JOVM’s WIlliam Ruben Helms celebrates the 89th anniversary of the birth of Alice Coltrane.
Tag: jazz
Throwback: Happy 92nd Birthday, Wayne Shorter!
JOVM’s William Ruben Helms celebrates the 92nd anniversary of the birth of Wayne Shorter.
New Audio: Mathis Picard Shares Gorgeous, Soulful “Portrait of Lizzy”
Born in France to a French father and a Malagasy mother, acclaimed composer, bandleader and pianist Mathis Picard began playing piano when he was four and pursued a rigorous musical education across the US, France and the UK. Currently based in New York, Picard is a Juilliard School graduate, an ASCAP Next Generation of Songwriters recipient and a member of the Montreux Jazz Artists Foundation. Adding to a growing profile, the French-born, New York-based artist has performed with Ron Carter, Lillias White, Céceile McLorin Salvant, Wynton Marsalis, Christian McBride and a lengthy list of others, while making a run of the global touring and festival circuit, playing sets at Umbria Jazz Festival, Montreux Jazz Festival and The Jazz Cruise.
Picard’s newest band The Sound Orchestra can trace its origins back to when he was 13: Back then he led a similar ensemble while studying at Chetham’s School of Music in England. The first iteration of his US-based Sound Orchestra bean as a three-horn ensemble performing the French-born composer and musician’s original work, featuring Giveton Gelin and Ruben Fox. The band continued to expand over the years into a full-fledged orchestral unit featuring a saxophone section, electric bass and an expansive percussion section providing the rhythmic foundation for Picard’s genre-bending compositions.
The project’s debut, The Sound Orchestra, which is slated for a November 6, 2026 release through La Reserve Records is the latest chapter in Picard’s career — a career that has seen him emerge as one of the most distinctive young artists and voices in contemporary jazz. Throughout the band’s debut, Picard’s arrangements draw from and musical worlds that have shaped him e rhythms from his mother’s native Madagascar meets Afro-Cuban music, 1970’s Earth, Wind & Fire-like funk, Duke Ellington and Fats Waller. “This is not your traditional Big Band record,” Picard explains. “The goal of the band was always for it to make people dance. Whether it be swing music, house, dubstep, waltz, or even a ballad, I wanted to connect with the audience through dance. Dance for me is this wonderful way to express our bodies, and for us to be together in community.”
The Sound Orchestra‘s first single “Portrait of Lizzy” is a celebration of Picard’s life through a re-imagining of the American standard “Portrait of Jennie.” Released on the couple’s third wedding anniversary, “Portrait of Lizzy” is an old-school, Big Band-styled ballad specifically meant for those deeply in love romantic couples to slow dance, cheek-to-cheek, rooted in some soulful and gorgeous performances.
Mathis and Lizzy were married at Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Dizzy’s Club, an institution with a deep connection to Picard’s career and his time at The Juilliard School. Picard has also performed with The Sound Orchestra at Dizzy’s dance parties, including a night celebrating the legendary music of Earth, Wind & Fire. Continuing his relationship with Lincoln Center, Picard will play a solo set on October 9, 2026 at Lincoln Center’s Kenneth C. Griffin Sidewalk Studio to honor the musical legacy of San Juan Hill.
New Audio: Kiefer Shares Dreamlike “Memory Bomb” feat. Walter Smith III, Flanafi, and Shibo
Los Angeles-based acclaimed pianist and producer Kiefer Shackelford, a.k.a. Kiefer was raised in San Diego by parents, who were both aerospace engineers and keen pianists, who both influenced him in their own way: His mother taught him at a very young age how to read music and play piano, starting with simple Bach minuets. His father was a huge jazz head, and a fan big fan of Blue Note Records in particular. who released albums by Sonny Clark and Gene Harris.
