Ubuntu artist are all over the publication!
Brandon Allen's release hits the US!
The Stanley Turrentine Project climbs up the Jazziz Magazine charts!
PREVIEW: Brandon Allen/The Stanley Turrentine Project
London Jazz News takes a look at the upcoming release.
For the full article, please click on the image, above.
PREVIEW: Brandon Allen/The Stanley Turrentine Project
Marlbank gives a sneak peek at the dynamic upcoming album.
OMAR + QCBA: ECHOES MAGAZINE FEATURE!
‘Live At Last’ is Album of The Month!
REVIEW: Omar + QCBA/Live At Last
The Soul Survivors Magazine writes, “Definitely an ‘Essensual.’”
Ubuntu Music Signs Sax Man Brandon Allen For Album Release
Brandon Allen / The Stanley Turrentine Project
11th March 2022
CD & Digital Formats / UBU0111
Brandon Allen & Stanley Turrentine (Photographers: Patrick Holland + Francis Wolff)
Ubuntu Music is delighted to announce the signing of the exceptionally gifted saxophonist, Brandon Allen, for the release of his quartet album, The Stanley Turrentine Project, on 4th March 2022.
Brandon has established himself as one of the UK’s most in-demand saxophonists and bandleaders. He has performed extensively throughout the UK, Europe, the Middle East, Asia and Australia, both as a leader and sideman. Throughout his career he has worked with top international artists including Eric Clapton, Paloma Faith, Kyle Eastwood, Tony Lakatos, Adam Nussbaum, Gary Husband, Stefano Di Battista, US3, The Blockheads and many others.
Brandon Allen (Goat Noise Photography)
The Stanley Turrentine Project came about because of a deep admiration and respect for the late, great saxophonist’s musical approach and output. Brandon’s highly acclaimed Gene Ammons Project came into existence for the same reasons. Selections from Ammons’ entire catalogue were reinterpreted, seeking to capture the spirit of the music as well as exploring the stylistic changes that occurred throughout the tenor saxophonist’s 30-year career.
The repertoire of The Stanley Turrentine Project is slightly more specific, drawing from Turrentine’s releases on the Blue Note and CTI labels. In addition, some of Turrentine’s renditions of rock & pop hits of the 60s and 70s have been reimagined by Brandon and the quartet. Brandon explains:
“When putting this project together I deliberated over the choice of tunes for some time. Listening to as many albums as I could, discovering some gems along the way, I slowly began to pick out some selections that resonated with me and that would work well with this line-up. I then began to arrange them for the quartet.
“Some of the original versions were orchestral in nature and so I tried to capture the essence of that large ensemble feeling. With the other tracks I have taken all the main elements of the song but have made some small alterations, textural changes here and there and opened up certain sections for solos.”
Left to right: Will Barry, Conor Chaplin, Dave Ingamells (Goat Noise Photography)
"His (Brandon’s) four-octave range and flawless command of the altissimo register was nicely offset by his full-bodied yet raucous tonal quality offering something for fans of the entire history of the instrument- from Hawkins to Brecker- he's got ‘em covered."
--London Jazz News
Brandon shares his thoughts on the project, “This is very much a labour of love. My deep respect for Stanley Turrentine’s music has guided me in putting together these arrangements and in my selection of what I believe is my strongest band to date. I believe that we’ve captured some of the ‘spirit’ of the music and I can’t wait to share this album with the world.”
For his band, Brandon carefully selected some of London’s finest to join him on the project, including Will Barry (piano & keys), Conor Chaplin (acoustic & electric bases) And Dave Ingamells (drums).
Left to right: Conor Chaplin, Brandon Allen, Will Barry, Dave Ingamells (Goat Noise Photography)
Regarding his relationship with Ubuntu Music, Brandon elaborates further, “Releasing the Stanley Turrentine Project on Ubuntu is something that has been a long time coming. I have known Martin Hummel for quite some time, and he has always been a strong supporter of my music. Martin is a huge Turrentine fan and so when I mentioned to him about putting this album idea together he was extremely enthusiastic about the prospect. After working on QCBA’s ‘Beauty and Quiet Places’ and OMAR + QCBA’s ‘Live at Last’ together, it was about time that I embarked on a solo project with Martin and the great Ubuntu Music Label. I look forward to this album coming to fruition and I look forward to many more collaborations in the future.”
