JOVM’s William Ruben Helms celebrates the 109th anniversary of Bille Holiday’s birth.
Tag: jazz
Throwback: Happy 46th Birthday, Robert Glasper!
JOVM’s William Ruben Helms celebrates Robert Glasper’s 46th birthday.
New Audio: Eric Wink Teams Up with Caitlin McGrath on Breezy “Inconsolable”
Eric Wink is a producer, arrangement and multi-instrumentalist, who attempts to craft timeless pop influenced by old-school funk, soul, disco, jazz and bossa nova. As a keyboardist, Wink’s sound comes from a love of vintage keyboard tones and his rhythmic style of playing comes from a lifetime of being behind drum kits.
Wink’s career started in earnest in his early teens, when he started recording material, picking up sax, bass and guitar along the way. As a self-taught musician, who was dedicated to improving his craft by playing in local blues rock and funk groups, as well as jazz and Latin ensembles.
As a music educator, Wink is focused on collaboration with other artists and driven by a passion for production, whether it’s jazz, funky pop or beyond. His latest single “Inconsolable” is a swinging, soul pop-leaning take on the Bossa nova sound that features effortlessly soulful vocals from Caitlin McGrath and a smooth jazz sax solo.
While being a breezy and summery tune, the song keeping in line with Bossa nova tradition focus on heartbreak with an achingly wistful nostalgia — the sort that seems to say “Oh, if I had only known then what I know now.”
Throwback: Happy 75th Birthday, Gil Scott-Heron!
JOVM’s William Ruben Helms celebrates the 75th anniversary of Gil Scott-Heron’s birth.
Throwback: Happy 99th Birthday, Roy Haynes!
JOVM’s William Ruben Helms celebrates Roy Haynes’ 99th birthday.
Throwback: Black History Month: Ella Fitzgerald
JOVM’s William Helms celebrates Black History Month and pays tribute to Ella Fitzgerald.
Throwback: Black History Month/Happy 91st Birthday, Nina Simone!
JOVM’s William Ruben Helms celebrates Black History Month and the 91st anniversary of Nina Simone’s birth.
Slated for a March 1, 2024 release through Heavenly Recordings, Mildlife‘s highly-anticipated third album Chorus is reportedly their most optimistic effort, serving as a sonic testament to their unwavering adoration for 70s psychedelic and comic sounds. But delve deeper, and you will hear references to Polish jazz, Italo disco and a sprinkling of contemporary electronic sounds. The album is the dance of an endlessly expanding and contracting universe — its groove is forever and always, cyclical and evolving. During its most human moments, the album’s material luxuriates in the velvety embrace of Tom Shanahan’s bass lines, Adam Halliwell’s luminous guitar riffs, Kevin McDowell’s hushed and alluring vocals, Jim Rindfleish’s intricate percussive tapestries and the spiritual rhythms of regular collaborator Craig Shanahan. Swept up in the chorus, the lines between individual and ensemble blur.
“It’s knowing that all the pieces of our own puzzles can slot neatly into a bigger one,” the band’s Tom Shanahan says. The album sees the members assurance growing — both individually and as a band. On their previously released material, Kevin McDowell was the primarily vocalist but Chorus sees each member having a moment of expression, highlighting their own choral visions, while forging a new unified openness and humanity to their sound.
“We had this idea that we wanted to create a kind of disparate ecosystem of living things,” the band’s Tom Shanahan continues. “We liked the idea of creating a small metaphor of moving through space. You see moments of things and sounds that may not emerge again, until everything around you starts to unify.”
The album sees the members of Mildlife thematically linking microcosmic personal meaning with a macro view from on high. “Chorus is about a coming together of disparate elements. Not in some sort of utopian aesthetic where everything works perfectly, but in the natural flow and state of things,” shares the band’s Jim Rindfleish. “It’s about cosmic compatibility and chemistry: what makes things work? Not just what makes the band work, but what makes good music, art or love? It’s the rhythm of nature”.
Last year, I wrote about Chorus‘ two previously released singles:
- “Return to Centaurus,” was the acclaimed Aussie outfits first bit of new material since 2020’s Automatic and first single off the forthcoming album. Clocking in at a little over 10 minutes, “Return to Centaurus” opens with droning synths and leads into Wish You Were Here-era Pink Floyd-meets-space rock-like introduction, with Kraftwerk-like vocoders. By around the 2:40 mark, the song quickly morphs into some hook-driven acid funk with loping yet supple bass lines, shimmering funk guitar riffs, glistening space-age synths, bursts of fluttery flute and intricate yet propulsive drum patterns. Rooted in the Aussie outfit’s love of 70s psychedelic and cosmic sounds, the new single serves as a reminder of their seemingly effortless mastery of mind-bending and unhurried trippy grooves.
