NEW RELEASES: GORDON CHAMBERS – SURRENDER; MICHAEL DEASE – ALL THESE HANDS; 4 KORNERS – PORTAL OF GOLD

GORDON CHAMBERS – SURRENDER

Sometimes we forget how great a singer is – then hear his new music, and fall in love with him all over again! That's definitely the case with Gordon Chambers – who's waited over five years between giving us a fresh album – but who also seems to have grown tremendously in that time – showing us a soulful promise we never would have expected a decade ago! The set's wonderful – beautifully well-crafted, with some of his best songwriting ever – given a feel that's confident, but never commercial – and done in a warmly collaborative spirit with guests who include Eric Roberson, Lalah Hathaway, Carol Riddick and Ayana George – all artists who Chambers can stand proudly alongside, as he's definitely earned his place in the pantheon of the most creative soul singers around. And speaking of pride, there's plenty of it here – an upbeat, positive vibe that really makes the album sparkle – as you'll hear on titles that include "Back To Love", "I'll Never Forget It", "I Made It", "The Diamond Inside", "It Might Be You", "Love & Help Somebody", and "Circle Of Love".  ~ Dusty Groove

MICHAEL DEASE – ALL THESE HANDS

A wonderful set from trombonist Micheal Dease – possibly his best yet and certainly one of his most ambitious – tracing the history of American jazz from region to region in a way that's as fresh, alive and present as can be! It starts with "Creole Country" and from there rolls on through a dozen original songs strongly imbued with the sounds, styles and moods of jazz from coast to coast. Here more than ever Dease shows his strengths as a leader – his phrasing and "voice" on trombone have such a wonderfully uplifting effect on diverse numbers – and the range of styles provides ample opportunity for an expanded roster to shine as well. Pianist Rene Rosnes and drummer Lewis Nash are amazing, not to overlook any of the other players, including Steve Wilson on flute and saxes, Gerald Cannon and Rodney Whittaker on bass, Randy Napoleon on guitar on few tunes and more. Other titles include "Downtown Chi-Town", Benny's Bounce", Delta City Crossroads", "Good & Terrible", "Brooklyn", "Memphis BBQ & Fish Fry", "Up South Reverie", "Black Bottom Reverie" and more. ~ Dusty Groove

4 KORNERS – PORTAL OF GOLD

A totally fresh post-millennium take on the electric jazz sound of the late 70s & early 80s from Atlanta-based quartet 4 Korners – inspired by the funky fusion era, but really putting it in a timeless light of their own! We've always loved the sound that provides inspiration here – mid-to-late 70s electric keyboard jazz, carried well into the 80s by The Yellowjackets and others – so fiercely modern sounding in its time that it's now, somewhat ironically, difficult to pull off without sounding self-consciously retro. That's where the 4 Korners excel so strongly. It's fresh as can be! The players are Clarence Hill on keys, James Thompson Jr. on bass, Isaac Thomson on guitar and Jerrod Sullivan on drums – who share songwriting and production credit equally in the notes – which comes as no surprise considering how tightly it plays! Titles include "Midnight Interstate", "King's Highway", "The Dew", "Orbiting Hands", "Table For 2", "Through His Eyes", "The Great Flight", "Motions" and "Portal Of Gold". ~ Dusty Groove

Guitarist Chris Jentsch releases Fractured Pop new CD/DVD with Jentsch Group Quartet

Guitarist and composer Chris Jentsch - "Ša composer who can convey his ideas on a grand scale, swings with the grace of Duke Ellington and rocks with the nuance of Frank Zappa," (Mark F. Turner, All About Jazz)  - releases Fractured Pop, a double album length studio recording accompanied by extras including a DVD of a short live set.  The recording, Jentsch's fourth, will be out January 13, 2017 on the Fleur de Son label.  

Fractured Pop features Jentsch Group Quartet with longtime compatriots Jim Whitney (double bass) and John Mettam (drums), and multi-instrumentalist Matt Renzi.  It's accompanied by a DVD of a short live set recorded at Context Studios in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, and chock full of extras like alternate takes, slide show music videos, a high-resolution FLAC file of the audio CD, PDF lead sheets of the tunes, and four of the composer's own remix/mash ups.

As Bill Milkowski writes in the album's liner notes, in Fractured Pop "Jentsch re-examines some of the same tunes that appeared on his large ensemble outings with a lean quartetŠ The title track, for instance, has a whole web of guitars, from acoustic strumming on the intro to clean electric lines played in unison with Renzi's sax on the intricate head to Jentsch's distortion-laced guitar solo. The moody and atmospheric 'Radio Silence' also makes use of crafty guitar overdubs throughoutŠ'Are You Bye?' Jentsch's clever contrafact of 'Bye Bye Blackbird,' is underscored by Mettam's supple brushwork and culminates in some fiery call-and-response between sax and guitar at the tagŠ. 'Route 666,' a hard-hitting groover with angular lines, is fueled by bassist Whitney and sparked by a twisted distorto solo from JentschŠ. Tenor sax and distorted guitar lines weave together near the end of 'Meeting at Surratt's', building to an ecstatic crescendo."

Chris Jentsch is a Brooklyn-based composer, bandleader, and guitarist working primarily in jazz and contemporary improvisational forms. Based in NYC since 1999, his main ensemble is Jentsch Group in its various configurations. As a composer, he has been the recipient of grants, commissions, or fellowships from American Composers Forum (3), New Music USA, Meet the Composer, New York State Council on the Arts (3), Ucross Foundation (2), and most recently, Chamber Music America/Doris Duke New Jazz Works, which commissioned his new work Topics in American History.  The work will have its world premiere on Friday, December 2 at ShapeShifter Lab in Brooklyn, NY. The piece will also be performed on Sunday, January 8 at iBeam, 168 7th St., Brooklyn. Performing is Jentsch Group No Net, a nine-piece chamber jazz ensemble conducted by JC Sanford with Jentsch on guitar, Michel Gentile on flute, Mike McGinnis on clarinet, Jason Rigby on saxophone, David Smith on trumpet, Brian Drye on trombone, Jacob Sacks on piano, Jim Whitney on bass, and Eric Halvorson on percussion.

As a bandleader and sideman Jentsch has performed in clubs and concert halls throughout the East Coast, and has worked with such diverse musical personalities as George Russell, John Cage, Maria Schneider, and Chris Wood. He appears as a guitarist on the CD John Cage, Volume 11 (Mode Records 41). He is also featured in Scott Yanow's book The Great Jazz Guitarists (2013 Hal Leonard). Jentsch has released four CDs as a leader.

