Kengo Nakamura - Roots (2005)

Another fine work where Kengo explores his jazz roots. He surrounds himself with a great grouping of players that include: Marcus Printup on Trumpet, Wess "Warmdaddy" Anderson on Alto Saxophone, Aaron Parks on Piano sharing the role with special guest Makoto Ozone and Rodney Green on Drums. Seven of the ten tunes are his own compositions. The remaining three are by Horace Silver, Charles Mingus and even Aaron Parks adds one of his own. The album is a powerful testament to Nakamura's excellent bass playing, but not to overlook the role of the choice sidemen. Kengo’s duo performances with similarly virtuosic Makoto are scintillatingly beautiful. The sound engineering is dynamically set at a high standard DR15, all in all, any jazz or music lover is in for a treat, enjoy! 

55 Records, FNCJ-5505,2005
Recorded 23rd & 24th June, 2004 at Avatar Studio, New York City 

Musicians:
Kengo Nakamura - Bass
Marcus Printup - Trumpet
Wess "Warmdaddy" Anderson - Alto Saxophone
Aaron Parks - Piano (#1-4,6-8,10)
Rodney Green - Drums
Special Guest:
Makoto Ozone - Piano (#5,6,9) 

Tracks:
01. Roots {Kengo Nakamura} (8:17)
02. DH Swing {Kengo Nakamura} (5:48)
03. Fifty Five {Kengo Nakamura} (3:38)
04. Sister Sadie {Horace Silver} (2:38)
05. Wango Tango {Kengo Nakamura} (6:00)
06. Nostalgia {Kengo Nakamura} (5:00)
07. The Barron {Aaron Parks} (6:00)
08. Boogie Stop Shuffle {Charles Mingus} (6:10)
09. All Is Well With You {Kengo Nakamura} (4:58)
10. Blues For Wess {Kengo Nakamura} (8:44) 

Total Time: 57:21 

Credits:
Producer - Kengo Nakamura
Executive-Producer - Hiroshi Itsuno
Recording Engineer - Jay Messina
Assistant Engineer - Peter Doris
Mastering Engineer - Bill Sigmund
Photography - Michael A. Black
Design - Sinbad Design Mochida 

Wango Tango

Will Vinson - Live At Smalls (2013)

London born alto saxophonist Will Vinson has been making a name for himself in New York as an exploring, cutting edge musician. Noted for his work in Ari Hoenig's group Punkbop, Vinson has been defining his sound and his own working group. With guitarist Lage Lund (also a SmallsLIVE artist) and rising piano star Aaron Parks, Marcus Gilmore on drums and Matt Brewer on bass, this is a serious set of music that includes some shimmering originals. ~ Amazon.com. 

SmallsLIVE, SL-0035, 2013
Recorded 4th-5th December, 2012 at Small Jazz Club, Greenwich Village, New York 

Musicians:
Will Vinson - Alto Saxophone
Aaron Parks - Piano
Lage Lund - Guitar
Matt Brewer - Bass
Marcus Gilmore - Drums 

Tracks:
1. The Clock Killer {Will Vinson} (10:19)
2. Star Of Greece {Will Vinson} (7:47)
3. Swagger {Lage Lund} (11:58)
4. Stablemates {Benny Golson} (9:42)
5. Squeeze {Will Vinson} (7:14)
6. Morning Glory {Duke Ellington} (6:04)
7. Albemarle {Will Vinson} (10:39) 

Total Time: 63:48 

Credits:
Executive Producer, Producer - Spike Wilner
Producer, Mixing - Ben Rubin [House of Cha Cha]
Engineer - Jimmy Katz
Mastering - Gene Paul [G&J Audio]
Design, Photography - Michelle Watt 

Stablemates

Will Vinson - Promises (2008)

