Leon Redbone, who burst onto the pop-music scene in the mid-1970s with a startlingly throwback singing style and a look to go with it, favoring songs from bygone eras drolly delivered, died on Thursday in Bucks County, Pa. He was 69.
His family announced the death on his website. A specific cause of death was not given, but Mr. Redbone had retired from performing in 2015 because of ill health.

Toting an acoustic guitar, his face generally half-hidden by a Panama hat and dark glasses, Mr. Redbone channeled performers and songwriters from ragtime, Delta blues, Tin Pan Alley and more, material not generally heard by the rock generation. His music defied easy categorization; he was sometimes described as a jazz singer, other times as a folk or pop or blues artist. He sang in a deep, gravelly voice that combined singing and mumbling, but he also deployed a falsetto of sorts on occasion.
​
He began turning up on the coffeehouse circuit in Toronto in the 1960s and developed a cult following. He broke through to a larger audience in late 1975 with his first album, “On the Track,” which included songs like “My Walking Stick,” by Irving Berlin, and “Lazybones,” by Hoagy Carmichael and Johnny Mercer. His sound was unique for the era, as The New York Times noted in a January 1976 article about the record and its producer, Joel Dorn:

​
“Redbone, who in his nightclub appearances plays the role of a grinning, almost catatonic folkie, will undoubtedly confound many, but Dorn has certainly given him his due in a completely ungimmicked musical setting.”

The album earned Mr. Redbone two appearances on “Saturday Night Live” in 1976, during the show’s first season. Fifteen more albums followed, most recently “Flying By” in 2014. Mr. Redbone also sang the theme songs for the television series “Mr. Belvedere” and “Harry and the Hendersons,” was heard on various commercials, and provided the voice of an animated snowman in the 2003 movie “Elf.”
​

​His stage persona remained consistent for his entire career, as did his determination to reveal little about his personal life or background. The announcement of his death said he “crossed the delta for that beautiful shore at the age of 127.”
He was actually born on Aug. 26, 1949, in Cyprus. An authoritative article in The Oxford American this year said his parents had relocated there from the Armenian Quarter of Jerusalem after the new Israeli government seized their property. Mr. Redbone’s birth name, the article said, was Dickran Gobalian, though he always remained elusive about that and other details of his life.

​Laurence Jones is terug met een splinternieuwe single. ‘I’m Waiting’ is de eerste single van het nieuwe album ‘Laurence Jones Band’ dat op vrijdag 27 september 2019 uitkomt. Op 3 juni is Laurence te gast bij Veronica Inside om ‘I’m Waiting’ voor het eerst live te laten horen op de Nederlandse televisie.

‘I’m Waiting’ nodigt je uit om los te laten en je te laten gaan. Laurence: “Heb je die uitdrukking “good things come to those who wait” gehoord? ‘I'm Waiting’ gaat over geduldig maar ook voorbereid zijn. De muziek is energiek en geeft je het gevoel aan de vooravond te staan van spannende, nieuwe gebeurtenissen”.

'I'm Waiting' op Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/track/7IIIGTNHTAOAx1sM7Im3dm?si=evFvr-UPSCWuxo5283x52A .

Net als ‘The Truth’ uit 2018, is ‘Laurence Jones Band’ opgenomen in Miami met producer Gregory Elias. Het album zal uitgebracht worden via Top Stop Music/ Sony. Het nieuwe album komt uit op cd, vinyl, limited deluxe paars vinyl en in verschillende limited edition fan packages. Het album en de packages zijn beschikbaar als pre-order via www.laurencejonesmusic.com.

Laurence Jones wordt vaak bestempeld als "the future of blues." Hij heeft verschillende grote prijzen en onderscheidingen gewonnen en heeft meer dan 50.000 albums verkocht. Hij speelde in de voorprogramma’s van Status Quo, Gary Clark Jr, Glenn Hughes, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, James Bay, Van Morrison, Buddy Guy, Robert Cray, Joe Bonamassa, Jools Holland, Eric Burdon en op grote internationale festivals. In Nederland speelde hij onder andere op North Sea Jazz, Bospop, Paaspop en Holland International Blues Festival.

Laurence Jones is deze zomer live in Nederland te zien op zaterdag 9 juni (in Raalte, Rib & Blues Festival) en op zaterdag 10 augustus (in Venlo, Zomerparkfeest).
 

​PARADIGM SHIFT is de eerste vooruitgeschoven single uit het album BE ALWAYS IN BLOOM van SHY DOG, het solo project van Noah Melis (Borokov Borokov, Bed Rugs, Olden Yolk). Opvolger van het titelloze debuut van Shy Dog uit 2017 dat volgens de pers invloeden van Connan Mockasin, Devendra Banhart of Mac Demarco vertoonde. 

De nieuwe single Paradigm Shift is, dankzij de balans tussen huiskamerpop, meer georchestreerde melodieën en de zoete stem van Martha Maieu (Blackie & The Oohoos, Penus, Flying Horseman), een ideaal voorsmaakje voor het aankomende hoofdgerecht, dat in het najaar van 2019 door ROTKAT RECORDS wordt geserveerd. Nog even op uw honger blijven zitten dus!

Check hieronder de clip

Crammed Discs are pleased to present Scott Gilmore in concert: 
SCOTT GILMORE (Us)
presents 'Two Roomed Motel' live
in Liege, Bxls & Antwerp next week

De dromerige, soms mysterieuze maar altijd verleidelijke bedroom pop van Scott Gilmore zit vol mellow gitaren en vintage synths. Hij heeft in de live band van Ariel Pink gespeeld en dat hoor je aan de lo-fi charme van Gilmore’s analoge elektronica. Hij komt uit San Fernando Valley in de suburbs van Los Angeles en is goed bevriend met Marc Melià (ook graag gezien in Beursschouwburg) en met Hiele (die na Gilmore’s concert komt dj’en in de beursschouwburg). Op 1 maart kwam bij het piekfijne Crammed Discs label Gilmore’s album uit, dat hij live komt voorstellen in de Brusselse zomerlucht (dixit De Beursschouwburg.be)


About the new Album Two Roomed Motel :
From the heart of the strange, suburban environment known as the San Fernando Valley, a vast sprawl on the edges of Los Angeles, California, Scott Gilmore produces his own brand of seductive, beguiling and dreamy pop music. 
This is how Scott describes what he does:  
I make music using synthesizers, drum machines, electric bass, and acoustic and electric guitars. I try to write music that is both beautiful and engaging. I enjoy writing many melodies, harmonies and counter melodies into my compositions to develop a sense of forward motion. My main influences include Brian Eno, Cluster, Kraftwerk, Stereolab, Talking Heads, YMO, ‘70’s and ‘80’s Ethiopian Music, J.S. Bach, and the out-takes from the Beach Boys’ Smile Sessions. (from an interview in Titel - Kultur Magazine, DE)
 
“sounds like some parallel-universe collaboration between Brian Eno and electro-jazz innovator Raymond Scott” Uncut
"bedroom pop experimentalist" Stereogum
​
Upcoming Concerts: Scott Gilmore will be performing 3 shows in Belgium the newt week
06/06 - Kultura - Liège 
07/06 - Beursschouwburg - Brussels - BE
08/06 - Table Dance - Antwerp
    
Watch the live teaser & a bit lower the self-directed video for second single All Our Stuff, which was premiered by Resident Advisor.