Jentsch attended Berklee College of Music and has liberal arts and jazz guitar degrees from Gettysburg College, New England Conservatory, and the Eastman School of Music. He earned the Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Jazz Composition from the University of Miami in 1999 and is published by the University of Northern Colorado Press, Advance Music, and Fleur de Son Records.

2017 Chris Jentsch Events

January 8, 2017 - Jentsch Group No Net at iBeam, Brooklyn NY - follow up performance of Topics in American History.

January 13, 2017 - Fractured Pop CD/DVD release, Jentsch Group Quartet.

Ongoing This fall was the debut of Jentsch's new YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/user/JentschChris. Six hours of content including an entire 2012 set from Jentsch Group No Net (HQ), selections from a 2015 trio date, two jazz orchestra records, modified aleatoric music for two mixed chamber quartets, and more.

ChrisJentsch.com

OSTINATO RECORDS PRESENTS SYNTHESIZE THE SOUL: ASTRO-ATLANTIC HYPNOTICA FROM THE CAPE VERDE ISLAND 1973 – 1988

“In Cape Verde, we had no access to electronic instruments,” said Tchiss Lopes, a Cape Verdean singer based in Rome. “In Europe, we had access, but we had to adapt. Audiences expected electronic sounds, but we still stayed true to our sound.”

“At first, the music was just to cater to Cape Verdean immigrants, but soon, people of Napoli especially started feeling it, then Rome.”

In the 1980s, that feeling transpired across Lisbon, Paris, Rotterdam, and Boston, as one the largest waves of migration from a single country, propelled by political instability and economic uncertainty, sent thousands of Cape Verdeans to the West’s cities.

Through 18 diverse tracks, this compilation reveals how immigration from the Cape Verde Islands to Europe and the United States gave us an alternate history of the electronic music that dominated hearts and minds across the world in the late 1990s. But the story doesn’t start in a major Western cultural hub, rather in the small cluster of islands 400 miles off the Senegalese coast, and offers an unparalleled insight into the long-term cultural splendor catalyzed by migration.

Movement and mobility are intrinsic aspirations of the human condition. What we’ve come to know as immigration is as old as civilization. Yet today we measure immigration through a series of cold data. Immigrants are either condemned as disposable threats or celebrated as entrepreneurial treasures, rarely occupying a space in between.

Seldom do we peer back into the past to examine the tangible and timeless creations born from the movement of peoples, overlooking cultural innovations arguably ahead of their time, precursors to consuming global trends.

Cape Verde today is justifiably hailed as an African political success story, but things were different in the 1980s.

A war of independence from Portugal was won in 1975, and Cape Verde suffered the familiar ills of a society born from colonialism and slavery struggling to integrate into a globalized world.

This detachment fostered a yearning to integrate, to connect in anyway possible. The new found homes in the multiculti metropoles of Europe offered little respite. Cape Verdean immigrants were deemed “hot blooded,” and perceived as “dropouts” and “juvenile delinquents.”

The ready availability of electronic instruments, a doorway to a long denied ‘modernity’ and an anchor in their adopted homes, was seductive.

“Cape Verdeans were celebrating their independence and with that the dancing became even more important,” said Val Xalino, an unsung pioneer in the development of his country’s electronic sound, based in Gothenburg, Sweden. “People wanted to hear something different. They wanted the synthesizer!”

Emigre musicians began traveling to and from Europe and their home islands, their luggage containing stock of synthesizers and MIDI instruments. Travel to the countryside to learn the rhythms of rural farmers became common. The melodies of the charmingly off-tune, often damaged accordions were transplanted onto synthesizers.

A cultural supply chain was established. Largely detached from global capitalism, music perhaps was, and in many ways still is, Cape Verde’s most effective gateway to synthesize with the world; immigration the engine and lifeblood.

The hearts and minds of a musically-inclined people were captured. One mercurial youngster, Paulino Vieira, arguably Cape Verde’s most important musician, the real mastermind behind the islands’ melodic majesty, was especially drawn to keyboard instruments, having honed his skills at a Catholic seminary. He arranged or contributed to half the songs in this release.

Vieira was an integral member of Cesaria Evora’s backing band, and while her cavaquinho-driven traditional songs registered Cape Verde as a cultural force worldwide, an electronic movement burgeoned just beneath the surface.

It soon found its headquarters in Lisbon, where Vieira had emigrated at age 18 to lead a reworked Voz de Cabo Verde, the commanding, enigmatic ensemble that enticed Cape Verdean musicians from around the diaspora to collaborate.

“Paulino was the most visionary,” said Elisio Gomes, a Paris-based singer who collaborated with Vieira often. “He always had this gift to be 10 years ahead of his time. That’s why our music sounds like it was produced today.”

Largely overlooked outside the Lusophone realm, Cape Verde’s Astro-Atlantic gumbo of instrumentation and rhythm offers a timely lesson of migration’s power to produce cultural innovations ahead of its time. This unknown, ultra-progressive sound could not have been perfected without the induction of Cape Verde’s artistic human capital into the West.

As we watch with heavy hearts the tragic crisis unfolding across the Mediterranean, as people fleeing similar circumstances strive to settle in Europe, a measured hint of patience will ultimately justify their vast inclusion. There are poets, writers, artists, thinkers, and, of course, musicians, raised in an age of technology, that are making the treacherous journey by boat, or by land on foot, from Syria, Eritrea, Libya, Iraq, and elsewhere. Paulino Vieira’s heir, and lush cultural innovation bound to bear the same fruit, lie among them.

