ADRIAN YOUNGE: SOMETHING ABOUT APRIL TOUR
Adrian Younge performs his psychedelic soul trilogy Something About April with a 10 piece orchestra. Hear Younge's classics and more from Something About April to his recent release, São Paulo.
“The Something About April Tour is the show I've always dreamed of bringing to life. Fifteen years in the making, the Something About April trilogy is my magnum opus; a body of work designed for the most cinematic and live experience.” - Adrian Younge
SOMETHING ABOUT APRIL I
The first installment in the Something About April trilogy set the standard for everything that has made Adrian Younge an in-demand composer. Younge became the sample source-point for many of hip hop's most acclaimed artists including Jay-Z, DJ Premier, Common and more.
Younge's live performance oozes raw, analog soul and the primal sonic edge of psychedelic rock, sitting nicely alongside Ennio Morricone’s best soundtrack work or Pink Floyd’s early catalog. LISTEN NOW
SOMETHING ABOUT APRIL II
Something About April II synthesizes the boundaries between dark American soul and classic European cinema. The album features an array of entrancing vocalists: Laetitia Sadier (Stereolab), Bilal, Raphael Saadiq, Loren Oden and Israeli star, Karolina who delivers haunting chants over concertos.
Younge is the experimental spirit of the modernist vanguard, looking into the past to create the future. LISTEN NOW
SOMETHING ABOUT APRIL III
"Something About April III is the album I wanted to make when I created the first album in 2011. However, I didn’t have the musical knowhow and experience to create the sound that was buried deep in my soul. Essentially, SAA III is the album that has taken me fifteen years to uncover and fully realize. From a cratediggers’ perspective, it’s the album I’ve been diggin’ for in the deepest crates of my soul. A lost album I finally found. I hope this LP resonates with you as much as it has for me.” - Adrian Younge LISTEN NOW
Adrian Younge is an Emmy Award winning composer, multi instrumentalist, and producer from Los Angeles, CA. Renowned for his analog sound, Younge has been sampled by artists like Jay-Z, Kendrick Lamar, Common, DJ Premier, Alchemist and countless others. He’s also produced for icons including Snoop Dogg, Cee Lo, Rakim, Tony Allen, Ebo Taylor, Samantha Schmutz, Marcos Valle, Céu, Azymuth, Dom Salvador, Roy Ayers, Wu Tang Clan, The Delfonics and many more. He’s also known for his work as a film and television composer (Marvel’s Luke Cage, Black Dynamite, etc.) Younge is the founder and brainchild of the record label Linear Labs; he also is the co-founder of the record label and events company Jazz Is Dead.
ADRIAN YOUNGE LIVE AT SUMMER FOR THE CITY
His work pulses with deep intention, blending the raw grit of vintage soul with the grandeur of orchestral arrangements. Now, he’s bringing his most ambitious project yet—Something About April III—to life with a 35-piece orchestra and special guests, performing not just the new album but also selections from the first two volumes of the April trilogy. A decade and a half in the making, this final installment cements Younge’s legacy as a leading expert of psychedelic soul and orchestral storytelling. Kicking off the night is none other than J.Rocc, founder of the legendary Beat Junkies, setting the tone with an opening DJ set. This is more than a concert—it’s a moment in music history. Be there to witness it first
AZYMUTH 50TH ANNIVERSARY TOUR
Responsible for carving out an entirely new sound, fusing jazz-funk with samba to create their own unique genre, referred to as ‘samba doido’, Azymuth are one of Brazil’s most influential bands and surely one of the world’s longest running.
They have played with just about everyone throughout Brazil’s golden era of MPB, jazz, soul and funk, including Jorge Ben, Milton Nascimento, Tim Maia, Elis Regina and Marcos Valle to name just a few. It was Marcos Valle who gave Azymuth their name in 1973 during the recordings of his soundtrack for the film O Fabuloso Fittipaldi. In that same year, Azymuth began recording their now critically acclaimed Demos (1973-75) which sat in their archives until 2019 when they were released by London based label Far Out Recordings.
50 years since they began, Azymuth have released over thirty albums and are still going as strong as ever, writing, recording and performing with the same energy and enthusiasm as when they started out.
As well as their influence on jazz and funk, Azymuth’s contribution to electronic music around the globe is unquestioned, and they’ve collaborated with the likes of 4hero, Madlib and Jazzanova, and been remixed by Theo Parrish, Ron Trent, Global Communication and Daniel Maunick amongst others.
Since the passing of keyboard maestro Jose Roberto Bertrami in 2012 and drummer Ivan Conti in early 2023, remaining original member Alex Malheiros has worked tirelessly to keep the spirit of Azymuth alive, enlisting keyboardist Kiko Continentino (Milton Nascimento, Gilberto Gil, Djavan), who co-wrote and recorded Azymuth’s critically acclaimed 2016 album Fenix, and drummer Renato Massa (Marcos Valle, Ed Motta).
An Azymuth live show is a journey through the full spectrum of their brilliantly coloured expressionist funk, with all the cosmic energy and masterful musicianship you’d expect from the world's greatest three-man orchestra.
Gyedu-Blay Ambolley
For the first time in the US, Gyedu Blay Ambolley will be performing his 1975 debut album Simigwa in its entirety! Bringing his 8 piece band from Ghana, they will perform the pioneering masterpiece.
Gyedu Blay Ambolley is a musical luminary hailing from Ghana, West Africa, with a staggering 29 albums under his belt. Known affectionately as the "Simigwa Do Man,” Ambolley’s musical journey began in the vibrant port city of Sekondi-Takoradi, in the Western Region of Ghana. His early fascination with music blossomed into a lifelong passion. From mastering his father’s flute at the tender age of eight, to honing his guitar skills under the mentorship of “Uncle Bonku”, Sammy Lartey and Ebo Taylor, Ambolley’s musical odyssey has been nothing short of extraordinary. This all led to Ambolley becoming a musical life force and exploding on the scene in 1973 with a jazzy highlife sound called 'SIMIGWA-DO'. His name has become synonymous with Simigwa music and dance.
