EMP Project Releases Best of EMP Project — A Remastered Collection of Modern Jazz Trio Recordings5/2/2026  Blue Canoe Records proudly announces the release of Best of EMP Project, a newly remastered compilation album from the Southern-based jazz trio EMP Project, available worldwide on May 1, 2026. Bringing together a powerful blend of modern jazz, fusion, groove, and improvisational interplay, Best of EMP Project revisits standout recordings originally captured between 2002 and 2005. These selections, drawn from the group’s debut EMP Project and sophomore release Wherever We Go, have been carefully remastered to introduce the trio’s music to a new generation of listeners. At the core of EMP Project is a deeply rooted musical connection between three longtime collaborators:
The trio’s origins trace back to their time studying at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville (1989–1994), where they developed a shared musical language under the guidance of renowned educators including Jerry Coker, Donald Brown, Rusty Holloway, Keith Brown, Mark Boling and others. After years pursuing individual careers across the country, the musicians reunited—capturing lightning in a bottle during a series of live studio recordings in Atlanta, Georgia. Recorded on August 6–7, 2002, with no rehearsals, the sessions document the trio’s raw chemistry, spontaneity, and collective musical intuition. Each member contributed original compositions, resulting in a truly collaborative artistic statement. Track highlights include: Warrior, Wherever We Go, Elise, Just Visiting, Ba Dump, Birdy, Quickly and Quietly, Night, and Synergy. The original recordings were produced by EMP Project alongside Vic Stafford and Anita Walls, who also handled mixing and mastering. For this release, the material has been newly remastered by Joseph Patrick Moore at Abstract Truth Recording Studio (Henderson, NV), offering enhanced clarity while preserving the organic energy of the original performances. Artist Quote “This music captures a moment before life pulled us in different directions—three musicians reconnecting with no expectations, just trust and instinct. Remastering these recordings gave me the chance to hear that honesty again, and I’m excited to share it with listeners who may be discovering EMP Project for the first time.” — Joseph Patrick Moore About the Release Best of EMP Project serves as both a retrospective and a reintroduction—highlighting a trio whose musical roots run deep, and whose sound remains timeless, exploratory, and deeply connected. Availability Best of EMP Project is available on all major streaming platforms beginning May 1, 2026. 🔗 More info: Blue Canoe Records 🔗 Streaming: https://orcd.co/60y0e5b   Blue Canoe Records proudly presents The Trouble With Dogma, the highly anticipated sophomore release from multi-instrumentalist and composer Neal Bowen. Officially dropping July 11th, 2025, the album is a dynamic journey through instrumental jazz and progressive rock, showcasing Bowen’s visionary approach to genre-blending and sonic storytelling. Following the success of his debut, Neal Bowen returns with a bold, exploratory statement that expands his musical palette. On The Trouble With Dogma, Bowen commands bass, keys, guitar, and oversees the mixing and mastering process, underlining his deep creative control and artistic range. The project also features a powerful lineup of collaborators:
Released via Blue Canoe Records, the album continues the label’s mission to spotlight original, forward-thinking artists in the world of jazz, fusion, and beyond. The Trouble With Dogma will be available on all major streaming platforms on July 11th, 2025.   Blue Canoe Records is proud to announce the release of Terminus, the full-length album from Cryptic Cadet, a bold new art-rock trio comprised of renowned musicians d. mark owen (Cirque Du Soleil), drummer Cam Tyler (Cirque Du Soleil), and the legendary bassist Tim Lefebvre (David Bowie, Tedeschi Trucks Band). The 11-song collection of all-original music will be available worldwide on June 13, 2025, across all major streaming platforms and music retailers. At the crossroads of progressive rock, cinematic soundscapes, and deeply emotive songwriting, Terminus is a sonic journey that defies conventional genre boundaries. Spearheaded by d. mark owen’s visionary production, arrangement, and mixing, the album is a meticulously crafted showcase of musical depth and emotional intensity. The project is elevated by an impressive lineup of guest artists, including guitar luminaries Michael Landau, Lyle Workman, and Matt Ascione. Vocals are powerfully delivered by Will Champlin (NBC’s The Voice, Season 5 finalist), with soulful background harmonies from Lucy Woodward (Snarky Puppy, Pink, Chaka Khan) and Ken “Fletch” Walcott. Track Listing – Terminus
Cryptic Cadet’s Terminus is more than a sophomore release—it’s a statement.  Guitar phenom Dan Baraszu and bassist Joseph Patrick Moore team up to record the Metallica classic "Seek & Destroy" from their 1983 debut album titled, "Kill 'Em All". This jazz duo interprets this song in a fashion unimagined nearly 40 years ago by writers James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich. Jazz is about moving music forward and Dan and Joseph's rendition of this classic heavy rock tune, performed in a jazz setting, demonstrates this unique dynamic duo by pushing the boundaries of what jazz is in 2022. 
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  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.   |
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