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It's Christmas On Mack Avenue

Various Artists

It's Christmas On Mack Avenue

Format: CD
Label: Mack Avenue
UPC: 0673203109025
Catnr: MAC 1090
Release date: 17 October 2014
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1 CD
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Label
Mack Avenue
UPC
0673203109025
Catalogue number
MAC 1090
Release date
17 October 2014
Album
Artist(s)
Composer(s)
EN

About the album

Mack Avenue Records has assembled a stellar family of artists over the last 15 years, and what better time is there to gather the family together than the holidays? It’s Christmas on Mack Avenue (due out October 28, 2014) features some of the season’s best-loved songs re-imagined in the inimitable style of the label’s unparalleled roster of artists including Christian McBride, Cécile McLorin Salvant, Sean Jones, Aaron Diehl, Warren Wolf, Cyrille Aimée, Sachal Vasandani, Tia Fuller and Hot Club of Detroit.
“There’s a long tradition of jazz interpretations of holiday music,” says producer Al Pryor, Mack Avenue’s Executive Vice President for A&R. “This is our contribution to that tradition.”

Christmas is deeply rooted in tradition, of course, but traditions evolve and are constantly reinvented from one generation to the next—a claim that can also be made for jazz, making the two as perfect a pairing as eggnog and candy canes. Mack Avenue has proved itself a home for artists who remain rooted in the music’s tradition while pushing it forward in their own individual ways. It’s Christmas on Mack Avenue allows these musicians to each spin their own particular twist on Yuletide cheer.

“Material that stands the test of time is always material that’s open to wonderful interpretive ideas by artists,” Pryor says. “If a tune is a great tune, there are going to be many different ways to interpret it but still have it retain its power. Audiences can learn a lot about an artist’s individual style and their compositional and improvisational take on things by hearing them do material that we already know. When we hear how they handle something that we’re familiar with, it’s intriguing and it lets us know something about that artist and their personality. They’re all, in some way, characteristic—these versions, I think, shed more light on the artists performing them than they do on the tune itself.”

Pryor points in particular to the Christian McBride Trio’s rollicking take on James Brown’s “Santa Claus, Go Straight To The Ghetto.” Over the tune’s soulful groove, the bassist implore Saint Nick to visit his old neighborhood of West Philly, citing a few blocks that tend to get avoided by the flying reindeers on Christmas Eve. The rest of the trio—drummer Ulysses Owens, Jr. and pianist Christian Sands—get in on the act and a few other Mack Ave headliners drop by as well—Warren Wolf and Cécile McLorin Salvant also put a word in for their own ‘hoods.

Then there’s Cyrille Aimée’s winsome “Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!” Sunny enough to withstand the harshest blizzard, Aimée’s hand-clapping rendition conjures a green Hawaiian December with Michael Valeanu’s tropical guitar work. “Cyrille explores a number of different approaches within the same tune,” Pryor says. “It’s a wonderful, very fresh approach.”

On the other end of the spectrum is Warren Wolf’s lustrous “Carol Of The Bells,” which evokes the resonant pealing of church bells on a wintry night via the shimmering tones of Wolf’s solo vibes. Together with pianist Aaron Diehl, Wolf also nostalgically recalls everyone’s favorite Christmas special with Vince Guaraldi’s classic “Christmas Time Is Here,” the theme from A Charlie Brown Christmas. The Peanuts crew also gets a gypsy-jazz update thanks to Hot Club of Detroit, who renders the Charlie Brown Christmas favorite “Skating,” with Django-esque guitars and accordionist Julien Labro spinning figure eights with saxophonist Carl Cafagna.
Diehl revisits another holiday-season TV staple with his solo version of John Williams’ “Christmas Star,” from the soundtrack to Home Alone. His unique approach retains the familiar melody but reconfigures it with a hint of Harlem stride. Diehl then picks up the pace on his brisk, rhythmically playful exploration of “Sleigh Ride,” a trio outing with bassist David Wong and drummer Quincy Davis that becomes a lengthy workout for the pianist leading into a sleigh bell-accompanied solo showcase for Wong.

Trumpeter Sean Jones leads off the celebration with a fanfare for the jolly old elf in the red suit. His hard- driving “Santa Claus Is Coming To Town” features pianist Orrin Evans, saxophonist Tia Fuller, bassist Luques Curtis and drummer Jerome Jennings, generating a hard-bop holiday spirit to set the tone. Fuller steps into the spotlight with a “Little Drummer Boy” that lets the leader’s sinuous soprano be the gift, while drummer Kim Thompson and percussionist Khalil Kwame Bell replace the pa-rum-pum-pum-pums with interweaving rhythms that prove far more exotic and engaging.

