ROBERT CRAY'S THAT'S WHAT I HEARD OUT TODAY!

credit: Jeff Katz

“Funky, cool and bad,” is how Robert Cray describes his latest album, That’s What I Heard, out today. “I thought if it we could get this thing that Sam Cooke used to have, the kind of sound that early Sam Cooke records had, that we could pull this off,” says producer Steve Jordan.

Over the past four decades, Cray has created a sound that rises from American roots, blues, soul and R&B, with five Grammy wins, 20 acclaimed studio albums and a bundle of live albums that punctuate the Blues Hall of Famer’s career. On That’s What I Heard, Robert celebrates the music of Curtis Mayfield, Bobby “Blue” Bland, The Sensational Nightingales and more, alongside four newly written songs.

Check out That’s What I Heard, and read Robert’s tribute to his late friend Tony Joe White on Rolling Stone.

Cray and Jordan go way back, having met during the making of the Chuck Berry documentary Hail! Hail! Rock ’n’ Roll, in 1987. They started working together in 1999, when Jordan produced the Grammy-winning Take Your Shoes Off, and the recent Grammy-nominated LP, Robert Cray & Hi Rhythm. That’s What I Heardis their sixth album. “Once you start working with Steve, it’s kind of hard to get away from him,” said Robert.

The music on That’s What I Heardfalls into two camps, the sweet and the funky. Of the former, “You’re the One” comes from the Bobby “Blue” Bland songbook. “There’s this thing where I feel you kind of gotta get out of your own head when you're covering one of your heroes,” Cray explained. “Bobby’s one of those. You just let yourself go, and do the song because you love it.”

credit: Antoine Sanfuentes

Don Gardner’s “My Baby Likes to Boogaloo” and the Billy Sha-Rae minor hit, “Do It” are acknowledged rarities (the originals can be heard on the compilation, Groove & Grind: Rare Soul). “Do It” is leaner and meaner, the sort of bare-bones funk that defined the Detroit club sound in the early ’70s with Sha-Rae, Dennis Coffey, and Earl Van Dyke. Cray’s steamroller rendition gets a little extra push from guest guitarist Ray Parker, Jr., who played in Sha-Rae’s band as a teen.

“Burying Ground” is a sacred song from the Sensational Nightingales, inspired by Cray’s youth, when Sundays on the stereo were reserved for his parents’ gospel records. Curtis Mayfield wrote “You’ll Want Me Back” for Major Lance, and Cray wrote “To Be with You” for his late friend, Tony Joe White. “Hot” is another Cray original. “As for the lyrics, “We always say to ourselves, ‘I’m old, but I’m hot,’” he said, and laughed. Spotted hanging around the studio, Steve Perry sang harmony vocals on “Promises You Can’t Keep,” written by Steve Jordan, Kim Wilson and Danny Kortchmar.

“Robert is just a great person besides being extraordinary talent,” adds Jordan. “People gravitate to his guitar playing first, but I think he’s one of the best singers I’ve heard in my life. Not only because of his singing ability, but his interpretations. He’s such an honest soul in my opinion.”

Robert’s band features Richard Cousins (bass), Dover Weinberg (keyboards), Terence F. Clark (drums), and Steve Jordan (drums, percussion).

That's What I Heard

That’s What I Heard Tracklist
“Anything You Want” (Robert Cray)
“Burying Ground” (traditional)
“You’re the One” (Deadric Malone)
“This Man” (Robert Cray)
“You’ll Want Me Back” (Curtis Mayfield)
“Hot” (Robert Cray)
“Promises You Can’t Keep” (Steve Jordan/Danny Kortchmar/Kim Wilson)
“To Be with You” (Robert Cray”
“My Baby Likes To Boogaloo” (Don Gardner)
“You Can’t Make Me Change” (Robert Cray)
“Little Less Lonely” (Richard Cousins/Hendrix Ackle)
“Do It” (Jack Ashford/Lorraine Chandler)