Coming of age amidst the zenith of Ghana’s highlife era, Ambolley emerged as a pivotal figure in its evolution, lending his talents to esteemed bands such as Houghas Extraordinaires, Meridians Of Tema and Ghana Broadcasting Band. It was during this time that he caught the attention of his compatriot and friend, Ebo Taylor, who recruited Ambolley to be a member of the Uhuru Dance Band. This all lead to a transformative journey to Nigeria in 1973, where they shared the stage with the legendary Fela Kuti at his renowned Shrine venue.
1975 Debut Album Simigwa:
Gyedu Blay Ambolley’s groundbreaking debut solo album, released in 1975, stands as a cornerstone of Ghanaian music history - with one of the most iconic album covers! Simigwa stands as Ambolley’s magnum opus, a masterpiece fusing together the rich tapestry of highlife, afrobeat, folk and funk. The album is a true testament to Ambolley’s unparalleled artistry written and produced in collaboration with the legend Ebo Taylor.
Ambolley not only embraces his musical roots but also pioneers the fusion of Ghanaian highlife with soul and funk influences from across the Atlantic. With Simigwa, Ambolley seized the opportunity to showcase his own musical prowess and embark on a journey of experimentation. A main inspiration for this album was the work of the mighty Mr. James Brown, something that is evident from the rhythm section, horns, vocal stabs and percussion breaks throughout the record.
NOVOS BAIANOS TOUR
For the first time EVER, Os Novos Baianos are making the trip from Brasil to light the Jazz Is Dead stage on fire across the United States and Mexico. How the gods of Samba Rock and the pioneers of Brasilian fusion have kept North America waiting this long is a wonderful mystery — but we’re not about to miss it now! Acabou Chorare, their second album, was named by Rolling Stone #1 of the 100 greatest Brasilian albums of all time — and for good reason. From start to finish, this Brasilian gem is a rich, wild ride — a perfect blend of rock, samba, frevo and choro — a record you simply do not skip.
The story of Os Novos Baianos traces back to the rich musical scene of Salvador, Bahia in the late 1960s. It all started with Paulinho Boca de Cantor (vocals, pandeiro), Moraes Moreira (vocals, violão), Baby Consuelo — now Baby do Brasil — (vocals, percussion), and Luís Galvão (lyricist). Pepeu Gomes and his brother Jorginho were members of Os Leifs, a young psychedelic band who crossed paths with the future Novos Baianos in a twist of fate at the 1969 Barra 69 show alongside Gilberto Gil and Caetano Veloso. That encounter blossomed into a musical marriage — Os Leifs teamed up with Os Novos Baianos, adding bassist Dadi to the fold and taking their rich rhythms, wild guitars and soulful vocals to a whole new level.
During the years of Brasil’s military dictatorship, their communal lifestyle, their musical fusion, and their rebellious spirit made Os Novos Baianos a symbol of resistance and creativity. Living together first in Botafogo and then on a ranch in Jacarepaguá, the group challenged conformity and fought back through their art — turning their home into a refuge for freedom, collaboration, and hope in the face of oppressive regimes.
The band broke up in 1978, with its members pursuing successful solo careers — but nearly 60 years after their formation, Os Novos Baianos are boarding a plane to North America for the first time in their rich history. Get ready to experience their unique fusion of Rock, Samba, MPB and Brasilian folklore — a once-in-a-lifetime moment brought to you by ArtDontSleep at Jazz Is Dead. Be sure to grab your tickets while they last.
Melanie Charles with IGNABU x Paul Wilson Bae
Melanie Charles with Ignabu and Paul Wilson Bae is a collective of 3 New York Natives who came together in 2019 to record a rehearsal for a performance at the 41st annual Wall to Wall concert series at Symphony Space, spotlighting all things Rev John Coltrane. The trio curated a body of work exploring his legacy via found footage, interviews and samples of his contemporaries to create a 4 movement ceremony. The pre-pandemic concert and recording coincided with the untimely passing of prolific drummer Lawrece Leathers setting a tone of reverence for the musicians that tirelessly explored the possibilities of this music. The recording was never intended to be released to the public but as time has gone by, this musical artifact serves as a conversation with our musical ancestors while discovering new modes.
Melanie Charles
“Melanie Charles takes us on a journey that embodies the soul of jazz: exploration.” —NPR
There are very few artists whose sound can capture the sentiments of a generation. The Brooklyn born and raised, Melanie Charles, is one of these artists. Over the past few decades, she has made a name for herself through dynamic engagements with jazz, soul, and R&B. Her bold genre-bending style has been embraced by a range of artists including Wynton Marsalis, SZA, Mach-Hommy, Gorillaz, and The Roots. In 2021, she appeared on NPR’s Tiny Desk and stunned with her eclectic style. Through it all, she has remained committed to making music that pushes listeners to consider new possibilities—both sonically and politically. “Make Jazz Trill Again,” a project that she launched in 2016, demonstrates her allegiance to everyday people, especially the youth and is focused on taking jazz from the museum to the streets. “I love jazz, I really fell in love with it deeply. But I was interested in young people interacting with it,” Charles says. The album Y’all Don’t (Really) Care About Black Women is reflective of Charles’ tremendous versatility and imagination as an artist but of also her deep care for community.
Nate Smith
Nate Smith is a drummer, composer, & producer from Chesapeake, Virginia. His visceral, instinctive, and deep-rooted style of drumming and his talent as a composer and arranger has led to three GRAMMY® nominations and work with esteemed artists, including: Pat Metheny, Dave Holland, Brittany Howard, Van Hunt, The Fearless Flyers, Norah Jones, Childish Gambino, Jon Batiste, and Somi. Smith fuses his original compositions with an eclectic mix of music, including everything from jazz to R&B to hip-hop to pop. In recent years, Smith’s viral videos have been viewed by millions of people, underscoring his popularity as one of the most influential drummers of his generation.
