Rachel Ombredane and Stéphane Avellaneda are a flute and drums duo. Yes, that's correct, from the back of the orchestra and the back of the band to the front of the stage. Rachel earned her degree(s) in flute, musicology, and vocals at esteemed Parisian schools, and Stef cut his teeth on the world stage touring with Serbian guitarist Ana Popovic. Both have the skill to play and perform the music of their choosing, and together they are RoSaway - a sort of pop, sort of electronic, sort of Jazz band with flute, drums, Rachel's otherworldly vocal, and a bit of help from Adam Ahuja on keys. RoSaway's new single, Freedom, hits on Infinity Gritty via Ropeadope on June 29th. Stay tuned right over here.
Javier Santiago
From Minneapolis to Stockton CA to NYC, Javier Santiago's path has been in earnest, searching for the right combination of musical knowledge, skill, and influence. Selected to attend the Brubeck Institute, Javier learned from greats like Christian McBride, Robert Glasper, Nicholas Payton, and Joshua Redman before heading to the New School to further his study. Outside of class Santiago honed his production skills as well, and now he brings his world to the fore with the album Phoenix, an exploration in Jazz with the core band of Corey Fonville, Zach Brown, Dayna Stephens, Ben Flocks, and Nir Felder. Phoenix is what people might have called 'Future Jazz' just a few years ago - but the future is now so we'll just call it Jazz. Phoenix hits on June 29th, and is available for preview and preorder right here.
Aeons and Aeons
This is one of those posts - where we have an artist (or two) who have really strong bios in their genre but the new album doesn't sound anything like what they have previously done. Muireann Nic Amhlaoibh is an award-winning traditional singer and musician from Corca Dhuibhne, West Kerry. A leading exponent of the traditional sean nós style, her repertoire also includes songs from a wide variety of folk and contemporary sources. Described as “one of the freshest sounds in Irish music” by fRoots magazine, Padraig Rynne is a virtuoso musician, prolific composer and is regarded as one of the finest concertina players in Irish music today. OK, now throw that away and get ready to hear the new sounds these two make together. Aeons is like a hazy dream state drifting aimlessly around the center of the universe. Ambient Celtic ambassadors is the best way to describe these two - check out Fis by Aeons, due out on June 29.
Pendulum Swings | Angelo Moore
Angelo Moore is hitting the road with fierce energy and dedication. The Brand New Step is his project outside of Fishbone, and it's a traveling groove and politics driven storm. Claude Coleman Jr (Ween), Ashish “Hash” Vyas (Thievery Corporation), JJ Jungle (The Coup), Hassan Hurd (The Coup) form the core, with vocals from Butterscotch, Cheyenne Moore, and Bridney Reese. Ths IS the brand new step, and Angelo has a treat for us today as he drops a classic single with a B-side to address the current state of confusion in the good ol U S of A. The signature sound is courtesy of the infamous Rondo Brothers of Berkeley California, with frequent collaborator Kris Jensen on guitar. The B-side is Marvin Gaye's Inner City Blues as only Angelo Moore can do it.
You'll want to catch the groove and the lyrics on these, and drop them into your playlist for heavy rotation.