Tour Dates
Feb 28 Charles Town, WV Hollywood Casino
Feb 29 Glenside, PA Keswick Theatre
March 1 Patchogue, NY Patchogue Theatre
March 3 Brownfield, ME Stone Mountain Arts Center
March 5 Plymouth, MA Plymouth Memorial Hall
March 6 Burlington, VT Flynn Center
March 7 Ridgefield, CT Ridgefield Playhouse
March 8 Verona, NY Turning Stone Resort Casino
March 10 Troy, NY Troy Savings Bank Music Hall
March 11 Englewood, NJ Bergen Performing Arts Center
March 13 Greenburg, PA Palace Theatre
March 14 Kent, OH The Kent Stage
March 15 Kalamazoo, MI Kalamazoo Theatre
March 17 Madison, WI Barrymore Theatre
March 18 Milwaukee, WI The Northern Lights Theatre
March 19 Des Moines, IA Hoyt Sherman Place
March 20 Skokie, IL North Shore Center for the Performing Arts
April 9 San Juan Capistrano, CA The Coach House
April 10 Scottsdale, AZ Talking Stick Casino
April 11 Henderson, NV Henderson Bluesfest
April 15 Livermore, CA Bankhead Theatre
April 16 Sacramento, CA Crest Theatre
April 17 Merced, CA The Art Kamangar Center
April 18 Solvang, CA Solvang Festival
May 1 Birmingham, UK Town Hall
May 3 Cambridge, UK Cambridge Corn Exchange
May 4 Oxford, UK New Theatre Oxford
May 5 Portsmouth, UK Portsmouth Guildhall
May 7 St. Albans, UK Alban Arena
May 8 London, UK Cadogan Hall
May 9 Basingstroke, UK
May 11 Buxton, UK Buxton Opera House
May 14 Manchester, UK The Bridgewater Hall
May 15 Newcastle upon Tyne, UK 02 City Hall
May 16 Edinburgh, UK The Queen’s Hall
June 18 Austin, TX One World Theatre

www.robertcray.com                                        retrokimmer@gmail.com

RICK WAKEMAN AND ENGLISH ROCK ENSEMBLE NEW LP RED PLANET!

Keyboard Legend Rick Wakeman & The English Rock Ensemble Return To Prog On New Album “The Red Planet”

Keyboard Legend Rick Wakeman & The English Rock Ensemble will be releasing “The Red Planet” on April 3, 2020. The album features 8 newly composed pieces, especially for this project, and harks back to Wakeman's critically acclaimed debut album “The Six Wives of Henry VIII” where there were 6 heavy keyboard pieces based around a central subject matter. It is a serious return to “Wakeman Prog”...

Rick has blown the dust off his favourite analogue keyboards and along with his with the latest keyboards, has used the same formula he devised when making his legendary albums “The Six Wive's of Henry VIII” and “Criminal Record.”

Upon being asked about the expectations of his Prog Fans, that they are hoping he will have shoved the “Prog Fader” up to 11, he replied, “That could be a problem.... as it's already at 14!!!”

The first 1,000 units of vinyl come in 180-gram red double vinyl, signed and numbered, in a special “Pop-Up” album cover. The first 2,000 units of the CD edition signed and numbered, in a special “Pop-Up” CD album cover. These collector's items are sure to sell out quickly, fans are advised to pre-order to avoid disappointment, or worst still buy copies from auction sites.

The English Rock Ensemble (ERE) features:

Rick Wakeman - Keyboards
Dave Colquhoun- Guitars
Lee Pomeroy - Bass
Ash Soan - Drums

Produced by Rick Wakeman and Erik Jordan

This is the first release on the newly formed R&D MultiMedia, which is a transatlantic partnership between music business veteran and long time Wakeman sidekick Rob Ayling and rock journalist and producer Doug Harr.

To pre-order Rick Wakeman's “The Red Planet” and other special offers: www.musicglue.com/rick-wakeman-the-red-planet

Play Back event package: https://www.musicglue.com/rick-wakeman-the-red-planet/products/star-vice-admiral-star-playback-event-at-the-national-space-centre-with-bag-of-goodies-signed-event-programme-and-signed-cd-slash-dvd

Rick Wakeman's official website: www.rwcc.com

GRAMMY WINNING SAXOPHONIST DAVID SANCHEZ:NEW LP CARIB!

David Sánchez

Yesterday, Grammy-Winning Saxophonist David Sánchez released his new album Carib via Ropeadope / Stretch Music. Sánchez is celebrating the album's release this weekend with performances at Jazz Standard in New York on June 7th, 8th & 9th.

Listen to David Sánchez's Carib: https://fanlink.to/Carib

WBGO's Nate Chinen recently praised Sanchez's song "Morning Mist" as a "thrilling overture," and described it as "Beginning with an unaccompanied tenor line that sets the groove, it’s a composition built on folkloric polyrhythm but suffused with silvery modern harmonies."

Carib is released via Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah's Stretch Music label (an imprint of Ropeadope). Adjuah says of the album:

"Carib finds David at the height of his powers. Its no question whether he is one of the preeminent saxophonists of the last few decades, that's a given. He's as killer as anyone who has ever touched the horn. This document, however, speaks to me as a testament to the prowess of his compositional voice, to his mastery of the interplay and relationships found in creative improvised music's vernacular and rhythmic spaces."

Featuring original compositions inspired by melodies and rhythms coming from the Afro Puerto Rican and Haitian tradition, Carib both reflects Sánchez's musical heritage as well as his commitment to humanitarian and economic justice efforts in the region. "I believe some of the greatest contributions to contemporary music and culture have come from the African diaspora throughout the Americas," writes Sánchez.

