tag:www.jambatunes.com,2005:/blogs/latest-news?p=2Latest News2018-09-27T10:51:01-04:00JAMBa's PeaceWorkfalsetag:www.jambatunes.com,2005:Post/51262002018-03-13T15:22:04-04:002021-10-23T14:49:44-04:0016th ANNUAL INDEPENDENT MUSIC AWARDS<p><span class="font_large">JAMBa's</span><span class="font_large"> 2016 release "OFF WHITE" feat Bernard "Pretty" Purdie was recently nominated for Tribute Album of the Year. Awards will be given on March 31, </span><span class="font_large">2018</span><span class="font_large"> at Lincoln Center in NYC.</span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">We're very happy to have our project considered. </span><span class="font_large">THANKS</span><span class="font_large"> IMA!</span></p>
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/182538/c507192c5bebcb624f6c22d9053de0bc0af133c8/original/ima-nominee-logo-jpg-1452x1452.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>5:13JAMBa's PeaceWorktag:www.jambatunes.com,2005:Post/39687432015-12-30T20:15:43-05:002022-08-12T03:54:32-04:00Mistakes with Legends part 1: Tony Williams<p>Over the years, I’ve found myself meeting musicians that I really respected. Guys whose albums I wore out. Guys whose music had a tremendous impact on my playing. <br>I’m not a “I really gotta meet this guy” type of person but you find yourself in situations with these very people that had a huge influence on your musical life. <br>Case in point: Tony Williams <br>In my opinion, TW is the most creative and influential jazz drummer of our time. We’ll talk about the reasons in another post. <br>But we opened for Tony’s quintet (Billy Pierce, Charnett Moffat, Mulgrew Miller, Wallace Roney) in Newport RI sometime in the early ‘80’s at a now defunct club called the Blue Pelican. <br>Mistake with Legend #1 Breaking the Rules <br>I walked into the club about two hours before the gig and there they were – Tony’s signature yellow Nitron Gretsch drums – no one was around – just me and the kit. The sound of that kit was etched in my head since I’d first heard it. I loved those drums. <br>Dare I sit behind Tony William’s drums? Feel the response of those heads and cymbals – hear that sound, make that sound! That would be very wrong – you never play someone’s gear without a thumb’s up. <br>So…I sat down… grabbed his sticks and started to play some time and then opened it up a little. <br>It was blissful until… a very LARGE human screamed and warned me that I was in violation of the unwritten code of musicians everywhere. You never grab someone’s instrument without clearance. I had no clearance… so I quickly complied and planned my exit. <br>Mistake with Legend #2 Leave Well Enough Alone: <br>I needed a safe haven so I went to the dressing room which was toward the back of the club on the second floor. I see a nice looking buffet and as I contemplate the construction of my roast beef sandwich, I turn to my right. Sitting in a plush, regal sort of chair, smoking some sort of expensive cigar, was…yes… Tony Williams. He heard my little concert on his drums. So, there we are, just me and TW! (you need to imagine the deafening silence) <br>I’m thinking, ‘salvage this thing and find a way to converse with my long-time mentor’. <br>This is my opportunity of a ‘Lifetime’ (no pun intended) to gain some drum wisdom straight from the source – the guy that played with Miles, Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter and everyone else. Maybe he would comment on my playing? This was going to be great, right?! </p>
<p>I sat down in front of him, face to face and introduced myself. Hi Mr. Williams! He looked directly into my eyes,(good start) took a massive inhalation of smoke, looked a me with total disgust and blew two huge lungs full of smoke directly into my face. We then had a Mexican stare-down for what seemed forever (just a few seconds). He refused to say one word. Not even hello, not even I hate you, nothing. More disappointment. More humiliation. Within just a few short minutes I had to make awkward exit number two. Not what you would envision for a chance meeting with drumming royalty. Some would say an epic fail but… </p>
<p>all in all, it went really well, don’t you think?</p>JAMBa's PeaceWorktag:www.jambatunes.com,2005:Post/39671452015-12-23T00:02:40-05:002022-06-02T05:13:31-04:00JAZZ TIMES writer Ken Franckling on OFF WHITE<p>JAMBa, Off White (JAMBaTunes) </p>
