Welcome to the A-Train Newsletter

Spring is just around the corner and new music, like budding shrubs, flowers and March showers, is bursting out all over. It is time to shed the layers of your winter coats and winter mopes and get outside, rub your toes through the grass and soak up some new sounds, along with the sunshine. A-Train's new recordings from Lila Downs to The Mermen, from Tin Hat to Chris Standring, and never digitally released titles from Victo Records, the iconic Canadian label, bring you to plenty of wonderful musical destinations.

- The A-Train Staff

As our digital catalog continues to grow, A Train will be assembling compilations of various artists under the name of “A Train Tracks,” each with a distinct theme and a mix of established and emerging artists.  The first in the series is Nu Jazz, featuring classics from Joyce Cooling, Chris Standring and Gregg Karukas, with brand new material from Willie Royal, Deems Tsutakawa, and an exclusive track from singing sensation Selina Albright, daughter of sax player Gerald Albright.

An announcement of the new release was included in Art Good's JazzTrax newsletter, reaching over 25,000 subscribers and in Michael Lazaroff's Jazz Cruise newsletter to another 50,000 fans.

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The Grammys are all wrapped up, and cellist David Darling has won "Best New Age Album" for his album "Prayer for Compassion." It may sound like a cliche, but we here at A Train can't think of a nicer, more deserving person to take home the prize. The local newspaper in his hometown of Goshen, CT is also gushing with pride, penning an article on Darling and his big win:

"His 2009 effort, 'A Prayer for Compassion,' beat other nominees Jim Brickman, Japanese composer Kitaro, electronic artist Henta, and 'In A Dream,' a collaborative effort between artists Peter Kater, Dominic Miller, Kenny Loggins & Jaques Morelenbaum. It was Mr. Darling’s second nomination (the first being for his 2002 'Cello Blue' album) and his first win.

After the announcement, a surprised Darling took the stage, thanking his parents and mentioning the late author Howard Zinn, who had died only four days earlier and to whom 'A Prayer for Compassion' was dedicated. He also thanked his mentor, saxophonist Paul Winter, who had taken him on in 1970 as a member of the renowned Paul Winter Consort and gave him the opportunity to play professionally.

'This album is about my feeling all my life of why can’t we do something about racial prejudice and poverty on planet Earth,' he said in his speech. 'One of my great heroes, Howard Zinn, died this week ... I, like many of you, had a mother and father who loved me, and I thank them so much. A friend of mine, Mickey Houlihan, co-produced this album, and has blessed me for years and years with his great craftsmanship."

View the full article here.

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Saxaphonist Larry Ochs caused quite a stir at a recent jazz festival in Sigüenza, Spain. An angry concertgoer called the police, reporting that the music of the Larry Ochs Sax and Drumming Core was "not jazz," further asserting that listening to anything but jazz had been deemed "psychologically inadvisable" by his doctor. When the Spanish authorities arrived at the scene, they concurred that the music was “definitely not jazz.” To be sure, the lineup of two drummers and a saxophonist is far from traditional, but the festival organizer refused to provide a refund, maintaining that “the question of what constitutes jazz and what does not is obviously a subjective one, but not everything is New Orleans funeral music.”

Nonetheless, the incident certainly attracted lots of publicity, with New York Times, the Guardian, BBC Radio and many others picking up on the story. It was reported widely through all the Spanish newspapers and made headlines in primetime television newscasts in Madrid.

The New York Times

telegraph.co.uk

guardian.co.uk

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Well, okay, he might not make the cover of Us Weekly or Vanity Fair, but Wadada Leo Smith has been hot on the press circuit lately, featured on the cover of both the January 2010 issue of Jazziz and the February, 2010 issue of Wire! Wadada has also been profiled by NPR jazz critic Kevin Whitehead, who reviews three of Wadada's albums for the January 4th 2010 episode of Fresh Air.

Additional content from the Wire issue is available as online exclusive, including the uncut interview between Wadada and Wire contributor Phil Freeman and live video footage of Wadada playing with the Golden Quintet at the Vision Festival in New York.

Read the interview:
http://www.thewire.co.uk/articles/3709/

Watch the video:
http://www.thewire.co.uk/articles/3616/

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Clarinetist Ben Goldberg has been keeping busy lately, launching record label BAG productions and releasing two new records: the debut from Go Home featuring Charlie Hunter, Scott Amendola, Ron Miles and Ben Goldberg, and Foreign Legion, a live album from Tin Hat.  You can read more about BAG productions and their upcoming releases at the brand new website, http://www.bagproductionrecords.com

Go Home, the intial release from BAG production, is already making waves, earning great reviews from All About Jazz, Downbeat, State of Mind Music, and a nod from Andrew Gilbert as one of the notable releases of 2009.

"the music on Go Home represents some of [Goldberg's] most accessible and joyful work, but like everything he undertakes there's an unabashed undercurrent of deep consideration. " - Peter Margasak - Downbeat

Meanwhile, the 2009 DownBeat Critic's poll, representing the votes of 120 international jazz critics, listed Ben Goldberg as one of the top 12 jazz clarinetists in the world, as well as selecting him as a "Rising Star" on clarinet.

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Crammed.be has gotten a facelift, adding new interactive features, dynamic content, and a beautiful new layout to showcase the extensive catalog of Crammed Discs, now in its in 30th year!

Hop on over to http://www.crammed.be and browse through new releases, or take a journey through the history of Crammed's 280 albums and 250 singles by artists from all over the world, spanning an entire musical and typographical alphabet from Aksak Maboul to Bebel Gilberto & Bel Canto to Carl Craig, DJ Morpheus (& the Freezone series), Eddie 'Flashing' Fowlkes, Fred Frith, The Gruesome Twosome, Hector Zazou, Ian Simmons (aka Juryman), John Lurie, Kevin Saunderson, Les Tueurs de la lune de miel (The Honeymoon Killers), Minimal Compact, Colin Newman, Think Of One, Phosphorus, Q-Moog, Ramuntcho Matta, Snooze & Suba, Telex & Tek 9/ 4hero, U-cef, Veronique Vincent, Wise In Time, YBU, Zap Mama, Kasai Allstars, Konono N°1, Zeep, Zuco 103 and more.