TRACKLISTING

Nós Criola - Nhú De Ped´Bia

Nanda - Pedrinho

Corpo Limpo - Tulipa Negra

Jelivrà Bo Situaçon - Manuel Gomes

Dança Dança T’Manche - Val Xalino

Bo Ta Cool - Jovino Dos Santos

Farmacia - Abel Lima

Chump Lopes - Elisio Gomes & Joachim Varela

É Bô Problema - Tchiss Lopes

Babylon 79 - Americo Brito

Djozinho Cabral - José Casimiro

Posse Bronck - Nho Balta

Lameirao - Kola

Nova Coladeira - Cabo Verde Show

Melhor Futuro - Tam Tam 2000

Chema - Pedrinho

Mie Fogo - Dionisio Maio
Canta Cu Alma Magoada - Bana

NEW RELEASES: PETER ERSKINE NEW TRIO – IN PRAISE OF SHADOWS; JEAN-MICHEL JARRE – OXYGENE TRILOGY; ARMIK - ENAMOR

PETER ERSKINE NEW TRIO – IN PRAISE OF SHADOWS

This is the 2nd Audio CD from the Peter Erskine New Trio, featuring jazz drumming legend Erskine with his nephew and bass phenom Damian Erskine, plus keyboard virtuoso and arranger Vardan Ovsepian (with guests Artyom Manukyan on cello & EVI master Judd Miller). 'In Praise Of Shadows' is sharing the February 17 release date with Erskine's Dr. Um Band album 'Second Opinion. ' From the gentle covers of the Japanese classic pop hit 'Sukiyaki' plus Mexican love ballad 'Marcheta,' to blistering new originals by Vardan Ovsepian and a new Erskine classic ('Each Breath'), this is an album that has something for everyone who loves good music. . . including a lovely bass ballad by Damian titled 'Begin Within. ' Begin the New Year with the New Trio! Tracklisting: Sukiyaki; What If; Each Breath; Labryinth; Marcheta ('A Love Song of Old Mexico'); Silhouette Shadows; Begin Within; Distant Blue; Smile; and All That Remains.

JEAN-MICHEL JARRE – OXYGENE TRILOGY

40 years after the huge international impact of OXYGENE, and 20 years from its second volume OXYGENE 7-13, Jean-Michel Jarre is fulfilling a trilogy of albums with OXYGENE 3, containing seven newly composed and recorded pieces, consistently titled parts 14-20. His inspiration for the newly added parts on OXYGENE 3 was not to go back in time, but to add a sense of "now" to his iconic piece of work. Plunging into the environment of OXYGENE with its highly original dark, moody and at times quite upbeat musical language, Jarre references some of the music from his entire body of work on OXYGENE 3. It s a state-of-the-art recording, embracing both classic and modern ways of music production.

ARMIK - ENAMOR

Armik has driven deep into his quest to create first rate Nuevo Flamenco music with this ambitious 11 track recording titled ENAMOR. As his 28th release on Bolero Records, it is an exceptional example of the art of Armik both as a guitar virtuoso and as a composer. Throughout this recording he retains a Spanish Guitar sensibility in his precise touch while his compositions yield refined, romantic chords that leave you breathless and obsessed with his award-winning arrangements. There is a rare delicacy to Armik's illuminous Enamor. His sensitive rhythms, prolific strumming and graceful, romantic tones allow you to revel in his artistry and remarkable talents as a guitarist and composer. ENAMOR is a beautiful recording on which Armik demonstrates a completely original sound that is sophisticated yet creative. He makes each note count while playing with his delicate touch and makes sure that you emerge with a greater appreciation of his musicality and all that is heard in the fine art of Nuevo Flamenco.

Saxophonist Miguel Zenón releases intimate new recording Típico

Miguel Zenón's new album, Típico, is above all a celebration of his longstanding quartet. His past several releases have generally fleshed out that core unit with additional instrumentalists as Zenón has looked outward to explore various aspects of his Puerto Rican heritage. This new album feels more intimate. Its focus stays closer to home, with nods to Zenón's own personal and professional life as it zeroes in on what makes his band unique.

"I was thinking about what this band and the guys in the band mean to me as I was writing the music," he explains. "I kept going back to this idea of us developing this common language that identifies us as a band."

That language has been developing for more than a decade. Pianist Luis Perdomo and bassist Hans Glawischnig have been with Zenón since the turn of the millennium; Henry Cole joined the band in 2005. Their language is thoroughly fluent modern jazz, with all the instrumental prowess and rhythmic and harmonic complexity that that implies. But the dialect they've created together through the years is distinctive.

"'Típico' refers to something that's customary to a region or a group of people," Zenón says. "Or something that can be related to a specific group of people. And when I was writing the music, I was thinking about music that identified us and this band."

Each of the album's final three tracks, Zenón notes, was composed around a solo or signature rhythmic line that one of the band members had played before. "My approach was more systematic on those three compositions specifically. But the whole record essentially is about representing the sound of the band. The sound of our band."

The album opens with "Academia," a tune inspired by Zenón's teaching at New England Conservatory, where he serves as part of the jazz faculty. "One of the great things about teaching at NEC is that I get the opportunity to create a personalized curriculum for each of my private students, depending on their needs and on what I feel they should be working on. So I find myself having to come up with new exercises constantly, in order to keep our interactions interesting and challenging. This composition is built around various harmonic and rhythmic exercises that I developed with some of my more recent students at the school."

The second track, "Cantor," honors Zenón's friend and frequent collaborator Guillermo Klein. "Gullermo's music has a very personal voice, something very unique. With this piece I was trying to convey some of what I feel are his most interesting qualities as a composer, like the lyrical character of his melodies and the very nuanced harmonic movement of his pieces. He also has very particular way of organizing the 3/4 bar, which he breaks down into three bars of 7/8 and one bar of 3/8. The piece touches on this a bit towards the end, sort of as a way of tipping my hat to a great friend and musician."

The third and fourth tracks both stem from Zenón pondering what gives a particular song a folkloric feel. "Ciclo" emphasizes melody and rhythm, Zenón taking "a melody that is meant to sound very folkloric - a bit simpler harmonically and delineating a very specific beat" and building a complex extended cycle around it using smaller, interlocking rhythmic cells.

"Típico" approaches its folkloric aims harmonically. "There's a harmonic cadence that is very common in Latin American music, especially music in the Caribbean. Something that revolves around a minor key and then slides down, going 'Subdominant Minor - Tonic Minor - Dominant - Tonic Minor.' A very simple cadence, but one that is very unique and effective. It's always caught my ear because I'm always on the lookout for things that serve as sort of musical connecting threads, things that makes me feel that the music from all these different countries and cultural expressions is somehow connected and coming out of the same combination of elements. I built this specific composition around this cadence, and called it "Típico" in reference to this Pan-American idea."

"Sangre Di Me Sangre" is a tune the quartet has been playing for a while now, a balladic tribute to Zenón's 4-year-old daughter, Elena, written before her first birthday. "I was sitting in this park with her," he recalls. "She was playing around and I sat down and sketched out the song on my notepad." Zenón wrote the piece first with lyrics, then orchestrated it for the quartet, featuring Glawischnig's bass both on a sprightly introductory melody played in unison with Perdomo and on a solo meant to convey a singing quality.