Martin Hummel, Director of Ubuntu Music, shares his thoughts: “Brandon is a genuine friend and the real deal, whom I’ve admired for a considerable period of time. And for good reason…he’s undisputedly one of the best in his trade, and his tone is off the charts. The Stanley Turrentine opportunity was a no-brainer. As we are serious, mutual admirers of the man, this release was simply destined to happen. We welcome Brandon with open arms, yet again, to the Ubuntu Music family, and can’t wait to share the project across the planet.”
For further information, please contact:
Brandon Allen (Artist) bdajazz77@hotmail.com
Martin Hummel/Ubuntu Music (Worldwide): martin@ubuntumanagementgroup.com
UPCOMING SHOWS: Nigel Price, Brandon Allen & Matt Ridley
London Jazz News: Nigel Price (11 Dec. 2021), Mark Lockheart, Brandon Allen, Matt Ridley and Estraven (early 2022). Concerts at the Hive in Shrewsbury
For the full article, please click on the image, above.
LIVE REVIEW: OMAR AND QCBA BOOGIE BACK TO CAMDEN’S REOPENED JAZZ CAFÉ
Jazzwise’s Kevin Le Gendre writes, “The south London jazz vocal don hits home with some uplifting spiritual soul-food.”
Omar at Jazz Cafe – Photo by Monika S Jakubowska
Reopened but with the novelty of distanced tables in its large standing space, one of London’s premier venues takes baby steps towards a post-covid world. This is precisely the kind of gig that is medicinal in every sense of the term. British soul legend Omar has long made music that can lift the spirits as well as impress with its ingenuity, and his meeting with a grade-A jazz quartet co-led by trumpeter Quentin Collins and saxophonist Brandon Allen provides a welcome opportunity to appreciate that. The fact that the set exclusively comprises Omar material written over a thirty-year period makes a strong case for him as a notable original composer as well as a man with a stellar voice. Casting his melodies against a largely acoustic backdrop actually highlights the richness of Omar’s phrasing, with Allen’s rapier flute doubling the second half of couplets and Collins’s lyrical brass floating in tight counterpoint.
Favourites such as ‘The Man’ have a notably lithe swing and a gospel holler thanks to the simmering chords of Ross Stanley’s Hammond organ, though ‘Essensual’ reminds us that Afro-Latin rhythms are a major component of Omar’s music, as befits his longstanding affinity to legends Stevie Wonder and Donny Hathaway. Yet there is a substantial amount of space afforded the band, culminating in an explosive interlude in which drummer James Maddren inventively breaks up a hitherto steady beat and Allen and Collins launch into raucous solos that raise the temperature in the room before everybody settles back down and Omar returns to the familiar ground of pieces such as ‘Syleste’. This deliciously lithe bossa nova is a highlight of his repertoire, and in tonight’s guise the original bass clarinet riff is covered by Allen pushing his low notes to the burr of a baritone.
Omar brings customary light and shade to the table, with that all-important falsetto as silken as it ever has been, but he also feeds off the energy of the soloists. On the coda of this and other songs he launches into lengthy scat solos that underline the entwinement of jazz and soul that places the likes of John Hendricks, Marvin Gaye and George Benson in one lineage. Omar has his own place in that, above all because the texture of his voice lies in a thought-provoking space between Black Britain, the Caribbean and Black America. He breaks boundaries.
Omar’s stream of wordless sounds, some throaty and rugged, some airy and refined, brings to mind the singer in his youth, playing a ‘body rhythm’ in which tightly co-ordinated vocal riffs and chest slaps call forth the spirit of a one man barbershop band. As a multi-instrumentalist who has always had an ear for timbres off the beaten track Omar was most probably intrigued by the sight of Alina Bzhezhinska combining solo harp and laptop beats in the first half of the evening, and he also regularly plays synthesizer to produce an additional overlay of rakish funk that gels with the horns.
Anyway, when things slow right down for the mandatory take on his signature tune, ‘There’s Nothing Like This’ Omar is also astute enough to rein in and let the beauty of the theme speak for itself. Everybody singing along knows this all too well, a wave of nostalgia washing away the misery of a pandemic that has not quite left the scene.
Omar + QCBA – Live at the Jazz Café
LondonJazz News’ Lavender Sutton writes, “"The audience would agree that there’s ‘nothing like this’ – but in case you missed it, watch out for the album release on Ubuntu Music."
Omar + QCBA
(Live at The Jazz Café. Also recorded for future release as a live album. 29 May 2021. Review by Lavender Sutton)
Omar Lye-Fook (Monika S Jakubowska photographer)
Quentin Collins and Brandon Allen (Monika S Jakubowska photographer)
FOR THE FULL REVIEW, PLEASE CLICK ON THE IMAGE, ABOVE.