Artist: Oytun Ersan
Title: Fusiolicious
Label: Self-Produced
Genre: Funk-heavy Jazz Fusion
CD available on: CDBaby, iTunes, Apple Music, Amazon, Tidal, Google Music Store, and major streaming sites.
Review by Fiona Mactaggart
In all seriousness, fasten your seatbelts for bassist Oytun Ersan’s high energy, sometimes Zappa-reminiscent, funk-heavy jazz fusion new release Fusiolicious. It’s a blast, and you may need a lie down after.
Artist: Sam Bevan
Title: Emergence
Label: Self-produced
Genre: Jazz
Buy from: CDBaby, iTunes, sambevan.bandcamp.com (release date August 2018)
Review by Fiona Mactaggart
The free-flowing fluency of bass player Sam Bevan’s music is remarkable given the complexity of his compositions, and speaks of his wide-ranging musical background and the quality of the musicians he has chosen for this, his fourth CD release as leader. The buoyant feel, the numerous cheerful melodies, the asymmetries and quirky changes, and the confident organizational and rhythmic clarity offered by Bevan’s bass, makes this a standout jazz release of this year.
Artist: Hakon Skogstad
Title: Two Hands To Tango
Label: Avantango Records
Genre: Tango/Latin
CD review, by Fiona Mactaggart
Based in Trondheim, Norway, Hakon Skogstad is a pianist specializing in Western classical and Argentine tango. His May 2018 solo piano release, Two Hands To Tango, proves that neither relative youth nor living a great distance from the home of tango, need impede the production of a careful and sensitive tribute to Argentine tango and to the Argentine concertina, the bandoneon, which contributes so much to tango’s distinctive sound.
Event review by Dawoud Kringle
On Wednesday, Sept 5th, 2018, Musicians for Musicians (MFM) and Eclectix (a composers and musicians organization) united forces to present an Evening of Jazz in Support of Professional Musicians at Zinc Bar (NY). The night’s music was offered by tenor sax master and MFM board member Billy Harper and his Quintet, and the E.C.O. Ensemble, a quintet of jazz composers / musicians led by guitarist and MFM supporter Roger Blanc. Kim Schmidt hosted and opened the event.
Billy Harper’s ensemble (featuring Freddie Hendricks on trumpet, Francesca Tanksley on piano, Hwansu Kang on bass, and Aaron Scott on drums) opened with “Illuminations,” a piece that started with hits and silences. Hendricks and Harper joined the drums, bass, and piano. This led into a melodically vivacious head.
Music Review by Dawoud Kringle
Artist: Kamyar Arsani & Benjamin Schurr
Title: Voices In The Dark
Label: Blight Rec
Genre: Electronic, Rock, Pop, Folk, World, & Country
“There are voices in the dark. I hear them. I see them. When soul is pushed to the corner of time, dancing becomes more than a form, becomes a spirit. In the strangest of ways, you lose your fear when you dance with Voices in the Dark.” – Kamyar Arsani