CONCERTS / LIVE 
 
06/06/2019 LIEGE KULTURA    ( avex Robbing Millions)
07/06/2019 BRUSSELS OUT LOUD FESTIVAL / BEURSSCHOUWBURG
08/06/2019 ANTWERP  TABLE DANCE
​

Flemish modern thrashband Primal Creation won the Belgian finals of the Wacken Metal Battle on Saturday May 25, 2019. They will be the Belgian delegation at the international bandcontest for metalbands without a label on the biggest and most prestigious metalfestival in the world. After qualifying for the finals in Ghent earlier this year, they came out victorious in an exciting battle with 7 other strong acts in Zingem on May 25th.
​
Wacken Open Air takes place from 31/7 until 3/8 this summer and is headlined by Slayer, Parkway Drive, Demons & Wizards and Sabaton. The festival was sold out two weeks after the edition of 2018.

 
http://www.facebook.com/primalcreationband
http://www.vi.be/primalcreation
http://www.instagram.com/primal_creation
http://www.youtube.com/PrimalCreationBand

​They are Detroit legends, and an act that toured the world for decades delivering some of the most unique soul sounds around. And he was there from the beginning. We are sad to inform SoulTrackers of the death of Willie Ford of The Dramatics, the man who held down the bottom end of those great Dramatics harmonies.
While never reaching "supergroup" status in the public's eyes, the Dramatics have been one of the most prolific, consistently entertaining groups of the last half century. Another of the great non-Motown Detroit groups formed in the late 60s, the Dramatics went through significant personnel changes over their early years as the group struggled to find a hit. They ultimately found it on Stax/Volt Records with "Whatcha See Is Whatcha Get," a latin-tinged cut lyrically based on a comic phrase popularized by Flip Wilson. It was an instant hit on both the pop and soul charts, and began a string of great cuts for the group penned by Tony Hester. The follow-ups "In The Rain" and "Toast to the Fool" were even better, and have remained in active play on many stations ever since.
While the group had various compositions, once L.J. Reynolds replaced William "Wee Gee" Howard in 1973, the core of the group was set for several decades. With Reynolds' gruff baritone and Ron Banks' soaring falsetto, Willie Ford's bass sound, the smooth Lenny Mayes and singer and group choreographer Larry Demps, a unique group harmony and stage show was created and that kept The Dramatics at the top of the charts for the remainder of the 70s and early 80s.
In the mid-seventies, as Stax was failing, the group and producer Don Davis switched to ABC records where they released a number of successful albums and top 10 singles, though their coverage was, at that point, limited to the Soul radio. Hits like "Be My Girl," "Shake It Well" and "Fell For You" (later remade by Snoop Doggy Dogg) carried the group into the early 80s, when their popularity began to wane. They split up in 1982 as Reynolds and Banks both embarked on solo careers (Reynolds achieving some limited success with the hit "Key to the World"), and Demps went back to school to become a teacher. But The Dramatics reunited in 1986 with Somewhere In Time and its great crossover hit, "One Love Ago." 
While other popular 70s groups had trouble sustaining recording careers, the Dramatics continued to cut a new LP every few years, right up through 2002's Look Inside, a surprisingly strong record that received limited distribution in the U.S. (if you find it, check out the fantastic "Looks Like Rain"). They received national attention for their professionalism in 2001 when they performed a save for "Fly Jock" Tom Joyner, singing two sets during his show's appearance in Detroit on less than 12 hours notice after a cancellation by DeBarge.
In 2003, the group, then consisting of Reynolds, Banks, Winzell Kelly, Ford and Mayes, released Greatest Hits Live, a terrific peek at a 2001 Dramatics performance that showed the group still in fine form and a testament to the longevity of this great soul act. Sadly, group member Lenny Mayes died on November 7, 2004, after a long illness.
In 2006, local Detroit developer Herb Strather honored the Dramatics (along with Freda Payne, the Four Tops and others), with a street named after the group in one of the newest neighborhoods being built in the city. 
The Dramatics were honored for their careers when they received the "Lifetime Achievement Award" at the 2008 SoulTracks Readers' Choice Awards. All of the current members came to the awards as well as the mother of deceased member Lenny Mayes.
Sadly, on March 4, 2010, group falsetto lead Ron Banks died of a heart attack at his Detroit home. Following Banks' death, a battle over the group's name emerged, resulting in two traveling groups now holding the Dramatics name: a more familiar one led by L. J. Reynolds (and featuring Kelly, Donald Albert and Leon Franklin) and another new group led by Ford. Both groups continued to perform regularly around the world for the next several years.
Willie Ford was not as well known to casual fans as some of the other members of his iconic group, but listen to any Dramatics song, and you’ll hear the anchor that he provided, making each song a uniquely “Dramatics song.” He helped deliver a half century of joy to music fans around the world, and a discography that will live on. Rest in peace, Mr. Ford.
(Bron: Soultracks.com)

