Jawanza Kobie’s Weekly Wednesday Jazz Playlist May 11, 2022

Led by Drummer Damien Schmitt Dam'nco is the new face of French Jazz pop. The   compositions, which borrow different musical styles, are directly inspired by the atmospheres of the districts of Paris where all the members of the group live. Dam'nco represents the interbreeding of 21st century France and its multiculturalism. Colorful, singing and dancing   music punctuated by explosive improvisations. Dam'nco is the gathering of six of the best French musicians who play a resolutely modern jazz, anchored in its time, with this little additional ingredient: the French touch! Here is ‘French Kiss’

Composer pianist Lao Tizer hails from Boulder, CO, with a career that now spans nine albums over nearly a quarter of a century he was a teenage prodigy. Tizer is the son of hippies with a Russian-Jewish background, and the mix of that ethnic family heritage, parental new age influence and growing up with the sights and sounds of '80s and '90s pop culture (alongside the music of the '60s and '70s he heard from his parents) have brought him to a place in his artistic life where he was ready to embrace a wider range of influences and stretch himself and his players to pull off such an ambitious project. This is ‘16th Heaven’ from one of his earlier albums.

James Robert Haslip (born December 31, 1951) is an American bass guitarist who was a founding member of the jazz fusion group the Yellowjackets which he left in 2012. He was also an early user of the five-string electric bass. Born in the Bronx to Puerto Ricans immigrants, Spanish was Haslip's first language and he learned to speak English in kindergarten. In addition to working with the Yellowjackets Haslip has worked with Jeff Lorber, Bruce Hornsby, Rita Coolidge, Chaka Khan, Al Jarreau and a host of who’s who in jazz and beyond. This is ‘Outland’ from his 1st solo album ARC.

Cheltenham Pa.’s (just outside of Philadelphia PA) own Jeff Lorber is an American keyboardist, composer, and record producer. After six previous nominations, Lorber won his first Grammy Award on January 28, 2018 for Best Contemporary Instrumental Album for Prototype by his band the Jeff Lorber Fusion. He attended Berklee College of Music in the early 1970s but did not graduate to go on the road with guitarist John Scofield who he met there. His first group, the Jeff Lorber Fusion, released their self-titled debut album in 1977 and has gone on to release thirteen albums. He has also recorded and released thirteen solo albums. This is a live performance of is tune ‘Surreptitious’

Cedar Anthony Walton, Jr. was an American hard bop jazz pianist. He came to prominence as a member of drummer Art Blakey's band, The Jazz Messengers, before establishing a long career as a bandleader and composer. Several of his compositions have become jazz standards including Bolivia, Holy Land and Mode for Joe. He and trumpeter Freddie Hubbard joined the Jazz Messengers on the same day. He left the Messengers in 1964 and was part of the rhythm section band at Prestige records. This is ‘Firm Roots’ another of his original tunes that have become Jazz standards.

The Yellowjackets were formed when guitarist Robben Ford assembled keyboardist Russell Farrante, bassist Jimmy Haslip, and drummer Ricky Lawson for an album recording. They decided to continue as a group and were signed to Warner Brothers Records in 1977. Ford left the group in 1984 and was replaced by saxophonist Marc Russo and later replaced by Bob Mintzer in 1990. Drummer Ricky Lawson was later replaced by drummer Will Kennedy. They have recorded and released twenty six albums during their career. This is ‘Tenacity’ from their Timeline Album from 2011.

Snarky Puppy is an American instrumental ensemble led by bassist Michael League. Snarky Puppy combines a variety of jazz idioms, rock, world music, and funk and has won four Grammy Awards. Although the band has worked with vocalists, League described Snarky Puppy as "a pop band that improvises a lot, without vocals". In 2005, League self-released the band's unofficial first album Live at Uncommon Ground. Snarky Puppy's next three albums were released independently, after which Tell Your Friends, groundUP, Family Dinner: Volume One, and We Like It Here were released on the band's GroundUP imprint on Ropeadope Records. This is ’Lingus’ featuring keyboard phenom Corey Henry a member (at the time) of the group.

Folk singer and songwriter Richie Havens (the very first artist to perform at Woodstock) was an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. His music encompassed elements of folk, soul, and rhythm and blues. He had an intense and rhythmic guitar style, and played soulful covers of pop and folk songs. Born in Brooklyn New York in 1941 he left his home at age 20 to seek artist stimulation in Greenwich Village in Manhattan NY. Known for is cover versions of other artist music by making it his own, brought Havens to a wider audience and made him very popular. He appeared on television shows like The Ed Sullivan Show, and Johnny Carson’s The Tonight Show. This is where I first heard ‘Dreaming As One’ and it has become one of my favorite tunes of his.

Stephen Lee Bruner, better known by his stage name Thundercat, is an American bass guitarist, singer, songwriter and actor from Los Angeles.

Born into a family of musicians, Bruner began playing the bass at an early age, listening to bass players such as Stanley Clarke and Marcus Miller for inspiration. By 15 he had a minor hit in Germany as a member of the boy band No Curfew. A year later he joined his brother drummer Ronald. as a member of the Los Angeles punk band Suicidal Tendencies. This ‘Uh Uh’ from his album as a bandleader.

Jan Hammer is a Czech-American musician, composer, and record producer. He first gained his most visible audience while playing keyboards with the Mahavishnu Orchestra during the early 1970s, as well as his film scores and television including Miami Vice Theme from the 1980s television program. Hammer has collaborated with some of the era's most influential jazz and rock musicians such as Jeff Beck, Billy Cobham, Mick Jagger, Carlos Santana, Stanley Clarke and others. This is from his jazz fusion album from the album Oh Yeah ‘One To One’ from 1977.

Rare Bird Ballet is from my 1st CD featuring Webb Thomas drums, Lee Smith bass and the late Leonard ‘Doc’ Gibbs on percussion.