On this show there are exciting new releases from Frank Paul Schubert Kazuhisa Uchihashi and Klaus Kugel, SoSoLa, Sam Bardfeld, Leap Day Trio, Satoko Fujii and Otomo Yoshihide, and Mike Bell
Show Intro 00:00
Frank Paul Schubert, Kazuhisa Uchihashi and Klaus Kugel “Explosive Past” from Black Holes Are Hard To Find (NEMU) 00:53
SoSoLa “Enough Is Enough” from Nu World Trashed (DooBeeDoo Records) 15:06
Sam Bardfeld “It Might Not Work” from Refuge (Brooklyn Jazz Underground Records) 20:47
Leap Day Trio “Dewey Spirit” from Live At The Cafe Bohemia (Giant Step Arts) 26:58
Satoko Fujii and Otomo Yoshihide “Perpetual Motion II” from Perpetual Motion (Ayler Records) 39:01
Mike Bell “Jazz On The Rails” from Jazz On The Rails (Self Released) 55:11
Frank Paul Schubert, Kazuhisa Uchihashi and Klaus Kugel “New Kind Of Terrain” from Black Holes Are Hard To Find (NEMU) 1:00:31
SoSoLa “Sad Sad Sad Sake” from Nu World Trashed (DooBeeDoo Records) 1:11:08
Leap Day Trio “Strival for Survival” from Live At The Cafe Bohemia (Giant Step Arts) 1:22:07
Sam Bardfeld “Refuge” from Refuge (Brooklyn Jazz Underground Records) 1:29:27
Frank Paul Schubert, Kazuhisa Uchihashi and Klaus Kugel “Supersonic Interaction” from Black Holes Are Hard To Find (NEMU) 1:35:34
SoSoLa “What’s What” from Nu World Trashed (DooBeeDoo Records) 1:48:24
Leap Day Trio “Gospel Flowers” from Live At The Cafe Bohemia (Giant Step Arts) 1:53:54
SHOW NOTES
Frank Paul Schubert, Kazuhisa Uchihashi and Klaus Kugel (NEMU)
Black Holes Are Hard To Find : SCHUBERT UCHIHASHI KUGEL are master architects who can combine eclectic and polystylistic themes, abstract ideas, stories and mini-dramas into a unified statement, and than let it sound symphonic, orchestral, cinematic, chaotic and aggressive—even toying with a child-like song theme. All this in a matter of seconds, before spicing it up with tension-filled passages or provocative soothing moments before climaxing in maelstrom-like eruptions. The affinity between the three players is especially amazing, considering the all-improvised nature of this music, and when all three lock in, the music becomes breathtaking
SoSoLa (DooBeeDoo Records)
Following a period of building anticipation, saxophonist, composer, improviser, and producer SoSaLa and company (an amalgamation of world class musicians, plus well-known activist, educator, author and MC Dr.Cornel West who contributes a spoken-word feature) are taking a unique fusion of Middle Eastern, electronic, jazz and contemporary music to a new level with the release of Nu World Trashed. Released on NYC’s DooBeeDoo Records on December 11, 2020, with European release February 22, 2021.
SoSaLa (whose real name is Sohrab Saadat Ladjevardi, a Swiss-born Iranian American who has lived in Switzerland, Germany, Japan, and since 2008 in the US) has performed extensively and recorded as a leader with his own bands (SoSaLa, Tehran-Dakar Brothers, SADATO, SADATO GROUP, ALEF, etc.). He has performed with Malian star Salif Keita in Bamako in 2002 and recorded with legendary jazz musician Ornette Coleman and Bachir Attar and the Master Musicians of JaJouka in 2010 and studied under the mentorship of Ornette Coleman. In his four-decade music career SoSaLa has released several CDs on his own and German labels. Besides being a professional musician, he is also a music activist, and the founder of the non-profit musician rights organization Musicians For Musicians (MFM) in 2015.
Nu World Trashed is a development of SoSaLa’s first release Nu World Trash. The title describes the “Nu World” created by the Internet, and how some may feel “trashed” by it. It consists of seven studio tracks (collaborations with various musicians and producers) and two live tracks performed by the band, SoSaLa. Recorded between 2014 and 2020, it is a concept album that expresses hope and compassion. The music invites the listener to sit down, take a moment during the present troubled times for some much-needed soul searching. It inspires our humanity and wisdom to find light in the dark tunnel.