John Gary Williams, whose pleading lead vocals were key to the success of the Mad Lads, a doo-wop-influenced Stax group that recorded several influential and beloved R&B hits in the 1960s, has died. He was 73.
Proudly and fiercely independent, Williams led an often tumultuous life that was notable for more than music.
Williams' Stax career was interrupted by service in Vietnam, where he participated in dangerous deep-jungle combat missions. Returning home, he joined the Invaders, a so-called "militant" group inspired by the Black Panthers that was especially active during the sanitation strike that brought Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. to Memphis, where the civil rights leader was murdered in 1968.
As the singer himself put it, in the title of a 1973 single he recorded for Stax: "The Whole Damn World Is Going Crazy."
Williams was found dead Tuesday morning at his home, not too far from the Soulsville neighborhood where the Stax Museum of American Soul Music is located. He had been in poor health for some time, and lost his voice following an operation last year for throat cancer. 
"The irony of a singer losing his voice can't be underestimated," said journalist and former Memphian John Hubbell, who is finishing a documentary feature film on Williams. "He couldn't sing, he couldn't talk."
Consisting of Williams, Julius E. Green, William Brown and Robert Phillips, the Mad Lads represented an early attempt by Stax to make inroads on the East Coast, where male vocal harmony groups were especially popular. Following a 1964 novelty single ("The Sidewalk Surf"/"Surf Jerk"), the group had back-to-back R&B hits in 1965 and 1966 with "Don't Have to Shop Around" and "I Want Someone," released on the Volt label, an imprint of Stax.
Williams' supple lead tenor — a coaxing, insinuating, sometimes sorrowful instrument — was central to the appeal of the group, which specialized in love songs that alternated between hope and heartbreak: "I Want a Girl," "Tear-Maker," "I Don't Want to Lose Your Love."
"The Mad Lads were a huge anomaly at Stax, because they sounded like a Northern soul group," said Memphis musician Scott Bomar, who produced Williams' final recordings, and whose band, the Bo-Keys, performed with Williams many times starting in about 2004. "They were huge in Philly and Chicago, and are still huge on the West Coast-East L.A. 'low rider' scene."
Unfortunately, Williams' shot at nationwide stardom was interrupted when he and Brown (who died in 2015) were drafted into the military in 1966. Williams' service was especially dangerous: He served in a long-range reconnaissance patrol unit (commonly known as a LRRP, pronounced "lurp), taking part in missions that penetrated deep into enemy territory.
After returning from Vietnam in 1968, Williams rejoined the Mad Lads, and also recorded a self-titled solo album for Stax that was released in 1973, just as the company was going under. Williams wrote or co-wrote seven of the 10 tracks on the album, which has been reissued on CD and vinyl in recent years and been praised for its mix of "gently percolating grooves and soaring strings" with lyrics about "the backstabbing state of the modern world" (to quote the Allmusic.com website).
The Mad Lads reunited in 1984, and continued to record and perform off and on for many years afterward, in various configurations.
In high school, the group originally had called itself "The Emeralds," but Stax wanted the vocalists to share a more novel and marketable name, according to Deanie Parker, a Stax recording artist and publicist who later was key to the founding of the Stax Museum.
"We named them the Mad Lads because that's exactly what they were — just four mad guys, just mischievous, fun-loving, typical young men," Parker said.
"We were pranksters," Williams told author Rob Bowman, as quoted in Bowman's book, "Soulsville U.S.A.: The Story of Stax Records." "We brought that high-school thing, that young thing into the company."
Parker and Stax co-founder Estelle Axton co-wrote one of the Mad Lads' first significant Stax recordings, "I Want Someone," using lyrics pulled from what Parker called Axton's hand-written notebook of original lyrics, which Axton called her "book of poems."
"I taught the kids the song, helped to arrange it, I even played piano on the session," Parker said. The song and such followups as "Patch My Heart" and a 1969 version of "By the Time I Get to Phoenix" were R&B hits, but didn't make much impact on the Billboard Pop charts. 
According to Hubble, Williams' Vietnam experience made him keenly aware of the inequities of American society in general and Memphis in particular.
Williams became "impatient" and "was not satisfied with the pace of change" in America, said Hubble (a former reporter with The Commercial Appeal). He said Williams' involvement in the Invaders — a community-organizing group characterized as "militant" by white and even some black establishment leaders — was motivated by his desire to actively improve conditions in struggling African-American neighborhoods.
"He connected that soul music world with Vietnam and the experience of so many African-American guys who were drafted at the peak of their life and saw their lives forever altered by war and violence," said Hubbell, whose documentary, titled "World Gone Crazy: The Trials of John Gary Williams," is set for release next year.
The "Trials" reference in that title is not just a metaphor: In 1968, Williams was sentenced to two years in prison after being convicted of "intent to commit voluntary manslaughter" for his disputed role in the nonfatal shooting of a Memphis police officer. (Williams was on the scene, but was not the shooter.)
In addition, Williams struggled for a time with drug and alcohol addictions, and later sought therapy for post-traumatic stress disorder, in connection with Vietnam. (Family members also believe Williams' cancer can be traced to his wartime experiences —namely, to his exposure to Agent Orange.)
After the collapse of Stax, Williams became something of a wanderer, working in Iowa and Los Angeles (as a taxi driver) before returning to Memphis, while continuing to write songs. For a time, he ran a bar in South Memphis.
Whatever the context, he remained outspoken and uninterested in compromising his values, even when keeping silent might have been to his career benefit. During the 2014 local premiere at the Malco Ridgeway Four of writer-director Tim Sutton's "Memphis," an arty independent drama that floats through the peripheries of the Memphis music scene, a visibly angry Williams, who appears in the film, stood up and announced: "Worst movie I've ever seen in my life."
Although Williams is gone, an album's worth of solo material recorded by him just before the Stax bankruptcy remains in the vault, and is being readied for future release, Hubbell said. Also in the wings are Williams' final two songs as both a recording artist and composer, "A Natural Kind of Thing" and "My Kind of Lady," produced by Bomar at his Electraphonic Recording studio; the songs will be issued as a 45 rpm single in conjunction with the release of the documentary.
Said Parker, who helped launch Williams' career: "He was a very, very interesting young man. As I look back on his life, I would describe it as filled with tragedy." 

12.11.2019
De Roma, Antwerpen
Tickets te koop vanaf nu vrijdag 31 mei om 10u.

TICKETS

Amerika's meest energieke brassband komt op 12 november naar De Roma. Twee jaar geleden stond Lucky Chops nog in OLT Rivierenhof, Les Ardentes en in een uitverkochte Ancienne Belgique. In 2019 is het de beurt aan De Roma in Antwerpen. Tevens wordt er dit jaar een nieuw album verwacht van de Chops.

De Amerikaanse brassband heeft de afgelopen jaren een enorme groei doorgemaakt. De vijfkoppige band kenmerkt zich door een uniek geluid en een enorme energie on stage. De roots van deze band liggen bij de LaGuardia Arts Highschool in New York, waarna ze hun kunsten vertoonden op straat, in kleine zalen en in de New Yorkse metro.

Het succes van de Chops is te danken aan een Zuid-Amerikaanse toerist die aan het begin van hun carrière een opname maakte die viral ging op het internet. Binnen enkele dagen hadden miljoenen mensen de opname gezien en al snel volgde een Europese tour. Terug van hun tour werd Lucky Chops de huisband van de MTV talkshow 'Girl Code Live’ en zo maakte een breder publiek kennis met de muzikale en magische trekken van deze unieke brassband.
​
De ticketverkoop start nu vrijdag 31 mei om 10u via deroma.be.

Julien Tassin -  Apéro-concert #3
In samenwerking met IGLOO Records
​

Om het voorbije seizoen in schoonheid af te sluiten en tegelijk de zomer zachtjes in gang te duwen, stelt gitarist Julien Tassin dit weekend nieuwe - solo - Jazz en Blues composities voor.

Geïnspireerd door het leven, zijn eigen ervaring, de mensen die hij heeft ontmoet, de muziek waar hij naar luistert, schrijft en componeert Julien Tassin in zijn nieuwe thuisstad dit repertoire op en voor elektrische gitaar. De gitarist, geboren te Charleroi, verkent de oneindige mogelijkheden van zijn instrument en gaat op zoek naar onbekende territoria. Zijn composities zijn ruimtelijk, etherisch, grenzeloos, en dompelen je onder in een in een betoverende atmosfeer.

Deze showcase kondigt tevens de release aan van Momentum, zijn soloalbum dat in september 2019 wordt uitgebracht. Een kans om dit vanaf de start mee te maken en de man en zijn werk in alle exclusiviteit te ontdekken.

■ Deuren open om 17.30 uur
INFO

Check hieronder een fragment uit de clip van "Electricity", eerste track uit een nieuw album. Fyi: Het is een ruwe niet gemasterde versie maar het geeft een idee van de sfeer. De finale single & clip wordt verwacht rond medio juni.  
​

​
​About Julien Tassin
Als gepassioneerd en nieuwsgierig muzikant houdt Julien Tassin ervan stijlen te vermengen en zoekt hij voortdurend nieuwe invalshoeken.
Julien Tassin groeide op in een familie van melomanen die hevige Beatles-fans waren. Op achtjarige leeftijd kreeg hij zijn eerste gitaar en niet veel later volgde een eerste kennismaking met het oeuvre van de oude bluesiconen. Het kon niet uitblijven dat hij begon op te treden met lokale groepen, maar Julien was ook sterk beïnvloed door zijn continue bezoeken aan de mediatheek. Daar ontdekte hij de wereld van de jazz - John Coltrane, Thelonious Monk, Miles Davis en Charles Mingus, deze legendes zetten zijn muzikale wereld op z’n kop. De uitgekiende combinaties van ritme, harmonische rijkdom en quasi totale vrijheid intrigeerden de jonge muzikant en openden voor hem de deur naar een wereld die hij tot dan niet kende.

