MID ONE  (Manuals Instrumental Disc One) is the debut instrumental release from drummer / producer Manuals.

The Illinois native has been on the Music scene for some time now, and has provided stickwork for artists such as De La Soul, Gorillaz, Hypnotic Brass Ensemble, and [The Mighty] Mos Def. He lays down some heavy grooves on his new LP, which contains 100% live instrumentation (!!!).

Manuals also enlisted some pretty talented musician friends to perform on his 11-track album, including Q-Tip bassist Josh David and Alicia Keys’ organist Rogiers. Be sure to check this one out!

RJ Bass

Like many of you all out there, Monday is not my favorite day of the week. However, there are those times when Mondays are pretty damn awesome…like when you get fresh new Music delivered to your desk first thing in the morning!

I finally got my copy of Tall Black Guy‘s Tempo Dreams Volume 1 in the mail today and couldn’t wait to get home to fire up the turntable (yes, vinyl!). TBG’s latest project is a compilation LP which consists of tracks from some of his favorites producers. The lineup includes BusCrates 16-Bit Ensemble, Detroit’s own Doc Illingsworth, Apple Jac,  Ta-Ku and several others. Oh, and of course there’s a banger on there by the man himself.

Check out the video trailer below then head on over to Bastard Jazz and order a copy!

RJ Bass

About a year ago Ahmed Sirour dropped a super smooth EP titled The AFTER 2AM Sessions. Well he’s back and has added an additional 6 songs to complete the full album. Kick back, relax and check out The AFTER 2AM Sessions LP.

Peace.

RJ Bass

May 27th will mark the 1 year anniversary of the passing of Gil Scott-Heron. Chicago producer Dion Brown has put together another nice instrumental piece dedicated to the late activist, educator and social commentator.

April 2nd – A Tribute to Gil Scott Heron

Rest in Peace Gil.

RJ Bass

DJ / Producer Eric Lau was recently asked to do a mix…but not just any ol’ ordinary mix. The mix had to contain songs that fit the theme of his‘Last Night On Earth’. He took on the challenge and put together a compilation that contains Music he fell in love with as a child with some more recent joints by the late, great J. Dilla. Check out the playlist of songs that Eric would bump as he leaves Mother Earth. Oh yeah, download it for free while you still have the chance!

Peace!

RJ Bass

Put Me On It ‘Last Night on Earth’ Vol 1 – Eric Lau by Eric Lau

I’ve been waiting [impatiently] for this album since Robert Glasper talked about it during his concert here in Tokyo last September. RG announcing that he and his crew would be releasing new Music had me (and the crowd) excited, but when he finished calling off the names of the special guests that would be performing on it, I could hardly speak. Needless to say this has been a long 5 months but the wait is finally over.

“Black Radio” is the highly anticipated release from Robert Glasper, Chris Dave, Derrick Hodge, and Casey Benjamin otherwise known as the Robert Glasper Experiment or RCDC. This group is one of the best live bands around. Jazz, Hip Hop or an experimental rock joint, no matter what they play, it’s always amazing. Oh, and about those special guests they invited to be on their latest project…lawd! Erykah Badu, Lalah Hathaway, Bilal, King, Mos Def (Yasiin Bey), Musiq Soulchild, Ledisi, Me’Shell Ndegeocello, Chrisette Michelle, Stokley Williams and more.

You can buy this incredible album direct from Robert Glasper, Amazon or iTunes. For my folks here that are buying through the iTunes Japan Store, RCDC decided to bless us with an extra bonus track.

Peace!

RJ Bass

When I heard the first single off this joint in November 2011, I made a note to buy the full release the day it comes out. How I missed this when it dropped earlier this month is still a mystery to me (must have been the birthday drinks).

“The Mission” is the latest from DJ / Producer Eric Lau. His new project is available in digital format and on vinyl. Both feature Detroit’s own Guilty Simpson as well as vocalists Fatima and Olivier Daysoul. For those who order this on vinyl (limited release) you’ll be blessed with more songs, that include addtional production by Damu The Fudgemunk and beats by one of my favorite Hip Hop / Jazz drummers, Chris “Daddy” Dave…yes, that Chris Dave!

RJ Bass

The soft-spoken Musician talks about the early days of ATCQ (my favorite Hip Hop group of all time) as well as the joys and pains of working at a record label. He also shares what it was like working with artists such as D’Angelo, Lucy Pearl and the late, great J. Dilla.

