AVAILABLE AUGUST 30, 2019 on RIGHT GROOVE RECORDS

Recording artist NICOLAS BEARDE has established himself as a powerful presence on the contemporary vocal jazz scene over the past couple of decades. His silky baritone, wit and engaging rapport captures and draws in audiences at his live performances.

I REMEMBER YOU: The Music of Nat King Cole is Bearde’s newest CD and the sixth he’s released on the Right Groove Records label. With his 2016 chart-topping release, Invitation, produced and arranged by Nat Adderley, Jr. and featuring the dynamic sax work of special guest, Vincent Herring, Nicolas cemented his place in the upper echelons of the jazz rankings, receiving stellar reviews. All About Jazz said, “Bearde's soulful and affecting baritone sits atop these impeccably tailored arrangements of sterling standards, and the results are absolutely stunning."

Bearde has long appreciated the music of Nat Cole, one of his earliest influences, and produced this album in celebration of Nat’s 100th birthday. Though the ten songs on this project are associated with Cole, Bearde breathes new life into the tunes with his rich, warm voice and supple phrasing, imbuing each song with his own soulful and romantic interpretation.

Bearde has had an extensive, varied, and fruitful singing and acting career. He’s loved jazz and R&B since his early years in Nashville, where he was born and raised. Leaving home in his teens, after a short stint in college, Bearde began singing professionally while living in Japan during his military service. Upon returning to the U.S., he spent a few years on the L.A. music scene before making his home in the San Francisco/Bay Area, where he began developing his jazz chops and a more intimate approach to performing.

While living in the Bay Area in the 1980s, his life veered in a different creative direction when he became part of Jukebox, a staged radio play starring Danny Glover. At Glover's recommendation, Bearde began studying with renowned acting teacher Jean Shelton, and a year later, he was cast in the Athol Fugard play "Master Harold"… and the Boys. He went on to book a continual stream of stage plays, and soon began to work in film and television, as well, including Final Analysis with Richard Gere and Kim Basinger, True Crime with Clint Eastwood, and the TV shows Nash Bridges and Monk. 1213 Alameda Avenue, Glendale, CA 91201 • [email protected] • 310.993.4017
 
While working on his various theatrical ventures, Bearde met singer Molly Holm and joined her eight-member group Jazzmouth, which was known for their vocal improvisation and close harmonizing. He connected with Bobby McFerrin through his relationship with Holm, and in 1986, Bearde became part of McFerrin’s ground-breaking a cappella group Voicestra.

In the mid-90s, when Voicestra went on a years-long hiatus, Bearde and a few other members of the group created an off-shoot called SoVoSò. "We followed in the improvisational tradition of Voicestra, but added more gospel, Latin and R&B elements," says Bearde. SoVoSò went on to win numerous awards and honors, among them 1st place at the renowned CASA a cappella summit awards, and nominations for "Best Group" and "Best Album.” Bearde was nominated as "Best Lead Vocalist."

Bearde transitioned out of the cappella world to focus on his own music in the early 2000s, recording several albums between 2005 and 2016, which included original songs and inventive covers of jazz standards. In 2018, he was the featured vocalist on Vincent Herring's chart-topping CD, Hard Times, as well as vocalist and narrator with Herring’s Story of Jazz Orchestra, a 10-piece New York-based ensemble of jazz luminaries who travel the world, presenting Jazz music's 100+ year history.

For I REMEMBER YOU: The music of Nat King Cole, Bearde brought on board some of the finest musicians living in Northern and Southern California. He recorded eight of the ten tunes with Los Angeles-based pianist JOSH NELSON at the helm. “I first heard Josh at Jazz Camp West, where we were both teaching. I didn’t know him but heard his music and went to see many of his performances. His playing was so fluid and lyrical…I knew we’d have to record together some day,” said Bearde. The Southern California band also includes ALEX BONEHAM on bass and DAN SCHNELLE and LORCA HART on drums. The Northern California band includes PETER HORVATH on piano, DAN FEISZLI on bass, and JASON LEWIS on drums.

Being a big fan of tenor saxophonist ERIC ALEXANDER’s phrasing and tone, Nicolas brought him out from New York as a special guest for this project. Alexander is featured on three tunes, “That Sunday, That Summer,” “Funny (Not Much),” and “Thou Swell.” Those songs were all arranged by Nelson, as were “Sweet Lorraine,” “The Rules of the Road,” “Straighten Up and Fly Right,” “Tenderly,” and “I Wish You Love.” Bearde and Horvath arranged “I Remember You” and “L-0-V-E.”

Bearde is a master storyteller. There is a certain elegance to his singing that makes the songs on I REMEMBER YOU: The Music of Nat King Cole, with their updated, hip arrangements, as fresh and evocative as when they were originally performed.

I REMEMBER YOU: THE MUSIC OF NAT KING COLE will be available in stores and online everywhere on August 30, 2019.
Webs:
www.nicolasbearde.com
www.facebook.com/nicolasbearde1/

​Last Pair of Shoes,' but John Dee Holeman is scheduled for release on August 2nd, 2019 via Music Maker Relief Foundation.,

At 90 years young, John Dee Holeman is nothing short of an enigma. The 1988 NEA National Heritage Fellowship award recipient boasts multiple tours overseas, shaking it down at NYC’s Carnegie Hall, 3 full length records with Music Maker Relief Foundation, and an insatiable appetite for endless boogie, 12 bars or otherwise.

Hailing from Durham, North Carolina by hard way of the farms of Orange County, Holeman came up farming tobacco. He completed the fourth grade then promptly gave up schoolwork for farm work to assist his Daddy on the farm. Trading in a formal education edified him a doctorate in the Blues. “I think the Blues is hardship and working hard,” Holeman says. “You really can get into it then and I’ve had it hard. The way I take it is when you’re down or out, more less, that’s what I take to be the Blues.” Scoring a $15 Silvertone at the hardly ripe age of 14 commenced a journey that keeps on giving, and Holeman just wants to give more.

Entering his ninth decade, Mr. Holeman has admittedly made a decent living thus far but looks even more forward to continuing his righteous path in music. From pig-picking backyard North Carolina parties to packed venues in Thailand, Honolulu, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Singapore, Turkey, Canada, and even Africa, learning a few chords from an uncle and a cousin has proved to be the world’s greatest gift. Not only providing countless hours of comfort for the long, arduous, albeit inhumanely hot nights of drying out leaves in a tobacco barn but an ethereal distraction and ultimately a golden path for his later years. North Carolinian drummer and manager extraordinaire, Zeke Hutchins, produced Holeman’s most recent offering, You Got To Lose, You Can’t Win All The Time, in 2008. A new record is nigh entitled Last Pair of Shoes, again on Music Makers and out this coming Friday, 8/2/19.