- “Musica,” a track built around a groove that’s one-part motorik, one-part glittery Giorgio Moroder-era Italo disco paired with squiggling, Nile Rodgers-like funk guitar, glistening synths and a supple bass line paired with McDowell’s hushed, gently vocodered vocal and propulsive congo-driven percussion with a spacey, Wish You Were Here-like synth solo. While seeing the band further cement their retro-futuristic sound, “Musica” reminds the listener — both new and familiar — that the Aussie outfit are modern masters of trippy, mind-bending grooves that draw from and effortlessly mesh elements of funk, jazz fusion, prog rock, komische musik and more.
Chorus’ third and final pre-release single “Yourself” is a slinky yacht rock-meets-funky jazz fusion bop that sounds — to my ears, at least — as though it could have been a B-side to Hall and Oates‘ “I Can’t Go For That (Say No Go)” or on Jaco Pastorius‘ self-titled debut. Thematically, the song is about radical and meaningful self-acceptance and the joy to be found in shared purpose. It’s arguably one of the most uplifting and optimistic songs of the Aussie outfit’s growing catalog.
“’Yourself’ is emotionally very positive, uplifting and bright; especially the chorus has this uplifting ascension in the chords,” the band’s Kevin McDowell explains. “I remember sitting on that and feeling like we were all happy. I think we’d maybe matured to the point where these are the kind of brighter sounds that we probably should embrace just out of a sense of freshness, and even just for our own curiosity.”
Throwback: Happy Belated 84th Birthday, Allen Toussaint!
JOVM’s William Ruben Helms belatedly celebrates the 84th anniversary of the birth of Allen Toussaint.
Live Footage: John Finbury Teams Up with Bruna Black on Meditative “Será”
Andover, MA-based Grammy and Latin Grammy-nominated drummer and composer John Finbury spent his teenaged years playing in rock bands at New York’s legendary The Bitter End. He then went on to study classical piano, music theory and composition at the Longy School of Music at Bard College and at Boston University.
Back in 2014, the Andover-based musician and composer released The Green Flash, a four song EP of original compositions of Brazilian jazz. All four songs received nominations for the 2015 American Songwriting Awards with “SambaDan” winning for Best Instrumental. Finbury followed The Green Flash EP with 2015’s 11-song Brazilian jazz effort Imaginário featuring vocalist Marcella Camargo and some of Boston’s best players, including Fernando Huergo, Mark Walker, Tim Ray, Claudio Ragazzi, Roberto Cassan and Ricardo Monzon. Finbury surprised the Latin music world when Imaginário track “A Chama Verde” received a Latin Grammy nomination for Song of the Year.
2017’s Pitanga was released to critical acclaim. Adding to a rapidly growing profile in the Latin music scene, Finbury’s third album, the Emilio D. Miler-produced Sorte!, which saw him collaborating with vocalist Thalma de Freitas and an All-Star band featuring Vitor Gonçalves, Chico Pinheiro, Duduka de Fonseca, John Patitucci, Rogerio Boccato and Airto Moreira received a Grammy Award nomination for Best Latin Jazz album.
2020 saw the release of two albums of originals: American Nocturnes: Final Days of July, an album of intimate chamber jazz compositions featuring arrangements for piano, cello, guitar, accordion and harmonica — and Quatro, a Latin jazz album featuring Lagos Herrera, Chano Domínguez, John Pattiucci and Antonio Sánchez.
During the pandemic, the Andover-based musician and composer collaborated with French jazz vocalist Camille Bertault. They recorded and released “Look at What a Mess You Made of Me,” which featured Christian McBride (bass) and “Boulevard,” which featured Larry Gouldings (organ) and Billy Martin (drums).
In 2021, following the death of the legendary Chick Correa, Finbury and de Freitas wrote and recorded “Ring The Bells” as a tribute to the man and his influential work.
Las year, Finbury wrote and released three original Brazilian jazz compositions recorded in São Paulo by Mestrinho (accordion), Michael Pipoquinho (bass), Cainã Cavalcante (guitar), Celso de Almeida (drums) and Leo Rodrigues (percussion).
2023 was a very busy year for Finbury: He continued an ongoing collaboration with Magos Herrera and recorded and released three original compositions of Chamber Jazz. The Andover-based musician and composer also continued his successful collaboration with Miler, who introduced him to rising São Paulo-based singer/songwriter Bruna Black.
