Gregory Porter, nominated for 2 SoulTracks awards (Best Indie Album and Best Male vocalist), has been receiving great praise for his accomplished debut album “Water”:

“Porter’s conviction and traditionalism cuts a retro figure, but also delivers another refreshing, contemporary male jazz voice worth savoring. (4 out of 5 stars)” — L Michael Gipson, Creative Loafing

“…an absolute showstopper of personalized soul…As an impressive, substantive vocalist…he’s right up there with Jose James as the next big male vocal jazz star.” Allmusic.com

“Porter may count (Nat King) Cole as his primary influence, but his vocals and his ability to spin a musical yarn call to mind…Joe Williams, Jon Hendricks, Lou Rawls and Kevin Mahogony.” — Soultracks.com

“…sheer genius…. quite possibly the year’s best jazz recording. Porter is one of the most inspiring jazz performers of the last decade. 5/5: Soulmattersmag.com

“Simply put, Gregory Porter may be our next great jazz singer.” — Straight No Chaser blog

“…one of the best artists in modern jazz today.” — Cashbox.com

More info on Gregory Porter

“Not since Zakir Hussain’s stint in Oregon has a percussionist sounded as commanding in both Indian classical tabla styles and straight-ahead swing drumming as Sameer Gupta does in his inventive quintet, Namaskar, in which he’s joined by sitar player Neel Murgai and pianist Marc Cary, among others..”  - Time Out New York

“…Mr. Gupta explores a personal fusion of modern jazz and ancient Indian music…“ - The New York Times

On Namaskar, acclaimed percussionist Sameer Gupta (Marc Cary, Wallace Roney, Vijay Iyer) combines well known compositions from the Indian Golden Era of Bollywood with North and South India Ragas, and modern American jazz in all its diversity, to craft an irresistibly beautiful artistic statement. Namaskar musically embodies the integrative spirit of our time. An original musical voice in jazz, world, and fusion music, Sameer Gupta is known as one of the few percussionists representing the traditions of American Jazz on drumset, and Indian Classical music on tabla. Namaskar features a cadre of highly celebrated musicians, including pianist Marc Cary, who adds an urban inflection with his vibrant acoustic piano and fender rhodes gliding effortlessly between jazz and Indian themes, and Anindo Chatterjee, who is widely considered to be one of the world’s greatest tabla masters.

Download a free MP3

More info on Sameer Gupta

From the Motéma blog:

Recorded live at Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola, The Storyteller features new arrangements of Weston classics and includes accompaniments by Alex Blake on bass, Lewis Nash on drums, Benny Powell on trombone, TK Blue on flute & saxophones, Neil Clarke on percussion, and music by the Jazz Heritage Orchestra of Cleveland State University.

Weston’s Motéma debut The Storyteller will be released in November, and coincides with the 50th Anniversary of Weston’s landmark 1960 recording, UHURU Afrika which helped introduce jazz to Africa, and African rhythms to jazz. Weston’s most recent accolades (of the scores) include a win in the Composer category in The annual Downbeat Critics’ Poll as well as being named to the Hall of Fame joining jazz legends and piers Thelonious Monk, Dizzy Gillespie and John Coltrane. He was also inducted into ASCAP’s “Jazz Wall of Fame” this year.

Read more about Randy Weston’s The Storyteller on the Motema blog.

Watch Motema’s Randy Weston video playlist

More details on Gregory are below and also available is a free mp3 download of “Pretty”

More info on Gregory Porter

Critically Acclaimed Vocalist Gregory Porter Releases Debut Album and Stars in “Low Down Dirty Blues” in Chicago from May 27 – July 3

With a voice that can caress or confront, embrace or exhort, Gregory Porter exhibits such an incredible degree of vocal mastery that no less a jazz luminary than Wynton Marsalis has gone on record to call him “a fantastic young singer,” which makes the fact that Water (out on May 11 from Motema Music) is his recording debut even more impressive.

A debut release it may be, yet Water flows with a sense of timelessness that reflects the seasoned talents of the giants of blues, gospel and soul that have influenced Porter throughout his career. Some of the singers that Porter cites as influential are familiar – Nat King Cole, Joe Williams and Donny Hathaway – and others – such as the pastor of the church he attended as a child among them – may never realize their impact on his development as an artist. While the work of singers such as Hathaway or Cole obviously helped to shape Porter’s vocal styling, his own world view, as evidenced in his seven original compositions and his striking interpretation of classic songs such as “But Beautiful” and “Skylark,” adds an emotional intensity that makes each of the CD’s eleven tracks speak so eloquently.

For the recording, Porter tapped a powerful cadre of strong players, among them the iconic alto sax player James Spaulding (Max Roach, Freddie Hubbard, and Bobby Hutcherson, et al) who plays a featured role on two tracks: “Wisdom” and “Black Nile.” The CD was produced by saxophonist, pianist and composer Kamau Kenyatta, who Porter refers to as his “best friend.”

