Dub Spencer & Trance Hill Tumultus II (2020)

A drifter comes to town where his brother is sheriff. His brother is actually a robber who broke the real sheriff's leg and left him for dead, and became sheriff in order to hide out. They team up against the local land baron who is trying to get rid of the Mormon settlers in a valley he wishes to own.

Spencer Cullum’s Coin Collection — homaging the ’60s and ‘70s folk-rock heroes of his homeland, finds Nashville sideman Spencer Cullum stepping from the shadows to spotlight.

Tropical Soldiers in Paradise is the special unit comprised of six musicians from different backgrounds who blend oldschool hip hop with jazz, dub, calypso and latino-african rhythms. This time you can expect a departure from the Mazovian valleys all the way to tropical paradise as the band builds their visions of distant places and, in a way, anchors it into a plotline. The first track sets the tone of the whole story and, at the same time, is an homage to Jerry Goldsmith’s soundtrack to “Chinatown” by Roman Polański - a movie that tells the tale of a theft of drinking water in drought stricken California.

We really love the music of Theo Hill more and more with each new record – and here, the pianist is working in a quartet with Joel Ross on vibe – a player who makes a perfect partner for his music! Both Hill and Ross have this open sense of sound and timing – often using the spaces between the notes as much as the notes themselves – even when things are moving at a more full-on level, which they do often – thanks to contributions from Rashaan Carter on bass and Mark Whitfield on drums! Yet it's the sonic interplay between the vibes and keys that really blow us away – maybe especially at the few points when Theo picks up Fender Rhodes, and balances out the record with even more warmth next to his acoustic tracks.

We really love the music of Theo Hill more and more with each new record – and here, the pianist is working in a quartet with Joel Ross on vibe – a player who makes a perfect partner for his music! Both Hill and Ross have this open sense of sound and timing – often using the spaces between the notes as much as the notes themselves – even when things are moving at a more full-on level, which they do often – thanks to contributions from Rashaan Carter on bass and Mark Whitfield on drums!