NEW RELEASES: OMAR SOSA / PAOLA FRESU - EROS; GEORGE DUKE – SHINE ON: THE ANTHOLOGY-THE EPIC YEARS; SHAUN ESCOFFERY - EVERGREEN

OMAR SOSA / PAOLA FRESU - EROS 

Eros follows the success of Omar Sosa and Paolo Fresu's 2012 debut CD, ALMA, and four years of distinguished international touring.  EROS delves deeply into the energy, poetry, and spirituality of love - a suite of songs inspired by the human emotions that lead beauty into the divine.  The recording is enriched by cello contributions from Brazilian master Jaques Morelenbaum (who was also a guest on ALMA), from the enchanting Maghreb singer Natacha Atlas (who creates a luminous version of Teardrop by Massive Attack), and from the Italian Alborada String Quartet (who have graced many projects in the Paolo Fresu catalog).

GEORGE DUKE – SHINE ON: THE ANTHOLOGY-THE EPIC YEARS

A tremendous run of music from the great George Duke – an artist who'd already spent many years in the jazz and soul world before hitting his time at Epic Records – where he really took off on a great run of tracks like this! Duke started out as a straight jazz player in the 60s, then worked a bit with Frank Zappa on some really far-out sounds – and also got the chance to cut a run of fantastic spacey fusion sets for the MPS label – all experience that gave him plenty of time to try out new ideas on the keyboards, and find the right sort of space for his musical soul. At Epic, George took all those ideas and experience, and forged them down into some wonderful sounds that effortlessly blended soul, jazz, funk, and fusion – to a level that instantly made Duke the leading light in his field, and a creative talent who helped give exposure to a lot of other artists too. This smoking set features 38 tracks from those years – a really wonderfully-chosen collection that does a great job of touching all the right bases, and including some of our favorite George Duke material from the Epic recordings! Titles include "Reach For It", "Scuse Me Miss", "Yeah We Going", "Dukey Stick (parts 1 & 2)", "I Am For Real", "Movin On", "Pluck", "Brazilian Love Affair", "Games", "Shine On", "Dream On", "Reach Out (parts 1 & 2)", "Secret Rendezvous", "Heroes (voc)", "Dukey Stick (long version)", "Party Down", "Son Of Reach For It", "Finding My Way", "Positive Energy", "Thinking Of You", "Celebrate", "You Are The Light", "Say That You Will", "You & Me", "Don't Let Go", and "The Way I Feel". ~ Dusty Groove

SHAUN ESCOFFERY - EVERGREEN

Why isn't Shaun Escoffery bigger? He's easily been one of the top soul singers in the world for over a decade – and a record like this should be in everyone's collection! Shaun's always had a cutting edge sound in his music – and this time around, he inflects it with a bit of classic soul too – mixing his 21st Century style with a sound that puts him rock solidly in the territory of Al Green, Marvin Gaye, or Bobby Womack – all artists we wouldn't hesitate to compare Shaun to – given the depth and consistency of his music! The record's a stunner – maybe the one that will finally break Escoffery to a bigger global audience – and even if it doesn't, it's one you'll be loving for years – which we know we will. Titles include "Love Shine Down", "Evergreen", "Healing Me", "When Love Is Gone", "Here Comes The Rain Again", "Lost For Words", "Win Again", and "Teachers". ~ Dusty Groove

NEW RELEASES: DALINDEO – SLAVIC SOULS; TOM HARRELL – SOMETHING GOLD, SOMETHING BLUE; DEGO – MORE THINGS STAY THE SAME

DALINDEO – SLAVIC SOULS

A new sort of a shift for Dalindeo – as you might guess from the title – as the group adds in a bit of slavic roots to their usual jazzy groove! The core instrumentation is still live jazz, but the group also touch on some older Finnish tango modes with the rhythms, and work with the increased use of electric guitar we've heard on some of their more recent efforts – all of which makes for a sound that's unlike anything else you've probably heard! The tenor and trumpet tie together beautifully, creating rich waves of sound with lots of jazzy energy – while the guitar has a classic electro twang at times, soaring out over the heavy percussion and drums. Two tracks feature a guest vocalist – and titles include "Avalanche", "Hips & Curves", "Tell Me", "Bolero For Miss B", "Tarantella Finlandese", "Johnny's Nightmare", and "Slavic Souls". ~ Dusty Groove

TOM HARRELL – SOMETHING GOLD, SOMETHING BLUE

Trumpeter Tom Harrell has always been a chromatic player – but this time around, there seems to be even more chromes in his music than usual – a wonderful array of colors and tones that grab our ears right from the very first note! Perhaps it's the title – which is certainly evocative – but the music also has some great elements from the guitar of Charles Altura, who's able to cascade chords in this effortless way from the strings of his instrument – and trumpeter Ambrose Akimusire is also on the record, joining Tom in the frontline, and bringing his equally colorful sound to the music! Rhythms are nice and organic – sometimes with a rootsy vibe that's a nice offset to the trumpet and guitar – and the group features Ugonna Okegwo on bass and Johnathan Blake on drums. Omer Avital plays oud on one track – "Delta Of The Nile" – and other titles include "Trances", "Keep On Goin", "Sound Image", "The Vehicle", "Travelin", and "Circuit". ~ Dusty Groove

DEGO – MORE THINGS STAY THE SAME

Brilliant work from Dego – a rich continuation of the 4Hero groove, but set to styles that are very much Dego's own! The vibe here follows nicely from some of his well-circulated mixes from a few years back – but Dego's directing all the music himself in this flurry of skittish beats and cosmic keyboards – the latter of which are played wonderfully by Kaidi Tatham! In fact, the album's got some of the spiritual currents that we love in Kaidi's music – although the overall focus is definitely more in the 4Hero mode, especially when vocals from Sharlene Hector come into the mix, and really set the tunes home. Titles include "Shine A Light", "It Don't Get No Better", "Greed & Power", "Help Me Out", "We've Been Here Before", "Feminist Meetings", and "The Middle Ground". ~ Dusty Groove

Brazilian born, Parisian resident, DOM LA NENA releases CANTANDO

In the wake of the release of her acclaimed second full length album, Soyo, and in between her many live dates around the world, Brazilian born, Parisian resident, Dom La Nena has recorded a beautiful new EP of cover versions of some of her favorite songs. Cantando EP is set to be released on September 30, 2016 out on Six Degrees Records.

