 For the past several years, former Yellowjackets bassist and prolific producer Jimmy Haslip has enjoyed an ongoing working relationship with the Bremen, Germany-based jazz fusion keyboardist and composer Michael Schmidt (aka MSM Schmidt). While Haslip played on Schmidt’s 2007 album Transit and 2009’s Destination, he ended up co-producing 2012’s Evolution, 2015’s Utopia and 2017’s Life. They take their chemistry to new heights on ARCeology: The Music of MSM Schmidt. This dynamic offering finds Haslip and members of his ARC Trio (keyboardist Scott Kinsey and Hungarian drummer Gergö Borlai) joining forces with the GRAMMY® Award-winning John Daversa Big Band on greatly expanded versions of previously recorded Schmidt material, along with two brand new pieces composed by Kinsey and Schmidt. The result is a powerhouse collection of polished, swaggering big band fusion along the lines of the Jaco Pastorius Big Band or The Brecker Brothers’ 2003 collaboration with the WDR Big Band Köln on Some Skunk Funk. “I wanted to see if I could make this a big band record but somehow make it different,” said Haslip. “I didn’t think it should sound like a vintage big band recording. I wanted it to sound modern and have more of an edge, which is what led me to include guest soloists like Nguyên Lê, Mike Miller, Steve Khan, Oz Noy and others. They bring progressive elements into the big band setting and add compelling ideas to each song.”  Out of the eight songs that appear on ARCeology, six were previously recorded on other Michael Schmidt records. The two brand new compositions here are Schmidt’s “Mirrors” and Kinsey’s “Quartet.” And as Haslip noted, “In approaching this project, there was the thought that if you’re going to redo songs that have already been recorded, what can be done to make them sound like new compositions? And I think with Scott’s rhythm arrangements and John’s input on the horn parts, we came up with some creative solutions.” Haslip also credited Kinsey, who became de facto co-producer of ARCeology. “Originally, I was the point producer on this whole thing, but as time went on I just knew that Scott needed to be a part of the production team,” he recalled. “We weren’t far into the project when I approached Scott and said, ‘I want you to be my co-producer on this because you’re contributing so much great work and it’s only fair that we do this together.’ He was up for that, so I am happy to say that Scott and I co-produced the record. I can’t take full credit for what’s happened here, as Scott was the real workhorse. He played most of the keyboard and synth parts and did all the keyboard solos, of course. Also, Scott’s rhythm arrangements had a big hand in influencing John’s horn arrangements. There was a lot of cool stuff already in place for John to just embellish. But then again, John has his own unique voice for orchestration. Everything he wrote after the fact was fantastic." 
Keyboard phenom and composer, Cody Carpenter releases his latest effort titled, "Balance Of Extremes". Now available in the Blue Canoe Store and wherever you get your music!