This will be Nate’s third time performing live at Jazz Is Dead and we can’t wait to see what he brings to the stage this time around!
MAKAYA MCCRAVEN
McCraven believes that the word “jazz” is “insufficient, at best, to describe the phenomenon we’re dealing with.” The artist, who has been aptly called a “cultural synthesizer”, has a unique gift for collapsing space, destroying borders and blending past, present, and future into poly-textural arrangements of post-genre, jazz-rooted 21st century folk music. Profiled in Vice, Rolling Stone, the Guardian, and NPR, among other publications, he and the music he makes today are at the very vanguard of that phenomenon. According to the New York Times, “McCraven has quietly become one of the best arguments for jazz’s vitality”. The artist explained to NPR in 2019, "I don't think what I'm doing is necessarily that far off of the legacy of jazz that I grew up in ... I think one of the things that gives it strength is that people want to argue over it. That's a good sign. That means there's life here."
Born in Paris in the Autumn of 1983 to Hungarian singer and flutist Ágnes Zsigmondi and African-American expat jazz drummer Stephen McCraven, Makaya was raised in a vibrant, creative community in the Northampton, Massachusetts area, where his father often played with artists like saxophonist and ethnomusicologist Marion Brown, multi-instrumentalist Yusef Lateef, and saxophonist Archie Shepp, as well as a cadre of African Gnawa musicians. That scene, with its enticing blend of cultures, helped establish his philosophy around jazz as folk music. Meanwhile, his mother’s music blended Eastern European folk traditions, concurrently shaping his conceptions about the role of music in building and reflecting communities.
“I'm really drawn to folk music. Music of aural tradition, music that is of the people where it's more of a collective experience of music and dance and culture that we all participate in and know as part of our being or as part of who we are.” He sees his work as a continuation of those traditions, noting, “I like to teach the music to musicians by ear, and hope even when I bring in more challenging rhythms, or difficult time signatures, I am able to do it in a way that is of the body and of the people of the earth in a way that’s not necessarily some intellectual experiment, but more something that's dealing with people.”
While immersed as a youth in global folk traditions, he was also a child of the nineties, deeply influenced by sample-based hip-hop. He observed that jazz was sometimes perceived by his peers as “something that was old, corny, white... going to get you beat up.” This directly countered his own experience with the music: “That was such a strange idea to me, because the guys I grew up around were cool, and [weren’t] buttoned up like that.”
Eventually he discovered bridges between jazz and hip-hop, including classic jazz records being sampled by hip-hop producers such as Pete Rock, and began to devote energy to “reappropriate this music to be what it is, what it means to me, and what it means for my people."
After cutting his teeth in the Western Massachusetts music scene, co-founding a jazz-hip hop band called Cold Duck Complex that ultimately opened for The Pharcyde, Digable Planets, and the Wu-Tang Clan, he and his partner (now wife, comparative race studies scholar Nitasha Tamar Sharma) moved to Chicago in 2006. McCraven soon found himself immersed in both the creative and straight-ahead jazz scenes, proving his versatility, and along the way finding a community that mirrored the pulsating scene that birthed him artistically. Within five years’ time, he’d established a name for himself, gigging alongside scene stalwarts like Willie Pickens, Marquis Hill and Jeff Parker.
He first connected with the founders of Chicago’s International Anthem label in late 2011, and across 2012-2013 they hosted and recorded a series of improvised jazz nights featuring his combo at The Bedford, a club situated in what was once an old basement bank vault. McCraven took 48 hours of recordings and sculpted beguiling hip-hop beats, not unlike how Teo Macero looped and assembled Miles Davis’ On the Corner from improvised magic. At the time, McCraven thought of the project, which became the 2015 double LP release In The Moment, as an opportunity to connect and to “find a young audience in this music. It just felt like the right time and a place where I could really connect with people.” That notion proved prophetic: JazzTimes called the album “one of the year's most mesmerizing releases,” the record was an “Album of the Week'' pick by taste-making DJ Gilles Peterson on BBC 6 Music, and it was chosen for “Best of 2015” lists by PopMatters, NPR, and the Los Angeles Times.
McCraven continued to hone his process of live improvisation and sampling with Highly Rare in 2017 (crafted from a live set recorded at Danny’s Tavern in Chicago), 2018’s Where We Come From(CHICAGOxLONDON Mixtape), which was built from recordings of a showcase at London’s Total Refreshment Centre, and Universal Beings (also released in 2018). Universal Beings, consisting of augmented live sessions in Chicago and New York, in addition to pop-up studio sessions in London and Los Angeles, concretely reflects his borderless multi-national ethos. The work featured varying configurations of international players, including Nubya Garcia and Shabaka Hutchings from London, Junius Paul and Tomeka Reid of Chicago, Anna Butterss and Miguel Atwood-Ferguson from Los Angeles, and Brandee Younger and Dezron Douglas from New York.
The title of the album was culled from a sampled passage on the track “Brighter Days Beginning,”, in which percussionist Carlos Niño offers, “We’re universal beings,” a theme of borderlessness that resonated deeply with McCraven, who grew up in a multicultural household and community. “I’m not beholden to this border or this city,” McCraven told Vice in 2018, “What is a place? Other than the people. It’s just dirt, you know?” The resulting album was called “radiant” and “hypnotic” by Pitchfork.
In 2019, McCraven both delivered a triumphant Jazz Night in America performance at South Shore Cultural Center in Chicago, and mounted a multimedia performance of an early iteration of what became his new album In These Times, at the Walker Arts Center in Minneapolis.