Dom explains the inspirations behind the Cantando EP and why she felt compelled to record these particular songs from this diverse group of global composers:

I am a composer, although sometimes my desire to sing the songs of other artists is strong.  These creative impulses often inspire me to record cover versions. I actually perform some of the songs chosen for the “Cantando” EP in my live concert set, others I only sing at home. All of the songs selected for this EP are long time favorites of mine, many of which I have enjoyed since I was a child.  With these four songs, I wanted to achieve a variety of moods, languages, atmospheres, time periods, and revisit my musical roots.

I approached the arrangements of these recordings with the intention of keeping things simple, a minimalist vision, placing the focus on the lyrics and the melodies.  This is why I only used my cello as accompaniment. Additionally, I found Maxime Le Guil to be one of the best sound engineers with whom I have ever worked. His delicate and insightful touch was extremely important to the creation of each arrangement.

“Felicidade," from Brazilian composer Lupicinio Rodrigues, reminds me of my childhood. It is one of the first songs I learned to play. "Felicidade" means “happiness”. I have a strong sense of contentment whenever I hear or perform this song. I think Lupicinio makes me feel so happy because she transports me back to my hometown of Porto Alegre (Lupicinio was also from there), back to my family roots. Suddenly, I am back in the school choir, singing this song with my best childhood friends.  Recording this song preserves these wonderful feelings and honors my origins.

Chilean composer and musical pioneer Violeta Parra is one of my biggest musical references and inspirations.  She was an extraordinary woman, a Latino-American innovator.  "Gracias a la Vida” will always be a part of my life. It is a song that is a part of the musical and cultural heritage of every Latino-American. I remember passionately singing this song during my teenage years while in Buenos Aires.

When I arrived in Paris for my studies, I was 18 years old, and listening non-stop to Beirut's first album, "The Gulag Orkestar.”  I don't know why but I always found Brazilian influences within the song "Scenic World," almost like a little Samba. Perhaps I felt this way because I was far from my country, and was sensitive to every little detail of life that might remind me of Brazil, making me feel closer to home.  When recording this song, I wanted to finally create the little Samba that grew from my imagination over the years.

"Les Vieux," by Belgian singer/songwriter Jacques Brel is my mother's favorite song. She was the one who introduced me to Brel's music during my childhood in Brazil before I arrived in France. It was with this song that I became familiar with the French language.

Lefteris Kordis releases Mediterrana (Goddess of Light)

Lefteris Kordis is an Athens-born and Boston-based pianist. Mediterrana (Goddess of Light), his fifth album as a leader, is an engaging, Tristano-esque exploration of traditional Mediterranean sounds.  The album was released July 26, 2016 on Inner Circle Music (INCM 052CD).

Kordis has been in the US, often in the orbit of Boston's esteemed New England Conservatory, for nearly two decades, accumulating jazz credentials with the likes of Steve Lacy, Greg Osby, and Sheila Jordan. For this record he's assembled a piano-trio-plus-guests, with drummer Ziv Ravitz and bassist Petros Klampanis at the core. Boston stalwart John Lockwood also performs on one track along with numerous other guests.

Kordis comes from a heady post-bebop tradition. He's absorbed not just the language of Tristano, but also of two Boston piano icons. From Ran Blake, he borrows a wild harmonic imagination and an impeccable touch: hear how he finds unfamiliar beauty in "And I Love Her", by the Beatles. And from studies with the influential late Boston pedagogue (and fellow Greek-American), Charlie Banacos, he's developed ear-bending facility. Kordis has the fingers and the musical mind to immediately follow any hint of redirection from his quick-witted bandmates.

His thorough connection to Greek music begins in heritage - Kordis is the grandson of a Byzantine cantor - but goes much deeper. Paralleling his impressive career as a young jazz pianist, Kordis has quickly become an in-demand instrumentalist in the international Hellenic community, collaborating with noted composer Mikis Theodorakis, traditional clarinetist Vasilis Saleas, and the singer Panayotis Lalezas, among others.

A variety of timbres on this album highlight the Hellenic tinge. Harris Lambrakis, on ney, opens the first track (In the Land of Phrygians) with grit and an earthy, disruptive joy. His playing is full of intimate ornamentation and inflections common to 'folk' music but too little heard in the context of modern jazz. Vasilis Kostas - on laouto (a Greek fretted lute), Roni Eytan - on chromatic harmonica, Sergio Martinez - on percussion, and Alec Spiegelman - on clarinet, all inject raw and unguarded lyricism into the music.

So does Kordis; with an analog synthesizer (as found in many Eastern Mediterranean wedding bands), he bends and wails and moans like an Epirot clarinetist. What's more technically impressive is how he bends and wails and moans, in equal measure, on that unforgivingly tempered and quintessentially Western instrument, the piano!

You may, of course, listen with none of that in mind. All of the aforementioned instrumental mastery is in service of the music. And Mediterrana is an engaging and original set of music by a pianist constantly creating new sounds.

http://www.leftchordmusic.com/

Bassist and Vocalist JEFF DENSON Redefines his Ever-Expanding Creative Universe with CONCENTRIC CIRCLE

A protean musical force who reveals new sonic realms with each project, Jeff Denson decided to see what it sounds like when his worlds collide. The bassist, composer, professor and bandleader has produced an array of astonishing music since settling in the San Francisco Bay Area. He's explored intricate harmonic soundscapes in Electreo with drummer Alan Hall and bassoon and electronics virtuoso Paul Hanson, and reached his widest audience collaborating with the octogenarian alto legend on 2015's The Jeff Denson Trio + Lee Konitz. His new album Concentric Circles, released on his Ridgeway label on June 24, combines the talent-laden personnel of Electreo and the Jeff Denson Trio in a startlingly original quartet.

Featuring Electreo's Hanson and Hall and the Jeff Denson Trio's pianist Dan Zemelman, Concentric Circles is a breathtaking acoustic project that focuses on the bassist's finely wrought compositions. While only two tracks feature his vocals, Denson's writing is deeply informed by his connection to the voice, a lyrical sensibility that manifests itself in his breathtaking bow work and gracefully flowing pizzicato lines. While he draws personnel from two ongoing ensembles, Denson sees Concentric Circles as encompassing yet another distinct creative domain by building on the intricately constructed chamber jazz of Secret World, his 2012 album featuring trumpeter Ralph Alessi, drummer Dan Weiss and pianist Florian Weber (his partner in the acclaimed collective trio Minsarah).

