Soul to Jazz

Bernard Purdie - Soul to JazzCD / Vinyl / digital Bernard Purdie drums WDR Big Band directed by Gil Goldstein Eddie Harris tenor saxophone Nils Landgren trombone Michael Brecker tenor saxophone Randy Brecker flugelhorn Dean Brown guitar Dave King bass Martin Moss vocals Stanley Turrentine tenor saxophone Hank Crawford & Vincent Herring alto saxophone Junior Mance & Benny Green piano Cornell Dupree & George Naha guitar Stanley Banks bass Pancho Morales percussion Jack DeJohnette drums and many more Which musician did Aretha Franklin definitely NOT want missing from the line-up when she recorded her most inspired albums at the beginning of the seventies? Who provided the back-beat for Steely Dan's "Aja", and for whom have Isaac Hayes, Donny Hathaway, B.B. King, "Sweet" Lou Donaldson, Joe Cocker and Hank Crawford reserved that stool behind the drum kit? The list is incomplete, it must be, because no other drummer in the last three decades has seen the interior of a recording studio as often as Bernard "Pretty" Purdie. The 57 year-old native of Elkton, Maryland has laid down the beat on over 3000 albums to date.This short list does, however, provide an idea of the unique qualities this man possesses. Colleagues describe the drummers style as the "funkiest soul beat" in the business, and Purdie has decidedly never limited his talents to the realm of Jazz but rather has consistently sought out new musical experiences beyond it's borders. He has anchored sessions with the Rolling Stones, James Brown and Tom Jones with equal ease and proven that - with all his attention to precision playing - terms such as "drive" and "GROOVE" are definitely not missing from his vocabulary. This is certainly why his rhythms have appeared as samples on nearly every "Acid Jazz" record released in the past few years - the new genre that has so successfully hosted the renaissance of Soul Jazz.Furthermore because it is a special pleasure to personally harvest the fruits from trees one has planted oneself - Purdie has now gathered together a flock of like-minded souls and created the new album - "SOUL TO JAZZ". lt will certainly, so much can be sure, stun those who seek to copy his style - if not completely draw their attention. These 12 songs prove that the pioneer of the hybrid blend of Jazz, Soul and Funky Tunes is still light years ahead of his imitators.Bernard Purdie (dr). Born June 11, 1939 in Elkton, Maryland as the 11th of 15 children. Purdie began already as a six-year-old to bang out rhythms on improvised equipment. At 14 years of age he purchased his first real drum set and became the most important provider for the family - earning his pay with country and carnival bands. This "schooling" enabled Purdie to "feel my way into nearly every kind of music, ‘cause I had to know all styles and was never afraid to try something new." Purdie moved to New York in 1960 after finishing high school and played with (among others), Lonnie Youngblood before landing his first hit with King Curtis. This led to his engagement with Aretha Franklin in 1970 - the beginning of an unparalleled career. Since then Purdie has been a regular guest in the studios of the stars of Jazz, Soul, and Rock, working together with Paul Butterfield as well as Larry Coryell, Miles Davis, Hall & Oates, AI Kooper, Herbie Mann, Todd Rundgren and Cat Stevens, as well as regularly producing his own solo albums under his own name.Gil Goldstein (dir). The keyboardist, accordionist, composer, arranger, producer and band-leader has travelled many trails in the Great Land of Jazz, working together with Lee Konitz, Stan Getz, Chet Baker, and Jim Hall as well as creating Fusion sounds with Danny Gottlieb, Pat Metheny, Leni Stern, and Bill Evans. Goldstein was with the Gil Evans Orchestra for 8 years, functioning as its musical director at the end of his tenure. He received international recognition in 1991 at the Montreux Jazz Festival when his transcriptions of classic Gil Evans songs were used to create the framework of the last public appearance of Miles Davis. Eddie Harris (to). Born Oct. 20, 1936 in Chicago, Illinois, Harris also plays (aside from his main axe - the tenor sax) piano, trombone, and vibraphone. As early as 1960, the jazzman Harris also pioneered the border regions of Jazz and Soul with his first solo album "Exodus" by expanding the expressive possibilities of his sound electronically. Recordings with Ron Carter and Cedar Walton as well as Steve Winwood, Jeff Beck, and Les McCann are evidence of his wandering between styles. Harris popularized the unorthodox use of various reeds and electronic manipulations of brass instruments. Nevertheless Eddie Harris is still more well known as the "Funk Godfather" of saxophone than as "Electronic Pioneer" among music fans. Michael & Randy Brecker (ts & fl-horn). Born 29 March 1949 (Michael) and 27 Nov. 1945 (Randy) in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the brothers ascended into the international Brass-Elite shortly after completing their university education. Their sound has refined numerous products in the Jazz and Rock genres. The younger brother, Michael, worked together with Purdie already in 1969 in New York. Randy was a member in the bands of Booker T. and Clark Terry, Horace Silver and Duke Pearson, as well as recording with rock stars such as Janis Joplin and Edgar Winter. On "Soul to Jazz" Michael Brecker plays an unique solo on "Senor Blues" in memory of the early years of his career as a member of the Horace Silver Band. Nils Landgren (tb). Born 1957 in Sweden, Nils Landgren began his career in 1981 in the band of Thad Jones and has consequently been on the look-out for the fusion possibilities of Soul and Jazz ever since. Intermezzi as a soloist with the "Crusaders" and Herbie Hancock, and especially his constant presence with his own bands on the exciting Scandinavian scene and with the "JazzBaltica Ensemble" have created waves felt far beyond Europe. In 1994 he released his electrifying live-album “NILS LANDGREN FUNK UNIT” featuring special guest Maceo Parker. (ACT 9223-2) Martin Moss (voc). Born in New York as the son of a jazz musician and a gospel singer, he trained as an actor at the "American Academy of Dramatic Arts", and in New York and Berlin as a singer. After performing in various shows in the club scene, Moss switched his major to musicals and appeared in many Off-Broadway productions before coming to Germany. Here he worked as a soloist and member of various musical ensembles and has been playing the title role in the successful musical "Gaudi" from Eric Wolffson since 1995. To every soul & jazz fan Martin Moss is the real discovery of this record.Credits: Soul to Jazz I LP 1 and LP 2, A 01 - 04 Originally released on CD: 01.09.1996 Recorded March 5 - 15, 1996 at WDR Studios, Cologne. Recording engineers: Thomas Sehringer & Reinhold Nickel. Technics: Ruth Witt. Editional recordings: Chateau du Pape & Peer Studios, Hamburg Mix (WDR): Wolfgang Hirschmann, Siggi Loch, Reinhold Nickel & Ruth Witt Mix (PUK Studio, Denmark): Charlie Jensen & Siggi Loch Mastering: Radu Marinescu & Liquid Gold Produced by Wolfgang Hirschmann & Siggi Loch A Co-Production of ACT Music and WDR Westdeutscher Rundfunk Soul to Jazz II LP 2, A 05 and LP 3 Originally released on CD: 01.07.1998 Recorded January 24 - 26, 1997 at Avatar Studios, New York City Mixed March 2 - 4, 1997 at Chung King Studios, New York City Recorded and mixed by James Anderson Mastered by Achim Kruse Produced by Bob Belden Executive Producer: Siggi Loch Lacquer Disc Cutting by Sidney Claire Meyer at Emil Berliner Studios Berlin

