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Ole Børud “Stepping Up”

Ole

Following his two solid studio discs and the beautiful Christmas project with Samuel Ljungblahd, Ole Børud is back with a fantastic new album of sophisticated, jazzy grooves called STEPPING UP. The voice, the arrangements, the production, everything you love about Ole Børud music has come together again on this glorious new collection. From the downbeat of the soulful opening song “Think Twice”, you won’t have to as this highly infectious track breaks it down as you push play. The first single “Maybe” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K-uBLqSNChA will hook you with its breezy, melodic horn & vocal arrangements.

The chord progressions, harmonies and overall feel on “Uptown Citizen” will remind you of how good music can make you instantly feel. Add to that the reggae swing of “Givin’ Myself A Break”, the "Steely vibe" on “Keep This World Alive” & the energetic “Everywhere I Go” and you’ve got a dangerously live wire. It’s such a pleasure to hear the influences of classic bands like Steely Dan, Pages, Chicago, etc., tastefully blended in as a part of the extraordinarily original hybrid that only Ole Børud can create.

The compositions on this album seem to have more space and the songs breathe within the arrangements. Other stand-out tracks include “Stepping Up” & "Turn Me Around”. All of the music is composed by Ole Børud with the words by Børud and lyricist Jackie Kavan. The musicians are Ruben Dalen: Drums/Percussion/Keys, Frode Mangen: Rhodes/Wurlitzer/Clavinet/Piano/Hammond/synthesizers/Keyboard Solos, Jens Petter Antonsen: Trumpet, Børge-Are Halvorsen: Saxophones, Even Skatrud: Trombone and Ole Børud: Vocals, Guitars/Bass/Keys.

With his brilliant sense of structure, melody, musicianship and message, Ole Børud continues to amaze and fulfill the promise of his previous work.

Scott Gross at Inside Musicast

 


StoneFlower "Destination Anywhere"

Stoneflower2

Based on the 13 album releases among them, the four guys in Stoneflower opted to go for an album of their own. 

Formed in 1999 by Frode Henriksen, Tom Sennerud and Jon Johansen all from the famous band DiezelSvenn Huneide Joined one year later and the band was complete. The critics acclaimed album "crack a little smile" was released in 2003 and received great reviews around the world.

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Origin from Norway this AOR masterpiece soon became cherished among fans around the world.

After 11 years Stoneflower have now released their second album "Destination anywhere" and if possible it`s even better sounding, loaded with more genuis songs and should soon be a sought after treasure among AOR/westcoats fans around the globe.

StoneFlower are: Frode Henriksen - lead vocals, Tom Sennerud - lead guitar/background vocals & Svenn Huneide - bass


Foreigner "The Best Of Foreigner 4 & More"

Foreigner

With ten multi-platinum albums and sixteen Top 30 US hits, Foreigner is universally hailed as one of the most popular rock acts in the world with a formidable musical arsenal that continues to propel sold-out tours and album sales, now exceeding 75 million.

Responsible for some of rock and roll’s most enduring anthems including “Juke Box Hero,” “Feels Like The First Time,” “Urgent,” “Head Games,” “Hot Blooded,” “Cold As Ice,” “Dirty White Boy,” “Waiting For A Girl Like You,” and the worldwide #1 hit, “I Want To Know What Love Is,” Foreigner continues to rock the charts more than thirty years into the game.  

At Foreigner’s core is founder and lead guitarist Mick Jones, the visionary maestro whose stylistic songwriting, indelible guitar hooks and multi-layered talents continue to escalate Foreigner’s influence, along with lead vocalist Kelly Hansen, bass guitarist Jeff Pilson and multi-instrumentalist Tom Gimbel.  

Founded in 1976, Foreigner’s debut album produced the hits “Feels Like The First Time,” “Cold As Ice” and “Long, Long Way From Home.” The album Double Vision followed, as did a string of hits like “Urgent,” “Juke Box Hero” and “Waiting For A Girl Like You.” Those songs helped give Foreigner’s next album, 4, its impressive run at #1 on the Billboard chart. At the zenith of 80’s sound, Foreigner’s fifth album, Agent Provocateur, gave the world the incredible #1 global hit,” I Want To Know What Love Is.” This musical milestone followed the record-breaking song “Waiting For A Girl Like You,” which appeared on the previous record “4”.

