#jesup wagon

[eraseer]

Kirk Knuffke Trio w Michael Bisio, Matthew Shipp

"Gravity Without Airs"

TAO Forms, 2022

free jazz

Artwork by Robin D. Williams

bandcamp blurb: This is Knuffke’s debut as a leader for TAO Forms, following on his being elemental part of James Brandon Lewis / Red Lily Quintet’s Jesup Wagon, one of the most acclaimed jazz releases of 2021. That album was eventually voted #1 Album of the Year in the JazzTimes Critics Poll & the international Jazz Critics Poll established by Francis Davis. Accolades for the cornetist’s own recent work as leader include NPR’s Jazz Album of the Year laurel for 2017’s Cherryco, his homage to Don Cherry – a prime influence. DownBeat praised the way that album showcased Knuffke’s “nonchalant versatility and ebullient melodic gifts,” while esteemed critic Francis Davis called it “nothing short of spectacular.” On his guiding artistic impulse, Kirk Knuffke says: “I’m concerned with making beautiful music. Beauty is always first, though not in a precious way. It can be in a rough way, too.” A prolific, lauded record-maker, Gravity Without Airs fulfills his poetic aims as well as any recording he has made. This work finds Knuffke in the rare, even unique, trio format of cornet, piano and double-bass. His partners are two ever-estimable pillars of creative music, and the work they’ve created together here brims with melody and mystery. Regarding the album title, Knuffke explains: “I was reading Meditations by Marcus Aurelius while preparing for this recording. He used the phrase ‘gravity without airs’, and it stuck with me. That’s what it’s all about! Being heavy but not putting on airs – that’s what my favorite musicians do. In these days of social media and constant hype and self-promotion, this is what we should really aspire to: do the work and study, get into your thing and avoid showing it off half-cooked. Matthew and Michael have that sort of grace. I was really touched because once we started playing, they both got excited and wanted to play more and more – that’s how we ended up with a double album,” Knuffke recalls. "I hope people can listen to it as a whole, so they can hear all the subtleties as well as the shape and flow of the album. I have to say: I’m especially proud of this one.” 

More information:

https://taoforms.bandcamp.com/album/gravity-without-airs

[dustedmagazine]

James Brandon Lewis/Red Lily Quartet — For Mahalia, with Love (Tao Forms)

Photo by Henri Selmer

For Mahalia, With Love by James Brandon Lewis / Red Lily Quintet

James Brandon Lewis reconvenes the Red Lily Quintet—with Kurt Knuffke on cornet, Chris Hoffman on cello, William Parker on bass, and Chad Taylor on drums—for a set inspired by songs associated with Mahalia Jackson, the towering figure in gospel music in the previous century. The group develops the brief melodies of these traditional devotional tunes into vehicles for improvisation and exploration, creating a joyful noise that celebrates Jackson and also recalls the exploration of themes associated with the Black church by Charles Mingus, Albert Ayler and Roland Kirk.

In some cases, such as “Swing Low” and “Wade in the Water,” the source material is readily apparent while in others it is less so. The set begins appropriately and gently with Lewis’s adaptation of one of Jackson’s signature songs, “His Eye Is on the Sparrow,” which provided the name for a radio show that she hosted in the 1950s and with which she wowed the 1958 Newport Jazz Festival. Lewis’s phrasing well captures Jackson’s meditation on a tune that, like the rest of those here, is beautiful in its simplicity rather than showy.

The quintet was rock-solid on its first outing, Jesup Wagon (2021), and is even more together this time around. Parker is, predictably, outstanding here, delving deep into the music whether soloing, as on “Go Down Moses” and the first minute of “Elijah Rock,” or providing bedrock support throughout. Hoffman’s cello often blends with Parker’s bass, somewhat like the dynamic between the two bassists in some of Coltrane’s bands. Knuffke once more serves as the perfect foil for Lewis as they alternately trade leads and blend their voices. His solo on “Deep River” well exemplifies his approach, building on the foundation established by Lewis before him, he ranges from flutters to searching cries consistent with the funereal theme of the song. Taylor, along with Parker, holds everything together, being equally effective in delivering frantic rolls, as on “Were You There,” and hand percussion, as on “Calvary,” and there are numerous satisfying moments when he and Parker lock in, such as the last couple minutes of “Elijah Rock”

Lewis’s ever-deepening mastery of the tenor is naturally on full display here. His playing, like this recording, delves into the history of jazz without ever sounding formulaic with a tone that is simultaneously ancient and cutting-edge. Here, his horn transforms into the voice of the great gospel singer, channeling as well the voices that she was influenced by and that influenced her.

Those who purchase the CD or vinyl versions can hear Lewis’s playing in a different context on a live recording of his composition for sax and strings with the Lutoslawski Quartet. Titled These Are Soulful Days, the piece interweaves themes from the spirituals and thus serves as a companion to the Red Lily Quartet recording. This fresh context for Lewis’s vision unfolds through the tranquil and plaintive “Prologue – Humility” and four movements to “Epilogue – Resilience.” The movements interweave more and less recognizable phrases from the gospel songs, particularly the dramatic eruption of “Wade in the Water” in Movement III, while “Epilogue” gets fairly noisy and atonal. An encore concludes the set in the form of a lyrical solo sax performance of “Take Me to the Water.”

For Mahalia, with Love, like Jesup Wagon and Lewis’s “Molecular” releases, is fairly high-concept, but the music is spunky and easy to enjoy, with plenty of groove and intensity. The bare nature of the source melodies is well-suited to jazz exploration (as successive generations of musicians have discovered). Lewis is still too young to be considered a jazz elder statesman (and national treasure), but he is steadily building a body of work and a perspective commensurate with that status.

