Maysa - Metamorphosis New album for JAZZ sensation

Out today across the USA, ‘Metamorphosis’ is the seventh solo CD from singing sensation Maysa Leak. Variously produced by Rex Rideout, Chris ‘Big Dog’ Davis and the Jason Miles – DJ Logic pairing of Global Noize it offers twelve sumptuous tracks that ooze sophistication and which feature notable contributions from some of the leading contemporary jazz session players around today.

This is particularly well demonstrated by the opening track ‘Simpatico’ where thumping bass from Melvin Davis and the drums of Michael White provide a rhythmic platform from which Leak proffers her soulful tones. It’s a number on which Rex Rideout, both as producer and keyboard player, really excels and much the same can be said of Chris Davis with ‘Take Me Away’ where Maysa seamlessly blends a cool sample of Jean Carn’s ‘Don’t Let It Go To Your Head’ into this emotional smoker. Of course since the early nineties, when she auditioned for the band by phone, Maysa has been famous for being one of the voices of Incognito. The complex yet compelling ‘Happy Feelings’ evokes her best Incognito moments as does ‘Never Really Ever’ for which Rex Rideout again plays a part. Both tracks contrast nicely with the gentle deconstructed splendour of ‘Love So True’ while also in turned down mode is the silkily soulful ‘I Need A Man’.

Earlier this year producer and keyboard player Jason Miles collaborated with DJ Logic on a project they named Global Noize. Here Leak taps into their hip rhythmic and eclectic style with ‘A Conversation With The Universe’ that she co-writes and performs with them. The tune’s world vibe represents a tasty departure from the Maysa norm and when, with ‘Walk Away’, she finds the ideal R & B ballad it’s a cool arrangement from Ledisi that incorporates a stunning brass infused play out line which comes courtesy of Melvin Jones on trumpet.

Dedicated to her mother and co-written by Leak, Rideout and the excellent Michael Ripoll, ‘Grateful’ is illuminated by Ripoll’s wonderful acoustic guitar and when Maysa turns to Najee on flute for ‘My Destiny’ he strikes the perfect chord with which to complement her picture perfect delivery. Najee is joined by Nick Colionne for ‘Higher Love’ where together they weave some exquisitely jazzy patterns that underpin Leak’s zesty Latin tinged vocal and Colionne returns to lead off what proves to be a staggering three minute ten second guitar introduction to the outstanding ‘Lets Figure It Out’. In the expert hands of producer Chris Davis this superb slice of chill out music evolves both into a feisty dance floor filler and the album’s best track.

‘Metamorphosis’ is an impressive collection of all-original material that may well be the album to take Maysa to the next level of appreciation. Check it out.

Let's Download her new album :

Artist:Maysa

Title Of Album:Metamorphosis

Year Of Release:October 14, 2008

Label:Shanachie Genre:Smooth Jazz, Soul,R&B

Bitrate:320 kbps

Total Time:1:09:53

Total Size:153 mb

:: TRACK LISTING ::

1. A Conversation With The Universe (5:57)

2. All I Do (5:19)

3. Grateful (4:27)

4. Happy Feelings (5:25)

5. Higher Love (4:21)

6. I Can't Help It (4:22)

7. I Need A Man (4:19)

8. Let's Figure It Out (A Song For Bluey) (7:10)

9. Love So True (4:31)

10. My Destiny (4:37)

11. Never Really Ever (3:45)

12. Simpatico (5:21)

13. Take Me Away (4:31)

14. Walk Away (5:48)

Link:

http://www.directransfer.net/?download/1187994226/music/1021/maysa_metamorphosis.rar

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The King Of Jazz : Clarinet Benny Goodman

Born May 30, 1909 in Chicago, Benjamin David Goodman would grow up to be known as the King of Swing. He was the ninth born and had eleven siblings. His musical career began at the young age of ten when his father decided to enroll Benny and his two older brothers in Kehelah Jacob Synagogue where they took music lessons and he later benefited from lessons given to him by Franz Schoepp, who was a classical clarinetist. With Benny's interest and passion for playing, it was not long before he was playing professionally. In fact, he was playing professionally before he was sixteen, which goes to show the kind of natural talent this individual had.

At the age of sixteen, Benjamin was playing with the Ben Pollack orchestra, who he remained with until 1929. During his time with the orchestra, he made some of his first recordings, including the creation of his own record. It was with this band that he really started to become quite a success and the success continued on through the 1930s, which his father was not fortunate enough to see as he had passed away in an accident after Benny had joined the Ben Pollack orchestra. While the death hit Benny hard and he always regretted that his father had refused to retire when Benny had offered to take care of him and his mother, the tragedy did not slow him down in his career. His reputation continued to grow, but this does not mean that things were becoming any easier. During a tour in 1935, Goodman's band nearly broke up because of the immense stress they were under. The type of jazz they were playing was quite a bit different than the jazz most people were accustomed to and it was not always accepted.

Benjamin Goodman was so influential in his music that it is said that without Benny there would have been no swing music. He was known as a virtuoso clarinetist and one of the best jazz clarinetists of the time. He was innovative and experimental with his music, so much so that it took time before some people were able to accept it. Finally, in the year of 1957, he was inducted into the Jazz Hall of Fame for his exceptional talent. Even after the induction, he continued to play with as much interest and energy, perhaps even with more than he did before. He played in small groups with other musicians, recorded his music, played in festivals and participated in tours, but did not limit himself to playing jazz throughout all this.