Shacklelord would endlessly listen to Kind of Blue and after reading Miles Davis‘ biography when he was 13, he knew that he wanted to become a jazz musician. During high school, he studied jazz piano with a local teacher and went to attend UCLA, where Blue Note recording artist and legendary guitarist Kenny Burrell, who was head of the school’s jazz program, became one of his tutors throughout his studies.
After completing his studies, Shackelford signed to Stones Throw Records, where he quickly established his musical identity and gained attention with a series of releases including 2018’s Happysad, 2021’s Between Days and 2023’s It’s Okay B U. Adding to a growing profile, he has collaborated with Dr. Dre, De La Soul, Pete Rock, Anderson .Paak, Terrace Martin and a growing list of others. He’s also a member of the collective FATHERS with Ben “CARRTOONS” Carr, Nate Smith and producer Kenneth Blume, who released their self-titled debut on Blue Note earlier this year.
2026 will continue to be a busy year for the acclaimed pianist: His fourth album, and Blue Note Records debut, the Kiefer, Shibo, and CARRTOONS co-produced Memory Bomb is slated for a September 25, 2026 release. The album will feature guest spots from Tony Stone, Erick The Architect, CARRTOONS, Nate Smith, Walter Smith III, Cisco Swank, Relyae, Rae Khalil, Moonchild‘s Amber Navarn, Planet Giza, and more.
Long considered one of Los Angeles’ best kept musical secrets, Kiefer has been described as a musician, who doesn’t just play keys with his fingers, but his soul. He’s a truly gifted artist, who has actively redefined that sweet spot between jazz improvisation and hip-hop beat making through a distinctive musical style, which he calls “Over The Breaks,” which reaches new heights of creativity on Memory Bomb.
The acclaimed Los Angeles-based artist is a believer in embracing new inferences and new styles through collaboration with others — and that’s where the journey to his first Blue Note bandleader album began. His first priority was to get his two best friends — CARRTOONS and Shibo — to co-produce the album with him, as they completely understood his sound, his harmonic sensibility and both are extremely adept at drum programming. The innovation through collaboration mindset extended to the inclusion of a talented cast of vocalist, rappers and musicians in interesting combinations, The result was something new and exciting while still sounding like a Kiefer-led project.
The album’s title, Memory Bomb is a poetic and metaphoric way of saying a dream. For Keifer, there are three types of dreams/memory bombs, the sort you experience when you sleep, the wishful longing type and the ambitious type — and those themes populate the direction of many of the album’s songs. Throughout the album’s runtime, there is a lyrical feel with the album’s material telling a story. It’s wistful, poetic and groove-driven, centered around the sensation of being in a dreamscape. And because of the material’s improvisational moments, the story changes every time the listener listens to it.
The album will include the previously released “NewLevels NewDevils” feat. Tony Stony, Erick The Architect and CARRTOONS, and the album’s second single, album title track “Memory Bomb” feat. Walter Smith III, Flanafi, and Shibo. “Memory Bomb” is a meditative, almost wistful blend of bop-era jazz, jazz fusion and beatmaking that’s dreamlike and effortlessly soulful.
New Audio: Erica Tucceri Shares Breezy, Dance Floor Friendly “Grazie Ragazzi”
Erica Tucceri (pronounced like “two cherry”) is a Melbourne/Naarm-born, London-based producer, composer and flautist, who first cut her teeth as a prolific collaborator, working with Surprise Chef, ZEFX, Don Glori, Alexander Flood and a list of others from the local jazz scene while amassing a cult following for her signature tonal control and explosive solos.
Tucceri stepped out into the spotlight as a band leader and composer at 2024’s Melbourne International Jazz Festival, where her anticipated “Take Note” composition for 10 piece ensemble with strings was a triumphant sold-out headline debut that also showcased her continuing evolution as an artist.