Featuring:
Keys: Cody Carpenter Guitar: Marco Sfogli Bass: Jimmy Haslip Drums: Gergo Borlai Mixing/Mastering: John Spiker Album Art Design: Mizoguchi "Mizo" Nobukatsu Produced: Cody Carpenter & Jimmy Haslip   Keyboardist Scott Kinsey is known for many things — being a close friend and protege of the late Joe Zawinul, an integral member of the iconic fusion band Tribal Tech and pushing subsequent boundaries with his adventurous groups Human Element, the Zawinul Legacy Band and ARC Trio. In a continually evolving career, Scott’s operational motif is embodied by the word “exploratory.” Enter vocalist, songwriter and electric bassist Mer Sal (Meridith Salimbeni), a Coloradan with a fresh presence on the LA scene who spent years honing her songwriting, vocal and performance craft while fronting bands around the West to rave reviews. Through a series of recent (and fortuitous) introductions to top players and producers, Mer was invited to participate in The Native Dancer Series: A Tribute to Wayne Shorter and Karl Sterling’s Dream: Parkinson's Global Project. Both of these projects saw her performing along with many other top-shelf musicians, including Jimmy Haslip, Peter Erskine, Nir Felder, Gary Novak and Jeff Richman. Mer and Scott first crossed paths on one of these sessions and there was something of an instant connection between the two. After their initial meeting they kept in touch, exchanging lyrical and musical ideas. Mer continues, “I sent Scott the beginnings of a song, which he arranged and reharmonized. When I returned to LA to live, he played it for me. It blew my mind, it was so incredible — and incredibly thoughtful.” It’s that uncommon connection and synergy that fires the collaborative and creative union between the two, the fruits of which come through on Adjustments.  Part of the mojo transmitted on the album owes to the individual musical path each has taken and the different processes they have developed to achieve their respective musical ends. They also seem equally taken by the other’s abilities. “It’s interesting,” Kinsey says, “because she writes all this poetry — pages upon pages of text. I look at it and say, ‘There’s no song there.’ But when I ask what she has in mind, she starts singing and I can’t believe it, it’s totally there... a melody, a direction, a concept... everything.” Sal concurs: “I’m a poet, but I’m equally a singer, so the melody comes out hand in hand with the lyrics. I usually hear some sort of harmonic background to the melodies while I’m writing but now that I know what Scott does with them, I try to come up with melodies that lend themselves to Scott’s process. I love hearing him ‘Scottify’ them.” Kinsey adds, “She has a full song there — melody, lyrics and chords — but I actually don’t want to hear the chords; I don’t want them to influence what I might do. I want to keep my freshness, with the melody and the lyric and that’s it. This gives us individual roles to play. She comes up with the lyrics and the melody, then I can put my thing to it.” One might think that Kinsey, with a background steeped in instrumental, soloing-oriented music, would have altered his approach for the album’s song-based collaborations. “To me it’s not really that different.” Kinsey explains. “I still say, what is the melody, what is the story — just as I would with a saxophone player or guitarist — and write around that.” But Scott readily admits that having Sal in the mix sparks different inspirations. “It’s because of her voice. I love orchestrating around that and end up writing more harmony. With busier instrumental records, the music is already dense. But with Mer’s voice I can hear all this lush stuff going on around it.”  The fact that Adjustments displays some of Kinsey’s most innovative writing, playing and arranging to date may indeed owe to having Sal as talented muse, but it’s also the singer’s authenticity that effectively grounds Kinsey’s work like never before. Her original songs, such as the opening “Tiny Circles,” display a certain valiant fearlessness for a songwriter whose emotions run so palpably close to the surface. “I recorded that in my studio in Colorado and it was the first one I sent to Scott. I felt that in my life, I was walking in tiny circles instead of the bigger ones where I wanted to be. It’s kind of admitting my shame — so I could get through it.” But even when the pen presses hard lyrically, it’s not only taken aloft by Sal’s engaging vocals but by Kinsey’s (sometimes counterintuitive) treatments: “I had a general concept that if it’s a very, very dark lyric, I won’t enhance it with more darkness. I don’t want it to sink deeper into that pit but keep it afloat by lightening it up. Just like I might put slightly darker