An unprecedented new level of energy commenced in 2002 when Mick Jones decided to take Foreigner to the next level. He was joined by the astonishing Kelly Hansen on vocals, and continues as they lead the group in a re-emergence of astounding music that speaks to long time Foreigner fans and younger generations. With renewed energy and direction, Foreigner hit the Billboard charts again with the 2005 release of their live greatest hits album, Extended Versions. Can’t Slow Down followed in 2009, and entered the Billboard chart in the Top 30, driven by two Top 20 radio singles, “In Pieces” and “When It Comes To Love.” To follow was the release of the band’s 3-disc set, Feels Like The First Time, which included an acoustic CD with an intimate and unique re-interpretation of many Foreigner classics, studio re-records by the new lineup and a live performance DVD showcasing the group’s exceptional live energy.  

Foreigner experienced another surge in popularity when several of their hits were featured on the Rock Of Ages soundtrack, including “I Want To Know What Love Is,” “Juke Box Hero” and “Waiting For A Girl Like You” – more songs than any other one band on the soundtrack. Hollywood quickly took note, and several more tracks were featured in hit films “Anchorman 2,” “Magic Mike” and “Pitch Perfect,” sending Foreigner downloads up 400%. The video game industry was soon to follow. The blockbuster release, “Grand Theft Auto V,” features Foreigner’s “Dirty White Boy,” and “Hot Blooded” is included in the November 2013 release of “BandFuse”. The high visibility of Foreigner’s songs continues to introduce the band’s music to a whole future generation of fans. On October 3rd & 4th 2014, Foreigner performed and record a unique event at the prestigious Borgata Hotel in Atlantic City, NJ.  For the first time ever, the band presented 'The Best of Foreigner 4 & More' show.  This is a theme that will continue through select live shows, with a repertoire consisting of some of the best and most loved songs of Foreigner “4” plus a selection of other Foreigner timeless hits. Foreigner ”4” remains the best selling and fans’ favorite album in the entire Foreigner catalogue. This is a release that will resonate very deeply with the Foreigner audience and go on to become a major release in Foreigner’s catalogue.


Mike Oldfield "Man On The Rocks"

Olfield

2014 release, the 25th studio album from the British guitarist Mike Olfield. Man On The Rocks was produced by Stephen Lipson together with Oldfield. The album features bassist Leland Sklar, drummer John Robinson, keyboardist Matt Rollings, guitarist Michael Thompson and singer Luke Spiller together with Oldfield himself on guitar. The backing tracks were recorded during June 2013 in Studio D of Village Studios, Los Angeles with Lipson. Oldfield has also recorded part of the album in his home studio in the Bahamas.


Judith Owen "Ebb & Flow"

JO

That Judith Owen’s new album Ebb & Flow evokes the spirit of the halcyon days of the great 1970s troubadours is neither surprising nor is it accidental.

In a set of potent songs about love and loss, pain and joy, dreams and despair, the Welsh singer-songwriter fearlessly explores the duality of the human condition – and to do justice to the songs she turned to the legendary musicians who created the seventies troubadour sound.

Between them her core band of drummer Russ Kunkel, bassist Lee Sklar and guitarist Waddy Wachtel played on many of the landmark albums from the era, including Carole King’s Tapestry, James Taylor’s Sweet Baby James, Joni Mitchell’s Blue, Jackson Browne’s Running On Empty and countless others, and were recently featured in an article in Rolling Stone magazine celebrating their unsung contribution to musical history.

“The kind of music I write is so influenced by that sound and period that I wanted to go direct to the source,” Owen explains. “When I plucked up the courage to ask them to play on the record, I was amazed they said ‘yes’. But working with them was hand in glove because when I write songs, I’m hearing a sound in my head – and they knew the sound because they originated and defined it. In some ways, the record is almost a love letter to those guys and the classic sound they invented.”

The songs on Ebb & Flow touch on the deepest emotions of Owen’s own storied life with an unswerving honesty. But although her songs are highly personal, the emotions are universal. They can be dark; and yet they are also full of wonder, a celebration of the resourcefulness of the human spirit in the face of adversity.

“Singing about the human condition, living under the shadow of loss and frustration and sadness and loneliness and not being gratuitously sentimental about it, instead making something beautiful out of it – that’s the songwriter’s job,” Owen says.” People say I write sad songs and they’re definitely emotional revealing. But they’re also uplifting songs because out of human struggle comes catharsis. Sad music can be elevating, because it’s a direct route into your heart.”