Since relocating to London, the Aussie-born producer, composer and flautist signed to DeepMatter Records, who will be releasing her highly-anticipated full-length debut. Route 96. The album, which is slated for a November 27, 2026 release is part-diary, part-love letter to Melbourne/Naarm that was conceived during an unlikely stint moonlighting as a tram during during COVID-19 lockdowns. The rhythms and every day patter of the city and city life are translated into a blend of percussive, flute-driven cosmic jazz, informed by psychedelia and the dance floor. “This album is what happens when you leave a moonlighting musician alone in the drivers cabin of a Melbourne tram for a few years,” Tucceri says. “The compositions took shape while I drove. Influenced by the city around me, I’d sing ideas into my phone at the end of my shift, tying the fabric of the music to the sights, sounds and memories of the city. My only rule: if it was catchy enough to have remembered throughout the shift, it was worth capturing.”
Sitting on a growing stockpile of ideas, it wasn’t until the return of longterm friends Lewis Moody (keys, production) and Ziggy Zeitgeist (drums) to Melbourne/Naarm in late 2022 that she realized she actually had an album’s worth of material. Her backing band is rounded out by Matthew Hayes (bass) and Ray Pereira and Javier Fredes, two cross-generational masters of percussion and scene stalwarts, who contribute Cuban and West African-inspired percussion reuniting for their first collaboration together in twenty years.
The album follows upon the critical success of previously released single “Hey Bear” and “Flute Trip,” which received airplay across Australian community radio stations, including PBS FM and Triple R, and broke through onto UK national radio with airplay from Gilles Peterson, Jamz Supernova and BBC 6 Music’s New Music Fix Daily, as well as Jazz FM, Rinse FM and more. And adding to a growing profile, she has toured the world with various projects and has showcased her own music at EFG London Jazz Festival and at Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club.
Route 96‘s first single “Grazie Ragazzi” is a breezy and strutting bit of disco-tinged jazz funk, anchored around African-inspired percussion, a deep dance floor friendly groove, an incredibly catchy melody and some fiery and passionately improvised solos. Sonically resembling a mix of 70s jazz fusion and contemporaries like Surprise Chef, Mildlife and L’Eclair, the track captures — and evokes — the lingering buzz of joy of freedom, of seeing sweaty bodies moving and grooving and the appreciation of collective experience after a show at Section 8.
“I will never forget the way the energy of the whole room turned. It was heaving,” Tucceri recalls. “Everyone in the space turned to face the stage, the band were on fire and the dance floor went completely nuts, almost as one. I’ve spent many a night at Section 8, but I’ve never seen that again.”
Throwback: Happy 122nd Birthday, Count Basie!
JOVM’s William Ruben Helms celebrates the 122nd anniversary of the birth of Count Basie.
New Video: Two Lush and Soulful Tunes from Zurich’s Okvsho
Zurich-based sibling duo Okvsho — Georg and Christoph Kiss — will be releasing their fourth album Frozen Flashes on September 18, 2026 through Current Moves. Recorded between Zurich and London, Frozen Flashes reportedly find the […]
Throwback: Happy 84th Birthday, Jack DeJohnette!
JOVM’s William Ruben Helms celebrates the 84th anniversary of the birth of Jack DeJohnette.
Throwback: Happy 125th Birthday, Louis Armstrong!
JOVM’s William Ruben Helms celebrates the 125th anniversary of the birth of Louis Armstrong.
Throwback: Happy 81st Birthday, David Sanborn!
JOVM’s William Ruben Helms celebrates the 81st anniversary of the birth of David Sanborn.
New Audio: Kiefer Teams Up with Tony Stone, Erick The Architect and CARRTOONS on Soulful, Introspective “NewLevels NewDevils”
Los Angeles-based acclaimed pianist and producer Kiefer Shackelford, a.k.a. Kiefer was raised in San Diego by parents, who were both aerospace engineers and keen pianists, who both influenced him in their own way: His mother […]
Live Footage: FATHERS Live at Wonderland Park
FATHERS is a collective of acclaimed artists and producers, renowned for their jazz-rooted musicianship, their production acumen and their love of the possibilities one can create in the studio. The collective features:
Kenneth Blume, a producer formerly known as Kenny Beats, who has worked on efforts by Vince Staples, Denzel Curry, Rico Nasty, IDLES, Freddie Gibbs, Geese, Weezer and a long list of others, He has also invited Doja Cat, Thundercat and Skrillex to participate in viral, streamed concepts across both Twitch and YouTube.
