Charlie Dennard has arranged a collection of Brazilian songs for an
eclectic band of New Orleans jazz musicians to create a unique sound — a
blend of New Orleans and Brazilian jazz that defies category. New
Orleans second-line rhythms mix with boogaloo. Vibrant brass band horns
mix with Latin percussion. Mellifluous contemporary jazz piano mixes
with cello. And ambient electronica mixes with an improvisational jazz
quartet and an angelic, classic female Brazilian voice. The result is
truly an album – a diverse set of Brazilian folk songs and contemporary
Brazilian compositions crafted into a coherent whole thanks to Dennard’s
vision and a stellar group of players from the New Orleans jazz scene.Although truly unique, the recording is hardly contrived. Dennard’s arrangements and versatility on the keyboard give the album a natural
and organic feel. “From Brazil to New Orleans” takes the listener on a
journey that pays tribute to several lesser-known Brazilian composers
and places them firmly on the map in multi-cultural New Orleans. The
album underscores the Crescent City’s essential character as an
Afro-Caribbean port city. And the album does something exceedingly
rare: It creates, in some cases, something akin to a new genre. CHARLIE DENNARD
Born: April 16t, 1958 in Halmstad, Sweden. Ulf Wakenius. A jazz
guitarist extraordinaire acclaimed and celebrated all over the world.
Between 1997 and 2007 Ulf held what may have been the most prestigious
spot in jazz for a guitarist: a chair in the Oscar Peterson Quartet.This
was the coronation of a career which included many record-breaking
moments.Wakenius guitar duo Guitars Unlimited rocked Scandinavia in the
early 80s, culminating in the 1985 Melody Grand Prix, which was seen by
600 million viewers, probably the largest audience a jazz guitar duo
ever had. Shortly after that Wakenius started a extremely successful and
long-lasting collaboration with the legendary bass player
Niels-Henning Örsted Pedersen.( NHOP), and both of his duo albums with
bass icon Ray Brown, topped the US Jazz Charts.The last few years he's
been touriing the world with the amazing Korean singer Youn Sun Nah.Oscar Peterson has publicly described Ulf as one of
the greatest guitarists alive in the world today and many of today’s
most acclaimed jazz guitarists are among Ulf’s fans, including Pat
Metheny, John McLaughlin, John Scofield and Mike Stern. Great Rhythmic
feel combines with a extraordinary lyrical touch- his emphasis is always
on melodies and groove. He has been filmed by Clint Eastwood. His next
release on ACT will be Ulf Wakenius-Solo "Momento Magico" ULF WAKENIUS
For The Revelations, their latest offering, The Cost Of Living
(Decision/Sony RED), is a labor of love years in the making. Since they
first came on the scene in 2008 with their Deep Soul EP(Decision),
Brooklyn, NY’s The Revelations have represented a twenty-first-century
take on classic soul—one which shows reverence for the masters, but with
a uniquely modern sensibility—a sound The New York Times’ Jon Pareles
calls “revivalism without poses or quotation marks”.
On The Cost Of Living, Rell Gaddis assumes the lead vocal duties
previously provided by Tre Williams. This is by no means Rell’s debut
with The Revelations, however. Rell has been part of the group’s writing
team from their onset, and performed with the band for years, even
contributing lead vocals to “It’s Too Late” from their 2009 album The
Bleeding Edge (Decision). Since being signed to Jay-Z’s Roc-a-fella
Records back in 1997, Rell has had a prolific singing and writing
career, creating his own records, as well as penning and lending vocals
to songs featuring artists Usher (Rell wrote Usher's #1 RnB Hit "Here I
Stand"), Jay-Z, Kanye West, Mary J Blige, and many more.
This workman-like mentality is pervasive throughout the band as well.
The Revelations feature Wes Mingus on guitar, Gintas Janusonis on drums,
and newcomer Ben Zwerin on bass. Each accomplished performing and
session musicians in their own right, The Revelations have combined to
provide music for icons such as the Wu-Tang Clan and Lee “Scratch”
Perry, as well as soul royalty Otis Clay, Willie Clayton, Benny
Latimore, and Swamp Dogg.