One of the holiday’s most beloved carols, “Silent Night,” becomes a lush ballad in the hands of the Christian McBride Trio, who approach the piece with the delicate hush of new-fallen snow. Sands’ piano solo beautifully captures the song’s poignant reverence for the first Christmas night. Vocalist Sachal Vasandani doesn’t so much walk as swing through a “Winter Wonderland,” with a finger-snapping, classically hip version.

Cécile McLorin Salvant, who netted four awards in this year’s DownBeat Critics Poll (including Jazz Album of the Year and Female Vocalist of the Year), closes the album on a soulful note with her “Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas,” a holiday wish offered with the singer’s malleable melodic twists and theatrical range.
It’s Christmas on Mack Avenue is the label’s third holiday album, following two volumes of Jazz Yule Love released in the last decade. Like an annual family Christmas card, it’s a snapshot of a label that has matured and grown with the passing years—albeit a snapshot full of some of modern jazz’ most renowned artists.
“Part of our mantra at Mack Avenue has always been to try to retain the best of the tradition while trying to be at the forefront of the new opportunities of the digital era,” Pryor says. “You don’t always have to break with tradition to be fresh and new.”

Artist(s)

Tia Fuller

Saxophonist, composer and bandleader Tia Fuller uses the process of diamonds forming under four levels of extreme pressure and heat as a metaphor for the time she spent honing her artistic craft. When looking up the term ‘diamond cut,’ you’ll learn that it was not necessarily pertaining to the shape but to the proportioning and the balance as to which the highest amount of light is reflected through the diamond. The process serves as a direct correlation to her teaching and playing.  While the phrase “diamond in the rough” often describes burgeoning talents brimming with potential, Fuller has exhibited impending greatness since emerging on the international jazz scene more than a decade ago. Now, her artistic capacity has blossomed tremendously, resulting...
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Saxophonist, composer and bandleader Tia Fuller uses the process of diamonds forming under four levels of extreme pressure and heat as a metaphor for the time she spent honing her artistic craft. When looking up the term ‘diamond cut,’ you’ll learn that it was not necessarily pertaining to the shape but to the proportioning and the balance as to which the highest amount of light is reflected through the diamond. The process serves as a direct correlation to her teaching and playing.

While the phrase “diamond in the rough” often describes burgeoning talents brimming with potential, Fuller has exhibited impending greatness since emerging on the international jazz scene more than a decade ago. Now, her artistic capacity has blossomed tremendously, resulting in her fourth Mack Avenue Records release – the aptly titled Diamond Cut, her first album as leader since 2012’s Angelic Warrior. In those six years, she’s transitioned from being a member of Beyoncé’s touring band to becoming a full-time professor at Berklee College of Music, while still juggling a demanding career as a solo artist and touring with the likes of drummer Terri Lyne Carrington, bassist Esperanza Spalding and drummer Ralph Peterson Jr., among others.

“Not that I’ve arrived by any means, but I think I’m in a space of empowerment, knowing that I’m walking in my purpose,” says Fuller as she reflects on her multifaceted career. “I’m in the fullness of my purpose. Now, I’m more able to directly reflect the light toward others because of what other people have poured and reflected into me. I feel that I’m in a solid place to give back things of substance.”

Produced by GRAMMY®-Award winner Terri Lyne Carrington, the album finds Fuller leading two superb rhythm sections, both of which contain some of jazz’s brightest luminaries – bassist Dave Holland and drummer Jack DeJohnette, then bassist James Genus and drummer Bill Stewart. Adding texture and harmonic support of several compositions are guitarist Adam Rogers and organist Sam Yahel.

While touring together in 2014, Carrington encouraged Fuller to recruit some more seasoned musicians for her forthcoming disc. “Terri said, ‘I really would like for you to see you house yourself amongst the greats on the next album so that you can really hone in on playing jazz. You’ve done it with your peers. But I would like to see you with some elders,’” Fuller recalls. The net result is a sparkling, cohesive album that optimizes her iridescent tone and supple, sometimes rhythmically aggressive, improvisations through an enticing program of mostly originals firmly rooted in the language of 21st century modern post-bop.

The actual day of recording Diamond Cut marked the first time Fuller worked with both DeJohnette and Holland. “Seeing them arrive at the studio and set up, I was definitely nervous,” Fuller says. “But as soon as we started playing, it was all about the music. One thing that I appreciated from both of them was that they approached the music in a very humble way and really honored it.”