In other Crammed news, Congolese band Staff Benda Bilii has taken their music to the stage and continues their streak of critical acclaim, receiving the highest of  praises for their live show.  Some highlights below:

Guardian, 5 Stars
"As tonight's show proves, Staff Benda Bilili would be a remarkable band regardless of their background. Not only do they sound incredible, they exude an inscrutable cool ... In the crowd, jaws drop, as well they should in the presence of such an extraordinary band"
http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2009/nov/12/staff-benda-bilili-review

Independent, 4 stars
"There is movement all over the stage: four pirouetting wheelchairs, and crutches used by mighty arms to swing on. Another of the band vaults from his wheelchair and spins on half-legs, ululating with a dazzling grin. All have turned apparent weakness to strength long ago... Like all the finest African bands, Staff Benda Bilili's swirling complexity removes the option to do anything but dance ... Havana cantina, Kinshasa slum, psychedelic club or London arts centre – this crack outfit would tear the roof off anywhere."
http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/theatre-dance/reviews/first-night-staff-benda-bilili-barbican-london-1818330.html

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Daniel Hutchens and his band Bloodkin stopped through the Daytrotter studios in Rock Island, IL during a recent tour through the midwest.  The resulting Daytrotter sessions include new takes on four songs, two from previous albums and two new songs from albums that are currently unreleased.

“Hutchens and crew have been cultivating the song stories of the deep south - those of men and women in different stages of debilitation, addiction, poverty and revenge... It's as much a sound of the soil and the hot summer nights of Muscle Shoals, the secret ingredients associated with the fermentation of the moonshine made there as it is any kind of crib sheet. It is left in the water down there, chugged and swallowed. It's in the blood down there in Georgia, this fascination with both the roaring guitar rock and roll Skynyrd, the soulful deliberations of turn of the century blues, 50s soul and the wit and wisdom of Hank Williams. Bloodkin is of that legacy of Southern rock bands that take us into the broken homes of people almost too poor to live - almost too poor to love each other the way they deserve to be loved.” - Sean Moeller, Daytrotter

Read more and listen to the songs at the Daytrotter website.

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The 2009 Canadian Aboriginal Music Award winners have been announced, and Canyon Records artists have picked up two! Congratulations to R. Carlos Nakai, who took the Best Traditional Flute Album award for "Talisman," and to Nothern Cree, who won Best Pow Wow Contemporary for their album “True Blue.”

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Paste magazine heaps praise upon Madeline's third album, “White Flag,” naming it amongst their list of Eight Criminally Underrated Albums of 2009. "Singer/songwriter Madeline has been a mainstay of the Athens music scene since she was a teenager, and it’s been amazing to watch her grow up as an artist. These days, she’s long since left behind her ‘60s garage-pop roots, making nakedly earnest, simple, laid back acoustic music. Her voice is captivating in its sincerity, and her lyrics far better than most of her girl-with-a-guitar contemporaries. Madeline’s latest, White Flag, sounds like a cross between the ‘60s-era freak folk pioneers and more conventional ’70s singer/songwriters, but it doesn’t pretend to exist outside of modern times like a lot of new alt-folk, making for a refreshingly unpretentious record." - Steve Labate, Paste

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Deadheads approve of Ultraviolet Licorice, the recent album from Henry Kaiser and Grateful Dead synthesizer guru Bob Bralove. In a piece posted to the Grateful Dead website, Jerry Garcia biographer Blair Jackson interviews Bob Bralove and expounds upon the recording and the meaning behind the name Ultraviolet Licorice:

"The title, you have perhaps deduced, is a play on Infrared Roses, and those of you who know your Garcia quotes will know the Grateful Dead derivation of the second word in the title—in a 1981 interview with Geraldo Rivera, Garcia famously noted, “Our audience is like people who like licorice. Not everybody likes licorice, but the people who like licorice really like licorice.”

Ultraviolet Licorice consists of a 14 live-in-the-studio improvisations by Bralove and Kaiser, nearly all of them played on top of synthesizer pieces Bralove made years ago as transitional material between “Drums” and “Space” at Dead shows, or as film music cues for other projects. Bralove played grand piano, Kaiser electric and acoustic guitars, depending on the track. The duo spent a day at Fantasy Studios in Berkeley—“We recorded all the tunes, we had lunch, then we mixed all the tunes,” Henry says with a chuckle. There’s tremendous variety in the improvisations, from sharp, abstract pieces to more sonorous and mellifluous jaunts. Adventurous Heads will definitely want to pick this one up."

Read the full article at gratefuldead.com

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NEW RELEASES

The Mermen
In God We Trust (KMA Records)

Celebrating twenty years, THE MERMEN, the implacably iconoclastic instrumental rock trio from San Francisco, California, are releasing their first studio album in a decade, with all new material.  Titled "In God We Trust," the album reunites Jim Thomas (guitars), Martyn Jones (drums) & Allen Whitman (bass), with guest appearances from Prairie Prince, Diana Mangano & Jennifer Burnes.

Together they create a musical pilgrimage starting from ambient oceanic dreamscape to relentless grindcore and back again; into a West Coast audio odyssey flowing through the Byrds, Neil Young and early Jerry Garcia before finally washing up on a decidedly wild and seldom visited beach.  Far from gentle waves and pleasant temperatures but no less soothing to the spirit, the music of "IN GOD WE TRUST," is a coherent assembly of disparate songs wherein the whole is as clearly rewarding when listened to as the sum of its parts.  Put the headphones on and collapse into the folds of your couch.  Open all the windows of your automobile and crank the volume while driving. 