"I started with the concept of bringing these two groups together, so that's one set of circles," Denson says. "And I'm writing music dealing with interlocking melodies, wheels within wheels, themes exploring constant change and the world we live in. It's really a follow up to Secret World, a setting in which I'm really free to write and compose. The pieces aren't lead sheet style compositions. The forms are pretty complicated, with a lot of through-composed parts, written out second lines and improvised sections that touch on my circles of influence-jazz, free improv, chamber music, and the centrality of the voice."

Marked by rapid movement and vivid incident, the album opens with "City Life," a tune built on an unusual subdivision of seven inspired by the relentless momentum of New York subways. Like a Mondrian grid, the piece turns an abstract representation into the pulsing embodiment of urban experience. Driven by Zemelman's hurtling left hand, "Anticipation" exemplifies Denson's gift for crafting extended melodic lines. Navigating the long form and the unexpected harmonic progression with seeming ease, these consummate musicians make his highly challenging piece sound like an oft-played jazz standard.

One of the many pleasures provided by Concentric Circles is the way in which Denson and Hanson blend their sumptuous sounds. On "A Thought That Lingers" it's often impossible to distinguish between the double reed and the arco bass as the episodic, multi-meter tune moves from the lush opening harmonies to the jagged, almost atonal middle section and the concluding return to comforting tonality. Like Electreo, Denson sees the ensemble as a forum for exploring Hanson's unprecedented mastery. "Almost immediately after meeting him I put Electreo together and we started doing gigs in different settings," he says. "In addition to being a hyper virtuoso, Paul is arguably the top improvising bassoonist in the world."

Denson's formative source of inspiration, the voice, moves to the foreground on "Wishing Well," a gently imploring chamber jazz setting that serves as an open letter to a close friend. He puts his voice to very different use on "Once the Door Opens," a ravishing piece in which Denson's lithe bass moves in a different meter than his wordless vocal line. A spiritually charged journey, the song builds to an exquisite intertwined harmonic dance between bass, vocals, and bassoon. While conceived with lyrics, "Time Waits for No One" turned into an instrumental number with Denson bowing the melancholy, almost brooding melody.

The album closes with Duke Ellington's classic lament "I've Got It Bad." It's a brief solo bass tour de force, rendered entirely with ringing harmonics, an exercise that flows from Denson's continual quest to bring the bass into new territory. "I wanted to see what I could do to make it sound like a chordal instrument," he says. "You can make the bass sound like a flute or angels singing, so you wouldn't even know it's this gigantic wooden box."

Make no mistake, Denson writes difficult music. The marvelous coherence and captivating interplay on Concentric Circles is a testament to these musicians' capacious skills. Zemelman is "a very creative and very musical player who's really interested in straight ahead jazz," Denson says. "But he's also very open, and a great reader. He's a great melodic improviser, who can bridge these different sounds I'm interested in with his classical background. And Alan is awesome, a super creative person. He's a fantastic visual artist who does mixed-media work with photography and found objects. And of course he's a virtuoso drummer, with amazing rhythmic control, and an incredible amount of power and energy he can bring to a group."

Born on Dec. 20, 1976 in Arlington, Virginia, Denson grew up in the orbit of Washington, DC. After playing alto sax from third grade through junior high he gave up the horn, but was drawn back to music when friends in high school recruited him as a singer for rock bands. When one of those groups also needed a bass player, he took over the spot and before long found himself drawn to the jazz and funk electric bass pantheon, "Players like Jaco, Bootsy Collins, and Stanley Clarke served as the gateway," Denson recalls. "When I heard the virtuosic electric playing in fusion, that opened the door to jazz." Listening to Miles Davis led him to the double bass, but it was Mingus who inspired him to give up his Fender. "I heard 'Haitian Fight Song' where he plays that amazing intro, and that was the defining moment," Denson says. "I knew I'd never be able to make sounds like that on an electric bass."

Although he was offered a visual arts scholarship to DC's vaunted Corcoran School of the Arts, Denson decided to study at Virginia Commonwealth University, where his passion for music gradually eclipsed his interest in painting and photography. He also studied jazz, theory and sight reading at Northern Virginia Community College while supporting himself freelancing around DC, playing jazz, orchestral music, rock covers, and leading his own funk combo as a bassist and vocalist. Earning a scholarship to Berklee College of Music, he quickly fell in with German pianist Florian Weber and Israeli drummer Ziv Ravitz, fellow students with whom he formed Minsarah. The collective trio released its debut album on Hubermusic, and followed up in 2006 with a critically hailed eponymous album on Enja Records. While touring internationally with the group Denson managed to maintain a rigorous academic career.

Recruited by Florida State University, he earned an MM in Jazz Studies and discovered an affinity for teaching. Preparing to move to New York City upon graduating Magna Cum Laude in 2005 he ran into bass giant Mark Dresser, who had just been hired as a professor at UC San Diego. With Dresser's encouragement and a full scholarship, Denson relocated to Southern California and earned his doctorate in contemporary music performance with an emphasis on composition. Throughout his San Diego sojourn, Denson continued to tour widely with Minsarah, and it was during a spate of 2006 concerts in Germany that Lee Konitz first heard the band, "the start of a great adventure," Denson says. "The stuff we do is very different than any music in his canon. Lee is a true improviser. He doesn't play licks. He really responds."

With Minsarah serving as his band, the critically hailed Lee Konitz New Quartet debuted on 2007's Deep Lee and followed up with 2009's Live at the Village Vanguard, which earned the 2010 Album of the Year Award from France's Jazzman Magazine, and 2014's Standards Live: At the Village Vanguard (all on Enja). Denson went on to demonstrate his vast versatility with simultaneous duo releases, interpreting American hymns and spirituals with powerhouse San Diego pianist Joshua White on I'll Fly Away and recording an album of free improvisation with Swiss clarinet virtuoso Claudio Puntin on Two. Since relocating to the East Bay in 2011 to take on a full professorship at the California Jazz Conservatory, Denson has forged ties with some of the Bay Area's top players, including clarinetist Ben Goldberg and guitarist Mimi Fox. A prolific composer and arranger, he's written music for an array of jazz settings, from big band to trio, as well as for string ensembles, solo bass, and a chamber opera.