Indeed, Fuller sparks an electrifying rapport with DeJohnette and Holland on the pneumatic waltz “Queen Intuition,” on which Rogers and Yahel provide subtle harmonic cushioning, and the capricious “Joe’n Around,” on which Fuller unravels various improvised, melodic fragments associated by three of her saxophone mentors – Joe Lovano, Joe Henderson and Joe Jennings. They’re also featured on the episodic “The Coming,” of which Fuller uses Clark Atlanta University professor Daniel Black’s The Coming: A Novel as inspiration in the retelling of the Middle Passage that brought captured African slaves to the Americas; a prancing reading of Mal Waldron’s signature composition, “Soul Eyes,” on which she tips her hat to John Coltrane; and the soothing “Delight,” which takes its inspiration from the Christian Biblical scripture, Psalms 37:4 – “Delight in the Lord/And he will give you the desires of the heart.”

The album also marks the first time Fuller has recorded with Genus and Stewart. And again, she strikes a winning accord, indicative of the album’s searing opening piece, “In The Trenches,” on which she rides a turbulent momentum steered by Stewart’s jagged rhythms and Genus’ hefty, propulsive bass lines. “That was the first song that I wrote for the album, while I was literally in the trenches of transitioning and balancing my work schedule and dealing with personal family challenges,” Fuller explains. “I literally felt like I could not move. I remember being in my office feeling like I was all the way in the trenches, trying to dig myself out.”

From there, Fuller along with Genus and Stewart render “Save Your Love For Me,” the first of only three jazz standards on Diamond Cut. The soulful makeover – arranged by vibraphonist, drummer and fellow Mack Avenue Records artist Warren Wolf – allows Fuller to pay homage to yet another significant lodestar, Cannonball Adderley. Also powered by the Genus-and-Stewart rhythm team, Fuller delivers the majestic ballad “Crowns Of Grey,” which honors her parents, Fred and Elthopia Fuller, both of whom encouraged her formative musical growth while living in Aurora, Colorado.

Fuller praises Carrington for her production ingenuity, which helped guide Diamond Cut from its early conception to completion. “Terri really pays attention to minutia while being able to see the big picture,” Fuller says. “And she can enhance the big picture by having an endless arsenal of ideas for sounds and song structures. Even while I was writing the tunes, she was on the front lines saying, ‘Tia, you want each and every song to be the best song that you’ve ever written.’ She was always strongly encouraging me to not just lapse into what I’ve done before. She really helped shape the finer points of the compositions, then as the producer she put her magic touch on it.”

This newest outing illustrates that Fuller continues to etch away at her inner diamond as a saxophonist, composer, bandleader and educator. History will surely reveal Diamond Cut to be a landmark chapter in her artistic journey.


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Sachal Vasandani

  With his breakthrough 2007 debut, Eyes Wide Open, vocalist/composer/arranger Sachal Vasandani established himself as one of the most promising voices in modern jazz. A 2010 DownBeat 'Rising Star' poll winner, Vasandani presented his distinctive blend of jazz and pop with the critically acclaimed release, We Move in 2009.     Vasandani’s third Mack Avenue release, Hi-Fly, confirms the high praise showered on its two predecessors and proves the singer is one of the freshest, most versatile artists to emerge onto the scene in recent memory. Produced by renowned Grammy® award winning bassist John Clayton and Grammy nominated Mack Avenue EVP of A&R Al Pryor, both long-time supporters, Hi-Fly is an exciting mix...
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With his breakthrough 2007 debut, Eyes Wide Open, vocalist/composer/arranger Sachal Vasandani established himself as one of the most promising voices in modern jazz. A 2010 DownBeat "Rising Star" poll winner, Vasandani presented his distinctive blend of jazz and pop with the critically acclaimed release, We Move in 2009. Vasandani’s third Mack Avenue release, Hi-Fly, confirms the high praise showered on its two predecessors and proves the singer is one of the freshest, most versatile artists to emerge onto the scene in recent memory. Produced by renowned Grammy® award winning bassist John Clayton and Grammy nominated Mack Avenue EVP of A&R Al Pryor, both long-time supporters, Hi-Fly is an exciting mix of standards, originals and pop covers showcasing Vasandani’s ability to filter a wide range of material through his highly individual vision. Where We Move was characterized by a sense of introspection and longing, Hi-Fly finds Vasandani in upbeat form. “On this record I wanted to share some of the joy of singing this music,” Vasandani says. “I worked through the turbulence that inspired the last record and just tried to have fun. I was thinking less about drawing the listener into my heart and more about celebrating.” Nowhere is that celebratory spirit more pronounced than on “One Mint Julep,” on which Vasandani is joined by the legendary Jon Hendricks, one of the originators of vocalese and a godfather of jazz vocals, whose presence is a ringing endorsement of the younger singer. Hendricks also returns on the title track, a Randy Weston composition for which he penned the lyrics. It seems impossible to imagine anyone listening to the rollicking “One Mint Julep” without a smile on their face, from the obvious joy of the duo’s romp through the gleefully antiquated lyric to their playful vocalese back-and-forth. “As a young singer, anytime I get a chance to hang out with somebody like Jon it’s humbling,” says Vasandani. “Jon has a generous spirit and obviously knows how to collaborate, but he’s going to be in the driver’s seat just because he’s Jon Hendricks. I found myself just enjoying the ride. He was pressing the accelerator and luckily I was sitting shotgun and not stuffed in the trunk.” Despite his modesty, Vasandani more than holds his own while sparring with the 89-year-old master, but he really spotlights his diverse talents on three original pieces he penned for the album. “Babes Blues” is a dedication to the singer’s girlfriend and a chance for all involved to stretch out a bit, from Vasandani’s soaring falsetto to thrilling solos from guests John Ellis (tenor sax) and Ambrose Akinmusire (trumpet). “Flood” is the album’s most heartrending track, inspired by recent natural disasters in Asia, Pakistan and Japan in particular. “That lyric was a personal response,” he explains. “I’d hear about all this devastation in the news and it inspired this personal narrative. As artists, we try to feel and assess the pain of other people and put it out.” From the universal to the extremely personal (which is so often, of course, also universal), “Summer No School” looks back at playground romance. “I wanted to write a love song that was not so much about love now but love when you’re younger. Musicians tend to talk about how we’re feeling now as adults, so ‘Summer No School’ was a good chance to look backwards at my own past, not as a developing artist but as a developing young man.”
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Sean Jones

