NEXT Collective: Chris Dunn (Producer)
Leading up to the February 26th release of ‘Cover Art,’ we are bringing you interviews with the musicians and previews of the songs each one arranged for the record. Our last interview is with Chris Dunn, Senior A&R at Concord Records and Producer of the NEXT Collective.
NEXT Collective: Christian “aTunde Adjuah” Scott (Trumpet)
Leading up to the February 26th release of ‘Cover Art,’ we will be bringing you interviews with the musicians and previews of the songs each one arranged for the record, so check back with us often! Christian Scott brought one of the heaviest tunes to ‘Cover Art’ in arranging “No Church In The Wild” off of Jay-Z & Kanye’s ‘Watch the Throne.’ As a special guest and “quasi-producer,” Scott brought us some insight and storytelling from the process in a style very much his own. Check out what he had to say.
NEXT Collective: Matt Stevens (Guitar)
Leading up to the February 26th release of ‘Cover Art,’ we will be bringing you interviews with the musicians and previews of the songs each one arranged for the record, so check back with us often! This past week we spoke with guitarist Matt Stevens who arranged “Oceans” by Pearl Jam for ‘Cover Art.’
NEXT Collective: Gerald Clayton (Piano)
Leading up to the February 26th release of ‘Cover Art,’ we will be bringing you interviews with the musicians and previews of the songs each one arranged for the record, so check back with us often! Today we have a great interview with Gerald Clayton, one of two pianists on the record, who arranged D’Angelo’s “Africa” for ‘Cover Art.’
NEXT Collective: Walter Smith III (Tenor Sax)
Leading up to the February 26th release of ‘Cover Art,’ we will be bringing you interviews with the musicians and previews of the songs each one arranged for the record, so check back with us often! Check out tenor saxophonist Walter Smith III who arranged Bon Iver’s “Perth” for ‘Cover Art.”
NEXT Collective: Jamire Williams (Drums)
Leading up to the February 26th release of ‘Cover Art,’ we will be bringing you interviews with the musicians and previews of the songs each one arranged for the record, so check back with us often! Today we’re interviewing drummer Jamire Williams who arranged “Refractions In The Plastic Pulse” by Stereolab for ‘Cover Art.”
NEXT Collective: Ben Williams (Bass)
Concord Records’ NEXT Collective brings together what many are calling the supergroup of this generation of musicians. Combining the talents of Ben Williams, Christian Scott, Matt Stevens, Jamire Williams, Kris Bowers, Walter Smith III, Logan Richardson and Gerald Clayton, these musicians give some credence to the term “supergroup.” Originally conceived by Chris Dunn, Senior A&R at Concord, the record moves past the outdated “jazz” labeling and delves into the more pop-oriented influences of these incredible musicians.
2/26: The NEXT Collective Cover Art Album Release Concert
Get ready NYC! Tuesday, Feb. 26th is the premier and album release concert of The NEXT Collective at Le Poisson Rouge. Featuring rising stars: saxophonists Logan Richardson and Walter Smith III, guitarist Matthew Stevens, keyboardists Gerald Clayton and Kris Bowers, bassist Ben Williams, drummer Jamire Williams, and special guest trumpeter Christian Scott (aka Christian aTunde Adjuah).
BrooklyNites Jazz: Christian Scott
Christian Scott will be performing selections from his latest release Christian aTunde Adjuah at the Brooklyn Museum this coming Thursday 12/6/12 accompanied by Braxton Cook on sax, Matt Stevens on guitar, Luques Curtis on bass, and Joe Dyson on the drums. A “sensory tour on the theme of ‘Brooklyn Stories’” will begin the night at 6pm.
NEXT Collective Drops EP
A new project dropped this morning exclusively on iTunes featuring the likes of Christian Scott, Matt Stevens, Jamire Williams, Ben Williams, Kris Bowers, Walter Smith III, Logan Richardson and Gerald Clayton. They are calling themselves the NEXT Collective and have dropped a sneak peak of the project on Concord Records in the form of a three-song EP.
2012 Detroit Jazz Festival Recap + Photos
For much of Labor Day weekend, this year’s festival illustrated how both humanity and jazz are inextricably linked. The selection of artist performances and in-depth panel discussions not only offered something different for everyone, but especially when much of today’s music sounds homogenized, this festival was a reminder that there are still unique perspectives and takes on what jazz can sound like.
Ticket Giveaway: Wax Poetics Presents “First Lady of the Flute” Bobbi Humphrey
Wax Poetics is taking over Chef Marcus Samuelsson’s new dinner and music venue, Ginny’s Supper Club, for a night in honor of the “first lady of the flute,” Bobbi Humphry. Opening up the shows will be the great Christian Scott (check out Christian aTunde Adjuah) and Janka Nabay, a mainstay of the Bubu music from Sierra Leone. Then Ms. Humphry herself will take to the stage for two sets to once again prove why she is the “first lady of the flute” for two lucky audiences.