He's brought his many pursuits under one umbrella with the recent unveiling of Ridgeway Arts, a non-profit designed to enhance and fortify the Bay Area scene, and to make a strong contribution to the national landscape of jazz and the arts in general, through a four-pronged plan of expression, education, presenting and documentation.  He introduced the initiative with The Jeff Denson Trio + Lee Konitz, and followed up with Arctic by Alan Hall's critically hailed electric ensemble Ratatet. With Concentric Circles, Denson continues to expand Ridgeway's possibilities, building bridges between artists, students, and audiences "to get the music to people," he says. "It's a vehicle for music that gets lost amidst the dross of mass culture."

www.jeffdenson.com

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NEW RELEASES: MICHAEL BUBLE – NOBODY BUT ME; ALEXANDER STEWART – I THOUGHT ABOUT YOU; EDDIE LEVERT – DID I MAKE YOU GO OOH

MICHAEL BUBLE – NOBODY BUT ME

Nobody But Me is the multi-Grammy, multi-platinum award winning singer’s 9th studio album.  It follows the critically acclaimed To Be Loved album. This exciting collection of original pop tunes and beautiful standards highlight Buble’s talent as a profound interpreter of the American songbook as well as his gifted songwriting and producing style. Nobody But Me was recorded in Los Angeles and Vancouver and includes three new Buble’ penned originals along with breathtaking reinventions of classics including “My Baby Just Cares For Me”, “The Very Thought of You”, Brian Wilson’s “God Only Knows” and the Johnny Mercer classic “I Wanna Be Around”.  Guest artists on the album are Megan Trainor and Black Thought (of The Roots).  The new album is co-produced by Buble along with Johan Carlsson for MXM Productions, Alan Chang, Jason “Spicy G” Goldman, The Monsters and Strangerz.  The first single, is the title track “Nobody But Me”.  The deluxe version includes three additional tracks and a limited edition lenticular artwork print. Full tracklisting: I Believe in You; My Kind of Girl; Nobody But Me; On an Evening in Roma (Sotter Celo de Roma); Today Is Yesterday's Tomorrow; The Very Thought of You; I Wanna Be Around; Someday (feat. Meghan Trainor); My Baby Just Cares for Me; This Love of Mine; Nobody But Me (Alternate w/Trumpet Version); Take You Away; and God Only Knows.

ALEXANDER STEWART – I THOUGHT ABOUT YOU

Vocalist Alexander Stewart returns with an orchestral, cinematic album, that dusts off the constraints of nostalgia, leaping forward into the contemporary and places the twenty-something Mancunian back in the UK music spotlight. Labelled as "one of the most precociously talented vocalists of his generation", Stewart's acknowledgement of both standards and popular music is greatly referenced in his choice of material, both in his live and recorded work and no more so than in this upcoming release. The 12-track album includes new takes on timeless songs, ranging from Jackie Wilson (The Sweetest Feeling) to Dusty Springfield (The Look Of Love), and from up-tempo interpretation on Etta James (I Just Want To Make Love to you), to the opening track, a sweeping orchestral mambo through a Stevie Wonder favorite (Part Time Lover). Blending with these cornerstones in popular musical legacy, are four original compositions by Stewart, (including a co-write with long time collaborator, Alex Webb) showcasing a huge development of Alexander, as both artist and now songwriter. Add to all this, a total reimagining of a Sinatra classic as the albums centerpiece (brought forward to the 21st century with a bold, new, orchestral score), 'I Thought About You' is a richly textured, contemporary record, with a modern, emotive approach to songs you know and love, delivered with conviction by Stewart.

EDDIE LEVERT – DID I MAKE YOU GO OOH

As the lead singer of preeminent Philly soul group the O'Jays, Eddie Levert has handled emotion-soaked ballads, sweat-inducing dance numbers, and thought provoking message songs for over 50 years. Not many artists can be considered icons but Eddie Levert certainly fits that mold. Blakbyrd Entertainment presents the legend, Eddie Levert, who's back with the classic sound that only he can deliver, with Did I Make You Go Ooh. Edward Willis Eddie Levert is an American singer songwriter and actor. Levert is best known as the lead vocalist of the R&B/Soul vocal group, The O'Jays. Levert was born in Birmingham, Alabama, but was raised in Canton, Ohio. While attending high school, he met buddies Walter Williams, Bill Isles, Bobby Massey, and William Powell. They were motivated to sing after seeing a performance from Frankie Lymon & the Teenagers. They formed in 1958. The O'Jays were originally known as The Triumphs and The Mascots. They were officially known as The O'Jays after they got their name from DJ Eddie O'Jay.

Their first big hit was Lonely Drifter in 1963 which was lifted off their debut album Comin Through. The O'Jays are mainly known by their hits Back Stabbers,Love Train and For the Love of Money. Levert starred and performed in the movie (The Fighting Temptations) and performed the song He Still Loves Me in 2003. Levert and his group members received the BET Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2009.

NEW RELEASES: ROSS MCHENRY – CHILD OF SOMEBODY; RISC – FULL BLAST; TODD TERRY – HOUSE MASTERS

ROSS MCHENRY – CHILD OF SOMEBODY

Brilliant work from bassist Ross McHenry, a musician who's chosen to surround himself with some top-shelf talent here – including Mark De Clive-Lowe on keyboards, Marcus Strickland on reeds, and Duane Eubanks on trumpet and flugelhorn! These all-star players are a real tribute to the musical vision that Ross has for the set – kind of an expanded suite of tracks that works together beautifully in these cascading rhythmic flows and bursts of color – not just sounds from the stars, but also contributions from Dylan Marshall on guitar, Tivon Pennicott on tenor and flute, and Corey King on trombone – plus beautifully snapping drums from Myele Manzanza, a musician who seems especially well-suited to the electric interplay between McHenry and Clive-Lowe. Titles include "Circles In A Circle", "3 Month Vortex", "Opening/Despair", "Stateless", "Clean Break", and "Child Of Somebody". (Includes download!)  ~ Dusty Groove

RISC – FULL BLAST

Pretty blistering sounds from Peter Brotzmann's Risc trio – a group that really recalls some of the mindblowing intensity he brought to the free jazz scene in his youth! The lineup features electric bass from Marino Pliakas, which really creates a lot of power at the bottom – a rumbling quality that shakes the rafters in ways that an acoustic bass couldn't achieve – matched by frenzied drum work from Michael Wertmuller, who mostly plays in skittish space all over the kit – then matched by some very freewheeling work from Brotzmann on a range of reeds. The electric bass really gives the set a different feel than other improv trio dates – but also in a way that's never "electric" in conventional modes – and titles include "Try Kraka", "Cafe Ingrid", "TTD", "Garnison Lane", "Doss House", and "Schwarspanier Street". ~ Dusty Groove