In the meantime, he remixed Gil Scott-Heron’s final album (2010’s I’m New Here) for 2020’s We’re New Again: A Reimagining by Makaya McCraven, issued Universal Beings E+F Sides(also in 2020), and delved into the venerable Blue Note Records catalog in 2021 for Deciphering the Message, each project also employing new improvisations and sampling, helping to further cement his “beat scientist” moniker. Concurrently, the seeds for 2022’sIn These Times were budding, and their nurseries were stages around the globe. McCraven explains, “As I've been touring, I've been performing music off of the record In These Times... When In the Moment took off and I started touring a lot, we would go on the road and 50% of the music was just my concept and my compositions.”
In These Times, a collection of polytemporal compositions inspired as much by broader cultural struggles as McCraven’s personal experience as a product of a multinational, working class musician community, is the recording that McCraven has been trying to create for 7+ years, as it’s been slowly cooking in the background while his other works were released. He began recording In These Times seven years ago, but “for whatever reason, Universal Beings just came to fruition much quicker. It just took more time for this to mature into everything it's become. With the success of Universal Beings and the Universal Beings concerts that we did (with Red Bull) in Chicago at South Shore Cultural Center and le poisson rouge in New York, I had an opportunity to realize the record not as a collection of four sides of trios and quartets, but I turned that record as a performance into a 10 to 12-person concert, and that experience ended up evolving my approach to In These Times.”
In These Times encompasses all he’s lived through, as well as his lineage, while also pushing the music forward. Music critic Passion of the Weiss suggested that “McCraven’s work, both with younger players and the sounds of older recordings, is part of a necessary conversation about the next evolution of the Black improvised music known colloquially as ‘jazz.’ He’s found the threads connecting the past with the present, and is either wrapping them with new colors and textures, or he’s plucking them gleefully like the strings of a grand instrument.” McCraven concurs: “To me, that is the tradition that I want to try to take part in. Being well-rooted, but walking into the future, is really what all of the leaders in this music have done that I admire. And I think that resonates with people. Something that's like how we know it, but is evolving... It's just where I am at, where we're at, and the evolution of that, and that's what I'm trying to be.”
- Words by Ayana Contreras, June 2022
ELIJAH FOX
Elijah Fox is a multi-instrumentalist, singer, and producer based in Los Angeles, CA. He grew up in Durham, NC and began playing piano at age 11 and was mentored early on by Yusuf Salim, a pianist who had played with Charlie Parker and began performing in local jazz clubs. Fox studied piano at Oberlin Conservatory with Sullivan Fortner, Billy Hart, Dan Wall, and Gary Bartz and graduated in 2017 before moving to New York City. His piano composition “East Village” was sampled by Drake and 21 Savage on “Major Distribution” reaching number 3 on the Billboard Charts. Fox has also recorded/produced for SZA, Masego, YG, ScHoolboy Q, Denzel Curry, Tate McCrae, Musiq Soulchild, Childish Gambino, Kali Uchis, J Cole, and many others as well as releasing his own original compositions and sample packs. His impressionistic original piano composition “Wyoming” went viral on TikTok and has received over 20 million streams on Spotify. He is signed to UMPG for publishing as a writer/composer. He is also the touring keyboardist for UK drummer Yussef Dayes and has performed throughout the world. Fox has also performed his original music at sold out shows across the US and Europe. His sound blends elements of jazz, Impressionism, and psychedelic soul. Fox also releases instrumental music under the alias @SorenSostrom.
ADRIAN YOUNGE LIVE AT THE SORAYA
Adrian Younge will perform his psychedelic soul trilogy Something About April with a 35 piece orchestra at the beautiful The Soraya stage at CSUN!
“The Something About April Tour is the show I've always dreamed of bringing to life. Fifteen years in the making, the Something About April trilogy is my magnum opus; a body of work designed for the most cinematic and live experience.” - Adrian Younge
SOMETHING ABOUT APRIL I
The first installment in the Something About April trilogy set the standard for everything that has made Adrian Younge an in-demand composer. Younge became the sample source-point for many of hip hop's most acclaimed artists including Jay-Z, DJ Premier, Common and more.
Younge's live performance oozes raw, analog soul and the primal sonic edge of psychedelic rock, sitting nicely alongside Ennio Morricone’s best soundtrack work or Pink Floyd’s early catalog. LISTEN NOW
SOMETHING ABOUT APRIL II
Something About April II synthesizes the boundaries between dark American soul and classic European cinema. The album features an array of entrancing vocalists: Laetitia Sadier (Stereolab), Bilal, Raphael Saadiq, Loren Oden and Israeli star, Karolina who delivers haunting chants over concertos.
Younge is the experimental spirit of the modernist vanguard, looking into the past to create the future. LISTEN NOW
SOMETHING ABOUT APRIL III
"Something About April III is the album I wanted to make when I created the first album in 2011. However, I didn’t have the musical knowhow and experience to create the sound that was buried deep in my soul. Essentially, SAA III is the album that has taken me fifteen years to uncover and fully realize. From a cratediggers’ perspective, it’s the album I’ve been diggin’ for in the deepest crates of my soul. A lost album I finally found. I hope this LP resonates with you as much as it has for me.” - Adrian Younge LISTEN NOW
Adrian Younge is an Emmy Award winning composer, multi instrumentalist, and producer from Los Angeles, CA. Renowned for his analog sound, Younge has been sampled by artists like Jay-Z, Kendrick Lamar, Common, DJ Premier, Alchemist and countless others. He’s also produced for icons including Snoop Dogg, Cee Lo, Rakim, Tony Allen, Ebo Taylor, Samantha Schmutz, Marcos Valle, Céu, Azymuth, Dom Salvador, Roy Ayers, Wu Tang Clan, The Delfonics and many more. He’s also known for his work as a film and television composer (Marvel’s Luke Cage, Black Dynamite, etc.) Younge is the founder and brainchild of the record label Linear Labs; he also is the co-founder of the record label and events company Jazz Is Dead.