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Lila Downs
Lila Downs Y La Misteriosa En Paris - Live À Fip (Harmonia Mundi/Cloud People Music)

For over a decade, Lila Downs has traversed the world bringing her dramatic and highly unique reinvention of traditional Mexican music and original compositions fused with blues, jazz, soul, African root, and even klezmer music, all supporting her soaring voice. Some would classify Lila as a Mexican artist, but there is no real way to categorize her music except to say that it is an exciting and unique fusion of international sounds. Lila Downs is releasing her first full-length live recording, "Lila Downs Y La Misteriosa En Paris - Live À FIP." a repertoire of songs spanning six albums, from 1999's "La Sandunga" to 2008's "Shake Away." 

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Chris Standring
Blue Bolero (Ultimate Vibe)

With his sixth CD, Blue Bolero, Chris Standring returns with a left-turning musical project so daring in its scope but still so true to his sound that it’s destined to be one of the year’s most-discussed projects, while certainly sure to be remembered in years to come as a highlight of the guitarist’s works.

Blue Bolero, to be released March 30, 2010 on Ultimate Vibe Records, is a CD that retains Standring’s familiar pop hooks while liberally tying it all together with orchestral elements. “It’s been my ambition for years to record an album with an orchestra,” Standring says, who spent a year and a half fleshing and refining the CD. “Every time I thought I was finished, I thought about what I could do to make it better. I really pushed myself to the edge with orchestration and arranging. I didn’t want to make the music too dark and windswept – overall it is certainly meant to be fun – but at the same time it has musical elements that reflect my musical training, influences and cultural surroundings."

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Various Artists Nu Jazz (There Records) A-Train Digital is proud to announce the release of A Train Tracks, a quarterly series of compilations, featuring the best and brightest from our catalog. First up in the series is Nu Jazz, 11 tracks from smooth, contemporary and not so smooth jazz artists including veterans Gregg Karukas, Peter White and Joyce Cooling along with a brand new exclusive from newcomer Selina Albright, daughter of Gerald Albright. Also included are new tracks from Deems Tsutakawa and Willie and the Locos, and an old classic from the New Jazz Hustlers, available for the first time digitally. Back to top

New Jazz Hustlers
New Jazz City (Down To The Bone)

New Jazz Hustlers is the alter ego band of Stuart Wade, founder of Down To The Bone. In 2000 New Jazz City was released exclusively in the UK, but 2010 marks its first digital release worldwide. Combining elements of acid jazz, trip hop and drum and bass, New Jazz City showcases two musicians who contributed mightily to Down To The Bone: Neil Angilley and Ian Crabtree.

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Ty Burhoe
Invocation (Tala)

On Invocation, Ty Burhoe offers lush incantations that create a melodic wave of devotion to wash over you during your home yoga practice, meditation, or bodywork sessions. Invocation features Ty Burhoe, Krishna Das, Manorama, John Friend, and Amy Ippoliti. The CD features beautiful vocals, sarode, Sarangi, rich drones and keyboards, cello, violin, piano, double bass, tambura, and harmonium.

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Curandero Aras (Tala) "Curandero" means healer or folk doctor and "Aras" means to plow the earth / to become centered or grounded while still in flight. Miguel Espinoza & Ty Burhoe are the core members of the band "Curandero". In this innovative and exciting release, they team up with banjo legend Bela Fleck and bass maestro Kai Eckhardt. The music created for this release is unique and dynamic, taking us on a sonic adventure through rivers, canyons and deserts, mysterious worlds of shadow & longing and emerging into the brilliant rising hope of new musical horizons. Back to top

"Larry Ochs, best known for his work with the long-standing ROVA saxophone quartet, has been working an unusual and satisfying side project for close to a decade. His Drumming Core, founded in 2000, is a trio with two drummers dedicated to exploring American field hollers and Asian chants...

Stone Shift is, plain and simple, a remarkably exciting record. The concept of the band remains buried (neither a detriment nor, necessarily, an asset), but as a meeting of five powerful players (Scott Amendola and Donald Robinson make up the drum corps) it's stellar. The compositions seem for the most part to state theme and then orchestrate the ensemble into a carousel of duets and trios. It is dramatic and exultant (and no surprise, then, that the band's songbook includes dedications to Akira Kurosawa and David Cronenberg)." - All About Jazz

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Jones Jones
We All Feel The Same Way (Solyd)

Jones Jones is a jazz-improv trio featuring Mark Dresser: bass; Lawrence Ochs: saxophones, and Vladimir Tarasov: percussion.  Their new CD, "We All Feel the Same Way" is captured from live recordings of concert performances in St. Petersburg and Amsterdam, from the band's 2008 European tour.

Performing entirely improvised music, Jones Jones’ musical performances draw on all the individual musicians’ past experiences, and that definitely adds up to something unique and very special that could only have happened within this particular trio configuration. The band performed in Europe in Moscow in 2009 during the Moscow Biennale, in June/July 2008 in Amsterdam and St Petersburg plus festivals in Lithuania and Latvia.

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On Irving St.
Deems Tsutakawa (J-Town)

J-Town Records announces the release of a new CD recording On Irving Street by the artist Deems. On Irving Street is exquisitely played, a finely wrought, well executed prime example of the post modern state of the music recording art. The arrangement and production by Deems and the sterling, inventive co-production and engineering by Tim Horiuchi is exceptional. The tracks are led off by an incisive postmodern re-arranged rendition by Messieurs Tsutakawa and Richardson of the classic Northwest title Tough Tofu. An array of tasty cuts follows - On Irving Street, Love Eclipse, Slippin' into Darkness, & Love Comes Home are particularly joyous and noteworthy. The issue closes with an interesting and quirky version of the individualistic Erroll Garner's Misty...surprises never end.