Christian Scott releases new record, “Christian aTunde Adjuah”
Award winning trumpeter Christian Scott’s compelling eighth album, Christian aTunde Adjuah, is arguably the most personal project to date for the young artist. The album is an inspired and provocative two-disc, 23-track collection, that features guitarist Matthew Stevens, drummer Jamire Williams, bassist Kris Funn and pianist Lawrence Fields. It includes the tracks “When Marissa Stands [...]
Feature Media: Donald Harrison ft. Christian Scott at Symphony Space
Today we are featuring footage from Donald “Big Chief” Harrison’s recent performance at Symphony Space in NYC featuring special guest and nephew Christian Scott. According to the venue, this was surprisingly the first concert Harrison headlined with his own band. As such Harrison and company took to the stage for many hours switching from jazz to funk, New Orleans to New York City and more. This piece closed out the first set with Harrison inviting a few very talented local music students to share the stage with himself and Christian Scott.
“Big Chief” Donald Harrison at Symphony Space 4/27
Esteemed educator and and acclaimed “Big Chief” of the sax, Donald Harrison will performa an evening of music at Symphony Space with special guest Christian Scott. Harrison has been a staple in the jazz scene since his time growing up in New Orleans. Known for linking together the traditional and modern jazz institutions, Harrison has played both mentor and teacher as well as collaborator and bandleader.
Jamire Williams: Infinite Possibilities
It’s kind of an organic way of me putting all of those things together. We can’t just call it one thing, or one specific genre, if you will. I like to call it “social music” because it’s for the people to enjoy. I’m really happy about it because it blends a little bit of everything with vocals and lyrics. The vocalists [do] not necessarily sing lyrics, but they are another instrument and will just sing the melodies versus melodies and lyrics. ERiMAJ explores that big beat, alternative rock and hip-hop—everything’s in there.
Erykah Badu: The Last Great Jazz Singer?
What you hear in her voice is ancient and inexplicable. She channels grandmothers and griots to bring audiences to the precipice of tears as easily as she incites eruption. Erykah Badu takes stage as both installation art and high wire act. While she has not made a career of being boastful, it is very clear that the queen bee knows who she is. A combination of Abbey Lincoln, Billie Holiday, Chaka Khan, Parliament’s mother ship, and a Hendrix solo, Erykah Badu is the direct byproduct of a lineage preserved and most effectively expressed through song. A sociologist with a rolodex of great producers and an equally impressive catalog of hits, Badu sings a world based very closely upon the one she inhabits, but clearly thinks and aspires to a plane none of us will reach in this life. A voice as joyful as it is pained, her sound does less to rely on the ridiculous range that carries most vocalists, leaning instead on an awesome amount of versatility, unpredictability, and depth.
As the great voices of jazz and soul music are silenced, Erykah Badu – arguably the first successful mutation of both movements — could very well be the last of a dying breed. In an interview with music superstore, Amoeba, trumpeter Christian Scott may have said it best, “I always applaud her for her conviction because she’s such a great artist and really on a lot of levels I feel like she could be the last great jazz singer, which is kind of disheartening a little bit. But just her sensibilities – her ideas about music, how she approaches her music, the notes that she sings, her inflections; I think she’s really a huge light for us right now. Hopefully there will be someone that’ll come and grab the torch from her, but I don’t really hear it yet, so she’s the one right now.”
Christian Scott: Diversely Cultural
Exactly one month ago today the acclaimed young trumpeter Christian Scott held two performances at Harlem Stage, showcasing some of his new music off of his politically driven album Yesterday You Said Tomorrow. Legendary jazz recording engineer, Rudy Van Gelder, contacted Christian Scott personally in order to work with him on this album, and that alone shows the depth of musicianship Christian Scott has attained before he has reached thirty.
Ninety Miles: A Journey in Collaboration
As we sat down with Stefon Harris and Christian Scott (sans David Sanchez) to discuss their 90 Miles project, it was evident that they shared similar traits when it comes to music – a predisposition to creativity as well as a propensity for explosive creativity. Traveling to Cuba, they described the difficulties in communicating in a language not their own, yet as the record demonstrates, the music universally speaks for itself.
Stefon Harris, David Sanchez, Christian Scott Ninety Miles
Conceived in Havana, Cuba, the Latin-tinged soundscape of Ninety Miles will be appropriately released on the heels of the recent decision to remove the Latin Jazz category from the Grammys. While I do not consider this album to be an explicit statement against the act, its undeniable relevancy speaks volumes to a timeless cultural tradition within the art
Ninety Miles Album Set for June 21st Release (ft. Stefon Harris, David Sanchez, Christian Scott)
Vibraphonist Stefon Harris, saxophonist David Sanchez and trumpeter Christian Scott have announced a June release for their Ninety Miles project, an album and accompanying film (film set for later release) detailing their journey and recordings in Havana, Cuba with Rember Duharte and Harold Lopez-Nussa and their quartets.
