Download it from iTunes
David Sanborn is back with an album that likely will serve as a highlight in his career. What upfront was to funk, Here and Gone might be to soul and blues. Sanborn pays homage to the music that inspired him, especially the music of Hank Crawford. “Hank was the great saxophonist and arranger for Ray Charles in the 1950s and early ’60s, and his arrangements and playing were central to me in forming my ideas about what music was and should be,” states Sanborn. “He had such a wonderful economy in what he did: He didn’t waste any notes, and there was nothing superfluous about his playing.” To help realize the vision he had for this recording, the saxman brought in some names: Christian McBride and Steve Gadd are the rhythm section and Eric Clapton sings and plays “I’m Gonna Move to the Outskirts of Town.” Also contributing are Joss Stone, Sam Moore, Gil Goldstein, Russell Malone, and Wallace Roney. I didn’t receive an advance on Here and Gone but I did hear three cuts. I don’t know if it’s a word but I’m describing it as “rootsy.” I mean, it’s Sanborn playing the style that influenced him, and it doesn’t sound like it’s a slick, overly polished record. Rootsy.
Listen to, buy (for $9.99) and watch Sanborn discuss his career in an exclusive Amazon.com video.
Download it from iTunes
Sanborn talks about the recording and his influences:
Review: Palmystery from Victor Wooten
Victor Wooten is a musician with a penchant for creativity and this is clearly heard on his latest release, Palmystery. The disc captures this versatile artist in his element as he succinctly takes listeners on a genre-bending tale during which themes of mysticism and spirituality are explored. This premise is shared in Wooten’s concurrently released novel The Music Lesson which tells the story of a young musician’s encounter with a mysterious music teacher who expounds upon him spiritual lessons in music and life. The album opens with the playful and energetic “2 Timers” featuring Derico Watson and JD Blair on drums. The piece is further aided by Howard Levy’s harmonica, Eric Silver’s violin and a full horn section. On “Left Right & Center” guitarist Mike Stern shares the spotlight with Wooten and Neal Evans (Soulive) on the Hammond B3. Perhaps the track’s biggest accomplishment lies in the enlistment of Dennis Chambers, Will Kennedy, and Blair on drums whose combined force provides a fluid backbeat that keeps things moving along at a steady clip. A lively cover of Horace Silver’s “Song For My Father” is included on the release as well. Wooten states that “A song is just an idea until someone brings it into the world,” adding “That’s the great mystery of music or any creative endeavor. The power is in the palm of your hand. You just have to release it to the world.” And release it to the world he did on the satisfying and eclectic Palmystery. Keep an ear out for this one.