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Tin Hat
Foreign Legion (BAG Productions)

Over the past decade, Tin Hat (Carla Kihlstedt, violin / voice; Mark Orton, guitar; Ben Goldberg, clarinet; Ara Anderson, harmonium / glockenspiel / trumpet) has established itself as a compelling and trendsetting acoustic ensemble, first as Tin Hat Trio, and since 2005 in its current quartet configuration. The group's five albums have been praised by the critics, and their compositions have often been used by filmmakers and choreographers. But the ensemble has won its widest audience through captivating concert performances across the US and Europe.  Fortunately the group had more than enough inspired performances on tape to choose from. Foreign Legion represents the ensemble's global musical vision, one that is distinguished by the seemingly effortless integration of genres into their very personal chamber music. 

“Modern melancholy, modern jubilation, modern swagger and modern volatility – for the last few years Tin Hat has reminded us that things aren’t exactly as they used to be.” - Downbeat

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Kiki Ebsen Cool Songs Vol. 1 (Painted Pony Media) Singer/songwriter Kiki Ebsen has a warm, relaxed, personal style of delivery that lets an audience know they're about to experience a wonderful musical celebration. Her music has drawn comparisons to Carole King, Rickie Lee Jones and Laura Nyro, artists she also pays tribute to on her new album, "Cool Songs Vol. 1."  Set for a spring 2010 release as a digital exclusive,"Cool Songs Vol 1" features adaptations of favorites from the Beatles, Carole King, Cyndi Lauper, Kate Bush, Joni Mitchell and more. Thanks to contributors like Steve Oliver (on Bustop), Kiki delivers a moving collection that is sometimes sparse, at other times full in color, and always captivating.

"Kiki is a sleeping giant in contemporary music who deserves to be heard" - Stephen Quirk, Fusion Flavours

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Chungliang Al Huang & David Darling
The Zen of Poetry (Blue Adagio)

In this follow up to their 1993 release, The Tao of Poetry, Tai Chi master, Chungliang Al Huang and Grammy Award winning cellist and educator, David Darling combine their passions to introduce, explore, and illuminate the poetry of three “immortal poets of the Tang Dynasty”. Included are poems written by the “divinely mad” seventh century mountain recluse, Han Shan, complemented with selections from Shih-te and Feng Gang. The CD closes with the classic poem of Satori-Sudden-Enlightenment, “The Monkey and the Moon” on which Ram Dass offers the introduction and shares in the chanting. "A meditative and musical melodic reading both in Chinese and English of ancient Zen Poetry," by two masters of their art.  

 “Although there have been various schools and methods of practice, including written guidance and sutras from Ch’an and Zen masters, the origin of Zen teaching is without scripture, a direct transmission “from heart to heart”, from emptying the mind from pre-conceived thought process, in order to realize one’s true human nature, as “Nature” itself. At the instant of “sudden enlightenment” the awakened “Buddah” moment is attained in the temporal “Here and Now” transcendence.

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Scott Amendola Band
Cry (SAZI)

The second recording from the Scott Amendola band preserves four of the orginal members, adding Nels Cline in place of Dave Macnab. 

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Scott Amendola Band
The Scott Amendola Band (SAZI)

This debut album from the Scott Amendola Band, originally released in 1999, was a self-produced and self-released affair, featuring Jenny Scheinman: violin, Dave Macnab: electric guitar, Eric Crystal: saxophone and Todd Sickafoose: bass alongside drummer and first-time bandleader Scott Amendola.

“His self-produced debut by Scott Amendola's band is perhaps a little less polished than his second release on the Cryptogramophone label, but it is nonetheless an impressive outing. Amendola formed his group in the spring of 1998, at least partly to give himself an opportunity to do some writing, and he penned all the songs on this CD except for one each by Jimi Hendrix, Fela Kuti, and Nick Drake... In truth, this is a very solid recording, start to finish, and really exceptional for a debut. Definitely worth seeking out.” - All Music Guide

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Phillip Greenlief Scott Amendola Duo
Collect My Thoughts (SAZI)

The titles presented on this disc are improvisations based on conversations between the musicians: Phillip Greenlief on tenor saxophone, piano and chimes and Scott Amendola on percussion. Each piece strives to achieve a structural and conceptual resemblance to the subject discussed. Songwriting credit goes to the individual who instigated the conversation. All of the performances are first takes, with the exception of Spunky; there were no overdubs. 

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Rex Foster
Artist (Agarita)
Believin' (Agarita)
The Trio Sessions (Agarita)
Buffalo Zen (Agarita)

If the definitive history of the last three decades of Texas music were published today, Rex Foster would be mentioned by a handful of household names as having been part of the scene, among them, Gary P. Nunn, Willie Nelson, the late B.W. Stevenson and Jerry Jeff Walker. Some might even acknowledge his having been an influence on their own music.

He is one of those special regional songwriters whose work transcends geographic boundaries. Like his friends Townes Van Zandt, Guy Clark and Willis Allen Ramsey, his work is about things that matter and his delivery is such that audiences can't help but respond and become involved.

His 1991 album, "Artist", along with his 1994 release, "Believin'" are collaborative efforts with Nashville songwriter/producer Rick Beresford. Response to these albums...high praise and strong airplay...serves as a springboard to reassert Foster's influence on the world wide appreciation of Texas music.

"By this third cd ("Buffalo Zen" – produced by Peter Rowan), Foster is his own man and his own branch of singer- songwriting in the fruitful tree of Texas. Saying this for me is like saying he has entered the pantheon of the best music on this planet." - Moshe Benarroch, Folk & Alliance Music Exchange

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New from Mazer & Smith

Susan Mazer
The Fire in the Rose (Healing Healthcare)

Based on an original poem by Susan Mazer, "The Fire in the Rose" was Susan's first recording and led to an invitation to Dallas Smith to collaborate.

Together since 1984, Susan Mazer and Dallas Smith have merged their individual expertise to create a new sound and musical experience for contemporary instrumental music -- blending the electro acoustic concert grand harp and woodwinds. Both in composition and expression, their music offers a depth and richness that crosses boundaries of genres and expression.