Jim Marks

[chez-mimich]

JAMES BRANDON LEWIS: “EYE OF I”

È stato detto, quasi sempre in tono dispregiativo, che il jazz è un genere musicale per intellettuali, anzi per “intellettualoidi”. Antonio Gramsci in uno dei suoi più noti passi dei “Quaderni dal carcere”, scriveva che “tutti gli uomini sono intellettuali, ma non tutti svolgono la funzione di intellettuali”. Essendo io di stretta osservanza gramsciana, non posso che condividerne il pensiero. Se poi qualche dubbio in proposito vi resta e lo volete fugare al più presto, non dovrete far altro che acquistare “Eye of I” l’ultimo disco di James Brandon Lewis, uscito da qualche giorno per l’etichetta “ANTI-Records” e che vede, oltre che Brandon Lewis al sax tenore, Chris Hoffman al violoncello e Max Jaffe alla batteria e percussioni. Certo che chi avesse ancora nelle orecchie le storie dell’agronomo George Washington Carver, raccontato in “Jesup Wagon”, probabilmente penserebbe che si tratti del disco di un altro musicista, sia per sonorità che per tematiche, ma questo ribaltamento di obiettivi poetici e musicali, questa concezione diversa della musica, insomma questa versatilità multiforme, non sono segno di debolezza, ma anzi punto di forza di James Brandon Lewis. E non solo questo, poiché “Eye of I” è anche la dimostrazione teoretica che il jazz, non è affatto esclusivamente cibo per la mente contorta di eccentrici “intellettuali”, ma una prova di forza della musica stessa e delle capacità dell’uomo di crearla e veicolarla. Come si dice in certi casi questa era la doverosa premessa, prima di ascoltare il suono nudo e crudo di James Brandon Lewis, semplicemente ciclopico sassofonista che come il famoso “bacio come un rock” della canzonetta, ci tramortisce sul ring. “Selvaggio e spontaneo” lo definisce il comunicato stampa che accompagna l’uscita del disco, un lavoro che sposa decisamente le sonorità del free jazz e del groove, senza disdegnare l’intimità della ricerca, quasi monocorde, ispirata ad uno dei suoi più grandi e riconosciuti maestri, John Coltrane. Se si cominciasse l’ascolto da “The Blues Still Blossoms” questa eredità sarebbe ancora più evidente, con quel sax così solo e così pieno di senso che sembra lenire la banalità e prendersi cura della nostra anima. Spira invece tutt’altra aria nel primo brevissimo, ma programmatico brano, “Foreground“ con il sax che ancheggia e spara bordate vigorose ed energetiche. Se rimane tutto godibilmente groove in “Someday We’ll All be Free”, secondo brano del disco, preparatevi ad ingaggiare una battaglia nel quarto possente ed impietoso pezzo “Middle Ground”, con quella incredibile sventagliata di note da un sax che in 47 secondi inonda di energia pura mente e cuore. Non è da meno il brano che dà il titolo all’album, “Eye of I”, anche se giocato su toni più riflessivi e su una più complessa dialettica armonica e disarmonica, dovuta alle possenti percussioni di Max Jaffe. Nel disco i vuoti e i pieni si alternano ed ecco arrivare la rarefatta simmetria di “Within You Are Answers” e “Womb Water” (scritta in collaborazione con Cecil Taylor), la seconda più problematica con quel basso continuo del violoncello di Chris Hofman che la rende ancora più inquieta. L’attacco dolcemente elettronico della brevissima “Background” ci riporta in ambiente “free”. Questi pezzi brevissimi, come frammenti, sorta di meteoriti sonore, impreziosiscono e non poco la struttura dell’album. Di Free Jazz vive anche “Send Seraphic Being”, mentre “Even the Sparrow” simile a una colonna sonora circense, briosa e apparentemente disarticolata, offre una varietà mutevole di atmosfere, sempre sostenute dal sax di James Brandon Lewis. Infine ecco l’iniziale atmosfera notturna di “Fear Not” che si trasforma cammin facendo in una lunghissima cavalcata che raccoglie in sé sonorità persino un po’ pop-rock, in una costante tensione musicale di grandissimo livello, dove l’infinito assolo del sax di James si dispiega fino nell’eternità. Secondo The New York Times, Brandon Lewis è “un sassofonista che incarna e trascende la tradizione”, parole assolutamente condivisibili. Ottimo lavoro James!

[rich4a1]

Whit Dickey Quartet Root Perspectives

Whit Dickey Quartet Root Perspectives

Whit Dickey Quartet Root Perspectives TAO Forms Drummer and composer Whit Dickey is one of the foremost stalwarts of New York’s improvised music scene. His own label, TAO Forms, has spawned James Brandon Lewis’ poll winning Jesup Wagon, and Dickey’s own Expanding Light and Astral Long Form: Staircase in Space.  His latest, Root Perspectives, is, of course, yet another trip to the outer edges of…

[kwebtv]

Character Actor

Lane Bradford (born John Myrtland Le Varre, Jr., August 29, 1922 – June 6, 1973) Character actor, who appeared in more than 250 films and television series between 1940 and 1973, specializing in supporting "tough-guy" roles predominantly in Westerns but also in more contemporary crime dramas such as Dragnet, The Fugitive, and Hawaii Five-O.

Bradford appeared in many television series and "B" western films. He played the historical figure, Sequoyah, the namesake of Sequoia National Park, in the 1954 episode "Sequoia" of the western anthology series Death Valley Days hosted by Stanley Andrews. The segment covers Sequoyah from earliest years to his development of the Cherokee alphabet. Carol Thurston and Angie Dickinson played Sali and Ayoka, respectively. In a 1959 Death Valley Days episode, "The Blonde King," Bradford played California pioneer Jim Savage, a friend of the Indians who works to stop a threat to the peace of the Yosemite Valley.