Glawischnig is also featured on "Corteza," its melody derived from Zenón's transcription of his bass solo opening the track "Calle Calma" on the 2009 Zenón album Esta Plena. It, too, has a balladic feel, with lyrical solos from Zenón and Perdomo leading to a closing uptempo restatement of the theme.

The Perdomo feature "Entre Las Raíces" ("Amongst the Roots") is more fiery, emphasizing two key facets of the pianist's musical personality. The intricate melody he and Zenón whip through together was transcribed from a Perdomo solo on "Street View: Biker," the opening track on Perdomo's album Awareness. But this arrangement opens with Perdomo playing wild and free, and Zenón's alto solo when it comes reveals a free side of his own, veering more toward Ornette Coleman or Albert Ayler.

"The piece is very free in terms of the way we deal with the improvised segments," says Zenón. "Luis always talks about listening to Bud Powell and Cecil Taylor at the same time when he was growing up in Caracas, and always having a foot in this freer, avant-gardish world of jazz. And when you hear him play on that track, it sounds that way. For that piece specifically, he really sounds like he's 100 percent in his element."

Cole's playing is suitably free on "Entre Las Raíces" as well, but his featured track, "Las Ramas" ("The Branches," Cole's own debut album having been titled "Roots Before Branches"), required more discipline. "I wrote the piece around this figure that he has been developing over the last few years and plays all the time," says Zenón. "The piece is very difficult to play - sort of like an etude for the drums, pretty much. And I know he worked very hard on it. Even though the original idea came from him, he worked very hard on making it precise and making it clean, and really sounded amazing on this track."

It's no accident that the final three songs are named for parts of a tree. "I was thinking of the band as a tree," Zenón acknowledges. "And thinking of myself as the watcher. I mean, I'm part of it also. But mostly I'm observing these amazing musicians night after night, and how together they kind of make up this living organism."

Zenón is onto something with that metaphor. The spotlight cast by Típico illuminates how alive his quartet's music has always been, while never ceasing to evolve and grow.

A multiple Grammy® nominee and Guggenheim and MacArthur Fellow, Zenón is one of a select group of musicians who have masterfully balanced and blended the often-contradictory poles of innovation and tradition. Widely considered one of the most groundbreaking and influential saxophonists of his generation, Zenón has also developed a unique voice as a composer and as a conceptualist, concentrating his efforts on perfecting a fine mix between Latin American folkloric music and jazz. Born and raised in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Zenón has recorded and toured with a wide variety of musicians including Charlie Haden, Fred Hersch, Kenny Werner, Bobby Hutcherson and Steve Coleman and is a founding member of the SFJAZZ Collective.

Miguel is also touring to support the album, February 9 - March 12.

February 9 - La Nouvelle Scene, Studio, Ottawa Jazz Winter Series, Ottawa, Canada

February 10 - Villa Victoria Center for the Arts - Boston, MA

February 11 - Annenberg Center Live,  Philadelphia, PA

February 14 - 19 - Village Vanguard, New York, NY

February 22 - The Loft at UCSD - San Diego, CA

February 23 - Kuumbwa Jazz Center - Santa Cruz, CA

February 24 - 26 - SFJazz Center, Joe Henderson Lab - San Francisco, CA

March 1- Cornish College of the Arts, Earshot Jazz - Seattle, WA

March 2 & 3 - Dazzle Jazz, Denver, CO

March 5: Bach Dancing & Dynamite Society,  Half Moon Bay, CA

March 7: Appalachian State University, Boone, NC

March 8:  Jazz Kitchen, Indianapolis, IN

March 9 - 12 - Jazz Showcase, Chicago, IL

http://www.miguelzenon.com/

NEW RELEASES: ROB HARROW - HEAR RIGHT NOW; OSARU - STEPPING UP; LIZ ALLEN HOPE - HERE"S LOVE

ROB HARROW - HEAR RIGHT NOW

Rob's musical journey began when as a young man on his paper route, he found a Cannonball Adderly and other records someone was throwing away. By his early teens, Rob was playing the trumpet in high school and various bands, and later years switched to playing the alto sax. He also plays the soprano and tenor saxophones as well. His musical influences are: Grover Washington Jr, Gerald Albright, Kirk Whalum Kim Waters, Courtney Pine, Art Porter, Cannonball Adderly, Najee and many other saxophonists. With producer Gordon Worthy, Rob debut released " It's In Your Hand Your Hands" and now with "Hear Right Now. Features Waine Jonze on guitar on various track, along with his wife Helen Harrow on background vocals and the smooth vocals of Kimball Scott. Nice Up The Place features Recordo Dobson on bass and guitar.

OSARU - STEPPING UP

Osaru, a NC-based musician and physician, releases a a smooth jazz effort that features lead soprano, and tenor saxophone sounds. 'Stepping up the B-Side' is an alternate version of his recently released album, Stepping Up. All of the songs have been remixed. In 'old school terms', these would be classified as singles... except you have all 10 singles packaged in a very thoughtful cohesive album.  Most striking is the more laid back feel to this version. He removes all the background vocals, creating a totally different experience for the listeners, who can now interpret the songs in any way they want to. Strategically placed mutes and various other sounds replace the background vocals. All 10 tracks are originals written, performed and produced by the artist. They feature smooth, melodic tenor and soprano sax phrasing, sprinkled with subtle keyboard, guitar and mute trumpet lines on a background of punchy, laid-back grooves. The perfect music for 'chilling out' when the need arises. Osaru described 'Stepping Up' as 'smooth jazz with attitude.' On the B-side version, he combines his skills on the keyboards, saxophone and wind controller with his song writing, arranging  and production skills. The end product is a chilled-out, positively charged, groove swathed album. From the mid-tempo funk of 'The Music Train' to the slow dance of 'Remember', you will find yourself tapping your foot and bobbing your head as each groove unfolds. By the time 'What A Great Day!' comes on, with its contemporary R and B beat, you can truly feel the optimism in the album. The album closes on a high note with the aptly titled song, 'Let's Go', which is an all-out jam with tenor sax, soprano sax, electric guitar and piano all accounted for in this splendid conclusion to the album.