Holeman’s signature ditty is the infectious “Chapel Hill Boogie.” A 12 bar boogie that cooks in all its funky juices, highlighted by the fuzzy rhythm riff and a harmonious harp on top of it all. It’s the type of groove you’d like to keep on repeat, if not only for the song, but just to keep catching the feeling over and over. It’s our great honor to premier that song to you here, right now…

​Pre- order the album here:
​https://johndeeholeman.bandcamp.com/album/last-pair-of-shoes

(bron: ABS)

Buurman is veranderd. Buurman is alleen. Einzelgänger. Altijd al geweest, maar nu ook zonder groep. 
Vijf platen ver in zijn carrière is Geert Verdickt (zanger en songschrijver van Buurman) eindelijk toe aan zijn breakup-plaat. Geen lachertje, maar zoals alle grote songschrijvers weet hij er naast vlijmscherpe observaties van het romantische falen, een boodschap van hoop en licht uit te laten opstijgen. ‘Einzelgänger’: Verdickt trok er samen met producer Jeroen Swinnen en technicus en multi-instrumentalist Yello Staelens voor naar het afgelegen Inishbofin voor de westkust van Ierland. In een rudimentaire studio, geïsoleerd van de buitenwereld, componeerden ze de perfecte, intieme en uiterst breekbare soundtrack bij Verdickts songs van hartzeer en hoop. De eerste single - uitgebracht op 14 juni en intussen stevig genesteld in de Vlaamse Top-10 en in high rotation op Radio 1 en 2 - zei het al: 'Elk einde is een nieuw begin'. Wie het Verdickt zelf wil horen uitleggen, kijkt naar de trailer hieronder. 

​Meer dan een decennium geleden begonnen vier schaamhaarloze snotapen muziek te maken ineen klein repetitiekot in Flanders’ Fields. Dat de luide herrie die ze toen maakten onder de naam Steak Number Eight het zo ver zou schoppen, hadden ze nooit kunnen dromen. Van de grootste concertzalen van België uitverkopen; op de grootste metal festivals van Europe staan; tot op tournee gaan met bands als Mastodon, The Dillinger Escape Plan, Alice Cooper en Deftones: ze deden het allemaal.
Niemand zag het dan ook aankomen toen de band er in 2018 mee stopte. De bandnaam begon wat verouderd aan te voelen en deed te vaak denken aan de overleden broer van frontman Brent. Er kwamen nog twee uitverkochte afscheidsshows in de Vooruit in Gent, maar die bleken toch niet helemaal een afscheid te zijn... de vier bandleden bleven samen en gingen verder onder de nieuwe bandnaam STAKE.
Red Bull maakte een indrukwekkende documentaire over de band.
 
STAKE tekende inmiddels een contract met het gerenommeerde Britse Hassle Records. Op 2 mei bracht de band de eerste single ‘Catatonic Dreams’ uit, gevolgd door een 12” vinyl EP. Nu is er de tweede single-video ‘Doped Up Salvations’ (zie hieronder).
Het nieuwe studio-album ‘Critical Method’ komt op 1 november 2019 uit.  Verwacht een nóg strakker geluid (hyper atmospheric grunge core x post-metal-oriented melodic sludge) met meer referenties naar de nineties maar met een onevenredig grotere dosis energie.

Severn Records announces a September 13 release date for Real Street, the latest soul-blues album from eight-time Blues Music Award-nominated singer/harmonica player Tad Robinson. Produced by Robinson and recorded by Scott Bomar at Electraphonic Recording, the new disc showcases his soul-drenched vocals and harmonica work backed by the legendary Hi Rhythm Section of Charles Hodges – Hammond organ; Leroy Hodges – bass; and Howard Grimes – drums. They are augmented by Joe Restivo – guitar; Kevin Anker – Wurlitzer electric piano; Marc Franklin – trumpet; Kirk Smothers – sax; and Devin B. Thompson – background vocals.
 
Tad Robinson will celebrate the new disc with special album release party shows in his Indianapolis hometown, starting on Friday, October 4, at the Jazz Kitchen (5377 North College Ave., Indianapolis), with sets at 7:30pm and 9:30pm. And on Friday, October 18, he’ll perform a special lunchtime show (12:15 - 1:15pm) at the Indianapolis Artsgarden, (110 West Washington, Indianapolis). Additional shows are listed at the end of this press release, including a European tour.
    
For the recording of Real Street, Robinson traveled to the birthplace of Southern soul, Memphis, Tennessee, and the results are ten glorious tracks of blues-infused and passionate soul music. Throughout six originals and four reimagined covers, Robinson’s singing has never been so focused and fluent in the language of the blues and his subtle harmonica playing adds just the right spice to the mix.
“The Hi-Rhythm Section guys - Howard Grimes, Charles Hodges and Leroy Hodges - brought such wisdom, grace and solidarity to my session,” Tad Robinson says. “I couldn’t have asked for a better vibe in terms of how we all approached playing together. I’m forever grateful.”
Robinson’s vocals and harmonica weave seamlessly into the grooves set down by the band, evoking the days of such soul giants as O.V. Wright and Syl Johnson, both of whom enjoyed some of their best-remembered recordings working with the Hi Rhythm Section. His ability to “soul-ify” such pop songs as “You Got It” and “Make It With You” recall the skill that Al Green exemplified during his glory years in taking a pop standard (such as “How Can You Mend a Broken Heart”) and crafting it into a soul classic.  
 
From the ebullient shuffle, opener, “Changes,” to the poignant immediacy of George Jackson’s ballad, “Search Your Heart,” each song is a showpiece with the Memphis groove-makers’ interlocking parts evoking a timeless Southern soul-blues landscape made new again. 
Robinson croons the wry, self-deprecating account of the departure of his bored lover in “Full Grown Woman,” gets gritty and gospel-soulful on the wistful and radio-friendly, “Love In The Neighborhood” and riffs and weaves his way through his joyful reworking of Roy Orbison’s, “You Got It.” 
The Memphis veterans lay down a beautiful understated backing for Robinson’s story-telling on Real Street, plucking just the right riff, chord change and color out of the Memphis air, bearing witness to their rarified status as architects of the Southern soul sound. 
Real Street is an earthy, straight-from-the-gut-to-the-heart collection that fans of soul and blues music will cherish.

​The story of INDUBIOUS is not for the faint of heart. Like a phoenix rising from the ashes, INDUBIOUS was forged in the fires of pain and destruction, only to emerge powerfully with a message of transformation. Evton and Skip, brothers and bandmates born with Cystic Fibrosis and convinced by doctors of their impending death from an early age, have emerged as a powerful force for change and the future of conscious music. Their new album BELEAF, which releases in stores and online worldwide August 16, 2019, is a 14-track powerhouse that promises to be their strongest, clearest, and most authentic work yet. 
 
BELEAF features a beautifully woven storyline rich with visionary lyrical content, deep Dub and Roots Reggae textures, all of which are blended seamlessly with Dancehall, Rootstronica, and heart-centered songwriting. Produced by Evton B on their own label Righteous Sound Productions and  featuring album art design by SkipWicked, BELEAF includes prolific guest tracks from Satsang, The Elovators, and Michael Leslie. 
 
Based out of Southern Oregon, INDUBIOUS has released three albums over the past few years, including Wake The Lion which was produced by EDM/Dub/Reggae pioneer Gaudi. Their last album From Zero, released on July 1, 2017, debuted at #6 on the Billboard Reggae Chart and #8 on the iTunes Reggae Chart, and features legendary guest artists including Dancehall icon Sizzla, Vaughn Benjamin (formally of Midnite and Akae Beka), and Reggae/R&B singer Zahira Soul. From Zero is a mix of conscious Dancehall and Roots Reggae with top-level production, and all songs were written, produced, and engineered by INDUBIOUS, and released on their own label Righteous Sound Productions. 
 
Armed with impressive instrumental skill, powerful harmonies, and an electrifying stage presence, INDUBIOUS is destined to change the face of music. They have developed a steadily rising reputation as ambassadors of the West Coast Reggae movement. Leaving audiences stunned and amazed whilst shattering any preconceived notions of genre and style, they recruit fans from all walks of life, affectionately called “Indubians.” Their only choice has always been mind over matter, and time has proven that their unbending positive outlook, combined with an inspiring message of love and hope, has not only helped them overcome personal hardship, but catapulted their music onto the world stage with an unstoppable momentum.
 
