SGerald Albright "New Beginnings" mooth Jazz Music CD Review

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New Beginnings is the latest smooth jazz CD released by Gerald Albright. The title most likely coming as a result of a lot of new things in Albrights life including a new recording label and a new Colorado home.

The CD made it's debut at number one and there is very clearly a reason for that. It's simply an excellent collection and vintage Albright.

Contributors on the project includes an amazing line up of smooth jazz and music industry heavy hitters. Names like Jeff Lorber on guitar and keyboards, Paul Jackson Jr. on guitar, Patrice Rushen on piano and vocals, and the incomparable Chris Botti on trumpet. Plus a few other notables as well.

The CD launches with a great track, We Got The Groove, that will definitely be heard on smooth jazz radio stations everywhere, and deservedly so. From there Albright proceeds to display why he is considered one the greatest smooth jazz artists of our time as he mixes his signature assertive, funky style throughout the CD. At points playing the flute, as well as alto, baritone and tenor sax.

Special notice should be given taken Gerald's High School friend Patrice Rushen's vocal contributions on track 7, New Beginnings.

It's also very easy to appreciate Chris Botti's input on track 11, Big Shoes.

Smooth jazz fans will want to keep an eye on the Albright, Lorber combination here. They really seem to have great musical chemistry.

Albright's rendition of Georgia On My Mind, track 5 has award winning capability. Remember you heard it here first.

I found track 9, Last But Not Least, to be one of those catchy tunes to which your toes just want to tap.

Overall New Beginnings is very good listening and is certainly a CD that smooth jazz fans, and fans of Gerald Albright in particular, will definitely want to add to their collection of smooth jazz CDs.

While this entire CD is outstanding the truly standout tunes are Deep Into My Soul [track 3], And The Beat Goes On [track 4], and Big Shoes [track 11]. My SmoothLee Bonus Pick, and the one that got Sore [...as in "Stuck On REpeat"] is track 1, We Got The Groove. Very nice!

Release Notes:

This CD was originally released March 28, 2006 on the Peak Records label.New Beginnings is the latest smooth jazz CD released by Gerald Albright. The title most likely coming as a result of a lot of new things in Albrights life including a new recording label and a new Colorado home.

The CD made it's debut at number one and there is very clearly a reason for that. It's simply an excellent collection and vintage Albright.

Contributors on the project includes an amazing line up of smooth jazz and music industry heavy hitters. Names like Jeff Lorber on guitar and keyboards, Paul Jackson Jr. on guitar, Patrice Rushen on piano and vocals, and the incomparable Chris Botti on trumpet. Plus a few other notables as well.

The CD launches with a great track, We Got The Groove, that will definitely be heard on smooth jazz radio stations everywhere, and deservedly so. From there Albright proceeds to display why he is considered one the greatest smooth jazz artists of our time as he mixes his signature assertive, funky style throughout the CD. At points playing the flute, as well as alto, baritone and tenor sax.

Special notice should be given taken Gerald's High School friend Patrice Rushen's vocal contributions on track 7, New Beginnings.

It's also very easy to appreciate Chris Botti's input on track 11, Big Shoes.

Smooth jazz fans will want to keep an eye on the Albright, Lorber combination here. They really seem to have great musical chemistry.

Albright's rendition of Georgia On My Mind, track 5 has award winning capability. Remember you heard it here first.

I found track 9, Last But Not Least, to be one of those catchy tunes to which your toes just want to tap.

Overall New Beginnings is very good listening and is certainly a CD that smooth jazz fans, and fans of Gerald Albright in particular, will definitely want to add to their collection of smooth jazz CDs.

The Development of Jazz Music in the World (II)

After jazz spread throughout the United States, jazz had a variety of developments. In the 1920s, the color of jazz changed again and it was called Dixieland jazz.

Actually, Dixieland is the designation for the United States. Jazz was finally called Dixieland jazz because this jazz used more simple instruments. This jazz was also identical with the Americans at the time.

Some researchers said that this jazz did not use drums as a regulator of the rhythm of music, but rather used a kind of jagged wood, such as laundry equipment plus a few brass-section, such as trumpet, trombone, and clarinet. Also, it was added with a touch of typical American musical instrument, the banjo.

