Concord Music Group To Release The Complete Tony Bennett / Bill Evans Recordings

The Concord Music Group will release The Complete Tony Bennett / Bill Evans Recordings on April 14th via Fantasy Records.

The sublime 2-CD collection spotlights the iconic song stylist Tony Bennett dueting with legendary jazz pianist Bill Evans from their two albums. Disc 1 combines the originally issued recordings, The Tony Bennett / Bill Evans Album and Together Again, with two bonus tracks, including a superb version of Cole Porter’s “Dream Dancing”; disc 2 features alternate takes from both sessions.

The first meeting of the vocalist and pianist, The Tony Bennett / Bill Evans Album (1975), featured the pair performing standards, as well as a moving rendition of Evan’s classic tune, “Waltz For Debby.” Other standards include “But Beautiful,” “The Days Of Wine And Roses” and “Young And Foolish.”

The first meeting established the Bennett-Evans chemistry, with the two having plenty of room to make their own personal statements. In 1976, the pair returned to the studio for Together Again, opening with Evan’s solo rendition of “The Bad And The Beautiful,” and continuing with moving renditions of “Lucky To Be Me” and “You Don’t Know What Love Is.”

Reflecting back, Bennett remains especially proud of these sessions with Bill Evans, citing them as the most satisfying projects of his long career. Nick Phillips produced the remastered compilation with new liner notes by Will Friedwald.

Paul Brown & Marc Antoine To Release Collaboration CD Foreign Exchange

Concord Music Group / Peak Records are set to release a new collaboration CD from smooth jazz guitar superstars Paul Brown & Marc Antoine; Foreign Exchange is out April 7th on Peak Records.

Produced by Brown, co-produced by Antoine, Foreign Exchange is 11 tracks featuring guest performances from the genre’s most acclaimed artists, including Jessy J and keyboardists Philippe Saisse and Gregg Karukas. The new CD features a wide variety of influences; pop, jazz, old school R&B, soul-jazz, and Brazilian & Latin music.

Paul Brown and Marc Antoine will be hitting the road as a duo in support of the album.

Sarah Borges' The Stars Are Out Available Now

Sarah Borges and the Broken Singles released The Stars Are Out this week via Sugar Hill Records / Vanguard.

The follow up to her critically lauded Diamonds In The Dark (2007), The Stars Are Out is a vibrant, far-reaching display of what Sarah Borges and the Broken Singles are all about. Exploring new terrain, both as a writer and a performer, Sarah knew the character of her third album need to be more upbeat than its contemplative predecessors. The Stars Are Out is a soundtrack for Saturday nights, not Sunday mornings.

QuickTime is currently featuring a promo, with a free mp3 of “Better At The End Of The Day”:
http://sbbs.otmg.net/qt/

The ten selections of The Stars Are Out—five new originals, and five covers—winnowed down by Sarah, band mates—guitarist Lyle Brewer, bassist Binky, and drummer Rob Dulaney—and producers Paul Q. Kolderie (the Pixies, Lemonheads, Radiohead) and Adam Taylor, include tunes attributed to Smokey Robinson (a radically reworked “Being With You”), Stiff Records act Any Trouble (“Yesterday's Love,” penned by Clive Gregson), and the Magnetic Fields' “No One Will Ever Love You.”

The results of The Stars Are Out include the slinky, '60s stroll of “Me and Your Ghost”; the flirtatious, guitar-driven kickoff, “Do It For Free”; and “It Comes To Me Naturally,” a hip-shaking tale of a girl-about-town, originally recorded by bar band supreme NRBQ.

Wynton Marsalis’ New Album He And She Now Streaming At iLike

Marsalis' fifth Blue Note release, He And She, is centered around that eternally compelling and most elemental of subjects: the relationship between a man and a woman.

The album features 22 tracks of Wynton's signature jazz style as well as spoken word / poetry. It’s an ambitious effort, combining spoken word and music, and Marsalis has given his quintet some formidable charts. The album is tempered with flashes of humor and plenty of swing. There’s ease and elegance and more than a little wisdom in these grooves.