LIZ ALLEN HOPE - HERE"S LOVE

Liz Allen Hope, the voice, power and energy behind Lizpiration Entertainment Group, is sitting on top of the world. With a new album, video and a schedule of performance appearances before her, she is going full speed ahead with an exhilarating and satisfying career. Born in Sedalia, Missouri, Liz grew up in Hokkaido, Japan and Guam, Plattsburg, New York and Columbus, Ohio with her military parents. Following a career as a model and airline stewardess, she met and married her husband, musician, soul mate and performance partner, the late Paul Hope.  Paul was a saxophonist, flautist and “Jazz Man” who played in Gulfport area bands and opened for James Brown, Bobby Blue Bland and the like. He also played in the Army Special Service band during the Vietnam Era. Paul was the wind beneath Liz’s wings, who helped her polish her talent and told her “you can do this.” Starting in 1988, they produced beautiful music together, including two albums “The Power of Love” and “High Plateaus.” After Paul’s untimely death in 1998, Liz, with three daughters still in elementary and middle school, took a step back from her music career. Then, convinced that Paul would want her to gather the strength to continue, she rejoined the entertainment world. A world class performer, she has appeared in The Netherlands, Belgium, Spain, Germany, Jamaica, and Hong Kong as well as all over the United States. Today, she is passionate about her art and eager to share her experiences and help others realize success in this exciting industry.  In addition, Liz is seeking worldwide jazz stages to perform for the upcoming seasons.  Here latest smooth jazz release is "Here's Love." Visit THE JAZZ NETWORK WORLDWIDE "A GREAT PLACE TO HANG" at: http://www.thejazznetworkworldwide.com/?xg_source=msg_mes_network

Alto Saxophonist & Flutist Mark Lewis Releases "The New York Session"

Mark Lewis The New York Session As well-traveled and widely recorded as alto saxophonist Mark Lewis has been over the past four decades, his new CD The New York Session is likely to be the album that helps rectify his current under-the-radar reputation. Recorded last year in Brooklyn with a world-class rhythm section -- pianist George Cables, bassist Essiet Essiet, and drummer Victor Lewis -- the new disc will be released by Lewis's Audio Daddio label on January 27. It's the work of an artist clearly reveling in the company of fellow masters making the most of his tasty compositions.

"There's so much to savor and admire here," writes critic Ted Gioia, a self-professed Mark Lewis fan who contributed the CD booklet notes. "Lewis's musicality, his inventiveness, his humor, his ability to immerse himself in the soundscape of the performance with total emotional commitment -- these all stand out here in track after track."

Whether he's inviting his listeners to a carnival on "Boberto's Magical World" or waxing philosophical on the introspective "Not As Beautiful As You," Lewis displays an utterly personal mix of authority, playfulness, and interactive immediacy. He's at home in the blues, playing with relaxed soul on the strolling, minor key "DL Blues," and draws on his deep love of African music for several pieces, most obviously on the lilting "Sierra Leone" and the boisterous 12/8 closer "Roll 'Em Joe."

Legally blind, Lewis hasn't let his disability slow him down, traveling the world and establishing deep creative bonds wherever he's landed. But not being able to assess a colleague's immediate reaction to his music may shape his approach to recording. 

"I don't see well enough to see facial expressions," Lewis says. "I used simple compositions because I didn't want to clutter the purity of the sound we were trying to get. I think pieces of music are like places or rooms. You play in those spaces as a musician, in those settings, and they'll make you into slightly different people doing different things, which I think is good."

Mark Lewis Born in Tacoma (in 1958) and raised on a farm outside of nearby Gig Harbor, Mark Lewis absorbed music from both sides of his family. A standout player in middle school, he formed his first band at 14. By high school, Lewis's waking hours were filled with music as he played lead alto in the stage band and clarinet in the concert band. Leading several bands around the region, he supported himself while studying composition, flute, electronic music, and piano at Western Washington University and the Cornish Institute of Allied Arts.

Settling in Seattle, Lewis started performing regularly at Norm Bobrow's Jazz at the Cirque showcase and quickly found invaluable mentors amongst resident masters. Drummer Otis "Candy" Finch, who'd moved to Seattle after a sterling New York career, recognized Lewis's budding talent and took him under his wing. He also encouraged him to get out of town, and in 1978 the 20-year-old saxophonist flew to Europe with a one-way ticket, his alto sax, and virtually no contacts.

He ended up making Rotterdam his homebase for the next 14 years, and established himself as a vital force on the international jazz scene as a player, label owner, and producer. Building an extensive network of musical peers amongst Dutch players and American ex-pats ("Johnny Griffin got me my first gig in Europe," Lewis recalls), he maintained three working Dutch groups.

Lewis's record company Audio Daddio became one of the era's essential outlets, releasing recordings by Art Foxall, Vonne Griffin, Al Hood, Art Lande, and David Friesen. The label's last European recording The Rotterdam Session features tenor saxophonist Clifford Jordan, who brought his ambitious "Presidential Suite" to the studio, and legendary jazz drummer Philly Joe Jones, in one of his last recordings. Lewis also maintained a strong presence back in the States, spending several long stints in the Bay Area in the 1980s. He gained a considerable following with a quartet featuring drum maestro Eddie Moore, pianist Mark Levine, and a brilliant young bassist named Larry Grenadier (the group featured on most of his critically hailed 1988 album In the Spirit on Quartet Records).

Now based in Bremerton, a small city west of Seattle on the Puget Sound where he returned to be close to his family, Lewis maintains a busy schedule that includes teaching private students and college clinics. He continues to expand his daunting book of compositions, which number over 1,700. Though he's recorded more than 20 albums, only a fraction of his compositions have been documented on record, another reason why The New York Session is a particularly important release. The discovery of a master improviser is always thrilling, but finding a player/composer at the peak of his powers is a rare occurrence indeed. Though fully aware of his accomplishments, Lewis sees himself as part of a modern jazz continuum. "I try to approach each composition, each performance, with knowledge and technique from studying the masters who came before and also the innocence of a child," he says. "I hope it keeps the music authentic and genuine."   *

Mark Lewis Quartet on Tour:

Wed. 1/4 Lighthouse Café, Hermosa Beach, CA, 6-9 pm

with Ron Kobayahi, p; Baba Elefante, b; Steve Dixon, d.

Thurs. 1/5 Jazz at the Merc, The Mercantile, Temecula, CA, 7:30-9:30 pm

with Ron Kobayahi, p; Baba Elefante, p; Steve Dixon, d.

Thurs. 1/12 Sacred Grounds Jazz Coffeehouse, Scottsdale, AZ, 7:30-9:30 pm

with Nick Manson, p; Jack Radavich, b; John Lewis, d.

Thurs. 1/19 Café Stritch, San Jose, CA, 8:30-11:55 pm

with Eddie Mendenhall, p; John Wiitala, b; Jason Lewis, d.

