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“I ONLY HAVE EYES FOR YOU,” says Jumaane Smith

November 17, 2014 by Lyndah

Best known to audiences throughout the world as the lead trumpeter for international superstar Michael Buble for the past decade, multi-faceted singer, entertainer and musician Jumaane Smith made his highly anticipated début at the well-known Metropolitan Room on October 1, 2014.

Celebrating the release of his critically acclaimed independent standards-filled début album I Only Have Eyes For You, Smith’s dynamic 75 minute set featured material from the recording in addition to new arrangements of classics by Buble, Louis Armstrong, Louis Prima, Joe Williams/Count Basie, adult contemporary hits like You Are So Beautiful and R&B tunes like Just The Way You Are. The trumpeter’s seven piece band incorporates elements of traditional Dixieland jazz, swing, blues, contemporary jazz, adult contemporary and soul. His sound is so cool!

CD release party for I Only Have Eyes For You in place for November 28th, 2014 at Joe’s Pub – NYC – 7:30 PM.

“I’m very much looking forward to joining these great musicians for my first solo show in Manhattan,” says Smith, whose collaborations range from pop idols to jazz legends, including Stevie Wonder, Quincy Jones, Alicia Keys, The Jonas Brothers, Wyclef Jean, Diddy, Natalie Cole, James Ingram, Wynton Marsalis Ravi Coltrane, Chris Botti and others. The jumaane_smith_pix1 Metropolitan Room is a prestigious, intimate venue which is perfect for my show and its focus, the sentiment of love and romance. I am most excited to finally be making my first appearance in NYC after so many years of being a featured guest artist and sideman.”

Executive produced by Smith and produced by Dave Pierce, I Only Have Eyes For You is a lush celebration of the Great American Songbook featuring interpretations of classics full of personal emotion. The collection includes vocal performances by Smith; Buble’s impeccable styling on Come Rain or Come Shine, the A Capella group Naturally 7 put their spin on I Only Have Eyes For You, and pop classical sensation Jackie Evancho [America Got talent] sassy delivery of La Vie En Rose. Got to give shayna Steele her props. She owned Please Send Me Someone to Love, the perfect pairing of song and vocalist!

Sandy Shore, president of SmoothJazz.com global radio, says of the collection that it’s “an instant essential album, one that is definitive and timeless, a jazz recording appealing to a wide audience of music enthusiast with cool, classic sensibilities…This is a must have…delightfully pleasing to the ears!”

Will Friedwald of the Wall Street Journal echoes these words, calling Smith a “terrific trumpeter.”

One of 17 musicians (including four trumpeters) invited to join the inaugural class of Jazz Studies at the Julliard School in 2001; Smith, trained there for four years on a full scholarship, has appeared on many Grammy winning recordings. His musical accomplishments include playing the Grammy Awards show with Stevie Wonder and the Jonas Brothers; recording “As I Am” with Alicia Keys; appearing on the “American Idol” soundtrack, and scoring and performing music for the film “Handsome Harry.”

“This young man and his horn is pure entertainment. He along with his band of talented musicians and vocalists seamlessly crossed music genres weaving a musical collective that is sure to satisfy the taste of the most discriminating jazz digger’s palate. I Only Have Eyes For You is cool, smooth and will definitely put you in a mellow mood.”… ABYSSJazz

Available at Amazon; check it out!

Filed Under: Artists Tagged With: Adult Contemporary Music, Blues, Contemporary Jazz, Dixieland, I Only Have Eyes for You, Jumaane Smith, Soul, Swing

From the ABYSS Archives: Joe Sample; Soul Shadows ~ 2005 ~ ABYSS Remembers

September 14, 2014 by Lyndah

Nobody does it better.  For four decades and counting, Joe Sample, pianist, keyboardist and composer continue to be an integral part of jazz history.  As a founding member of the powerfully creative jazz funk combo The Crusaders (originally the Jazz Crusaders), Samples has toured the world tickling the ivories with atypical skill and a passion for making beautiful music.  With the release of Soul Shadows, Joe Sample gives us a more complete picture of himself through the music of his youth.  Sample chose as his first solo all piano recording, to pay homage to the great American pianists of the 20th Century.  Performing vibrant renditions of classics by Joplin, Ellington, Gershwin, Jolson, Waller and Jelly Roll Morton, among others; songs which define the art and legacy of jazz piano over the past 100 years.

