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“I’m Here. Let Me In.” is a solo project with friends produced by the beastly virtuosity of “Short Dawg” Steve Mayone from Brooklyn NY. The album began with two compositions in a half awake half dream state and sounds like nothing else Boris has done. The rhythm is amorphous on many of the songs, with the vocals pushed out front, and the emotion is crystallized amidst the rich harmonies. Boris wanted a vocal album and he achieved it. The core tracks were recorded by Boris himself at his studio in Dixon NM. The songs range from the cosmic and beautifully sad, “Poor Tired Hands” to the fun loving Hank Williams brand, “Godzilla Vs. King Kong.” The album also holds a revealing tenderness which can be felt in the songs, “Golden Days” or “Piece of Mama”. The album was mixed by Bill Palmer at Frogville Studios and has many local favorites playing on it. Folks like Stephanie Hatfield on backing vocals, David Gutierrez, and Alex McMahon on guitar and banjo, Greg Williams and Jared Putnam from La Chat Lunatique on drums and bass. The new album also features two live tracks with the Salt Licks all-star line up, Brett Davis, Susan Holmes, Paul Groetzinger and Kevin Zoernig. From Steve Mayone’s Brooklyn tracking we have his own brilliant vocals and guitar work and also the phenomenal accordion player John Shapiro.

Lepa stara ploča, jugoslovensko izdanje, zaista dobra muzika, jednog davno prošlog vremena ali nekako savremena i danas zar ne? Šta kažete vi za ovo, imate li vi koji dolazite ovde uopšte ikakav komentar vi jedni sebični kradljivci tudjeg rada?

B CURTIS e J DORELLI canto insieme

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“I love performing and I love being in the studio, but songwriting is what keeps me going. Songwriting is everything to me. Every hour of every day, I’m just humming ideas for melodies and scribbling down lyrics. At this point, I’ve written more songs than I ever thought I would, and if there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that the good ones are always honest. People always seem to respond most to the songs that feel a little too private when I’m writing them down. With Something Good, I pushed myself to be as honest as I could be, to only write music and lyrics that felt true to my voice, and to record an album that feels and sounds like me and my band — raw and meticulous at the same time.” — Dan Mills

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Feature photo above: A-WA by David Kaufman

The 38^th edition of the Festival International de Jazz de Montreal took place in the historic Quebec city from June 28 to July 7, with 10 official indoor venues and six free outdoor stages around the Quartier des Spectacles. There was a lot of emphasis this year on Canadian and Montreal pride, as the city is celebrating its 375^th anniversary, and Canada its 150^th this year. In addition, the festival extended into several nightclubs around town, as well as film theaters screening jazz-based documentaries, including one on John Coltrane, another on guitarist Bill Frisell (who also played at the festival), and a short, animated film on the life of Montreal pianist Oscar Peterson. While the focus is always on jazz, the festival also offers plenty of world music, as well as blues, rock, hip-hop and other acts.

Rosalia and guitarist Raül Refree. Photo by Victor Diaz Lamich.

This year’s festival had a rich and diverse mix of world artists, both old and new. The act that most impressed us was a young flamenco duo, singer Rosalía and guitarist Raül Refree. Hailing from Barcelona, they have quickly attained fame in Spain and have brought a new generation of Spaniards to fall in love with flamenco. The couple played several outdoor free shows as well as opening for Buika (see our interview with Buika), who was herself honored with the Antonio Carlos Jobim Award at the festival. Rosalía’s voice is both ethereal and earthy, channeling from the depths of the centuries’ old Andalusian mountains through her deceivingly delicate frame. While outdoor festival crowds are usually difficult to give their full attention to the music, when Rosalía and Raül played, everyone was silenced and eyes riveted on them..

Bokanté. Photo by Ron Deutsch.