In fact, it is Kenyatta who bears much of the responsibility for Porter’s career trajectory, which can be traced back to Porter’s early days singing in small jazz clubs in San Diego. He lived there while at San Diego State University which he attended on a football scholarship, as an outside linebacker, until a shoulder injury sidelined him permanently. Recognizing his talents, Kenyatta – along with saxophonist Daniel Jackson (Ray Charles, Buddy Rich, Art Farmer and more) – nurtured the burgeoning performer, and, as Porter says, “taught him what he needed to know.” Kenyatta invited Porter to visit him in the studio in Los Angeles, where he was producing the flutist Hubert Laws’ Remembers the Unforgettable Nat King Cole. Certainly Kenyatta was aware of Porter’s childhood infatuation with Cole’s music, and certainly he could hear the echoes of Cole’s mellow baritone in Porter’s own voice. What he could not have predicted was that when Laws heard Porter singing along when he was tracking the Charlie Chaplin-penned “Smile,” the flutist would be so impressed with the young singer that he would choose to include a ‘bonus’ track of Porter singing the song on the album.

Just as serendipitous was Laws’ sister, Eloise’s, presence that day in the studio. A highly respected singer and recording artist in her own right, Eloise was about to join the cast of a new musical theater work, “It Ain’t Nothin’ But the Blues.” Although he’d only had minimal theatrical experience to that point (in the Doo Wop musical “Avenue X”), Porter eventually was cast in one of eight lead roles when the play opened in Colorado at the Denver Center for the Performing Arts, and eventually followed it to Off-Broadway and then Broadway theater, where the NY Times, in its 1999 rave review, mentioned Porter among the show’s “powerhouse line up of singer.” “It Ain’t Nothin’ But the Blues” went on to earn both Tony and Drama Desk Award nominations that year.

Although he now says, “I never felt that my career was going to be strictly in the theater,” Porter’s success on stage with “It Ain’t Nothin’ But the Blues” paved the way for another theatrical outing and pairing with Eloise Laws. In his semi-autobiographical “Nat King Cole and Me,” he dramatically documented his childhood, which was marked by an absentee father and the joy and pain he heard when listening to his mother’s Nat King Cole records. Apparently, one day, when his mother heard her young son singing along, she remarked that he sounded like Cole. This led to a rich imaginary life where the young Porter actually believed that the legendary crooner was indeed his dad, and that the love songs Cole sang were secretly being sung to him. Porter’s moving “Nat King Cole & Me” ran for two very successful months at the Denver Center for the Performing Arts and has since travelled to Houston, TX (without Porter’s involvement.)

The intimacy of Porter’s “Nat King Cole and Me,” revealed a courageous thespian, who bravely shared his life story with his audience, so it’s hardly surprising that many of the songs on Water come also from an emotional place. The CD opens with the ruminative “Illusion,” an exquisite duet between Porter and pianist Chip Crawford, which the singer says was inspired by the pain that will accompany every relationship at one time or another. The song ends with Porter exhaling a quiet sigh – whether it’s one of resignation or acceptance depends, he says, on perspective. “Love makes us all crazy,” he says. “Pretty,” a soulful tribute to a woman from Porter’s past, is an understated ensemble piece that is bolstered by the alto sax work of Yoske Sato.

“I love coffee,” says Porter, “and ‘Magic Cup’ was written for a beautiful friend who works at my favorite coffee shop.” Percolating with a smooth energy heightened by frenetic sax breaks courtesy of Sato, the song is as rich as a morning cup of French roast. Porter’s effluent baritone does the Hoagie Carmichael/Johnny Mercer standard, “Skylark,” more than justice, while his rendition of Wayne Shorter’s “Black Nile” continues to emphasize the theme of water that runs throughout the CD and features veteran sax player James Spaulding.

Porter contributed the lyrics to “Wisdom,” the melody of which was written by one of his mentors, Daniel Jackson. Spaulding’s saxophone lends a haunting air to the song, which, Porter says in retrospect could very well be about post-Katrina New Orleans. Emphasizing his gospel roots with lyrics that echo the traditional biblical song “Wade in the Water,” Porter metaphorically positions water as an impediment, and wisdom as the means to overcome it. Water’s most overly political song is “1960 What?,” inspired in part by Kamau Kenyatta’s stories of life in Detroit and by the 1963 assassination of Martin Luther King, as well as by his own experiences growing up in Los Angeles.

“I’ve always loved ballads, and ‘But Beautiful’ is one of my favorites,” says Porter of the standard, on which his vocals and Chip Crawford’s piano share center stage. The mournful “Lonely One” paints a lyrical picture of a tragic love story, while the CD’s title track reiterates the artist’s use of water as metaphor for redemption, cleansing, history and survival. Water’s coda is a raw yet soulful Mahalia Jackson-influenced a cappella version of the classic “Feeling Good.”