Over time, the instruments used in playing this jazz also changed. Dixie jazz began using piano, guitar instead of banjo, string bass instead of tuba, and then the drums began to be used again. In this music, improvisation was conducted jointly by the soloists from the beginning to the end of the song.

After dixie, jazz evolved again and the next form of jazz was known as swing jazz. In the swing, the improvisation was done in turns. It was said as the swing because this music swelled and swayed, and the rhythm of swing was very expressive.

When the dixie used beat 8 or 8 beats, swing used a triplet (3 beats) or 16 beats. Thus, the rhythm of swing jazz felt more intriguing because it was noisy and dense music. Swing era lasted from the early 1930s until the mid-1940. Because the swing hit almost all corners of the United States, swing became one of American cultures. This term was often called as Mainstream.

The Art of Jazz Music

Jazz music is a very popular form of music, this form of music has been a popular genre since the early 20th century, mostly present and evident in African American neighborhoods and then spread across America and Europe. Jazz has always influenced popular, more mainstream music, over the years it has gone through many evolutions, producing many different sub genres as time has gone on. Jazz is also influenced by the different cultures and regions it is brought into, with each culture adding its' own distinct twist on the genre. This has created many distinctive and different styles in jazz culture.

It's hard to define the starting point of the jazz music genre, as there are so many different sub genres and cultures that have involved themselves in jazz music. It's also very difficult to actually define jazz, and put some kind of label on it's traits and characteristics, as it has become so widely varied. One huge element of jazz music is definitely improvisation - playing around, rarely playing the same song or melody more than once, not having particular notes or keys to follow and experimenting with the music, which is a huge part of jazz's liberal, free feel. Early jazz movements also had a kind of call-and-response pattern, in which some players would play a note, only to have other people playing different instruments play the same thing, and so on it would go, making the genre a little bit competitive during live performances. Many early jazz musicians did not even know how to play music. However, this is certainly not to say that jazz players are not talented - they certainly are very talented, often more than classical performers. They often instead learn notes by ear.

Some trace the jazz music genre back to the late 18th century, when African slaves were first brought over to the United States. They would sing, chant or improvise the creation of song and instruments while they were forced to work in the slave trade. This is where jazz's call-and-response characteristic is from, it became a form of entertainment for the slaves. With the end of slavery, jazz music began to develop even more, as African-Americans were finally treated as people and were entitled to education. They began to perform early forms of jazz music as entertainment in nightclubs and other venues. 'Ragtime' was one of the first established sub genres of jazz, which became popular around this time, along with the rise of blues music. Jazz was especially popular in the South during this time, particularly New Orleans, where a lot of jazz music was developed and a lot of famous and influential jazz musicians first became recognized and known.

Throughout the early 1900s' jazz began to blossom and grow, as musicians played around more with the genre and its' possibilities. This included sub genres such as swing, gypsy jazz and European styles of jazz.Since this time, jazz has become a major influence and is even partially responsible for the invention and creation of other genres. It's amazing to see how music has evolved.

Top Jazz Songs at Lantaw

Some say jazz music is for intelligent people. Been singing professionally for almost six years now and I'm so grateful to have a band with all the top musicians in Cagayan de Oro. Blacknotes Band being the only jazz band in CDO plays at Lantaw Cagayan every weekend.

Here are some top jazz tunes and most requested songs at Lantaw:

   1. Through The Fire- from Chaka Khan's 1984 album I Feel For You which was co-produced by David Foster. This song stayed at Billboard Top 100 Hits for almost nine consecutive weeks.

   2. Better Days - composed and performed by Dianne Reeves. The song tells about a grown up child telling story about her grandmother. This has been a very common contest piece for singing competitions. Not only that the song's melody is quite hard, it also requires a high vocal range for you to be able to sing it.

   3. Waters of March - Aguas de Marco in Portuguese. This song was originally composed in Portuguese by Antonio Carlos Jobim. The song's real inspiration is during the rainy months of Rio de Janiero during March.