TODD TERRY – HOUSE MASTERS

A fantastic collection of tracks from the mighty Todd Terry – a talent who really jump-started the sound of American clubs with his work in the late 80s – then went onto have a huge global impact in years to come! Todd came from deep in the underground – an artist who was schooled in house and hip hop, and used the best of both styles to bring a leaner groove to club music – a mode that was cleaner and more compact than some of the big label tracks of the period, but which also had a bit more soul and depth than early house. This great 3CD set features all the important early tracks that Todd released – including some under his other names as Royal House, Hardhouse, or Black Riot – plus key mixes from the time, and the growing range of club cuts he brought out during the 90s. 35 tracks in all – including "Weekend (club)", "Desire", "Put Your Hands Together", "Make The Beat Pound", "Can You Dig It", "Ready To Go (Tee's inhouse dub)", "Razen Theme", and "Bango To The Batmobile (club bang)" by Todd Terry – plus "Can You Party (club mix)" by Royal House, "Day In The Life (club mix)" by Black Riot, "Alright Alright (club mix)" by Masters At Work, "Missing (Todd Terry rmx)" by Everything But The Girl, "Check This Out (club)" by Hardhouse, "Pray (Tee's freeze mix)" by BME with Leroy Burgess, "I'm Gonna Get You (Tee's urban dance mix)" by Bizarre Inc, "Samba (Tee's freeze mix)" by House Of Gypsies, "Camarera" by Gypsymen, "I'll House You (club mix)" by Jungle Brothers, and lots lots more! ~ Dusty Groove

Ska & Rocksteady Music Festival For Kingston, Jamiaica

Clockwise from top; Soweto Ska Band, Marcia Griffiths, Leroy Sibbles, and the Skatalites

Kingston, Jamaica the birthplace of Ska and Rocksteady music, two of the most popular musical genres played around the world today, will host the 1st Annual One World Ska & Rocksteady Music Festival on Saturday and Sunday, November 26 and 27, 2016 at the Ranny Williams Entertainment Centre, in Kingston. Some of the leading entertainers of these two genres will be in performance from 3 PM to 3 AM on the first day. A symposium on the originators of Jamaican music, two tours to Culcha Yard in Trench Town, and Downtown Kingston Music Heritage sites, and two documentaries on the genres will be on from 10 AM to 7 PM, on day 2.

Ska music, which was first played in 1963 by the Skatalites band in the Kingston recording studios, and night clubs, is today played by thousands of bands around the world. It will be the first time a music festival of this kind will be held in the birthplace of the music.

Artistes performing include The Skatalites (USA), Soweto Ska Band (Spain), Marcia Griffiths (Jamaica), B.B. Seaton and the Gaylads (UK), Sparrow Martin and Skasonic (Jamaica), Brooklyn Attractors (USA), Leroy Sibbles former lead singer of the Heptones (Jamaica), Hugh Roy, the King of the Jamaican toasters, Derrick Morgan, the King of Ska music (Jamaica), and Stranjah Cole (Jamaica), and the Alpha School Band, with students of the school that produced many of Jamaica's great musicians, like Dizzy Reece, Harold "Little G" McNair, Joe Harriot, Tommy McCook, Don Drummond, and Rico Rodriguez. Other bands are expected to perform.

The festival is a production of Sounds & Pressure Foundation (www.soundsandpressure.org), in association with Fiwi Productions Inc. Sponsors are the Jamaica Tourist Board, National Integrity Action, the KSAC/UNESCO Creative Cities, Knutsford Court, the Courtleigh, and Pegasus Hotels, POWER 106, KOOL FM, The Gleaner Company, Happy Ice, and Jamaica Cultural Development Commission. 

"The Festival is intended to position Kingston as a cultural tourism destination," stated festival director Julian "Jingles" Reynolds, CEO of Sounds & Pressure Foundation, in Jamaica, and Fiwi Productions Inc. in the United States, at the festival launch recently in Kingston.

"Ska and rocksteady represents a great period of our renaissance….and so to identify with a music festival that celebrates that beginning and accentuates the role that that particular period has played in the development of our civilization today is very, very critical to us in tourism……it is building out the music experience as a discrete product for the world to come and enjoy, and pay for," stated Jamaica tourism minister, the Honourable Ed Bartlett.

Kingston, the capital of Jamaica was designated last December a UNESCO Creative City for its music. This year's festival is dedicated to Clement "Coxsone" Dodd, Arthur "Duke" Reid, Cecil "Prince Buster" Campbell, Chris Blackwell, Don Drummond, Rico Rodriguez, Marcia Griffiths, and the Alpha Boys School, all making major contributions to Jamaican music.

The Music of Maxwell with Special Limited Edition 12" Vinyl Releases

The 20th Anniversary 12" vinyl edition of Maxwell's Urban Hang Suite includes a pair of revelatory new essays: 1) an appreciation of Maxwell and his music by noted R&B scholar, music/culture critic, journalist and filmmaker Nelson George; and 2) a behind-the-scenes reminiscence on the making of Maxwell's Urban Hang Suite penned by music industry veteran Mitchell Cohen, who, as Senior Vice President of A&R at Columbia Records, signed Maxwell to the label and helped shepherd the music from raw concept to full realization.

Nelson George calls Maxwell's Urban Hang Suite, "a musical landmark that began the career of one of pop music's finest voices," while Mitchell Cohen still marvels at the first time he heard Maxwell's music on an embryonic demo tape: "....it got under my skin; I heard echoes of music that I'd grown up with and loved, early Smokey Robinson and Marvin Gaye, some of the great R&B and doo wop singers like Clyde McPhatter, Pookie Hudson and Lee Andrews. And the music was slinky and sexy. It made unexpected twists, had a seductive pulse. The tape said 'Maxwell's Urban Hang Suite,' and I had no idea who this Maxwell was, but I thought I should find out."

Maxwell, an iconic singer-songwriter-performer, began redefining classic soul music for a new generation with the release of his critically-acclaimed debut on Columbia Records in April 1996. Fueled in part by the RIAA gold single, "Ascension (Don't Ever Wonder)," and other hits including "Sumthin' Sumthin'" and the classic "Whenever Wherever Whatever," Maxwell's Urban Hang Suite picked up a Grammy nomination for Best R&B Album and went on to achieve US double platinum status in 2002.