De beslissing was genomen. Hij schreef zich in aan het Koninklijk Conservatorium van Brussel en volgde les bij gitarist Paolo Radoni. Aan het einde van zijn studies heeft hij een totaal nieuwe woordenschat opgebouwd en is hij klaar om zich te begeven in de woelige jazzwateren.
Met zijn eclectische stijl, laat de gitarist zich al snel opmerken in de groep The Crazy Moondog Band aan de zijde van Daniel Romeo, Eric Legnini, Christophe Panzani en Rosario Giuliani. Vanaf 2015 begint hij te touren met bassist Nicolas Thys en drummer Dré Pallemaerts, twee veteranen uit de jazzscène. Met dit trio brengt hij in september 2018 zijn eerste album Sweet Tension uit op Igloo Records. Daarnaast werkt Julien, die samen met zijn neef ook aan de basis lag van de electro band 'Run SOFA', ook een soloproject uit, dat in première gaat in de herfst 2019 in Brussel in BOZAR
Julien Tassin is nu al een doorwinterde muzikant, met een eigen compositie- en speelstijl die zich door zowel blues als door jazz en rock laat beïnvloeden.

Title: The Felllowship Of Jupiter
Artist: Jonathan E. Blake
Format: Digital Download
Release Date: 21/06/2019
Catalogue #: SM0122
Barcode: 4260092142187
Country: World
Label : SINE MUSIC, LC 18284
​
On the 21st June 2019 Sine Music will be releasing the new album "The Fellowship of Jupiter" by their just recently signed artist Jonathan E. Blake. The album will be available at all well-known download stores and streaming services.
Swiss musician Jonathan E. Blake broadens our horizont with his latest work "The Fellowship of Jupiter" and takes us along on his journey to Jupiter and all the planets surrounding it. In the song "Lysithea" he creates a calm and wide atmosphere that makes you feel as if you were part of the orbit together with tiny moon Lysithea orbiting Jupiter. You will discover an endless amount of details any time you'll listen to the songs again. The album is a versatile mixture of the artist's influences. Aesthetic and melancholic like the monumental track "Locaste" or dark and slightly morbid like "Methis". Jonathan E. Blake knows very well how to combine catchy melodies and sound experiments.
"The Fellowship of Jupiter" contains ten tracks that are so different from each other that you will discover an unknown side of this album again and again.

​The 40th solo album celebrating its 40th anniversary.
 
For the 40th anniversary of the Aachen-based Electronic artist Robert Schroeder, the Essen-based Electronic label Spheric Music is also releasing his new album FATA MORGANA as its 40th solo album. In 1979, Schroeder has started successful with the debut album Harmonic Ascendant, which was produced and released by Klaus Schulze.
That Schroeder as the upstart of the then IC-label was not just a mirage, should have been self-evident confirmed by now. On his long journey, he has worked steadily for 40 years on his own Electronic Music, achieving notable international success. In 2017 Robert Schroeder was honored with the German Schallwelle prize for his life's work.
And he does not seem to get tired, nor do the ideas seem to go out. With the new album FATA MORGANA, Schroeder picks up on his previous albums SPHEREWARE and SPACELAND, which has been traded among the media and the fans as his best works.
FATA MORGANA is also focused on spherical Electronic Music for dreaming, relaxing and flying away.
For the title track Binary Streams a 3D animation was produced. (on YouTube)
The CD album Fata Morgana contains 7 tracks with a total time of 66 minutes. Fata Morgana is cosmic, spherical, experimental, varied, exciting and relaxing. Just music as you like it. Have much fun.

WAYNE ALPERN is a New York City composer, arranger, and scholar who integrates popular and jazz idioms with classical techniques and repertoire to create a sophisticated contemporary style of cross-genre, or even post-genre music. After years of composing complex new music, he embraced his personal history and indigenous musical culture and fused them with his classical background and training. His work includes numerous jazz arrangements, string quartets, woodwind and brass quintets, mixed ensembles, pieces for string orchestra, and several piano works.

Alpern’s innovative compositions, recompositions, and rearrangements have been performed and recorded by distinguished artists from diverse musical traditions. A native of Detroit immersed in the Motown sound, he studied atOberlin College, University of Michigan, Yale University, and City University of New York, with additional work at Harvard, Juilliard, Wesleyan, and University of Pennsylvania. His musical scholarship and theoretical expertise focuses on Schenkerian analysis and 20th-century music. He holds a law degree from Yale Law School and practiced civil litigation for nearly twenty years. He taught at Mannes College of Music, Brooklyn College, Hunter College, and Cardozo Law School, worked at General Music Publishing, United Artists Music Publishing, and was Steve Reich’s editor. He is President and owner of Henri Elkan Music Publishing, Inc. and a lifetime member of the Society for Music Theory and American Musicological Society. He has lectured extensively in North America, Europe, and Russia. In his capacity as Founder and Director of the internationally acclaimed Mannes Institute for Advanced Studies in Music Theory, Alpern received the highly coveted Society for Music Theory Honorary Lifetime Membership Awardrecognizing his “substantial and longstanding accomplishments distinguishing the recipient and our discipline through his many good works on behalf of his fellow scholars and students of music theory for our collective benefit.”

Skeleton is a new dance of old bones, songs of ourselves.

Long ago I met a mysterious woman in Mexico called the Princess of Art. She told me I’m a composer. I copied Bach and played piano while she danced. I studied with Randy Coleman at Oberlin, who viewed composition as self-discovery, Louis Gesensway of the Philadelphia Orchestra, who claimed music is rooted in song and dance, and John Mehegan, who taught me how to improvise. I worked with Morton Feldman and Steve Reich, inspired by their integrity. I taught Schenkerian analysis and composed serious music.

One morning in the shower I realized I couldn’t sing or dance to my own music. I read Matisse’s observation that if you want to know who you are as an artist, look at your earliest work. I dug up my first pieces with the Princess. They were tonal, upbeat and catchy. I stared into the musical mirror: I studied classical music, but grew up with Motown and played in rock bands. That’s a resourceful (and characteristically American) aesthetic dialectic. I gradually came to view popular styles, conventions and songs as treasures of aural archeology, found objects, musical tissue, vehicles for creative transformation to be re-purposed and revived as original art through the redemptive act of arrangement, rearrangement or recomposition at a higher level of synthesis. In the course of this ongoing process, my greatest musical teachers are Bach and Mozart from a technical perspective, Haydn, Stravinsky, Gershwin, and Ellington from a stylistic perspective, and Heinrich Schenker from a theoretical perspective.

My musical grammar is neither radical nor experimental. Its vitality lies in the familiarity of genres, recollection of themes, and the unpretentious interpolation of the dance floor, the saloon, and the iPod. It tempers serious music with the social, inviting listeners to come as they are. It opens the window to the street and lets in fresh air. And though it may aim slightly lower than the concert hall, what it concedes in erudition may hopefully be compensated in charm. If it succeeds, its reward is less an applause, and more
a smile.
​
1 Alan Ferber, Producer
2 Owen Broder, Producer

SKELETON PERSONNEL BY TRACK
WAYNE ALPERN, ARRANGER

1. DOMINO – Sam Hoyt (tpt), David Smith (tpt), Michael Davis (trb solo), Nick Grinder (trb), Evan
Gregor (bass), Josh Bailey (dr)1

2. ANTHROPOLOGY – Mike Boschen (trb), Noah Bless (trb), Matt McDonald (trb), Nick Grinder
(trb), James Rogers (btrb)2

3. TAKE FIVE – David Smith (tpt solo), Sam Hoyt (tpt), Matt McDonald (trb), Nick Grinder (trb),
Billy Test (pno), Evan Gregor (bass), Josh Bailey (dr)1

4. BLUE MOON – Mike Boschen (trb solo), Noah Bless (trb), Matt McDonald (trb), Nick Grinder
(trb), James Rogers (btrb)1

5. MERCY MERCY MERCY – Jason Jackson (trb solo), Matt McDonald (trb), Nick Grinder (trb),
Billy Test (pno), Evan Gregor (bass), Josh Bailey (dr)1

