Motéma Muse September 2010

9/9 Greetings...

Dear Motéma Friends,

Welcome back! We took a short break from the Muse during August, but don't think that things have slowed down a bit at our Harlem offices. We've been setting the stage for the release of some fabulous new CDs, there are some great new artists who we've just signed and some great concerts taking place all around the country this month. Today, 9/9 the always terrific KJ Denhert celebrates the European Motéma/Membran release of her new CD, Album No. 9, by premiering the video for her moving version of the Beatles' "Help" on her website. Head on over for a taste of what you'll hear when Album No. 9 is released in the US on November 9th - of course if you can't wait, you can pre-order the import version of the CD now.

To those of you who read Downbeat Magazine, Motéma artists Rufus Reid and Gregory Porter are featured in the October issue, and you will find some fabulous reviews for both Geri Allen and Charnett Moffett in that issue as well.

L'Shana Tova to all. The coming year promises to be a great one for Motema with some wonderful new artists joining the label, the addition of a new audiophile series and much much more. We'll be continuing with our tradition of providing free MP3's with every edition of the Muse, so, please, help us spread the word by forwarding the muse to your friends. We appreciate your support more than you know.

Peace & Love,

The Motéma Family

Geri Allen ' Flying Toward the Sound' and Geri Allen & Timeline:Live,
Allen's stunning solo piano debut Flying Toward the Sound and the debut release of her phenomenal tap quartet, have both generated accolades across the boards since their respective March & June release dates. The New York Times declares that Timeline Live as "some of her best work in years," Doug Simpson of Audiophile Audition says the CD is "phenomenal... the live sound is superb, the performances second to none." The quartet features Kenny Davis (bass), Kassa Overall (Drums) and Maurice Chestnut on some fabulous tap percussion. The CD followed up

Allen's Motéma solo piano debut, Flying Toward The Sound, which among many other accolades, has been featured in NPR's 'The Best New Jazz of 2010 (So Far).' Geri also was a featured artist on NPR's Take Five online music series page. Additionally, she was the DownBeat editor's pick for June and will be featured on the cover of Jazz Times' Education issue.

Watch for the four star reviews for both Flying Toward the Sound and Timeline Live in the October issue of Downbeat. Geri is on tour throughout the Fall. Full details on the Motéma event page.

Rufus Reid's Out Front, continues to garner extraordinary attention by the media. The CD was highlighted on Jason Crane's Jazz Session podcast. which was featured on NPR's A Blog Supreme. In September, Rufus will be featured in one of the "Hot Box" reviews in DownBeat, and WBGO's The Checkout will soon feature Rufus and his Out Front trio with Duduka Da Fonseca on Drums and Steve Allee on Piano.

Rufus is on tour throughout the Fall as well. Full details on the Motéma event page. Check out this interview with Rufus, from his recent cover feature in the August issue of Jazz Inside Magazine.

Vocalist Gregory Porter has exceeded our already high expectations with his debut release, Water. Word from the press is that Gregory is a contender for the next big voice in jazz and soul. Radio DJs and reviewers from Germany to LA are comparing him to Nat King Cole, Donny Hathaway and Kurt Elling, while at the same time praise his personal style and sophisticated way with a lyric. His original song, "1960 What", a searing soul epic inspired by the Detroit riots, has been generating lots of 'who is that' calls to radio DJs.

Check out this brand new review from the BBC in London.

Charnett Moffett's Treasure, was among LD Greene's "Recommended new releases" in All About Jazz New York, and the Audiophile Audition gave the CD four-and-a-half stars, using such adjectives as "beautiful," "outrageous" and "cinematic" to describe the unusual and highly virtuosic ensemble sound Moffett achieves. Treasure cracked the Top 25 on Jazz Week's Jazz chart and soared into the Top 10 on its World Music chart. The CD features Moffett's long-time collaborators guitar icon Stanley Jordan, and free-jazz drummer Denardo Coleman, with a host other excellent world and jazz players. Catch a glimpse of the action in the studio in the video below which also is also featured on the enhanced CD,Treasure:

Click here to view video: "The Making of Treasure"
Directed and Narrated by Charnett Moffett; Edited by Yasunari Rowan

You can hear Marc Cary's FOCUS TRIO LIVE, (April 2010) on jazz radio across the nation this month. Marc recently performed in Denver and San Francisco, where he and the trio treated the audience at Yoshi's to an evening of smoking groove oriented jazz. "Marc Cary approaches the piano trio tradition from a predominantly rhythmic standpoint, but with ample evidence of harmonic sophistication." - The New York Times.

This month, you can catch Marc's Focus Trio at NYC's Jazz Standard on Sept 14th and 15th.

It's easy

to see why there continues to be such strong radio response for rock, blues, country and jazz artist Patrick Stanfield Jones' debut CD, A Heart and An Open Road, with over 100 college and public radio stations playing the disc, 17 of those in heavy rotation. Read great reviews for the project and more at Patrick's Motéma Artist Page.

Watch this smoking video from Pat's recent show at BB Kings in New York.