Haverford College 1980 Solo Piano
Sun Ra
American jazz pioneer Sun Ra (1914-1993), whose legal name was Le Sony’r Ra (born Herman Poole Blount) was a composer, poet and bandleader. He played piano, organ, keyboards, Minimoog, percussions and synthesiser, as well as being an enthusiastic vocalist, and he was famous for his prolific experimental music, his wild performances and his esoteric philosophy. “Decades after his death, the Afrofuturist pioneer’s influence is popping up everywhere, from Solange gigs to the underground.»“ (Rolling Stone) The meditative concert covers Ra’s customary approach to solo outings: original Ra crowd pleasers (Space is the Place , Love in Outer Space); standards (St. Louis Blues, Rhapsody in Blue, Over the Rainbow); and untitled improvisations (here assigned the titles “Haverford Impromptu” numbers one and two.)
Enterplanetary Koncepts, December 2019
The Neon Skyline
Andy Shauf
Born in Saskatchewan, Andy Shauf lives in Toronto. His parents ran an electronics and musical store, giving him access to a variety of instruments, of which he plays drums, guitar, keyboard and clarinet. Before starting a solo career, he was a drummer in the Christian punk band Captain, having been introduced to Christian music by his parents. The Neon Skyline is his seventh album. The LPs eleven interconnected tracks follow a simple plot: the narrator goes to his neighbourhood dive, finds out his ex is back in town, and she eventually shows up. A great storyteller, Shauf sets a familiar scene of inviting friends for beers on the opening track: “I said, ‘Come to the Skyline, I’ll be washing my sins away.” While the arch of its narrative captivates our imagination, the real thrill of the album comes from how Shauf finds the humanity and humour in a typical night out and the ashes of a past relationship.
Anti- Records, January 2020
Simmer
Hayley Williams
Known as the singer-songwriter and keyboardist of Paramore, Hayley Williams, a soprano with a four-octave range, is producing her first solo album. Born in Mississippi in 1988, she moved to Tennessee at age fifteen. There she met her future bandmates. In 2015, along with co-writer Taylor York, Williams won the Grammy Award for Best Rock as well the APMA (Alternative Press Music Award) for Best Vocalist. In December 2019, on her 31st birthday, Williams announced she would be releasing solo music in 2020, with a “taste” of it to come in January. Flyers consisting of a picture of Williams under the title Petals for Amor began appearing in several US cities and abroad. She released her debut solo single “Simmer” with its accompanying music video. That same day Williams announced that her debut solo album would be released in early May.
Atlantic Records, January 2020
Fender Sessions
Black Pumas
Made up of singer Eric Burden and guitarist/producer Adrian Quesada, the Black Pumas are a funk and soul duo with strong Latin influences, based in Austin, Texas. They have been nominated for this year’s Grammy Awards as Best New Artists. Dominating their local music scene, the group was recognised as one of the breakthrough artists at SXSW (South by Southwest, an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and conferences in Austin) last year and took home the Best New Band trophy at the 2019 Austin Music Awards. Each month, Fender Sessions, a new YouTube performance series and deep dive into the creative process, features a live performance by a band or artist as well as a panel discussion moderated by another artist or industry veteran.
Fender Sessions, January 2020
Suite for Max Brown
Jeff Parker
«Jeff Parker (born April 4, 1967) is an American guitarist and composer based in Los Angeles. Born in Connecticut and raised in Hampton, Virginia, Parker is best known as an experimental musician, working with jazz, electronic, rock, and improvisational groups. Also a multi-instrumentalist, Parker has been a member of the post-rock group Tortoise since 1996, and was a founding member of Isotope 217 and the Chicago Underground Trio in the 1990s and early 2000s. He is a member of the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM) and has worked with George Lewis, Ernest Dawkins, Brian Blade, Joshua Redman, Fred Anderson, Meshell Ndegeocello, Joey de Francesco , Smog Carmen Lundy and Jason Moran. A prolific sideman, he has also released six albums as a solo artist: Like-Coping, The Relatives, Bright Light in Winter, The New Breed, Slight Freedom, and Suite for Max Brown.” (Wikipedia)
International Anthem, January 2020