HAMBURG
Rural and urban destinations have inspired composers of jazz and improvised music for decades.
For instance, in standards such as Harlem Nocturne, April in Paris, Moonlight in Vermont and London Blues or even on complete albums, such as In Angel City by Charlie Haden, Hudson by Jack DeJohnette, New York Tango by Richard Galliano or Miles Davis’s Sketches of Spain, geographical coordinates have played an important role as catalysts for the musicians’ creative and imaginative powers.
BAD AS I WANNA BE
Guitar Visionary Malina Moye Announces New Empowerment Album Amid Entertainment Industry’s Female Revolution
Pop-Rock maven and international guitar superstar Malina Moye is set to release her new album "Bad As I Wanna Be" March 23rd on LEOPARD.
IT´S ALL ABOUT LOVE
FINALLY: THE NEW STUDIO ALBUM BY MACEO PARKER HAS ARRIVED!
He is an icon of funk and soul: Maceo Parker. Since his collaboration with James Brown in the 60s, Maceo’s performance on the saxophone clearly sets him apart from the mainstream: distinct, precise and to the point. Besides Brown, Parker has also worked with George Clinton and over many years with Prince. Since the 90s, he has been advancing his own career.
UNDER THE RADAR
The Peterson Brothers -- keyboard player Ricky, bass player Billy, drummer / guitar player Paul and their nephew. saxophonist Jason, are true brothers in arms, Minneapolis institutions, members and survivors of that city’s musical revolution. What I love about these cats is that they lay the music out like an uptown groove buffet. You don’t need to be smart to feel the beat of the heart; you don’t need to play dumb to feel the beat of the drum. This is music everybody can get with. Natural talent by the yard and years of playing with the some of the best of the best-- from Prince to Bonnie Raitt, Eddie Harris to Mose Allison, Dave Sanborn to Boz Scaggs, Fleetwood Mac to Bob Dylan, and that barely scratches the surface—make this tribute to a legendary musical family a back-slapping, finger-popping good time.
Zapp VII: Roger & Friends
ZAPP IS BACK!!
ZAPP Salutes The Late Roger Troutman on Zapp VII: Roger & Friends
New album continues the band’s 40-year legacy of funk with special guest appearances by Bootsy Collins, Frankie J., Tuxedo, Kurupt and Snoop Dogg
1969
Andre Cymone's new album might be titled 1969, but nostalgia is the farthest thing from his mind.
"There's so many parallels between 1969 and now," the veteran singer / songwriter / producer observes. "You watch the news and see all the crazy, crazy stuff that's going on, and you realize that we're still dealing with a lot of the same issues now that we were dealing with then. That inspired a lot of these songs."
LIVE AND UNRELEASED
Als sie am 2. Juli 1980 im legendären Hamburger Club Onkel Pö’s Carnegy Hall auf der Bühne standen, feuerten die Brecker Brothers aus allen Rohren. Diese Gruppe, Inbegriff der bahnbrechenden und populären Jazz-Funk Fusion Band, wurde 1975 gegründet und befand sich, nach der Veröffentlichung des von George Duke produzierten Albums Detente zwei Monate zuvor, mitten in einer Tournee durch Europa. „Das war eine verdammt gute Tournee“, erinnert sich der Trompeter und Komponist Randy Brecker. „Die Band hat es jeden Abend richtig krachen lassen. Zu der Zeit sind wir schon eine ganze Weile gemeinsam aufgetreten und haben uns zu einem eng verbundenen Ensemble entwickelt. Wir waren damals alle in absoluter Topform.”
DROP SHOT
Ricky Peterson was a young phenomenon from Minneapolis when we first met 35 years ago. He came out of a music scene that included both Prince as well as a saxophone player named Irv Williams who had been pals with Lester Young (Lester also spent time in Minneapolis). In a way, that was typical of the city, a town small enough so that all the musicians knew each other and large enough so that the musical standard was high – very high.
Kennedy Administration
A dynamic presence on every bandstand she graces, singer Ms Kennedy brings a captivating soulfulness to the proceedings on the Kennedy Administration’s self-titled debut. Whether it’s the funk-laden opener “It’s Over Now,” her smoldering take on Al Green’s “Let’s Stay Together” or energized interpretation of Billy Preston’s “Will It Go Round in Circles,” her own nostalgic “Mama’s Kisses” and other compelling originals like the alluring “Finally,” the anthemic “Victory Song” or the group’s old school throwdown “Let’s Party,” the Michigan native and Brooklyn resident makes a stunning impression on her first recording.
ABOUT TIME
The Debut Album
About time.
It’s all about (the) time.
It’s all about (the) timing.
A mature feeling for time and how to use it in the right way, when to strike a note or a chord and – even more importantly – when to refrain from doing so. The usage of rests and space as a creative, dramatic element. All this is usually expected from top-level musicians, qualities that – and this seems to be the consensus – develop over the years and need a large amount of performance practise; in short: they are a result of “age”. But sometimes this does not happen. We all know the sayings: „feeling“ - you either have got it or you don’t; or: virtuoso but without any feeling; or: lots of feeling but technically rather inexperienced.
Considering his youthful age it might come as a surprise that Simon Oslender already combines all these qualities in his performance. This is raising questions: How is this possible at the age of 21? Is he a natural talent or an exceptional phenomenon? Or is he just an early bloomer?
SCHIZOPHRENIA - THE YANG PROJECT
Leaping twenty feet forward, this extraordinarily diverse collection of tunes captures the full range of keyboardist Bobby Sparks’ expansive vocabulary and inexhaustible spirit. From slamming funk to slow-grooving soul ballads to forays into straight ahead jazz, fusion, orchestral and world music, his aptly-titled Schizophrenia — The Yang Project covers a myriad of bases.