Bokanté, a recently formed ensemble (this was their 14^th live performance ever), was another act that completely knocked us out and had the crowd at Club Soda grooving nonstop. The group features singer/songwriter Malika Tirolien, who grew up on the island of Guadeloupe, but makes her home in Montreal. The word bokanté, according to the band’s website, means “exchange” in Creole, Tirolien’s mother tongue. The rest of the group includes Snarky Puppy guitarists Michael League, Chris McQueen, and Bob Lanzetti, as well as an international trio of percussionists and fourth generation sacred pedal/lap steel guitarist Roosevelt Collier. “Unity was paramount in the formation of this group,” guitarist League said in the band’s press release. “Though the ensemble is multilingual, multicultural and multigenerational, we all feel connected as musicians and people. And in combining our different accents I feel that there is a strangely common and poignant sound, one that can reach and relate to listeners around the world.” Indeed, their music draws from a deep gumbo of music styles and sounds. Their debut album, Strange Circles, was released last month on the Ground Up Music label.

Another artist who came as a complete surprise to us was Calais-based Cameroonian musician/singer Blick Bassy. Though he gained international recognition in 2015 when his song “Kiki” was used in an Apple iPhone advertisement, he’s not as well known here as he is in Europe. Bassy also spent many years with the award-winning jazz fusion ensemble Macase before going solo. Working in a very eclectic and whimsical trio–Bassy on banjo and guitar, cellist Clément Petit and trombone/synthesizer player Fidel Fourneyron—he sings in Bassa, one of the endangered Bantu languages of Africa. The show was billed as a “tribute of Skip James,” which was unfortunately misleading, suggesting you might hear some of the great blues singer’s songs. Blassy would have been better served if it had been billed rather as a homage to James. He did speak of how a photo of James in his studio inspired his songwriting. While his music is clearly a recognizable voice of Africa, his sound is something truly original.

Djmawi Africa. Photo by Ron Deutsch.

While it’s impossible to catch every act at the Montreal Jazz Festival that you’d like to see, other stellar international performers we did catch included Brazilian Afrobeat-infused collective Bixiga 70 and Paris-based Brazilian singer/songwriter Flavia Coelho (interviews with both are forthcoming); Argentine harmonica virtuoso Franco Luciani; Ghana’s king of highlife music, Pat Thomas and his Kwashibu Area Band; A-WA, the stunning Israeli sisters who have repurposed their ancestors’ Yemeni chants through modern rhythms; Djmawi Africa, an eight-piece outfit from Algeria which fuses everything from Gnawa to reggae and rock into their very danceable sound; Grammy-nominated Angolan singer/percussionist Vivalda Dula; and Puerto Rican percussion group ÌFÉ, who take traditional Yoruba chants and mix them with electronic beats to create a magical blend.

There were very special performances featuring grandchildren of two of the greatest South American composers, coincidentally both named Daniel. Daniel Jobim, grandson of bossa nova composer Antonio Carlos Jobim, shared the stage with jazz guitarist/singer John Pizzarelli, who together delivered an endearing 50^th anniversary tribute to his grandfather’s collaboration with Frank Sinatra. Later that evening, Daniel “Pipi” Piazzolla, grandson to tango great Astor Piazzolla, took the stage with his group Escaladrum, revisiting the collaboration between his grandfather and songwriter Horacio Ferrer, and featured Broadway singer Elena Roger. And speaking of tributes, one of the festival’s closing night performers was none other than Afrobeat founder Tony Allen, taking a vacation from the sound that made him famous to pay tribute to one of his idols: Art Blakey, founder of the Jazz Messengers. As Allen noted from the stage: “One cannot eat the same food every night. So for now, I’m playing jazz.”

As for jazzheads at the festival, there was plenty to choose from this year. The Bad Plus held court for three nights with guests such as Indian-American saxophonist Rudresh Mahanthappa and guitarist Kurt Rosenwinkel. Other jazz performers of note include John and Alice Coltrane’s son, saxophonist Ravi Coltrane; Japanese pianist Hiromi; the Hudson Project with Jack DeJohnette, John Scofield, John Medeski and Larry Grenadier; and saxophone/flute legend Charles Lloyd.