"Unfortunately, there seems to be too little awareness of their influence, especially the vital stories told by the music. So, I wanted to approach this album as a means to pay tribute to all Afro-descendent communities who have helped define my music and the culture’s broad-ranging beauty and idiosyncrasies.

Sánchez also seeks to honor his family who played a pivotal role in his life and artistic development. "This album is in memory of my Father, Dimas and especially, my late wife Karla," he writes. "After a great deal of research and listening to Haitian music, Karla encouraged and helped me take a trip to Haiti. It was an incredible and intense experience, seeing the everyday people's struggles"

Sánchez's unique musical sensibility can be traced to his home, Puerto Rico, where he began playing percussion and drums at age 8. He migrated to tenor saxophone a few years later. While a scholar at the prestigious La Escuela Libre de Música in San Juan, he took up the flute, clarinet as well as soprano saxophone with teachers Angel Marrero and Leslie López.

Carib

The Bomba and Plena rhythms of his homeland, along with Cuban, Caribbean and Brazilian traditions, were among the biggest influence on Sanchez's early taste in music.

But soon jazz masters such as Sonny Rollins, Dexter Gordon, and John Coltrane would command his ear and his imagination. Charlie Parker, Lester Young, Wayne Shorter, and Joe Henderson all have been also major influences.

David Sánchez is also "Maestro Sánchez" to students at the Conservatorio de Música de Puerto Rico. After a decade of teaching, he has proven to be a compelling presence with students and is in demand for workshops and master classes in Puerto Rico and beyond. In 2017 he helped form a new program at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, The RJAM (Roots, Jazz, and American Music).

In addition to his collaboration with the Conservatory of Puerto Rico and The Conservatory of San Francisco, Sánchez has taught master classes in Brazil, at the Peabody Conservatory, Manhattan School of Music, Indiana University's School of Music, Stanford University, University of Memphis, Emory University Berklee Global Institute and completed a year-long residency at Georgia State University.

Two pieces songs from Carib, "Canto" and "Fernando's Theme", are featured in the soundtrack of the film Windows on The World by Robert Mailer Anderson. The film includes performances by Ryan Guzman and Edward James Olmos, and made its premiere in February 2019 at the Sedona Film Festival.

KIM LENZ: ROCKABILLY GODDESS RELEASES NEW LP

Rockabilly goddess Kim Lenz has released her new album Slowly Speeding via Blue Star Records. Combining atmospheric production with gothic Americana themes and a renewed emphasis on lyricism, Slowly Speeding represents a compelling new direction for the LA-based songwriter and bandleader. Slowly Speeding is available for purchase here.

Rolling Stone Country recently spotlighted the title track "Slowly Speeding," calling it "a smoldering torch song that’s built as much for the lounge as the juke joint." Lenz was subsequently featured as Lenz was featured as one of their "10 New Country Artists You Need to Know." The video for "Slowly Speeding" first premiered with Taste of Country who writes, "The L.A.-based singer-songwriter practically invents a whole new genre with her new song..." Lenz followed this with the haunting, animated video for her song "Pine Me", which premiered on Billboard.

Watch: Kim Lenz - "Pine Me"

https://youtu.be/lt8WZPuW9zc

Lenz is a songwriter, performer, bandleader, engineer and producer who pores over every nuance of her music to ensure maximum potency. The ten songs on Slowly Speeding brim with growling vocals, clever turns of phrase and heightened musicianship that services both the songs and the emotional intent behind them.

Lenz released her debut album in 1998 as Kim Lenz & the Jaguars, via Hightone Records. Heralded as the “Flame-haired keeper of the rockabilly flame” by Allmusic, Lenz reached the highest heights of the 90’s rockabilly revival.

At the same time, she established her own distinctive voice as an artist who inhabited the musical and aesthetic traditions of a classic era, even as she subverted them. At the same time, she populated her band with top-notch players like bassist Jake Erwin (Hot Club of Cowtown) and the late guitarist Nick Curran (Ronnie Dawson, Fabulous Thunderbirds).

For Slowly Speeding, Lenz pulled the most essential elements of the past forward into the present and gave her own voice to it. Lenz's sonic vision for the project was to combine her favorite tones from her most-treasured records, regardless of genre or era, and co-producer DH Phillips was the perfect partner in crime.

They looked to early blues, classic country, and old-time gospel harmonies. ”The idea was to try to use all the ingredients that made up rock & roll, but shift around the time frames,” she offers. “I started out in the '90s making traditional rockabilly music,” she continues. “But in my journey to understand how rockabilly and rock & roll came into being, I found blues, rhythm & blues, gospel, Western swing, and country music.”