The distinctive blues/rock/soul sound of The Cost Of Living was recorded
at soul mecca Royal Studios in Memphis, TN, produced by Bob Perry with
Lawrence “Boo” Mitchell, as well as The Revelations themselves. For this
project, the band is joined by Stax and Hi Records session legends
Bobby Manuel (guitar), Lester Snell (keyboards), and Charles Hodges
(organ). Lyrically, The Cost Of Living weaves tales of perseverance
despite hardship. From the opening track, “Mama”, about a single mother
scrounging to raise her children, to the jaded optimism of “It’s Ok”,
the pragmatism of “Money Makes The World Go ‘Round”, and the
heart-broken disillusionment of the soul classic “Got To Use My
Imagination”, The Revelations continue their tradition of presenting
blues topics with soul music's urgency.
The Revelations’ engaging and energetic live performances continue to
win over audiences from Brooklyn to the Mississippi Delta to California
and beyond, creating fans such as A-listers B.B. King, Bobby Womack and
Stevie Wonder in the process. This is new, true soul music with a sharp,
modern edge. THE REVELATIONS
Kent was born June 10, 1971 in Baptist Hospital, Memphis, TN to Mildred
Jean Burnside and Joe Eddie Johnson. He grew up in North Mississippi in
the Holly Springs area where he was influenced by his grandfather, RL
Burnside, at a very young age. RL started teaching Kent how to play
guitar at 9 yrs. old telling him, "you gotta take a groove and just keep
on driving it til you come up with your own style." In the beginning,
Kent felt more comfortable playing the bass guitar but would eventually
move on to lead and slide after watching RL, also being influenced by
Duwayne, Gary, & Cedric Burnside.
Some clubs and festivals Kent has played includes the Telluride
Blues Festival, Minnesota Blues Festival, Buddy Guys, House of Blues,
and received #1 at the Battle of the Blues Bands at Morgan Freeman's
Ground Zero.
The first record Lucky13 Recordings will be releasing for Kent is a
compilation of two unreleased albums. The first, 'Never Again',
features the entire Burnside family including Duwayne, Gary, RL Jr.,
Cedric, Joseph, Dexter & Calvin Jackson (Cedric's father). The
second is a mix that produced by James Mathus (Squirrel Nut Zippers)
including artists Eric Deaton, Lightening Malcolm, & Gary Burnside.
Lucky13 Recordings then plans to have Kent travel to Los Angeles to
record a studio and a live album with documentary footage produced by
Jimmie Wood and Scott Hatch.
Kent has 6 children, his oldest daughter Keanna attending college in California. KENT BURNSIDE
Although he's previously dropped albums for the likes of Freestyle, "Big
Picture" cements the new bond between Quasamodo and Jalapeno following a
tester EP release last year. Boosted by the positive reaction to the
EP, he's back and he's got both the Q Orchestra and long time vocal
collaborator Thaliah covering his back. It's an explosive team,
delivering 13 old school funk bombs, some of which are even peppered by
the occasional rap! Every once in awhile the right combination of artists come together to
create something that drips with the soul of pastime funk and the flare
of contemporary grooves. Quasamodo meets up with the massive Q Orchestra
from Freestyle Records, to bring you a new album that embodies the
classic sound of the sultry disco days, in a fresh perspective. Eleven
tunes featuring Thaliah, Jedi Scar Tissue, Theo Goutsidis, Valia and the
unmistakableCoppa compelete this work of modern day funk mastery. QUASAMODO & THE Q ORCHESTRA
Several
venues have experienced the funk/jazz sounds of Da Phatfunk Clique. In
September of 1998, violinist Darrell “D-Funk” Looney began collaborating
with several musicians on what would be the first release in 1999,
Pandemic Love. The sound is unique as the violin is the lead instrument.