Music and spirituality have always been fully intertwined in the artistic vision of trumpeter, composer, educator and activist Sean Jones. Singing and performing as a child with the church choir in his hometown of Warren, Ohio, Sean switched from the drums to the trumpet upon his first exposure to Miles Davis at the age of 10. Twenty-five years later, he still cites Miles’ overall artistic vision and purity of sound as his greatest personal influence. But it was another immortal visionary who had a most profound impact when Sean was a 19-year old student at Youngstown State University – the magnificent John Coltrane through his masterpiece, A Love Supreme – “All at once, everything just came together for me. My past,...
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Music and spirituality have always been fully intertwined in the artistic vision of trumpeter, composer, educator and activist Sean Jones. Singing and performing as a child with the church choir in his hometown of Warren, Ohio, Sean switched from the drums to the trumpet upon his first exposure to Miles Davis at the age of 10. Twenty-five years later, he still cites Miles’ overall artistic vision and purity of sound as his greatest personal influence.
But it was another immortal visionary who had a most profound impact when Sean was a 19-year old student at Youngstown State University – the magnificent John Coltrane through his masterpiece, A Love Supreme – “All at once, everything just came together for me. My past, my present, my future. I knew the course I needed to pursue.” Already exhibiting a superb control of the instrument through his private studies with master trumpeter and educator Esotto Pellegrini and his intensive listening to his other primary influences, Woody Shaw Freddie Hubbard and Clifford Brown, the young trumpeter committed himself to artistic excellence the pursuit of transcendence.

Five years later, after receiving his Master’s Degree from Rutgers University, Sean had a 6-month stint with the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra. This marked the beginning of a relationship with Wynton Marsalis, whose personal work ethic and ability to break barriers had already made a significant impact on the emerging artist. Wynton offered Sean a permanent position as lead trumpeter and Jones remained there until 2010.

A highly respected and in-demand musician even while at Rutgers, Sean was prominently featured with a number of artists, recording and/or performing with many major figures, including Illinois Jacquet, Jimmy Heath, Frank Foster, Nancy Wilson, Dianne Reeves, Gerald Wilson and Marcus Miller. The relationship with Miller led to another highly impacting experience when Sean was selected by Miller, Herbie Hancock and Wayne Shorter for their Tribute to Miles tour in 2011.

The trust and support of those giants led Sean to a decision to focus on performing with his own ensembles. Already touring and performing regularly with his own groups while at Lincoln Center, Sean also began his longtime relationship with Mack Avenue Records, for whom he has just released his seventh recording: im.pro.vise = never before seen. He’s currently performing with the quartet on his latest CD, who have been working together since 2007 – with pianist Orrin Evans, bassist Luques Curtis and drummer Obed Calvaire. But Sean is also looking toward projects with new and larger ensembles, including orchestras. In addition, he’s planning on more forays into the world of Western classical music, while working on solidifying his pedagogy and increasing his lecturing and writing activities.

Heavily involved in education, Sean has recently joined the Berklee College of Music’s distinguished faculty as the Chair of the Brass Department. He has also taught at Duquesne University in his adopted hometown of Pittsburgh and at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, while regularly offering master classes and clinics all around the world. In addition, Sean also serves as Artistic Director of both the Pittsburgh and Cleveland Jazz Orchestras and is working toward organizing the various Jazz orchestras all over the country. Sean is current Artist-in-Residence at San Francisco Performances and is a member of The SF JAZZ Collective.