things around a really happy lyric or melody — enhance it by pulling it the other way a bit.” This symbiosis also carries over into the duo’s wonderfully creative takes on some classic (if not surprising) cover material on the album. Steely Dan, The Beach Boys, even Blondie’s “Heart of Glass” — (Kinsey’s an unapologetic Blondie fan) — all are freshly reimagined by the pair. Perhaps none of these are more emblematic of the Kinsey/Sal union than the wonderful joining of Joni Mitchell’s “Down to You” with Weather Report’s “Jungle Book” — something of a talisman and surely among the album's high points. The icing on the cake for Adjustments is undoubtedly how the proceedings are further raised by having so many of the sought-after, A-list musicians of Kinsey’s world (e.g., Scott Henderson, Oz Noy, Tim Lefebvre, Hadrien Feraud, Gergö Borlai and others) uncommonly colliding with Sal’s. This propels the music beyond today’s retrograde “jazz vocalist” albums that seek to rekindle nostalgia for the singer-fronted jazz band. Nor is it another in the recent stream of barely distinguishable, vocal-forward, jazz/neo-soul hybrids that proliferate in the modern soundscape. In their own way, what Scott Kinsey and Mer Sal exhibit on Adjustments speaks to an intersection as uniquely compelling as when Jaco met Joni. A modern entity, to be heard on its own terms. Says Mer, “We want to change what’s considered the norm a little.” And in light of the music that she and Scott have brought forth here, listeners will happily make their own “adjustments.” Biography written by Mike Jacobs  Recording Artist, Composer, and Drum Instructor Shawn Glyde delivers a remarkable collection of songs, remixed and remastered titled, "The Pyramid Factor". "The Pyramid Factor" features Shawn and guest appearances from John Patitucci (bass), Jimmy Haslip (bass), Larry Koonse (guitar), Jason Galuten (keyboards), as well as many other talented musicians. "The Pyramid Factor" was produced by three time Grammy Award Winner Jimmy Haslip.   Cody Carpenter has once again delivered a high-energy instrumental progressive rock album titled, “Memories and Dreams”. Carpenter’s signature piano and keyboard chops are as instrumental as it is interpretative which leads the listener on a unique odyssey. Cody’s compositional and arranging skills continue to shine with his fourth CD as a leader and this original eleven-song outing. With “Memories and Dreams”, Cody takes the listener on a musical journey by way of flourishing keyboard phrases, deep grooves provided by bassist Jimmy Haslip, driving drums featuring Jimmy Branly, Virgil Donati, Scott Seiver. and the group is rounded out by the virtuosic guitar playing of Marco Sfogli and Cody Carpenter. Carpenter’s newest album project “Memories and Dreams” has more than lived up to his fans’ expectations of nothing less than 11 amazing examples of musical perfection.    Photo Credit Greg Vorobiov Lyle Workman hasn’t just had a successful career—he’s had three. As a sideman and first-call session musician, he’s toured and recorded with everyone from Beck and Sting to Frank Black, Tony Williams and Todd Rundgren; as a composer for film and television, he’s written music for box office blockbusters that have earned over a billion dollars worldwide, including Superbad, The 40 Year Old Virgin, and Forgetting Sarah Marshall; and as a songwriter and solo artist, he’s written a hit single and earned praise from guitar heroes like Steve Vai and Steve Lukather. Now, Workman is set to bring all three of his disparate worlds together with “Uncommon Measures,” a stunning new instrumental collection featuring a 63-piece orchestra captured live at Abbey Road Studios in London. “This record ties together all the different threads of who I am as an artist,” explains Workman. “It was four years in the making due to my film and TV schedule, but it’s really the culmination of a lifetime in music.” Bursting at the seams with soaring arrangements and virtuosic performances, ‘Uncommon Measures’ plays like the score to some epic film from an alternate dimension, mixing elements of progressive rock, jazz fusion, and romantic classical music with gleeful abandon. The songs here are living, breathing entities, constantly growing and evolving in ways both subtle and drastic, and the production is similarly unpredictable, veering from larger-than-life bombast to whispered intimacy and back, sometimes within the very same track. Grand as the record is, though, it’s Workman’s eye for detail and gift for melody that remain front and center throughout. He paints vivid, emotional portraits on the album with his evocative guitar and keyboard work, crafting an immersive, cinematic universe plumbed entirely from the depths