INDUBIOUS has performed worldwide on international tours and at many prestigious festivals including Shangri-La, Project Earth, Wakarusa, Gathering Of The Vibes, Reggae On The River, SulaFest in India, Sierra Nevada World Music Festival, California Roots Festival, Beloved, Britt Festivals, The Oregon Country Faire, Reggae in the Hills, Northwest World Reggae Festival, Earthdance, Gaia Festival, plus club and concert hall tours from Seattle to San Diego. They have shared the stage and toured with many influential names such as Black Uhuru, Matisyahu, Blondie, Michael Franti, Stephen Marley, Rebelution, Junior Reid, and Pato Banton, to name a few. 
 
The band and their legion of fans have adopted the motto “Live Indubiously,” which means living life without doubt or fear, and with faith in the fact that we are all here for a reason. “Our gift is music,” says INDUBIOUS, “and our mission is to reconnect the people of the world with rightful living. We wish to speak the truth in an effort to inspire others to do the same, to raise the positive vibrations of our planet, and to help others express the true loving nature within us all.”
 
INDUBIOUS can be found playing shows throughout the summer and fall of 2019, including several dates with rising stars Sol Seed and the legendary Julian Marley. They will be performing songs from BELEAF, as well as past hits and fan favorites. They continue to write and record, and plan to release plenty of new music over the next several months. BELEAF releases in stores and online worldwide August 16, 2019.

De nieuwste ster aan het Amerikaanse hiphopfirmament is helemaal terug met zijn vierde plaat ‘The Search’. Na een uitverkochte passage in Zappa in Antwerpen in 2018, keert NF op 8 maart 2020 naar ons land terug voor een concert in de AB in het kader van zijn nieuwe wereldtournee. Tickets zijn verkrijgbaar vanaf vrijdag 2 augustus om 10u.
 
Verscholen onder zijn hoodie rapt de jongeling uit Michigan over een gewelddadige wereld en zijn ontsnapping aan de demonen uit zijn jeugd. Nathan John Feuerstein levert vandaag 20 nieuwe tracks af, geproducet door zijn onafscheidelijke kompaan Patrick Tohill. In 2018 mochten we al “Why” ontdekken, dat met een gouden plaat bekroond werd. Recentere tracks als “The Search”, “When I Grow Up” en “Time” zijn samen goed voor ruim 120 miljoen views op YouTube. Een kolossaal succes dat enkel het beste doet vermoeden voor de nieuwe plaat. ‘The Search’ volgt op ‘Perception’ (2017), die de Billboard 200 meteen bestormde en in ruim 50 landen de top van de charts haalde. NF gooit het hiphoplandschap helemaal overhoop en bevestigt zijn internationale reputatie als nieuwe grote ster. Als waardig erfgenaam van Slim Shady combineert hij de muzikaliteit van Eminem en de flair van Macklemore, teert NF slim op zijn duistere kantje, en staat hij live garant voor een energiebom van formaat met zijn zinderende attitude en zijn levendig rijmwerk.

 
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An award-winning singer, actor, composer, and cabaret artist, DEB BOWMAN’s multi-faceted talents shine through on her newest album, FAST HEART. The project comprises a mix of jazz standards and four original tunes penned by Bowman. This is her debut as a songwriter. Bowman originally hails from Alabama, but lived in New York City for several years, pursuing an acting and singing career. She has performed in theatre, Off-Broadway, national tours and regional productions as well as television, films, and commercials, and continues to create her own unique jazz cabaret shows that are well received in NYC and at sea on world cruise ships, where she has traveled to over 60 countries. FAST HEART is a tribute to Bowman’s beloved sister, Patti, who died of ovarian cancer. She was with her sister throughout the brutal 18 month battle and was devastated by her loss. Bowman relocated to Atlanta several years ago and has continued both her acting and singing career. Bowman is releasing FAST HEART in concert on the 10th anniversary of Patti’s passing at Birdland on September 22nd, 2019.Patti loved butterflies, and from the teal butterfly on the cover (a symbol of ovarian cancer awareness) to references in several songs, the album is replete with butterfly allusions. Bowman will also be donating a portion of the revenue to Ovarian Cancer Research. Bowman has a rich, warm voice that was shaped by her earliest performances as a Gospel singer. She is adept at a number of different musical styles, while her acting background clearly informs her approach to lyrics. FAST HEART is a beautiful and loving commemoration of her late sister Patti. 


For more info: www.debbowman.com
​

August 30th will see atmospheric Black Metal masters, Imperium Dekadenz, unleash their sixth studio album titled When We Are Forgotten with Napalm Records. In terms of Black Metal art and where most of us might think that everything has been said and done in a genre, Imperium Dekadenz boldly seek new horizons: The highly atmospheric and emotionally dense soundscapes of the band shun a simplistic tag like “Melodic Black Metal” and have done so for ages – as Horaz and Vespasian seize the moment with When We Are Forgotten and delve deep into a complex cosmos made of anger, loneliness, melancholy and pure destruction. Their upcoming record not only convinces with a dynamic, energetic and organic production and sounds by no means polished, but is the same rough and dark as their home, the Black Forest, itself. In contradiction to the album`s title: This record will be unforgettable!
 
Today the duo is sharing with a brand new track taken from When We Are Forgotten, among a lyric video for Frozen In Time!
 
The band commets: “We are proud to unleash one of our most personal songs ever.
Expended pleasures, vanished friends, forgotten pain, depleted passions... FROZEN IN TIME!”
 
Watch the blistering, new lyric video by Imperium Dekadenz HERE!

​
​Imperium Dekadenz was founded in the late summer of 2004 by Horaz and Vespasian. Their band name was inspired by the 70ies movie “Caligula”, which was known as one of the most scandalous movies, because of its extreme violent and pornographic scenes. Imperium Dekadenz' lyrics reflect genre typical topics like death, mourning, hate and desperation,while religious and political topics are not a part of the band's concept. Generally their music style can be described as atmospheric Black Metal, to the same time also depressive, ambient and acoustic elements are a part of the compositions. Norwegian bands of the Second Wave of Black Metal in the nineties are the most influencing actors, as the band describes their roots.
Characteristic style devices are epic melodies of mid-tempo speed, which induce in their changeover to the next part, a kind of dramatic and dynamic perception. Special features are the acoustic and ambient tracks which are more comparable to Classic (piano) and Neo-Folk music.

Since their first appearance on stage, Imperium Dekadenz has played national and international shows, including Wolfszeit, Ragnarök, Metalfest (GER, CH, AT), Wacken Open Air, Inferno Festival, Metalcamp or Summer Breeze to name just a few. The whole subjective experience of the listener is opulent and epic, because of the rich contrast and the wide spread of musical styles. No wonder that Imperium Dekadenz already belong to one of the most acclaimed Black Metal bands the current scene has to offer!