Praise Break: Divine Disco, Soul and House
Praise Break celebrates Black gospel culture through music and dance, blending gospel, soul, disco, and house. It is part of "The Trinity," a three-part program by NOMMO for the LA Philharmonic's premiere performances of Carlos Simon's Good News Mass. The program explores the themes of Black joy, spiritual exploration, and the power of faith, inviting audiences to connect with Los Angeles' rich gospel music heritage. Experience the soul-stirring rhythms and uplifting spirit of the city's gospel traditions.
DJ sets by D-Nice, Greg Belson, J. Rocc, Novena Carmel, Kristi Lomax, and more
Live performance by Jimetta Rose and the Voices of Creation
Brunch will be served in Checker Hall with DJs playing deep gospel cuts
Live screen-printing by HIT+RUN
All ages welcome. $10 tickets for the main room and free entry to Checker Hall.
Complimentary custom-printed t-shirts for each attendee while supplies last.
Curated by Tyree Boyd-Pates of NOMMO Cultural Strategies
LA Phil Insight is generously supported by Linda and David Shaheen.
Explore more at laphil.com/insight
Ebo Taylor Farewell Tour
Ebo Taylor and his family have decided to make this tour his official farewell to the Americas. This will be our final opportunity to honor the legendary maestro, the pioneer of highlife and father of Afrobeat, and give him his flowers.
If you've already purchased tickets - Your current tickets remain valid for the new date, and no further action is required—just hang on to them! If you have any questions or need assistance with ticket options, feel free to reach out to your point of purchase.
If you have not yet purchased tickets, please see dates and cities below. We would love for you to join us and be a part of this very historic moment when Ebo Taylor, one of Africa's most influential, artists, says his farewell to the Americas.
Ebo Taylor Bio
Born in 1936, Ghanaian guitarist, composer, arranger, bandleader, and producer Ebo Taylor has been a vital presence in African music for more than half-a-century. During the early '60s, he was active in the influential highlife bands the Stargazers and the Broadway Dance Band whose singles were mainstays on national radio. In 1962 he took his Black Star Highlife Band to London and collaborated with other African musicians who were also in Britain at the time, including Fela Kuti. Back in Ghana, he worked as an influential producer, crafting recordings for Pat Thomas (his future collaborator) and C.K. Mann, among many others. During the '70s, his own musical projects combined traditional Ghanaian music with Afro-beat, jazz, and funk, creating a trademark sound as evidenced by the albums Ebo Taylor & the Pelikans (1976) and Twer Nyame (1978). In the '80s, albums such as Conflict Nkru! and Hitsville Re-Visited (co-billed to Thomas) by his Uhuru-Yenzu band delivered a rawer, more immediate sound. Over the next two decades, Taylor was a noted producer, arranger, and composer, working with Thomas, Mann, Gyedu-Blay Ambolley, Kofi Yankson, and dozens of others. He returned to performing live in the early 21st century after hip-hop producers began sampling his work. Soundways Records released the compilation Ghana Special. In 2010, Strut Records released Love and Death, his first internationally distributed album, followed by a series of catalog reissues and all-new recordings including 2018's Yen Ara.
Taylor was born in Ghana and grew up on the sounds of the wartime big bands. His father nudged him into music, by encouraging his son to learn to play the family organ. He caught the music bug and began studying guitar in school, coming under the sway of the emergent highlife movement. He would soon lead his first group, an eight-piece band named the Stargazers. In 1962, he departed his native Ghana for London to study at the London Eric Gilder School of Music. He explored jazz, funk, and soul alongside fellow student Fela Kuti and future Osibisa bandmembers Teddy Osei and Sol Amarfio. They indulged in endless jam sessions in jazz clubs off Oxford Street, after which Fela would often join Taylor in his flat in Willesden Junction. They would listen to jazz records for hours, analyzing the structure and chord progressions of Miles Davis and Charlie Parker. During his time abroad, Taylor founded the Black Star Highlife Band, which showcased one of his greatest contributions to highlife: His jazz-inspired horn arrangements.
After returning to Ghana, Taylor became an in-house arranger and producer for labels like Essiebons, working with other leading Ghanaian stars including Mann and Thomas. He was paid to write for them, play guitar on sessions, and supervise recordings. From the '70s through the '80s, Taylor cut a host of his own solo albums that offered idiosyncratic but very popular fusions of traditional Ghanaian sounds, Afrobeat, jazz, soul, and funk on albums such as My Love and Music, Twer Nyame, and Me Kra Tsie. His single "Heaven" from this period stands among the most revered Ghanaian Afrobeat tunes of the era. Taylor formed Uhuru-Yenzu in 1980 and released the albums Conflict Nkru! Nsamanfo: People's Highlife, Vol. 1, and Hitsville Re-Visited (the latter co-billed to Thomas). After the album Pat Thomas & Ebo Taylor in 1984, the guitarist stopped recording and touring and focused instead on producing, arranging, and composing for dozens of other artists.
In 2008, Taylor met the Berlin-based musicians of the Berlin Afrobeat Academy, including saxophonist Ben Abarbanel-Wolff. A year later, Usher sampled "Heaven" for his hit "She Don’t Know" (feat. Ludacris). In 2010, Taylor teamed with Berlin Afrobeat Academy for Love and Death on Strut Records, his first internationally distributed album. It offered re-recordings of his highlife and Afrobeat hits. Its success prompted Strut to issue the stellar retrospective Life Stories: Highlife & Afrobeat Classics 1973-1980 in the spring of 2011. In 2012, a third Strutalbum, the deeply personal Appia Kwa Bridge, appeared and showed that at 76, Taylor was still intensely creative and forceful, mixing traditional Fante songs and chants with children's rhymes and personal matters into his own sharp vision of highlife.
