Mason Hammond

Ever since the birth of jazz, the music has never stood still. Instead, it’s been constantly evolving. That was the case in the early seventies. By the early seventies, jazz had to evolve to survive. Jazz’s popularity had been surpassed by soul music. Even soul jazz which had proved popular during the sixties, was losing popularity. So, what was needed was change. Bringing about this change, were some of the most innovative and pioneering jazz musicians of the time. This included Herbie Hancock, Charles Earland, Ramsey Lewis, Lonnie Liston Smith, Harvey Mason and Freddie Hubbard. These musicians were responsible for jazz funk, which was seen as not just the future of the jazz, but its savior. By taking soul jazz and adding a sprinkling of funk, a new musical genre was born…jazz funk.

Vibhuti is an emotionally concentrated yet musically roving document of spiritual awakening by Sis, the recording project of Jenny Gillespie Mason. A series of healing dreams led her to want to create music that could be the expression of her own “vibhuti,” the Sanskrit term for the divine spirit in the human body. The result is an album that merges spiritual life with a constant, restless search for the new in one’s music.

Vibhuti is an emotionally concentrated yet musically roving document of spiritual awakening by Sis, the recording project of Jenny Gillespie Mason. A series of healing dreams led her to want to create music that could be the expression of her own “vibhuti,” the Sanskrit term for the divine spirit in the human body. The result is an album that merges spiritual life with a constant, restless search for the new in one’s music.

"The Endless River" has as its starting point the music that came from the 1993 "Division Bell" sessions, when David Gilmour, Rick Wright and Nick Mason played freely together at Britannia Row and Astoria studios. This was the first time they had done so since the "Wish You Were Here" sessions in the seventies. Those sessions resulted in "The Division Bell", the band’s last studio album.

"The Endless River" has as its starting point the music that came from the 1993 "Division Bell" sessions, when David Gilmour, Rick Wright and Nick Mason played freely together at Britannia Row and Astoria studios. This was the first time they had done so since the "Wish You Were Here" sessions in the seventies. Those sessions resulted in "The Division Bell", the band’s last studio album.

Trumpet-organ-guitar-drums quartets are not too common, but after hearing this excellent CD, one wonders why. Kevin Dean is a superior hard bop trumpeter with an appealing sound and a melodic and swinging style. Organist Hank Marr has built his approach out of that of Jimmy Smith, guitarist Greg Clayton is excellent whether soloing or playing rhythm, and drummer Jim Rupp is solid in support. The musicians groove together quite well on a variety of standards.The result is an infectious and swinging set. ~ Scott Yanow

3 BEAT is the 4th solo album from producer Chris Wells. Recorded at Realworld Studios in April 2015 it features the talents of Memphis blues keyboardist Charlie Wood, a long time collaborator and close friend, who shapes the album through his mastery of acoustic & electric pianos and his signature Hammond B3 organ. 'From the outset with this project I very much wanted to produce a record that had been recorded in 'the old way', by which I mean that everyone would be playing together, in the same room at the same time, with all that that entails in terms of energy and spontaneity.