6. I'VE NEVER BEEN IN LOVE BEFORE – Sam Hoyt (fluegelhorn), Matt McDonald (trb), Nick
Grinder (trb), Evan Gregor (bass), Josh Bailey (dr)1

7. BLUE BONES (original) – Noah Bless (trb), Matt McDonald (trb), Nick Grinder (trb), James
Rogers (btrb), Evan Gregor (bass), Josh Bailey (dr)1

8. HAPPY – David Smith (tpt), Matt McDonald (trb), Nick Grinder (trb), Evan Gregor (bass), Josh
Bailey (dr)1

9. I'M OLD FASHIONED – Noah Bless (trb), Matt McDonald (trb), Nick Grinder (trb), James Rogers
(btrb), Evan Gregor (bass), Josh Bailey (dr)1

10. AT LAST – Noah Bless (trb solo), Matt McDonald (trb), Nick Grinder (trb), James Rogers (btrb),
Evan Gregor (bass), Josh Bailey (dr)1

11. IF I ONLY HAD A BRAIN – Noah Bless (trb), Matt McDonald (trb), Nick Grinder (trb), James
Rogers (btrb)2

12. HANDLE WITH CARE – Mike Boschen (trb), Noah Bless (trb), Matt McDonald (trb), Nick
Grinder (trb), James Rogers (trb), Josh Bailey (dr)1

13. I.G.Y. – Sam Hoyt (tpt), David Smith (tpt), Michael Davis (trb), Nick Grinder (trb), Evan
Gregor (bass), Josh Bailey (dr)1

14. JOY SPRING – Noah Bless (trb), Matt McDonald (trb), Nick Grinder (trb), James Rogers (btrb)2

RICH WILLEY: trumpeter, bass trumpeter, bandleader. As both a player and composer/arranger, Rich Willey is firmly rooted in the jazz tradition. His trumpet playing draws upon the wellspring of bebop with a contemporary freshness; brash and forceful, but also lyrical and warm. His compositions and arrangements are thoughtful and substantial, combining a solid sense of swing with an overriding concern for melody. Rich’s playing took on an even broader range of colors when he became one of only a select few jazz trumpeters to add the bass trumpet — a unique instrument with the range of a trombone but the bright timbre of a trumpet — to his musical palette.

A Florida native, Rich was active on the Philadelphia and New York scenes from the early 1980s to the mid-90s, handling a wide range of Latin and jazz gigs, most notably backing up and recording with legendary vocalist Mel Tormé. He later returned to Florida where he earned a bachelors degree in music education from the University of South Florida, founded the Gulf Coast Jazz Society in Dunedin, and performed regularly in the Greater Tampa Bay area. Rich returned to NYC in 1999, earning his masters degree in jazz performance/trumpet at the renowned Manhattan School of Music where he studied with Byron Stripling, Garry Dial, and Mike Abene. He spent the fall of 2001 on tour playing second trumpet, the challenging jazz chair, with trumpet giant Maynard Ferguson’s Big Bop Nouveau. After that he toured for several years with the Tommy Dorsey orchestra under the direction of Buddy Morrow playing the second trumpet (jazz) chair.

Rich has released three CDs, among them Gone With the Piggies (CAP records), a striking collection of brilliantly conceived and impeccably performed tracks, including four of his own distinctive compositions. He is the owner of Boptism Music, which offers an impressive array of his over 30 books including jazz duets, jazz etudes, jazz improv development books, trumpet and trombone method books, as well as his jazz combo and big band arrangements. He is a devoted student of the late Dr. Donald S. Reinhardt and has put back into print many of Reinhardt’s original method books.

Rich has performed with many great musicians, including Maynard Ferguson, Lionel Hampton, Hank Mobley, Don Patterson, Buddy Morrow, Bob Haggart, Dick Hyman, Claudio Roditi, Chris Potter, Conrad Herwig, John Swana, Kenny Drew Jr., Mel Tormé, Bobby Sanabria, Jack Jones, Shirley Jones, Tommy Flanagan, Tony Randall, Bobby Floyd and many others.

Rich has been leading bands since 1986. He and his wife Janet live just outside of beautiful Asheville, NC, where he now practices trumpet and bass trumpet incessantly, still writes and arranges music and performs regularly throughout the southeast as a freelance musician, bandleader and clinician.
Rich has finally had several of his original tunes expertly scored for 18-piece big band by arrangers Michael Abene, Gordon Goodwin, Wally Minko and Chris Walden. Producer Dan Fornero assembled an all-star big band and Rich had twelve magnificent arrangements recorded by award-winning engineer Tommy Vicari at Conway Studio in Hollywood, CA. The material covers a wide landscape of musical territory: you’ll hear jazz, funk, Latin, baroque, reggae all the way to rock with masterful solos by some of the best musicians in Los Angeles (which translates to some of the best musicians in the world). This 77-minute CD takes you on a versatile and fascinating tour around the musical world. When you come in for a landing afterward you’ll agree that it was a journey well worth your while.
​
PLAYERS AND INSTRUMENTS:
Rich Willey (trumpet, flugelhorn & bass trumpet)
Saxophones: Dan Higgins, Brian Scanlon, Bob Sheppard, Jeff Driskill/Sal Lozano, Jay Mason
Trumpets: Wayne Bergeron, Dan Fornero, Rob Schaer/Mike Rocha, Tony Bonsera
Trombones: Alex Iles, Andy Martin, Steve Holtman, Bill Reichenbach
Rhythm Section: Wally Minko (keyboards), Andrew Synowiec (guitars), Edwin Livingston (bass),
Peter Erskine (drums), Joey De Leon (percussion)
Very special guest Thomas Hooten on piccolo trumpet (Down & Dirty)

TRACKS AND TIMES: 
1. Boogie Beast (arr. by Gordon Goodwin) 6:29
2. Down & Dirty (arr. by Wally Minko) 7:01
3. Walter The Ferret (arr. by Gordon Goodwin) 6:10
4. Eyes All For You (arr. by Chris Walden) 6:13
5. Dancing Hippo (arr. by Gordon Goodwin) 6:18
6. Ed Zachary Meets Gregory Peccary (arr. by Gordon Goodwin) 5:46
7. How ‘Bout That? (arr. by Wally Minko) 6:50
8. Old Folks (by Willard Robison & Dedette Lee Hill, arr. by Michael Abene) 7:10
9. Little Treasures (arr. by Wally Minko) 6:05
10. Not So Fast! (arr. by Gordon Goodwin) 7:23
11. Funk Heap (arr. Wally Minko) 6:19
12. But For The Grace Of God (arr. by Michael Abene) 6:03

​Ford and Evans have often shared the stage and recorded together over the years and so it’s no surprise that they are joining forces again. During the promotion of the album “Purple House”, Ford spoke enthusiastically about the forthcoming tour in Japan, together with Evans.
 
“Having worked with many musicians in many different configurations and styles, I can say freely that this group of players has a great chemistry and ability to navigate uncharted waters, which is what allows for real improvisation”, Robben Ford says. “Making this recording, playing with these guys, has been one of my favorite experiences in a long, musical life”.
 
Only a few weeks after the tour, the two were in the recording studio, accompanied by a first class rhythm section: Keith Carlock (currently on the drums with Steely Dan) and James Genus, the wonderful bass player who among so many played with Lee Konitz, Michael Brecker, Branford Marsalis and Chick Corea.
 