of his subconscious in spontaneous, improvised writing sessions. The result is a record as extraordinary as it is unexpected, a captivating, transportive song cycle that manages to scale the heights of joy and sadness, love and friendship, self-discovery and celebration, all without a single word. “I’ve always felt like the muse is much more intuitive and in touch with my emotions than I am,” says Workman. “Writing these songs, I tried to just go into this tabula rasa state of mind, a meditative place where I could let the music tell me where to go.” Indeed, music has been a faithful guide for much of Workman’s life. Born and raised in San Jose, California, he fell in love with The Beatles at an early age and taught himself guitar by listening to their records. While Workman’s tastes would expand over the years—Genesis and Yes brought him to Mahavishnu Orchestra and Miles Davis, which led him to Ravel and Debussy—he would always hold a special place in his heart for the simple pleasures of a perfectly crafted pop song. After studying music in college, Workman joined a band out of Sacramento called Bourgeois Tagg, which landed a deal with Island Records, and co-wrote the hit single “I Don’t Mind At All,” which climbed the charts on both sides of the pond and helped earn the group performances on the Tonight Show, Top Of The Pops, American Bandstand, and their European equivalents. Bourgeois Tagg proved to be a launching pad for Workman, who, after recording two albums with the band, soon began picking up work in the studio and on the road with a wide array of big-name artists. “The great thing about being a sideman is that every gig is an education,” he reflects. “Whether I’m working with artists like Beck or Sting, Todd Rundgren or Frank Black, Norah Jones or Bryan Adams, they’re all worlds unto themselves, and playing with them is a chance to step inside their heads and understand how they create.”  From L to R: Herbie Hancock, Tony Williams, Lyle Workman, Stanley Clarke. Photo Credit unknown In many instances, the influence flowed both directions. Workman co-wrote songs on Sting’s ‘57th & 9th,’ for example, and composed the track “Machu Picchu,” which appeared on late jazz icon Tony Williams’ final album, ‘Wilderness.’ “I was a huge fan of Tony’s playing with Miles Davis and beyond,” says Workman, “so it totally blew my mind when he invited me to come to his place and start collaborating. We worked on ideas together for about a month, and when we recorded ‘Machu Picchu,’ we had Stanley Clarke and Herbie Hancock playing it with us. It was an incredible experience.” As a sideman, Workman learned what it took to help bring other artists’ visions to life, a skill set that also made him ideally suited for the world of film and television. Gigs writing commercial jingles gave way to composing jobs for indie films, which opened the door to major studio releases and a connection with Judd Apatow, who began hiring Workman to score his films and television series. Successful as he became, though, something was still missing for Workman. He’d released a trio of well-received solo albums in the ’90s and early 2000s, but as his sideman and film composing careers exploded, he found that he had to put his own artistic visions on the backburner. “I absolutely love all the work I get to do with other artists and filmmakers,” he explains, “but sometimes you need to articulate your own thoughts and feelings as a writer, too. There’s a singular satisfaction that comes from creating something that’s a pure expression of yourself.”  And so Workman embarked on the epic journey that would become ‘Uncommon Measures,’ beginning at first by shutting off his mind and simply letting the music flow in his Los Angeles studio. From those improvised guitar and keyboard sessions, he began shaping discrete songs, some short and sweet, others clocking in at ten minutes and consisting of multiple suites and movements. Next, he assembled an all-star band to help flesh out the core material, tapping drummers Vinnie Colaiuta (Joni Mitchell, Frank Zappa) and Matt Chamberlain (Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen) along with bassist Tim Lefebvre (David Bowie, Wayne Krantz) and pedal steel wizard Greg Leisz (Eric Clapton, Jackson Browne,) among other A-Listers. Finally, with the intoxicating grooves of a fully realized rhythm section in place, Workman began the lengthy back-and-forth process of creating orchestral arrangements with John Ashton Thomas, the orchestrator extraordinaire behind films like Black Panther and Captain Marvel. “For the most part, I’d start with an orchestral mockup using computer samples, which John would then take and run with,” says Workman. “On the track ‘Arc of Life,’ though, I used guitar to map out the harmony and counterpoint intended for strings, woodwinds, and brass, and then had John apply it to the orchestral domain along with his own brilliant embellishments, which make the piece even more grand and dynamic. John and I grew up with the same influences, so there’s a personal and professional kinship between the two of us, along with a deep mutual respect for each other’s musicianship, that made the record such a joy to create." When it came time to record the orchestra, Thomas cherry-picked 63 of London’s finest players and gathered them at Abbey Road for nine-and-a-half hours of pure magic. The session was a “pinch me” moment for Workman, both as a kid who grew up obsessed with The Beatles and as a composer finally seeing his vision come to life. “Being in that studio with the orchestra playing my songs, it was like hearing everything go from black and white to Technicolor,” he explains. “They added a soul and a humanity to everything that was just so beautiful and three dimensional.” That soul and humanity lies at the heart of ‘Uncommon Measures,’ which showcases not only Workman’s unparalleled musicianship, but also his profound empathy and expansive emotional vocabulary. Tracks like the dizzying “North Star” and pulse-pounding “All The Colors Of The World” balance breakneck guitar runs and instrumental fireworks with moments of deep calm and poignant reflection, while more playful tunes like the ecstatic “Noble Savage” and funky, horn-fueled “Unsung Hero” revel in the joys of creative freedom. As the record progresses, Workman finds himself looking inwards more and more, appreciating the beauty in melancholy with the meditative “Labyrinth Of Love” and finding hope for the future on the expansive “Rise And Shine.” As varied as the tracks here are—the final song, “Our Friendship,” is actually a Thomas composition inspired by the pair’s working relationship—there’s an underlying cohesiveness that binds the collection as a whole, a unified approach to the music rooted in a radical exploration and embrace of the self. “If there’s any one thing that ties all of these songs together,” says Workman, “It’s the power of expressing yourself at all costs, of free falling into the music with complete abandon. When I’m working on a film or someone else’s record, there are always parameters to follow and opinions to consider, but here, there were no boundaries at all. I could do anything I wanted.” For an artist like Lyle Workman, when the possibilities are infinite, the infinite becomes possible. ‘Uncommon Measures’ is proof of that.  Lyle Workman - Photo credit Greg Vorobiov  Guitarists Nicolas Meier and Dewa Budjana (Group) release an amazing original album titled, "Flying Spirits" featuring Jimmy Haslip (bass), Asaf Sikis (drums), and Saat Syah (flutes). Mixed and Mastered by Karma Auger and Eric Gobel and produced by Nicolas Meier, Dewa Budjana, and Jimmy Haslip. About Nicolas Meier Photo Credit and courtesy Gregory Heath UK-based guitarist Nicolas Meier has carved a reputation out as one of the world's most original and uniquely talented guitarists. Drawing from a love of Turkish, Eastern & Middle Eastern music, Flamenco, Tango and more -- all mixed with jazz -- Meier's versatility and musical fluency extends well beyond that, even. (... so much so, that his considerable talents drew the attention of rock guitar legend, Jeff Beck, who made Nicolas a mainstay in The Jeff Beck Group -- carrying him on two world tours during the course of the last several years). Nicolas has worked with: Jeff Beck Group Jimmy Haslip Vinnie Colaiuta About Dewa Budjana Photo credit and courtesy Sigi Baramsky Dewa Budjana’s band Gigi has been going strong for more than twenty five years now –packing out huge venues and selling millions of albums. In an historical context, Dewa Budjana is unquestionably one of his nation’s well known, beloved musicians. But Gigi represents a fraction of his musical persona. A master composer, arranger and producer, Dewa Budjana has, in just a few short years, amassed a masterful collection of progressive music albums as a solo artist – work which transcends genre, in glorious fashion. Dewa has worked with: Peter Erskine - Bob Mintzer - Antonio Sanchez - Ben Williams - Joe Locke - Gary Husband - John McLaughlin - Vinnie Colaiuta - Jimmy Haslip - Jimmy Johnson - Mike Landau - Guthrie Govan - Chad Wackerman - Jack Dejohnette - Tony Levin - Jordan Rudess - Mohini Dey - Marco Minnemann - John Frusciante - Mike Stern and many others...   Dewa Budjana Group (from L to R): Saat Syah, Nicolas Meier, Dewa Budjana, Jimmy Haslip, Asaf Sikis. Photo credit and courtesy - Sigi Baramsky |
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