It's been five years since British expat Will Vinson released his debut as a leader, It's For You (2004), but the alto and soprano saxophonist has been anything but dormant. Promises, may have been a long time in coming, but it demonstrates Vinson's palpable growth as a player but also, and perhaps more importantly, as a writer. Vinson's playing continues down the road, his own voice is emerging more confidently on this quintet session that features other up-and-comers including Aaron Parks. Ever inventive, Parks solos with the kind of confident sense of construction that supports his increasing acclaim, while acting as an empathic rhythm section partner with bassist Orlando le Fleming and drummer Rodney Green (Ari Hoenig replaces Green on the staggered funk of "Philos O' Fur.") Vinson also enlists guitarist Lage Lund who represents the next wave of guitarists. Promises is a mainstream set of a decidedly modern bent, featuring eight Vinson compositions that lean largely to the acoustic and the complex. Lund isn't afraid to pull out the occasional electronic trick, including some looping and reverse attack throughout the ever-shifting "Adventures of Bagpuss". Even when Vinson moves into slower territory, it's hardly balladic, although it is lyrical in its own way. On "Rose Tint" he works again in tandem with Lund. Vinson's warm tone on alto, his main axe, smoothes out the occasional jagged edges of his improvised lines while le Fleming and Green, ever empathic, maintain a smooth as silk cushion that's augmented by Parks' atmospheric voicings. With increased confidence as a player and writer, hopefully Vinson won't have to wait another five years to follow up to this fine album of modernistic mainstream jazz. ~ Extract by John Kelman, AAJ. 

Nineteen-Eight Records, 19/8 1007, 2008
Recorded 22nd December, 2006 at Legacy Recording Studios, New York City 

Musicians:
Will Vinson - Alto & Soprano Saxophones
Lage Lund - Guitar
Aaron Parks - Piano
Orlando Le Fleming - Bass
Rodney Green - Drums (#1,2,4-8)
Ari Hoenig - Drums (#3) 

Tracks:
1. Albemarle (8:36)
2. Believer (6:16)
3. Philos O' Fur (5:44)
4. Rose Tint (6:37)
5. Adventures Of Bagpuss (8:31)
6. Promises (7:52)
7. Lagonic (5:44)
8. Leafy (7:02) 

All Compositions by Will Vinson 

Total Time: 56:22 

Credits:
Producer, Mixing - Will Vinson
Engineer, Mixing - Alex Venguer
Mastering - Michael Perez-Cisneros
Design - Rachel Gutek
Photography - Jessie Simmons
Photography [Inside] - Alexandros Lambrovasilis 

Will Vinson Promises Quartet @ Musig-Im-Ochsen

Terence Blanchard - Bounce (2003)

Bounce is a collage of swinging, soulful, and artistic cuts that are bound to strike the fancy of Terence Blanchard fans. The band's vast range covers territory from bop to African beats to traditional New Orleans marching band music, as demonstrated on the cuts "Transform," "Azania," and "Bounce/Let's Go Off" respectively. Blanchard calls on the services of Brice Winston, Lionel Loueke, Robert Glasper, Aaron Parks, Brandon Owens, and Eric Harland for Bounce. Interestingly, none of the band members (save Blanchard) are proverbial household jazz names. This is testimony enough that straight up, unadulterated jazz need not include neon-light, star musicians in order to produce quality, thoughtful scores. This tight band came to play. 

The skillfully done "Nocturna" is the most seductive, mellow cut on the disc. Blanchard uses his trumpet as a voice, communicating his penchant for romantic flair. Owens keeps the melody going on bass while Loueke flicks his guitar to accent the piece. As the track quickens, Blanchard returns and turns up the heat, cooking at a mile high crescendo. And Harland's sound is simply beautiful as he massages the drums, knowing when to accent the melody. 

"Footprints," a Wayne Shorter classic, is excellently done and begins with the funky bass-driven, drum-accented vamp. Blanchard appears to lay back in the cut before he moves into Shorter's classic vein. The band handles this classic with the utmost integrity, handling the jewel with class. Parks' piano accents are skillfully conceived and well-timed along with Harland's drum strokes. Blanchard has a way of capturing the listeners ear using high notes combined with sounds from the lower range. Not to be outdone, Winston delves into a tight mini-solo on saxophone that demonstrates a fluent sense of improvisation in addition to a resonance with the original composition. ~ by Eddie Becton, AAJ. 