Imperium Dekadenz is:
Vespasian: Guitars, Bass, Drums, Keyboards
Horaz: Guitars, Keyboards, Vocals
  ​

Eight-time Blues Music Award-nominated singer/songwriter/cornetist Al Basile announces a September 20 release date for his latest excursion into Blues and R&B, B’s Hot House, on Sweetspot Records. Basile is joined on B’s Hot House by his former Roomful of Blues boss, guitarist Duke Robillard (who also produced), and members of Duke’s band, along with several other Roomful alums. The album was recorded by Jack Gauthier at Lakewest Studios in West Greenwich, Rhode Island.
“After last year's combination of spoken narrative and new songs on Me & the Originator, I decided to relax and go back to recording just new songs of mine, as I have on almost all of my previous 15 releases,” Basile says. “I've always been privileged to have my friend Duke Robillard as producer and star guitarist, and used his band to back me up, with some added old friends from Roomful days in the horn section, and I went back to that well again. I've made nine records in the last nine years with the same rhythm section, and we know each other so well by now that I know how to ask for what I want musically, and we work fast and effectively. It's always a pleasure to go in and hear my demos come to life, and get that great support for my vocals and horn solos that inspires me and brings out my best.
“The session for B's Hot House was no different. I had new songs which were inspired by the grooves of Little Junior Parker, Jimmy McCracklin, Slim Harpo, Booker T and the MGs, and many others. I divided the songs between straight blues and the roots forms that have become standard in R&B, and as always I wrote about real life issues, both at home and in the public arena. If you listen carefully you'll know what I'm talking about!”
The 14 all-original tracks on the new disc masterfully demonstrate Basile’s skill not only as a songwriter, but as an interpreter of the styles within the blues and roots world that manifest themselves in his songwriting, singing and playing.
“I'm especially happy with my cornet playing on this record,” he adds. “As always, I'm inspired by Louis Armstrong, Roy Eldridge, and Miles Davis – the last two of whom featured the Harmon mute I use prominently here – it has a penetrating edge that stands up to the sound of the electric guitar. It isn't easy to follow a Duke Robillard solo! But I think my work on this record is strong, rhythmic, and inventive in a way that doesn't sound like anyone else but me, which is the goal of any blues or jazz player.
“I also like the way I've learned over the years to write for my voice – to ask it to do the things it does best,” he declares. “When you're really comfortable with your vocal phrasing, you develop more authority, and your vocals become more believable – which for me is the ultimate goal when I sing.”
Al Basile’s previous album releases have consistently made the top 20 on the Living Blues charts. He’s been nominated seven times for a BMA as Best Horn Player, and his 2016 release, Mid-Century Modern, was nominated as Best Contemporary Blues Album. His songs have been covered by Ruth Brown, Johnny Rawls, and the Knickerbocker All Stars. Guests on his own releases have included the Blind Boys of Alabama, Sista Monica Parker, Sugar Ray Norcia, Jerry Portnoy, and jazz great Scott Hamilton.
Celebrated for his mastery of lyric writing as well as music, Al's skill with words extends to his other career as a poet: he is published regularly in leading journals, has won prizes, and has two books in print collecting his work from the Seventies until the present day. For the last two years he has taught lyric writing, led panels, and performed at the West Chester Poetry Conference.
Born in Haverhill, Mass., on the north shore of Boston, Al was the first to receive a Master's degree from Brown University's writing program. He was the first trumpet player for Roomful of Blues in the mid-Seventies, and he's enjoyed a long relationship as a co-writer and sideman during Robillard's solo career since the Eighties, garnering credits as songwriter and trumpet player on a dozen of Duke's CDs and DVDs. In 1998, he released his first solo CD on his own Sweetspot label. He also taught English, music, and physics in a private Rhode Island high school for 25 years before devoting himself to music and poetry full time in 2005.
“I always like my songs, and the people I work with make sure I always sound my best on record,” he summarizes. “So far I haven't had any trouble coming up with a new batch of songs every year, and as every veteran knows, good times can come and go, so when you're on a streak – ride it!”

Crammerock belooft weer één groot feest te worden door de toevoeging van hiphopsensatie Uberdope, Gestapo Knallmuzik (dé revelatie van vorig jaar), StuBru Partysquad en DJ Yolotanker. Met deze vier nieuwe namen is de affiche van de 29ste editie van Crammerock compleet. In totaal komen er op vrijdag 6 en zaterdag 7 september 46 rock-, pop-, elektro- en hiphopacts naar Stekene. Wie wanneer speelt, staat nu online op de website van het festival: crammerock.be. Het festival is op het moment van schrijven bijna uitverkocht, op zo’n 400 vrijdagtickets na.

 
Crammerock vliegt er op vrijdag 6 september meteen in met Uberdope. Na drie jaar oorverdovende radiostilte zijn deze Gentse hiphoppers terug, en hoe? Dat komen ze met veel branie bewijzen als openingsact van Crammerock 2019. 

Op Crammerock-zaterdag is die eer weggelegd voor de prettig gestörde kornuiten van Gestapo Knallmuzik. Dit drietal zette vorig jaar Crammerock al compleet op zijn kop. Wie dit spektakel niet wil missen, wordt zaterdagmiddag al vroeg verwacht in de grote festivaltent langs de E34 in Stekene. 

Afsluiten doet Crammerock op beide dagen ook met een groot feest. Op vrijdag sluiten Craig David, Jonas Blue en Stijn Van de Voorde & Thibault Christaensen elk af op de drie festivalpodia. Op zaterdag mogen Goose, DJ Yolotanker en StuBru Partysquad het Crammerockfeest op een hoogtepunt afsluiten.  

 
Tijdschema en laatste ticketsWie wil weten wanneer bijvoorbeeld drum & bass-sensatie SaSaSas in de Club speelt, om hoe laat The Voice-ster Ibe staat te shinen en hoe laat Skin van Skunk Anansie het Crammerock-publiek kippenvel komt bezorgen, kan dit vanaf nu checken op crammerock.be. Daar staat het volledige tijdschema met alle 46 acts online, van Balthazar en Bazart tot Whispering Sons en Yung Mavu. 

Wie er het volledige weekend bij wil zijn, is eraan voor de moeite, want alle weekend- en zaterdagtickets zijn de deur uit. Maar wie nog op vrijdag 6 september wil komen, surft het best heel snel naar crammerock.be, waar de laatste 400 vrijdagtickets op het moment van schrijven de deur uitgaan en ook de laatste drankvouchers in voorverkoop te verkrijgen zijn.

 
Crammerock is een tweedaags, complexloos muziekfestival tijdens het eerste weekend van september in Stekene, tussen Antwerpen en Gent. Jaarlijks passeren bijna vijftig acts op de drie podia, die garant staan voor non-stop muziek uit alle genres. Dankzij een prachtig collectief aan vrijwilligers weet het festival zich te onderscheiden met lage ticketprijzen en een opvallend ongedwongen sfeer. De vorige editie klokte het festival af op 35.000 bezoekers. Door zijn impact op het milieu zoveel mogelijk te beperken won het festival al verschillende awards. 

Meer over Crammerock op crammerock.be. 

Another New Orleans musical icon has passed. Art “Poppa Funk” Neville died Monday, July 22nd, 2019 following several years of declining health.
“It was peaceful,” said Kent Sorrell, Neville’s longtime manager. “He passed away at home with his adoring wife Lorraine by his side. He toured the world how many times, but he always came home to Valence Street.”

Born Arthur Lanon Neville on December 17th, 1937, Art grew up on the doo-wop and R&B sounds of artists such as Professor Longhair, The Drifters, Fats Domino, and Booker T. Jones. He started on piano and began performing with his brothers at an early age.
While still in high school he joined The Hawketts, later becoming the band’s leader. In 1954 he had his first hit when The Hawketts released the Carnival Anthem “Mardi Gras Mambo” with Neville on vocals.