Lenz will bring her trademark style on the road, with select dates across the U.S. Full tour dates are at www.kimlenz.com.

LATIN JAZZ ICON EDDIE PALMIERI RELEASES NEW LP FULL CIRCLE

A titan of Latin Jazz and Salsa music, Eddie Palmieri, known as “El Maestro,” is still making musical history. At 81 years old, the multi-Grammy Award winning pianist and music legend today releases his new album Full Circle. Featuring 8 classic salsa tracks recorded with stunning cast of musicians from New York and beyond, the album is his first album released on Palmieri’s newly launched imprint Uprising Music via Ropeadope.

Full Circle

The album release coincides with the release of the Palmieri Salsa Jams App, the world’s first interactive Salsa music app on Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah’s Stretch Music App platform.

Watch a demo video of the app HERE, and listen to the album on Spotify HERE.

A recipient of The National Endowment for the Arts' distinguished Jazz Master Award and the Latin Academy of Recording Arts & Science Lifetime Achievement Award, Palmieri has always been at the forefront of major shifts and modernizations in the music industry.

From using a front line of trombones rather than the trumpets customary in Latin orchestras in his heralded “La Perfecta” band, to breaking the three and a half minute industry imposed standard recording length with his nine and a half minute recording of “Azucar Pa’ Ti," Palmieri has always pushed the creative envelope. The release of some of his greatest Salsa classics in the form of an interactive app is just another in a long line of firsts for the music icon.

Full Circle finds Mr. Palmieri teamed with world-class musicians from the New York scene that have played with him over the last decade; “Little” Johnny Rivero, Luques Curtis, Jonathan Powell, Louis Fouché, and many more. On Full Circle listeners will find the basic harmonic and rhythmic structures of the original recordings but with Eddie’s solos freer and more aggressive than ever. These tracks are true representations of Palmieri at the peak of his creative powers.

The Palmieri Salsa Jams App (powered by Stretch Music and Spectrum) is sure to please musicians and audiophiles alike. It gives musicians the ability to completely control their listening, practicing, and learning experience by customizing the player to fit their specific needs and goals. The app has the capability to mute, solo, pan and fade any instrument chosen along with tempo control, looping and sheet music for each part.

As he has throughout his 50+ year career, Eddie Palmieri is once again pushing boundaries by building bridges; between musicians, listeners, and now with young students with interactive technology. Full Circle begins yet another chapter in the Palmieri legacy.

Tour Dates:
8/11 - Montclair Jazz Festival - Montclair, NJ
8/26 - SummerStage, Central Park - New York, NY
9/29 - Zoellner Center - Bethlehem, PA
10/19 - Leaf Festival - Asheville, NC
11/9 - NJ PAC - Newark, NJ (Special Guest with the Christian McBride Big Band)
11/10 - Lehman Center Bronx, NY - (Special Reunion with Lalo Rodriguez)
11/24 - Copley Symphony Hall - San Diego, CA
11/25 - A Mi Hacienda - Pico Rivera, CA

RINGO: NEW RELEASE GIVE MORE LOVE 9-15-17

Give More Love, is Ringo's 19th Studio album. Recorded at his home studio in Los Angeles, Give More Love has 10 brand new tracks and 4 bonus tracks featuring collaborations with friends: Paul McCartney, Joe Walsh, Dave Stewart, Peter Frampton and many more...

Give More Love

Ringo celebrated his birthday July 7 at Capitol Records with a special salute to "Peace & Love" with family, friends and fans. The same day, Ringo also revealed details of his 19th solo album, Give More Love, which will be released by UMe on digital and CD formats on September 15, 2017, with vinyl to follow on September 22, 2017.

Recorded at Ringo’s home studio in Los Angeles, Give More Love has 10 new tracks featuring collaborations with friends including: We’re on the Road Again featuring Paul McCartney, Joe Walsh, Edgar Winter, Steve Lukather; Laughable co-written and performed with Peter Frampton as well as Benmont Tench, Timothy B. Schmit, Richard Page and Amy Keys; Show Me the Way co-written and performed with Steve Lukather and with Paul McCartney; Speed of Sound co-written with Richard Marx and featuring Steve Lukather, Peter Frampton and Nathan East; Standing Still co-written with Gary Burr; King of the Kingdom including performances by Dave Stewart and Edgar Winter; Electricity co-written with Glen Ballard and featuring Joe Walsh and Don Was; So Wrong For So Long co-written and performed with Dave Stewart; Shake It Up co-written and performed with Gary Nicholson and including Don Was and Edgar Winter; and Give More Love co-written with Gary Nicholson including Timothy B. Schmit and All Starrs Richard Page and Gregg Bissonette.