Born in Los Angeles, raised in Bakersfield, and now living in the Bedford-Stuyvesant area of Brooklyn, Gregory Porter has made the world his musical home. A frequent guest performer with the Jazz at Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra, Porter also maintains a long-standing residency at Harlem’s venerable St. Nick’s Pub, and performs internationally. “I’ve been to Russia about 17 times,” says Porter. “I now can make a mean borscht.”

Immediately following the May 11 release of Water, Porter will once again return to the stage for a month long run at the Chicago area Northlight Theatre, starring in the world premier of “Low Down Dirty Blues” May 27 – July 3rd. Visit northlight.org for more information.

Free MP3 download of “Attachment”

More info on Marc Cary

“The FOCUS project is one that seeks to cross-pollinate.”
-The Boston Globe

“… the ‘most multi-dimensional’ keyboard player on the scene today…”
- Downbeat

Motéma Music presents MARC CARY FOCUS TRIO Live 2009

“If you ‘re going to learn jazz, you should have something to bring. Cats don’t think about bringing much, they just want to see what they can get from the music.
It’s a two way street.”
- Marc Cary

Hailed by Down Beat as one of the most, “multi-dimensional keyboard players on the scene today,” whose music reveals those multi-dimensions in sensual living color, Marc Cary’s continual search for his musical identity has brought him to all corners of the earth, quenching his thirst to bring forth indigenous musics in all of their forms.

His latest offering on this journey will embark on April 13th, as Motéma Music releases their third Cary project, Focus Trio Live 2009, the follow up to his earlier live release, Focus Live 2008. Recorded live at select festivals across Europe and the US , Focus Trio Live 2009 features Cary ‘s longstanding trio: on tabla and drums, Sameer Gupta and on bass, David Ewell, both of whom he met on the west coast. With inimitable style, Cary drives the trio towards hard-hitting turns, fusing together indigenous East Asian, Indian, African, and Native-American influences within the African-American blues and jazz traditions, as only a player with his undeniable talent can manage to do while simultaneously claiming new virtuosic territory.

The Boston Globe said of the group, “Marc Cary coming from a traditional jazz background lays the musical foundation, incorporating his Native American roots. However, Gupta and Ewell also season the sonic landscape with their Indian and Chinese roots. Gupta incorporates classical Indian rhythmic and melodic concepts. With David Ewell ‘ s bass playing you can hear tonal centers that are based around scales you may hear in traditional Chinese music. The FOCUS project is one that seeks to cross-pollinate.”

A member of the High Integrity Band and later connected with Let Um Play and the Frontline Jazz Ensemble, Cary was among the pioneers of Washington, D.C.’s infamous “GO-GO” rhythms that defined that musical scene and are continuously being referenced in hip-hop and jazz. His family carries a musical tradition: his great-grandmother played piano at local movie houses, her partner was Eubie Blake; his mother is a visual artist and father played trumpet. By 18, he found himself playing with the Dizzy Gillespie Youth Ensemble at Wolf Trap. He has earned four Grammy® nominations for his ensemble work, most recently in 2009 for “Best Contemporary Jazz Album” as a participant in Stefon Harris ‘ s Blackout. His production work on Q-Tip ‘ s The Renaissance helped earn that disc a nomination for “Best Rap Album” of 2009. Cary’s seminal masterwork, Rhodes Ahead Vol 1., released in 2000 and considered by many to be a classic, earned him the first Annual Billboard/BET “Best New Jazz Artist Award.” His collaborations in all musical genres across the board include work with Meshell Ndegeocello, Dizzy Gillespie, Betty Carter, Arthur Taylor, Abbey Lincoln, Erykah Badu, Max Roach, Shirley Horn, Ani DiFranco, Wynton Marsalis and Roy Hargrove, among others.

Now, with Focus Trio Live 2009, Cary returns to a live acoustic setting to showcase a collection of both standards and original compositions – 11 incendiary tracks, 10 of which Cary has never recorded. “Minor March,” a Jackie McLean tune originally featured on Focus 2008, is taken to new synergistic heights here.

Cary’s series of recordings for the Motéma label began with his label debut, Focus (2006) and continued with the digital release of Focus Trio Live 2008 (digitally co-released in 2009 with Marc’s ‘Caryout Productions).  In 2011 Cary will return with a studio project expected to be recorded in Summer/Fall of 2010.  In addition, there are two other exciting Cary Out projects in the works: Cary Out Productions is planning a collaboration with Motéma to begin a new digital series, where Marc will release a brand new single every month on the Motéma website – each single exploring the various areas of interest in Cary ’s musical journey. The first single will be a brand new GO-GO track, release date tentatively slated for August.  In addition, coming this Fall, is an Indian music focused project entitled Namaskar, that is co-produced by Marc with his Focus Trio partner, Sameer Gupta, and reveals yet another facet of Marc’s multi-dimensions.