Clearly a passionately committed, heavily focused and deeply spiritual man, Sean relies upon his serious study of philosophy – especially that of 13th century theologian and mystic Meister Eckhardt; and Don Miguel Ruiz, whose vision is drawn from the ancient wisdom of the Toltec native people of Southern Mexico – to fuel the pursuit of his expansive and generous vision. Sean currently lives in Boston with his wife Stacey.


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Cécile McLorin Salvant

The world first learned of the incredible vocal artistry of Cécile McLorin Salvant when she won the prestigious 2010 Thelonious Monk International Jazz Competition. In just under the span of a decade she has evolved from a darling of jazz critics and fans, to a multi-GRAMMY® Award winner, to a prescient and fearless voice in music today.  In life and in music, McLorin Salvant’s path has been unorthodox. The child of a French mother and Haitian father, she was raised in the rich cultural and musical mix of Miami. She began formal piano studies at age five and started singing with the Miami Choral Society at age eight. Growing up in a bilingual household, she was exposed to a wide variety...
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The world first learned of the incredible vocal artistry of Cécile McLorin Salvant when she won the prestigious 2010 Thelonious Monk International Jazz Competition. In just under the span of a decade she has evolved from a darling of jazz critics and fans, to a multi-GRAMMY® Award winner, to a prescient and fearless voice in music today.

In life and in music, McLorin Salvant’s path has been unorthodox. The child of a French mother and Haitian father, she was raised in the rich cultural and musical mix of Miami. She began formal piano studies at age five and started singing with the Miami Choral Society at age eight. Growing up in a bilingual household, she was exposed to a wide variety of music from around the world through her parents wide-ranging record collection. While jazz was part of this rich mix, her adolescent and teenage years were focused on singing classical music and Broadway. Following her desire to study abroad, she enrolled in college (Aix-en-Provence in the south of France) to study opera and law. Ironically, it was in France that McLorin Salvant began to really discover the deep roots of jazz and American music, with the guidance of instructor and jazz saxophonist, Jean-François Bonnel. Bonnel’s mentoring included bringing McLorin Salvant stacks of CDs, covering the work of jazz and blues legends as well as its lesser-known contributors. Working through these recordings, McLorin Salvant began building the foundation needed to thrive and occupy a special place in the august company of her predecessors.

Three years later, McLorin Salvant returned to the US to compete in the prestigious Thelonious Monk International Jazz Competition. On the urging of her mother she entered the contest, but with little sense of what was awaiting her. The expatriate American jazz singer from France, surprising everyone (herself included), took top honors in the jazz world’s most demanding competition. An illustrious panel of judges – Dee Dee Bridgewater, Dianne Reeves, Kurt Elling, Patti Austin and Al Jarreau – noted her impeccable vocal technique, innate musicality, and gifts as an interpreter of popular song. “She brought down the house,” reported the Washington Post. Yet, as music critic Ann Midgett observed, “Her marathon is just beginning.”

Since 2010, McLorin Salvant has soared to the top of the music world, garnering praise and gathering awards. “She has poise, elegance, soul, humor, sensuality, power, virtuosity, range, insight, intelligence, depth and grace,” announced Wynton Marsalis. “You get a singer like this once in a generation or two.” She has been honored with top spots in DownBeat’s critic’s polls in the categories of “Jazz Album of the Year” and “Top Female Vocalist.” NPR Music has awarded her “Best Jazz Vocal Album of the Year” and “Best Jazz Vocalist.” Her debut album, WomanChild (2013), received a GRAMMY® nomination. And her following releases, For One to Love (2015) and Dreams and Daggers (2017), both won GRAMMY® Awards for “Best Jazz Vocal Album.”

McLorin Salvant is a singer whose unique style demonstrates a keen sense of the history of jazz and American music. Among her peers she is unique in the breadth and depth of her repertoire. She fearlessly performs songs from jazz’s roots in minstrel shows and ragtime, like Bert William’s “Nobody” and Jelly Roll Morton’s “Murder Ballad.” She digs deep into blues queens like Bessie Smith and Ida Cox, bringing out the mix of jubilation and sorrow that is at the core of the blues. She sings from both the center and the periphery of the Great American Songbook, unearthing forgotten songs while offering fresh interpretations of well-known standards and enlivening Broadway gems with jazzy accents. Beyond the borders of American music, she also is an expert interpreter of Francophone chansons and cabaret numbers, tracing the influence of jazz across the globe, and retracing her own personal path as a musician from America to France and back again. If that weren’t enough, McLorin Salvant is also a gifted composer whose moving additions to the repertoire reflect her unique perspective on love, life, and womanhood.