Bill Evans enthuses about the recording process: “Rarely, but every now and then, likeminded musicians get together to create something that transcends musical boundaries yet can reach a wider audience. To me, the music we created on ´THE SUN ROOM´ is timeless. I love blues, jazz, soul, funk and this CD has all of it, performed at the highest level. I couldn't be happier with this recording. The vibe was so great during this recording process that it was just a joy to be a part of. Well done, guys. Let's do it again!”.
 
The album will be released on July 26th via earMUSIC as a CD Digipak and Digital.

15.08.2019
Kursaal, Oostende
Verkoop vanaf vrijdag 31 mei om 12u

TICKETS

Nadat hij eerder dit jaar de Ancienne Belgique meteen uitverkocht, komt Alan Parsons door de aanhoudende vraag naar tickets opnieuw naar België. Samen met zijn topband zal hij op 15 augustus in Kursaal Oostende alle hits van The Alan Parsons Project nieuw leven inblazen en stelt hij ook nieuw werk voor uit zijn recent verschenen album "The Secret”.
"Hyper intelligente muziek, die door uitvoering en schoonheid tijdloos is geworden.” - Maxazine
Alan Parsons begon zijn carrière als muziektechnicus bij legendarische platen als 'Abbey Road’ (The Beatles), 'Let it be’ (The Beatles), 'Wild Life’ (Wings), 'Red Rose Speedway’ (Wings), 'Year of the Cat’ (Al Stewart) en 'Dark Side of The Moon’ (Pink Floyd). In 1975 besloot Alan om een nieuwe uitnodiging van Pink Floyd (kan je  'Wish You Were Here’ helpen opnemen?) af te slaan. Hij richtte -samen met Eric Woolfson- The Alan Parsons Project op en de rest is geschiedenis.
Ze scoorden monsterhits en eeuwige roem met nummers als 'Eye In The Sky’, 'Sirius’, 'Don’t Answer Me’, 'Games People Play’, 'Old and Wise’, 'Time’, 'Prime Time’, 'I Robot’ en 'Standing on Higher Ground’. Tijdens hun commerciële hoogdagen traden ze nooit live op.
Vanaf 1999 speelt Alan Parsons de vele hits live voor volle zalen. In 2017 verscheen de "35th Anniversary edition” van hun meesterwerk "Eye In The Sky” uit 1982. Een conceptalbum met een toekomstvisie omtrent kunst, religie, politiek en cultuur in de eenentwintigste eeuw.
​
Op 15 augustus kunnen we live kennismaken met het unieke universum van Alan Parsons Live Project. De voorverkoop start vrijdag 31 mei om 12u via greenhousetalent.be.

It’s not often that blues breaks the Internet. But after six million-plus YouTube views for his jaw-dropping rendition of The Thrill Is Gone – an unforgettable highlight from last year’s The Voice TV show – it’s no wonder that Michael Lee has been tipped as the bluesman set to drag the genre into the mainstream. Now, with the release of Michael’s self-titled Ruf debut, the next big thing has truly arrived. “This album was a journey,” he reflects. “And a fun one at that.”

Given his Texas roots, it was inevitable that Michael would run with the influence of local heroes like Freddie King and Delbert McClinton. But nobody predicted how Michael would fuse those vintage influences with his own modern fire on this eponymous debut. The brief was simple: to set up live, catch the sparks between Michael and his stellar studio band – and bottle the raw emotion of these songs. Heart Of Stone opens the album in style with dirty beats, fuzzbox guitars and punchy horns. Don’t Leave Me switches vibes with a broken-man vocal (“That’s a begging song,” explains Michael). Weeds fuses irrepressible money-lick horns with a reflective lyric. “When my wife and I moved into our house,” explains Michael. “I imagined the overgrown weeds in the backyard being our future children playing. I grabbed my guitar and wrote that song in ten minutes. It was just meant to be.”
It’s typical of an observational artist who finds inspiration everywhere. Praying For Rain feels like a modern flood song, its infectious riff locking with a thudding beat and moody brass (“I haven’t seen water in forty damn days”). Love Her’s breezy strut disguises the barbed lyric (“It’s a classic tale,” says Michael, “of a dangerous woman”). This Is has an elegant swoop, while Can’t Kick You celebrates a woman’s addictive pull (“I can kick the nicotine, I can kick the alcohol… but I can’t kick you”). “Some of these songs, I can see folks turning the radio up with the windows down,” says Michael. “Others might need some candlelight, wine and someone special.”
​
Even as the album plays out, Michael slips fluidly between moods and vibes. Fool Of Oz has a sparse guitar line and raw lyric. Here I Am is a brass-bolstered slow-blues sung with bruised poignancy (“Don’t leave me stranded in the pouring rain”), while Go Your Own Way is a moody strut, complete with virtuoso guitar work and a spooky storytelling lyric of swamps and gunmen.
In a modern age of manufactured music, Michael Lee is the flesh-and-blood bluesman we’ve been waiting for – armed with the album we always knew he was capable of. “I’m looking forward to the future,” he considers, “and seeing where this thing goes…”

PRAKTISCH

• Vrijdag 21 juni 2019
• 20u
• Kursaal Oostende

TICKETS
​40 - 45 - 60 euro

KOOP TICKETS


Zonder twijfel: de alom geprezen, allereerste favoriete meidengroep, The Supremes zijn een cultureel icoon.  Glamour, stijl, charme en elegantie typeren hen.  SCHERRIE  PAYNE werd in 1973 lid van The Supremes en werkte mee van 1973 tot 1977 aan drie Supremes LP’s. “He’s My Man” , “I’m Gonna Let My Heart Do The Walking” , “You’re My Driving Wheel”  &  “Let Yourself Go” waren de singles die Scherrie Payne inzong voor The Supremes.  Scherrie Payne wordt officieel erkend als de laatste hoofdvocalist van The Supremes en is over de ganse wereld bekend als
“The Little Lady With The Big Voice”.
Voordat SUSAYE GREENE bij The Supremes kwam, zong ze bij Ray Charles en Stevie Wonder.  In 1973 zong ze als gastvocalist op de hit “Until It’s Time for You to Go” van The New Birth.  Susaye Greene is niet alleen een succesvolle zangeres maar ook een songwriter die verschillende hits heeft geschreven voor Michael Jackson, Deniece Williams en vele anderen.  Susaye Greene schitterde als lead én als backing vocals van 1976 tot 1977 met The Supremes. Met Susaye aan boord bracht de groep de veelgeprezen LP  ‘The Supremes, High Energy’  uit.  In 1977 brachten The Supremes hun laatste studio-LP uit: “Mary, Scherrie & Susaye.”
Susaye is bekend als “The Last Supreme”, aangezien zij het laatste lid was dat zich officieel aansloot bij het Motown-trio.  Na het afscheidsoptreden van The Supremes op 12 juni 1977 gingen Scherrie en Susaye verder als duo op het Motown-label en namen ze een album op met de titel ‘Partners’.
In 1986 besloten ze om een nieuwe groep te starten. Hun visie was om de glamour, stijl en muziek van The Supremes nieuw leven in te blazen.  De naam voor het trio was een natuurlijke evolutie ….. “The Former Ladies of The Supremes.” Na het vertrek van Jean Terrell in 1993 ging het trio verder en vandaag worden ze vergezeld door Joyce Vincent.
In de jaren zestig was Joyce een zeer gerespecteerde back-up zangeres, en nam zelfs backing vocals op in Motown’s beroemde Studio A!  Joyce Vincent wordt het meest erkend als één van de oorspronkelijke leden van de groep “Tony Orlando & Dawn.”  Ze werd een internationale beroemdheid in de vroege jaren 70 en verzamelde drie # 1 records, 14 top 40-singles en ze was de gastvrouw van een wekelijks zeer populair CBS-TV programma.  Diana Ross kwam in 1998 backstage bij één van hun optredens in Las Vegas. Ze was vol lof voor hun glamoureuze show en voor het levend houden van de erfenis van The Supremes!
Motown-biograaf Sharon Davis van het Blues and Soul-magazine vertelt: “Dit trio houdt op authentieke wijze de Motown-legende levend …”  In april 2016 vierden de dames de 30e verjaardag van The Former Ladies of The Supremes met een speciale uitvoering in Hollywood.  In de zomer van 2017, na 31 jaar optreden naast Scherrie Payne, besloot Lynda Laurence om de groep te verlaten.  Maar het gezegde luidt: “The Show Must Go On” .  Scherrie riep de voormalige Supreme Susaye Greene op om Lynda te vervangen.  Opmerkelijk : de huidige line-up van  Scherrie Payne, Susaye Greene en Joyce Vincent zou eigenlijk de line-up geweest zijn van The Supremes uit 1977, maar plannen veranderden en Motown koos ervoor om The Supremes te ontbinden, de line-up kreeg nooit een kans om samen op te treden ……  Tot nu toe!