Black wound up contributing vocals to Finbury’s forthcoming album — and wrote the lyrics to two of them, including album single “Chão De Nuvem,” which I wrote about earlier this year. Featuring a soulful yet breezy arrangement of fluttering accordion, a supple bass line, shuffling percussion to create a song that effortlessly and gorgeously meshes elements of samba, jazz fusion and pop that serves as a perfect vehicle for Black’s languorous and soulful delivery.
The album’s second and latest single “Será” is built around a gorgeous and John Finbury-written arrangement of shimmering acoustic guitar by Chico Pinheiro and a supple, sinuous bass line from John Pattiucci that’s roomy enough for Bruna Black’s expressive delivery. Fittingly perfect for the end of the year, the song is a meditation on the passing of time, the choices and plans we make that work out and the ones that fail — with the understanding that it all influences who we are, and who we will become.
“Looking back at one’s life and plans from any point in time. Happiness is elusive; we’re different people when we arrive. Could it be simply wondering about the outcome of one’s decisions? Rejoice in having a choice; embrace the outcome as your creation. And keep going,” the collaborators say in a statement.
Look for the album next March.
Throwback: Happy 82nd Birthday, Maurice White!
JOVM’s William Ruben Helms celebrates the 82nd anniversary of Earth Wind & Fire’s Maurice White’s birth.
New Video: Yeisy Rojays Teams Up with Julito Padrón on Breezy, Soulful and Politically Charged “Mama Ines”
Yeisy Rojas is a Cuban-born, Norwegian-based, classically trained, jazz violinist, singer/songwriter and composer, who played with the National Opera Orchestra in Havana before relocating to Norway back in 2016 to get her master’s degree in jazz violin.
Rojas’ work sees her blending Cuban music, Latin jazz and funk with powerful social messages — in particularly, she speaks up against racism in her homeland. Her latest single “Mama Ines,” which features Julito Padrón is an adaptation of Nicolás Guillén’s 1930 poem “Ayer Me Dijeron Negro” that pairs the poet’s words with a breezy and soulful arrangement that meshes elements of Latin soul, funk and jazz — and reminds me very fondly of the sounds of parties in the South Bronx, Lower East Side, Corona, East Elmhurst and so on.
Music is a weapon and as Rojas explains “My message is specifically for my land Cuba, where I hope there will be more equality and rights for our Afro community.”
The accompanying, gorgeously shot video for “Mama Ines” is shot in what appears to be Havana and features a collection of beautiful dancers, who are represent almost every skin complexion you’d come across in Cuba, revealing the country’s soul, heart and decency.
New Video: JOVM Mainstays Mildlife Shares Mind-Bending and Glittery “Musica”
Melbourne-based psych jazz/jazz funk/jazz fusion outfit Mildlife — multi-instrumentalists Jim Rindfleish, Adam Halliwell, Kevin McDowell and Tom Shanahan — exploded into the national and international scenes with the release of their critically applauded 2017 full-length debut Phase, a mind-bending mesh of jazz, jazz fusion, krautrock and 70s psychedelia rooted in their now long-held penchant for trippy grooves. Phase received praise from Resident Advisor, Uncut, The Guardian and others, while landing several award nominations including Best Album at the 2018 Worldwide FM Awards, Best Independent Jazz Album at the 2018 AIR Awards and a Best Electronic Award nomination and win at the Music Victoria Awards.
Fittingly, the album became a word-of-mouth sensation among open-minded, crate-digging DJs searching for that perfect, seemingly undiscovered — or little-known funky groove. And adding to a growing profile, the Aussie psych jazz outfit won fans with a loose-limbed, free-flowing and improvisational-driven live show that led to touring with Stereolab, JOVM mainstays King Gizzard and The Lizard Wizard and Harvey Sutherland.
Building upon that momentum, Mildlife’s first national headlining tour was sold-out, and they quickly followed up with a ten-date UK and European Union tour.
Mildlife’s sophomore album, 2020’s Automatic was a stylistic shift for the acclaimed Aussie outfit. The album’s material was much more danceable, but while continuing their unerring knack for knowing when to let a track luxuriate and stretch out — without being self-indulgent. The album received critical applause internationally while earning the Aussie outfit an ARIA Award win.
Unable to play shows in person in front of living, breathing, sweating and dancing humans because of the pandemic, the band traveled by boat to a long-abandoned 19th century fort on South Channel Island, just outside of Melbourne, where they performed material from both Phase and Automatic for a 70-minute concert film and live album, Live from South Channel Island.