BLACKsummers'night

In July 2009, the modern R&B and soul master debuted at the #1 spot on the Billboard 200 with his long-awaited BLACKsummers'night, one of the year's most heavily-anticipated event albums. BLACKsummers'night was certified platinum on January 19, 2010.

Maxwell also returned to the top of the nation's singles charts in 2009 when "Pretty Wings," the first single from BLACKsummers'night, rocketed to the #1 slot on America's Urban Adult radio stations less than eight weeks after its release after completing an earlier run as the nation's #1 Greatest Gainer/Most-Added song at the Urban Mainstream format. "Pretty Wings" peaked in the #1 slot of Billboard's Hot Singles Sales chart. BLACKsummers'night reached #1 on the iTunes R&B Albums chart while "Pretty Wings" hit #1 on the iTunes R&B Singles chart. A second single, "Bad Habits" became a Top 5 hit.

With BLACKsummers'night, his first studio album in eight years, Maxwell took home his first two Grammy Awards: Best R&B Album and Best Male R&B Vocal Performance (for "Pretty Wings," a 2010 Song of the Year nominee) as well as his first NAACP Image Award (as 2010's Outstanding Male Artist).

The Legacy Recordings limited edition 12" 150gram vinyl Maxwell reissues follow in the wake of the release, on July 1, of BlackSUMMERS'night (Columbia Records), Maxwell's fifth studio album and the artist's first release in seven years. The album debuted at #1 on the Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart, entered the Billboard 200 at #3 and is already generating widespread critical acclaim and fan support.

The multi-platinum soul singer is set to embark on a tour with Mary J. Blige for the first time ever on the co-headlining 'The King and Queen of Hearts World Tour,' playing arenas nationwide. The U.S. Leg of Tour kicks off Saturday, November 5th at Baltimore's Royal Farms Arena and will follow on the heels of a dozen European dates in October. More dates here: http://www.musze.com/tour.html

Maxwell

Maxwell's Urban Hang Suite - 2LP 12" Metallic Gold 150gram Vinyl

The Urban Theme

Welcome

Sumthin' Sumthin'

Ascension (Don't Ever Wonder)

Dancewitme

...Til the Cops Come Knockin'

Whenever Wherever Whatever

Lonely's the Only Company (I & II)

Reunion

Suitelady (The Proposal Jam)

The Suite Theme

Maxwell

BLACKsummer'snight - 12" Metallic Silver 150gram Vinyl

Badhabits  

Cold

Prettywings

Helpsomebody

Stoptheworld

Loveyou

Fistfuloftears

Playingpossum 

Phoenixrise

Miles Mosley Leads the Revolution Against Archaic Notion of Jazz / UPRISING - Available January 27, 2017

The word "uprising" is often used in moments in which a group of people witness their strength in numbers and band together to seize an opportunity. This embodies the time we are currently living in, where people all over the world in art and politics are recognizing their own power in numbers. It is prophetic as it deals with the different tenants of survival within a world of mystery and ambivalence. From brotherly love to the dangers of good intentions, these are all universal occurrences to which we all seek advice.

This decree will further unfold on January 27, 2017 with the trailblazing release from Los Angeles' upright bass virtuoso, vocalist, composer and bandleader Miles Mosley. UPRISING encapsulates the dynamic range of genres and expression that this magnetic force has presented on stages across the globe alongside saxophone giant Kamasi Washington and their cohorts in the West Coast Get Down.

Partnering with Alpha Pup Records' imprint World Galaxy for the release, the album was co-produced by drummer/engineer Tony Austin and their longtime manager Barbara Sealy. Mosley showcases his skills as a truly one-of-a-kind force on his custom built upright bass, manipulating its voice into a weapon of soulful emotion, aggression and revolutionary sound. The genre-defying and otherworldly core six-piece band consists of the best musicians taking over the scene today-including saxophonist Kamasi Washington, trombonist Ryan Porter, keyboardist Brandon Coleman, pianist Cameron Graves, and drummer Tony Austin. On UPRISING they are joined by trumpeter Dontae Winslow and the late saxophonist Zane Musa along with a full orchestra and choir.

The members all hail from Los Angeles as a family of musicians that Mosley helped bring together during their formative years, and have imprinted their stamp on the world unlike any other musical collective in recent times.

As the co-founder and voice of the West Coast Get Down, Mosley combines his deep love of songwriting with his innovative, mind-bending, effects-laced upright bass on UPRISING. The album is his personalized take on the journey of his life and that of his musical family. It stands as a statement of deep conviction and technical prowess, following the influences of legends such as Otis Redding and Jimi Hendrix.

"It seems fitting that this new attention to our sound, and the impact that we are capable of making across genres feels like our own uprising. This is my piece of our story," says Mosley.

As the story of UPRISING unfolds, the world will see the journey and influence of the West Coast Get Down through their collective mission: to defy genre and combine musical influence to make jazz dangerous and exciting again, while paying tribute to the legends before them. Following the critically acclaimed release of the album's first single, "Abraham," the follow-up single from UPRISING will be released on September 16th; its title, "Young Lion," brings just that in the form of an introduction to equal parts vocal soul and instrument mastery.

"I wanted to create a work that was natural and intimate, but still maintained a sense of grandeur. As if you were best friends with a giant," Mosley explains. "The West Coast Get Down, the strings, the choir. All of these elements together create something with memorable melodies and a message to the people that we are here for them. We are and want to be the loudspeaker for their hearts."

 

NEW RELEASES: ROBERT GLASPER EXPERIMENT – ART SCIENCE; JOHN HOLT – MEMORIES BY THE SCORE; TONY BENNETT – THE BEST IS YET TO COME

ROBERT GLASPER EXPERIMENT – ART SCIENCE

Tremendous material from Robert Glasper – a set that takes us back to the brilliance of his first few releases for Blue Note – while also encompassing all the changes he's gone through in recent years too! There's definitely some vocals on the record – but this time around, instead of being sung by a rotating cast, they're mostly handled by Casey Benjamin – who plays saxes and additional keyboards on the set – and helps give the whole thing a nicely unified vibe. Glasper sings a bit, too – but mostly concentrates on giving us some incredible lines on Fender Rhodes – in those soulful shapes that have made his keyboard work a delight since day one – and which continue to open up into so many wonderful directions. Benjamin uses a vocoder at times, which slides in great next to the Rhodes – and the group also features wonderful bass from Derrick Hodge, who also sings on one track too. Really wonderful material – as if the Experiment side of Glasper's work was folded into his small combo ethos – with tracks that include "No One Like You", "Day To Day", "Tell Me A Bedtime Story", "Find You", "This Is Not Fear", "In My Mind", "Hurry Slowly", "Written In Stone", "Human", and "Thinkin Bout You". ~ Dusty Groove