Neville served in the US Navy from 1958 to 1962 and upon his discharge returned to the music scene. In the early 60s he formed a band called Neville Sounds. The band included his brothers Aaron and Cyril Neville, along with George Porter, Leo Nocentelli, and Ziggy Modeliste. Shortly after, Aaron and Cyril left the group to form their own band. Over time the band’s style came to represent New Orleans funk, and in the late 60s changed their name to The Meters. The Meters had a lasting impression on artists such as The Rolling Stones, and influenced later jam bands including Phish, and the Red Hot Chili Peppers.
After disbanding The Meters, Art, Aaron, Cyril and Charles Neville founded The Neville Brothers in 1978. They had actually come together a couple years previously to work on the album, The Wild Tchoupitoulas, a tribute to the Mardi Gras Indian group led by the Nevilles’ uncle, George Landry (“Big Chief Jolly”).
The Neville Brothers released 10 studio albums and 4 live albums between 1978 and 2004, winning a Grammy Award for Best Pop Instrumental Performance for the song, “Healing Chant,” which was on the band’s 1989 album, Yellow Moon. Art Neville won a second Grammy, along with various artists, in 1996 for his contribution to “SRV Shuffle,” a tribute to Stevie Ray Vaughan.
Neville continued to perform with The Neville Brothers, The Funky Meters and in reunions with The Meters until his retirement on December 19th 2018. His retirement date also marked the 100th anniversary of the birth of legendary New Orleans piano player Professor Longhair.
During his six decades in music, Neville also contributed to the music of many other notable artists including Paul McCartney, Robert Palmer, Dr. John, Professor Longhair, and Labelle (“Lady Marmalade”).
​
Art Neville was preceded in death by his brother Charles Neville in 2018.

De organisatoren van het Tiense stadsfestival Suikerrock, dat het komende weekend van vrijdag tot en met zondag plaatsvindt, hebben extra maatregelen gepland om de festivalgangers te beschermen tegen de ongunstige weersomstandigheden. Voor vrijdag worden temperaturen voorspeld tot 38° terwijl op zaterdag en zondag regen en kans op onweer in het vooruitzicht gesteld wordt.
"We gaan in de eerste plaats extra sensibiliseren en de festivalgangers oproepen veel te drinken, voldoende zonnecrème te smeren en de verkoeling op te zoeken. Wat dat laatste betreft hebben wij als stadsfestival veel mogelijkheden. Zo is er vlakbij de Grote Markt, waar het hoofdpodium staat, een stadspark en staan er in omliggende straten, die tot het festivalcircuit behoren, drinkwaterfonteinen opgesteld. Daarnaast zullen we indien nodig zeker voor festivalgangers die zich vooraan bevinden aan waterbedeling doen", aldus organisator Walter Kestens.

De organisatoren zijn zich ook zeer bewust van de risico's op een onweer op zaterdag en zondag. In 2013 werd het festival al eens geconfronteerd met een zware storm, waardoor Sting zijn optreden vroegtijdig moest stopzetten. "Al het materiaal zal nog eens extra gecheckt worden", zegt Kestens. "Alles wordt natuurlijk ook besproken met de hulp- en veiligheidsdiensten. Onze weerman is overigens nu al permanent actief om de weersvoorspellingen te monitoren. Het dient gezegd dat die nog voortdurend veranderen."

Suikerrock opent op 26 juli met concerten van Arsenal, Bazart, Tourist LeMC, Tom Odell, Emma Bale en Yves Paquet. Een dag later is het de beurt aan headliners Goose, Zwangere Guy, SONS, Black Leather Jacket en MEDS met de dj's Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike als afsluiters. Op de slotdag is het de beurt aan Marco Borsato, Niels Destadsbader, Nielson, Slongs, Rob De Nijs en Metejoor. De ticketverkoop verloopt volgens Kestens zeer vlot. 

Platenlabel Eye Records moet de erfgenamen van Prince 7 miljoen dollar (6,2 miljoen euro) betalen, zo heeft de rechter bepaald. Eye Records werd door de erfgenamen aangeklaagd wegens het illegaal uitbrengen van achttien compilatiealbums van de zanger.
Naast het betalen van het bedrag moet het platenlabel ook alle illegale Prince-nummers van zijn website verwijderen, meldt TMZ.
De erfgenamen van de Amerikaanse zanger spanden in augustus 2018 een rechtszaak tegen Eye Records aan wegens het uitbrengen van achttien compilatiealbums van Prince, inclusief live-optredens en niet eerder uitgebrachte nummers.
De platenmaatschappij deed dit zonder in het bezit te zijn van de rechten van de muziek. Voor het verkopen van de muziek gebruikte het platenlabel de website Newlovesigne.com, die ondertussen offline is gehaald.
Op 21 juni van dit jaar kwam Originals uit, het laatste album van Prince. Op het album staan veertien nog niet eerder verschenen nummers. De artiest overleed in 2016 aan de gevolgen van een overdosis van de pijnstiller fentanyl.

​R.I.P. Lenny Pakula (1945-2019)

Lenny was a keyboardist and arranger, most notably for Philadelphia International Records in the early and mid 1970s.

Among the artists he worked with included The Sweet Inspirations, Wilson Pickett, Dee Dee Sharp, Barbara Mason, The Delfonics, The Intruders, Billy Paul, The Stylistics, Laura Nyro & LaBelle, The O'Jays, The Manhattans, Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes, MFSB, The Three Degrees, Joe Simon, Jackie Moore, The Trammps, Lou Rawls, Teddy Pendergrass, Patti LaBelle and Jerry Butler.

VOCTAVE
Featuring 11 of the hottest vocalists 

The movie A BEAUTIFUL DAY IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD with Tom Hanks is set to release this Thanksgiving

VOCTAVE named Artists in Residence at Rollins College

A bonus track of “Won’t You Be My Neighbor” from Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood. Voctave was recently named Artists-In-Residence at Rollins College where Fred Rogers was an alumnus. The college still shares very close ties with the Rogers family and the group considers this a great honor and was thrilled to include this wonderful song on this project.
 
Voctave is an 11-member a cappella group from the Central Florida area. Formed in the winter of 2015 by producer and arranger Jamey Ray, the voices that bring their artistic arrangements to life represent a wealth of diverse backgrounds and musical experiences. Group members have professional roots with Walt Disney World entertainment, but their range does not stop there. From gospel music to musical theater, contemporary Christian to barbershop, pop music to choral specialists, Voctave voices have covered it all both in and out of the a cappella realm. Members of Voctave have performed all over the world and can be heard on countless recordings. The group has performed with Grammy, Dove and American Music Award winners. With multiple #1 songs and albums on iTunes, Amazon and Spotify, Voctave has also ranked in the top 25 on Billboard Magazine’s charts.Voctave has received more than 130 million views on their videos. Voctave’s albums are digitally available on all platforms.

Voctave has released a new album full of jazz standards. This album was arranged by Jamey Ray and inspired by his love for vocal jazz music. The group has been inspired by groups such as The Swingle Singers, Manhattan Transfer, The New York Voices, Singers Unlimited and The Real Group. This album takes songs from the Great American Songbook and adds the style, warmth and breadth of sound that has made Voctave popular. The album has some very recognizable titles as well as some less known songs, together creating a beautiful package for the listener who wants to experience something new as well as revel in the nostalgia of this beautiful music. The album also holds a bonus track of “Won’t You Be My Neighbor” from Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood. Voctave was recently named Artists-In-Residence at Rollins College where Fred Rogers was an alumnus. The college still shares very close ties with the Rogers family and the group considers this a great honor and was thrilled to include this wonderful song on this project.

