Nancy’s live performances are legendary. She has earned many awards and enlisted
fans from around the globe. In a market place where wispy voices and shallow
emotions abound, Ms. Kelly is a breath of fresh air…or should we say, smoky air; she
takes us back to the time when jazz – and that includes vocal jazz -- was an authentic
expression of real emotion. Kelly’s refined stage presence, style, and the ability to quickly capture the emotions of
her audience isn’t the only thing that places Nancy in a league of her own--the lady
was “Born to Swing”, and she means business. Nancy Kelly’s vocal style is a study in phrasing, style and swing. She’s both old
school and new. She’s experienced, yet her delivery and ideas are fresh. She can take
a song and turn it up or down, and leave you believing that it was meant to be exactly
that way. It takes great jazz chops to do that, and Kelly’s are superb. Starting at age four in her hometown of Rochester, New York, Nancy studied piano,
clarinet, drama and dance with private instructors, and voice at the Eastman School of
Music. During her thirty-plus year career she has honed her trademark swing/bop take
no prisoner’s back-to-the-roots swinging style in front of audiences across the U.S.
and abroad--from Singapore to Switzerland, France, and Turkey to her 3 tours of
Japan. Nancy appears regularly in New York City including performances at The
Blue Note, Birdland and The Rainbow Room and Dizzy’s Jazz club, Lincoln Center.
She works frequently in Los Angeles and Miami, as well as countless jazz clubs,
festivals, and symphony orchestra engagements across the country. NANCY KELLY
How many active bluesmen today can claim to stock a homemade, single
string cigar box guitar in their arsenal and play it while wearing a
priest’s collar, all while being backed by a percussionist and washboard
player who prefers to use his hands over drumsticks and spoons? There’s
only one, and his name is Reverend K. M. Williams.Born in 1956 in Clarksville, Williams grew up in Red River County in
Northeast Texas, where he soaked in the sounds of blues and R&B
music broadcast from WLAC radio out of Nashville. Artists like John Lee
Hooker, Blind Willie Johnson, and R. L. Burnside all made strong
impressions on Williams as he was coming up, and one of his first
introductions to guitar came in the early sixties at the hands of an
itinerant blues player believed to be Elmore James. It would be almost
two decades before Williams’ career started to take off, but that long
journey has led him to open shows for legends like the Holmes Brothers,
Little Milton, and Robert Jr. Lockwood, and he shared a bill with Mavis
Staples in Europe, where he has returned three times and performed in
front of thousands.The Reverend is a bona fide ordained minister in the Holiness Church and
has been performing his unique brand of earthy gospel blues regularly
in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area since the nineties. He calls himself the
Texas Country Blues Preacher, and for good reason. I tell people all the
time that gospel music and blues are basically the same. I always said
that with the blues, you’re asking questions about life, or you’re just
expressing how you feel about what you’re going through. And gospel is
the answer to those questions. But it’s still the same feeling. I play
gospel music the same way I play blues—honest and funky, just real. REV.KM WILLIAMS
Michael is a singer, songwriter, recording artist, and great guitar
player first and foremost... He has been recording, performing and
perfecting his craft for 30 years plus... in addition to singing and
playing, writing great songs, and arrangements... he has 4 great CDs,
and many copyrighted works to his credit, and is on his own Indie
Label...Finally receiving notoriety and airplay worldwide in 2007 for the
release of his "Lost In the Blues" album... and the re-release of his
"Easy Money" album. Both of these CDs are on digital jukeboxes
everywhere... He continues to establish himself as a solo artist, though
he has played with many great musicians along the way... Tommy Bolin,
Toy Caldwell (Marshal Tucker Band), Johnny Lee, Charlie Musselwhite,
Mark Naftlin (Butterfield Blues Band), Katy Moffat and many other great
artists... some you have heard of and some you have not...The new CD "Why I Sing The Blues" is his absolute best ever... and a
must listen... it is already receiving great reviews, and airplay,
including regular rotation on internet, college, public and commercial
radio stations... known and respected worldwide you will no doubt hear
more of his music well into the future...MICHAEL HARRISON BLUES
When Tumi Mogorosi composed this suite for jazz musicians and opera
vocalists he had never heard the previous successful attempts by Donald
Byrd, Max Roach or Mary Lou Williams to combine these seemingly
'unfriendly'aesthetics. Tumi, born in 1987 and already an accomplished
drummer on the Jo'Burg scene, was at the time studying music at the
Tshwane University of Pretoria where he became close friends with opera
singers working on the same campus. So unlike some of his US peers
Tumi's beliefs are not 'religious'.