Da Phatfunk Clique was formed as a band by January of 2000, utilizing
local talent in support of the album release. Out of this effort came
development of a unique sound, both jazzy and funky, that has been
described as an amalgamation of jazz from Mahavishnu Orchestra and funk
ambience of George Clinton's P-Funk. True to form, these are among the
group's influences as are artists such as Jean Luc Ponty, Herbie
Hancock, George Duke and Noel Pointer. Da Phatfunk Clique has morphed
into a musical collaborative concept with varying members, still under
the direction of violinist Darrell Looney.The current release
entitled “Phat Jazz” builds upon the concept of funky jazz to elevate
the mood and is our 4th CD! Darrell “D-Funk” Looney takes the vibe to
the next level with 11 new all original tracks. "I am happy to get back
to playing a little keyboards and even some bass guitar for this
project", says Darrell Looney. There is very notable collaborating going
on with several fine musicians including jazz luminary Bob Baldwin who
brings his own brand of funky jazziness on the track entitled “For Sake
Of The Art”. This is a serious vibe to experience! PHATFUNK CLIQUE
Spent four years in Boston, MA at Berklee College of Music
where I received my degree in Contemporary Writing and Production as a
vocal principal. While there I met and befriended a bunch of insanely
talented and inspiring people who have helped me in finding and
continuing the musical journey I'm currently on. I will forever hold
these people dear to my heart. In my senior year of
college, I ran The Berklee Entrepreneur Action Team. Inspired by a
performance my band had participated in at Penn State's THON, I founded
and directed an 8-hour dance marathon dubbed "Keeping the HeartB.E.A.T."
The event and our team brought over 600 people to the House of Blues
Boston and generated over 12,000 dollars, which was donated towards
pediatric care and research at the Jimmy Fund.I released my debut album, Good People,
a 12 song LP, I co-produced with my band-mate and dear friend, Johnny
Simon Jr, on January 7th, 2011 independently. There are a lot of really
special people who both played and worked on the album with me and I'm
pretty sure I won't experience making another album quite like that one.I've seen about 55% of the country touring and playing music, both with
my band and bands I've played in. Between traveling from show to show
and taking pictures on my iphone of sunsets and sunrises and yelping the
best local breakfast spots, I've been fortunate to meet and/or share
the stage with other soul/funk acts like, Charles Neville, Eli
'Paperboy' Reed, Jesse Dee, The Funky Meters and Nigel Hall, in places
like The Whisky a Go-Go, World Cafe Live, Brooklyn Bowl, Hotel Cafe, and
Bear Creek Music Festival.I hope to see the rest of the country and
travel overseas, playing sweet soul tunes and traveling with people I
love for a long time. NICKY EGAN
A master of tone and phrasing, Robin Banks has a vocal style, strength
and clarity that has been compared to Etta James and Dinah Washington.
But match that with the charisma and boldness of a Tina Turner and
you'll understand why Robin Banks has the world on a string!Robin Banks has her roots deeply dug. Born in Canada a mere 50 miles
from Detroit, then transplanted to Dallas, and then Jamaica, Banks is a
diverse, international artist who is clearly comfortable with Jazz,
Classic R&B, Soul, even Reggae. She’s often lauded for her
captivating live performance, her confident ability to connect and
affect each member of her audience, her sincerity and certainly her
authenticity. Robin Banks has established herself as a fearless, female
force in International Blues circles recording and performing with the
likes of Duke Robillard, Doug James and a long list of legendary Texas,
West Coast and Chicago musicians. A powerful songwriter as well, Tom
Hyslop of Blues Revue Magazine was quoted as saying Banks writes
compositions "that lyrically echo the song craft of Cole Porter and the
Gershwins". ROBIN BANKS
Karen Vrijburg is a jazzvocalist/composer based in The Netherlands. A collision with jazz early in life ignited a lifelong
journey of free exploration
which she describes as ”a long and turbulent but very satisfying love
affair” with music. She occasionally performs in the Amsterdam area in
an intimate high voltage setting. She lives with her family near the
coast of the North Sea.Karen Vrijburg voice compositions ( track 1,2,3,5,9,11)
Dirk Balthaus piano, string arrangements
Marco Zenini bass,
Etienne Nillesen drums
Natalio Sued tenor saxophone, clarinet, flute
Jasper Le Clercq violin
Jeffrey Bruinsma violin
Oene van Geel viola
Emile Visser cello. Recorded at Powersound Studio, Amsterdam,
Sound Engineer - Paul Pouwer
Producer - Karen Vrijburg
Label-Distribution- Berthold Records, Germany,
Photograpy - Keke Keutelaa.
KAREN VRIJBURG