Blue Note, 7243 5 90953 2 5, 2003
Recorded 16th - 19th February, 2003 at Avatar Studios, New York, NY 

Personnel:
Terence Blanchard - Trumpet
Brice Winston - Tenor & Soprano Saxophones (#1-3,5-8)
Aaron Parks - Piano (#1,2,4-8)
Robert Glasper - Hammond B-3 & Fender Rhodes (#2-6,8)
Lionel Loueke - Guitar & Vocals (#1-8)
Brandon Owens - Bass
Eric Harland - Drums 

Tracks:
1. On The Verge {Aaron Parks} (8:43)
2. Passionate Courage {Terence Blanchard} (6:32)
3. Fred Brown {Terence Blanchard} (7:43)
4. Nocturna {Ivan Links, Victor Martins} (7:34)
5. Azania {Terence Blanchard} (6:04)
6. Footprints {Wayne Shorter} (7:32)
7. Transform {Eric Harland} (9:01)
8. Innocence {Brandon Owens} (7:23)
9. Bounce {Terence Blanchard}, Let's Go Off {Donald Harrison} (7:06) 

Total Time: 67:38 

Credits:
Producer - Terence Blanchard, Michael Cuscuna
Executive-Producer - Bruce Lundvall

Terence Blanchard - Flow (2005)

Two years before Flow, Terence Blanchard released Bounce, a departure from anything he had done in his already storied career. It was a seminal album, with the ideas of a musician 20 years his junior, but the skill and command of the jazz great that he had become. As a follow-up, Flow exhibits that no one better balances traditionalism, provincialism and contemporary aesthetics like Blanchard. This is almost immediately evident and highlighted on "Wadagbe," the album's third cut. Blanchard’s instantly recognizable, clarion-call horn-tone is still there, as is the native New Orleanian's homage to the Nola stomp and mardi gras Indian chants, plus a classically lyrical jazz-head and an end-song coda that singes. Guitarist Lionel Loueke, still in his early 30s at the time, wrote "Wadagbe" and Benny Golson tribute "Benny's Tune." Young drummer Kendrick Scott wrote album-standout "The Source." In fact, Blanchard handles sole writing duties of just one song on the album, "Wandering Wonder," allowing his younger sidemen's voices to shine. It is this young energy that keeps Blanchard and the album's producer, Herbie Hancock, sounding so vibrant and current. Hancock, years into receiving Social Security, turned in the piano solo of the year on "The Source" - a percussive display so cerebral, violent and dramatic that it almost defies belief. Few of Blanchard's Young Lion peers from the 1980s are still relevant in any fresh way, which makes Flow, together with its predecessor Bounce, such a revelation. Blanchard isn't stuck making 60s tribute albums or recycling the sound of his youth. Instead, he's hooking up with the hip kids, sometimes directing traffic, sometimes going with the Flow. ~ by Vincent Thomas, AMG.

Blue Note, 7243 5 78274 2 3, 2005

Recorded 11^th-14^th December, 2004 At Henson Recording Studios, Hollywood, California

Personnel:

Terence Blanchard - Trumpet, Programming, Synthesizer Programming

Brice Winston - Tenor Saxophone, Soprano Saxophone, Yamaha WX5

Lionel Loueke - Guitar, Vocals

Aaron Parks - Piano (#2,3,5,8,9,11)

Herbie Hancock - Piano (#4,7)

Derrick Hodge - Bass

Kendrick Scott - Drums

Howard Drossin - Programming, Synthesizer Programming

Gretchen Parlato - Vocals (#8,9)

Tracks:

01. Flow, Part 1 {Terence Blanchard, Derrick Hodge} (5:29)

02. Wadagbe [Intro] {Lionel Loueke} (4:14)

03. Wadagbe {Lionel Loueke} (10:27)

04. Benny's Tune {Lionel Loueke} (7:43)

05. Wandering Wonder {Terence Blanchard} (5:46)

06. Flow, Part II {Terence Blanchard, Derrick Hodge} (3:38)

07. The Source {Kendrick Scott} (8:02)

08. Over There {Derrick Hodge} (7:32)

09. Child's Play {Brice Winston} (6:12)

10. Flow, Part III {Terence Blanchard, Derrick Hodge} (2:45)

11. Harvesting Dance {Aaron Parks} (11:43)

Credits:

Producer, Audio Production - Herbie Hancock

Executive Producer - Bruce Lundvall

Engineer - Don Murray

Assistant Engineer - Glenn Pittman

Mixing Assistant - Seth Presant

Mastering - Robert Vosgien

Concept, Photography - Nitin Vadukul

Art Direction, Design - Burton Yount