Surprisingly, Tumi's suite wasn't influenced by these great elders'
masterpieces, but anyone who listens to this album will agree that the
suite encaptures the soaring spirituality that made these experiments of
the '60s the beloved classics that they are today. Tumi does not belong
to any religious group.
This album is neither a jazz mass like Mary Lou William's Black Christ
of the Andes, nor a compilation of devotional pieces like Donald Byrd's
Christo Redentor. Project Elo stands for Project Elohim, the angelic
entities of the spiritual scriptures which are in the drummer's
philosophy, a symbol for accomplished human beings.
The spirituality the album conveys is attuned to a 21st century
syncretic, non dogmatic vision infused with esotericism. Recorded live
with no overdubs in two days by a group of friends, this album captures a
moment of Eternity and will defy any idea you may have of what South
African jazz is. Tumi's music transcends labels and styles. When
composing or playing he is only concerned with being true to the
primodial source of life, which cannot be confined to any genre.TUMI MOGOROSI
If there’s a performer today that embodies the oft-applied moniker of
“songwriter’s songwriter” it’s Houston favorite, Matt Harlan. A
troubadour of the first degree, Matt has been bringing his songs of
bus-stops, coffee-shops and lives overlooked to stages across his
home-state of Texas, the USA and Europe.Born and raised in Texas, Harlan soaked up the richness of the state and
its song-smiths while bouncing between its big cities and small towns.
With three studio albums to his name, Harlan exposes a range of
influences, to interpret a generation steeped in plastic yet filtered
through the Hill Country limestone. His expressive vocals recall Chris
Smither and Chris Knight, shading his poignant songs with soaring heart
and aching grit.Matt has just released his third album, "Raven Hotel," which was
recorded in Austin, TX with producer, Rich Brotherton. The collection
features tunes in a variety of moods and is being well received by
national and international Americana radio, earning a #1 debut on the
Euro Americana Charts.Harlan is a winner of multiple songwriting accolades, from outfits like
American Songwriter and Billboard. Most recently he was awarded the 2013
Singer-Songwriter of the Year at the Texas Music Awards and was
featured alongside a stellar cast of characters (Lyle Lovett, Guy Clark)
in the documentary, “For the Sake of the Song.” MATT HARLAN
Joe Camilleri, writer of milestone Australian songs such as So Young,
Hit And Run, Shape I’m In, Hold On To Me, Harley and Rose, Chained To
The Wheel and Never Let Me Go, has given his life to making music in
this country. Leader of two of Australia’s most successful bands, Jo Jo
Zep and The Falcons and The Black Sorrows, Joe’s music has become part
of Australian music culture. Joe was inducted along with other members
of the Falcons, into the Australian Recording Industry (ARIA Hall of
Fame) in 2007.In 1975 Joe, a self taught musician from Melbourne’s western suburbs,
formed Jo Jo Zep and The Falcons, a band who swung from R’n’B to reggae,
power pop and ska. Over a period of 8 years The Falcons amassed
enviable sales and radio airplay and ultimately epitomised the era. Jo
Jo Zep and The Falcons toured the country relentlessly and became one of
Australia’s finest live outfits. The band also toured the USA.In the early ‘80s Camilleri and friends started up a new band, The Black
Sorrows. Originally a ‘just for the fun of it’ outfit, The Sorrows have
released 12 albums over the past fifteen years and sold well over a
million albums world-wide. The Black Sorrows has always been an elastic
band and over its life has been home to some 32 of Australia’s finest
musical talents. Vika and Linda Bull, Jen Anderson, Stephen Hadley,
Michael Barker, Peter Luscombe, Nick Smith, Ross Hannaford and James
Black (just to name a few) have all been part of the fertile Joe
Camilleri/Black Sorrows fold and all have gone on to play with the best