That record marked the beginning of a popular renaissance for Taylor around the world. Early singles and other tracks appeared on several compilations over the next few years, and in 2015, his rarest album, Ebo Taylor & the Pelikans, got the grand reissue treatment. His early hit, the Ghana funk anthem "Come Along," made DJ playlists globally. In February 2016, at age 80, he opened the MOGO Festival's Nights with Music Greats. The gig proved to be a precursor for the deluxe reissue of his 1975 album, My Love and Music, on Mr. Bongo. In 2018, Taylor issued the album Yen Ara that saw him translating various strains of Fante music through contemporary Ghanaian highlife and experimenting with new rhythmic forms through horn-dominated compositions. At age 82, he supported it with a world tour. The following year, Mr. Bongo reissued Hitsville Re-Visited in May, while BBE Music released the Palaver album in September, that contained five unissued tracks from a (previously unknown) lost 1980 session. ~ Thom Jurek, Rovi
Pat Thomas Bio
Pat Thomas is a Ghanaian vocalist and songwriter famed for his work in the highlife bands of Ebo Taylor and his own recordings of Afrobeat and Afro-pop.
Born in Agona, in the Ashanti region, Thomas had music almost literally in his DNA, his father was a music theory instructor and his mother a bandleader. In the 1970s, he moved to Accra to join Ebo Taylor's legendary highlife band The Blue Monks; their residency at the Tip Toe Night Club is an important part of modern Ghanaian cultural history. In the later years he moved to the Ivory Coast and produced various records in Afro-beat, Afro-Latin sounds and reggae melded to funky African disco.
In 1982, he moved to London, U.K and recorded Hitsville Revisited with Taylor and the guitarist's band, Uhuru Yenzu. Thomas's first hit outside Africa was 'Asanteman' in 1985. He followed it with Highlife Greats Mbrepa a year later. In June 2015, the U.K. label Strut released his first recording in over a decade. Dubbed Pat Thomas & Kwashibu Area Band, it was recorded in Accra. It placed the singer in the company of a band assembled by multi-instrumentalist Kwame Yeboah and saxophonist Ben Abarbanel-Wolff. Other musicians included drummer Tony Allen, Noble Kings' bassist Ralph Karikari, and a host of younger players including Thomas' daughter Nanaaya, a celebrated vocalist in her own right.
SHIGETO
Shigeto releases new album, Cherry Blossom Baby, with focus track, Nothing Simple...
The Michigan-born drummer, producer and DJ's new album honors traditions in electronic, jazz, R&B, and hip-hop. A celebration of scene vitality rooted in Detroit's new wave, including guests such as Zelooperz, KESSWA, Ahya Simone, Tammy Lakkis, and more.
“Cherry blossoms remind me of my mother and grandmother's steadfast nature to look towards the light and the strength in 'acting as one'. The cherry blossom trees that bloom every spring in Hiroshima are an enduring image of hope, resilience, and renewal. Even through the most turbulent of times. Cherry Blossom Baby was literally ‘impossible’ to make without every single person involved. It started in 2018 and was finished in 2024. A manifestation of our shared experiences of pain, struggle, hope and growth over the past 6 years and a true testament to the power of ‘togetherness’." - Shigeto
Cherry Blossom Baby, Shigeto's first full-length statement since 2017, sprouts out from a collective thaw, ambitious, collaborative, and fully realized. The Detroit-based, Japanese-American musician, DJ, Portage Garage Sounds label co-founder, and long-time Ghostly International artist embraces the role of producer and composer. Bold and cultivated with intention, the band-built sound honors traditions in electronic, jazz, R&B, and hip-hop, a fusion that's become his signature, now more vibrant than ever. Zach Saginaw and a group of guests and players present a snapshot in time, a celebration of self-love and an expression of vitality distinctly rooted in Detroit and informed by his family’s cultural history.
"I am a cherry blossom baby," he says. "We all are cherry blossom babies, we all are resilient, we all are growing, we all will continue to."
SML
SML is a new quintet composed of luminaries from Los Angeles’s thriving jazz, improvised, and indie music scenes: bassist Anna Butterss (Jason Isbell, Phoebe Bridgers, Makaya McCraven, Daniel Villarreal), synthesist Jeremiah Chiu (Ariel Kalma, Marta Sofia Honer, Icy Demons), saxophonist Josh Johnson (Meshell Ndegeocello, Leon Bridges, Carlos Niño), percussionist Booker Stardrum (Amirtha Kidambi, Lisel, Lee Ranaldo, Patrick Shiroishi) and guitarist Gregory Uhlmann (Sam Wilkes, Meg Duffy, Perfume Genius).
Their debut album Small Medium Large was engineered and recorded in stereo direct to Nagra by Bryce Gonzales at ETA, then compiled, arranged, and edited with additional production, recording, and studio composition by SML across their various home studios in 2023.
It's a sublime assemblage of circulatory grooves and textural anomalies bewitched by swirls of modular synthesis, at different moments recalling the the jagged dance-punk of Essential Logic, the rhythmic revelry of Fela Kuti, the low-end elasticity of Parliament/Funkadelic, or the glitchy dub techno of Pole. Taken in totality, the album captures a euphoric creative synchronicity between some of today's most exciting musicians.
The name, SML (or Small Medium Large), exemplifies their collective nature—five solo artists working together in different configurations amongst several groups. The collective model harkens back to a lineage established by AACM and other avant-jazz groups, but may follow a formula closer to the Dusseldorf scene in the late 60s of Kraftwerk, Harmonia, Cluster, Neu! While SML’s primary configuration is quintet, you may find them in different mixes of small, medium, large, and extra large.
ADRIAN YOUNGE: SOMETHING ABOUT APRIL TOUR
Adrian Younge performs his psychedelic soul trilogy Something About April with a 10 piece orchestra. Hear Younge's classics and more from Something About April to his recent release, São Paulo.