Deze klassedames treden exclusief voor België op in het Kursaal van Oostende op 21 juni 2019 !

Stop in The Name of Love !  Check youtube

Een aantal filmstudio’s wilde Elton Johns biopic Rocketman alleen maken als er minder seks en drugs in voor zou komen. Dat vertelt de muzikant aan The Guardian.
​
Elton zag zo’n bravere versie niet zitten. “Ze wilden een film maken voor alle leeftijden, maar ik heb nu eenmaal geen leven geleid voor alle leeftijden”, aldus de 72-jarige. “Het hoefde van mij ook geen film te worden vol met drugs en seks, maar tegelijkertijd weet iedereen dat ik van beide flink heb genoten in de jaren 70 en 80. Dus had het geen zin om iets te maken waarin het lijkt alsof ik na elk optreden naar mijn hotelkamer ging met een glas warme melk en een bijbel.”
Uiteindelijk ging studio Paramount aan de slag met de verfilming van het leven van de zanger. Het resultaat, Rocketman, ging in première in Cannes en kon rekenen op lovende recensies. Voor de zanger zelf voelt het nog altijd gek zijn leven terug te zien op het witte doek. “De hele ervaring om iemand anders jou te zien nadoen, je herinneringen te zien afspelen, dat voelt ontzettend vreemd.”

Rocketman ging vorige week in première tijdens het filmfestival van Cannes en is vanaf 30 mei te zien in de bioscopen.

Datum: 8/02/2020
Zaal: Kon. Circus, Brussel
Start concert: 20u00

TICKETS
​
Met haar laatste album “Moura” tourde ze maar liefst 2 jaar lang rond de wereld! Op 8 februari 2020 komt Ana Moura in het Koninklijk Circus haar nieuwste album voorstellen, dat in het najaar van 2019 zal verschijnen.
 
In een korte tijd heeft ze met haar prachtige stem trouwe fans weten te veroveren en de meest hoogstaande Portugese muziekcritici weten te enthousiasmeren. Ook hedendaagse artiesten zoals Caetano Veloso, Gilberto Gil, Herbie Hancock, The Rolling Stones en Prince hebben het talent van Ana Moura niet voorbij laten gaan.
 
De ticketverkoop zal op woensdag 29 mei om 11u van start gaan via www.gracialive.be, www.ticketmaster.be alsook op www.fnactickets.be en in alle Fnac winkels.

 
 

​AB pakt uit met een fenomenale line-up voor de 30ste verjaardag van Boterhammen In Het Park! Klinkende namen als Bart Peeters, Kapitein Winokio, Jan De Wilde en vele anderen zullen het einde van de zomer inluiden op de zonnigst mogelijke manier. Iedereen is welkom op dit gratis muziekfestival in hartje Brussel.

De kiosk in het Warandepark zal naar goede gewoonte een week lang dienst doen als podium voor artiesten die de Nederlandse en/of Vlaamse taal eren met hun liedjes. Elke middag van 12u tot 14u wordt het park omgetoverd tot boterhammen- en muziekparadijs.
OP HET PROGRAMMA BIJ DE BOTERHAM:

Maandag 26/08
Lenny & De Wespen met Eva De Roovere
Ertebrekers

Dinsdag 27/08
Berlaen
Slongs

Woensdag 28/08
Neeka
Kapitein Winokio 15 jaar

Donderdag 29/08
Wannes Cappelle & broeder Dieleman & Frans Grapperhaus
Jan De Wilde 75 jaar

Vrijdag 30/08
Bart Peeters

PRAKTISCH
30 jaar Boterhammen In Het Park
26 - 30 agustus van 12u tot 14u
in het Warandepark, Brussel

Alles loopt gesmeerd voor het jonge Britse viertal The Vamps. Dit jaar breiden ze met de EP ‘Missing You’ een nieuw hoofdstuk aan hun carrière, en nu is er ook een nieuwe tournee op komst! Op 5 november staan ze op de planken van de AB met enkele mooie verrassingen op zak.
 
Na een uitgebreide wereldtournee in het teken van hun tweedelige derde plaat ‘Night & Day’ namen Brad Simpson, James McVey, Connor Ball en Tristan Evans even gas terug, om nu opnieuw een grootse comeback in de spotlights te maken. De tellers van de streamingplatformen slaan meestal tilt bij The Vamps, en dat is deze keer niet anders: hun single “All The Lies” featuring Alok & Felix Jaehn kwam in maart uit. Afgelopen maand onthulden ze ook “Right Now” featuring Krept & Konan en kondigden ze ‘Missing You’ aan, een zelf gepende én geproducete EP die in het Verenigd Koninkrijk in sneltempo de hitlijsten beklimt. Dat belooft enkel maar het beste voor de ‘Four Corners Tour’, die op 5 november halt zal houden in de Ancienne Belgique! Tickets zijn verkrijgbaar vanaf vrijdag 31 mei om 10u.

 
START TICKETVERKOOP
VRIJDAG 31 MEI, 10U

TICKETS VIA
PROXIMUSGOFORMUSIC.BE
LIVENATION.BE
​
TICKETPRIJS
28 EURO
(INCL. MOBILITEIT & SERVICEKOSTEN)

Catfood Records announces a July 19 release date for award-winning blues singer-guitarist Zac Harmon’s label debut CD, Mississippi Bar BQ. Produced by Grammy-winner Jim Gaines (Santana, Steve Ray Vaughan, and Journey) and recorded at Sonic Ranch in, Tornillo, Texas, Mississippi Bar BQ showcases 10 original songs, plus a killer cover of Dylan’s classic “Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door.” Backing Zac’s guitar and vocals on most of the tracks are The Rays: Bob Trenchard – bass; Richy Puga – drums; Johnny McGhee – guitar; Dan Ferguson – keyboards; Mike Middleton – trumpet; Andy Roman - alto sax; Nick Flood - tenor and baritone sax; and Drake Dominigue - trombone and tuba. Several other tracks feature Zac Harmon and his regular touring band.
Mississippi Bar BQ is the most progressive effort from Zac to date. “For the first time in my career, I have had the opportunity to just be the best artist I can be at the guidance of a master producer” says Harmon. “On this new CD, I got a chance to work with The Rays, which is a group of studio musicians headed up by Bob Trenchard.

