A nice find in the inbox right here. Short and sweet, oh and free!
An 8 track instrumental EP that pays homage to the legendary UK singer. A solid blend of her soulful, uplifting vocals, Jazzy backdrops, Afro rhythms plus that good ol' boom bap.
I've completely been blown away by the music I've heard in the last 3 hours. Dirty Loops does a phenomenal cover of Adele's "Rolling in the Deep" (girl, you should be proud!) and their rendition has steadily been gaining momentum across the media and social networks. Coming out of Stockholm, Sweden, band members Jonah (keyboard), Henrik (bass) and Aron (drums) take the funkiest twist and turn one of Adele's #1 hits into a delicious jazz infusion. And while I truly hate to make comparisons between artists, keyboardist Jonah, has essentially channeled Brian McKnight in this particular song to the point where I thought either a) my eyes were deceiving me or b) my ears were lying to me. "Impressed" doesn't quite express how I feel when experiencing Dirty Loops going hard on this track. I'd say, it's one of the best covers I've heard this year to date. If I could, I'd go to see them perform in Stockholm, so until they come to the States, I will loudly admire them from afar.
But still I say, don't believe me? Check it out ;)
A few days ago after reaching out to us via twitter, I received some music from Jazz, an NJ emcee. I'll be honest, and I've said it before, we receive more music than we can possibly find the time to listen to but for whatever reason I hit play on the four tracks Jazz sent over. You could definitely hear the talent. I felt Perfect Picture was the strongest of the group she sent and so I'll share that cut with you. If you dig it, you can hear more over at soundcloud.com/rookieofthey3ar. Look out for her project Grand Entrance coming this year. In the meantime, enjoy Perfect Picture.
This is kind of a break from my norm but music associated with Nicolay is never a bad diversion from the norm. This EP had me floating. I hit play and immediately relaxed listening to the sounds Nicolay, The Foreign Exchange, and the three person jazz ensemble put together. Download this free EP and I'm sure you'll do the same.
+FE Music proudly presents the "Shibuya Session EP", a collaboration between Nicolay and the Raleigh-based exploratory jazz trio The Hot At Nights, led by 8-string guitar virtuoso (and The Foreign Exchange guitarist) Chris Boerner with Matt Douglas on sax/woodwinds and Nick Baglio on drums.
The EP was recorded at Sound Pure Studios in Durham NC and features new interpretations and arrangements of eight instrumental compositions from Nicolay's 2009 album "City Lights Vol. 2: Shibuya".
First off let me say, I'm into eclectic and unique sounding music. I'm also a fan of the instrumentation of a song. So based on those two things alone, Anduze's Sightings, Mixtape Vol. 1. creates a well-balanced mixture of these two key elements. I'm actually QUITE impressed. You can definitely throw this on and either just chill , get up and dance in your living room or cruise down the highway on your way to Miami. Any of these options work! My recommendation would be to download, pronto! You'll really, really appreciate the vibe that Sightings, Mixtape Vol. 1 has to offer... It's just a press of a button. No, seriously ;) It's on my Mp3 player. Is it on yours?
Got this joint a few days ago and played it 2 times straight the first time I heard it. Jass got skills. This album is extremely smooth sounding. Check for yourself.
The story behind this album is quite real. For the intent of purely showcasing what the reality of hip-hop is behind the scenes, I've decided to leave out names with the purpose of allowing the viewer to understand what the Raw and Uncut movement really means.
Eternia is dope. If you've been following the blog for long enough, you know I'm a fan of her work. While surfing around youtube, I discovered these two vids featuring Eternia with Colin Dean Live at Joe's Pub in NYC. The video above is a solo set of "Akasha" with Eternia. Below is "Rebel" featuring Maya Azucena, Eternia and Hasan Salaam. I'm a sucka for a live band and a dope Hip-Hop jazz fusion. That's what you get out of both videos. Fresh. Sit back and enjoy. Chea!
Colin Dean on Bass, Rachel Z on Piano, Colin Stranahan on Drums, Sean Nowell on Sax. Filmed and Edited by Noisemaker Media. Cameras: Mark Carranceja and Justin Denmark. Courtesy of Joe's Pub at the Public Theater NYC.
If you recall my first post three weeks ago, I said Rhythm & Blues has an underlying foundation in Jazz. Well, today I'm going to take you back to the roots of R&B. I was actually put on to this guy by someone else and I have to say that after listening I was like, "WOW!" Troy Andrews, better known as Trombone Shorty has taken the elements of New Orleans jazz and fused it with rock, hip-hop and other genres. At only 24 years old and with his talent, you'd think he was a legend. He has a new album out called Backatown and so far my favorite song I think you guys will love is "Something Beautiful" featuring Lenny Kravitz. There isn't an embed available for the Kravitz version but here's a YouTube video of Trombone Shorty performing it live with his band Orleans Ave. You can find "Something Beautiful" featuring Lenny Kravitz on his Myspace Music page (the link provided below). Enjoy!
I don't even really have a lot of words for this songstress. Her voice is amazing. Her music is unique and fresh. She's young. She's doing it. Just listen. I couldn't find an mp3 to embed, so a video of the track I absolutely adore will suffice. I love every single song on her Myspace Music page but when I heard "Fall In" that's when I knew I had to share. "I Adore You" and "I Know You Know" are two other fantastic songs you should check out as well. Enjoy.
Who is one the most prolific cats to hold a pair of drum sticks? Emrah Kotan. As one of the nicest people you'll ever meet he is also one of the most gifted percussionist you'll ever hear. Emrah is the Director of the Jazz and World Percussion Ensembles at Agnes Scott College as well as a member of the renowned jazz trioInternational Groove Conspiracy with bassist Matt Stallard and pianist Jose Manuel Garcia. With them, Emrah has traveled across the world performing at some of the most prominent jazz venues around.
As one of his former students, I can honestly say that watching him play is not only a treat but an experience. Simply put by Joseph Patrick Moore, owner of Blue Kanoe Records, "Emrah Kotan is a superb musician with dazzling technique [...] The bottom line is that Emrah Kotan is a great artist with wonderful gifts to offer." With that said, I will leave you with a video of Emrah performing "Tanya" with International Groove Conspiracy at The Blue Note in New York City. Enjoy.
To find out more about what Emrah is doing and where he'll be performing visit his website www.emrahkotan.com. Also, check out more of his videos at YouTube.