<p>While there is a jam band feel throughout this project, the band name JAMBa does not reference the genre. It merely borrows initials from co-leaders drummer John Anter and bassist Marty Ballou. They pulled together an impressive lineup of studio players for Off White, a stretched-out, instrumental jazz tribute to The Beatles. It combines elements from The Fab Four’s White and If You Need Mesessions, sometimes mashing texture and instrumentation from one tune with the rhythms of another. For example, the tune “Hey Bulldog” includes licks from “Cold Turkey.” </p>
<p>Besides the two leaders, the core band includes Joe “Sonny” Barbato on piano, Hammond B-3 and accordion, edgy guitarist Bruce Bartlett and saxophonist Klem Klimek. Bassist Dave Zinno and drum master Bernard Purdie joined the fun for two and three tracks respectively. Gems here include their takes on “Yer Blues” and “Flying” (both powered by Purdie), “Rocky Raccoon” (featuring Zinno), the calliope-esque “Junk,” a version of “Blackbird featuring just Anter, Ballou and Zinno, and a searing cover of George Harrison’s “Beware of Darkness.” <em><strong>Quite a few jazz players have covered Beatles material in recent years, but not like this.<br><br>--Ken Franckling</strong></em></p>JAMBa's PeaceWorktag:www.jambatunes.com,2005:Post/39308532015-11-23T11:22:44-05:002022-01-29T05:48:44-05:00The Making of a Record: OFF WHITE by JAMBa : Cut 4 "Hey Bulldog"The working title for this cut was "Turkey Dawg". Why? We thought that combining the riff from Hey Bulldog and the chordal lick from Cold Turkey would work. Thus Turkey Dawg.<br>Starting with the groove, we took a track from our last recording which was a rhythm that Bernard and I played together. We then doubled the track to thicken up the groove. Why stop there? We layered the same track a third time underneath but playing it backward. For a little icing on the cake, we added some phasing bewteen the parts.<br>We had our groove. We open the tune with that part for a few bars. <br>We also heard the Hey Bulldog riff broken up at first with the grooove in between phrases.<br>It was a bit of a challenge to get the melody to have it's own flavor. Imitating the human voice, especially Lennon and McCartney's wasn't easy but Bruce and Klem nailed the phrasing straight away. Add a little screaming B3 from Sonny and you're good to go.<br>I really like the Cold Turkey chords at the end...over a bed of Bernard Purdie funkiness.<br>Voila! Hey Bulldog (aka Turkey Dawg)<br><br>Listen here! http://jambatunes.com/buy<br><br>Thanks<br>John<br> JAMBa's PeaceWorktag:www.jambatunes.com,2005:Post/39248832015-11-14T20:42:51-05:002021-07-07T13:45:32-04:00What Others Are Saying....Friends and Music Lovers, This is a most unique, eclectic, and original sounding album; not really jazz, not pop, all Beatles Tunes, but you'd never know it. At times there are two bass players, sometimes doing a call-response thing, other times the guitarist rips these licks that rock yet don't distract from insistent 4s and 3s underneath. The drums express like soloing, yet are always tastefully in the background. Each tune seems to be so lovingly rehearsed and developed, with layers of subtle moods that change and groves that don't quit. I wish I knew more about music so I could describe it better. Treat yourself: Give a listen....<br>--Peter R., RI, USA<br><br>I listened to your CD all the way home.<br>I had it cranked and I really loved it. It's familiar yet totally fresh and grooves for days. Ioved, loved,loved it.<br>I thought everyone on it sounded amazing and arrangements, congrats to you and Marty and everyone involved.<br>--Steve D., RI USAJAMBa's PeaceWorktag:www.jambatunes.com,2005:Post/39062992015-10-30T16:35:06-04:002017-01-14T12:02:34-05:00RELEASE OF JAMBa's OFF WHITEWe're very happy that our baby is finally ready! This has been a special project for us. We love The Beatles' music (most people do, right?) and it was an genuine pleasure to put this album together for you. Also, <strong>each physical CD is part of a limited edition</strong>. <strong>Every disc has it's own serial number so your copy is UNIQUE</strong>. This won't be true of a second printing. We put a lot of love into this. We truly hope you <strong>ENJOY</strong>!<strong><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/182538/b98b8889b85c3f301caaac0eebacffd926faf95c/original/new-front.png?1446227801" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></strong>4:39JAMBa's PeaceWorktag:www.jambatunes.com,2005:Post/39062732015-10-30T14:08:20-04:002015-10-30T14:08:20-04:00Review of OFF WHITE by Ken BaysArtist: JAMBa<br>Title: <em>Off White Album</em><br>Review by Ken Bays (music writer for ReviewYou and CyberPR, NYC)<br>Rating: 4 stars<br><br><br>Sidemen are the unsung heroes of the musical world. Recognition is easy if you're a full-time band member; you're out there in front of audiences every night, you're doing interviews, and maybe you're even behind the vocal microphone (or writing the lyrics for the guy or gal who is).