Young and old Musicians (and fans of Music) can learn a lot from this brotha so please check it out.

RJ Bass

“Life Sketches Vols 1&2″ is an instrumental album by U.K. beat-maker / producer Mecca:83. Released in December 2011, the full-length album (16 tracks in all) consists of cuts from Mecca:83′s debut EP “The Life Sketches” as well as brand new material.

All tracks were produced by the Manchester based artist but he enlisted the help of some other really good Musicians including my homie Buscrates 16bit Ensemble, who’s a talented producer in his own right. One of my favorite joints on the album is a track called “Detroit Twilight” which features both Mecca:83 and brotha BusCrates. (Love the name too!)

Please check out the entire album below and for those that dig it, you know what to do…buy it!

RJ Bass

There’s one other thing I’m looking forward to doing: Making mistakes. Yes, mistakes.
Lots of them!

I learned a long time ago that trying something new and screwing up is a good thing. Yes, you may feel fear, embarrassment or even break into a sweat, but in most cases you’ll have fun and learn something in the process. I experienced all of these things at yesterday’s Jazz Jam Session. Yeah, your boy even sweat a bit.

Beauty Jackson

Playing live with my 1Eighty family is a lot of fun and I always look forward to it, but I’ve been a bit intimidated to play in the jam sessions at the local bars and clubs here in Tokyo…especially the Jazz sessions. These cats that play at the Jazz sessions are good…no..Incredible! Some are pro (or semi-pro) and most of the other players have been playing 20+ years. Although, I’ve only been playing seriously for the past 2 1/2 years, I decided to pack up “Beauty Jackson” (my 5-string Bass) and hit the Monday afternoon session.

The jam sessions at Dolce Vita usually start off with the house band playing a song then the session leader will call people to the stage who signed up to play. You never know who you’re going to be playing with and what playing level they’re at. I was a bit surprised when my name was called after the house band’s opening song. The first thing that came out my mouth was, “Uh, I need a bit more time…” I hadn’t finished my coffee and I wanted to look through my major, dominant and minor chord cheat sheets (not that it was going to help any). A few seconds later, the saxophonist said she wanted to play “Autumn Leaves” which is a song I know and love. (There are many versions of this song but I really like the version by legendary Detroit Bassist, Ron Cater.) I then said, “OK. I’ll play.” I wasn’t mentally ready and my fingers were still cold but there was no turning back. I tuned up Beauty, got my Music sheet ready and waited for Someya-san’s intro (he’s 1Eighty’s piano man).

I thought I would at least be ok through the first 8 to 12 bars but things got a bit rough just after third bar. The drummer was precise (if not perfect) but I was having trouble keeping time. Perhaps I was trying to do too much and maybe should have stuck with a safe I-V playing style instead of  trying I-III-V-VII or any other tricky combination (for you non-Musicians –> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chord_progression)…or better yet just played root notes throughout. After getting lost a couple of times (thanks for getting me back on track Someya-san!) and crash landing, I took a seat at my table, wiped my sweat and sipped some coffee. Yes, it was rough but I was determined to redeem myself later.

Someya-san and others getting down!

After watching some great Musicians play for a while, it was my turn again. Instead of trying Autumn Leaves again (which I did play later) I decided to try a song called “Beautiful Love” which is another great Jazz standard…and also a song I had never played. Once again, there was no turning back. Yes, there were more mistakes (plenty of them) but I could feel my confidence growing.

More great sets then it was my turn again. A great thing about the sessions at Dolce Vita is all of the players (even the pro Musicians) are super cool and don’t mind if you play the same song that someone else played or that you played earlier. Yes, it’s a jam session but it’s also practice. I decided to give Autumn Leaves another shot. Although, I wasn’t perfect, I played a bit better. Confidence still on the rise. My last song of the day was another I had never played titled, “Days of Wine and Roses.” Another rough set but I made it through it.

After my last set I grabbed a beer. (I swear, beer never tasted so good!) The other players finished up the session with an Blues jam where everyone got a chance to solo. As I watched all these great Musicians, I thought to myself, “Yes, that is where I’m headed.”

I absolutely love Jazz (it’s probably the Music I love the most) and will someday form my own trio (or quartet). In the meantime, I’m going to keep jamming, practicing and of course, making mistakes.

Peace.

Reggie “RJ Bass” Austin