Note: this CD is a high-end product, in a limited edition of 300 with SoSaLa’s autograph, and a retail price of $50. This bold move is a refusal to accept the devaluation of music.
**Track #2: SoSaLa (tenor sax and vocals), Mike Irish (electronics, recording, mixing), Lautaro Burgos (cymbals), Dr. Cornel West (voice), Massamba Diop (talking drum or tama) & Mar Gueye (sabar). Recorded at SHIFTED RECORDING STUDIO (New York, USA), May 12, 2014.**
**Tracks #4 & #6: SoSaLa (tenor sax), David Belmont (dobro), Baba Don Eaton (percussion), and Kaveh Haghtalab (kamancheh). Live performance at CA Music Room (New York, USA), December 20, 2017.**
Sam Bardfeld (Brooklyn Jazz Underground Records)
Violinist/composer Sam Bardfeld proudly announces the release of his new trio album, Refuge, the follow up to the critically-acclaimed The Great Enthusiasms, his second for Brooklyn Jazz Underground Records, and his fourth as a bandleader. On Refuge, to be released on March 24, 2023, Bardfeld once again called upon the eclectic, multifaceted propulsion of drummer Michael Sarin, and welcomes into the fold, the virtuosic and creative pianist Jacob Sacks. The music on Refuge follows a similar line to its predecessor, The Great Enthusiasms. It is at once lyrical, quirky, forward-looking, and deeply rooted in tradition.
Leap Day Trio (Giant Step Arts)
Recorded Feb. 28-29, 2020
After nearly three decades of playing together, drummer Matt Wilson and saxophonist Jeff Lederer shouldn’t have too many new tricks left up their sleeves. Somehow they continually manage to surprise both audiences and each other with their witty interplay and off-kilter sensibilities, in this latest venture aided by a new addition to their ever-expanding circle, the potent and vibrant bassist Mimi Jones.
Another surprise comes via the location of the trio’s spirited debut recording: Live at the Café Bohemia revives a legendary name from jazz’s past. Due out February 24, 2023 thanks to the artist-centered non-profit Giant Step Arts and recorded by renowned photographer/engineer Jimmy Katz, the album features the birth of a new trio at the rebirth of the legendary New York City venue. This lively and electrifying set took place on Leap Day and Leap Day Eve 2020, just four months after the Bohemia reopened – and mere weeks before live music experiences like this were shut down for months to come.
Satoko Fujii and Otomo Yoshihide (Ayler Records)
It seems inevitable that pianist-composer Satoko Fujii and guitarist-composer Otomo Yoshihide, two of the most influential and critically acclaimed figures in Japanese new music, should record together. The surprising thing is it took so long. Their new duo album, Perpetual Motion (Ayler Records, release date: February 9, 2023), is their first performance together, despite the fact that they each emerged as artists in the 1990s. Perhaps that’s the way it was meant to be. With decades of experience between them and fully matured styles, Fujii and Otomo confidently approach their initial encounter and bring the full power of their distinctive personalities to the music. With two such versatile musicians creating together, the music is wide-ranging, uncompromising, and full of surprises.
The concert took place at the annual music marathon that Fujii and trumpeter-composer Natsuki Tamura curate each January at Pit Inn, one of Tokyo’s most prestigious jazz clubs. Over the course of several sets at the club, they showcased various projects, new and ongoing.
Mike Bell (Self Released)
There’s nothing obscure about the jazz on this album. It is jazz firmly fixed “to the rails” having its origins in the jazz of earlier generations when jazz was, arguably, less complex, and less inclined to run “off the rails”. The title of the album is a throwback to the jazz Mike grew up listening to, jazz of an earlier generation.
However don’t be fooled into thinking that this is an album with a veneer of Jazz. There are a lot of sophisticated ideas in Mike’s compositions; it is well structured and is a genuinely authentic organic jazz album that is a pleasure to listen to. Behind the tracks there is an understanding that the music must “Swing”. Mike Bell’s talent as a composer and skill as a world class jazz pianist is evident throughout the album, which effortlessly meanders through many different sonic moods.
One thing that was very important to Mike was that the music must stand up to the scrutiny of his peers. It was important that music lovers from across the genres would appreciate how Mike wanted to make the music accessible as music and not as some idea of what jazz should be.
All the tracks on Jazz On The Rails are original, composed and played by Mike himself. An accomplished pianist, Mike takes a lot of his inspiration from The Golden Era of jazz with greats like Cannonball Adderley, John Coltrane, Benny Golson and in particular, Oscar Peterson.
Different Noises 