In the 1950s, 1960s, and early 1970s, Bradford guest-starred on nearly all of the Western series broadcast on American television during that period.  He was cast on the ABC/Warner Brothers series, Colt .45 as Pete Jesup in the 1959 episode "The Devil's Godson". He also appeared on Hopalong Cassidy, The Lone Ranger (fifteen times), Buffalo Bill, Jr. (six times), Laredo (five times), The Cisco Kid, Tales of the Texas Rangers (twice), Jefferson Drum, Johnny Ringo, Maverick, The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin (five times), Lassie (TV series) (1965), The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp (six times), Cheyenne (seven times), Wagon Train (eight times), The High Chaparral (twice), The Restless Gun (four times), Bonanza (fourteen times), Gunsmoke (thirteen times), The Travels of Jaimie McPheeters, Storefront Lawyers,  Ripcord, and Sergeant Preston of the Yukon.

Bradford guest-starred on the religion anthology series, Crossroads. He made two appearances on CBS's Perry Mason, including the role of Detective Arnold Buck in the 1962 episode "The Case of the Absent Artist."

His last television appearance was in 1973 on an episode of the CBS private-detective series Cannon, with William Conrad.  The episode, titled "Press Pass to the Slammer", aired that year on March 13, just three months before Bradford's death.  (Wikipedia)

[tombax]

V for Variant

Zion    Soweto Kinch Snake Together Alone    Moka Efti Orchestra Soul Vaccination    Tower of Power Quarantine Blues    tombax Swamped    Floratone Didn’t It Rain    Mahalia Jackson Esto Es Cuba    Cimafunk Get Down    Susto Fly As Me     Silk Sonic We Have All the Time in the World    Atlanta Symphony Orchestra Jesup Wagon    James Brandon Lewis’ Red Lily Quintet Mazurek Poranny   Artur Dutkiewicz

“We Have All the Time in the World” is from “Everything Lasts Forever,” by Michael Kurth.

In memory of Robin Hale.

[noloveforned]

no love for ned on wlur – may 21st, 2021 from 5-7pm

artist // track // album // label sheer mag // point breeze // sheer mag i 7" ep // wilsuns sweet knives // rat in the city // sweet knives // bigneck parasol // unglued // scoot over 7" ep // nervous nelly the vogue // the hard facts // a doll spits cube // cien fuegos bill orcutt and chris corsano // one hundred kinds of ass // one hundred kinds of ass 7" // palilalia moviola // expat // broken rainbows // anyway electric looking glass // purple, red, green, blue and yellow // somewhere flowers grow // we are busy bodies * dorothea paas // anything can't happen // anything can't happen // telephone explosion babe rainbow // the wind // changing colours // eureka music * damien jurado // dawn pretend // the monster who hated pennsylvania // maraqopa karima walker // waking the dreaming body // waking the dreaming body // keeled scales * insólito universo // transmutada // la candela del río // olindo yoshi wada // the appointed cloud (excerpt) // the appointed cloud // saltern claire rousay // ending two // loose ends // catalytic sounds jeff kimmel, ishmael ali and bill harris // kraal // vivary // amalgam john coltrane // crescent // crescent // impulse! james brandon lewis // jesup wagon // jesup wagon // tao forms smokey robinson // quiet storm // a quiet storm // tamla flying lotus featuring niki randa // between memories // yasuke // warp * nascent featuring duckwrth and saba // lock it up // minus the bullshit life's great // don't grow up too soon freddie gibbs and madlib featuring domo genesis and earl sweatshirt // robes // piñata // madlib invazion herbie hancock featuring chill factor // the melody (on the deuce by 44) // dis is da drum // verve khruangbin // dearest alfred (myjoy remix by knxwledge) // mordechai remixes // dead oceans kali // back to the start // circles ep // nettwerk * sarah louise // earth wakes up // earth bow // thrill jockey the reds, pinks and purples // the town that cursed your name // the town that cursed your name ep // (self-released) kevin hairs // worry is my love language // stay mild, man-child ep // (self-released) boat featuring glenn mercer and trevor dickson // my haunted friend // my haunted friend ep // (self-released) the hidden cameras // why i understand // awoo 7" // rough trade

* denotes music on wlur’s playlist

[thewickedsound]

THE BEST JAZZ ALBUMS 2021 (SO FAR)

  This album was recorded 45 years ago but sound so fresh like a recent release from a young band. Previously unreleased Marcos Resende & Index self-titled debut album from 1976, contributing a crucial missing work from the glory days of progressive Brazilian instrumental music. Resende in 76 after touring Europe with his previous band returned home to Brazil as an established highly regarded keyboardist, composer, and innovative electronic musician. Inspired and invigorated by US jazz and British progressive rock he'd experienced while residing in Europe, Resende went all out acquiring a keyboard arsenal to be reckoned with, which included the Prophet 5, Yamaha CP-708 and Mini Moog. Determined to integrate his newfound inspirations with Brazilian rhythms and jazz traditions, he formed a new quartet with Rubão Sabino (bass), Claudio Caribé (drums) and the late great Oberdan Magalhães, of Banda Black Rio and Cry Babies fame. Marcos Resende & Index recorded their self-titled debut at Sonoviso Studios with the legendary sound engineer Toninho Barbosa, known as the 'Brazilian Rudy Van Gelder' whose impressive resumé includes the era defining classics Light As A Feather by Azymuth, Previsão Do Tempo by Marcos Valle, and Quem É Quem by João Donato. Marcos Resende & Index fits perfectly amongst these masterpieces, sharing both the timeless ethereal qualities as well as the progressive and futuristic ideals of Light As A Feather in particular. Marcos Resende & Index by Marcos Resende & Index   Mathias Modica's Sonic Rohstoff is the new album on Kryptox Music. Sonic Rohstoff is a journey through abstract downtempo vibes, lofi jazz and futuristic electronica. Most people might know Modica from his earlier works as a producer, keyboard player and founder/ creative mind behind Toy Tonics, Gomma and Kryptox. Over the past two decades he has made a name for himself by discovering and breaking new talent and styles of music. This is Modica's first album under his own name, following three albums under his monikers Kapote and Munk. All instruments are performed by Modica himself, embellished by guest musicians from the new Berlin Jazz scene. Sonic Rohstoff by Mathias Modica   Zurich-based musician Arthur Hnatek is one of a new breed of players who see their music as a continuum stretching between genres, always thinking in terms of links rather than boundaries, possibilities rather than limits. His time spent playing drums with similarly adventurous and unclassifiable artists Tigran Hamasyan and Shai Maestro opened his ears to the possibilities of rhythmic variation: his immersion in electronic music production and the motorik tradition of Jaki Liebzeit alerted him the possibilities of repetition. Now, with Static, he presents his first trio record: joined by his equally fearless bandmates Fabien Iannone on bass and Francesco Geminiani on tenor sax, this is music created by classic jazz line-up and steeped in an improvisational facility, yet simultaneously utterly unlike anything in the standard jazz tradition. Static by Arthur Hnatek Trio