Voctave members – (pronounced: vahk-tiv)
Kate Lott
Tiffany Coburn
Ashley Espinoza
Sarah Whittemore (pronounced: wit-uh-more)
Chrystal Johnson
EJ Cardona
Tony De Rosa
Jamey Ray
Kurt von Schmittou (pronounced: schmit-oh)
J.C. Fullerton
Karl Hudson

TRACKS AND TIMES:
1. Orange Colored Sky 2:38
2. Somewhere Over the Rainbow 3:00
3. I’ll Be Seeing You 3:30
4. Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah 1:59
5. Moon River 3:35
6. Andrews Sisters Medley 3:32
7. The Summer Knows 2:37
8. On the Sunny Side of the Street/Give Me the Simple Life 2:39
9. Smoke Gets in Your Eyes 3:54
10. My Funny Valentine 3:39
11. Tribute to Ella Fitzgerald 3:30
12. Smile 2:14
13. Won’t You Be My Neighbor 1:27

New album, White Flag, will be released on August 23rd with Napalm Records!
​

August 23rd will see the Dutch alternative rock outfit Nemesea return with their forthcoming studio album, White Flag, on Napalm Records. Combining finest rock licks with modern metal riffs and electronica to stir up a dark and strangely addictive brew – Nemesea have fine-tuned the musical combination to perfection on their fifth album. The riff and groove section behind Sanne Mieloos outstanding vocals, delivers several surefire hits up its sleeve and it's impossible to not be enthralled by the all-encompassing balance between driving rock and soothing ballads. White Flag offers intense and soulful alternative rock complete with a subtle breath of goth and loudly demands the attention the band undoubtedly deserves. This album is an addictive gem, that not only belongs in every well-sorted rock record collection, but that reveals its many-splendored colors more and more each time you press play!
Today, Nemesea are sharing with us a lyric video for the hard-hitting track 'Fools Gold'! Watch the band's new clip HERE!
​

Just recently, Nemesea premiered a first single to the track Kids with Guns, listen to it HERE!
White Flag is available to pre-order via the Napalm Records store through this location: https://smarturl.it/Nemesea-WhiteFlag 
 
Nemesea is:
Sanne Mieloo – Vocals
HJ – Guitars/Vocals
Sonny Onderwater – Bass
Steven Bouma – Drums
Mathijs van Til – Keys



For More Info Visit:
www.facebook.com/nemeseaofficial
www.nemesea.com
www.instagram.com/nemeseaofficial
www.napalmrecords.com

​We're looking for actors to play Young Aretha Franklin for the upcoming feature film, Respect! See flyer for details and submission instructions.

​with Special Guest - Jeff “T-Bone” Gerard

The music centers on work by the masters:
MILES DAVIS, JOHN COLTRANE, THELONIOUS MONK, ANTONIO CARLOS JOBIM and BOB MINTZER.
 
This recording is the band’s 6th album for Flying Horse Records and our first studio collaboration with the UCF Studio Orchestra. Jeff “T-Bone” Gerard (from our previous release Into the Mystic) returns for a beautiful rendering of John Lennon’s “Imagine.”

Swing and rousing solos are present on this eclectic set of tunes. The students from UCF’s Jazz Studies program shine on this recording which also features a cameo by The Jazz Professors on “’Round Midnight.”
 
THE FLYING HORSE BIG BAND
Jeff Rupert, director

SAXOPHONE
Saul Dautch
Declan Ward
Dylan Hannan
Andy Garcia
Kristian Rey

TRUMPET
Marco Rivera
Matt Pieper
Courtland
Beyer
Randy Le

TROMBONE
Jeremiah St. John
Christian Herrera
Garrett Gauvin
Matt Kerr

RHYTHM SECTION
Mikal Mancini
Zach Greene
Chris Medina
Devon Costanza

SPECIAL GUEST PERFORMERS
UCF Studio Orchestra – Chung Park, conductor
Jeff “T-Bone” Gerard
The Jazz Professors – Jeff Rupert, Per Danielsson,
Richard Drexler, Bobby Koelble, Marty Morell

SONGS
1. The Serpent’s Tooth 6:08
2. Vierd Blues 4:14
3. Água de Beber 5:29
4. Trinkle Tinkle 6:41
5. ‘Round Midnight 4:48
6. Good News 5:04
7. Imagine (Radio Mix) 4:55
8. Blue Steps 5:35
9. Imagine (Extended) 6:23

SOLOS
Saul Dautch, alto sax: track 3, baritone: tracks 1, 4, 8
Dylan Hannan, tenor sax: tracks 6, 8
Jeremiah St. John, trombone: tracks 1 (first), 3, 4 (first), 8
Christian Herrera, trombone: tracks 1 (second), 2, 4 (second)
Chris Medina, guitar: track 2
Per Danielsson, piano: track 8

​Beth Hart will be releasing her brand new studio album War In My Mind on 27th September via Provogue. Produced by Rob Cavallo (Green Day, My Chemical Romance, Dave Matthews Band, Goo Goo Dolls) it sees Hart at the peak of her creative powers.

​Beth Hart is as real as it gets. In a music industry full of glossy production and airbrushed photoshoots, this is one artist who throws down her cards, shares her darkest secrets and invites you to join her for the ride. "More than any record I've ever made, I'm more open to being myself on these songs," Beth explains. "I've come a long way with healing, and I'm comfortable with my darknesses, weirdnesses and things that I'm ashamed of – as well as all the things that make me feel good."

The success of 2016's Fire On The Floor album has garnered yet more critical acclaim, growing sales and sold-out shows at iconic venues from the Ryman Auditorium to the Royal Albert Hall (scene of last year's triumphant live DVD). But as the singer reminds us, her life has always moved in cycles – "things get good then go to crap, get good then go to crap" – and it's in these extremes that many of her best songs are born. "On this album, I'm even closer to vulnerability and openness about my life, about love, addiction, my bipolar, my dad, my sister..."

War In My Mind also wraps up a frustrating strand of unfinished business for Beth. Back in 2003, the heavyweight producer Rob Cavallo (Green Day, My Chemical Romance, Dave Matthews Band, Goo Goo Dolls) was in the frame to mix the singer's Leave The Light On album. "But the producer I was with at the time," recounts Beth, "went ahead without my approval, turned the mix in to Rob – and he passed." Fast-forward 15 years, and at a chance dinner party attended by Cavallo, fate intervened. The host encouraged Beth to play one of her new songs. “After I'd played them,”  she remembers, “Rob came up and said, 'You've grown a lot as a songwriter – and I want to record these songs with you'. And he turned out to be one of the coolest people that I've ever worked with."

The sleeve shot of Beth pounding a piano below her own personal stormcloud is a fitting representation of new material that hits like a force of nature. It opens with the anti-love song Bad Woman Blues. "It's about a woman who doesn't have any interest whatsoever in being good, because she knows she's not. But instead of hating herself for it, she's very clear with the man. Like, 'Baby, I'm an asshole and a frickin' witch, but you are gonna have fun with me'."

A stately piano ballad that swells to an epic anthem, the title track explores the addiction-troubled years when Beth felt she couldn't go on, Let It Grow is so emotionally honest that its mere mention brings Beth to the brink of tears. "That song is just about having so much hope in the face of being hopeless.” The hedonistic groove of Try A Little Harder evokes the tumbling dice of the Vegas Strip. "It's me jumping into my father's body back in the '70s when he was a high-roller," she explains. "So I'm using his mania for being a baccarat player and my mania for making music. My father and I are so much alike, it's ridiculous. That song makes me feel confident, happy, and more forgiving of my bipolar disorder."

