Modern Lore finds Lage playfully flipping the script he followed on his acclaimed 2016 Mack Avenue debut, Arclight. That album — produced, like Modern Lore, by Lage’s friend and collaborator, the singer-songwriter Jesse Harris — was his first trio set on electric guitar and found Lage inspired by the sounds and the attitude of the freewheeling, pre-bebop jazz era, when, as he puts it, “country music and jazz and swing were in this weird wild-west period.” This time he incorporates the sensibility, if not the outright sound, of early rock and roll, a similarly hybrid form driven by rhythm, personality and a passion for the electric guitar.
On East West Time Line, Eubanks explores the chemistry he maintains with musicians on both coasts. And once again, his distinctive fingerstyle approach to the instrument is in the service of tunes that run the stylist gamut from urgent swingers to introspective ballads to Latin-tinged numbers and some get-down Philly funk. Discussing his collaboration with his friends Eubanks said "I think because I'm so familiar with all the musicians and we played together over the years in different settings, on different tours, that it helped the music quite a bit. It's that thing where everybody's pulling for each other to do well and trying to make each other sound better..."
2020 release from the jazz saxophonist. The deluge of political divisiveness, horrific violence and hateful rhetoric that seem to have polluted our lives on a daily basis over the last few years have left many people across the country and around the world feeling angry, frustrated and hopeless. It would be more than understandable if that feeling was even more intense for Jimmy Greene, for whom the flood of outrageous headlines and social media missives play out against the backdrop of personal tragedy. Greene refuses to succumb to the negativity, however. On his heartfelt album, While Looking Up, the saxophonist was guided by the inspirational words of his pastor: "If I'm not able to find strength or peace by looking inward," he said, "or if I'm not able to do it by looking outward to my immediate surroundings, I have to look upward." On While Looking Up, Greene finds solace, support and inspiration from each of these directions, but in particular from casting his gaze heavenward. Looking inward, he's comforted by his faith and by the gift for moving, expressive composition that has marked his work for the last two decades. Looking outward, he has his family and his brilliant collaborators, culled for this project from a list of longtime favorites who haven't entered the studio together in at least a decade. And while looking up, he recalls the joyful spirit of his daughter, Ana Marquez-Greene, who tragically lost her life in 2012, along with 25 other students and educators at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut.
Vinyl LP pressing. As he's made abundantly clear over the past 30 years, Joey DeFrancesco has plenty of soul. What most listeners probably haven't spent much time pondering is that soul's place in the universe. On his adventurous new album, In The Key Of The Universe, the master organist turns his musical attentions to his spiritual side, tapping into a strain of metaphysical jazz that's fueled sonic searchers for more than half a century. Joey D calls upon disciples and missionaries of jazz to join him in paving the way to enlightenment. In The Key Of The Universe arrives almost exactly 50 years after the release of Karma, the landmark album by legendary saxophonist Pharoah Sanders. One of the primary exponents of spiritually-oriented jazz, Sanders makes three guest appearances on the album, including an update of his best-known track from Karma, the cosmically influential "The Creator Has A Master Plan." Playing drums on that track was the great Billy Hart, who reunites with Sanders as well as DeFrancesco, with whom he's worked several times over the years since joining the organist for his 1989 album Where Were You?
I'm a proud immigrant. A proud Mexican and a proud American that feels torn by the injustices that are being perpetrated against so many innocent people in search of a better life. This album is dedicated to them and their journey. Antonio Sanchez, July 2018
Jimmy Greene's new release, Beautiful Life on Mack Avenue Records, is a celebration of the life of his 6-year-old daughter, Ana Marquez-Greene, whose life was tragically taken, along with 19 other children and 6 educators, on December 14, 2012 at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut.
This tribute to the late vibraphone master Lionel Hampton features vibraphonist Terry Gibbs with Joey DeFrancesco, Barbara Morrison, Pete Christlieb, Jeff Hamilton and others who perform songs made famous by Hampton, and they perform them in his style. The CD package includes an extensive historical insert by Chip Deffas, a respected New York Post writer/critic.
On Ron Blake's Mack Avenue debut, he steps out to showcase the exceptional tenor and soprano sax talents that have served to make him one of the most in-demand sidemen working in jazz today. Produced by Christian McBride, this CD features an eclectic assortment of tunes written by such celebrated musicians as Michel Legrand, Stanley Turrentine, Grover Washington, Jr., and J.J. Johnson. Blake has enlisted a strong supporting cast of players to support the CD's lyrical yet powerful improvisations and interpretations, including McBride and Joey DeFrancesco.