You could also find plenty of other non-jazz music this year, ranging from Bob Dylan to Feist, King Crimson, Buddy Guy with Charlie Musselwhite, Pink Martini, the Thievery Corporation, Ron Sexsmith, Lizz Wright and Melissa Etheridge with Joss Stone. And there was a strong funk and soul vibe going on this year which saw soul singer Charles Bradley; Cory Henry and the Funk Apostles; Spain’s retro-soul group the Excitements; Montreal’s own Kalmunity Vibe Collective, Urban Science Brass Band and the Brooks; and both the Four Tops and the O’Jays, all played stages during the festival.

As you might expect in the times we live in, the festival was not without some political and social statements made by both performers and festival-goers. Several performers spoke of issues dear to them. Bixiga 70 went as far as hanging a hand-painted sign reading “Fora Temer” (Temer Out) in front of their stage, expressing their disgust with current Brazilian president Michel Temer. They told the audience: “We live in a coup in Brazil! Spread the message!” Also, a group of Black Live Matters activists stormed a stage at the festival, shouting “Jazz is black!” They reportedly were seeking “a national black mental health strategy developed with black communities,” after the recent killing by Montreal police of a local Haitian man who had a history of mental illness and was facing eviction.

Though the festival was bracketed by fits of rain, local and out-of-town festival-goers came out in droves for the entertainment. On one perfect clear evening, perched on a grassy knoll listening to a band, a friend, a Vermont radio DJ let out a big sigh, remarking what keeps him coming here year after year is the chill atmosphere. As if on cue, a young man sitting nearby started to wave his arms animatedly, almost knocking my beer out of my hand. He quickly turned and apologized. He then told us he has been living here for a year, having emigrated from Iran. He pointed to the images of jazz greats on the wall behind us and said with a huge grin, “I know who all those people are in those photos. Dizzy Gillespie, Louis Armstrong, Miles Davis, Billy Holiday. I grew up listening to them in Iran. Such great music. The best music.” We all agreed.

Next year’s Festival International de Jazz de Montreal takes place again from June 28 to July 7, 2018.

Lepa stara ploča, jugoslovensko izdanje, zaista dobra muzika, jednog davno prošlog vremena ali nekako savremena i danas zar ne? Šta kažete vi za ovo, imate li vi koji dolazite ovde uopšte ikakav komentar vi jedni sebični kradljivci tudjeg rada?

B CURTIS e J DORELLI canto insieme

Reggae music is no stranger to cross-genre collaboration, and it is not unusual to hear elements of Caribbean music in today’s pop music, but Jamaica’s rising star, Chronixx, has quickly taken reggae’s relationship with the global music industry to a new level. Born Jamar Rolando McNaughton in Spanish Town, Jamaica, Chronixx is a 24-year-old artist with a skyrocketing career that just made another successful landing Fri., July 7 with the release of his first album, Chronology.

McNaughton grew up under the influence of his father, dancehall musician Chronicle, as well as under other prominent Jamaican artists like Burro Banton and Gregory Isaacs. Since 2012, Chronixx has been rapidly growing a devoted fanbase and has become one of the most promising talents on the global stage to come out of Jamaica. The young artist was first noticed after premiering on a 2012 Major Lazer mixtape Start A Fyah, and his first breakthrough single was in 2013 with “Smile Jamaica” (which is included on Chronology and mentioned below in this article).

His 2014 EP Dread and Terrible topped the U.S. Billboard reggae chart with tracks like “Here Comes Trouble” and “Captureland,” earning him praise from NPR, Vogue, Vice, The New Yorker, and the Jimmy Fallon Show, and accelerating him even further on his path to becoming the leader of Jamaica’s newest generation of reggae artists. After this breakthrough, Chronixx started performing at big-name events like NYC’s SummerStage (2014) and Governors Ball (2015), Glastonbury (2015), Coachella (2016) and Austin City Limits (2016), on top of dozens of shows across Africa, East Asia and Oceania. In the first half of 2017 alone he’s already headlined a 44-city North American tour, become the face of Adidas’ global spring/summer 2017 Spezial Collection, and made his British national TV debut.