   4. Time and Tide - of course written and performed by the famous Polish jazz icon -Basia. This song is included in her debut album Time and Tide.

   5. Girl from Ipanema (Garota de Ipanema ) -a very famous bossanova song composed by Antonio Carlos Jobim. Among all versions covered- Astrud Gilberto's cover was the very famous. It tells about a guy singing for a Brazilian girl whom he loved though the girl doesn't even know him.

   6. Beyond the Sea -popularized by Bobby Darin. This song was originally French with its original title La Mer by Charles Trenet. He wrote this song in just ten minutes in ta rain during one of his travels in the French Middeteranean Coast.

   7. Shaker Song - originally an instrumental by Spyro Gyra. Manhattan Transfer made a cover of this tune.

   8. Feel So Good - under Chuck Mangione's album Feel So Good, this track was released in 1977 and made it No. 4 in the US Charts.

   9. Gold - a very famous hit in the 80's by Spandau Ballet.

  10. Wild Flower - performed by the one time one hit Bad - The Skylark wherein David Foster was one of the members of the bad.

  11. Para Sa Akin - an OPM song sung by the bossanova princess Sitti Navaro in her Bossa Cafe Album

Jazz Influenced Rock Music Of the Late 1960's and 1970's

When I took up guitar as a high school kid in 1968, rock music had entered it's golden age. Certainly the influence of Chicago-style blues was huge, and had been for several years [particularly in Great Britain], but rock musicians were searching for ideas and inspiration from other genres as well, including classical [The Moody Blues, Procol Harum] country/western [The Byrds], Afro/Cuban [Santana] and Indian [experiments by The Beatles and others]. But, the blues notwithstanding, it was the influence of jazz that made the biggest impression on the music and musicians of the late '60's and early '70's.

Instrumental performance became a focus of interest for many during this period. The virtuosity of players such as Eric Clapton, Mitch Mitchell, Jimi Hendrix, and Jack Casady was being recognized and applauded by audiences, and rock musicians began finding and listening to new heroes among jazz's elite players. Long, improvised instrumental jams became the norm during live rock shows. Jazz tunes were being covered by rock bands [Tito Puente's Oye Como Va by Santana, Roland Kirk's Serenade to a Cuckoo by Jethro Tull]. The IIm7-V7 chord progression, the backbone of jazz harmony, began appearing in pop tunes. Brass rock bands Chicago Transit Authority [soon to be Chicago] and Blood, Sweat and Tears were writing jazz-rock songs, i.e. rock tunes but arranging them in a jazz fashion, replete with bop solos, odd time signatures, sophisticated chord changes and swing grooves.

Jazz players had been recording on rock and pop sessions for years as anonymous session players, not for their jazz sensibilities but for their reading skills. But in the late '60's and 70's jazz musicians began appearing on rock records as featured players. Van Morrison's critically acclaimed Astral Weeks album featured bassist Richard Davis and drummer Connie Kay [of Modern Jazz Quartet fame], John Payne on reeds and Walter Smith, Jr. on vibes. Phil Woods soloed on Steely Dan's Dr. Wu and Billy Joel's Just the Way You Are. Yusef Lateef played on Leon Redbone's Double Time, and Charles Lloyd on The Doors Verdillac. And Joni Mitchell used personnel from Weather Report on 2 albums in the late '70's, including her collaboration with Charles Mingus in '79.

Mitchell was just one of several rock artists whose music reflected the influence of jazz. Carlos Santana recorded Caravanserai in 1972, a fusion of jazz, salsa and rock. He had recently become enamored with the music of John Coltrane and Miles Davis, and his new music expressed this interest. He bollaborated on projects with John McLaughlin and Alice Coltrane [which included Jack DeJohnette and Dave Holland]. The release in 1975 of Blow By Blow signaled Jeff Beck's transformation from rock guitar icon to jazz fusion innovator. And, of course, there was Walter Becker and Donald Fagan of Steely Dan, who acknowledged jazz influences from the beginning of their recording careers. And with each successive album, the Steely Dan roster included an increasing number of heavy jazz players, contributing not only in section work but arrangements and solos as well.