JOHN HOLT – MEMORIES BY THE SCORE (5-CD)

A stunning collection of work from the mighty John Holt – easily one of the most soulful singers in Jamaican music, presented here in a 5CD set that's overflowing with classic cuts from his best years! The collection features 100 tracks in all – almost all produced by Bunny Striker Lee, who was Holt's best partner in the studio during these years – which even include some early tracks done with The Paragons, the group from which John sprang. But most of the work here features Holt as a solo act – tripping lightly over grooves that begin in rocksteady, and continue a similar stepping vibe throughout the 70s – often with themes that are more personal than the message-oriented music of the roots generation. The package is a hell of a deal at this price – and a hell of a high-quality collection – and titles include "A Little Tear", "Mr TV Man", "Left With A Broken Heart", "Yesterday", "Walk Away", "The Tide Is High", "Rain From The Skies", "For The Love Of You", "Why I Care", "I Need A Veggie", "Up Park Camp", "No Man Is An Island", "The Clock", "Lonely Boy", "What Life's About", "Stick By Me", "Lost Love", and "My Desire".  ~ Dusty Groove

TONY BENNETT – THE BEST IS YET TO COME

Rare Tony Bennett material from a really unique source – a series of recordings that originally appeared on the Let's Go To Town radio show – a program sponsored by the National Guard, and never issued on any sort of commercial recordings! Bennett is at a wonderful point in his career – shaking off some of the more bombastic modes of his youth, and really opening up to the more jazz-based side of his style – working with pianist Ralph Sharon, and larger backings from the orchestras of Larry Elgart and Buddy Morrow. The Sharon backing recalls some of Tony's more intimate sides for Columbia – and five of the set's sixteen titles feature only piano behind the vocals – leaving the others to hit a bigger band mode, not unlike some of Bennett's material with Count Basie. Titles include "You Can't Love Em All", "Marry Young", "What Good Does It Do", "The Best Is Yet To Come", "This Could Be The Start Of Something", "Blue Moon", "Happiness Is A Thing Called Joe", "Just In Time", "That Old Black Magic", and "Love Walked In". ~ Dusty Groove

NEW RELEASES: ANTHONY DAVID – THE POWERFUL NOW; SANTANA – SANTANA IV: LIVE AT THE HOUSE OF BLUES LAS VEGAS; BEADY BELLE – ON MY OWN

ANTHONY DAVID – THE POWERFUL NOW

The title definitely gets it right – as there's a special sort of crackle to the music of Anthony David here – maybe a bit more power than before, and a focus on beats and fuzzy guitars that kind of ill things in around the edges! The sound's definitely not too smooth – and David responds to the sharpness with his vocal approach – which is angular at the start, and occasionally augmented by the production – on titles that include "Ride On", "Powerful Now", "Booed Up", "I Don't Mind", "Out Of My League", "Amber", "Never Again", "Ayodele", and "Charge", which features a guest appearance from Carmen Rogers! ~ Dusty Groove

SANTANA – SANTANA IV: LIVE AT THE HOUSE OF BLUES LAS VEGAS

Santana has released Santana IV: Live At The House Of Blues Las Vegas. The energy packed live show will be available worldwide on October 21st, 2016 in DVD+2CD, Blu-ray+2CD, and Digital Formats and in Japan on October 7. This release captures the long anticipated reunion of the classic late-sixties / early-seventies line-up of Santana -- Carlos Santana (guitar, vocals); Neal Schon (guitar, vocals); Gregg Rolie (hammond B3, lead vocals); Michael Shrieve (drums) & Michael Carabello (congas, percussion, backing vocals), joined by Karl Perazzo (percussion, vocals), Benny Rietveld (bass) David K. Mathews (keyboards), with special guest vocalist Ronald Isley. Tracklisting: Soul Sacrifice; Jingo; Evil Ways; Everybody’s Everything; Shake It; Anywhere You Want To Go; Medley: Choo Choo / All Aboard; Samba Pa Ti; Medley: Batuka / No One To Depend On; Leave Me Alone; Sueños; Caminando; Medley: Blues Magic / Echizo; Come As You Are; Yambu; Medley: Black Magic Woman / Gypsy Queen / Oye Como Va; Medley: Love Makes The World Go Round (w/ Ronald Isley); Freedom In Your Mind (w/ Ronald Isley); and Toussaint L’Overture.

BEADY BELLE - ON MY OWN

Beady Belle's not really on her own here – just working away from her regular group, with an all-star batch of musicians that includes Bugge Wesseltoft on piano and Fender Rhodes, and the mighty Joshua Redman on tenor sax! The album's got even more of a jazz core than some of the other Beady Belle albums of the past decade or so – thanks especially to some strong rhythmic lines propelled by the drums of Gregory Hutchinson and bass of Reuben Rogers, who work really well with Bugge's always-great keyboard lines – especially that strong sense of soul that he's developed in his acoustic playing in recent years. The set was recorded both in Oslo and New York – maybe making the record one of Beady's most international in approach, and maybe appeal as well – which (we hope!) will finally give this amazing Scandinavian soul singer the American fame she deserves. Titles include "Traffic In Mumbai", "Castle", "On My Own", "Bury", "Almost", "Marbles", "Lost Face", "Dear Hope", and "The Clouds". ~ Dusty Groove

NEW RELEASES: BRIAN AUGER – ANTHOLOGY VOL 2; JOYCE MORENO - COOL; ALEX PUDDU – THE GOLDEN AGE OF DANISH PORNOGRAPHY VOLUME 3

BRIAN AUGER – ANTHOLOGY VOL 2

Brian Auger, the London born keyboard genius and musical pioneer, lauded and loved by everybody from Herbie Hancock to Mose Allison. His tracks have been sampled by Mos Def, Common, Air and Kid Loco. He’s had original compositions covered by Sarah Vaughan and Richard 'Groove' Holmes, plus he is the proud recipient of a US Congressional Award for Services to Jazz! Volume Two brings together not only remastered classics from Brian’s career, but also super rare, and previously unreleased tracks. Check out his blistering jazz piano tracks from the early 60s including “Poinciana” and “Work Song”, the barely known, late 60s Hammond organ and big band versions of jazz standards “Moanin’”, “Sister Sadie”, and the incredibly gritty version by The Trinity of Jimmy McGriff’s “MG Blues”. As well as Oblivion Express perennials such as “Straight Ahead”, “Inner City Blues” and “Happiness Is Just Around The Bend”, there is also a demo version of “Black Octopus”, featuring The Headhunters’ Mike Clark and Paul Jackson, recorded in Brian’s Bay Area garage after Herbie Hancock split that equally groundbreaking group.