Chronixx as the face of Adidas’ spring/summer Spezial Collection.

Chronixx’s rising fame has meant success not only for him, but also for dozens of other young Jamaican artists that make up the current Reggae Revival movement on the island. Just last year, this revitalization was profiled on Vogue, which described the movement as a collective effort that draws on the Jamaican proverb: “One tune can’t keep dance.” The Reggae Revival began at Jamnesia, a surf camp and creative outlet founded by the guitarist, Billy “Mystic” Wilmot, from the ’70s reggae band, Mystic Revealers. Located in Bull Bay, Jamaica just east of Kingston, Jamnesia hosts weekly performances that young musicians like Chronixx, Protoje, Jesse Royal, Jah9, Kabaka Pyramid, Kelissa, Raging Fyah and many others have gravitated towards in order to build community and develop their musical talents.

Chronixx at Irving Plaza during his 2017 Chronology tour. Photo by Joachim Maquet.

What makes Chronology such an impressive album is hearing how adventurous Chronixx has become since his earlier music from his days at Jamnesia. The diversity of style on Chronology doesn’t just incorporate elements of EDM, classic rock, and r&b into more traditional reggae music; it pushes the boundaries of the genre to newer, exciting places. The album starts off with a tribute to Chronixx’s home town in “Spanish Town Rockin’,” followed by a collaboration with his father on “Big Bad Sound.” These first two songs lay down the fundamentals of reggae music with their traditionally simple instrumentation of bass and drums accented with rhythmic guitar and organ, setting a consistent, mellow groove that puts you in a great mood for the rest of the album.

Much of the lyrics in Chronology uphold reggae tradition as well with Chronixx’s use of overtly political and spiritual messages. In “Ghetto Paradise,” we hear an honest take on the Jamaican poverty that has been exacerbated by political corruption–“Even though Jamaica nice, you gotta live to save your life. When the sunset comes, the darkness of the night, you better open up your eyes. You better read between the lines when you’re living in a ghetto paradise.” In the Rastafari anthem “Selassie Children,” we celebrate the Afrocentric and anticolonial spirit of Rastafari with references to the Jamaican religion’s central messianic figure, Haile Selassie, king of Ethiopia from 1930 to 1976—“For so long we’ve been denied, rejected and brutalized, but our children shall win the war. Yes, we’re Selassie children—Haile Selassie children. We are Ethiopians by blood. Africa was born in us.”

Multiple tracks on Chronology were originally released as singles, including Chronixx’s first hit “Smile Jamaica” (2013) and his new, soulful “Majesty” (2017). These two songs both exemplify Chronixx’s deep love for his country and his commitment to its people. When put side by side, they each showcase the rising artist’s evolving musical voice from masterful tradition to innovative hits (with a common thread of beautiful cinematography).

Another early-release single this year, “Skankin Sweet,” shows off Chronixx’s dynamic voice, and was praised by Billboard for its “richly textured one drop groove” that “compel[s] the listener to forget their troubles and dance.” Another single mentioned by Billboard, “I Can,” feels almost miles away from the songs I mentioned above because of its straight EDM beat, faint acoustic guitar and piano chords, hand claps, and millennial whoops, yet it fits right into Chronology next to multiple other tracks that are similarly pop oriented. The third single released earlier this year was the dancehall hit “Likes,” which offers an infectious fusion of reggae funk with trap, dancehall and EDM, reminding me of the Caribbean beats of Barbadian-American popstar Rihanna (who Chronixx references in the song).