Kiefer Shackelford, a keyboardist and producer best known as Kiefer. Shackelford’s own work has earned acclaimed for his uniquely atmospheric blend of jazz, electronic music and hip hop. As a collaborator and producer, he has worked with Terrace Martin and Anderson .Paak. He produced two tracks on .Paak’s Grammy Award-winning 2019 album, Ventura, including the album’s lead single “King James.”
Ben “CARRTOONS” Carr, a New York-based genre-blurring multi-instrumentalist and artist, who in addition to producer-led projects like last year’s Space Cadet has gained traction through his inventive socials, multiple NPR Tiny Desk Concert appearances and production work with George Clinton, Freddie Gibbs, Jadakiss, Usher, and Roy Ayers. With FATHERS, Carr takes up bass duties.
Nate Smith a highly-respect and influential drummer, songwriter and producer, who has collaborated with an impressive and eclectic list of artists including Michael Jackson, Brittany Howard, Jon Batiste, Pat Metheny, Dave Holland, Childish Gambino, Vulpeck and a growing list of others. Earlier this year, Smith won two Grammy Awards for last year’s LIVE ACTION, a guest-packed effort that showcased his gifts as a conceptualist and as the fulcrum of an astonishing network of artists.
FATHERS core trio — Smith, Carr and Shackelford — can trace their origins back to 2023: Smith assembled the core trio as part of his residency at that year’s Montréal Jazz Festival. Tours of the States and Japan followed, where the trio further developed their chemistry as a working group. “We all write, we all play at a high level, and we’re pushing each other to be better,” says CARRTOONS. “So we know going into anything that there’s going to be an inspiration and a push from everybody else, so that hunger that we all have independently becomes this super-being when we get together.”
The outfit’s self-titled full-length debut is slated for a Friday, July 10, 2026 release through Blue Note Records. Produced by Blume, the album was recorded at his Los Angeles-based Putnam Hill Studio in an impromptu two day recording session. And as a result, the material possesses the magical spark of spontaneity and serendipity, while fittingly showcasing the talents of three talented musicians vibing and pushing each other.
“I was 95 percent through building my studio, and I asked Kiefer if he could come by with a band and play some instruments,” Blume recalls. “We custom-built our recording console and hadn’t heard anything through it yet. So it was meant to be a test day to make sure the studio was up and running. Kiefer happened to be playing shows with Ben and Nate at the time, and in testing out the equipment we recorded these songs in 48 hours. Turns out the board works just fine.”
The album includes the previously creased “PEARL,” a bit of Bossa Nova-tinged jazz pop that channels Stan Getz anchored around a bubbling groove and a gently swaying and shimmering melody.
To celebrate the album’s release, the trio recently released a half-hour long performance and interview video that features the outfit’s core compositional and performing trio performing stripped down jazzier arrangements of their debut’s material shot at Wonderland Park. The live session showcases that material is equally underpinned by bop era jazz and J. Dilla productions and is rooted in the trio’s soulful musicianship and effortless simpatico. Throughout the session, each member of the trio intuitively knows when to lead and when to follow in service of the melody and the overarching song.
The stylized video was inspired by the Bill Evans Trio’s 1972 appearance on the TV show The Jazz Set and in some way it has a surreal, yet deeply cool air.
Throwback: Happy 84th Birthday, Dr. Lonnie Smith!
JOVM’s William Ruben Helms celebrates the 84th anniversary of the birth of Dr. Lonnie Smith.
Throwback: Happy 100th Birthday, Miles Davis!
JOVM’s William Ruben Helms celebrates the 100th anniversary of the birth of Miles Davis.