JOYCE MORENO - COOL

Throughout her fifty-year career as one of Brazil’s most brilliantly imaginative artists, Joyce Moreno has thrived creatively in consistently undertaking new challenges. In the ‘70s she provoked controversy for singing in first-person feminine voice (never before attempted by any of the very few female songwriters in Brazil at the time) and her lyrics defied the censorship attempts of the Brazilian military dictatorship. After something of an epiphany, with her new album Cool Joyce has finally agreed to take on a challenge repeatedly asked of her for the last two decades... Tearing up The Real Book like only Joyce could, Cool is magical Brazilian storytelling through masterful re-arrangements of North American jazz standards.

ALEX PUDDU – THE GOLDEN AGE OF DANISH PORNOGRAPHY VOLUME 3

Third (and final?) instalment of the soundtrack composed by our Alex Puddu for the DVD series “The Golden Age of Danish Pornography 1970-1974”. The project began in 2011 with the release on DVD of a collection of twelve 8mm vintage hardcore short movies from the early 70s directed by the pioneer of Danish porn cinema Freddy Weiss. When Jan Schmidt of Pink Flamingo Entertainment decided to produce this DVD series and started to restore the original films, he realised that the original audio was lost forever, and immediately thought of involving Alex Puddu in writing a new soundtrack. The leitmotif that subtly connects the three X-rated soundtracks, a red light that glows and illuminates the faces of the actors, is the recognisable mark deriving from the perfect knowledge of that sound that made Italian library music and soundtrack famous in the past decades. Vol.3 include new tracks, outtakes originally thought for the first two albums and bonus tracks previously available on CD or vinyl only.

 

DWIKI DHARMAWAN's Electrifying Confluence Of The Acoustic & Pan-Cultural "Pasar Klewer"

Indonesian keyboard star Dwiki Dharmawan returns following his 2015 MoonJune Records debut, the more fusion-heavy So Far, So Close, with the even more ambitious Pasar Klewer. This vibrant, acoustic piano-driven two-CD set features the cream of Britain's younger expat crop, blending with Indonesian musicians to create a passionate, seamless cultural cross-pollination.

Bassist Yaron Stavi and drummer and percussionist Asaf Sirkis form the core trio with Dharmawan, while reed multi-instrumentalist Gilad Atzmon, Gamelan musical virtuoso Aris Daryono and guitarists Nicolas Meier and Mark Wingfield all make significant contributions to several tracks. Italian singer Boris Savoldelli also guests on two tunes, including a reinvention of Robert Wyatt's "Forest," and the Jess Jegog Gamelan Orchestra and singer Peni Candra Rini bring cultural verisimilitude to Dharmawan's radical rearrangement of the traditional "Lir Ilir."

MoonJune Records' Leonardo Pavkovic describes Dharmawan as "one of Indonesia's most prominent musicians; a cultural icon in his homeland and accomplished pianist, keyboardist, composer, arranger, performer and peace activist. A true cultural ambassador of his beloved country, Dwiki has forged a very successful thirty-plus year career, performing in over sixty countries with solo and collective projects."

So Far, So Close (2015) was Dharmawan's pan-cultural, fusion powerhouse MoonJune debut, but for his second MoonJune effort, Dharmawan wanted to try something different. "Indonesia is the place of 'ultimate diversity,'" the pianist says. "Here, the urban cultures accelerate the 'acculturation' process, which generates changes in cultural patterns and creates new forms of musical expression. Pasar Klewer is the answer to my search for 'the difference,' and also a valuable answer to our modern crises and urban uprooting. The album's distinctive sound originates from an ancient Gamelan tonal system called Salendro, known in the Karawitan traditional music of the Sundanese, Javanese and Balinese. Based on the Gamelan tonal system, I also adapted, as my inspiration, other musical elements from all over the Indonesian archipelago, as well as the western diatonic system."

Pasar Klewar's exhilarating opening title track, indeed, possesses a microtonal-informed melody drawn unmistakably from Dharmawan's cultural roots; but its modal nature also affords the pianist and his band mates the freedom to explore everything from Metheny-esque landscapes (though Wingfield's heavily overdriven electric guitar provides a completely non-Metheny vibe during his light-speed solo) to a mid-song shift in mood, where Stavi and Sirkis drive Dharmawan's post-Coltrane, Tyner-via-Beirach-through-Corea exploration of spiritual freedom with similar passion and fire.

Daryono takes an impressive vocal/rebab (three-stringed violin) solo before some empathic three-way interplay amongst the core trio leads to a thoroughly musical drum solo reaching deep into the heart of the song before Stavi and Dharmawan re-enter, bringing this twelve-minute epic to a finish with another brilliant piano solo of grand proportions. Cross-pollinated with Wingfield's additional fiery interaction, the music builds to such a climactic peak that, when it suddenly comes to a stop, the band members shouting "Yeah!!" is left to conclude the track, reflecting the energy clearly felt in the studio.

Its overall freedom may come as a surprise to fans of the more easily digestible So Far, So Close...though that's not to suggest Pasar Klewar is lacking in beauty, flat-out lyricism or eminent appeal. "Interaction with each other is very important, as each musician contributes an energy that then coalesces into an explosion of energy together," enthuses Dharmawan. "It is not always easy for me to achieve my musical journey's goal, but I always enjoy the process of the search. So Far, So Close represented my musical passion as a young, growing musician; now I feel more mature in exploring my musical inspirations...and I think that this is will be never-ending journey."

If So Far, So Close and even more ambitious Pasar Klewar are any indication, then this is very good news for those fortunate enough to be hearing this remarkable Indonesian artist and a group that may have come together for the very first time in the studio to play Dharmawan's music, but came ready-made with the intrinsic chemistry so important to music this intuitive/interpretive. If there's any justice in the world, the name Dwiki Dharmawan will soon be on the lips of jazz fans around the world and Pasar Klewar the album that turned this Indonesian star into an internationally renowned jazz figure.