NYS Music 202​0

Category: Blues/Jazz

  • Shemekia Copeland Releases “Uncivil War”

    Award-winning blues and Americana vocalist Shemekia Copeland has released her new song, “Uncivil War.”  “Uncivil War” takes no sides and speaks to every person’s desire to be safe and free. Featuring iconic mandolin Sam Bush, dobro master Jerry Douglas and background vocals from popular alternative band The Orphan Brigade, the song is simultaneously comforting and challenging, as Copeland sings, “Same old wounds we’ve opened before / Nobody wins an uncivil war.” Copeland delivers the song with passion and insight about the uncertainty in the world while still finding hope for the future. The song, written by John Hahn, will be featured on Copeland’s upcoming Alligator album.

    Copeland express the message she communicates in this song: 

    It’s not just a song. I’m trying to put the ‘united’ back in the United States. Like many people, I miss the days when we treated each other better. For me, this country’s all about people with differences coming together to be part of something we all love. That’s what really makes America beautiful.

    When she first came onto the scene at age 18 with her debut album, Turn The Heat Up, Copeland quickly became a blues and R&B force to be reckoned with. Copeland’s previous album, America’s Child, won the Blues Music Award for Album Of The Year, and was named the #1 blues album of 2018 by MOJO magazine. Copeland recently received the 2020 Blues Music Award for Contemporary Blues Female Artist Of The Year, during a special online ceremony. Copeland is currently hosting her own blues radio show on SiriusXM’s Bluesville. 

  • The Bronx Music Heritage Center Presents Bronx Music at Home Concerts and Percussion Discussion

    The Bronx Music Heritage Center has announced that they will continue their concert series through their online programs: Bronx Music @ Home Concerts and Percussion Discussion. This week’s topic will feature Puerto Rican cultural themes, as this would normally be the week of activities that culminate with the National Puerto Rican Day Parade.

    Bronx Music @ Home Concerts will be held Fridays at 8PM EST on Bronx Music Heritage Center’s Facebook page. The concerts will kick off with singer, actor, and poet Rachel Kara Perez on June 5. Other artists set to perform include: Yalisza Suren on June 12, Luz Soliz on June 19, and Valerie Capers on June 26. 

    Bronx Music Heritage Center’s weekly percussion program will feature mini-clinics, talks, and lessons from noted Bronx drummers and percussionists, led by the BMHC Co-Artistic Director, 8 time Grammy nominated bandleader drummer percussionist and educator Bobby Sanabria. Each episode will premiere on Bronx Music Heritage Center’s Facebook page on Wednesdays at 8PM EST.

    The percussionist featured that week will be available through the comment section of the video post to reply to any questions or comments. The percussion program will include performances from Norka Nadal Hernandez, director and founder of the Afro Puerto Rican group Bámbula on June 10, Lucianna Padmore on June 17, and Bobby Sanabria on June 24. 

  • Hearing Aide: Carter, Shipp, Parker, and Cleaver ‘Welcome Adventure! Vol. 1’

    After playing together for years, long-time jazz musicians Daniel Carter (tenor sax, trumpet, flute), Matthew Shipp (piano), William Parker (bass), and Gerald Cleaver (drums) have collaborated to release their first album as a group, Welcome Adventure! Vol. 1.

    Welcome Adventure! Vol. 1

    Carter and Parker have been working together since the 70s early into their music careers. Shipp began playing with the duo in the 80s, and Cleaver joined the mix more recently. This is the first recording which features the trio along with Cleaver. The four work together extremely well and manage to create an album which is easy-listening while still incredibly interesting. The three songs are a feast for the listener who is taken through a journey with each minute.

    The album kicks off with “Majestic Travel Agency,” which effectively sets up the tone of the whole album quickly with piano that seems incongruent from the other instruments; this incongruence, surprisingly, brings the whole piece together. Things may seem slightly out of place, but in a clearly purposeful and harmonious way that makes the music all the more interesting. “Scintillate” is the shortest and brightest of the three, but still has an edge to it. The album’s ‘harmonious incongruence’ is shown most clearly in the final song, “Ear-regularities,” which is significantly darker than the two before it.