When boundless curiosity meets jazz legend, the rest is, well you know, an up close and personal conversation that goes beneath the music.  Dig it!

Why did you choose to do an album of this kind now?  “I remembered my age and said, ‘perhaps I’m running out of time to do this music that I heard in 1939.’I grew up listening to the music of the 20’s and 30’s along with the boogie-woogie of the day.”  You are giving us a bit of your history?  “Yes.  When you study the piano what is the most natural thing to do?  To play the piano in a complete manner; the fascinating thing about the piano was that, it was, the most important instrument. You could entertain people, as they did in the 20’s at rent parties with honor. But you had to play the complete piano.  And, if I am going to sit at the piano, I should be totally complete about it.” So, you really did this as much for you as you did for us?  “Well, you know what?  It all has to start with me first.  You are right; it does have to begin with you, I agree.  “[It took] hours and hours of practice in order to understand the styles and go back into those periods and make it my music.”  O-o-h okay, you really had to invest some of you into this.  We are really getting a more complete side of you, as you said.  “Yes, yes, it’s the complete side of me.  I played classics but I will certainly never record classics.  I’m from southeast Texas. I flavor everything I play with jazz, blues and gospel, you know? That’s okay, that’s who you are. After all, people come to see Joe Sample.  “Right.”

You play keyboards.  And I understand that acoustically, the piano and keyboards are different?  “Let me answer that in this manner.  The life of a piano player is miserable.  Is it? In the 1960’s when the Crusaders/Jazz Crusaders were out traveling across the US on the jazz circuit. Most of the pianos I sat at in most of the jazz clubs were not playable. Okay.  The piano player struggles, struggles, and struggles, it got so bad that in Cleveland in 1968 I told the guys in the band that I was not going to do this anymore. Something had to change.  I felt that I was wasting my life.  Everybody else carried their own unique instrument except the piano player.  We have to deal with whatever comes … the Fender Rhodes (electric piano) came in the late sixties and all the piano players suddenly found that it was possible to go out and do gigs without having to struggle and not feel like we were wasting our lives. It was that bad for me in the sixties. And I’m sure for everyone else. That is why the piano player’s life is miserable. The age of electronics came in and saved everybody. That’s real simple and easy to understand.

When you switched out instruments or you went to the keyboards and electronics did that change the sound?  “Yes, it does have a keyboard on it but it is not a piano.  It is an electric piano and you must approach them with a totally different concept.”

You had to learn some things to do it differently?  Oh yes, I realized that right away.  You can’t play it like a piano. It’s another instrument and wants to speak in its manner. So all you have to do is sit down and begin to play it. And when it speaks in its best voice you should be able to recognize it. And that’s how I developed a particular style at the electric piano. I listened to what it had to offer.”  Laughingly he said, “that’s what you should learn when you play a bad piano. You learn very quickly, from the first piece, what it is willing to give to you.”

Had you not pursued music and played the piano, would there be something else you may have done?  “Ah, I really have no idea. No. I’ve never desired to do anything else other than play the piano.

How early were you introduced to this instrument?  “Well probably at five years old when the boogie-woogie culture was very much alive and well. The piano was the institution of entertainment in most family’s lives. There were no football teams, no baseball teams, and no television. There was only the radio; we used to listen to radio programs. It was every family’s dream to have enough babies in the family so that you could make at least one piano player out of one of them. Music has really been the life of the African American communities. Without music we would have literally gone insane.” … I can imagine the boredom. You wouldn’t have had anything to do.  And it gave you an outlet for your creativity.  “I have always felt that I needed reasons to play the instrument.  I gave myself reasons to play by writing compositions and songs or [by] creating a concept of how I would play existing music or standards.  There must always be a reason.  I could never play in a pop band where I would play the same musical parts night after night; I would absolutely go crazy.”

Actually the concept of jazz being so innovative, in the sense that you can add to it and do things differently, is that what drew you to this genre of music?   “Yes, that is the concept of my playing. And, it has been the basis for most jazz.