  Marcelo Monteiro, a saxophonist from Sao Paulo, Brazil, has played with various Brazilian and international artists and at the same time was developing his own authorial work. Has excelled in the jazz scene in São Paulo, currently, he has performed with his group, which may be in trio, quartet or quintet version. With his group plays compositions of his own. His music follows the style of groove, funk and modern jazz, simple but very creative themes, with a hint of Brazilian swing. On his new album, Deyeh, he experimented with arrangements with flutes and saxophones, exploring the sound combining contemporary jazz, Brazilian rhythms, in a modern concept. The album was recorded remotely with each musician recording from their own home studio. Deyeh by Marcelo Monteiro

  Sankofa by Amaro Freitas   World-renowned drummer/composer, & producer/beatmaker, Myele Manzanza, has proved that he's an artist who continues to dissolve the borders between modern jazz and electronic beat production. Having released three solo albums, and racking up tours and collaborations with Jordan Rakei, Theo Parrish, Miguel Atwood-Ferguson, Recloose and Amp Fiddler amongst others. Myele is already developing a strong live presence in his new London base; his quartet has shared stages with the likes of Hiatus Kaiyote, The Bad Plus, Alfa Mist, and drawing packed houses to top venues such as The Jazz Café and Ronnie Scott's. Crisis & Opportunity Vol.1 - London features a top tier cast of young London based talent including Ashley Henry (piano), James Copus (trumpet), George Crowley (tenor saxophone), Benjamin Muralt (bass) and additional contributions from the legendary Mark de Clive-Lowe (synths), with Myele Manzanza (drums) captaining the ship.   Crisis & Opportunity Vol. 1 - London by Myele Manzanza   Kaidi Tatham is a legendary multi-instrumentalist. Once dubbed "the UK's Herbie Hancock" by Benji B, he's a virtuoso on the keys and a true innovator in sound production as one of the original creators of the Broken Beat sound. Over the years his musical prowess has blessed numerous projects, initially with the likes of Bugz In The Attic and The Herbaliser, and more recently with DJ Jazzy Jeff (through the PLAYlist projects), Andrew Ashong (on the acclaimed Sankofa Season EP last year) and with a longtime accomplice, Dego. This is in addition to session work for artists such as Mulatu Astatke, Slum Village or Amy Winehouse. An Insight To All Minds is Kaidi's 3rd solo album under his own name, following several EPs and two albums for First Word; 2018's acclaimed It's A World Before You and the re-press of his seminal 2008 sophomore album In Search Of Hope last year. An Insight To All Minds by Kaidi Tatham   JAUBI continue the Nafs journey, which commenced with the single Satanic Nafs (featuring the remix by legendary LA producers The Gaslamp Killer & Mophono) released in March 2021. Now JAUBI draw on the elements of North Indian classical music, Hip-Hop and modal/spiritual jazz in their debut LP entitled Nafs At Peace. The journey officially began back in April 2019 when London's multi-instrumentalist and 22a Record label boss Ed "Tenderlonious" Cawthorne and Polish pianist/composer Marek "Latarnik" Pędziwiatr of EABS/Błoto, visited the group to record in Lahore. Together they channeled their personal struggles at that time into the two recording sessions allowing the musicians to find a spiritual path through this musical purge.  Nafs at Peace by Jaubi   Australian 9-piece Spiritual Jazz group Menagerie announce their highly anticipated third album 'Many Worlds', released 15th January 2021 on esteemed U.K label Freestyle Records. Menagerie is the Melbourne-based Jazz ensemble founded by producer, songwriter, guitarist, DJ and recording artist Lance Ferguson, also the driving force behind The Bamboos, Lanu, Rare Groove Spectrum and Machines Always Win. Recorded at Union Street Studio by award-winning engineer John Castle, 'Many Worlds' features some of Australia's finest musicians, including pianist Mark Fitzgibbon (a regular performer at Gilles Peterson and Patrick Forge's original Dingwalls sessions), drummer Daniel Farrugia and renowned saxophonist Phil Noy (The Bamboos). Inspired by both the post-Coltrane generation of the 70's, labels like Strata-East, Impulse! and Tribe, along with the current 'New Wave Of Jazz', Menagerie aligns with the world of Kamasi Washington, Shabaka Hutchings and Nubya Garcia, whilst also bringing their own unique twist. Many Worlds by Menagerie Astonishing new work from the fertile creative mind of tenor saxophonist-composer James Brandon Lewis. Performed by the Red Lily Quintet (James Brandon Lewis, Kirk Knuffke, William Parker, Chris Hoffman, Chad Taylor), an exceptional & singular inter-generational ensemble, this album speaks to the forever-evolving continuum of the jazz tradition. Voted Rising Star Tenor Saxophonist in the 2020 DownBeat Magazine International Critic's Poll, James Brandon Lewis supercharges his remarkable evolution with Jesup Wagon, a brilliant and evocative appreciation of the life and legacy of turn-of-the-19th century African-American musician-painter-writer-scientist George Washington Carver.   Jesup Wagon by James Brandon Lewis / Red Lily Quintet