    Welcome Adventure! Vol. 1 is available on Bandcamp. The album’s second volume will be released at a later date.

  • A new virtual age for the Village Vanguard begins

    New York City’s legendary Village Vanguard invites you to join them Saturdays starting June 13 at 7 p.m. EDT for a 75 minute live streaming concert. A matinee will follow the next day at 2 p.m. EDT. Admission for each performance will be $7.

    First up on the lineup will be The Billy Hart Quartet featuring  drummer Billy Hart joined by a phenomenal group of artists including tenor saxophonist Mark Turner, pianist Ethan Iverson and bassist Ben Street. 

    After closing its doors on March 16 due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, just three weeks after the club’s 85th birthday, many were left wondering how indefinite the closure would be. Virtual concerts have become the revival answer for many and now The Vanguard is back with four weekends currently slated with performances. Please continue to check the website and follow the club on Instagram @vanguardjazz and Facebook for updates on upcoming shows. 

    Village Vanguard

    Livestream schedule:

    June 13-14 – Billy Hart Quartet featuring Mark Turner, Ethan Iverson and Ben Street

    June 20 – 21 –  Vijay Iyer Trio featuring Nick Dunston and Jeremy Dutton   

    June 27 – 28 – Joe Martin Quartet featuring Mark Turner, Kevin Hays and Nasheet Waits

    July 4 – 5 – Joe Lovano Trio Fascination featuring Ben Street and Andrew Cyrille

  • Hearing Aide: Guitars A Go Go Debut LP ‘Travel Advisory’

    Guitars A Go Go, the improvisational duo of two acclaimed Hudson Valley-based guitarists, Rick Warren and Sal Cataldi (Spaghetti Eastern Music), have released their debut album, Travel Advisory. The duo have been performing at leading concert venues and art galleries since early 2019 and, on occasion, in a quartet abetted by bassist/composer Mark Steven Brooks and percussionist Pete Tenerowicz.

    NYC and Saugerties-based guitarist Sal Cataldi may be best known these days for his style-jumping solo project, Spaghetti Eastern Music. Time Out New York describes Cataldi’s music as “largely instrumental, Eastern-influenced jams are infused with some delicate guitar work and hauntingly moody atmosphere.”

    Guitars A Go Go

    Originally from Kingston, Hudson-based guitarist Rick Warren has been deeply involved in the improvisational and experimental music scene. He was encouraged by renowned vibraphonist Karl Berger at his Creative Music Studio in Woodstock. It was Berger’s visit to a Rick’s high school music theory class that led him to become a regular participant in twice-yearly workshops held at CMS, an international hot bed of improvisational music performance and education founded in 1971 by Berger, Ingrid Sertso and Ornette Coleman. Rick is best known for using his guitar and a variety of electronic sound sources, each one a new and different on-the-spot creation. 

    Their debut album is a quartet of live-in-studio duets recorded just as the COVID-19 quarantine took hold. Travel Advisory features contemplative, peaceful songs as well as songs with textured noise and dissonance. These songs communicate the wide array of emotions we are feeling in response to the global pandemic. Five more songs were later produced in remote collaboration, with Cataldi adding guitars, synths, and effects at his studio in West Saugerties to solo pieces performed by Warren at his studio in Hudson.

    Travel Advisory opens up with “A Jig for Europa,” comprised of blues performed by Warren on heavily processed acoustic 12-string, electronic blurbs, and backwards guitars by Cataldi. Throughout the album are songs such as “The Volcano Lovers,” 13 minutes of serene music with back-and-forth relay of melodic improvisations by each guitarist and “DeKooning Was a Crooner” the final and longest live-in-studio improvisation. The song consists of jazz chordal voicings from Cataldi lead into the inside-out improvisations from Warren. 

