Miles Davis & John Coltrane - So What

50th year anniversary: Miles Davis - Kind of Blue (1959)

Kind of Blue isn't merely an artistic highlight for Miles Davis, it's an album that towers above its peers, a record generally considered as the definitive jazz album, a universally acknowledged standard of excellence. Why does Kind of Blue posses such a mystique? Perhaps because this music never flaunts its genius. It lures listeners in with the slow, luxurious bassline and gentle piano chords of "So What." From that moment on, the record never really changes pace — each tune has a similar relaxed feel, as the music flows easily. Yet Kind of Blue is more than easy listening. It's the pinnacle of modal jazz — tonality and solos build from the overall key, not chord changes, giving the music a subtly shifting quality. All of this doesn't quite explain why seasoned jazz fans return to this record even after they've memorized every nuance. They return because this is an exceptional band — Miles, Coltrane, Bill Evans, Cannonball Adderley, Paul Chambers, Jimmy Cobb — one of the greatest in history, playing at the peak of its power. As Evans said in the original liner notes for the record, the band did not play through any of these pieces prior to recording. Davis laid out the themes before the tape rolled, and then the band improvised. The end results were wondrous and still crackle with vitality. Kind of Blue works on many different levels. It can be played as background music, yet it amply rewards close listening. It is advanced music that is extraordinarily enjoyable. It may be a stretch to say that if you don't like Kind of Blue, you don't like jazz — but it's hard to imagine it as anything other than a cornerstone of any jazz collection.

by Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Official Site - Miles @ All About Jazz -

[Re:Jazz] Live in Yokohama (2008)

A really great live set from Re:Jazz -- one that's got an even more soulful feel than some of their previous studio work! The performance features a small core group -- acoustic piano from group leader Matthias Vogt, mixed with guitar, bass, and drums -- plus a range of saxes and flute from Oliver Leicht, whose contributions here really deepen the sound! The lovely Inga Luhning sings on a number of tracks -- with a warmly soulful feel that's great, and much more unified than the mix of singers you might have heard on the earliest projects from the group -- continuing the great sound she brought forth on the Expansion record. Re:Jazz have moved way past their initial gimmick by this point -- and the album has them working as a really tight ensemble who mix together jazz and soul for a contemporary audience -- recorded here with a beautifully crisp feel. Titles include "Cupid & Orlando", "Style", "Keep On Movin", "All Over", "Written In The Stars", "Can You Live", "Torch Of Freedom", and "People Hold On". Also features a bonus DVD, in PAL format -- with a 90 minute documentary "Re:Jazz In Japan" -- plus 30 minutes of bonus material that show the group recording with Alice Russell!

Text from Dusty Groove

Official Site - Doc Trailer - MySpace page - On YouTube - Last.Fm page

Clara Hill

Clara Hill is a musician born in Berlin, Germany. She has collaborated with artists like Stefan Leisering and Axel Reinemer ( Jazzanova / Extended Spirit), Dixon, Georg Levin, Marc Mac (4 Hero), King Britt, Vikter Duplaix, Atjazz, Charles Webster and more. Clara Hill recorded three studio albums: Restless Times, All I Can Provide, and Clara Hill´s Folkwaves: Sideways. All Lp's on Sonar Kollektiv.

At seventeen, Hill founded the acid jazz band Superjuice, together with her friend Funès. In the early nineties, at the height of acid jazz, the band toured through Berlin clubs and Germany, gathering a high-profile reputation. During these years, Clara made her first steps in live music. During one of her shows, she met DJ Alex Barck from Jazzanova, who was spinning records as a support DJ. In 1998 he introduced her to the producers of Extended Spirit (2/6 of Jazzanova): Stefan Leisering and Axel Reinemer, that produced a few tracks with Clara. And with Stefan Leisering the song "No Use" was composed which later appeared on the first Jazzanova album "in Between".
In the meantime Clara sang in another band: Stereoton. A band that was rooted in hip hop but played with jazz elements. With Stereoton, a 12" on Sonar Kollektiv was recorded and eventually an enduring cooperation with Jazzanova emerged cause later they produced her first album "Restless Times". Besides Jazzanova, Clara Hill though also was working with Berlin based house-producer DIXON and singer-song writer GEORG LEVIN. On his hit "(I Got) Somebody New", that was remixed by Masters Of Work, her voice can be heard alongside Georg Levin.
Clara Hill also worked with several musicians and producers like King Britt, Marc Mac(4 hero), Vikter Duplaix, Atjazz, Charles Webster, Sandboy, Slope, Volker Meitz, Rivulets.