  John Carroll Kirby's Septet album was recorded live in the studio with a range of talents playing keys, vibes, bass, percussion and drums. The composer and keyboardist leads the charge and approached the album wanting to play with the chaos of jazz fashion in the 70's/80's, bands like Weather Report and Miles Davis. He sure does that but there is beauty in the madness, with plenty of lush and golden keys dancing above lithe and ad hoc rhythms.  Septet by John Carroll Kirby     Matt Carmichael released his debut album on his own label, Porthole Music. He has already developed quite a profile and an impressive list of collaborations; he also reached the finals of BBC Young Jazz Musician 2020. His quartet, formed five years ago, consists of his contemporaries, award-winning Fergus McCreadie on piano, Ali Watson on bass and Tom Potter on drums. Like McCreadie, Carmichael creates music that feels highly personal, fusing an energetic yet sensitive modern jazz into a bedrock of Scottish traditional music. Where Will The River Flow by Matt Carmichael   Taking cues from Dorothy Ashby and Alice Coltrane at their most delicate, renowned Welsh harpist Amanda Whiting's mesmerizing Jazzman full-length LP After Dark arrives as soft as moonlight to gladden the soul and delight the ear-without forgetting to bring the swing. Summoning the nocturnal mood suggested by the album's title, Whiting's harp flows and cascades, dances and alights, broods and haunts, informed by a deep understanding of both classical and jazz music, ultimately revealing a top-drawer composer with rare melodic gifts at the top of her game. After Dark by Amanda Whiting   JD73's Electrio - Pyramid is a colourful & energetic live recording session presenting 8 incredible pieces of music. Dan 'JD73' Goldman is known the world over for his contributions to the world of Jazz & modern electronic soul music and is backed up on Pyramid by Hamlet Luton (Bass) and Gordon Kilroy (Drums) completing the ElecTrio. Dan's ability to construct these incredible melodic gems centered on the sound of the Rhodes Piano is something to behold. This is a real collectors album and if you're a fan of Herbie Hancock, Chick Corea, Bob James & George Duke you need this on your record shelf for sure. Pyramid by JD73's ElecTrio Read the full article

[negrolicity]

James Brandon Lewis, a Saxophonist Who Embodies and Transcends Tradition

[fuitedejazz]

James Brandon Lewis & Red Lily Quintet * Jesup Wagon | Tao Forms

James Brandon Lewis: tenor saxophone, composition :: Kirk Knuffke: cornet William Parker: bass, gimbri :: Chris Hoffman: cello  :: Chad Taylor: drums, mbira

[dustedmagazine]

James Brandon Lewis – Jesup Wagon (Tao Forms)

Musicians, as with artists of any ilk, find inspiration in infinite sources. Historicity is important to tenorist James Brandon Lewis, specifically as it relates to African American scientific innovation. Jesup Wagon, his latest expression of this predilection explores the importance of Dr. George Washington Carver, inventor of the eponymous agricultural teaching tool. Carver designed the vehicle as a portable learning laboratory for students at the Tuskegee Institute and the early 20th Century agrarian communities of Alabama. Serious scientific endeavor was just one of his creative outlets. He was also a talented painter and musician, further points of affinity with Lewis.

Lewis’ stock in the blending of scientific theory and music embodies a through line in his work. Last year’s Molecular, released on the Swiss Intakt imprint, sought to apply aspects of atomic biology to an improvised musical setting for quartet. This project draws on a different ensemble, dubbed the Red Lily Quintet and aims for what Lewis’ calls a “blues earthy vibe, a certain blues feeling not in theory.” Cornetist Kirk Knuffke, bassist William Parker, cellist Chris Hoffman and drummer Chad Taylor are definitely up to actualizing the assignation as each is versed in shared and divergent blues vernacular. Lewis leads and composes, but the music throughout is a unified undertaking that allows capacious space for individual articulation.

Essayist Robin D.G. Kelley contributes detailed commentary and annotation, examining each of the album’s seven interlocking pieces under a microscope of musical content and connection to Carver. It’s an impressive feat, but the music ultimately reveals itself independently just as well. Lewis’ disconsolate and soulful unaccompanied invocation on the opening title piece paints a picture upended by the forceful, swaggering entrance of the band led by Knuffke’s boisterous brass and Taylor’s tightly tumbling syncopations. Hoffman and Parker create an undulating pizzicato surface imbued with elasticity of a trampoline. After jousting forcefully with cornet, Lewis uncorks another righteous solo to ferry things out.

Subsequent pieces elucidate further mergers of biography and legacy. “Lowlands of Sorrow” is almost Aylerian in its incandescent repetition of vibrato-laced lachrymosity. “Arachis” borrows the Latinate prefix meaning “peanut” to commemorate another of Carver’s agronomical calling cards, blossoming from a somber march into a densely deployed collective improvisation indexed by solos. Parker’s guembri and Taylor’s mbira make qualified appearances in the program, but the bulk of music concerns conventional instruments often played in exceptional agreement. “Fallen Flowers” and “Seer” contain sections of almost telepathic convergence, the former and the closing “Chemurgy” culminating in Lewis’ spoken words inculcating the import of his subject. Carver’s preternatural proficiency with praxis, shaping theory into incisive and affecting application, has a natural heir apparent. 