Web Site: marklewismusic.com

Tohpati Ethnomission is back with the brand new album of high-octane progressive ethno-jazz-rock-fusion of the highest caliber - Mata Hati

For those of you who haven't forgotten Tohpati's electrifying emergence as a freshman bandleader in 2010 – catapulting onto the global stage with the critically acclaimed initial offering of Tohpati Ethnomission, "Save The Planet" – "Mata Hati" will come as a most welcomed follow-up.

Although six years is a lengthy gap between recordings, it is obvious that the players involved have been doing anything but resting. On the contrary, the proceedings are highlighted by a vibrant, cohesive group dynamic where powerful individual performances are subtlety interwoven into the exotic fabrics of its nine acute, ambitious and amazingly diverse musical tapestries. The power and authority of its improvisational content doesn't steal the show, but works as a perfect compliment to the ingenious underlying framework; this is truly a group effort, and a most potent delivery.

Featuring all the six-string acrobatics one would expect from a guitarist of Tohpati's considerable scope and creative brilliance, equally on display here is his mastery of western harmony and his uncanny melodic sense as both a player and a composer. Tohpati Ethnomission rocks with authority; they slither through the grass, unnoticed; they provide enticing glimpses of a rich, mystical music culture, begging to be further revealed ... and they dance on air.

Besides being one of Indonesia’s most well known and celebrated guitarists, Tohpati is also one of its busiest session men. In a career which has seen him work as both a band leader and support player for many of his country's most celebrated popular pop, rock and jazz artists – in addition to seven albums with simakDialog (spanning more than 20 years), and three previous marquee projects for MoonJune -- his chameleon-like ability to tailor his playing to suit a variety of diverse styles has always served him well. But on this particular outing, he reveals even further depths of both his dexterity and his creative genius.

This potent, engaging set features masterful work by: veteran Indo Hardjodikoro, on bass guitar; Diki Suwarjiki, on suling bamboo flute and tarompet (Indonesian clarinet); and is propelled by the flowing rhythmic combination of Endang Ramdan, on kendang percussion, and; Demas Narawangsa, on drums. (The opening tune, "Janger," also features the Czech Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Michaela Ruzickova.)

This is music which transcends boundaries, genre and expectations, capturing some of Tohpati's finest, most profound musical statements to date – this is one you certainly won't want to miss!

New Origin Records CD by Pianist/Composer Bill Anschell, "Rumbler"

Bill Anschell Rumbler One of the most valuable players in Seattle's thriving jazz scene, pianist Bill Anschell is a prolific composer and adept arranger who's explored those aspects of his craft since debuting on disc 20 years ago. His new Origin Records CD, Rumbler, which will be released January 20, is Anschell's ninth album as a leader and his first full ensemble jazz recording in a decade. Throughout the recording, Anschell embraces odd meters, shifting tonalities, and other striking effects.

"I've written enough conventional tunes," he says. "I don't need to do that anymore. I'm more interested in going beyond the 32-bar form. I like to set up unusual compositional challenges for myself and try to solve them in a way that still allows the band plenty of room for improvisation and interaction."

Rumbler is anchored by his longstanding trio, including bassist Chris Symer and drummer Jose Martinez. Jeff Coffin makes a memorable guest appearance on one tune on soprano saxophone, while Rich Cole shines on tenor saxophone on another. In addition to the fine guitarist Brian Monroney, to whom Anschell was introduced by Symer, the contributors include versatile flutist and saxophonist Hans Teuber and percussionist Jeff Busch.

From the opening strains of Thelonious Monk's "Misterioso," it's clear that Rumbler is less a showcase for Anschell's piano playing than for his writing and arranging. For "Misterioso," he heard in his head distorted guitar and a kind of power-rock countermelody. With guitarist Monroney providing the sonic edge, the frequently performed classic takes on intriguing new life.

Anschell's favorite composition on the album, "Captive Light," written in 5/4, "sounds clean and simple, but it's very challenging for the improviser as the meter turns around against itself," he says. His distinctive take on the Beatles' "For No One" (from Revolver) pointedly avoids the tendency of many jazz artists to perform pop songs as written, just adding a facile swing feel.

With a wide range of ethnic styles at his fingertips, including the Afro-Peruvian lando (as heard on "Dark Wind") and South Indian rhythms, Anschell has myriad directions to go in issuing those challenges to himself -- and the listener.

Born in Seattle in 1959,  Bill Anschell was a self-taught pianist who did not take formal music lessons until he enrolled at Oberlin College. He transferred to Wesleyan University, where he had the good fortune to study with esteemed saxophonist and composer Bill Barron and mridangam master T Ranganathan, whose teachings had a powerful impact on Anschell's approach to rhythm.

Anschell subsequently studied arts administration at the University of Wisconsin. In 1989, armed with a master's degree, he went to Atlanta to become Jazz Coordinator of the Southern Arts Federation.

While with the organization, he created "JazzSouth," an internationally syndicated radio show; published a book on grant writing; and dove headlong into the city's jazz scene as a sideman and leader of his own trio. The trio performed at the 1996 Summer Olympic Games and Atlanta Montreux Jazz Festival and toured South America four times.

During the early to mid-1990s, Anschell worked with singer Nnenna Freelon as her accompanist, arranger, and music director, contributing to several albums of hers in one or more of those guises. He made his own album debut in 1995 with Rhythm Changes, a mix of originals, bebop classics, and standards, and followed it in 1998 with the eclectic a different note all together, which was selected as one of the top 10 jazz albums of the year by UPI.

In 2002, Anschell, his wife, and their four-year-old son moved back to Seattle to be near their extended families. To say the Pacific Northwest has been good to him would be a huge understatement, judging by the regional honors and awards that have been bestowed on him and the opportunities he has had to alternate between his own projects and a multitude of ones involving first-rate players in collective-style settings.

Anschell and his trio will celebrate the release of Rumbler at Tula's in Seattle on Saturday, Feb. 11. He'll also be appearing with his quartet (Brian Monroney, g; Chris Symer, b; Brad Boal, d) at the Mount Baker Theater in Bellingham on Sunday, Jan. 29 (4:00pm), presented by The Jazz Project. "Each of the tunes on Rumbler has a very distinct personality," Anschell says. "I'm really looking forward to seeing what directions they take when we stretch out and explore them in concert."