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What she describes as the “bookends” of the album are two particularly heart-rending songs, “You’re Not Here Any More”, about her mother (whose suicide when she was 15, was the catalyst for her foray into serious song-writing and “I Would Give Anything”, about the recent loss of the greatest musical influence, her Opera singer father. Both songs are poignant expressions of the bittersweet duality that is perhaps the album’s strongest theme and which is reflected in the title Ebb & Flow. “Yes, they’re incredibly sad,” admits Owen. “But they’re also cathartic because they’re the most loving songs I could write and are totally honest about the reality of loss.”

The theme of how to make it through the darkest night inform several other compositions on the album, including “Under Your Door”, “You Are Not My Friend” and “Train Out Of Hollywood”, intimate songs inspired by a compassionate recognition of other lost souls struggling with emotional insecurities and vulnerabilities, but always shot through with glimpses of hope and salvation.

There is a seductive wit and playfulness alongside the introspection, too. A trademark of Owen’s career has been her irreverent ability to subvert well-known songs with unexpected and improbable covers. Over the years she has turned-inside-out songs by the likes of Deep Purple and The Police to render them almost unrecognisable from the originals. Here it’s Mungo Jerry’s 1970 smash hit “In The Summertime” that gets the unique Owen makeover treatment, rendered as it might have sounded if the song had appeared on Joni Mitchell’s Ladies of The Canyon. “Great songs are like great bones. You can hang whatever you want on them,” she says. ” “In The Summertime” is a ridiculously silly song, and so I asked ‘What Would Joni Do?’ It’s warm, with a glint in the eye and a sense of fun.”

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Given the history of the musicians who play on the album backing Carole King and James Taylor, it would have been remiss not to acknowledge the roots of Ebb & Flow. A lovely cover of King’s “It Might As Well Rain Until September” is complemented by a stunning version of Taylor’s “Hey Mister, That’s Me Up On The Jukebox”. The suggestion that Owen should record the latter came from Russ Kunkel, who played on the original on Taylor’s Mud Slide Slim and The Blue Horizon album more than 40 years ago.

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Nick Vintskevich "Never was a doubt"

Nick

Nick Vintskevich's "Never was a doubt"  is the title song of a cognominal album recorded in Los Angeles and Moscow. Best R&B, jazz, soul, rock and funk musicians took part in its creation.

The lead singer in the song "Never was a doubt" is legendary Bill Champlin. Musicians feature Leonid Vintskevich (Keys), Joel Taylor (Drums), Lee Thornburg (Trumpet, Trombone, flugelhorn), Nick Vintskevich (a.sax solo), Paulie Cerra (Tenor sax), Arnold McCuller & Bill Champlin (Backing vocals).


"Bossanovanglo" featuring David Foster, Marc Jordan, Amy Holland...

Bossanovanglo

Brazil’s Bossa Nova emerged as one of the most influential movements in musical history, standardized by its anthem “Garota de Ipanema” (The Girl from Ipanema) written by Antônio Carlos Jobim and Vinícius de Moraes. But the influence of Bossa Nova with its strong jazz flavor has endure the test of time and it has embedded itself into the composition and performing style of many English-singing artists, some of which comprise “Bossanovanglo”.

Published by Kithara Musique, this is an incredible collection of Bossa Nova originals and covers sung entirely in English and performed by some amazing international artists who have embraced bossa nova rhythms, jazz stylings and nylon string guitar colors with their own beautiful vocals and pop sensibilities to create a smooth contemporary vibe full of love, longing, sadness, happiness and everlasting emotions normally depicted on this Brazilian music genre.

Featuring Canadian singer/songwriter Marc Jordan (famous for having written "Rhythm of My Heart" for Rod Stewart) a duo with Canadian jazz singer Molly Johnson; American composer, pianist and educator Don Grusin accompanied by sensual soul stylist singer Leon Ware of Mowtown fame; the amazing vocal-piano duo of American vocalist Cecily Gardner with famous Canadian composer, pianist, producer David Foster; German crooner Peter Fessler accompanied by the amazing NDR Bigband; German vocal extraordinaire Nikola Materne & Bossanoire; sultry Swedish vocalist Anna Nygren; American jazz diva Sylvia Bennett; the insideful American singer-songwriter Amy Holland (wife of Michael McDonald); the duo of German guitarist, composer Dago and acclaimed soul jazz singer Tokunbo Akinro; the ever cheerful Canadian singer Michele Mele and French awesome newcomers Aymeric Frerejean and Joel Virgel.

Beautiful cover painting by Sergio Lazo.