(Text from Wikipedia)

Official Site - MySpace Page - On YouTube - Last.Fm page -

Lorez Alexandria - For Swingers Only (1963)

One of the greatest albums ever from Lorez Alexandria -- an ultra-hip singer who recorded for Impulse and King, but who sounds especially wonderful on this rare date for Chess Records! The album's got a groove that definitely lives up to its title -- a jazzy, bouncy sort of rhythm that's definitely "for swingers only", and which is a nice contrast to overdone torch or standard jazz vocal modes. Alexandria's singing is completely sublime -- quite fluid, yet with a soulful depth that's really amazing -- and her backing combo is equally hip -- a group led by John Young on piano, and also featuring George Eskirdge on guitar, Jimmy Garrison on bass, Phil Thomas on drums, and Ronald Wilson on flute and tenor -- an obscure player whose reed work really makes the album sparkle! The song choices are great too -- a mix of some under-recorded gems and a few blue-toned classics -- all redone amazingly by Lorez with a sound that's quite unique. Titles include her classic Argo reading of "Baltimore Oriole", which begins with an amazing drum/bass passage that's worth the price of the album alone -- and other tracks include "The End Of A Love Affair", "Baltimore Oriole", "All Or Nothing At All", "Mother Earth", "Love Look Away", and "Traveling Down A Lonely Road".

© 1996-2009, Dusty Groove America, Inc.

Lorez Alexandria Last.Fm page - The AMG entry

Aaron Jerome - Time to Rearrange (2008)

Aaron Jerome combines his brilliant production skills with accomplished musicianship and a rising Dj career. Working at one of London's top independent record stores has not only secured him a myriad of contacts in the music industry, but also exposed him to a wide range of musical influences - as is readily apparent on his debut album "Time to Rearrange" which features plenty of young and up-and-coming guest artists such as Bajka, Simphiwe Dana (South African SAMA 6 times award winning artist), Mozez (Zero 7), Yungun and Kathrin deBoer (Belleruche).

Having DJ'ed in places from South Africa to Sweden and back to the UK and all places in between, Aaron has also been cutting his teeth for a while with remixes for established artists such as Roy Ayers, Bugz in the Attic, Zap Mama and Nitin Sawhney, but it was his remix of Nicole Willis' 'Feeling Free' that really got this young artist noticed. Fania also released his stunning re-work of Pete Rodriguez as part of the Fania DJ series on 12" late 2007.

Text from Soul Seduction

Page on BBE Music - LastFm page - On YouTube - MySpacePage -

Fertile Ground

Although they're considered new artists, Fertile Ground has seven years, countless performances, and dozens of recordings to their credit. After 2 years of extensive touring, writing and recording, the group unveiled their fourth full-length masterpiece, simply entitled Black Is... The highly-anticipated CD, is the sequel to the acclaimed 2002 release Seasons Change. This fourth full-length album, contains a range of ethereal classics such as "Yellow Daisies", a soulful jazz waltz ballad full of affirmation, the joyful noise of "Live In the Light"; and the introspectively revealing song "Naked," which gives us an example of how to truly connect with and reflect each other. Selling more than 125,000 albums , Fertile Ground has created the modern blueprint for independent music sales and become the leader of a movement. With a rebellious freedom and an undaunted genius Fertile Ground's founding leader and keyboardist, James Collins, started Blackout Studios to help get the band's music to listeners the best way possible. Where many artists believe the hype and opt to stand in the longest line waiting to be scooped up by a label, Blackout Studios recognizes that good music can be transmitted through the effective use of the underground.
Fertile Ground has shared the stage with such multi-platinum heavyweights as Cassandra Wilson, Hugh Masekela, Me'Shell N'Degeocello, India Arie, Wynton Marsalis, Jill Scott, Chaka Khan, and even Run DMC. The band is often classified as Soul-Jazz, but they spill out of any genre as a cross-cultural fusion of all things spiritual and funk-ridden. In this realm called good music, theatrics never replace integrity, nor does experience and success replace a creatively fresh approach to each project. Messages are heart-felt, conveying an unashamed spirituality, a firm political stance, or whatever the moment requires, and everything is heavily supported by raw, organic, often danceable compositions in the tradition of Fela Kuti, Stevie Wonder, Santana, and Earth Wind & Fire. With the requisite strength, depth and energy to electrify crowds, musicians, DJs, journalists, and promoters not just once or twice, but over and over again, Fertile Ground has been cementing their place as musical and social innovators.

New album out this fall 2009. Stay Tuned...

(Text from the Fertile Ground MySpace Page)