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Dominican-based Singer Anthony Jefferson Swings On a Star in Sophomore CD All I Am

Anthony Jefferson
All I Am
(Jefferson Faculty)
A Record Reflection by A. Scott Galloway
Photography by Pedro Bonilla
 
In 2019, singers of Jazz classics and Pop standards hurl themselves Herculean challenges tackling material that has been sung, recorded and captured on film performed before live audiences by some of the greatest that have ever illuminated a song. While the newcomers may connect themselves to a great lineage and possibly bring these songs to the attention of new (i.e. younger) audiences, anyone who has studied or pleasurably partaken of the earlier renditions are inevitably want to not only make comparisons but also have to wrestle personal moments experienced with them as part of the soundtrack and very fabric of their lives.
 

Anthony Jefferson wows as Musical Director Corey Allen looks on

Soul Basement featuring Jay Nemor | What We Leave Behind


 
Soul Basement featuring Jay Nemor | What We Leave Behind
by Peggy Oliver
 
The embodiment of music, when a vocalist or musician so emphatically chooses, can express how we can observe the world around us and what we take from those experiences in life. The latest work from Soul Basement entitled, What We Leave Behind, crafts a journal that reflects personal retrospectives that speaks to several issues.

Bluey and Incognito Deliver Flawless and Varied “Better Days” CD

Incognito - In Search of Better Days
 
Incognito
In Search of Better Days
(Shanachie)
A Record Reflection by A. Scott Galloway
 
Jean-Paul “Bluey” Maunick is easily among the most prolific men in modern music, particularly within his specialty niche of acid jazz/club/quiet storm. Between his solo CDs, outside productions and, of course, his work as leader of the collective Incognito, he is also a generous giver with projects usually no less than 14 solid tracks apiece.

English Singer Nao Unveils Mysterious Enigmatic Stage Presence In L.A.

Nao
The Roxy – West Hollywood, CA
Friday May 13, 2016
Concert Reflections by A. Scott Galloway
Photos by Michael K. Adams
 
Nao at The Roxy - May 13, 2016 - by Michael K Adams 2
 
Obscured in red light, Nao sings in a cockney neo soul alto over sinewy pulsing grooves and speaks with gracefully gesturing limbs as if languid and outstretched underwater. Though the music has a techno vibe, her backing is a power trio of guitar, bass (doubling on occasional synth) and way off in the corner stage left, drums – delivering Grand Funk bottom as she falls in with the guitarist parroting snaky unorthodox lines.

A Peek Into Transcendence with Anoushka Shankar at The Grammy Museum

Anoushka Shankar
Grammy Museum
April 12, 2016
Special Event Reflections by A. Scott Galloway
 
As she glided to the stage of the Clive Davis Auditorium inside downtown Los Angeles’ Grammy Museum for a sweetly emotional mini-concert and chat commemorating the closing of a months-long museum exhibit focusing on the career of her legendary father, sitar master/composer Ravi Shankar – before she played a single note – the first thing I could not get over is how short Anoushka Shankar is… When photographed with the birthright sitar instrument she, too, now plays so beautifully, it appears to stretch her, not dwarf her…a trick of the eye into the mystical properties that her art and art form manifest. Indeed, her embrace of the sitar instantly, magically, makes her appear larger than mere mortal life.
 

Jason Miles Captures The Spirit of Grover Washington, Jr.

Jason Miles - To Grover With Love - Live In Japan
 
Jason Miles
To Grover with Love: Live in Japan
(Whaling City Sound)
Record Reflections by A. Scott Galloway
 
In the scheme of all things musical, the question often arises, “Why a tribute CD?” Would you rather hear people paying tribute to an artist by rerecording their works or instead hear the legendary artist’s music itself? In most cases, the latter is true. Sometimes there are exceptions, the latest being keyboardist/producer Jason Miles’ third tribute to a man that has given him consistent inspiration, saxophonist Grover Washington, Jr. Unlike the previous two, this one was recorded live.

Saun & Starr | Look Closer

Saun & Starr
 
Saun & Starr | Look Closer
By Peggy Oliver
 
Call it coincidence or better yet, call it destiny when two or more people immediately connect with each other while managing to continue their circle of life through various spaces of time. Sandra ‘Saun’ Williams and Starr Duncan-Lowe grew up a short distance from each other in The Bronx, New York. Yet it was their meeting at a local talent show that began their journey of a much respected friendship – musically and personally – and the rest is more than history.

Bluey | Leap of Faith

Bluey - Leap of Faith
 
Bluey | Leap of Faith
Shanachie Records
By Brent Faulkner
 
Jazz/R&B musician Jean-Paul “Bluey” Maunick is best known as the
founder of London acid-jazz/funk group Incognito. A guitarist,
vocalist, producer, and composer, Bluey is additionally notable for
collaborative efforts with Chaka Khan, Stevie Wonder, and George Benson
among others. 2013s Leap of Faith is Bluey’s first solo album, released
via Shanachie Records. On the 10-track, 45 minute effort, Bluey composes
and produces the effort himself.

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