Ithamara Koorax to Release Bim Bom – The Complete Joao Gilberto Songbook Celebrating 50 Years of Joao Gilberto
Acclaimed Brazilian Vocalist Pays Tribute to Gilberto’s Prodigious Talents as a Composer on Motema’s Second “Jazz Therapy” Release

While 2008 marked the “official” 50th anniversary of the bossa nova–a style first recorded in Brazil by guitarist Joao Gilberto on the 1958 song “Chega de Saudade” (No More Blues)–2009 marks yet another key anniversary: the 50th anniversary of the release of Gilberto’s genre defining debut LP, also titled Chega de Saudade, with which he widely popularized and in many ways epitomized the emerging bossa style with his distinctive guitar styling, soft, almost whispered vocals and enchanting compositions.

In honor of this great master, Brazilian vocalist Ithamara Koorax, in collaboration with top contemporary Brazilian guitarist Juarez Moreira, has recorded Bim Bom – The Complete Joao Gilberto Songbook, which will be released on Motema Music on October 13th. Although Gilberto has been amply praised as a “legendary vocalist” and as the innovative guitarist who invented bossa nova, his contributions as a composer are often overlooked. With this tribute, Koorax and Moreira make clear that songwriting is indeed a valuable part of Gilberto’s legacy.

The CD features, for the first time ever, all of Gilberto’s compositions on a single disc. Koorax, who has consistently been named among the Top Female Vocalists in DownBeat’s Readers’ Poll, is formidable in partnership with Moreira, who is revered as a top Brazilian guitar master, and has worked with such legends as Milton Nascimento, Claudio Roditi, and Toninho Horta. Together they perform twelve tracks, distinguished by a graceful simplicity and a remarkable rapport that showcases both artists while elucidating Gilberto’s brilliance as a composer.

The CD is also notable as the second release in Motema’s “Jazz Therapy” series, benefitting the Dizzy Gillespie Memorial Fund of Englewood Hospital and Medical Center which partners with The Jazz Foundation of America to provide free medical care and screenings to musicians in need. Jazz Therapy (Volume I): Smile featured duo guitar masters Roni-Ben Hur and Gene Bertoncini, who launched the series in November 2008 to great critical and public acclaim, and sparked a Wall Street Journal feature on Englewood Hospital’s extraordinary program.

Bim Bom is the 12th solo release in Ithamara Koorax’s remarkable career. Well known in her native Brazil as a jazz-pop singer, she made her American recording debut in 2000 with Serenade in Blue. In the nine years since its release, she has received numerous accolades for her work. “Koorax is delightfully unpredictable in her music… embracing virtuosity, astonishing range, and volcanic vocalese,” read DownBeat’s review of her 2006 release, Brazilian Butterfly. DownBeat’s readers have supported her rise to the top of the magazine’s annual Readers’ Poll in the “Best Female Vocalist” category: she entered at #10 in 2000, and, most recently, was voted #3 in 2008 (topped only by Diana Krall and Cassandra Wilson).

Koorax has recorded with such great musicians as Antonio Carlos Jobim, Luiz Bonfa, Ron Carter, Larry Coryell, Sadao Watanabe, Gonzalo Rubalcaba, Jay Berliner, Caetano Veloso, Joao Donato and many others.

Bim Bom producer Arnaldo de Souteiro has been a close associate of the reclusive Gilberto since 1979. He produced the tribute with a meticulous eye in regard to tempos and keys, in homage to the composer, while allowing Koorax and Moreira the space to create an intimate, improvisational “live in the studio” performance.

Ample notes that accompany the CD feature interesting comments about each composition. Gilberto has never before published a songbook, so the CD also serves as an excellent resource for guitarists seeking to master his material. “Although some of the songs may seem very simple,” explains Moreira, “it’s a false impression. They demand a lot of technique. That’s the main ingredient of Gilberto’s magic: to make very difficult and intricate things seem so easy and sound so natural.”

Koorax has her own special relationship with the music. “I don’t think of Bim Bom as just one more album in my career,” says Koorax. “I have always loved Joao Gilberto, and grew up listening to his recordings.”

“Gilberto continues his perpetual evolution to this very day,” she adds. “Every time he plays one of the songs that he has been playing for fifty years, he does so by employing new syncopations and new phrasings. Furthermore, everything he plays becomes bossa nova. That is why we can say that the bossa nova is Joao Gilberto, yet Joao Gilberto is bossa nova and much more.”

more info:
http://motema.com/artist/ithamara-koorax-juarez-moreira