New Idea April 05, 2021

With signs of a resurgence of interest in big bands in the late 1950s, Maxwell Davis came up with the idea of producing a series of albums for Crown Records recorded in the finest stereophonic sound, in a tribute to such legendary bandleaders as Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Lionel Hampton, Woody Herman, Charlie Barnet and Stan Kenton, among others. For this purpose, he wrote all new arrangements and reimagined and conducted a number of tribute bands to perform the music with the signature spirit that made their original leaders famous. The personnel for each album consisted primarily of prominent members and soloists who performed with the original bands, with additional valuable contributions from some of the best jazz musicians working in the Hollywood and New York studios.

From Bad Time Records comes THE SHAPE OF SKA PUNK TO COME: VOLUME 1, featuring 12 brand new / unreleased tracks from some of ska punk's boldest and brightest.

Black Country, New Road return with the news that their second album, “Ants From Up There”, will land on February 4th on Ninja Tune. Following on almost exactly a year to the day from the release of their acclaimed debut “For the first time”, the band have harnessed the momentum from that record and run full pelt into their second, with “Ants From Up There” managing to strike a skilful balance between feeling like a bold stylistic overhaul of what came before, as well as a natural progression.

World-renowned jazz guitarist, singer and recent Grammy Award-winning producer John Pizzarelli takes on the songs of Pat Metheny in his new album “Better Days Ahead”. Having loved the recordings of the Pat Metheny Group since his teenage years, Pizzarelli welcomed the challenge of diving deep into Metheny’s cannon of dense, moving material and deconstructing Pat Metheny’s group arrangements on his seven-string guitar. “To say it was flattering to have John address these tunes is an understatement. I had no idea that it was all leading to this excellent solo guitar recording of my tunes” says Methany.

The legendary Richard Clapton returns to his roots for a collection of classic 60s songs, on his new album Music Is Love (1966 – 1970). Music Is Love includes covers of 15 iconic songs, including ‘Get Together’, ‘For What It’s Worth (Hey, What’s That Sound)’, and ‘Woodstock’.

United State Of Mind is a fantastic new album which brings together three very different UK music legends: Robin Trower, Maxi Priest and Livingstone Brown. Three artists with distinctive, trademark sounds and styles that dovetail and fuse to-gether, creating an excellent whole that's full of atmosphere, allure and a whole lotta soul. USM combines Marvin, R & B, Jimi tones and subtly funky blues to excellent effect' CLASSIC ROCK 'Soul drenched excellence' GET READY TO ROCK 'Elegant and soulful, yet gritty and danceable when called for, United State Of Mind is a collaboration built on mutual love and respect ' the heartfelt lyrics, the stunning call and response between Maxi's vocals and Robin's guitar, not to mention the additional flourishes brought to the table by Livingston Brown all serve to make this an absolute joy. Put simply, United State Of Mind is an inspirational offering.

In the harp world, few figures are better known than Carlos Salzedo; however, in the larger musical world, and even among classical music enthusiast, his biography and personality are not sufficiently discussed and appreciated. For this reason, this Da Vinci Classics album is a very welcome addition to the existing discography, and will enhance the fame of this great musician and pedagogue.

GENGHIS TRON make their return with their highly anticipated new album, Dream Weapon! The band’s first new studio outing in over a decade, GENGHIS TRON’s Hamilton Jordan and Michael Sochynsky are now joined by two new collaborators: vocalist Tony Wolski and Sumac/Baptists drummer Nick Yacyshyn. Together, the lineup perfects the unique mix of extreme rock and electronic music GENGHIS TRON has pioneered over their storied career. A melding of hypnotic rhythms and densely layered synth soundscapes, Dream Weapon was recorded and produced alongside long-time collaborator Kurt Ballou at God City Studio in Salem, Massachusetts, with additional production and engineering by Ben Chisolm (Chelsea Wolfe) and JJ Heath (Rain City Recorders).

A quick internet search brings up some extraordinary footage of Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry producing a session at the Black Ark. Taken from the film ‘Roots, Rock, Reggae’, directed by Jeremy Marre, the sequence shows Junior Murvin collaborating with members of the Congos and the Heptones on a song improvised on the spot for the film crew. Before the vocals are recorded, the Upsetters lay down the backing track. The musical director of the session is the afro-haired bass player, Boris Gardiner; unusually, it is he who counts in the band to start each take. After a long conversation with Boris a few years back, I asked Lee about his contribution to the Black Ark sound.