Having followed the fascinating career of Beth Hart for a quarter-century, we've learned not to rule anything out – so long as it's real. And now, with War In My Mind, this songwriter has made a record that bares her soul, wears her heart on her sleeve, and makes no apology for it. "Y'know," she concludes, "when we did the photoshoot for this new album, it was the first time that I said, 'No makeup and no airbrushing'. It was the first time that hearing my voice back didn't make me sick. It was just neat to be 47 and not trying to be young, and competitive, and all of these things that I've always felt like I'm supposed to be. On this record, something told me, just let it be what it is, man. I think I'm starting to make a little headway, getting closer to the truth. And I might not know what the truth is... but I'm OK with that."

​Full European Tour Dates - 2019
 
20 Jul – Blues Peer, Peer, BELGIUM
21 Jul – Ramblin’ Man Fair, Maidstone, UK
24 Jul – Ladies Jazz Festival, Gdyina, POLAND
27 Jul – Green Escape Festival, Craponne-sur-arzon, FRANCE
28 Jul – Jazz In Marciac, Marciac, FRANCE
24 Nov – Aarhus Musikhuest, Arhus, DENMARK
26 Nov – Amager Bio, Copenhagen, DENMARK
29 Nov – AFAS Live – Solo , Amsterdam Zuidoost, NETHERLANDS
30 Nov – AFAS Live, Amsterdam Zuidoost, NETHERLANDS
02 Dec – Theatre Du Lemon, Geneve, SWITZERLAND
04 Dec – Volkshaus, Zurich, SWITZERLAND
06 Dec – Forum Karlin, Prague, SZECH REPUBLICH
08 Dec – National Palace of Arts, Kiev, UKRAINE
10 Dec – Arena Aemeec Sofia, Sofia, BULGARIA

​Op 6 september komt het nieuwe album van Iggy Pop uit: Free. Luister hier naar de titeltrack.  

Free is de opvolger van succesplaat Post Pop Depression uit 2016, maar heeft nagenoeg niets gemeenschappelijk met dat album.  En eigenlijk zijn er ook niet echt raakvlakken met de rest van Iggy’s indrukwekkende oeuvre.  

Iggy Pop en de 2 voornaamste muzikanten, Leron Thomas en Noveller, creëerden een somber en beschouwend stuk. 
Iggy Pop:  “This is an album in which other artists speak for me, but I lend my voice… 
 
By the end of the tours following Post Pop Depression, I felt sure that I had rid myself of the problem of chronic insecurity that had dogged my life and career for too long. 

 
But I also felt drained. And I felt like I wanted to put on shades, turn my back, and walk away. I wanted to be free. I know that’s an illusion, and that freedom is only something you feel, but I have lived my life thus far in the belief that that feeling is all that is worth pursuing; all that you need – not happiness or love necessarily, but the feeling of being free. 
 
So this album just kind of happened to me, and I let it happen.”

ROME, ITALY (18 July 2019): When asking electronic jazz recording artist Paolo Rustichelli about his new single, “Hypnofunk,” which goes for playlist adds on Monday, the eclectic artist’s hodgepodge response careens from celebrating 70s funk and early 80s sounds to UFOs to his pioneering use of keyboard technology and computer plug-ins that enable him to be a “genuine solo artist” and concludes with a story about dining with legendary Italian film director Federico Fellini.
 
An Italy-based composer, pianist, keyboardist, singer and producer, Rustichelli’s latest music offering is a spacy, melody rich and funky trip, an unconventional flight of keyboard harmonies that jet in, out and in between techy hip hop beats and imaginative synth passages. Accompanying the single is the vivid video he crafted (http://bit.ly/2YWHZWK).  
 
“The song ‘Hypnofunk’ is meant to be a celebration of the psychedelic era of the late 70s and the funk years of the 80s. In fact, there are typical synths sounds of that time along with a modern hip-hop rhythmic drum base. The colorful minimalist video salutes late 70s elements, ranging from psychedelia, Graeco-Roman symbols and includes some UFO images. UFOs are being seen more and more in our friendly skies lately,” said Rustichelli.           
“Hypnofunk” offers a preview of Rustichelli’s forthcoming album, “Tempus Fugit,” that is slated to drop in March 2020. 
 
“The album title, ‘Tempus Fugit,’ comes from the ancient Latin term meaning time is running away from us. Time is running and we humans are inside this mechanism that we cannot escape, but music is capable of being eternal,” Rustichelli explained.
 
Rustichelli has created music alone ever since he began his career in the late 1970s as a 16-year-old prodigy playing progressive rock and writing film scores like his three-time Oscar-nominated father, Carlo Rustichelli. His approach comes from the belief that a solo artist expresses oneself individually, that a record made using other musicians, writers and producers is interpreted by others therefore making it a collaboration, not the true work of a solo artist.    
 
“I create a song from A to Z - from composition to production - all by myself, playing every instrument represented by a plug-in, which mimics the sound of real instruments or creates new sounds. I believe it is extremely important to give the public a genuine and sincere product that reflects the artist and their vision. Accordingly, my recordings can be considered genuine because I do everything myself without outside input. There are superstar ‘solo artists’ who are making ‘solo records’ with creative input from literally a hundred or more people. I cannot consider these works as genuine solo albums.” 
 
Rustichelli has always been on the forefront of innovation, pioneering the use of synths, Moog synthesizers, samplers and organs such as the ARP 2600, Mellotron, Fairlight CMI and Hammond C-3.  He was among the first to score a film entirely with synths. His 1995 debut album, “Mystic Jazz,” was seminal in the “chill” movement while two years later, the follow up, “Mystic Man,” was influential in progressive smooth jazz. The latter collection was a collaborative album featuring legends Miles Davis, Carlos Santana, Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter, Andy Summers and Jill Jones. “Mystic Man” spawned the Billboard No. 1 single “Paisa.” In 2002, Rustichelli produced a song, “Kyrie,” for Placido Domingo’s “Sacred Songs” album, a feat that required him to command a 250-piece orchestra. His first disc made entirely using plug-ins was 2006’s “Neopagan,” which found success with the single, “My Geisha.” Since then, Rustichelli has issued a series of singles and videos, including the top 10 “Soul Italiano” (2011) and “Med Groove,” which had lengthy runs atop the SmoothJazz.com and Amazon Top Sellers charts in 2014.      
 
That brings us to dinner with Fellini.
 
“When I was a kid, I went with my father and his friend, director Federico Fellini, to several of the best, lesser-known restaurants in Italy. They really liked the food because it was authentic, genuine and traditional. This impacted my entire life and how I approach my art. Genuine music cannot be manipulated like most music is today. To be real and  genuine musically, in my opinion, the artist needs to compose and play the music themselves. Like a good restaurant that has a few signature dishes and would become something entirely different if it took on a mass production mentality, the artist needs to express their music and vision singularly,” said Rustichelli. “I also clearly remember that the dinner ended with a discussion about UFOs. Fellini, who was a good illustrator, drew bizarre and funky alien faces on the restaurant’s paper napkins. They were hypnotic faces…or should I say ‘Hypnofunk’ faces.”
 
For additional information, please visit https://www.paolo.org.

With an ever-expanding global fan base of fans from 16 to 80 hinging on her every rhyme and clever twist of phrase, Rebecca “DawgGoneDavis”’ breakthrough success over the past 17 months has proven one thing – rap and hip-hop ain’t just for kids and hipsters anymore. 