Her gifts as an artist are rooted in her intensive study of the history of American Music and her uncanny ability to curate its treasures for her audience. Her albums are explorations of the immense repository of experience and feeling that abound in popular song. She understands the special role of the musician to find and share the emotions and messages in music that speak to our past, present and future. “I am not interested in the idea of relevance,” she explains. “I am interested in the idea of presence. I want to communicate across time, through time, play with time.”

All of McLorin Salvant’s study, training, creativity, intelligence, and artistry come together in her voice. The sound of her voice, to borrow a phrase, “contains multitudes.” It covers the gamut from breathy to bold, deep and husky to high and resonant, limpid to bluesy, with a clarity and richness that is nearly unparalleled. When she first burst onto the jazz scene, many listeners were struck by her ability to recall the sound of Bessie Smith, Sarah Vaughan, or Betty Carter. Yet with each new album, McLorin Salvant’s voice has become more her own, more singular. While conjuring the spirits of the ancestors, her references are controlled, focused, and purposeful. Her remarkable vocal technique never overshadows her rich interpretations of songs both familiar and obscure.

Critics praise McLorin Salvant’s gifts as an interpreter of popular song. “The marvel of Cécile McLorin Salvant is the complexity of her point of view as an artist,” writes David Hajdu in the pages of The Nation. “Like most jazz and cabaret singers, she works in a milieu that is essentially interpretive…But she chooses her material so astutely, and interprets it so adroitly, that the songs come across like the personal expression of an idiosyncratic individual with an utterly contemporary sensibility.” She inhabits the inner life of a lyric, shading them with subtle, often ironic poignancies through the use of vocal inflections, improvisations, varied phrasing, and articulation. Fred Kaplan of the New Yorker praises her “emotional range” and her ability to “inhabit different personas in the course of a song, sometimes even a phrase – delivering the lyrics in a faithful spirit while also commenting on them, mining them for unexpected drama and wit." In McLorin Salvant’s own words, “I think there is a lot of room for improvisation and surprise while still singing the lyric, and when that is successfully done it can express a great deal of emotion and reveal the different layers in the music and in the text all at once.”

Onstage, her persona is often compared to that of an actress. But, as McLorin Salvant notes, “jazz would not be what it is without its theatrical origins, vaudeville, and minstrel shows.” Through her selection of repertory and brilliant interpretations, she “plays with time,” making the musical past speak to our contemporary world. Her unflinching performance of songs from the minstrel tradition, such as Bert William’s “Nobody,” challenge us to think harder about race in America today. Her ironic, even sinister, rendition of songs like “Wives and Lovers” explore the complex intertwining of sex, gender and power. Her blues numbers are bawdy and vibrant, melancholic and forlorn, insistent and emancipatory. She sings of the ecstasy and agony of love, of jubilation and dejection, of desire and being desired, of fearlessness and fragility. “I want to get as close to the center of the song as I can,” McLorin Salvant explains. “When I find something beautiful and touching I try to get close to it and share that with the audience.” Immersed in the song and yet completely in control, McLorin Salvant brings her immense personality to the music – daring, witty, playful, honest and mischievous.

Each new recording by McLorin Salvant reveals new aspects of her artistry. WomanChild and For One to Love established her style, her command, and interpretive range. Dreams and Daggers is a work that highlights her fresh and fearless approach to art that transcends the conventional – live and in the studio, with a trio and with a string quartet, standards and original compositions – held together by a vocal delivery that cuts against the grain, ever deepening, intensifying and nuancing the lyrics.