"The music evokes an atmosphere of intimacy and personal celebration, with intricate jazz-based improvisation building throughout the close musical interplay. Mid-tempo tunes with a range of motifs and moods leave plenty of room for Mazer's stellar playing." - All Music Guide

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Susan Mazer & Dallas Smith
The Circle of Life (Healing Healthcare)

Produced for The Circle of Life Hospice in Reno, NV, the original music of Susan Mazer and Dallas Smith on this album brings forth the care to which the hospice is committed together with the stunning art of loving that can be best expressed in the realm of music. As a companion to those whose suffering is soon to end and those who care for them, music brings conscious presence to this time as it passes, and to the moment as it is memorialized. It also offers an extended hand of caring -- filling silences and honoring the passage of life. 

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More from Mazer & Smith

• Susan Mazer & Dallas Smith – Magic Garden (Healing Healthcare)
• Susan Mazer & Dallas Smith – Heartsong (Healing Healthcare)

New from Alcione

More from Alcione

• Oliva – Nautilus
• Oliva – Orient Express

New from Victo

Martin Tetreault & Kid Koala
Phon-O-Victo

"If you think all turntablists are alike, think again. Case in point: this off-the-wall collaboration between experimental turntablist Martin Tétreault and famous left-field DJ Kid Koala. Now, there is a long way between left-field and experimental -- if the Kid's music is exciting and original in its own right, it sounds pretty "normal" compared to Tétreault's experiments in noise and abstraction (his longstanding duo with Otomo Yoshihide is his best-known project). On the invitation of the Victoriaville FIMAV festival, Tétreault and Koala worked on a duo set that would bridge their differences through what they had in common: a fondness for old self-help and demonstration records. Humor was thus on the agenda. They also decided to bring with them a hefty load of records by other artists on the festival's bill that year (2005, that is), so you can catch bits of Anthony Braxton's saxophone and Yamatsuka Eye's inhuman yelps in there...  this CD is packed with fun moments, from a self-educational bit about DJing (in "The DJ Factory Turn Crazy") to a marvelously inappropriate combination of blues singing and slowed-down moans ("Godzilla a les Blues"). Highly recommended." - All Music Guide

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Anthony Braxton
Trio (Victoriaville) 2007
12+1tet (Victoriaville) 2007

"12+1tet" and "Trio" were both recorded live at the same festival in 2007, but the two releases from Anthony Braxton are distinct albums reflecting starkly different lineups: the former is a large ensemble with an array of traditional brass instruments, and the latter comprised of the Diamond Curtain Wall trio incorporating a laptop and electronic soundscapes.

"For the 2007 edition of FIMAV, producer Michel Levasseur invited Braxton to perform twice: with his 12+1tet as well as with the Diamond Curtain Wall Trio with Taylor Ho Bynum and guitarist Mary Halvorson. The audience had been primed for the large ensemble by the 2005 sextet performance and the recentboxed set of the large ensemble's four-night run at the Iridium in New York. But Diamon Curtain Wall was relatively new. Here was an intimate opportunity to hear Braxton feature his recent foray into the world of laptop and interactive electronics. Braxton and laptop? What would this element bring to his music? Use of electronics is hardly unprecedented in Braxton's music. After all, he played with Richard Teitelbaum starting in the early '70s and featured Bob Ostertag on synthesizer on the late 70's version of his creative orchestra. But for the first time, Braxton was diving in to working with interactive electronics himself!" - Michael Rosenstein

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Frid Frith & Rene Lussier
Nous Autres

Recorded live in 1986 at the Musique Actuelle festival in Victoriaville, Canada, "Nous Autres," marked the first release of the festival's associated record label, Les Disques Victo.  Alongside guitarists Fred Frith and Rene Lussier are appearances by Henry Cow percussionist Chris Cutler and vocalist Geneviéve Letarte,  Originally released on vinyl, the CD and digital reissue contains four additional studio tracks. "Listening to Nous Autres... recorded live in 1986 at the Festival Actuelle in Victoriaville, gives you the sense that it must have been a wonderful concert to be at. There is a feeling of good humour and rapport with the crowd that doesn't often get captured on record..." – CODA

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Lee Ranaldo/William Hooker
Clouds

Assembled from live recordings at the FIMAV 2007, "Clouds" is the collaboration between free-jazz drummer Williams Hooker and Sonic Youth's Lee Ranaldo, joined on stage by Jim O'Rourke and Gianni Gebbia.

"Clouds...is an unqualified success. It works in torrents of tense build-ups that blow open into monsoons of guitar squall and drum attacks. Yes, the music shows an attention to finer points than SY's other guitarist, Thurston Moore, often shows, but Ranaldo and Hooker make plentiful, gleeful noise. And the spoken words are done tastefully, wry but meaningful. When O'Rourke and Italian saxophonist Gianni Gebbia are on stage with Hooker/Ranaldo, the impact is even greater, rife with squeals and a hazy keyboard chaos O'Rourke just seems to let fly with complete ease." - Andrew Bartlett, Amazon.com

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More from Victo

• Lars Holmer Looping Home Orchestra - Live 1992-1993 (Door Floor Something Window)
• Pino Minafra - Sudori
• Jean Derome - Plates-Formes et Traquenards
• Marilyn Crispell - Circles
• Heiner Goebbels - Alfred 23 Harth - Live a Victoriaville

New from Crammed

Trio Mocotó
Samba Rock

Let us rejoice : the unique samba-soul-rock sound of legendary '70s band Trio Mocotó is back with 'Samba Rock', their first release since 1977. Based in São Paulo, the three original members Fritz, Nereu and João Parahyba return to rock the boat, bringing their energy and good vibes into our souls (and dancefloors) once again.

Referred to by many as the "Fathers of the samba soul beat", the band was formed in the late '60s. Trio Mocotó was brought to fame in 1969, when they were invited by Jorge Ben to be his backing band for the entire "Jorge Ben 1969" and "Força Bruta" albums. The former turned out to be Jorge's breakthrough album (it included the original version of his big hit "País Tropical").