Slated for a March 1, 2024 release through Heavenly Recordings, the acclaimed Aussie outfit’s highly-anticipated third album Chorus is reportedly their most optimistic effort, serving as a sonic testament to their unwavering adoration for 70s psychedelic and comic sounds. But if you delve deeper, the listener will hear references to Polish jazz, Italo disco and a sprinkling of contemporary electronic sounds. The album is the dance of an endlessly expanding and contracting universe — its groove is forever and always, cyclical and evolving. During its most human moments, the album’s material luxuriates in the velvety embrace of Shanahan’s bass lines, Halliwell’s luminous guitar riffs, McDowell’s hushed and alluring vocals, Rindfleish’s intricate percussive tapestries and the spiritual rhythms of regular collaborator Craig Shanahan. Swept up in the chorus, the lines between individual and ensemble blur.
“It’s knowing that all the pieces of our own puzzles can slot neatly into a bigger one,” the band’s Tom Shanahan says. The album sees the members assurance vocally growing — both individually and as a band. On their previously released material, Kevin McDowell was the primarily vocalist but Chorus sees each member having a moment of expression, highlighting their own choral visions, while forging a new unified openness and humanity to their sound.
“We had this idea that we wanted to create a kind of disparate ecosystem of living things,” the band’s Tom Shanahan continues. “We liked the idea of creating a small metaphor of moving through space. You see moments of things and sounds that may not emerge again, until everything around you starts to unify.”
The album sees the members of Mildlife thematically linking microcosmic personal meaning with a macro view from on high. “Chorus is about a coming together of disparate elements. Not in some sort of utopian aesthetic where everything works perfectly, but in the natural flow and state of things,” shares the band’s Jim Rindfleish. “It’s about cosmic compatibility and chemistry: what makes things work? Not just what makes the band work, but what makes good music, art or love? It’s the rhythm of nature”.
Earlier this year, I wrote about Chorus‘ first single,” Return to Centaurus,” which was also their first bit of new material since 2020’s Automatic. Clocking in at a little over 10 minutes, “Return to Centaurus” opens with droning synths and leads into Wish You Were Here-era Pink Floyd-meets-space rock-like introduction, with Kraftwerk-like vocoders. By around the 2:40 mark, the song quickly morphs into some hook-driven acid funk with loping yet supple bass lines, shimmering funk guitar riffs, glistening space-age synths, bursts of fluttery flute and intricate yet propulsive drum patterns. Rooted in the Aussie outfit’s love of 70s psychedelic and cosmic sounds, the new single serves as a reminder of their seemingly effortless mastery of mind-bending and unhurried trippy grooves.
The album’s second and latest single “Musica” is built around a groove that’s one-part motorik, one-part glittery Giorgio Moroder-era Italo disco paired with squiggling, Nile Rodgers-like funk guitar, glistening synths and a supple bass line paired with McDowell’s hushed, gently vocodered vocal and propulsive congo-driven percussion with a spacey, Wish You Were Here-like synth solo. While seeing the band further cement their retro-futuristic sound, “Musica” reminds the listener — both new and familiar — that the Aussie outfit are modern masters of trippy, mind-bending grooves that draw from and effortlessly mesh elements of funk, jazz fusion, prog rock, komische musik and more.
“Musica” was crafted after hours of improvisation, touring and studio time, and honed over 100-plus shows across 23 countries over the past year alone; at the end of each night of the tour, the band would dedicate space in their legendary extended encores to lengthy improvisational passages, out of this “Musica” eventually coalescing from those jams.
From those origins, the track came to assume particular significance for guitarist Adam Halliwell, whose Italian heritage manifested in the lyrics. “When my Nona passed away, I realized I didn’t really know anything about my culture,” he says, having begun learning Italian since her passing a few years ago. “‘Musica’ started with ‘mi da la carica’, which means ‘gives me energy’. Some of the lyrics were written in Italian and then translated back to English a bit askew – almost like writing a song for Eurovision where the lyrics are not quite right”.
Directed by Hayden Somerville, the accompanying video for “Musica” is a cinematically shot surreal visual that’s seemingly one-part Coen Brothers and part film noir oddball odyssey set in rural Australia — with nods to the Autobahns of Mildlife’s long-held krautrock influences. There’s also a character who may be — or at least believes — that they’re part-human, part-machine, part keyboard. It’s fittingly as mind-bending as the song it accompanies.
“Listening to the track, the ‘part machine part human’ elements throughout ‘Musica’ were so fun to mess around with,” Somerville says. “Both of those worlds play against each other in a really pleasing way in the song. I think that’s where ‘Keyboard Arm’ came from. The thought of growing your own little instrument and having a jam with friends was lovely and the whole clip grew from there.”