In 1951, famed African American poet, Langston Hughes asked this question.  What becomes of a dream deferred?  In 2004 Joe Sample answers, it becomes a reality too. A lifelong fascination with James Reese Europe, the first black big band leader who in 1918 introduced jazz to Europe and England along with a desire to return to his musical roots set the stage for this new project.  The evolution from fascination and a dream to reality is Soul Shadows, a more complete picture of pianist Joe Sample, a slice of jazz history and black history all rolled into one.

Because of his music, Joe Sample left this world a better place than the one he entered!

1939 ~ 2014

By: Lyndah Malloy-Glover

Click here for update on Mr. Sample!

Filed Under: Jazz News Tagged With: Blues, Contemporary Jazz, Gospel, Jazz Crusaders, Jazz Instrumentalists, Joe Sample, Keyboards, Piano, Soul Shadows, The Crusaders

Noel Gourdin Shares His City Heart And Southern Soul

March 14, 2014 by Lyndah

R&B Singer/songwriter Noel Gourdin makes powerful music with potent messages, the dude is awesome. You feel the spirit, the vibe of the voices that influenced him – Marvin Gaye, Otis Redding and Johnny Taylor. Like those that came before him, Gourdin crafts songs that speak to the heart, mind and soul. His rich buttery smooth alto, flavored with a gritty and bluesy undercurrent punctuated by agile gospel riffs, make him instantly recognizable. In 2008 Mr. Grourdin stepped Noel+Gourdin+l_fa2519c5dda1ff50bf152292741e up and blew us away with his vocal acrobats on his debut album, After My Time. It is now 2014 and on February 18, Noel Gourdin made his Shanachie Entertainment debut with City Heart, Southern Soul.

The album title speaks directly to Noel Gourdin’s roots. Born in Brockton, MA and having spent numerous summers with his family in Pachuta, Mississippi, Gourdin is the perfect mixture of city heat and southern comfort, down home flavor with a twist. With the release of City Heart, Southern Soul, Gourdin is letting us know that he is still a force to be reckoned with making music that promises to stand the test of time.

Noel confides that he hope his music will be known for its quality. He adds, “It’s really important for me to be respectful and have music that can speak to the masses, from a two year old to your Great GrandMAMA! Musical integrity is extremely important to me, for when I leave the industry my musical legacy is what I want to be remembered for…Timeless, Real and Soulful, music.”

From what I’ve heard, Noel Gourdin is making his dream of creating a musical legacy that is timeless, real, and soulful a reality. Everything about City Heart, Southern Soul screams, “Listen to me. I have something to say!”  And, he sings it very well. Highly recommended … ABYSSJazz!

Check out the album on Amazon!

Filed Under: Artists Tagged With: AbyssJazz Magazine, Blues, City Heart, Noel Gourdin, R&B, Shanachie, Soul Music, Southern Soul, Vocals

Steve Cole’s “Pulse” beating strongly

September 25, 2013 by Lyndah

Saxophonist comes full circle on his seventh album

image003… Deep soul nuances, rhythm & blues grooves, a wall of horns and hooks that pack a wallop are the heartbeat of saxman Steve Cole’s “Pulse,” which he penned and produced with fellow saxophonist David Mann.  Innately inspired, the authenticity on “Pulse” is evident in Cole’s impassioned sax play. He gets right to the point on the rhythmic ride spanning ten tracks, often opening his original songs with the chorus. The consistent hit creator hooks listeners from the start and reels them in with the assistance of taut grooves … sweet!

ABYSSJazz ~ Um … will add Pulse to my ride-out music playlist; it’s purr-fic!

Available on Amazon; click, listen, buy!

___________________________________

2490_Jeff_Golub_TKAR_Folder.indd… It’s been a helluva two years since guitarist Jeff Golub released his last album # 11, “Three Kings,” which paid tribute to blues legends B.B., Freddie & Albert King. As the record was released, the optic nerves in Golub’s eyes inexplicably collapsed leaving him blind. Adjusting to his new life meant adopting Luke, a guide dog. While attempting to catch a New York City subway last September, Golub fell onto the tracks as a train rapidly approached. He was clipped and dragged by the train as Luke and bystanders frantically attempted to help. Miraculously Golub escaped the harrowing and what could have been a fatal ordeal with only minor scrapes and bruises. Undaunted and as boisterous as ever, Golub stands defiantly, toting his guitar with Luke perched at his feet, at the crossroads of train tracks on the cover of his aptly titled new album, “Train Keeps A Rolling,” which will be released August 13th by Entertainment One Music.