So... thirty years have passed between the release of Trio Mocotó's debut album and this latest opus, but it proved to be worth the wait. Mocotó's super-original grooves and vocals, their innovative power and tremendous humor and charm are not only intact, they are rejuvenated by Fritz, Nereu and João Parahyba's fresh new take on the style they contributed to create in the Seventies.

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Lonely Drifter Karen
Fall of Spring

The new album from Lonely Drifter Karen is finally here. Entitled "Fall Of Spring", it marks a hugely confident step forward, revealing the flourishing fruits of Tanja Frinta, Marc Melia Sobrevias and Giorgio Menossi writing, playing and recording as a trio after the slightly more singer/songwriter feel of their sparkling debut Grass Is Singing, released to wide acclaim in 2008.

Fall Of Spring is a work of beautiful light and shade, of seasonal drifts and colourful contrasts, with the band's already broad musical palette enriched by brass/woodwind arrangements, tremolo-soaked electric guitars, pedal steel, inventive percussive textures and a thrilling new-found taste for rocking out! Guests on the album include Emily Jane White (who duets on the track "Seeds"), Dana Janssen from Akron/Family (on digital-only track "Seasonal Things") and Carey Lamprecht (violin player for Jolie Holland).

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New from Canyon

Kevin Yazzie
Hope

From the age-old traditions of the Native American Church, Grammy®-nominated singer Kevin Yazzie (Dine) brings a message of hope for all who walk on Mother Earth. Guided by his heartfelt faith, Kevin's delicate multi-part vocal harmonies inspire feelings of deep happiness and soothe the weary as they travel the road of life.

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Nakai, Eaton & Clipman
Dancing Into Silence

R Carlos Nakai, William Eaton, and Will Clipman are collectively known as "the Wilde Boys." Their album, "Dancing into Silence," interweaves individual songs to create a continuous musicscape featuring the haunting sound of Native American flute, the rich harmonies and timbres of harp guitar, and subtle textures of world ethnic percussion.

"R. Carlos Nakai, William Eaton and Will Clipman have made some of the most moving and provocative music of the last 20 years.  Their 1995 album Feather, Stone & Light is on my all-time top ten list for Echoes.  This ensemble makes a music that defies easy categories, that seems deep in tradition, yet free from the limits of tradition.

They’ve recorded several albums together, but Dancing Into Silence takes them into a terrain of pure intuitive improvisation.  Although the concept was to leave preconceived songs off the album, these three artists have so much melody pouring out of them and are so attuned to each other after years of playing together, that every track sounds like a through-composed work.   Nakai dips his flutes in and out of the mix, at times floating free, at others pulling the ensemble behind him in an epic theme.  His vocable chants are calls from the edge of consciousness." – The Echoes Blog

A video of the recording session can be viewed here.

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More from Canyon

• Chillon Paddock - Live 1992-1993 (Door Floor Something Window)
• Todi Neesh Zhee - Utopida
• Thunder Hill - Relentless

New from Superbuy

Robert Johnson
King of the Delta Blues Vol. 2

“A wonderful follow-up to the first compilation (King of the Delta Blues Vol. 1) of Robert Johnson's small library of recorded work. This album boasts the first album appearance of "Love in Vain," as well as a number of other blues classics penned by the artist. The music is certainly impeccable -- the self-accompanying bassline boogie was one of Johnson's greatest contributions to the blues, and it's displayed in all its beauty here. To top this, there's the beauty of his melodic work, and the interplay with his semi-gruff voice that help to make his songs memorable. He is the true legend of the blues, and anyone with even the slightest curiosity in that genre or rock needs to own both this album and its predecessor...” - Adam Greenberg, All Music Guide

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The Mills Brothers
Swingin' & Singin'

Journey back to a classic era with the music of the Mills Brothers, one of the most popular groups in the history of early American pop music in the 1930s and 40s.  The vocal quartet were renowned for their ability to recreate brass instruments—trombones, trumpets, and saxophones—using only their voices, and employed a single guitar as their sole accompanyment.  This collection rounds up many of the groups hit singles, including “Paper Doll,” “Tiger Rag,” and “Rockin' Chair.”

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Tito Puente
Mambo Beat

“By virtue of his warm, flamboyant stage manner, longevity, constant touring, and appearances in the mass media, Tito Puente is probably the most beloved symbol of Latin jazz.  But more than that, Puente managed to keep his music remarkably fresh over the decades; as a timbales virtuoso, he combined mastery over every rhythmic nuance with old-fashioned showmanship -- watching his eyes bug out when taking a dynamic solo was one of the great treats for Latin jazz fans.  A trained musician, he was also a fine, lyrical vibraphonist, a gifted arranger, and played piano, congas, bongos, and saxophone.  His appeal continues to cut across all ages and ethnic groups, helped no doubt by Santana's best-selling cover versions of "Oye Como Va" and "Para Los Rumberos" in 1970-1971, and cameo appearances on The Cosby Show in the 1980s and the film The Mambo Kings in 1992.  His brand of classic salsa is generally free of dark undercurrents, radiating a joyous, compulsively danceable party atmosphere.” 
-Richard Ginell, All Music Guide

Mambo Beat contains an original recording of the Puente classics “Para Los Rumberos”, “Que Sera” and the title track.