Various Artists - Fahrt ins Blaue II - groovin´in the spirit of jazzCD / Vinyl / digitalVarious ArtistsTurn up the volume! While the first “Fahrt ins Blaue” (journey into the blue/unknown) album from ACT in 2016 offered classy songs for chilling, a great place just to hang out and relax, the new album “FiB II - groovin' in the spirit of jazz” leads us straight out onto the dance floor. From the moment it opens up, with funky jazz, gritty blues and bucketloads of soul, this compilation sets the tone for a night of partying. It’s after sunset. The DJ is starting to nudge the volume a little higher. The WDR Big Band and its unbelievably tight horn section sets this journey on its way. First there’s a classic from Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers, “Moanin”. Then Torsten Goods ‘jumps that train’ and takes things on with a U2 cover, “When Love Comes To Town”. Its disco bass-lines and Wolfgang Haffner's in-the-pocket groove make it the perfect antidote to any lingering stiffness or formality, with Swedish singer Ida Sand stepping into the role which B. B. King had on the original. She’ll be singing a duet later with Raul Midón: “He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother”. Viktoria Tolstoy takes us back to the easy vibe of Herbie Hancock's disco/pop phase with her take on “Paradise” from the 1982 album “Lite Me Up!” And then there are Joe Sample and Nils Landgren, and they’re really going for it. The US legend - who died in 2014 - on Fender Rhodes and Mr. Redhorn, don’t actually have a Hollywood connection between them; but what they do connect with is heavy grooves. No frills, no fuss, they take “Don't Take My Love To Hollywood” and completely nail it. An ACT classic from 1997 follows on seamlessly: “Joshua", from Bernard Purdy's “Soul To Jazz" is pure gospel funk. Magnus Lindgren's “Penny Blue” was created 20 years later. This, the newest track on "FiB II" is the finest soul-jazz, made in Stockholm. And then it's time for southern soul, the genuine article: Mighty Sam McClain, who died in 2015, brings huge platefuls of Louisiana feeling to the table. Youn Sun Nah springs a surprise on us by showing her danceable side in the Paul Simon cover “She Moves On” with US guitarist Marc Ribot. Then there’s a short pause for breath: Solveig Slettahjell's “Holy Joe” adds a soft bluesy note and Muriel Zoe sings Steely Dan's “Rikki Don't Lose That Number”, laid-back country-style. That’s followed by Nils Landgren rocking out with the complete Funk Unit. Randy Brecker on flugelhorn, supported by the WDR Big Band, blows a storm on Lee Morgan's soul-jazz hit “The Sidewinder”. That rousing finale seems to signal the end of the DJ set, but since they’re all still baying loudly for an encore… Pete York’s fat organ-funk provides it. And that really is everybody’s very last dance. “Fahrt ins Blaue II.” Fourteen tracks for grooving and boogying. You feel good, you dance the night away and you certainly don’t hold back. It’s music which gives those dancing feet energy they never knew they had. Let the summer begin.Credits: Compiled by Marco Ostrowski Cover art by Rupprecht Geiger Mastered by Klaus Scheuermann

Experience the soul of jazz with Stanley Turrentine, Hank Crawford, Bernard Purdie, and more, recorded live in New York.

Experience the electrifying fusion of jazz and funk with Nils Landgren, Esbjörn Svensson, and legendary guests like Michael Brecker and Bernard Purdie.