The 2022 return of Ronnie Foster to Blue Note Records is an event of synergistic quintessence, completeness, and cool. The organ great’s dynamic new album, Reboot, arrives upon the 50th anniversary of his 1972 Blue Note debut Two Headed Freap, which is also being reissued this year as part of the label’s Classic Vinyl Series. The first in a run of five stellar early-70s albums, Two Headed Freap featured Foster’s memorable tune “Mystic Brew,” which would later reach the ears of hip-hop fans around the world when A Tribe Called Quest sampled the track as the foundation of “Electric Relaxation” on their 1994 album Midnight Marauders. Foster first caught the ear of Blue Note co-founder Francis Wolff when he made his first-ever recording as a sideman on jazz guitar legend Grant Green’s searingly funky Blue Note LP, Alive! in 1970. After Wolff passed away a few months later, Ronnie was officially signed to Blue Note by Dr. George Butler making him the next in an illustrious lineage of Hammond B3 organ artisans the label had presented which included the legendary Jimmy Smith, Larry Young, and Dr. Lonnie Smith. To this accord, Ronnie’s re-signing is a bold torch-passing move that brings him full circle. “Blue Note has always stood for The Art of Jazz,” Foster marvels. “I grew up on Blue Note, listening to all the greats. It was ingrained early. I was exposed to it through my own path and other people’s paths – fans and players. I had some albums, my friends had other albums. When something new came out, we’d go to someone’s house and we’d all check it out…together. From Horace Silver and Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers to Donald Byrd and Herbie Hancock, Blue Note’s roster was the cream of the crop – the center. And, of course, they brought Jimmy [Smith] on the scene. The stuff he was playing on The Sermon and Groovin’ at Smalls’ Paradise was crazy! Had me listening on headphones at the Buffalo Public Library.” The nine-song Reboot marks a fresh start for Foster, who has whipped up an omnidirectional brew of Hammond Organ Groove that, yes, pays homage to the past but more often reflects Ronnie’s restlessness for ushering in the new. The album opens with the title track, “Reboot,” which he describes as “organ music…but a little different. This is where my head is at now – and where I’m going.” His journey to that destination rides on a winding melody, not one but two bridges, and a rock-steady groove kicked down by his son, drummer Chris Foster, one of four cuts he plays on here, rendering Ronnie: One Proud Papa. Ronnie digs into ‘The Latin Bit’ on three numbers. “Sultry Song II” is an update of his own tune that he introduced on flutist Nestor Torres’ 1991 album Dance of the Phoenix (which he also produced). “Carlos” is a composition inspired by Mexican Rock legend Carlos Santana, an acquaintance who became a close compadre after Ronnie repeatedly came out to see him during his residency at The Hard Rock Café in Las Vegas—so many times that they ultimately gave him his own personal, perennially valid, laminated backstage pass! This features a flamenco guitar intro played by Jerry Lopez, simmers into a suave melody then all-out erupts with fiery solos from trio guitarist Michael O’Neill and Ronnie, spiced with the percussion of Luis Conte and Lenny Castro. The tropical trinity ends with “After Chicago,” balmy bossa evocations of one especially memorable Windy City gig trip. “Isn’t She Lovely” is a steady grooving cover of Ronnie’s old friend Stevie Wonder’s classic song set to a backbeat shuffle, another full circle moment given that Ronnie played on Songs in the Key of Life. Then there’s the crowd-pleasing call-and-response rhythm & blues holler “Hey Good Lookin’ Woman,” road-tested around the globe to audiences of all cultures and languages that eat up the playful vocal challenge. And for those in search of some of that good ol’ burnin’ after-hours organ trio vibe, “Swingin’” more than lives up to its matter-of-fact title, fueled by drummer Jimmy Branly’s hot pepper punctuations. The organ was originally created for churches. On Reboot, the solo “J’s Dream” marinates in that deep, warm, surround sound hug everybody could use right about now. The album closer, a piano solo entitled “After Conversation with Nadia,” points to another level of reboot for Ronnie who started out on acoustic ivories. There’s so much synergy in the circuitry surrounding Ronnie’s return to Blue Note. The master recorded over two days at the fabled Capitol Studio in Hollywood where he first set foot in back in 1976 recording the multiplatinum-selling Breezin’ LP (to which he contributed the song “Lady”) as a member of George Benson’s band. When Paula Salvatore, beloved Capitol Studios gatekeeper, ushered him in for a private viewing of the vault, sitting right on the desk happened to be the original 2-track master tape of Grant Green’s Alive! – Ronnie’s first record date. The sweetest treat of Reboot is that Ronnie’s daughter, Kaylie, shot the Francis Wolff-worthy session photos and also designed the secret-coded cover. In the liner notes for Reboot, Ronnie makes sure to pay homage to one very important person in his life who passed away in 2021: “This album is dedicated to the memory of my brother, friend, Buffalo Homie and hero Dr. Lonnie Smith, who was one of the best in the world on the Hammond B3 organ.” Mightily hoisting the Blue Note organ torch, Ronnie Foster is the last of the Mohicans yet ever the youngest and oldest man in that room thanks to the musical osmosis that was poured into him – direct jack – by all of the greats that preceded him, and his relentlessly curious spirit that keeps him giant steps ahead perched, head-bowed, before his sleek, custom hummin’ Hammond XK-5.

