If you’re looking for some great new music to discover this weekend, look no further than our weekly New Release Cheat Sheet. This week’s new music roundup includes music by UK-based soul band Mamas Gun, Pete Malinverni reimagining Leonard Bernstein and Immanuel Wilkins exploring the relationship between presence and nothingness.
New Songs and Videos
Mamas Gun, “Looking for Moses” [Song Premiere]
“Looking for Moses” is a new song by UK-based soul band Mamas Gun and part of a double A-side single released by the group today, ahead of a forthcoming new LP out this spring. The song was written the day Bill Withers passed away and features Andy Platts’ honeyed vocals over a joyously groovy slice of soul. “This tune is all about encapsulating the feeling of a certain kind of unified panic that can only be felt on a national/worldwide scale,” says bassist Cameron Dawson. “That sensation of everybody being clueless, no one having a plan, looking for someone to know the answer.”
Immanuel Wilkins, “Don’t Break”
Saxophonist Immanuel Wilkins has shared a new release from his forthcoming album, The 7th Hand, due out January 28 via Blue Note Records. “Don’t Break” is the second single from the album and it features Micah Thomas on piano, Daryl Johns on bass, and Kweku Sumbry on drums plus the Farafina Kan percussion ensemble. The track is part of a seven-movement suite exploring the relationship between presence and nothingness. We included The 7th Hand in our list of ten albums you need to know for January 2022.
Miriam Elhajli, “Grayscale”
Composer/improviser/folklorist Miriam Elhajli has released “Grayscale,” the second single from her new album, The Uncertainty of Signs. “The song came after an encounter with a family of musicians and healers from the Huni Kuin tribe from the state Acre in Brazil,” she explains via a press release. “I was down there in 2019 in São Paolo staying with a crazy puppeteer pataphysics professor who had worked with the tribe for many years – the song is a reflection of the moment and the music we shared.” The Uncertainty of Signs, featuring a wide cast of players performing on instruments of different traditions, will be released on February 22 via Numina Records.
New Albums
Pete Malinverni, On the Town – Pete Malinverni Plays Leonard Bernstein (Planet Arts)
Pianist Pete Malinverni pays tribute to iconic composer Leonard Bernstein on his new album. On the Town – Pete Malinverni Plays Leonard Bernstein finds him reinterpreting nine Bernstein favorites along with a new Malinverni original, all performed with his all-star trio with bassist Ugonna Okegwo and drummer Jeff Hamilton. Order it here.
John Hébert, Sounds of Love (Sunnyside)
Recorded in Switzerland in 2013, Sounds of Love documents bassist John Hébert’s singular tribute to his hero, Charles Mingus, featuring a star-studded quintet with Taylor Ho Bynum, Tim Berne, Fred Hersch and Ches Smith. The album includes new arrangements of Mingus pieces, plus works written by Hébert as vehicles for improvisation. Order it here.
Taru Alexander, Echoes of the Masters (Sunnyside)
On his latest album, Brooklyn-born and raised drummer Taru Alexander assembles a stellar ensemble to perform pieces written by some of his heroes and mentors, including his father Roland Alexander. Echoes of the Masters was released on January 7 via Sunnyside and you can order it HERE.
Featured photo by Richard Ecclestone.
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