    Key tracks: A Jig for Europa, The Volcano Lovers, DeKooning Was a Crooner

  • ESYO Announces “Sounding Together” Digital Festival

    ESYO (The Empire State Youth Orchestra) announced their “Sounding Together” digital festival in celebration of the orchestra’s 40th birthday season.  The festival will last three days Thursday, June 11 through Saturday, June 13 and will stream across Facebook Watch and YouTube nightly at 7PM.

    “Sounding Together” festival will include thirteen ensembles and over 400 young musicians from around the region. The festival will feature student-produced videos as well as virtual performances of all 13 ESYO ensembles. There will also be a virtual premiere of an original composition by Carlos Ágreda who is the Music Director of ESYO. 

    Some of the highlights will include compositions of “Amazing Grace” by Jay Dawson and  “What a Wonderful World” by Concertino String. The festival will also include Senior Spotlights in honor of the ESYO Class of 2020. Students will reflect on playing through the pause caused by COVID-19. There will also be dedications to front line healthcare heroes, first responders, and Capital Region teachers.

    The “Sounding Together” digital festival was made possible by donations from University at Albany Foundation and the Metlife Charitable Foundation. ESYO is known regionally and nationally for challenging and inspiring young people to engage in a pursuit of musical excellence.

    For more information on ESYO and their “Sounding Together” festival please visit their website.

  • NYC Erupts in Music Led by Jon Batiste in Support of Black Lives Matter

    Jon Batiste, bandleader of “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert,” led a musical march through NYC in support of the Black Lives Matter protests. The musical march took place on June 6 at 1PM in Union Square. The protest was peaceful and musical in nature. 

    Batiste is a notable jazz musician on top of being the bandleader of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. Batiste has his band Stay Human and also serves as the Music Director of The Atlantic and the Creative Director of the National Jazz Museum in Harlem. He was nominated for “Saint James Infirmary Blues” in the Best American Roots Performance category in 2018 in the Grammy Awards.

    Jon Batiste advertised the event on his Twitter saying, “This is our response to the deep rooted systemic injustice we have yet to fix, a fact made abundantly clear by the public execution of another black person. This is a movement that exists because I believe the power of art & music is divine.”

    The musical march started at Union Square and went all the way to Washington Square Park. Batiste explained to CNN’s Bill Weir that this protest was bringing people together over a common outrage and that there are things people need to start doing. He said, “Look at what we are doing. We’re using music to bring people together of all races, of all genders, for Black lives. We have to get to protests and we have to get to voting. 100 million people did not vote in the last election. We’re battling three candidates Donald Trump, Joe Biden and apathy.”

    Watch the CNN videoclip bellow.

  • Joe Bonamassa Releases Epic Rock Ballad, “When One Door Opens” Recorded at Historic Abby Road Studios

    Joe Bonamassa shares perhaps his most monumental rock opus to date, “When One Door Opens,” recorded in the famous Abbey Road recording studio in London, England.

    When One Door Opens

    Released in tandem with a music video and co-Written by longtime collaborators, Kevin Shirley and songwriter Pete Brown, this brand new track harkens back to the glory days of Rock & Roll. Harkening back to the 60s/ 70s, ” When One Door Opens” celebrates Abbey Roads iconic history justly. This single marks the second of so far two surprise releases from Bonamassas Abbey Road studio session. Last month, he shared “A Conversation With Alice,” which was a follows in pursuit of Bonomassa instrumental side project, The Sleep Eazys.

    Bonomassa is telling fans to keep their eyes peeled, hinting towards future releases. In the meantime, the Non-for-profit, Keeping the Blues Alive Foundation continues to gain support for the recently announced, Fueling Musicians program which has been raising profits for musicians who are feeling the effects of COVID-19s constraints around the music industry.

    Visit the Fueling Musicians website to find out more.

  • SummerStage Anywhere Digital Series Launches

    Capital One City Parks Foundation SummerStage announces the launch of its digital series SummerStage Anywhere. The series will highlight  genres that were born in or deeply represent New York including hip hop, salsa, jazz, global, indie, and contemporary dance. SummerStage Anywhere will start on June 6 at 7PM EST and will feature performances each weekend for the rest of June. 

    Angélique Kidjo photo provided by City Parks Foundations website.