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Aaron Diehl

Aaron Diehl approaches the piano with a delicately nuanced expressivity and an exquisitely attuned touch that have garnered him acclaim at the highest levels. From his collaborations with such jazz innovators as Wynton Marsalis, Cécile McLorin Salvant and Benny Golson, to his exploratory work in the classical realm with Philip Glass or the New York Philharmonic, to his own current-crossing recordings as a leader, Diehl is singularly committed to a journey of musical discovery regardless of genre or context.   On his latest album, Zodiac Suite, Diehl pays homage to composer/pianist Mary Lou Williams while unearthing new possibilities and pathways from one of her landmark works. Joined by the orchestral collective The Knights and special guests Evan Christopher (clarinet), Nicole Glover (tenor...
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Aaron Diehl approaches the piano with a delicately nuanced expressivity and an exquisitely attuned touch that have garnered him acclaim at the highest levels. From his collaborations with such jazz innovators as Wynton Marsalis, Cécile McLorin Salvant and Benny Golson, to his exploratory work in the classical realm with Philip Glass or the New York Philharmonic, to his own current-crossing recordings as a leader, Diehl is singularly committed to a journey of musical discovery regardless of genre or context.
On his latest album, Zodiac Suite, Diehl pays homage to composer/pianist Mary Lou Williams while unearthing new possibilities and pathways from one of her landmark works. Joined by the orchestral collective The Knights and special guests Evan Christopher (clarinet), Nicole Glover (tenor sax), Brandon Lee (trumpet), and Mikaela Bennett (soprano), Diehl breathes vibrant new life into a masterwork that the composer herself was never able to fully realize during her lifetime.
Diehl’s ventures into Williams’ expansive work are fully in keeping with his own musical trajectory. The Columbus, Ohio native began studying classical piano at the age of 7, while his passion for jazz was sparked during his attendance at the Interlochen Arts Camp in his pre-teen years, when he was exposed to the staggering, virtuosic swing of Oscar Peterson and Art Tatum. By 17 he was a finalist in Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Essentially Ellington competition, where he came to the attention of Wynton Marsalis. Diehl spent the summer before his first year at Juilliard touring Europe with the Wynton Marsalis Septet.
Winning the American Pianists Association’s 2011 Cole Porter Fellowship brought Diehl to wider fame and landed him a contract with Mack Avenue Records; Zodiac Suite is his fourth leader release for the imprint. The broad spectrum of his influences has been evident from the outset, with his 2013 label debut The Bespoke Man’s Narrative including a Ravel piece alongside a Gershwin standard and an Ellington classic. His most recent release, The Vagabond, touched on composers from Sir Roland Hanna to Prokofiev to Philip Glass, as well as his own masterful compositions.
Through his role as musical director and pianist for the visionary vocalist Cécile McLorin Salvant, Diehl simultaneously became an in-demand soloist with classical ensembles including the New York Philharmonic, the Cleveland Orchestra, and the L.A. Philharmonic.
His performances have included Gershwin’s Piano Concerto in F, and Florence Price’s “Concerto in One Movement.” In 2024 he will premiere a new commission by composer Timo Andres with John Adams conducting the LA Philharmonic. That same year Diehl will succeed Bill Charlap as artistic director of 92NY’s long-running “Jazz in July” series.
Premiered in 1945, Zodiac Suite is best known in the trio incarnation that Williams recorded for the Asch label; within the same year she also performed the piece, each of its movements inspired by an astrological sign, in expanded versions for chamber-jazz ensemble at the Town Hall and for symphony orchestra at Carnegie Hall. Arriving just three years after Duke Ellington’s “Black, Brown, and Beige” and a dozen years before Gunther Schuller coined the term “Third Stream,” the Carnegie Hall event should have been hailed as a touchstone in the fusion of jazz and classical music, but a lack of preparation and rehearsal time led to a compromised performance, leaving Williams frustrated, never to reprise the epic arrangement.
“Mary Lou Williams evolved and changed over time,” Diehl says. “She lived through a significant portion of the development of 20th century music, but she always kept her foundation intact. The roots were always there. She struggled continually with people accepting her on her own terms and recognizing her significant contributions. I hope this album will encourage people to investigate more of her music.” Diehl’s connection to Williams’ body of work is a personal one. In 2003, he met Father Peter O’Brien, the elder pianist’s longtime manager and, after the composer’s death, Executive Director of the Mary Lou Williams Foundation. Their paths crossed initially through a performance of Williams’ music by the Juilliard Jazz Orchestra while Diehl was a student. Later, in 2006, the two encountered each other at St. Joseph of the Holy Family in Harlem, where Diehl was music director, and O’Brien was a guest presider. O’Brien asked Diehl to perform Williams’ “Mass for the Lenten Season,” though a planned recording was derailed when the priest passed away in 2015. “His passion inspired in me a sense of responsibility,” Diehl writes in his liner notes, “a delving further into Williams’ oeuvre, and a continued mission to emphasize the importance of her contributions.” “It’s an ongoing challenge, even today, to incorporate the language of Black American folk music into this very Eurocentric identity with all its nuances,” he said. “I can only do my small part to celebrate Mary Lou Williams’ music whenever it’s possible because she was such a brilliant artist. It’s important to keep advocating on behalf of these folks who are no longer with us and to keep their music in people’s ears for generations to come.”
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Warren Wolf

Warren Wolf is a multi-instrumentalist from Baltimore,MD. From the young age of three years old, Warren has been trained on the Vibraphone/Marimba, Drums, and Piano. Under the guidance of his father Warren Wolf Sr., Warren has a deep background in all genres of music. Beginning with classical music, Warren had studied classical composers from Bach, Beethoven, Mozart, Paganini, Brahms, Vivaldi and Shostakovich. Warren also studied ragtime music learning music from the songbooks of Scott Joplin, Harry Brewer and Geroge Hamilton Green. In Jazz, Warren has studied artist and composers from Charlie Parker, Miles Davis, Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong, Freddie Hubbard, Clifford Brown, Herbie Hancock, Oscar Peterson, Milt Jackson, Bobby Hutcherson, Cal Tjader, Return to Forever, Weather Report, Wynton Marsalis and many others. Warren...
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Warren Wolf is a multi-instrumentalist from Baltimore,MD. From the young age of three years old, Warren has been trained on the Vibraphone/Marimba, Drums, and Piano. Under the guidance of his father Warren Wolf Sr., Warren has a deep background in all genres of music.

