Highlights
Hour One
De La Tarde - Mo'jardo:
Lemongrassmusic*
was created by brothers Roland and Daniel Voss in 2005, as a creative
platform for a variety of their personal projects. Buoyed by a visionary
philosophy, the German label has flourished as a global imprint. Enter
Mo'jardo, a combo fuelled by the musical passion of three friends living
in different countries. After 20 years, producer Bevan Mearns (now in
Bangkok) re-connected with Rick Kilcullen (Australia) and Chris Jungo
(Switzerland), both of whom are guitarists who switched to electronics
as an outlet for their ideas. Now the genre-bending is high gear on De
La Tarde, a tune that meshes perfectly with our own musical ideology!
*Lemongrassmusic label well-represented on this
edition: In addition to the featured selection by Mo'jardo we've also
included Castlebed's Swan Song and Blue Moon by the brothers Voss (as
Lemongrass) on the After Hours segment of the show.
CD: Deep House Dreams Volume
8 (2014)
Label: Lemongrassmusic
Links: 
|
 |
|
|
Forever - Joey Sommerville:
As a teen, Detroit-native
Joey Sommerville would judge the caliber of his playing by the number
of people in his church congregation who 'got happy'. In 1996, Sommerville
founded Sojo Music, an independent production company and record label,
and in this capacity, he's built an extensive resume as a mixer and producer.
After appearing on a Bob Baldwin project, Sommerville released his own
debut back in 2004. So now as he zeros in with his 4th release in a 20-plus-year-career,
Overnight Sensation may seem rather ironic as a title. Nonetheless, the
project has received many positive reviews for its daring artistry! Described
by some as a unique style of new millennium jazz, we have the perpetuity
of a track called Forever.
*Good intent and good deed come full circle
in hour 2 of the AH segment with Karma as part of a reprise visit to Overnight
Sensation!
CD: Overnight Sensation (2014)
Label: Jayvox
Links: 
|
|
|
J Street - Cecil Ramirez:
It's always nice
to catch up with an old friend and see what they're up to. This is especially
true in the case of Cecil Ramirez and the Party in the Back release. Cecil
made waves for us here at The Café back in March of '09 with Talk to the
Hand - a cd that earned the #8 
spot on our year-end list of favourites and one which spawned Falling
Through Time - a tune that ranked 4th for that same time period. Now comes
the well-named Party in the Back and in a phrase 'Ramirez …has taken his
craft to new heights'! The Sacramento-based keyboardist has headlined
Brian Culbertson's Napa Valley Jazz Getaway and that association has clearly
reaped huge dividends in so far as this current cd is concerned. The album
features some amazing guest performances - in particular Michel Lington
rips the roof off J Street, the spunky track that we've selected. No disrespect
intended Cecil, the music may be all business but the doors have been
blown wide open for this party … and we're all cordially invited to attend!
*You'll want to catch Cecil and another great
track called Jasmine when we reprise our visit to Party in the Back on
the back half of the AH part of the show!
CD: Party in the Back (2015)
Label: Cecil Ramirez / Music Solutions
Links: 
|
| Highlights
Hour Two |
|
|
It Takes More
- Leon Ayers Jr.:
The airwaves are
typically saturated with the mundane, so it isn't surprising that true
talents such as Leon Ayers Jr. are often overlooked. Music has been a
life-long passion for the Detroit native who enrolled in musical composition
and jazz theory at Gross Pointe Conservatory and Wayne State University.
After gigging in and around the Motor City and after many years of touring,
Ayers channeled his energies into producing and composing for various
artists all while maintaining his jazz roots. Included as part of an extensive
résumé are the hit soap opera All My Children and America's
Most Wanted as well as five releases under his own name. From It Takes
More, the most recent of these, we give you more of the music we luv*
in the title track!
* Stay tuned for more from Leon Ayers Jr.; there's
another great track called Ordinary Day in hour 2 of the AH section of
the show.
** "There are no gimmicks here. No pretentious smoke screens and sound
effects to hide what isn't." Courtesy of JazzReview.com while reviewing
Island Dance, a previous Ayers release!
CD: It Takes More (2015)
Label: Independent
Links: 
|
|
|
Between You & Me - Paula Atherton:
The name of her
fourth and latest cd is Ear Candy, and with each offering Paula Atherton
has defined and further refined an already substantive style. After her
debut reached the charts in 2004, the NYC native made our own 2009 year-end
list of favourites with Groove With Me, on the strength of Marimba Island
and Block Party, the latter being our #15 track for the year .
We missed out 2012's Enjoy the Ride as our humble show was on hiatus.
But even so, and lucky for us, it's the dandy Ear Candy that's now part
of this Blue Moon offering. Loaded with all-original material, from that
release we present Between You and Me, a wonderfully gritty and buoyant
tune that features trumpet-lady Cindy Bradley!
CD: Ear Candy (2015)
Label: Kalimba Music
Links:
|
|
|
Southern Side - Ray Obiedo:
With a career that
stretches back to the 70s, Ray Obiedo has worked with Lou Rawls, George
Duke, Sheila E, and Grover Washington Jr. - indeed a '78-79 world tour
with superstar Herbie Hancock remains "one of his most treasured musical
memories". Growing up in the San Francisco Bay Area, Ray didn't start
on guitar until his final year in high school. Even so, he quickly gained
a following and in the period of the late 80s thru until the late 90s,
Obiedo achieved international success with a string of highly creative
releases. Always true to his rhythm and blues roots, Ray has nonetheless
honed his instincts for the styles of Afro-funk - all while sharpening
a seemingly genetic flair in "Latin / Brazilian grooves". Now from There
Goes That, and his first release in over a decade, we present Ray and
Southern Side, the highly infectious opening track!
CD: There Goes That (2015)
Label: Rhythmus Records
Links: 
|
| After Hours ~ Exclusive
to our Site and Select Affiliates : |
Included on this installment are Nicholas
Cole and Fourplay. There's Jonathan Fritzen and Matt Marshak, while
new to the show is the band Soweco and the project known as Lemongrass
- then as an added bonus there's a unique reprise feature with Nils,
Brian Simpson, and Ken Navarro - all as part of a special 2-hour edition.
Nonetheless, to launch this journey to the far side of the moon we're
starting with Jeff Golub. From the cd The Vault that was posthumously
released, it's our tribute (as modest as it is), to one of the most
popular performers in the genre. It's called Open Up - and it opens
the third Once in a Blue Moon - for Café Jazz and the After Hours part
of the show!
|
