Just got confirmation from Rajah about the show with Stanley Clarke’s new group SMV at The Country Club Hills Theater: It’s Saturday, June 20. The Country Club Hills Theater is a 5000 seat outdoor theater that has become a major venue for some of the best national R&B and Jazz tours. This summer’s schedule includes shows by Babyface, After 7, War and Lalah Hathaway, to name a few. I thought this would be the ideal time (and person) to launch a new series called “3Q” that will serve as a little introduction to some really good people to know about.
Always a good day when you hear some great news from an old friend. I heard from Reggie Rajah Helm, who fronts a driving, jazz influenced / R&B group as RAJAH, about a really high-profile show they've just been booked for in late June, which he won't let me release details of until the promoter has announced it. That should be soon --- stay tuned. The group is Rajah on Sax, Phil Seed on Guitar, John Owens on Bass, Derek Henderson on Drums, and Brandon McCune joining them on Piano.
It might be surprising for some to hear that a lot of the most talented musicians never really get around to writing, let alone releasing, their own music.
Why is that?
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Here's a new acoustic track by Sammy Tenuta, called "Somber the Fact". A few years ago, Sammy and Mario Licciardi were in a band called Wildwood, one of the best around. Just before all of the complications that catch up with bands caught up with Wildwood, they did get into the studio with producer Johnny Nevin to record a track called Live Life Right. It's a carefully-crafted, multi-colored jam that was one of the tracks from the Heart & Soul days that we went back and signed when we were starting the All Over The Place label.
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When in love, learn the language. In its new release Amparo, PowerPlay FYI taps its diverse roots and reveals a cross-cultural love story set amid the searing heat of Latin rhythms and lush sparkle of vocal harmonies. Will she say, "yes", or will she say, "si"?
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Cath brings her usual spellbinding touch to this mysterious love story, yet another gem from what Greg Kot of the Chicago Tribune called her 'shadowy corner of the adult-pop universe.' Nothing shadowy about this, though, 'The Gravity Within' is just a cool five minutes of beautiful writing, beautifully sung.
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Bill Hall grew up in the Ozarks, and if he hadn't spent so much time in the city, this song would probably sound more Country, like some of his others do. But this story about a young woman who just can't put up with any more of the trouble brings out Billy's tear-the-roof-off, never-stop-rockin' side.
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Cross By The Road brings Bill Hall back to his roots, small town roots outside of Springfield, Missouri, in a song about "riding down country roads" --- but this is a different kind of road song. The track is uptempo and hard-driving, which makes the simple, strong vocal just that much more compelling.
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Not The Last To Say Goodbye is bitterness set to music. It's an adventure, that's for sure -- an angry, understated backing track, a bitter, almost chaotic double guitar solo, and a strange lean outside of rock into something else. Not jazz. Not funk. Maybe just hard feelings.
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Who knows who Mrs. Sherri is --- some great composite of craziness from Chris Rozicki at his lyrical best. This track rolls along like a runaway train ride through somebody else's strange life, and the easy pulse of the Bitter Nature backing track makes it feel like a song somebody played all night long at a party you barely remember.
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Worth A Chance was originally released by Chris Rozicki's group Bitter Nature on the Heart & Soul label, and it's unquestionably one of Chris' masterpieces. Its straight-ahead rock rhythm track, balanced by the interweaving poetry of its brilliant vocal arrangement, show Chris at his always-honest best.
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Check out Ronnie Lee's old-fashioned song about two people who are both sorry that it's over. Less than three minutes long, it's like one of those classic old breakup songs somebody played on the juke box, maybe four or five times if they just went through it themselves.
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The chorus goes "Am I the only fool to live life right?" and the whole song is like that. Sammy's talking about really dealing with it, not just thinking about it, not just talking about it. This is a pushy alternative track, and for anyone who's had to deal with the cheaters and the liars, this is more than worth a listen.