Web Site: billanschell.com

Saxophonist Noah Preminger Releases an Album of Musical Protest Meditations on Freedom on Inauguration Day

Featuring Preminger and his quartet – with trumpeter Jason Palmer, bassist Kim Cass & drummer Ian Froman – in searching originals and reimagined classics by Bob Dylan, George Harrison, Sam Cooke & Bruce Hornsby

“He designs a different kind of sound for each note, an individual destiny and story.” — Ben Ratliff, The New York Times on Noah Preminger

As a musical protest at ominous political developments in America, jazz saxophonist Noah Preminger presents his sixth album – Meditations on Freedom – on Inauguration Day: January 20, 2017 (for digital release via Dry Bridge Records, with CD on Feb. 3). It’s the third album featuring the tenor player’s current quartet, with Jason Palmer (trumpet), Kim Cass (double-bass) and Ian Froman (drums). Following two albums inspired by Delta blues, this new recording finds Preminger and company reimagining – in intense, emotive instrumental versions – classic politically charged songs by Bob Dylan (“Only a Pawn in Their Game”), Bruce Hornsby (“The Way It Is”), Sam Cooke (“A Change Is Gonna Come”) and George Harrison (“Give Me Love, Give Me Peace on Earth”). The saxophonist’s deeply felt original compositions are titled “The 99 Percent,” “Women’s March,” “Mother Earth,” “Broken Treaties” and “We Have a Dream,” reflecting pressure points in contemporary society. Meditations on Freedom was recorded – live on the studio floor with no edits – by engineer Jimmy Katz, as with the two previous albums, Dark Was the Night, Cold Was the Ground and Pivot: Live at the 55 Bar. Not available on any streaming sites, Preminger’s most recent recordings are exclusively offered for purchase, whether as digital download or on CD, at noahpreminger.com.

Praising his “creativity and passion,” DownBeat called the 30-year-old Preminger “an old soul,” while the UK’s Jazzwise magazine declared that the saxophonist “oozes integrity, authority and gravitas.” In other words, Preminger has something to say and the means to say it. About Meditations on Freedom, he explains: “I hope the titles of the original tunes – and the encoded messages in the covers – can serve as a conversation starter for listeners and ultimately raise awareness of some subjects I care about, whether it’s women’s rights or climate change or the well-being of Native Americans. I realize that the key thing I can hope to do with music – particularly instrumental jazz, with no words – is to heighten emotions. That said, some of the most beautiful, meaningful creations in the history of jazz have been poetic statements of protest, like John Coltrane’s ‘Alabama’ or Sonny Rollins’ ‘Freedom Suite’ and so many more great examples. I would never put myself in that category, but I’m not alone among jazz musicians today who wonder why it is that we do this. Ultimately it’s important to care about something larger than yourself and that’s what I am trying to convey with this music."

“Artists should always try to really matter, and that includes jazz musicians – we should strive to be relevant to the wider conversations of our time,” Preminger continues. “I started writing the music for this album on Election Day and came into the session a few weeks later with just sketches for the tunes. I wanted Jason, Kim and Ian to react to the music with immediacy – and with the hard feelings from the election fresh in our minds. I come at the issues of the day from a progressive place, as do the guys in the band. This group is made up of open-hearted, forward-minded people, and that’s ideal for conveying emotion in a strong way, whether the music is the deepest blues or about spiritual protest. The recording process was honest, unadulterated. And our recording engineer, Jimmy Katz, is integral to that process. He and I see eye to eye when it comes to intensity in music.”

To Katz, a renowned photographer as well as a recording engineer, the content of Meditations on Freedom matched the method of capturing it, just as with the previous studio album of blues interpretations, Dark Was the Night, Cold Was the Ground. “Noah likes to record live with everybody right next to each other just like on the bandstand, with no booths or headphones – so there’s a lot of subtle communication among the band,” he explains. “And we’re presenting full, unedited takes, no edits or fixes. It’s indeed as honest as it can be, so that the true emotion and intensity of the music comes through to a listener as if the band were right there in front of you, like with a performance in a club.”

Preminger’s previous albums Dark Was the Night, Cold Was the Ground and Pivot: Live at the 55 Bar earned wide acclaim for their emotional intensity and individualist engagement with the blues. Of Dark Was the Night, Cold Was the Ground, the Boston Globe said: “Tenor saxophonist Preminger – a master with standards and ballads, as well as an adventurous composer and bandleader – continued the exploration of the blues that began with last year’s Pivot: Live at the 55 Bar, this time with a collection of early Delta bluesmen, in original, imaginative arrangements…. Preminger lets a little Ornette into his sound to join Coltrane and Rollins. One of the most emotionally satisfying discs of the year.” All About Jazz, reviewing Pivot – recorded in 2015 at the 55 Bar, a gritty Greenwich Village nightspot – extolled the saxophonist’s record-making virtues at length: “In an age when accomplished young jazz musicians are prone to making recordings that are simply too cautious, too precious, obviously ‘dressed to impress,’ or too complicated to digest in one sitting, Pivot: Live at The 55 Bar is a welcome blast of gritty, fearless, sweaty, and intelligent hard-core jazz.” Meditations on Freedom is cut from much the same musical cloth, albeit with the aforementioned political thoughts to the fore.

About the members of his quartet, Preminger says: “Jason has amazing technique, along with a beautiful tone and a rare sense of harmony and rhythmic freedom. He’s the complete improviser – a badass dude, as well as a sweetheart of a guy. Kim Cass and I went to the New England Conservatory together. He has this warm, crisp sound. He’s a great texturalist, but you can also hear each note he plays – uncommon among bass players. And Ian Froman has this incredible energy, driving everything. This quartet is devoted to a certain ideal of playing – swinging hard but with harmonic freedom, plus a blues phrasing in our minds. As I said, this band is all about conveying spirit and emotion with immediacy and intensity. The long jazz tradition is inside us even as we’re working very much in the present, with the issues of today on our minds in every sense.”

Noah Preminger has performed on stages from Boston and New York to Europe and Australia, playing with a wide range of jazz greats including Dave Liebman, Dave Holland, Fred Hersch, Dave Douglas, Victor Lewis, John and Bucky Pizzarelli, Billy Drummond, George Cables, Roscoe Mitchell, Dr. Eddie Henderson, Cecil McBee, John McNeil and Frank Kimbrough. As The Boston Globe says: “He plays with not just chops and composure, but a distinct voice: His approach privileges mood and reflectiveness, favoring weaving lines that can be complex but are also concise, without a trace of over-playing or bravado.”  The Boston Phoenix declared: “Preminger’s sound is beholden to no one. That makes him continually unpredictable and continually satisfying.”

