Friday, March 10, 2017

NEW RELEASES: MIKAEL - GROOVEOLOGY: THE FINALE; COLLECTIVE PEACE - INTRODUCING COLLECTIVE PEACE; GABRIEL GARZON-MONTANO - JARDIN

MIKAEL - GROOVEOLOGY: THE FINALE

Hailing from Dayton, OH, former lead guitarist from the famed Commodores for ten years, Mikael has now arrived at another leg of his journey and is launching his third album, “Grooveology (The Finale)”. This CD brings in flavors from Brazil, along with some Ohio Funk, to the sounds of Jazz as one might imagine would have been played behind the doors of the Cotton Club back in Harlem. If you want songs with romance, Mikael has covered that too in his remix of  “Sadie”, as well as in the melody of “If I Could”. These are just a few of the love songs found on “Grooveology (The Finale”. In total, there are 14 songs which also include his hit from a previous album, “Highway 105” as well as “All I Do”. Songs with the Latin beat are “Como Te Llamas” and “ By The Way”. The tempo in the first is wickedly fast and highly upbeat with a brass section that punctuates all the Latin flavors and showcases the brilliance of Mikael on classical guitar. Both of these songs are very exhilarating and sure to liven up any dance floor. Also, his title song “Grooveology” is quite electrifying and shows how well he blended in that crazy Funky sound from his days when he performed with Walter "Junie" Morrison of the “Ohio Players”.

COLLECTIVE PEACE - INTRODUCING COLLECTIVE PEACE

A very cool collective from the contemporary Detroit scene – one led by a soulful saxophonist, and a great female singer – working here with strong guest contributions from Amp Fiddler, Zo, Dwele, Marcus Douglas, and John Bibbs! Saxappeal handles the reed solos and production – and the album has this crispy blend of jazz and contemporary soul, put together without any commercial schmaltz – at a level that reminds us of some of Zo's own music, but with less of a keyboard focus overall. The presentation is wonderful – very fresh, especially in some of the rhythms and instrumentation – but with more than enough classic roots to appeal to our ears, too – and titles include "Love's In Waiting", "Let The Music Play", "Track VI", "Pillow Talk", "Let It Shine", "Soul Bounce", and "Sun Chaser". Japanese pressing features the bonus tracks – "You & Me" and "Let The Music Play (Jon Dixon rmx)". ~ Dusty Groove


GABRIEL GARZON-MONTANO - JARDIN

The Stones Throw debut of Gabriel Garzon-Montano – a soul singer with a nicely laidback vibe – one that lets his crispy, raspy vocals fall in nicely between the keyboard lines and spare rhythms that really set the pace for the record! The tunes are never too over the top – and Gabriel really knows how to to more with less – allowing his understated approach to flow into all the spaces between the notes in a really great way – a mode that might well be echoed by some of his contemporaries. Titles include "Sour Mango", "Fruit Flies", "The Game", "Long Ears", "My Balloon", "Cantiga", and "Bombo Fabrika". ~ Dusty Groove


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