Golub’s 12th solo album had to be something special and have a lot of soul. He teamed with British keyboard great Brian Auger for a rollicking 11-song collection of soul, jazz, blues and rock combining Golub’s raw bluesy guitar licks with Auger’s hallmark Hammond B-3 organ. Golub produced the set with Harner, a Grammy-nominated producer who shared production duties with Golub on the guitarist’s five most recent records. Anchoring the grooves were steady-as-a-rock drummer Steve Ferrone, who was an original member of the acclaimed jazz-rock ensemble Brian Auger & The Oblivion Express, and bassist Derek Frank, who also had a history playing with Auger. Augmenting the tracks were percussionist Luis Conte and a lively horn section comprised of Mindi Abair (alto sax), Nick Lane (trombone), Dave Woodford (baritone sax, flute) and Steve Madaio (trumpet). Making guest appearances on the vocal selections were Christopher Cross, Ambrosia’s David Pack and Alex Ligertwood, who was also an original member of The Oblivion Express … Great stuff, highly recommended ~ ABYSSJazz

Additional information and a list of tour dates that Golub will play with Auger in support of “Train Keeps A Rolling” are available at www.jeffgolub.com.

Train Keeps A Rolling, available on Amazon: click, take a test drive, pre-order today!

Filed Under: New Releases Tagged With: AbyssJazz Magazine, Blues, Brian Auger, Contemporary Jazz, Jeff Golub, New Release, Soul Music, Train Keeps A Rolling

Music Review: Sharon Rae North

February 22, 2013 by Lyndah

She’s smooth, cool, and puts you in the mood, for jazz!

With the release of her second CD in 2012, Gee Baby, an album of jazz standards, Sharon Rae North is poised to take center stage as an incredible female jazz vocalist.  Like the legendary voices of Ella and Nina, Sharon can be equally defined by her clarity and phrasings. You hear every word she sings and her distinctive phraseology puts her brand on each song; they become hers!

Always eager to listen to new music or an artist that I am not familiar with, I sat back in my listening chair with eyes closed, an open mind, and a receptive heart – as the songs, the vocalist, and the musicians spoke. The following is what I heard:

“Gee Baby, Ain’t I Good To You,” a jazzy piece of the blues, opens the set. Sharon and her crew turn this baby every way but loose. Keith Willingham’s horn is real sweet!  “Don’t Go to Strangers,” beautiful arrangement and Sharon’s interpretation of this song is awesome. I really like the gutsy; ‘this joint is jumpin’ type vibe on “Evening,” its Ruth Brownish or a modern version of Bessie Smith. Lucy Kilpatrick’s keys are off the chain. “Midnight Sun” highlights the uniqueness of Ms. North’s voice; the presentation is raw and sensual.

Oh my goodness! “If Ever I Would Leave You” speaks to the soul; a great composition for Sharon’s voice and her use of varying pitches. “If Love is Good to Me” is sung as if Ms. North is reciting poetry and on “When He Makes Music’s” her delivery is clear and relatable. The last stop on this musical odyssey is a personal favorite, “Better Than Anything.” The vocal calisthenics and keyboard gymnastics are incredible.

“The brilliance of good music is that it doesn’t lose luster over time; it retains its value and worth and becomes a topic for discussion when jazz lovers talk that talk.”  Gee Baby is very much a collaborative affair: Lucy Kilpatrick on keys; Jason Jenkins, acoustic bass; Keith Willingham, trumpet and Billy Williams on drums; great arrangements, excellent musicians and “the voice,” Sharon Rae North, came together on this project like five peas in a pod giving Jazz Diggers something  to talk about! … Strongly recommended – ABYSSJazz Magazine

Gee Baby, Ain’t I Good To You

click link and enjoy

Available at 32 Bar Records Store; Gee Baby!

 

 

Filed Under: Artists Tagged With: Blues, Jazz, New Release, Sharon Rae North, Vocals

December/January Jazz, Blues, & Other Regional Events

December 5, 2012 by Lyndah

“Jazz music is a language, sometimes intimate, often boisterous, but always layered with experience and life profoundly lived.”