James Carter - Baritone and Tenor Saxophones Sharp Radway - Piano Hilliard Greene - Bass Kahlil Kwame Bell – Drums “Music and life do not separate” says saxophone virtuoso James Carter, “my elders have taught me that music is a culture and a way of life.”    Detroit native Carter shared his childhood home with five musically inclined siblings in “a house filled with all manner of sounds, from The Beatles to Funk and Hendrix.”    The Jazz influence came from Carter’s mother who “brought the voices of greats like Billie Holiday and Ella Fitzgerald into my life.”It was his mother who in 1980 took young Carter to see the Count Basie Orchestra at the Detroit Music Hall, where the big-band sound made a lasting impression, but it was a World Saxophone Quartet concert two years later that would set music as a path for life. “To watch four saxophonists individually and collectively, literally shred the stage” recalls Carter, “it sparked a furnace inside of me that won’t quit to this day.”   At the tender age of seventeen the young prodigy shared a stage with the great Wynton Marsalis and at 23, released his landmark debut album JC On the Set, hailed by many as the arrival of a new Jazz master. Over the decades that followed, Carter has cemented his reputation as one of this generation’s most charismatic and versatile soloists, boasting collaborations with Lester Bowie, Julius Hemphill, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Kathleen Battle, Frank Lowe &Saxemble, the world Saxophone Quartet and Wynton Marsalis among other Jazz greats.   2019 sees Carter release his eighteenth original recording, marking the Jazz master’s debut as a band leader for Blue Note records. Captured live at the 2018 Newport Jazz festival, the celebrated James Carter Organ Trio: Live From Newport Jazz, pays homage to the legendary Django Reinhardt and is a return of sorts to the 2000 Chasin’ the Gypsy album where Carter first paid tribute to the swing-guitar icon for whom he carries great affection.   Honing his craft to a jaw-dropping technical level, Carter is the master of a family of saxophones, flute and clarinet. His is a powerhouse virtuosity likened by composer Roberto Sierra to the great Paganini. It was in fact this astounding instrumental flexibility, coupled with an eclectic body of recordings that inspired the Spanish maestro to write the celebrated Concerto for Saxophones and Orchestra for the 31-year-old. Written expressly for Carter and mixing Jazz, Latin and classical elements, the work showcases the multi-instrumentalist’s outstanding technical virtuosity whilst allowing him “the freedom to improvise.”   The four-movement piece sees Carter take center stage throughout, executing swift instrument transitions between Tenor and Soprano and employing a full gamut of musical expression, from furiously-fast Coltrane like tempo to a quiet ballad.    The concerto premiered in 2002 with NeemeJärvi conducting the Detroit Symphony to three sold out performances, followed by four additional sold-out shows a year later. Carter went on to perform the concerto to captivated audiences worldwide earning critical praise and meriting standing ovations. Notable performances include the 2016 Leipzig MDR, Berlin Rundfunk the same year with Kristjan Järvi conducting, and 2019 when he collaborated with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Thomas Wilkins conducting.   The concerto’s unfading charm was to have carried Carter into 2020 and the Tanglewood Music Festival for a performance of Sierra’s piece with the iconic Boston Symphony, conducted by Ken David-Masur; however, COVID necessitated a rescheduling TBA shortly.   Early 2023 brought Carter to the NYC Blue Note as special guest with DJ Logic and with Galactic. His capacious ability to cross boundaries, mesh genres, and deliver it all with mindboggling energy, clarity and that “special something” that brings audiences to their feet clamoring for more.   It could be genius, but those in the know, call it James Carter!                                                                           Hannah Gal 2023

Guitar virtuoso, multi-instrumentalist, singer, songwriter, producer, educator and activist are just a few titles used to describe the musical powerhouse known as Isaiah Sharkey. Hailing from a musical family in Chicago, he picked up his first guitar when he was just 3 years old. Creating music came naturally to him and it wasn’t long before his family realized he had an irrefutable gift.  By the age of 14, Sharkey was performing in clubs in Chicago and a few short years later he had piqued the interest of music industry giants like The Isley Brothers, D’Angelo, for whom he won his first Grammy Award, John Mayer, Patti LaBelle and many others. Blending his background in rock, gospel, jazz, R&B, blues, and funk, Sharkey has created his own original sound withan unmistakable dose of soul.