He played the swing he was best known for and also continued to play some classical music, which was really his roots as classical was some of the first music he was taught to play when he was young. In later years, his health deteriorated, but he continued to play until his death in 1986 when he passed away of a heart attack at the age of 77. It seems that even after passing, his influence was still strong as he was awarded the Grammy Lifetime Achievement award later that year.

Article Source: http://articles.directorygold.com

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[Concert] NOLA Jazz Festival '08

Man, we've gotten buried with a such a barrage of non-stop festival announcements that we've neglected some our favorite festival mainstays. Case in point, the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival.

This festival -- which has pretty much set the standard for city-oriented festivals in the U.S. -- is set to take place April 25-27 and May 1-4. Here are a few of the bigger names making appearances this year:

The Neville Brothers, Stevie Wonder, Billy Joel, Jimmy Buffett, Tim McGraw, Santana,Maze feat. Frankie Beverly, Sheryl Crow, Widespread Panic, Dr. John, Al Green, Diana Krall,Keyshia Cole, Robert Plant and Alison Krauss, The Raconteurs, Irma ThomasSteel Pulse, John Prine, Elvis Costello and Allen Toussaint, Randy Newman, Bobby McFerrin and Chick Corea, O.A.R., Galactic, The Roots, Dianne Reeves, Michael Franti & Spearhead, Burning Spear, Ozomatli with Chali 2na, Rebirth Brass Band, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Tower of Power, Delbert McClinton, John Hammond, Cassandra Wilson, Keb’ Mo’, The Count Basie Orchestra feat. Patti Austin, Pete Fountain, The Derek Trucks Band, Richard Thompson, Bela Fleck and Abigail Washburn, The Radiators, James Cotton, Cupid, The John Butler Trio, Del McCoury, Vernel Bagneris: Jelly Roll & Me, Terence Blanchard with the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra, Buckwheat Zydeco, John P. Kee & the New Life Community Choir, Cowboy Mouth, Byron Cage with Kim Burrell, Bishop Paul S. Morton, Sr. and the Greater St. Stephen Choir, Trinitee 5:7, Lizz Wright, Voices of the Wetlands Allstars, Dirty Dozen Brass Band, The Bad Plus, Carolina Chocolate Drops, Bettye LaVette, Trombone Shorty & Orleans Ave., Gene “Duke of Earl” Chandler, Preservation Hall Jazz Band, Davell Crawford’s N.O. R & B Orchestra, Henry Butler, Beausoleil avec Michael Doucet, Leo Nocentelli’s “Rare Gathering," Lee Boys, Harlem Blues and Jazz Band, MOOV of Martinique, Jackson Southernaires, Big Jay McNeely, Paul Porter of the Legendary Christianaires, Nicholas Payton and thousands more!

They've now released the set times for all seven days of the festival, hooking us up with their scheduling "Cubes" to help us wade through the enormous mess of artists and bands:

April
Friday 4/25

Saturday 4/26

Sunday 4/27

May

Thursday 5/1

Friday 5/2

Saturday 5/3

Sunday 5/4

Like other massive music festivals, this can be a bit overwhelming to schedule properly. Try as you might, you probably just can't check out every band your little heart desires. Of course, Jazz Fest is great in the sense that even when you get off track, you're bound to wander into some bar or by a random street corner and catch a great show by musicians you may have never even heard.

Anybody going this year?

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JAZZ REVIEW:Live: The SFJazz Collective

The combo's performance fails to take off, but the solo efforts are articulate and inventive.

By Don Heckman, Special to The Times

Assembling a group of individualistic jazz players, each with a career of his or her own, can have both up and down sides. As was the case Friday with the SFJazz Collective at UCLA's Royce Hall.

Created in 2004 by the San Francisco Jazz Festival as an all-star aggregation capable of moving easily from Golden Age jazz to cutting-edge contemporary sounds, the Collective's varying lineup has examined the music of Herbie Hancock, Ornette Coleman and others, while also showcasing the composition and arranging skills of the group's members. The same applied in Friday's concert, which featured the music of Wayne Shorter as the classic element, plus original pieces by most of the current members of the eight-piece ensemble.

Four horns, vibraphone and rhythm can provide a richly hued palette of sounds, and the arrangements reached from the lush, Gil Evans-like timbres favored by pianist Renee Rosnes to the edgy dissonances of trumpeter Dave Douglas and trombonist Robin Eubanks. And originals by Eubanks ("Breakthrough") and bassist Matt Penman ("The Angel's Share") used off-center rhythmic accents and layered tonal densities in strikingly contemporary fashion.

Despite the variety of arranging techniques and the colorful harmonic textures, the ensemble often lacked the thrust and symbiotic swing of groups that work together regularly. The members of the Collective -- also including saxophonists Joe Lovano and Miguel Zenon, vibraphonist Stefon Harris and drummer Eric Harland -- are world class. But effectively blending their unique attributes into a let's-all-swing-together musical total would take more time than the Collective's relatively short performance schedule allows.

The solo efforts were entirely different. With ample open space allotted to each player, inventive attributes were on full display: Rosnes' and Harris' capacity to blend lyricism with fleet inventiveness, Douglas' constant musical probing, Lovano's warmth and Zenon's passion, Eubanks' rapid-fire articulateness, the sturdy support of Penman's bass and Harland's ever-shifting percussive sounds.

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