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Frank Sinatra Love Songs Ol' Blue Eyes does what only he can- bring a classic lift to such standards as "Laura","Embraceable You" and "I Only Have Eyes For You".  Fifty minutes of sheer sugar. Back to top

More from Superbuy

• Deanna Durbin – The Very Best of Deanna Durbin
• Phil Yates – Smooth Guitar
• Various Artists – British Big Bands
• Various Artists – The Music of South America
• Charlie Kunz – The Musical World of Charlie Kunz & The Casani Club Orchestra
• Various Artists – The Gershwin Songbook
• Viva la Musica Quartet – Math with Mozart – Addition (Vol. 1)
• Tenzin Choegyal – Meditative Music From Nepal
• Late Night Guitar – Late Night Guitar
• Celtic Players & Singers – Irish Singalong Favourites
• Jorge Rico – Pan Pipes of Ireland

Buried Treasure Wadada Leo Smith & Adam Rudolph Compassion Compassion, a beautiful duet recording by Wadada Leo Smith and Adam Rudolph, provides a welcome addition to jazz’s long tradition of spiritual expression.  Recorded live in 2002 at a concert in Venice, California, the disc features Smith on trumpet and flugelhorn, and Rudolph on hand drum set, dusu’ngoni, sibsi, vocal, kalimbas, gongs, cymbals and percussion.  What makes this an apt form of spiritual expression is the duo’s pervading sense of modesty.  They are both strong players, but following in the footsteps of Coltrane, Bird and so many others, they are playing in service to something larger than themselves.  Smith and Rudolph aim for the heart of sound, the place where it intersects with something all-encompassing.  And on Compassion they generously take the listener along for the journey. Check their website out here.

A-TRAIN FILMS

Rhythm and Blooms Rhythm and Blooms is a 26 part visual journey through a day in the life of the garden.  Recently featured on the Discovery Channel, the series presents botanical gardens throughout the US and Canada, captured through stunning cinematography and paired with original music.  From sunrise to sunset, see gardens as never before. Extreme close-ups and breathtaking vistas reveal the intricate beauty of nature's splendor.  Rhythm and Blooms is a celebration of North America's most spectacular gardens, a joyful experience for the eyes and ears.  Come discover the splendor in the garden! We now have two new episodes available: Mid-West and South     * Missouri Botanical Gardens – St. Louis, MO     * Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center – Austin, TX     * Bellingrath Gardens – Theodore AL Special Edition     * Art in the Garden http://www.rhythmandblooms.net

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UPCOMING RELEASES

Amelia's Mechanics - North, South

Willie Royal & The Locos –  Willie and the Locos

Phunk Junkeez – The Greatest

Adrienne Torf  –  Music For Madison

Kiki Ebsen – The Beauty Inside

Jazz Rosco –  Rosco’s Place 2

Roger Smith –  My Colors

Dred Scott –  Christmas

Bruce Kaphan – Hybrid

Scott Amendola – New album TBD

Various Artists – A Train Tracks: Vocal Chords

Henry Kaiser & Wadada Leo Smith –  Yo Miles! (Shinguku)

French, Frith, Kaiser & Thompson –  (live)

Henry Kaiser, Lukas Ligeti, Paul Plimley, Weasel Walter –  the Skybreak Splatterlight

Crammed

Cibelle – Las Venus Resort Palas Hotel
Konono N° 1 - Congotronics 4
Shantel – Being Authentic
Suba – Tributo (reverting from Six Degrees)

And more from VICTO, Canyon Records and Superbuy!

Upcoming Films

Taraif de Haidouks - (title TBA)
Konono No 1, Staff Benda Bilili, Kasai All Stars - (title TBA)

Bill Frisell - SOLOS
Charlie Hunter - SOLOS

Original Spin Media - Innovators in Music:
A new series premeiring on Bravo, Canada, in January, Innovators in Music,
is a short documentary series profiling the following musicians:
- Mickey Hart
- Levon Helms
- Dave Stewart
- Steve Earle
- Billy Bragg
- Sonic Youth

and more episodes from Rhythm and Blooms!

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Wadada Leo Smith

APR 3 2010
Wadada Leo Smith's Golden Quartet
Barnsdall Gallery Theater – Los Angeles, CA

APR 9 2010
Ashus, Denmark

APR 20 2010
Aalborg, Denmark

APR 21 2010
Vejle, Denmark

APR 22 2010
Odense, Denmark

APR 23 2010
Dachau, Germany

APR 28 2010
Copenhagen, Denmark

MAY 2-3 2010
Freedom of the City Festival – London, UK

Rova/Larry Ochs

MAR 17 2010
The Hideout – Chicago, IL

MAR 18 2010
Krannert Art Museum – Champaign, IL

MAR 19 2010
Museum of Contemporary Art – Detroit, MI

MAR 20 2010
Quintet with John Zorn
The Stone – New York, NY

Dave Samuels

MAR 17-21 2010
Carribbean Jazz Project
Jazz Bistro – St. Louis, MO

APR 16 2010
The Quick Center At Fairfield University – Fairfield, CT

Peter White

MAR 19 2010
Winter Park Sidewalk Art Festival – Winter Park, FL

MAR 26 2010
Berks Jazz Fest – Wyomissing, PA

MAR 27 2010
Akron Civic Center – Akron, OH

APR 8 2010
Dimitrou’s Jazz Alley – Seattle, WA

APR 23 2010
Canadian Smooth Jazz Awards – Mississauga, Ontario

APR 30 2010
Buffalo State College – Buffalo, NY

MAY 1 2010
Carolina Wine & Jazz Festival – Fayetteville, NC

MAY 3 - 9 2010
Pizza Express Jazz Club – London, UK

MAY 10 2010
High Rocks – Tunbridge Wells, UK

MAY 11 2010
The Stables – Milton Keynes, UKM

MAY 15 2010
Radisson Sacramento Ballroom – Sacramento, CA

MAY 16 2010
Hyatt Regency Newport Beach – Newport Beach, CA

MAY 28 2010
Railhead at Boulder Station – Las Vegas, NV

MAY 29 2010
KIFM Smooth Jazz Gaslamp Festival – San Diego, CA

Lila Downs

MAR 12 2010
Gran Teatro de Córdoba/Programación Teatro – Córdoba, SPAIN

MAR 13 2010
Auditorio Universidad Carlos III/Programación Auditorio – Madrid, SPAIN