Beginning with classical music, Warren had studied classical composers from Bach, Beethoven, Mozart, Paganini, Brahms, Vivaldi and Shostakovich. Warren also studied ragtime music learning music from the songbooks of Scott Joplin, Harry Brewer and Geroge Hamilton Green. In Jazz, Warren has studied artist and composers from Charlie Parker, Miles Davis, Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong, Freddie Hubbard, Clifford Brown, Herbie Hancock, Oscar Peterson, Milt Jackson, Bobby Hutcherson, Cal Tjader, Return to Forever, Weather Report, Wynton Marsalis and many others.

Warren attended the Peabody Prepatory for eight years studying classical music with former Baltimore Symphony Orchestra member Leo LePage. During his high school years at the Baltimore School for the Arts, Warren studied with current Baltimore Symphony Orchestra member John Locke. After graduating from Baltimore School for the Arts in June of 1997, Warren headed north and enrolled at the Berklee College of Music in Boston,MA.


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Cyrille Aimée

Vocalist Cyrille Aimée was primarily raised in France by a French father and Dominican mother. As a child she snuck out of her bedroom window on summer nights wandering into nearby gypsy encampments filled with those attending the annual Django Reinhardt Festival in Samois-sur-Seine. She quickly fell in love with their music and way of life, and was captivated to the point of traveling throughout Europe where she and her musician friends would play and sing on street corners across the continent. This tour eventually led her to the Montreux Jazz Festival, where she won first prize in their vocal competition—which included the financing of her first self-produced album. Aimée auditioned for the French version of American Idol, for which...
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Vocalist Cyrille Aimée was primarily raised in France by a French father and Dominican mother. As a child she snuck out of her bedroom window on summer nights wandering into nearby gypsy encampments filled with those attending the annual Django Reinhardt Festival in Samois-sur-Seine. She quickly fell in love with their music and way of life, and was captivated to the point of traveling throughout Europe where she and her musician friends would play and sing on street corners across the continent. This tour eventually led her to the Montreux Jazz Festival, where she won first prize in their vocal competition—which included the financing of her first self-produced album. Aimée auditioned for the French version of American Idol, for which she was selected to be a finalist. Informed she would have to sing only what she was told, her gypsy and jazz spirit rebelled—she left the competition. She now happily tours the world with her band as well as in a duo setting with Brazilian guitarist Diego Figueiredo. Aimée’s talents recently caught the attention of Stephen Sondheim who cast her in an Encores! Special Event at New York City's City Center in November 2013. It's A Good Day, Aimée’s major label debut, will be released in August 2014 on Mack Avenue Records.

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Christian McBride Trio

It is fitting that the four-time Grammy® Award-winning Christian McBride would eventually record at the Village Vanguard, the most hallowed and historical nightclub in jazz: an underground Mount Olympus where the gods and titans of the music – from John Coltrane to Bill Evans – have cast their syncopated spells.  “You can literally feel the ghosts of all of the legends that played there,” McBride says. “You feel Coltrane hovering in the vortex. You feel Monk hovering in the vortex. Miles Davis, Mingus...you feel all of that in the air.”  And with his new Mack Avenue Records album, Christian McBride Trio: Live at the Village Vanguard, you can feel and hear McBride in the same air, with his magnificent trio, which features drummer Ulysses Owens, Jr....
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It is fitting that the four-time Grammy® Award-winning Christian McBride would eventually record at the Village Vanguard, the most hallowed and historical nightclub in jazz: an underground Mount Olympus where the gods and titans of the music – from John Coltrane to Bill Evans – have cast their syncopated spells. “You can literally feel the ghosts of all of the legends that played there,” McBride says. “You feel Coltrane hovering in the vortex. You feel Monk hovering in the vortex. Miles Davis, Mingus...you feel all of that in the air.” And with his new Mack Avenue Records album, Christian McBride Trio: Live at the Village Vanguard, you can feel and hear McBride in the same air, with his magnificent trio, which features drummer Ulysses Owens, Jr. and pianist Christian Sands. They swing and swoon on nine tracks of originals, jazz standards and some surprise R&B/pop selections. This record is the fruit of McBride’s long association with the Vanguard, where his first appearance as a leader for the historic club was in 1995.
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