“The Something About April Tour is the show I've always dreamed of bringing to life. Fifteen years in the making, the Something About April trilogy is my magnum opus; a body of work designed for the most cinematic and live experience.” - Adrian Younge
SOMETHING ABOUT APRIL I
The first installment in the Something About April trilogy set the standard for everything that has made Adrian Younge an in-demand composer. Younge became the sample source-point for many of hip hop's most acclaimed artists including Jay-Z, DJ Premier, Common and more.
Younge's live performance oozes raw, analog soul and the primal sonic edge of psychedelic rock, sitting nicely alongside Ennio Morricone’s best soundtrack work or Pink Floyd’s early catalog. LISTEN NOW
SOMETHING ABOUT APRIL II
Something About April II synthesizes the boundaries between dark American soul and classic European cinema. The album features an array of entrancing vocalists: Laetitia Sadier (Stereolab), Bilal, Raphael Saadiq, Loren Oden and Israeli star, Karolina who delivers haunting chants over concertos. Younge is the experimental spirit of the modernist vanguard, looking into the past to create the future. LISTEN NOW
SOMETHING ABOUT APRIL III
"Something About April III is the album I wanted to make when I created the first album in 2011. However, I didn’t have the musical knowhow and experience to create the sound that was buried deep in my soul. Essentially, SAA III is the album that has taken me fifteen years to uncover and fully realize. From a cratediggers’ perspective, it’s the album I’ve been diggin’ for in the deepest crates of my soul. A lost album I finally found. I hope this LP resonates with you as much as it has for me.” - Adrian Younge LISTEN NOW
Adrian Younge is an Emmy Award winning composer, multi instrumentalist, and producer from Los Angeles, CA. Renowned for his analog sound, Younge has been sampled by artists like Jay-Z, Kendrick Lamar, Common, DJ Premier, Alchemist and countless others. He’s also produced for icons including Snoop Dogg, Cee Lo, Rakim, Tony Allen, Ebo Taylor, Marcos Valle, Samantha Schmütz, Céu, Azymuth, Dom Salvador, Roy Ayers, Wu Tang Clan, The Delfonics and many more. He’s also known for his work as a film and television composer (Marvel’s Luke Cage, Black Dynamite, etc.) Younge is the founder and brainchild of the record label Linear Labs; he also is the co-founder of the record label and events company Jazz Is Dead.
TRANSLINEAR LIGHT: THE MUSIC OF ALICE COLTRANE TOUR
We are thrilled to announce a traveling tribute to the late and great ALICE COLTRANE. Presented in partnership her son Ravi Coltrane, and loaded with special guests. This is one of those very rare opportunities to show your love and admiration for one of the greatest to ever do it. The Coltrane family continues to bless us with some of the most beautiful music the world has ever laid ear to.
ALICE COLTRANE:
Alice Coltrane Turiyasangitananda was an American jazz pianist, organist, harpist, singer, composer, swamini, and the wife of John Coltrane. Turiyasangitananda translates as the Transcendental Lord’s highest song of Bliss.
Born in Detroit, Michigan in 1937, Alice was the fifth of six children. Her interest in music blossomed in early childhood. By the age of nine, she played organ during services at Mount Olive Baptist church.In the early 60’s she began playing jazz as a professional in Detroit with her own trio and as a duo with vibist Terry Pollard. Alice would collaborate and perform with Kenny Clarke, Kenny Burrell, Ornette Coleman, Pharaoh Sanders, Charlie Haden, Roy Haynes, Jack DeJonette, and Carlos Santana. Many people are unaware that she replaced McCoy Tyner as pianist with the John Coltrane quartet and continued to play and record with the band until John’s death in 1967. Alice’s interest in gospel, classical, and jazz music led to the creation of her own innovative style. Her talents expressed more fully when she became a solo recording artist. Her proficiency on keyboard, organ, and harp was remarkable. Later her natural musical artistry matured into amazing arrangements and compositions. Her twenty recordings cover a time span from Monastic Trio (1968) to Translinear Light (2004).
Around the late 60’s, Alice entered into a most significant time in her life. As a seeker of spiritual truth, she spent focused time in isolation — fasting, praying, and meditating.
In 1970 she met a guru, Swami Satchidananda. She traveled to India, and was divinely called into God's service. Alice dedicated her life to God and came to be known as Turiyasangitananda. Alice Coltrane Turiyasangitananda became the Founder and Director of The Vedantic Center in 1975, and later established a spiritual community in the Santa Monica Mountains of Southern California. She would orate discourses and play organ to lead the members in devotional song for Sunday services.
She began recording again in 2000 and eventually issued the stellar Translinear Light on the Verve label in 2004. Produced by Ravi, it featured Coltrane on piano, organ, and synthesizer, in a host of playing situations with luminary collaborators that included not only her sons but also Charlie Haden, Jack DeJohnette, Jeff "Tain" Watts, and James Genus. After the release of Translinear Light, she played some selective dates in Paris in 2005, and a three-date tour in the fall of 2006 with Ravi in Ann Arbor, New York, and San Francisco.
RAVI COLTRANE:
Ravi Coltrane is a Grammy™-nominated saxophonist, bandleader, and composer with a 20+ year career. He has recorded notable albums, performed with legends like McCoy Tyner and Jack DeJohnette, and co-founded the independent label RKM. The son of jazz icons John and Alice Coltrane, Ravi was instrumental in bringing his mother back to music, producing her 2004 album Translinear Light. He has released six albums as a leader, with his latest, Spirit Fiction, on Blue Note. Ravi co-leads the Saxophone Summit with Joe Lovano and Dave Liebman and is actively involved in preserving the John Coltrane Home in Dix Hills, NY.
AZYMUTH AT MJAZZ
Una banda adelantada a su época que por cinco décadas ha viajado a través de los límites del jazz y el funk en un vehículo de música tradicional brasileña.