MAR 15 2010
Teatro Arriaga – Bilbao, SPAIN

APR 09 2010
Teatro Gran Rex – Bilbao, SPAIN

APR 09 2010
Teatro Gran Rex – Buenos Aires, ARGENTINA

APR 15 2010
Casita Maria Center for Arts & Education – Bronx, NY

APR 17-18 2010
City Winery – New York, NY

APR 23 2010
Tucson Convetion Center – Tucson , AZ

APR 30 2010
House of Blues Chicago – Chicago, IL

MAY 16 2010
Cemal Resit Rey – Istanbul, Turkey

MAY 18 2010
Palace of Arts – Budapest, Hungary

MAY 20 2010
Lila Downs in
L’Arsenal – Metz, France

MAY 21 2010
Printemps Musical, Festival de Luxembourg

MAY 23 2010
Lila Downs in
Festival Mix Terres – Blois, France

MAY 25 2010
Lila Downs in
Huxleys Neue Welt Berlin – Germany

MAY 27 2010
Lila Downs in
La Cigale – Paris, France

MAY 29 2010
Lila Downs in
Fabrik – Hamburg, Germany

MAY 31 2010
Lila Downs in
Bâtiment des Forces Motrices – Geneva, Switzerland

Al Stewart with Dave Nachmanoff

APR 2 2010
BriXton – Redondo Beach, CA

APR 3 2010
Coach House – San Juan Capistrano , CA

APR 24 2010
Sunset Station Casino – Henderson, NV

MAY 7 2010
Katherine Hepburn Cultural Arts Center – Old Saybrook, CT

MAY 8 2010
Boulton Center – Bay Shore, NY

MAY 9 2010
Infinity Hall – Norfolk, CT

MAY 12 2010
Arts and Music on Main St. – Woodbridge, NJ

MAY 13 2010
City Winery – New York, NY

MAY 14 2010
Colonial Theatre – Phoenixville, PA

MAY 16 2010
Ram's Head – Annapolois, MD

MAY 27 2010
Casino Snoqualmie – Snoqualmie, WA

MAY 28 2010
Opening for Dave Mason
D&R Theater – Aberdeen, WA

David Darling

APR 15 2010
Rumi Concert with Coleman Barks, Zulika, and Glen Velez
San Francisco Palace of Fine Arts – San Francisco, CA

APR 22-24 2010
Festival with Coleman Barks And Lisa Starr
The Power of Poetry – Logan, OH

Scott Amendola

MAR 16 2010
Amendola vs. Blades
SFresh Sound Music Series – San Diego, CA

MAR 17 2010
Amendola vs. Blades
Vitello's - Los Angeles, CA

MAR 21 2010
Kihnoua
The Stone - New York City, NY

MAR 23 2010
The Steve Adams Trio
The Stone – New York City, NY

MAR 23 2010
Scott Amendola/Charlie Hunter Duo
The Stone – New York City, NY

MAR 26 2010
Amendola vs. Blades
Jazz in The Back Room @ the Plaza Bistro – Sonoma, CA

MAR 31 2010
Amendola vs. Blades
Coda – San Francisco, CA

APR 8 2010
SF Jazz Hotplate series presents: The Good life-the music of Ornette Coleman
Amnesia – San Francisco, CA

APR 9 2010
Amendola vs. Blades and The Good life-the music of Ornette Coleman
The Starry Plough - Berkeley, CA

APR 10 2010
Kihnoua
Berkeley Jazz School – Berkeley, CA

MAY 14 2010
Scott Amendola Band
Red Poppy Art House - San Francisco, CA

Ty Burhoe

MAR 12-13 2010
Zakir Hussain & The Masters of Percussion
Rose Theater at Lincoln Center – New York, NY

MAR 16 2010
Zakir Hussain & The Masters of Percussion
Triveni Theater at University of Buffalo – Buffalo, NY

MAR 18 2010
Zakir Hussain & The Masters of Percussion
Ferguso Hall – Tampa, FL

MAR 20 2010
Zakir Hussain & The Masters of Percussion
Rialto Theater – Atlanta, GA

MAR 21 2010
Zakir Hussain & The Masters of Percussion
Orchestra Hall Chicago – Chicago, IL

MAR 25 2010
Zakir Hussain & The Masters of Percussion
Singletary Center for the Arts – Lexington, KY

MAR 27 2010
Zakir Hussain & The Masters of Percussion
U of M Fine Arts Center, Concert Hall – Amherst, MA

MAR 28 2010
Zakir Hussain & The Masters of Percussion
Berklee Performing Center – Boston, MA

MAR 30 2010
Zakir Hussain & The Masters of Percussion
Flynn Center for the Performing Arts – Burlington, VT

APR 1 2010
Zakir Hussain & The Masters of Percussion
Spaulding Auditorium – Dartmouth, NH

APR 3 2010
Zakir Hussain & The Masters of Percussion
Bailey Hall – Ithaca, NY

APR 9 2010
Tour w/ Roshan Jamal Bhartiya (sitar)
Theater TBA Concert – Santa Fe, NM

APR 10 2010
Tour w/ Roshan Jamal Bhartiya (sitar)
The Outpost Theater – Albuquerque, NM

APR 11 2010
Tour w/ Roshan Jamal Bhartiya (sitar)
Taos Temple (House concert) – Taos, NM

MAY 14 2010
Hawaiian Island Tour w/ Kala Ramna - violin
Maui Art & Cultural Center – Maui, HI

MAY 15 2010
Hawaiian Island Tour w/ Kala Ramna - violin
No Place Like Om – Big Island, HI

MAY 16 2010
Hawaiian Island Tour w/ Kala Ramna - violin
East Hawaii Cultural Center – Big Island, HI

MAY 20 2010
Hawaiian Island Tour w/ Kala Ramna - violin
The Yoga House – Kauai, HI

MAY 21 2010
Hawaiian Island Tour w/ Kala Ramna - violin
Community College Performing Arts Center – Kauai, HI

MAY 22 2010
Hawaiian Island Tour w/ Kala Ramna - violin
Unity of Hawaii – Oahu, HI

MAY 23 2010
Hawaiian Island Tour w/ Kala Ramna - violin
Unity of Hawaii, Oahu, HI

For More Information Contact:

Bob Williard - Digital Distribution • A-Train Entertainment • bob (at) a-train.com