A native of Canton, Connecticut, Preminger has released six critically acclaimed albums.  His 2008 debut Dry Bridge Road was named Debut of the Year in the Village Voice Critics Poll, along with making Top 10 Albums of the Year lists in JazzTimes, Stereophile and The Nation.  In 2011 Palmetto Records released Preminger’s next album Before the Rain, an essay in atmospheric romance that blends virtues both modern and old school. Reviewing that album, All About Jazz said: “Sensitivity and an ear for aural sophistication are the hallmarks of tenor saxophonist Noah Preminger.”  Preminger’s third album, Haymaker (Palmetto, 2013), features the saxophonist in mostly original material (plus a Dave Matthews cover and a tune from Annie for good measure). In The New York Times, Ben Ratliff said: “Mr. Preminger designs a different kind of sound for each note, an individual destiny and story,” while Nate Chinen chimed in, too, lauding his “darkly shaded… warmly expressive” tone and his “fluency, prudence and control.” The Boston Globe called Preminger’s music “impressive, challenging and beautiful.”

In autumn 2016, Preminger followed his fiery, blues-fueled quartet discs Dark Was the Night, Cold Was the Ground and Pivot: Live at the 55 Bar by showing his more intimate, romantic side again with a collection of ballads, Some Other Time, released exclusively as a vinyl LP by Newvelle Records. He recorded this with a dream band featuring Monder, bassist John Patitucci and drummer Billy Hart. All About Jazz, reviewing Some Other Time, said: “With this all-star band in tow, Preminger does what he does best: He tells a compelling story without frills – and he does it better than he has ever done before.”

www.noahpreminger.com

SOUL-STEEPED YOUNG MEMPHIS QUINTET SOUTHERN AVENUE SPARKS A ROOTS REVOLUTION WITH SELF-TITLED DEBUT ALBUM ON STAX

Southern Avenue is a Memphis street that runs from the easternmost part of the city limits all the way to Soulsville, the original home of Stax Records. Southern Avenue is also the name of a fiery young Memphis quintet that embodies its home city's soul, blues and gospel traditions, while adding a youthful spirit and dynamic energy all their own. "If Memphis music is a genre, this is it!" proclaims American Blues Scene, and Rock 103FM calls Southern Avenue, "The most-talked-about band in Memphis."

Their self-titled debut album is a breath of fresh air with its own unique blend of gospel- tinged R&B vocals, roots/blues-based guitar work and soul-inspired songwriting. And Southern Avenue’s upcoming release on the fabled Stax label is a testament to the young combo's talent and vision.

Southern Avenue features five young but seasoned musicians who came from diverse musical and personal backgrounds to create music that spans their wide-ranging musical interests, while showcasing the powerful chemistry that the group has honed through stage and studio experience.

Southern Avenue encompasses Memphis-born, church-bred sisters Tierinii and Tikyra Jackson, respectively a soulful, charismatic singer and a subtle, powerful drummer; guitarist Ori Naftaly, an Israeli-born blues disciple who first came to America as an acclaimed solo artist; versatile jazz-inspired bassist Daniel McKee; and the band's newest addition, keyboardist Jeremy Powell, an early alumnus of Stax's legendary music academy.

The band members' diverse skills come together organically on Southern Avenue, scheduled for release on February 24, 2017 via Stax Records, a division of Concord Music Group. Produced by Kevin Houston (North Mississippi Allstars, Lucero, Patty Griffin), the 10-song album features guest appearances from Luther Dickinson of the North Mississippi Allstars and trumpeter Marc Franklin of the Bo-Keys. But it's Southern Avenue's own potent musical chemistry that drives such sublimely soulful originals as "Don't Give Up," "What Did I Do," "It's Gonna Be Alright," "Love Me Right" and "Wildflower."  The band also pays tribute to its roots with an incandescent reading of Ann Peebles' Memphis soul classic "Slipped, Tripped and Fell in Love."

The seeds for Southern Avenue's birth were planted when Ori Naftaly, who'd grown up in Israel with a deeply rooted passion for American blues and funk, came to Memphis in 2013 to compete in the prestigious International Blues Challenge. That experience led to Naftaly moving permanently to Memphis and successfully touring the United States with his own band.

Although his talents were embraced by American audiences, Naftaly felt constrained in his own band, feeling the need to include a more expansive, collaborative musical vision.  That opportunity arrived when he met Memphis native Tierinii Jackson, who'd gotten her start singing in church, before performing in a series of cover bands and theatrical projects.

According to Ori, "When I saw Tierinii perform, I thought, 'This is why I came to America.' I met her and we clicked. At our first rehearsal, she told me that her sister was a drummer, and she thought it would be great to have her in the band. We had such a good vibe, and suddenly I didn't care so much about my solo thing."

"I initially clicked with Ori really well, but it was his project," Tierinii remembers. "Then he came to me and said 'I want this band to be a collaboration, I want this to be our vision and our music.'  So we started writing together, and that's when I realized that we were really the same, musically."

"We started over," Naftaly continues. "We threw out most of the songs I'd been playing in my solo band, and Tierinii and I wrote a whole new set, and we became Southern Avenue. The more we played together, the closer we got, and the more we became a family. We started getting a different kind of crowd, and from there things escalated quickly."

"Ori said, 'My band is done, this is y'all's band,'" Tierinii recalls. "We all quit our other gigs and started focusing on this, working and writing and living together in a way that you don't experience when you're playing somebody else's music. Now we're playing songs that we wrote ourselves and we're playing them from our hearts. That is when I realized that we had something special."

Despite not having a record deal, Southern Avenue quickly found success touring in America and Europe. They won additional attention playing some prestigious festivals and competing in the International Blues Challenge, in which they represented Memphis. Less than a year after the band's formation, they were signed to the resurgent Stax label.

"I feel like being on Stax is a responsibility," says Tierinii. "I grew up in Memphis, seeing the name Stax everywhere. It was a constant presence, and now it's up to us to live up to that. I feel like this band can be a platform to do a lot of positive things for the city of Memphis. I want to change the world, but Memphis is home."

Tierinii views Southern Avenue as "a perfect soundtrack to our first year together. We wrote these songs in our first nine months of being a band. We'd all done so many things and come from so many different places, but the music represents all of us.

"It's been a real crash course," she continues. "We haven't been a band for very long, but what we have feels very special, and it's made us a strong unit. I think that we represent something that people need to see right now."

"This band has already made our dreams come true," Ori concludes. "I've waited all my life to be in a band like this, and it's amazing to me that I get to play with these people every night. Our goal is to keep doing this for a long time and leave our mark. We're trying to build a legacy."