<br> <br>It's different for session musicians. If you're the person band after band hires to lay down the perfect rhythm when they hit the "record" button, it's a lot harder to find fame. Even some of the all-time greats -- the West Coast studio pros profiled in the recent documentary "The Wrecking Crew," or the Detroit legends who finally got their due in the 2002 film "Standing in the Shadows of Motown" -- seem to get overlooked in the annals of music history. For the professional sideman, it might take a lifetime before your name is known beyond the small-print confines of liner notes.<br> <br>Of course, for many sidemen, fame isn't the point, and the coolest thing about <em>Off White Album</em>, by JAMBa, a project centered on drummer John Anter and bassist Marty Ballou, is that there's not the slightest thing about it that says, "Look at me." Anter and Ballou are stalwarts of the Northeastern U.S. blues, jazz and rock scene, and they've made an album on which "egolessness" seems to have been the guiding principle. In the sense that these nine tracks are all about the interplay between musicians, about finding space for improvisation within pre-set forms, <em>Off White Album</em> is a jazz set; but its heavy emphasis on rhythm (particularly on the cuts featuring guest drummer Bernard Purdie, who absolutely kills) places it within the realm of funk, and its content (instrumental reworkings of some of the less-celebrated songs by the Beatles or from individual Beatles' solo careers) gives it a rock edge. At all times, though, the focus is on the performances, not on the people behind them. And that makes <em>Off White Album</em> a heck of a lot of fun to listen to.<br> <br>It's especially fun when it gets adventurous. "I Will" envelops the listener in a swirl of cymbal rolls as Joe Barbato's accordion and Ballou's bass sketch a skeletal melody, and the effect is the same sort of placid melancholy evoked by Tom Waits' "Time," which uses a similar arrangement. Barbato switches to soulful Hammond organ on "Beware of Darkness," originally from George Harrison's <em>All Things Must Pass</em>; with its smart use of dynamics and a lengthy, ferocious guitar solo by Bruce Bartlett, it's one of the liveliest selections here, despite its slow tempo. And "Blackbird" soars thanks to Dave Zinno’s soloing and Ballou's melodic bass, which turns out to be a fine substitute for Paul McCartney's vocals. The track interpolates what sounds like a bit of "Within You Without You" at its beginning, a good example of the joyous creativity that flows through the whole project.<br> <br>And then there are the tracks showcasing Purdie. A heaven-sent drummer whose signature shuffle is nearly impossible to duplicate, Purdie is a veteran of James Brown's and Aretha Franklin's bands (along with too many rock outfits to name), and the three tracks that have him doing double drum duty with Anter are undeniable highlights. You can get so caught up in the pocket he and Ballou create on "Yer Blues" that when the song ends and an unnamed player spontaneously shouts "Oh, man," you won't believe four and a half minutes have passed. "Hey Bulldog," where Joe Klimek's sax and Bruce Bartlett's guitar strike an especially potent balance, is just as good.<br> <br>The album's high point, though, is also its unlikeliest selection: Who even remembers "Flying," one of the instrumental numbers from <em>Magical Mystery Tour</em>? JAMBa does, and they've made Purdie's New Orleans-tinted rhythm the track's centerpiece. The gently rising melody, so low-key on the Beatles' recording, becomes a thing of breathtaking beauty as it's passed back and forth between sax, organ and guitar, with Purdie's and Anter's perpetual-motion timekeeping serving as the mesmerizing foundation.<br> <br>This is the second album Anter, Ballou and Purdie have released together; the first, titled <em>If You Need Me</em>, was issued under Purdie's name in 2011. Let's hope they continue to get together and record, because with music this good, these tirelessly professional rhythm aces deserve to be heard. Maybe they'll even inspire more sidemen to step into the spotlight. JAMBa sure know how to jam.<br> 4:39JAMBa's PeaceWork