Acoustic Alchemy "American-English" Smooth Jazz Music CD Review

Smooth Jazz super group, and British instrumental ensemble Acoustic Alchemy celebrates over twenty years of smooth jazz perfection with the release of their latest CD entitled American/English. A CD that does not disappoint.

I must admit I wasn't really expecting much from American/English but must admit I was pleasantly surprised.

The CD begins with the smooth and laid back track The Crossing, then becomes more adventurous with the remaining 10 tracks.

The groups soul influences can be heard on track 5, The Detroit Shuffle, but this CD is clearly all about the strings and groove.

It appears with Greg Carmichael and Miles Gilderdale at the helm, like fine wine Acoustic Alchemy continues to improve with age. Producing their trade mark naturally smooth sound throughout the CD these guys are still at the top of their game.

I'm of the opinion that American/English is certainly Acoustic Alchemy's best work in a few years. A totally enjoyable CD and an outstanding release. What I call, must have music. I give it two thumbs up because it's a collection that even the casual smooth jazz fan can appreciate and enjoy the very nice mix of smooth and funky tracks.

The standout tunes and SmoothJazz247.com favorites on American/English are The Crossing [track 1], The Detroit Shuffle [track 5], and She Speaks American English [track 7]. My SmoothLee Bonus Pick, and the one that got Sore [...as in "Stuck On REpeat"] is track 9, The 14 Carrot Cafe. Very nice!

Release Notes:

Acoustic Alchemy originally released American/English on March 29, 2005 on the Higher Octave record label.

CD track list follows:

1. The Crossing

2. Say Yeah

3. So Kylie

4. Trinity

5. The Detroit Shuffle

6. Cherry Hill

7. She Speaks American English

8. Lilac Lane

9. The 14 Carrot Cafe

10. Get Up (Levantar Y Bailar)

11. The Moon And The Sun

Origins of Jazz Music

There are a lot of people nowadays who enjoy great jazz music. In fact, almost every home has somebody who loves to listen to its cool rhythm and its moving beat. However, jazz music did not come along that easy since it all started. In fact, based on the origin of jazz, this type of music genre had its share of low times before it hit the popularity spot. While jazz is now being enjoyed by a lot of people, there was a time in its history when it was not as accepted as it is today.

Somehow, the popularity of jazz or its unpopularity at the onset had to do with its being clearly identified as black music. But now, when the issues of racial discrimination is slowly starting to wane, anyone can say that jazz music, which is being played not only by black people but also by white, is here to stay.

In general, the origin of jazz was believed to have started in New Orleans before it spread to Chicago and then on to Kansas City, then to New York City and finally the West Coast area. Both the vocals and the instrumental sides of the blues are known to be essential components that we can still predominantly see in this music genre today. There have been and there still are many types of the genre and this was all started with the ragtime that officially started in New Orleans or what is also known as the Dixieland jazz. Then, after this, there came the swing jazz, which was also known as the bop or bebop. Cool or progressive jazz followed thereafter, which was also then succeeded by the hard bop or the neo-bop.

Then, there was the third stream and the mainstream modern and the jazz type that a lot of people like to dance, which is the Latin jazz. Of course, rock and roll also made its influence on this music genre with the coming out of the jazz rock, which was followed lastly by the avant-garde or what is commonly known as the free jazz.

The origin of jazz actually started out in the later years of the 19th century and this was derived from the work songs of the blacks, their sorrow songs, their field shouts, their hymns and their spiritual songs, the melodic, rhythmic and harmonic elements of which were seen to have been dominated by African influence. However, because it was seen as a music genre that was improvisational, emotional and spontaneous in nature and because it was mainly associated with the blacks, jazz did not garner the level of recognition that it deserved.

It was the European audiences that showed warmer reception to jazz, making the jazz musicians of America go to this country to work on their trade. Jazz only gained a wider audience when adaptations or imitations of it were made by white orchestras. It was in the later part of the 1930's when it was known to have become a legitimate entertainment and this was when Benny Goodman initiated concerts at the Carnegie hall of groups having mixed racial origins.