He And She is now streaming in its entirety at iLike:
http://www.ilike.com/artist/Wynton+Marsalis

Concord Music Group Set to Release The Very Best of Prestige

Concord Music Group are set to launch a year-long 60th anniversary celebration of Prestige Records, with a full slate of assorted CD releases and other special bonuses, beginning next week (March 24th) with the release of The Very Best Of Prestige Records 2-CD set.

The Very Best Of Prestige Records is a 2-CD set of classic tracks from the legendary label's catalog featuring the iconic jazz artists of John Coltrane, Miles Davis, Eric Dolphy, Thelonious Monk, Sonny Rollins, and more. The new must have collection features 25 essential Prestige tracks, and is packed with classic photographs covering a 20-year span from 1949-1969, truly representing Prestige's golden era.

The Very Best Of Prestige Records is available 3.24.09 (CD &Digital).

Streaming audio available here:
http://otmg.net/pages/prestige-60th-anniversary

Cassandra Wilson To Release Covers Collection On April 7th

Grammy-award winning jazz vocalist Cassandra Wilson will release Closer To You: The Pop Side on April 7th via Blue Note / EMI.

With her unmistakable honeyed husky voice, she has made intimate and personal statements with jazz, blues, R&B, country and pop. Closer To You: The Pop Side is a new collection of Wilson’s best covers of pop / rock hits, originally recorded by a who’s-who of top musicians, including U2, Bob Dylan, Glen Campbell, The Band, Sting, Van Morrison, Neil Young, Cyndi Lauper and The Wallflowers.

Closer To You: The Pop Side celebrates the finest pop covers from Wilson’s seven albums recorded with Blue Note during her lengthy tenure with the legendary label.

Wilson won her second Grammy® Award in February, earning the Best Jazz Vocal Album honors for Loverly, her critically acclaimed 2008 Blue Note release. Blue Note Records is celebrating its 70th Anniversary as the world’s premier and longest-running jazz label with special commemorative releases and events throughout 2009.

New Wynton Marsalis Embeddable Widget

Check out the new album-themed Wynton Marsalis embeddable widget / player. It features streaming audio from the upcoming album He And She, album artwork & bio, and the player can be embedded into any blog or webpage.

He And She is 22 tracks featuring alternate tracks of spoken word / poetry and Wynton’s signature jazz music centered around the relationship between man and woman. The album will be released March 24th on Blue Note Records.

Link: http://www.bluenote.com/wyntonmarsalis/webtools/heandshe/

Thin Lizzy Vinyl Contest At The Vinyl District

The Vinyl District is giving away two vinyl copies of Thin Lizzy’s Still Dangerous.

"Still Dangerous" is the raw, unadulterated, untouched sound of THIN LIZZY at the absolute height of its powers. Recorded on the band's sold-out 1977 "Bad Reputation" tour, "Still Dangerous" captures the classic quartet of Lynott, Downey, Gorham and Robertson on fire at the celebrated Tower Theatre in Philadelphia.

Enter here: http://vinyldistrict.blogspot.com/2009/03/tvds-eleven-weeks-of-record-store-day_09.html

Ronnie Milsap AOL Full Album Stream

AOL is currently streaming country legend Ronnie Milsap's new album, Then Sings My Soul: 24 Favorite Hymns and Gospel Songs. The six-time Grammy winner’s 2-disc is in stores tomorrow via EMI CMG.

With 40 #1 chart-toppers under his belt, Ronnie Milsap is expanding his palette with Then Sings My Soul, his first foray into gospel-inspired music. Milsap went back to the deep, rich, gospel tradition of hymns like “Holy Holy Holy” and “Amazing Grace,” both featured on the new album.

Listen at AOL now: http://music.aol.com/new-releases-full-cds/#/12

Sarah Borges & The Broken Singles Debut Video for First Single “Do It For Free”

Boston-based Sarah Borges sings "It's always the same every night" on the first single "Do It For Free" from her forthcoming CD The Stars Are Out (March 24th - Sugar Hill Records.)

The raucous and driving video tells the story of a lover scorned who finds temporary solace in the arms of another. The story is interspersed with performance shots of the band doing what they do best - playing fearlessly and commanding the stage with their good-time-rock-n-roll party vibe.



The band is in the midst of confirming a North American tour for the spring and will make a stop in Austin for SXSW. 


For a complete list of tour dates, click here: http://sarahborges.com