Real music is not always ‘sold’ through mainstream avenues.
That does not mean the albums in question are not ‘good enough’ or not sold through mainstream, it means good music must be sought out.
Here are just a few albums than music lovers should add to their collection. Buy albums, attend shows and keep music alive.
Please Scroll down and listen to selected tracks from the albums.
Michael Eaton
Dialogical
May 3, 2019
Destiny Records
Dialogical is Michael Eaton’s second release. The album is augmented by Lionel Loueke on guitar and vocals. Alongside Eaton on tenor/soprano saxophones is his long-time ensemble consisting of Brad Whiteley on piano, Daniel Ori on bass and gimbri and Shareef Taher on drums. Also featured is Jon Crowley on trumpet, James Brandon Lewis and Sean Sonderegger on tenor saxophones, Cheryl Pyle on flute, Dorian Wallace on piano, Brittany Anjou on vibraphone and gyil, Enrique Haneine on udu and Sarah Mullins on marimba and triangles. With an emphasis on rhythm and texture, Dialogical fuses modern jazz, minimalism, and world music.
Ralph Peterson
& Messenger Legacy Band
Alive Volume 6 at the Side Door
May 20, 2019
Onyx Productions
When it comes to Art Blakey, there is no living drummer more suited to honoring his legacy than the incomparable Ralph Peterson. As the last drummer chosen by Blakey to play by his side in the Jazz Messengers Two Drummer Big Band, Peterson is tasked with the unique responsibility to carry forth Buhaina’s torch and tradition. On Legacy: Alive Vol. 6 at the Side Door, the mission comes full circle as Peterson and the Messenger Legacy Band mark what would have been the icon’s 100th birthday. Due out on May 20 (RP’s 57th birthday) on Peterson’s own Onyx Productions label, Legacy presents Peterson in the company of five undisputed authorities and alumni of the Blakey tradition: saxophonists Bill Pierce and Bobby Watson, trumpeter Brian Lynch, pianist Geoffrey Keezer, and bassist Essiet Essiet. This double album was recorded live in October 2018 at the Side Door in Old Lyme, Connecticut.
KENNER
8Ball City
May 23, 2019
Self-release
8Ball City features an array of international musicians including drummersDavid Frazier Jr., Noam Israeli and Diego Joaquin Ramierz, bassist Tamir Shmerling, guitarists Andrew Whitbeck and Nitzan Bar, saxophonists Clay Lyons and Jonathan Greenstein and trumpeter Wayne Tucker. The album also features two guest masters: Jamey Haddad on percussion (Paul Simon, Yo Yo Ma, Herbie Hancock), and Tamer Pinarbasi on qanun (New York Gypsy All-stars). This apologetically playful album integrates the soulful and the calculated, with elements of R&B and jazz coming in contact with Kenner’s classical and progressive rock influences. This album combines the grittiness of the real world- the day to day struggle, with the boundlessness of imagination. 8Ball City was recorded at Riro Muzik and Black Lodge Studio in Brooklyn, NY and at Gil Feldman’s Studio in Israel.
Sam Newsome
Chaos Theory: Song Cycles for Prepared Saxophone
June 3, 2019
Self-release
Sam Newsome’s new solo saxophone recording, Chaos Theory: Song Cycles for Prepared Saxophone appeals to anyone willing to immerse him or herself in what’s before them: Newsome’s innovative approach to the soprano saxophone and contributions to the solo saxophone canon.
While the album is quite obviously a result of Newsome’s unapologetic desire to delve into the sonic potential of his instrument, the saxophonist’s primary concern, first and foremost, is listen-ability. Actively in search of creating music that is both fresh and relate-able, Newsome’s sound palette coddles the ear as it challenges the mind.
Brandee Younger
Soul Awakening
June 7, 2019
Self-release
Surfacing six years after its completion in 2013, Soul Awakening was recorded in 2012 under the direction of producer and bassist Dezron Douglas, and embodies the ambition, vigor and aesthetic ideals of The Brandee Younger Quartet, at and since its inception. A benchmark recording that captures the group’s collective brilliance in its infancy, Soul Awakening is a synthesis of the people, places and moments that impacted Younger most, ahead of the album’s creation. The very first album recorded by the ensemble, Soul Awakening marks the birth of Brandee Younger’s artistic signature and the reemergence of the harp as a pillar of modern popular music. Brandee will be celebrating this new release at the Blue Note in New York City on May 21 and May 22.
Rick Keene Music Scene 