These two tracks, along with the upbeat dance track “Loneliness,” come out of collaborations with British EDM group Rudimental, London-based Utters, and NYC’s dancehall trio Federation Sound. Other notable collaborations were made with iconic American blues guitarist Donald Kinsey, who toured with Bob Marley and Peter Tosh and plays on Chronixx’s “Country Boy” and “Christina,” in a addition to a string orchestra from Chicago that was arranged by Matt Jones and is featured on “Legend,” “Tell Me Now” and “Black Is Beautiful.”

Chronology proves not only Chronixx’s ability to produce and coproduce 16 unique songs of varying style and influence, but also the lasting versatility and intrigue of reggae that hasn’t let up since the ‘60s and shows no signs of stopping soon.

The album was mixed at Circle House Studios in Miami and Manhattan Center in New York and can be downloaded and streamed on a variety of platforms here.

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The Hoolios are steeped in the rhythms of the Gulf of Mexico: Americana, Latin, Reggae, Texas Folk and Zydeco.

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This good collection spans the years 1958-1964–the prime era for Lester’s music. His vocals and harp (with his occasional guitar playing) made his music fairly unique. His bands were almost always rudimentary–just basic guitar/bass/drums (or cardboard box), with Lester’s lazy vocals and sinewy harp out front. Once in a while he added a piano, an organ, or maybe a tenor sax into the mix–to good effect. Most of his bandmates were unknown except in their area, with the exception of Katie Webster (piano/organ), Guitar Gable (guitar), Warren Storm (drums), and possibly Carol Fran (piano), all who later would become relatively known to blues fans.

Tracklist:
1. I’m Gonna Leave You Baby (2:12)
2. Lester’s Stomp (1:53)
3. Go Ahead (2:24)
4. They Call Me Lazy (2:55)
5. I Told My Little Woman (2:53)
6. Tell Me Pretty Baby (2:18)
7. I’m A Lover, Not A Fighter (2:42)
8. Sugar Coated Love (2:43)
9. I Hear You Knockin’ (2:10)
10. Through The Goodness Of My Heart (2:08)
11. I Love You, I Need You (2:20)
12. Late In The Evening (1:59)
13. A Real Combination For Love (2:29)
14. Bye Bye Baby, Gonna Call It Gone (2:19)
15. You Got Me Where You Want Me (3:00)
16. Patrol Blues (2:36)
17. (I’m So Glad) My Baby’s Back Home (2:51)
18. Whoa Now (2:46)
19. If You Think I’ve Lost You (2:16)
20. I’m So Tired (2:25)
21. My Home Is A Prison (Slim Harpo) (2:51)
22. Role On Ole Mule (Tabby Thomas) (1:59)
23. Nothing But The Devil (Lightnin’ Slim) (2:57)
24. Gonna Stick To You Baby (Lonesome Sundown) (2:04)
25. Hoodo Party (Tabby Thomas) (2:25)
26. Rooster Blues (Lightnin’ Slim) (2:33)

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Tracklist:

1. A Simple Thing as Love (2:55)
2. The Six O’Clock Train and a Girl with Green Eyes (2:41)
3. Why Do You Do Me Like You Do (2:29)
4. Natural to Be Gone (1:48)
5. Landscape Grown Cold (2:20)
6. I Would Not Be Here (2:18)
7. Springtime All Over Again (2:12)
8. This Eve of Parting (2:35)
9. Empty Afternoon of Summer Longing (2:20)
10. Windows (2:30)
11. Prayer (1:29)
12. Love is Sweeter (2:49)
13. Big Blue Balloon (2:56)
14. The Category Stomp (2:15)
15. I’m Still Here (2:50)
16. The Girl with the Long Brown Hair (2:31)
17. Housing Project (1:21)
18. Crystallia Daydream (3:08)
19. The Sailboat Song (1:39)
20. Go Fall Asleep Now (3:05)
21. My Face (2:18)
22. In Like Of (2:50)
23. Shiny Rails of Steel (2:12)
24. I Didn’t Know the World Would Last This Long (4:12)