Derek Taylor

[chez-mimich]

JAMES BRANDON LEWIS: “JESUP WAGON”

Chi è George Washington Carver? Un agronomo. Certo i jazzisti sono bizzarri e il loro Olimpo di eroi (o anti-eroi) a cui fare riferimento e da cui trarre ispirazioni e suggestioni, è spesso molto diverso da quello di altri musicisti. Carver, nato a Diamond nel Missouri, discendeva da una famiglia di schiavi e la sua professione di agronomo lo portò a diventare un educatore nel campo dell’agronomia, il che permise a centinaia di schiavi di ricevere un’adeguata preparazione ed un conseguente riscatto sociale, proprio grazie agli insegnamenti ricevuti da George Washington Carver. La sua era una “scuola itinerante” per così dire, si trattava infatti del suo carro agricolo, il “Jesup Wagon”, riprodotto nella magnifica copertina di questo altrettanto magnifico disco del grande sassofonista James Brandon Lewis e del suo “Red Lily Quintet”, uscito lo scorso 7 maggio per l’etichetta “Tao Forms”. Il “Red Lily Quintet”, messo insieme per questa occasione, è composto da James Brandon Lewis al sax tenore, Kirk Knuffke alla cornetta, William Parker al basso e gimbri, Chris Hoffman al violoncello e Chad Taylor alla batteria e mbira. Se la missione di George Washington Carver fu educativa e pratica, quella di James Brandon Taylor è musicale ed ideale e forse oggi c’è più bisogno di quest’ultima che della prima. Parte lento, con l’andatura di chi vuole andare lontano, il carro di Brandon; “Jesup Wagon”inizia con un solenne e malinconico solo di sax ed �� proprio un “solo”, fino a quando la batteria “melodica” di Chad Taylor, come la definisce lo stesso Brandon, non introduce il resto della band e la porta al traino, per un ideale prateria musicale fatta di bordate di groove , magistralmente mescolate con qualche scorribanda free, ma senza mai perdere il senso della narrazione musicale. E di strada da fare ce n’è molta a cominciare dal brano successivo “Lowlands of Sorrow”, praterie di dolore appunto, quelle percorse dal carro di Carver e meravigliosamente raccontate, oltre che dal sax di Brandon, dalla cornetta di Kirk Knuffke. Anche “Arachis” ci parla di fatica, con un iniziale ritmo lento, quasi da marcia funebre, che si trasforma ben presto in un energetico ritmo da lavoro, con il sax di Brandon sempre affiancato dalla cornetta di Knuffke che sembra proprio diventare uno strumento di lavoro. Il precedente brano fitto e “dialogico” ci trasporta verso l’interlocutorio “Fallen Flowers”, fatto anche di piccoli rumori agresti e di sussurri melodici che sembrano nascere sotto l’implacabile sole del Sud. Come gli esperimenti e la trasmissione del sapere di Carver, “Experiment Station” si muove su di un piano dialettico e musicale molto denso ed intricato, facendo perno sempre sul confronto-scambio tra sax e cornetta ,con un supporto articolato e multiforme della batteria e con il costante oscuro, ma indispensabile lavoro del contrabbasso di William Parker, in bella evidenza nel finale del brano. Chiude l’album “Chemurgy” che in inglese, ma anche in italiano, sta ad indicare le sperimentazioni chimiche per lo sfruttamento del suolo. Anche qui l’alchimia di suoni (e qualche voce lontana), è poeticamente evocativa di quelle esperienze scientifiche ed umane che George Washington Carver portò nelle campagne dell’assolato Sud statunitense. Oltre all’ascolto, non basta pensare alla vitalità del jazz di Chicago e alla sofisticatezza di quello newyorkese per comprendere a fondo questo grande lavoro, ma occorre anche tenere ferma nella mente la condizione degli schiavi del Sud e l’operazione scientifico-umanitaria di George Washington Carver, un jazz programmatico che Duke Ellington avrebbe chiamato “poesie tonali”. Un tributo, musicale e poetico necessario per George Washington Carver, in questi tempi di nuovi schiavi e di nuovi schiavisti. Come ebbe a scrivere lo stesso Carver: “Se un uomo vuole tenerne un altro in un fosso, e vuol essere sicuro che ci stia, finisce che deve stare anche lui nel fosso come l'altro; quale vantaggio può trarne dal restare nel fosso anche lui?”

[wazafam]

By BY GIOVANNI RUSSONELLO from Arts in the New York Times-https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/05/arts/music/james-brandon-lewis-jesup-wagon.html?partner=IFTTT His new album, “Jesup Wagon,” is a tribute to another polymathic figure who insisted on cutting his own path: George Washington Carver. James Brandon Lewis, a Saxophonist Who Embodies and Transcends Tradition New York Times

[jasonmdx]

Alabama Gardening: Educating Today’s Farmers with 21st Century Jesup Wagons

Educating Today’s Farmers with 21st Century Jesup Wagons #AlabamaGardening yardstead.com/news/alabama-gardening/…

https://yardstead.com/news/alabama-gardening/30321-educating-today-s-farmers-with-21st-century-jesup-wagons

[gullahislandfarmer]

As we revamp our lessons on Dr. George Washington Carver, we’d like to recommend this book, In the Garden with Dr. Carver, by Susan Grisby, illustrated by Nicole Tadgell. “It's Sunday and Sally is walking out of church and into a world of plants and learning and Dr. George Washington Carver. Dr. Carver has driven his Jesup Wagon to Sally's town to teach the families in this part of Alabama how to improve their soil. The cotton crop long grown in that region has depleted the soil and Dr. Carver knows the soil needs nutrients and he explains to the farmers how they can use natural things around them to help restore the lost nourishment. Dr. Carver even comes to Sally's school and inspires them to begin their own garden plot in a worn out section out back. They plant sweet potatoes, peas and squash and they learn the oh so important lesson that everything in nature is connected. The spider you see waiting on her web is doing the invaluable job of eating the garden pests that might damage the plants so she needs to be respected and protected. The important contribution of Dr. Carver is brought to life in this warmly illustrated picture book. There's a timeless quality to the pictures and that combines with the important message of the important work of this man who made such a great contribution. 32 pages Ages 5-9”. Susan Grisby wrote a very useful teacher’s guide for the book found at media.btsb.com/TitleLessonPlans/918.pdf. The Tuskegee University and the National Park Service have many resources related to Dr. Carver and his work. @mrs.cjackson @meagansmiles @amjones42 #georgewashingtoncarver #inthegarden #inthegardenwithdrcarver #tuskegeeuniversity #tuskegeeinstitute #carvermuseum #soilhealth #compost #nature #citizenscience #teachkids #growfood #growplants #plants #gardenwithkids #kidsgarden #schoolgarden #churchgarden #communitygarden #neighborhoodgarden #seeds #planthealth #hbcupride #1890s #1890extension #hbcugraduate #stem #steameducation #stemforkids #stemactivities (at Morning Glory Homestead) https://www.instagram.com/p/CERvVALlUmK/?igshid=rke1zt4ppyqp