of the best in this country. JOE CAMILLERI
Benjamin Herman (alto saxophone, C-melody saxophone, flute) began
playing saxophone at the age of twelve, and was soon active on the
professional club circuit. By the time he received the Wessel Ilcken Prize at 21, he had already performed all over the world.In 1991, the year he graduated with honours at Hilversum Conservatory, Herman was the only European selected for the Thelonious Monk Competition. Other candidates included Joshua Redman, Chris Potter and Eric Alexander.Back from studying with Dick Oatts at the Manhattan School of Music in New York, Benjamin Herman soon began initiating his own projects, including the pioneering New Cool Collective ensemble.As one of Holland’s most productive and prominent jazz musicians,
Benjamin Herman is a much sought-after soloist. He has played and
recorded with Rein de Graaf, Fra Fra Big Band, Michiel Borstlap, Candy
Dulfer, Jazz Orchestra of the Concertgebouw, Misha Mengelberg, Paul
Weller and Georgie Fame.He has also made a name as a composer at home
and abroad.Herman plays numerous concerts each year with New Cool Collective
and his quartet (Benjamin Herman: alto sax, Jesse van Ruller: guitar,
Carlo de Wijs: Hammond organ, Martijn Vink: drums) strongly inspired by
popular dance-floor jazz. New Cool Collective and the New Cool
Collective Big Band often perform at international pop venues and
festivals, resulting in a following far beyond the normal jazz concert
crowd. BENJAMIN HERMAN
The music combines all the different musical traditions Joe has been
involved in – years of Classical training (composing from an early age,
singing in choirs and playing in orchestras), whilst at the same time
playing in all manner of bands and ensembles, DJing and producing, and
performing live improvised experimental music.By tapping into the energy of virtuoso drum solos and adding the
elements of other music that are dark and beautiful, he creates
Electronic music made with acoustic instruments, drums, field recordings
and natural sounds – intense, beat-driven Classical textures with
layers of energy, emotion and atmosphere.Like all of Joe's mixtapes, there is a broad and multi-layered range
of music and sound from around the world, from contemporary releases
stretching back to the 1940's and something from every decade in-between
- including imagined collaborations such as Burial with vocals from
Argentinian folk legend Mercedes Sosa, or Linton Kwesi Johnson reciting
poetry over Tipper's immaculately-produced beats.There is also a
wealth of sound design and spoken word, taken from interviews with
composers, radio programmes (many recorded by Joe), and poetry recitals.Other
artists making appearances in this fast-paced mix include Four Tet,
King Tubby, Frank Sinatra, Junip, Kidkanevil and Daisuke Tanabe,
Squarepusher, The Four Tops, DJ Shadow, Floex, Finley Quaye, Clarinet
Factory, Origamibiro and many more…HIDDEN ORCHESTRA
Polish duo Skalpel channeled the influence of their homeland's rich jazz
traditions into their own contemporary electronic sound. DJs/producers
Marcin Cichy and Igor Pudlo first teamed in Wroclaw, Poland, in 1998.
Working in virtual anonymity, Skalpel soon began assembling the first of
their Eastern European fusion-inspired cut-and-paste mosaics by
sampling classic LPs from artists including Krzysztof
Komeda, Tomasz Stanko, and the Novi Sisters, spending months and even
years in search of the right sounds to complete each individual track.
In 2000 Pudlo interviewed Ninja Tune label artist DJ Vadim for the
Polish hip-hop magazine Klan. Soon after, Vadim invited Skalpel to tour
Poland with his Russian Percussion ensemble, and after returning to
Wroclaw the duo issued their debut CD-R, Polish Jazz. Despite limited
distribution, the release was the subject of rapturous acclaim and in
2001 Ninja Tune extended a record deal. Skalpel spent the next three
years working on its self-titled debut LP, earning comparison to jazz
icons Miles Davis and Herbie Hancock with the end result. Konfusion
followed in 2007. SKALPEL
