Tag Archives: Blue Note Records

Ambrose Akinmusire – on the tender spot of every calloused moment

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Title: on the tender spot of every calloused moment 
Artist: Ambrose Akinmusire 
Label: Blue Note 
Formats: CD, Digital, LP  
Release date: June 5, 2020 

 

Trumpeter and composer Ambrose Akinmusire is known for extending the margins of jazz, presenting sonically diverse albums that reflect upon the complexity of Black life in America. Such was the case with his 2018 release, Origami Harvest, which deftly wove together genres and socially conscious themes. Akinmusire describes his new release, on the tender spot of every calloused moment, as a quartet album “that studies the blues in a contemporary context.” Though primarily a jazz musician, Akinmusire adeptly taps into the blues of life in America, blowing through his trumpet with “the breath of a black man who’s seen the best and worst of the country.” Accompanying Akinmusire on this project, which features eleven of his highly original compositions, are his long-time bandmates: pianist Sam Harris, bassist Harish Raghavan, and drummer Justin Brown. 

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Nduduzo Makhathini – Modes of Communication: Letters from the Underworlds

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Title:  Modes of Communication: Letters from the Underworlds 
Artist: Nduduzo Makhathini 
Label: Blue Note 
Formats: CD, Digital 
Release date: April 3, 2020 

 

A rising star on the international jazz scene, South African pianist and composer Nduduzo  Makhathini is a member of the band Shabaka and the Ancestors and was recently featured on the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra’s musical celebration, “The South African Songbook.”  Nduduzo makes his Blue Note recording debut this month with Modes of Communication: Letters from the Underworlds. The album is deeply rooted in the music and ritual practices of his homeland in KwaZulu Natal, with additional inspiration provided by legends of South African jazz including his mentor, the late Bheki Mseleku, and pianist Abdullah Ibraham. It was through Nduduzo’s exposure to American jazz pianist McCoy Tyner, however, that enabled him to develop a style of playing that “could mirror or evoke the way my people danced, sung, and spoke.” Retaining those nuances and connecting his improvisations to more profound elements of divination and healing, known as uBungoma, Nduduzo’s unique vision is communicated throughout the 11 original tracks. 

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Kandace Springs – The Women Who Raised Me

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Title: The Women Who Raised Me
Artist: Kandace Springs
Label: Blue Note Records
Formats: CD, LP, Digital
Release date: March 27, 2020

 

Singer and pianist Kandace Springs, an up and coming jazz and soul inspired artist, was praised by her late mentor, Prince, who claimed she has a “voice that can melt snow.” That’s just what we need as winter recedes, and Springs doesn’t disappoint on her sophomore release, The Women Who Raised Me.  Produced by Grammy Award winning producer Larry Klein, the album is a rich and complex tapestry that travels back and forth across a century of music, using modern production to bend a conglomerate of songs and musical ideas into a new genre while also honoring dozens of the greatest female vocalists of all time.

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Ambrose Akinmusire – Origami Harvest

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Title: Origami Harvest
Artist: Ambrose Akinmusire
Label: Blue Note
Formats: CD, MP3
Release date: October 12, 2018

 

World renowned trumpeter and composer Ambrose Akinmusire recently released his fourth album with Blue Note, Origami Harvest. Originally a project commissioned for curators Judd Greenstein (Manhattan’s Ecstatic Music Festival) and Kate Nordstrum (St. Paul’s Liquid Music Series), Akinmusire was asked, “What’s the craziest idea you have?” Responding to the curators request, he presented a “project about extremes (masculine/feminine, high/low art, passivity/aggression, free improvisation/controlled calculation, American ghettos/American affluence, hip hop/classical), putting things that are seemingly opposite right next to each other.” Continue reading →

Gregory Porter – Nat “King” Cole & Me

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Gregory Porter
Title: Nat “King” Cole & Me

Artist: Gregory Porter

Label: Blue Note

Formats: CD, LP, MP3, Deluxe ed.

Date: October 27, 2017

 

 

Born and raised in Sacramento, California, Gregory Porter is undoubtedly a jazz legend. He captured audiences with his enchanting baritone voice the moment he stepped on the scene, receiving a Grammy nomination for his debut album Water (2010), and wining the Grammy Award for Best Jazz Vocal Album with Liquid Spirit (2013) and last year’s Take Me To The Alley. Now, as he teams up with 6-time Grammy award winning arranger Vince Mendoza as well as the London Studio Orchestra, Porter will sends chills down your spine and possibly bring a tear to your eye with his new album Nat “King” Cole & Me.

This album is meant to be a tribute to his idol, the legendary Nat King Cole, whose influence on Porter began at a very early age. In a recent interview, Porter recalls writing a song and playing it for his mother. Upon listening to young Gregory she exclaimed, “Boy you sound like Nat King Cole.” This sparked Porter’s lifelong love for Nat and his music. Porter also explained that his father was never in his life and Cole’s music seemed to fill a type of void in him, stating “They were coming out of the speakers like Nat was singing those words just to me. I would listen to his albums and imagine that Nat was my father.”

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The material in the album consists of gorgeous orchestral arrangements of songs made famous by Nat King Cole, one of the first being “Nature Boy.” Porter’s rich tone on this song is hauntingly beautiful as he treats the melody and the text in ways clearly influenced by Cole yet still maintaining his own individuality. As the album continues we are met with even more phenomenal arrangements like “Miss Otis Regrets,” with a bombastic introduction that swiftly drops as Porter enters with the lyric. But one of the best moments happens towards the end of the album as Porter sings the standard tune “For All We Know.” His tender delivery of this song is amazing in how he treats the lyric and occasionally embellishes the melody, showcasing excellent control.

With other classic tunes like “L-O-V-E,” “Sweet Lorraine” (on the 15 track deluxe edition) and “The Christmas Song,” Nat “King” Cole & Me is absolutely astonishing. With a rich and soulful sound, no one could do more justice to the memory and legacy of Nat King Cole than Gregory Porter.

Reviewed by Jared Griffin