[presssorg]

Fred's store closings 2019: Discount chain shuttering 159 stores

Fred's store closings 2019: Discount chain shuttering 159 stores Discount chain Fred's is joining the growing list of retailers shuttering stores amid slumping sales. The Memphis-based company announced Thursday that it would close 159 underperforming stores by the end of May with "going out of business" sales starting Thursday as it looks to reduce its store footprint and "evaluate strategic alternatives." The retailer said in a statement that it retained investment banking advisory firm PJ Solomon to assess its options "to maximize value" and hired liquidation firms Malfitano Advisors and SB360 Capital Partners "to help manage the process and ensure a seamless experience for customers." When companies announce they are considering "strategic alternatives," it often involves a potential sale or restructuring. The closing stores represent nearly 29% of Fred's 557 stores and are located in 13 states, with Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia and Tennessee losing the most stores.   Sales at Fred's stores open at least a year fell 4.9% in the first nine months of 2018, compared with a year earlier. "After a careful review, we have made the decision to rationalize our footprint by closing underperforming stores, with a particular focus on locations with shorter duration leases," Fred’s CEO Joseph Anto said in the statement. "Most of these stores have near‐term lease expirations and limited remaining lease obligations." Shares of Fred's were down nearly 5.8% at $1.97 in midday Thursday trading after the announcement. Store closings 2019: Payless, Gymboree and Victoria's Secret are just some of the brands closing locations The start of a new Sears era?: The retailer announces openings, not closings  

Discount chain Fred's is joining the growing list of retailers shuttering stores amid slumping sales.  

The liquidation

Also Thursday, SB360 Capital Partners, which is managing the closing sales, announced the firm was launching “Total Inventory Blowout” clearance sales at an additional 360 Fred's stores. Discounts are 5% to 20% off the lowest ticketed price with some exclusions at both the closing locations and stores holding clearance sales, SB360 officials told USA TODAY.  “Fred’s stores bring the everyday necessities closer to home, and they do it at discount prices,” said Ziggy Schaffer, an executive vice president with SB360. “The store closing and total inventory blowout events will bring value on top of value.” With most of Fred’s stores in smaller communities, Aaron Miller, an executive vice president with SB360, said they’re expecting “a pretty strong response from the customers.” “Fred’s has a loyal following and we’re expecting increased traffic,” Miller said. “The merchandise will go quickly.” SB360 has managed liquidation sales for more than 50 years and is an affiliate of the Schottenstein family, which also owns DSW Inc. and American Eagle Outfitters. It recently handled the Charlotte Russe liquidation. Fred’s will remain “a one-stop shop with continued replenishment of food staples,” Miller said, noting milk, eggs, beverages and frozen items would be restocked throughout the sale. Only 37 stores, or 7%, of stores are not included in either the clearance or liquidation sales.  

What happened

In 2017, a deal for Fred's to acquire hundreds of Rite Aid or Walgreens stores collapsed when a mega-merger between the pharmacy giants deteriorated. Months later, Fred's announced it was considering "strategic transactions and alternatives for certain non-core assets," including real estate and specialty pharmacy business. Last September, Fred’s reached an agreement to sell the pharmacy patient prescription files and related pharmacy inventory of 179 Fred’s stores located across 10 southeastern states to Walgreens for $165 million.  . With Thursday's announcement, Fred's said it is "continuing to pursue the sale of its remaining pharmacy assets as part of its previously announced plan." Fred's is part of a wave of recent retail closures. Based on figures from global marketing research firm Coresight Research, bankruptcy filings and company earnings reports, more than 6,500 stores are slated to close locations in 2019. The brick-and-mortar downturn is expected to continue, according to a new report released this week from UBS Securities. Investment bank analysts said 75,000 more stores would need to be shuttered by 2026 if e-commerce “penetration rises from 16% currently to 25%.”  

What's next for Fred's

In Fred's statement Thursday, the company said PJ Solomon would do a "thorough evaluation" of the company's plan and look for alternatives. "There can be no assurance that the strategic review will result in any specific action, or any assurance as to its outcome or timing," the statement said. The number of employees affected was not immediately available. “Decisions that impact our associates in this way are difficult, but the steps we are announcing are necessary,” Anto said. “We will make every effort to transition impacted associates to other stores where possible.” There are no plans to close a majority or all Fred's stores or to file for bankruptcy, The Wall Street Journal reported last week.   

Stores closings

Liquidation is getting underway at 159 Fred's stores in 13 states with discounts ranging from 5% to 20% on most items with some exclusions. The stores are expected to close by the end of May.  

Alabama

Anniston: 1544 Greenbrier Ln Branchville: 13254 Hwy 411 Center Point: 1683 Center Point Pkwy Centre: 710 Cherokee Plz Enterprise: 621 Boll Weevil Cir Florence: 321 N Court St Florence: 4150 Florence Blvd Foley: 1200 N Mckenzie Street Guntersville: 1477 Sunset Dr Hoover: 3317 Lorna Rd Hueytown: 3056 Allison Bonnett Memorial Dr Lanett: 622 Cherry Dr Marion: 1549 Highway 5 S Monroeville: 1318 S Highway 21 Byp Roanoke: 3077 Highway 431 Russellville: 13150 Highway 43 Sylacauga: 212 W Fort Williams St Talladega: 65364 Hwy 77 Tuscumbia: 1401 Woodmont Dr  