    The series will debut on June 6 with an original performance by New Yorker pop phenom MAX. MAX performing a love letter to New York of sorts. Max has been called a “Young Pop God” by GQ in the past and has been called the “top popstar to watch” by Billboard and was nominated for “Best New Pop Artist” at the 2019 iHeartRadio Music Awards. 

    On June 13 LAMC (Latin Alternative Music Conference) will be taking the stage and highlighting  key voices in the Latino LGBTQ community. Some of the performers include pop singer Kany Garcia, hip hop artist Mabiland, indie electro pop musician Javiera Mena and rock band Circo. The event will be hosted by Los Angeles’ KCRW radio DJ Raul Campos and the Latin Grammy winning artist Cheo, formerly of Los Amigos Invisibles. 

    On June 19 SummerStage Anywhere will be hosting a celebration for the 155th anniversary of Juneteenth. Juneteenth for those unaware is the nationally celebrated commemoration of the end of slavery in the United States. The event will be featuring Jamel Gaines’ Creative Outlet Dance Theatre and poet Carl Hancock Rux, and a panel discussion led by Executive Artistic Director of The Billie Holiday Theatre, Dr. Indira Etwaroo.

    On June 26 the series will wrap up with an exclusive performance from Angélique Kidjo. Angélique Kidjo is a Grammy Award-winning Beninese singer-songwriter, actress and activist. She will also be doing a live Q&A session after her performance. 

    The series will be available on SummerStage Anywhere’s website and streamed exclusively on the SummerStage’s YouTube channel. SummerStage is an independent, non-profit organization, and relies on donations to make it’s free performing arts festivals possible. Anyone interested in supporting the SummerStage series can donate.

     For a full schedule of upcoming programming and more information please visit SummerStage Anywhere’s website.

  • The Residents Release New Single “DIE! DIE! DIE!” from Upcoming Album ‘METAL, MEAT & BONE’

    Legendary art-rock group The Residents has released their latest single “DIE! DIE! DIE!” featuring Black Francis of the Pixies. Their upcoming album, METAL, MEAT & BONE is based on newly discovered recordings of Alvin Snow (a.k.a. Dyin’ Dog) and includes 10 Dyin’ Dog Demos, 10 interpretations of the demos by The Residents, and six new works inspired by Dyin’ Dog. 

    The Residents have been regarded as icons in the world of experimental music for almost fifty years. In addition to their groundbreaking work in the areas of trance, world fusion, electronica, punk, industrial and lounge music, the group has also been credited with being among the originators of performance art and music video, with their videos included in the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art. 

    To know the story of Alvin Snow a.k.a. Dyin’ Dog, one must enter the world of an outsider turned bluesman. Born on Friday, January 13, 1939, Alvin Snow was abandoned on the steps of an orphanage. Snow created his own reality from the fragments of life drifting through his consciousness. He endured thoughts that were lined with the feeling life’s out to get him. This explains Snow’s unspoken rage and overpowering air of entitlement that allowed him to evade lawyers, angry victims, and the police. Lurking in the dark creases of his mind was a beast that haunted his every being. 

    The penetrating sounds of a jukebox pouring out of a small Mississippi town’s bar suddenly stopped him dead in his tracks one day. “Who’s Been Talking” sung by Howlin’ Wolf left Snow mesmerized and an overwhelming epiphany came over him. He began to devour every song recorded by Howlin’ Wolf and became interested in The Blues ever since. 

    Alvin Snow needed to come up with a stage name and everyone agreed Alvin Snow just wasn’t it. It took some thinking on his part to match the perfect name to his ruffled voice, and even more blemished character. A hospital bed fell on and crushed his dog which give him the inspiration to come up with the name Dyin’ Dog. Before the debut performance of his 10-recorded demos on January 13, 1976, Snow vanished and was never to be heard from again. In September 2019, the Dyin’ Dog Demos were extraordinarily released as a Box Set. The Residents bring these long-lost songs to fans worldwide with the release of METAL, MEAT & BONE on July 10, 2020.