Jazzland Café – Live Jazz every Fri. & Sat. Night –  Jazzland Cafe

DEC 11 –  Ruth Eckerd Hall: Flavor of Jazz VII feat. Peter White, Rick Braun, & Mindi Abair

DEC 12 –  Florida Theater: Peter White Christmas feat. Rick Braun and Mindi Abair

DEC 13 –  Ritz Museum and Gallery: Through Our Eyes 2012

DEC 15 –  Ritz Family Christmas & Artist Market: FREE; food, games, movies, gifts

JAN 05 –  Ritz Jazz Jam: Cyrus Chestnut; Two Shows! 7 pm and 10 pm

JAN 05 –  Ruth Eckerd Hall: B.B. King @ 8:00 PM

JAN 06 –  Florida Theater: B. B. King 8:00

JAN 25 –  FAMU Lee Hall: Langston Hughes Project with Malcolm-Jamal Warner

Have A Merry Christmas from ABYSSJazz, Peter, Rick, and Mindi

Filed Under: Music Events Tagged With: Blues, Contemporary Jazz, Instrumental Music, Jazz Festivals, Jazz Magazines, Music Festivals, Vocals

November Jazz Festivals and Regional Events

November 5, 2012 by Lyndah

“Jazz – an American art form and an international phenomenon! Jazz is not the result of choosing a tune, but an ideal that is created first in the mind, inspired by ones passion and willed next in playing music.”

Jazzland Café – Live Jazz every Fri. & Sat. Night –  Jazzland Cafe

Nov 8 to 11 & 17/18 –  Granada Jazz Festival

Nov 9 to 19 – London Jazz Festival

Nov 10 – St. Augustine, FL Amphitheatre – Buddy Guy and Johnny Long

Nov 10 – Jazz & Colors

Nov 10 to 17 – D’jazz Nevers Festival

TBA – Tranquility Jazz Festival

Nov 12 to 17 –  Padova Porche Jazz Festival

Nov 15 – Ponte Vedra Concert Hall – Acoustic Alchemy

Nov 15 to 17 – Les Nuits du Festival

Nov 16 to 18 – Teignmouth Jazz Festival

Nov 17 – Ritz Theatre – Jacksonville – Aaron Bing

Nov 17 & 19 – Miami Jazz Fest

Nov 21 to 25 – Thanksgiving Dixieland Jazz Festival

Nov 22 to 24 – Riviera Maya Jazz Festival

Nov 23 –   Florida Theater – Jacksonville – 2 Chanz

Nov 25 – Jazz Goes to Campus

Nov 29 to Dec 2 – Penang, Malaysia

 

 

 

Filed Under: Music Events Tagged With: Acoustic Alclemy, Blues, Buddy Guy, FL- Amphitheatre, International Jazz Festivals, Jazz Festivals, Jazz Music, Johnny Long, Music Festivals, Ponte Vedra Concert Hall, Ritz Theatre, St. Augustine

July Jazz Festivals and Events

July 9, 2012 by Lyndah

Jazzland Café – Live Jazz every Fri. & Sat. Night –  Jazzland Cafe

July 11 – Janice & Vinnie Zummo – Music on the Hill – Santa Fe, NM

July 21 & Aug 25 –  Jersey Shore Jazz & Blues Featival

July 8 thru Aug 24 –  Cooperstown Summer Music Festival

July 12 & 13 –  Yellowstone Jazz Festival

July 13 to 15 –  International Bluesfest

July 14 & 15 –  New Rochelle Jazz Festival

July 18 to 20 –  July Jazz

July 20 & 21 –  JazzFest West

July 20 to 22 –  Greater Hartford Festival of Jazz

July 20 to 22 – Columbus Jazz & Rib Festival

July 27 to 29 –  Evergreen Jazz Festival

July 28 –  Sioux Falls Jazz festival

July 28 & 29 –  Caramoor Music Festival

Filed Under: Music Events Tagged With: Art and Music, Blues, Contemporary Jazz, Funk, Instrumental Music, Jazz Festivals, Jazz Music, Music Festivals, R&B, Traditional Jazz, Vocals

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