Since her freewheeling, autobiographical “Middle Age Woman – Hip Hop Style” reached #1 on the influential EuroIndieMusic chart and hit the top spot in Europe, Asia (including Russia) and South America, she’s been on total worldwide fiya – as in “Butt on Fiya,” her second single, which found her mocking the breast cancer she beat and compensating for her removed mammaries with a genetically blessed rear end. 
 
Her offbeat yet “can’t stop listening if you tried” debut album Hot Dawgest Night includes these two tracks, along with six other smashes and the brand-new song “I Will Still Love You,” a clever and colorful ode to the music that captured her heart while playing basketball – from Smokey Robinson, Motown and Bobby Darin to The Crystals, Ronettes and Sex Pistols. The collection’s title blends her quirky stage name with her over the top appreciation for Neil Diamond, who also merits a mention (along with Elvis and the Black Eyed Peas) in “Middle Age Woman – Hip Hop Style.”  
 
With a unique, hilarious, erudite, self-effacing and no holds barred approach to baring her wild and crazy soul and whimsically sharing her truth, DawgGoneDavis has tackled a wide array of concepts in her lyrics. Her #14 smash “Forever Music” expresses her equal passion for the classical music her dad played (Mozart, Haydn, etc.) and the classic rock her siblings graced her with (Elvis, Three Dog Night, Warren Zevon). “Anthem Pandemonium,” which reached #4, shares her conviction that she will not be a novelty or flash in the pan. “Blast out of the bottle/Going full throttle,” the rapper’s ongoing creativity will ensure that she will keep blowing the minds of open-minded rap, hip-hop and pop fans worldwide, along with the excited college kids across America she’s already got in her pocket. 
 
As easy as you’ll find it to move on to the next track, DawgGone Davis has a lot in store for you as she gets on “Groovin’ At the Louvre” (#4), about a Kansas girl living it up on her first trip to Paris; parties with “beer, pizza, donuts, candy” and still feeling randy while singing the “Unemployment Blues” (#14); sings the trippiest, funkiest worship song you’ve ever heard (“I’m Here For Thee, #5); and taps into her social consciousness, urging “Let it Be Us” to “stabilize the needy.”   

Behind DawgGoneDavis’ silliness, wit, poignancy and Type-A personality is her secret musical weapon, French- based collaborator and renowned Euro producer and multi-instrumentalist, Helmut Wolf. Rebecca records her raps acapella at the “Audio Cave” studio in her hometown of Kansas City, then sends the .wav file off to Wolf to work his sonic magic – which includes anything from sensual, jazzy atmospheres and cool sax soloing, booming percussion and deep soul grooving. 
“I was born a goofy jokester,” says Rebecca, the youngest of five children who has an MBA and comes to her music career after years as a successful IT professional. “I would write funny holiday story poems for my family each year. I think the combination of being able to see something in my mind or zombies in the sky comes as a genetic gift. Dad was hilarious and mom is deep and practical. From her I got great empathy and real-life intuition. I’ve always hammed it up around my wonderful nieces and nephews, and live to make them laugh.”
​
The aesthetic of DawgGoneDavis’ music and lyrics is an extension of her three independently published books, whose titles include “Yo Hans! Sebastian’s Back” and “Intergalactic Hans So Low.” All proceeds from her book sales go to Operation Breakthrough’s neediest and most challenged babies and children. 
“In the late 2000s, when I began publishing my books,” she adds, “people started telling me I should put my fun and sad writings to music – and it’s so gratifying to see how it’s gone gangbusters. What inspired me to record these songs? Me being nuttier than a Payday bar, the knowledge and confidence that I have ‘it,’ I can do ‘it’ and am doing it with Jesus in the Pound, too.” 

​Nearly two years after Hurricane Maria devastated the U.S. territory of Puerto Rico and other surrounding islands, the news crews have long moved on but the humanitarian crises endure. The reality is sobering, with more officially reported deaths than 9/11, a tripling of attempted suicides and the closing of 283 schools just the start of the ongoing toll. Keenly aware of the depth of the tragedy and determined to let the citizens of Puerto Rico know folks on the mainland still have their backs, St. Louis based singer, entertainer and producer Willie J has joined forces with Aaron Emig, his partner at Pure Mission Entertainment, to create and release the powerhouse anthem “We Love You Puerto Rico.”
Written by Willie and produced by him and his crew The Music Doctorz in conjunction with Emig, the track – recorded in St. Louis and Los Angeles - features alternating rap and vocal sections with a handful of dynamic guest artists from Willie’s stable, including 4-time Olympic boxing champ turned vocalist Arthur “Flash” Johnson, Arthur’s wife LaTanya Johnson, singer Jade, rapper Jazzy (Willie’s 13 year old daughter) and L.A. based vocal powerhouse Crystal Haywood. 
Pure Mission Entertainment, whose founding philosophy is “Empowering People. Changing Lives. Creating Hope Through Arts and Entertainment,” is currently working on the production of an official video for “We Love You Puerto Rico” to raise funds for still struggling survivors of Maria. 
Key lines from the song convey an array of heartfelt, impactful and ultimately uplifting emotions: “We can feel your pain while you’re drowning in the rain,” “So hold your head up high up to the sky, though you wonder why it’s gone, be alright in the morning,” “When you can’t stand tall, just take my hand, together we can stand.” The infectious, singalong hook goes, “We love you, we love you Puerto Rico, hold on, We love you, we love you, just be strong, don’t you let go!”
The song’s initial inspiration came from the poignant, well-reported local St. Louis story of high school student Dante Sepulveda, a Maria survivor whose mother sent him from Puerto Rico to live with distant relatives in Collinsville, IL (outside of East St. Louis).  “I was introduced to Dante by a member of our church,” Aaron Emig says. 
“Long story short, he needed to graduate high school but the public school he had been attending since leaving Puerto Rico didn’t give him enough credits to graduate. The Bob Emig Foundation, which I founded in honor of my late father, paid for his tuition at the private Althoff Catholic High School, where he would earn enough to get his diploma. That day when I spoke to his mother Mabel, she said, ‘Thanks for taking care of my baby!’ At that moment, I replied, ‘We got your back, Puerto Rico.’ I called up Willie, told him the story and he took care of the rest.”
Willie J adds, “We had some meetings about it, and I and the Music Doctorz started writing started writing and putting together all these great artists to musically convey, on a global scale, exactly what Aaron told Dante’s mom – that we’ve got their back and won’t let them down. I wanted an anthem-like ‘We are the World’ type feel to it and picked the best artists I know and work with to create solo spotlights that would seamlessly come together and create an undeniable chemistry that would help get our message across. We need to help more Dantes, and with this song and Pure Mission Entertainment, we have the right platform to do it. Coincidentally, I happened to lose three dear family members and a rock artist I knew during the time we were working on this song, which led me to connect even deeper with what we were saying. It was a beacon of light and hope for me as well.”  
Willie J’s most recent singles success have been his hit single “Moving Up,” which climbed three global charts, two of which were spotlighted in the Top-20 DRT, peaking at #14; “Level Up,” which reached #7 on the DRT Independent chart; and “Sunshine with the Rain,” featuring Arthur “Flash” Johnson, that rose to #3 twice on the Euro Indie Top 200 chart. As with “We Love You Puerto Rico,” Willie J wrote “Sunshine with the Rain” in the hopes of empowering people and changing lives.”