In a 2013 Q&A with JazzTimes, Julian Lage described the Cline-Lage duo sound as "200 percent power," and that's exactly what comes through on ROOM: an inspired collection of originals and collaborative pieces that runs the full range from intricately composed and complex to free and spontaneous. Nels Cline builds on the strength of his previous duo work with the likes of Elliott Sharp, Thurston Moore, Carla Bozulich, Marc Ribot and not least of all the late West Coast bassist Eric Von Essen. Lage, for his part, has worked in duo settings with David Grisman, Martin Taylor, John Abercrombie, Taylor Eigsti and others.
With her debut Mack Avenue Recordsalbum Crime Zone next generation Los Angeles pianist Connie Han has created an edgy blend of modern and traditional jazz. Han’s parents, both practicing classical musicians, instilled an appreciation formusic and a strong work ethic in Han very early on, enrolling her in piano lessons at the age of five. “Learning the piano as a child was a gift. By the time I became interested in jazz at the age of 14, I had great technical proficiency on my instrument allowing me to focus all of my energy on the more sophisticated elements of jazz music. More importantly, I was able to tackle the social equation of learning how to play with others. It takes a lot of time and patience to internalize the essence and heartbeat of jazz.”
In The Key Of The Universe - Joey DeFrancesco - Label: Mack Avenue - As he's made abundantly clear over the past 30 years, Joey DeFrancesco has plenty of soul. What most listeners probably haven't spent much time pondering is that soul's place in the universe. On his adventurous new album, In The Key Of The Universe, the master organist turns his musical attentions to his spiritual side, tapping into a strain of metaphysical jazz that's fueled sonic searchers for more than half a century. Joey D calls upon disciples and missionaries of jazz to join him in paving the way to enlightenment.
On Kenny Garrett's fourth Mack Avenue release the Detroit-born saxophonist dives headlong into a set of original songs that exploit dance rhythms in subtle, unexpected ways. There is a lively, organic ensemble sound here that lends itself to group interplay even during solos. Everybody sounds alert and focused with all ears on Garrett. Ultimately, with Do Your Dance! Garrett has crafted an album that will get your blood flowing to your brain and your feet. - All Music Guide
Macroscope, the fifth album and Mack Avenue debut by his adventurous trio The Nels Cline Singers, provides a measure of the long-running group's staggering range. Captivating and continually surprising, the album finds the instrumental trio with the slyly deceptive name veering in one off-kilter direction only to suddenly be overwhelmed by another drastic stylistic shift, often within the space of a single tune. Serrated psychedelia becomes consumed by soulful Brasiliana, blissed-out electronica overwhelmed by garage-rock skronk. Then there's the wholly unexpected "Red Before Orange," where a howling Hendrix-inspired solo suddenly erupts in the middle of a slick lounge-jazz number, Cline unleashing the inner George Benson that few of us expected he even had.
SHAYARI, Ron Blake's third release on Mack Avenue, highlights performances by Jack DeJohnette, Christian McBride, Michael Cain, Regina Carter and Gilmar Gomes. Blake is an in-demand session a group player, a forward thinking band leader and educator recently named to the faculty of Julliard and a seasoned live performer whose stage presence captivates.
SONIC TONIC marks the next step along the multi-textured musical terrain explored by Ron Blake on 2003s critically acclaimed release, LEST WE FORGET. On SONIC TONIC Ton Blake continues to craft an innovative fusion of funk, Latin and Caribbean rhthms with a traditional jazz sound.
The impeccably balanced Duets includes four spontaneous arrangements of well-known classics. 'Nature Boy,' 'Blue in Green,' 'Summertime' and 'A Child Is Born'; plus interpretations of modern pop songs (Adele's 'Someone Like You' and Ellie Goulding's 'Lights')
Russell Malone is one of the most commanding and versatile guitarist performing today. He can move from Blues to Gospel to pop to R&B and Jazz without hesitation, a rare facility that has prompted some of the highest profile artists in the world to call up him: Diana Krall, Aretha Franklin, Christina Aguilera, B.B. King, David Sanborn, Harry Connick, Jr. to name a few. On his Maxijazz release, LIVE AT JAZZ STANDARD (VOLUME TWO), Malone captivates from the opener and displays why he is one of the most in-demand guitarists today.