El ritmo de la samba de su natal Brasil se mezcla majestuosamente con los estilos de música norteamericanos para crear un sonido animado y atemporal.
Las distintas alineaciones de Azymuth han recorrido los grandes festivales de jazz del mundo y ahora, presentados por la iniciativa Jazz is Dead, regresan a México con nueva formación pero el mismo sonido que los hizo leyendas de la música latinoamericana.
A band ahead of its time, for five decades they have journeyed through the boundaries of jazz and funk in a vehicle of traditional Brazilian music.
The rhythm of samba from their native Brazil blends majestically with North American music styles to create a lively and timeless sound.
The various lineups of Azymuth have graced the world's major jazz festivals, and now, presented by the Jazz is Dead initiative, they return to Mexico with a new formation but the same sound that made them legends of Latin American music.
BALTHVS
BALTHVS, the Bogota, Colombia based psychedelic funk trio was formed in the countryside while the group waited out the 2020 pandemic. The band was escaping the city during uncertain times and according to Balthazar Aguirre, “we wanted the music to meld with the peaceful environment surrounding us at that moment.” Alongside Aguirre (guitar, vocals), the band consists of Johanna Mercuriana (bass, vocals) and Santiago Lizcano (drums, vocals).
Their genre-defying sound blends cumbia, surf rock, funk, and Turkish musical influences. The music is comprised of lyrics in English, Spanish and plenty of instrumentals that meld mysticism and psychedelics. “Colombia is very psychedelic, there’s plenty of availability and a lot of traditional medicine involving entheogens and plant medicine around.” The result is a captivating sonic tapestry that transcends conventional boundaries, captivating listeners with its multifaceted influences.
Known for their dynamic and electrifying live performances, BALTHVS has become synonymous with energetic shows and captivating improvisations. Since their inception, the band has embarked on a prolific creative journey, releasing an impressive catalog featuring over 34 singles and 3 full-length albums. Their music has resonated globally, amassing over 6.8 million streams worldwide, establishing BALTHVS as a formidable presence in the music industry.
While BALTHVS has conquered their home turf, gracing the stage at Colombia’s largest music festival, Rock al Parque, they have also taken their infectious sound to international audiences. With three performances at SXSW in Austin, TX, a successful U.S. tour, and a triumphant inaugural European tour in 2024, the band is poised for even greater heights with a new full-length LP set to release on Mixto Records in the fall. Eager to continue their sonic exploration, BALTHVS is set to enchant audiences worldwide with their innovative and boundary-pushing approach to music.
MESHELL NDEGEOCELLO
Meshell Ndegeocello is an unassuming colossus whose body of work extends far beyond the early hits and virtuosic bass playing with which she is most associated. "If That's Your Boyfriend (He Wasn't Last Night)," her taunting and funky breakout single, immediately set her apart as an instrumentalist, vocalist, songwriter, and producer. Less than a year after the song entered Billboard's R&B/hip-hop, dance, and pop charts, Ndegeocello was nominated for four Grammys, including Best R&B Album for Plantation Lullabies (1993) and Best Pop Vocal Collaboration for "Wild Night," her Top Ten hit duet with John Mellencamp.
Ndegeocello has remained impossible to typecast ever since. A preternatural synthesist, she has mixed and moved across jazz, blues, soul, funk, and reggae, as well as folk and rock. As a leader, she has alternated just as freely between small combos and large ensembles, and as a session musician and featured artist has written and recorded across an even wider spectrum of styles. In addition to her lithe and melodic primary instrument and vocals encompassing authoritative raps, pensive spoken word, and ethereal choruses, Ndegeocello has played keyboards, drums, and guitar, among other instruments. Foremost among the many highlights in her catalog are three additional Grammy-nominated albums: the oft-pointed and probing Peace Beyond Passion (1996), the imaginative covers set Ventriloquism (2018), and the wide-scoped Omnichord Real Book (2023), the latter of which marked her Blue Note debut and took the first Grammy for Best Alternative Jazz Album. The following year, Ndegeocello was behind the Sun Ra tribute Red Hot & Ra: The Magic City and No More Water: The Gospel of James Baldwin.
Shigeto
SHIGETO RELEASES NEW ALBUM, CHERRY BLOSSOM BABY, WITH FOCUS TRACK, NOTHING SIMPLE...
The Michigan-born drummer, producer and DJ's new album honors traditions in electronic, jazz, R&B, and hip-hop. A celebration of scene vitality rooted in Detroit's new wave, including guests such as Zelooperz, KESSWA, Ahya Simone, Tammy Lakkis, and more.
“Cherry blossoms remind me of my mother and grandmother's steadfast nature to look towards the light and the strength in 'acting as one'. The cherry blossom trees that bloom every spring in Hiroshima are an enduring image of hope, resilience, and renewal. Even through the most turbulent of times. Cherry Blossom Baby was literally ‘impossible’ to make without every single person involved. It started in 2018 and was finished in 2024. A manifestation of our shared experiences of pain, struggle, hope and growth over the past 6 years and a true testament to the power of ‘togetherness’." - Shigeto
Cherry Blossom Baby, Shigeto's first full-length statement since 2017, sprouts out from a collective thaw, ambitious, collaborative, and fully realized. The Detroit-based, Japanese-American musician, DJ, Portage Garage Sounds label co-founder, and long-time Ghostly International artist embraces the role of producer and composer. Bold and cultivated with intention, the band-built sound honors traditions in electronic, jazz, R&B, and hip-hop, a fusion that's become his signature, now more vibrant than ever. Zach Saginaw and a group of guests and players present a snapshot in time, a celebration of self-love and an expression of vitality distinctly rooted in Detroit and informed by his family’s cultural history.
"I am a cherry blossom baby," he says. "We all are cherry blossom babies, we all are resilient, we all are growing, we all will continue to."