The Rays are incredible, and they bring the best out of every song. I also got a chance to collaborate in the writing with Bob Trenchard (Johnny Rawls, Otis Clay) and John Hahn (Shemekia Copeland). These great writers proved their worth on every song. My favorite is the title song, ‘Mississippi Bar BQ,’ which was the brainchild of Bob Trenchard. One of my other favorites is ‘A Dollar Out of 15 Cents,’ which I wrote with John Hahn. This CD is top shelf.”
“So Cold” is another track that bears watching and has great potential as a single; and the title track, “ Mississippi Bar BQ,” is being promoted as a single to the Southern Soul market.. 
Zac Harmon is an award-winning guitarist, singer, and songwriter whose distinctive style continues the lineage of American Blues Music. Blues Revue called Harmon “a masterful musician and performer of the blues;” while blues journalist Don Wilcock lauded his “Bobby Blue Bland uptown sophistication with a touch of Freddie King guitar.” And JazzReview said, “With his big blues sound from Mississippi, Harmon can go toe-to-toe with some of the best blues men in the business. Please don’t be shy, go ahead and mention Harmon’s name in the same sentence with Bobby ‘Blue’ Bland, Albert King and Bobby Rush—just to name a few.”  
Born and raised in Jackson, Mississippi, Zac Harmon is a true embodiment of the music that emanated from the city’s historic Farish Street district, home of blues legend Elmore James. Given that Zac was exposed to a lot of music in his home, neighborhood, and local culture, it’s not surprising that he turned out a blues musician. His mom played piano, and his dad, the city’s first state registered black pharmacist, played harmonica and tended to the needs of artists such as Muddy Waters, B.B. King, Ike and Tina Turner, Albert King, and Little Milton.
His next door neighbor was a music instructor who would host friends such as Cab Calloway, Duke Ellington, and Harry Belafonte in her home. Another neighbor, Bill Farris, a blues scholar who worked with noted folklorist Alan Lomax and founded the Center for the Study of Southern Culture at the University of Mississippi, recorded a number of Delta blues artists in his home, including Skip James.
Zac started his professional career at age 16, playing guitar with Sam Myers, a friend of his father’s. Two years later he was playing with Dorothy Moore, Z.Z. Hill and other well-known blues artists who were passing through on regional tours.  
 
In the early eighties, at age 21, he moved to Los Angeles to take a real shot at the music business. He worked as a studio musician at first and eventually established a very successful career as a songwriter and producer. Zac worked on major films, television shows and well-known national commercials, even being hired at one point by Michael Jackson as a staff writer for his publishing company, ATV Music. Harmon wrote songs for the likes of Troop, Karyn White, Evelyn “Champagne” King, Freddie Jackson, The Whispers and The O’Jays, among others. He also produced songs for reggae band Black Uhuru’s Mystical Truth album, which received a Grammy nomination in 1994.
 
After composing and performing some blues songs for a movie score, Harmon felt compelled to pursue his longtime dream of returning to his roots and recording his first blues project. The result in 2003 was Live at Babe & Ricky's Inn, an electrifying testimony to Mississippi blues, which showcased the sound at its best and introduced Harmon as a true torchbearer for the “next generation of the Blues.”  In 2004, Harmon and his band, the Mid South Blues Revue, sponsored by the Southern California Blues Society, traveled to Memphis and won the Blues Foundation’s prestigious International Blues Challenge title of “Best Unsigned Band."

His next release, in 2005, was The Blues According to Zacariah, which garnered major national airplay, including XM, Sirius and the American Blues Network.  XM listeners voted Harmon “Best New Blues Artist” in the inaugural XM Nation Awards in 2005.  In 2006, Harmon won the coveted Blues Music Award for “Best New Artist Debut” for The Blues According to Zacariah.  Later that year, he was featured in Blues Revue magazine as one of the 10 artists that “represent the future of the blues,” calling him a “latter-day Eric Clapton or Robert Cray with shades of Luther Allison and BB King.”

Zac Harmon entertained U.S. troops in Iraq and Kuwait in 2008 as one the stars of Bluzapalooza and while headlining “The Pizza & Pyramid Tour” of Sicily, Italy and Cairo, Egypt in late 2009, Zac and company made history with a rare performance on the site of the Great Pyramid and the Sphinx, making the ensemble only the second roots act to do so; Louis Armstrong being the first.
In 2008, he released Shot in the Kill Zone in Europe, which was recorded live at the Lionel Hampton Room in Paris.  He then signed with the Northern Blues label for his third and much-anticipated U.S. album, From the Root, which was released April, 2009.  Living Blues said, “It takes a truly gifted artist to go in as many directions over the course of a single CD as Harmon does here and still retain a sense of coherence. For that alone, this is a pretty remarkable outing—but the real treat is the quality of the music itself, from beginning to end.”
Also in 2009, Zac was honored for his career achievements in his beloved hometown at the Jackson Music Awards, and weeks later in Memphis, the Jus’ Blues Music Foundation bestowed the “Little Milton” Guitar Award for “Outstanding Guitar Player” upon him.  That same year Harmon branched out into acting, with a major role in the independent feature film, Black and Blue, released in 2010.
Zac was a featured performer for the 2010 “Mississippi Celebrates its “Grammy Legacy” celebration, hosted by Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour, where he was presented with a Peavey Award, which honors the state's Grammy winners and nominees as well as individuals who have played a significant role in developing and furthering Mississippi's musical heritage.
Harmon released his next album, Music Is Medicine, in 2012. Blues Bytes called it an “album of his exciting brand of blues, which mixes elements of soul, funk, gospel and R&B effortlessly, and this latest disc ranks as his best so far.”
Since then he’s been on a roll, becoming one of the blues' strongest live performers, thrilling fans everywhere from Memphis to Mumbai.  His live performances combine elements of everything that influenced him: soul-blues, gospel, reggae, and modern blues-rock.
BluesWax said of a festival appearance, “Harmon’s stage show is like a Blues symphony where he segues from one song to the next without a moment’s hesitation, building a head of steam that is orgasmic. Mixing classic boogie gliders with originals, he builds a West Side guitar sound that’s almost as sweet and simultaneously rough as classic Magic Sam into a showcase presentation that takes a lot of pages from Buddy Guy as far as dynamics. His hour on stage went by in an instant.”
In another live review, Jazz Now said, “His show affirmed all the hoopla that surrounds those dubbed as the hottest new act… Soulful vocals, breathtaking showmanship… His flashy guitar style belies the solid sound that he radiated on every tune, admirably backed by a fantastic band.”
In 2016, Harmon released Right Man Right Now a CD that addressed issues straight from the headlines, presented in a fresh original style built on the best blues tradition. Right Man Right Now also featured some incredibly talented guest musicians, including Bobby Rush, Lucky Peterson, Anson Funderburgh and Mike Finnegan. 
Today Zac Harmon continues to tour both nationally and internationally as an ambassador of this great American classical music art form called the Blues.

Op 15 juni organiseert modular404 samen met muziekclub Nosta en Mangoest Records een event rond modulaire synthesizers: PULSE - Modular Music Fest.

Modulaire synthesizers zijn al enige tijd een stijle opmars aan het maken. Om de community te ondersteunen hebben muziekclub Nosta, Modular404 en Mangoest Records samen een non-profit event opgezet waar geïnteresseerden elkaar kunnen ontmoeten, in de hoop dat de vonken die daaruit ontstaan ons in de toekomst blijven verrassen. 
Het wordt een dag waarop liefhebbers van modulaire synthesizers volledig aan hun trekken komen: een mix van modular live concerten, lezingen, een modular market, DIY workshops … het centrum van de modulaire synthesizerwereld ligt op 15 juni in Nosta Opwijk!

Meer info via: ​pulsefestival.be/wordpress/