Arkansas

Bryant: 3395 Highway 5 N Cabot: 207 S 2nd St Conway: 245 Oak St Conway: 1125 Morningside Dr El Dorado: 430 S Bradley Ave Forrest City: 2227 N Washington St Harrison: 617 Highway 62 65 N Hope: 535 N Hervey St Jonesboro: 2308 S Caraway Rd Mena: 1201 Highway 71 S Mountain Home: 509 Hwy 62 E. Newport: 1705 Malcolm Ave Osceola: 1324 W Keiser Ave Paragould: 1723 W Kings highway Prescott: 1426 W 1st St N Russellville: 3303 W Main Pl Searcy: 2706 E Race Ave Stamps: 1110 E Antigo St West Memphis: 606 E Broadway St  

Georgia

Adel: 1014 S Hutchinson Ave Bainbridge: 1602 E Shotwell St Barnesville: 790 Veterans Pkwy Blakely: 800 Columbia Rd Brunswick: 5485 New Jesup Hwy Calhoun: 325 Curtis Pkwy Se Camilla: 500 Us Highway 19 S Cedartown: 550 N Main St Cleveland: 156 Wanderway Dr Cordele: 102 E 14th Ave Covington: 6179 Highway 278 Ne Dillard: 7230 Highway 441 N Hinesville: 767 Veterans Parkway Jasper: 970 E Church St Kingsland: 925 E King Ave Mcdonough: 1550 S. Zach Hinton Pkwy Quitman: 1315 W Screven St Ringgold: 1426 West 1st North Riverdale: 94 Upper Riverdale Rd Sw Rome: 1916 Redmond Cir Nw Royston: 411 Smith St Swainsboro: 501 S Main St Thomasville: 2730 E Pinetree Blvd Tunnel Hill: 3593 Chattanooga Rd Zebulon: 9215 Highway 19 N  

Illinois

Benton: 215 Bailey Ln  

Kentucky

Hopkinsville: 3129 Canton Pike Murray: 928 S 12th St Princeton: 300 Hwy 62 W Russell Springs: 2385 Lakeway Dr  

Louisiana

Baton Rouge: 10710 Greenwell Springs Road Bossier City: 5751 Shed Rd Carencro: 806 Veterans Dr Franklin: 1801 West Main Street Gonzales: 228 W Highway 30 Hammond: 125 Hwy 51 North Jonesboro: 310 E Main St Lafayette: 2490 W Congress St Monroe: 2350 Sterlington Rd Natchitoches: 400 Dixie Plz Pineville: 4628 Highway 28 E Shreveport: 5907 Old Mooringsport Road St. Martinville: 1114 South Main Street Westlake: 1514 Sampson Street  

Missouri 

Cape Girardeau: 121a South Sprigg Street Poplar Bluff: 441 Highway 53  

Mississippi

Aberdeen: 107 N Meridian St Brookhaven: 218 S Whitworth Ave Byram: 7261 S Siwell Rd Cleveland: 306 E Sunflower Rd Coldwater: 520 Central Ave Columbia: Hwy 13 Northgate S/C Columbus: 304 5th St S Columbus: 201 G Alabama St Florence: 2932 Highway 49 S Forest: 237 Woodland Dr Gautier: 1693 Highway 90 Greenville: 7616 Highway 80 Greenville: 1600 S Colorado St Greenwood: 813 W Park Ave Hattiesburg: 1000 Broadway Dr Holly Springs: 148 W Van Dorn Ave Horn Lake: 3031 Goodman Rd W Jackson: 225 Meadowbrook Rd Jackson: 540 Raymond Rd Leland: 302 North Main St. Magee: 1700 Simpson Hwy Meridian: 626 22nd Ave S Ocean Springs: 3176 Bienville Blvd Pascagoula: 2511 Ingalls Ave Pearl: 235 George Wallace Dr Philadelphia: 714 Pecan Ave Terry: 422 W Cunningham Ave Tupelo: 809 Varsity Dr Tupelo: 1776 McCullough Blvd West Point: 26591 E Main St Yazoo City: 1200 Jerry Clower Blvd  

North Carolina

Dunn: 988 Erwin Rd. Marion: 1155 N Main St Spruce Pine: 11931 S 226 Hwy  

Oklahoma

Wagoner: 700 E Cherokee St  

South Carolina

Anderson: 122 E Shocky Ferry Rd Chester: 109 Cestrain Sq Clinton: 105 B Jacobs Hwy Hodges: 4905 Emerson St Iva: 9710 Highway 81 S Ladson: 119 College Park Rd Landrum: 213 W Rutherford St Liberty: 315 W Front St North Augusta: 401 W Martintown Rd Orangeburg: 1180 Five Chop Rd Pickens: 310 Hampton Ave  

Tennessee

Brownsville: 337 E Main St Clarksville: 390 Highway 149 Collierville: 450 Hwy 72 West Dayton: 260 16th Ave Decherd: 1755 Decherd Blvd Dyersburg: 805 Pennell Ln Gallatin: 420 W Main St Hartsville: 230 Broadway Jackson: 1688 S Highland Ave Jasper: 3600 Main St Lebanon: 230 E Gay St McMinnville: 912 N Chancery St Medina: 211 Three Oaks Drive Memphis: 4280 Getwell Rd Memphis: 5016 Old Summer Rd Mt. Pleasant: 700 North Main Street Murfreesboro: 1664 Middle Tennessee Blvd Newport: 122 Five Rivers Plaza Way Paris: 850 Volunteer Dr Portland: 114 W Knight St Pulaski: 1670 W College St Selmer: 399 Mulberry Ave Woodbury: 1130 S Mccrary St  

Texas

Gladewater: 601 Broadway Ave Kilgore: 605 N Henderson Blvd Lindale: 1601 S Main St Mc Gregor: 1000 S Main St Tyler: 1803 E Gentry Pkwy Whitehouse: 1123 State Highway 110 N Follow USA TODAY reporter Kelly Tyko on Twitter: @KellyTyko Fred’s agreed to sell patient prescription files and related inventory in the 185 stores to Walgreen Boots Alliance Inc. for $165 million. Michael Schwab/USA TODAY NEWTWORK - TENNESSEE Read the full article