June 15, 2015
REVIVE Music and Blue Note Records announce the August 7 release of REVIVE Music Presents: Supreme Sonacy (Vol. 1). The compilation album, produced by REVIVE in partnership with the legendary Blue Note Records, gathers the fearless sounds of today’s stellar talents and seasons it all with REVIVE’s signature spirit of rebellion. The album marks the rapidly approaching 10-year anniversary of REVIVE Music, a company founded by Meghan Stabile, as well as the 75th anniversary of Blue Note Records. It is available for pre-order now on iTunes and Amazon. Wax Poetics has premiered the track “Dorothy Jeanne” by harpist Brandee Younger honoring Dorothy Ashby, listen here.
“The title ‘Sonacy’ alludes to the supreme, transcendent power that exists at the intersection of every musical tradition,” says Stabile, who served as the project’s executive producer. “It is the term for the undefined, unexplained derivative of sound– a melodic experience without conformity, without category. Much too expansive to explain, it just is.”
REVIVE Music’s sophomore project, Supreme Sonacy (Vol. 1) brings together long-time REVIVE collaborators Igmar Thomas and Raydar Ellis, as well as Grammy Award-winners Jeff “Tain” Watts and Ben Williams (courtesy of Concord Records). But Stabile didn’t stop there. She also enlisted such well-known musicians from today’s scene as Marcus Strickland, Brandee Younger, Keyon Harrold, Maurice Brown, Justin Brown, Kris Bowers (courtesy of Concord Records), Jaleel Shaw, Marc Cary, Casey Benjamin, Dana Hawkins, Terry Slingbaum, Chris Potter, Chelsea Baratz, Nadia Washington, Louis Cato, Dezron Douglas, Eldar Djangirov, Anne Drummond, James Genus, as well as the composer Raymond Angry.
The lineup represents the REVIVE narrative, says Stabile, one that is steeped in the importance of community, inclusiveness, mentorship, and innovation. It is a narrative that has fostered a solid coalition of artists who– like the artists they honor on the album including Dorothy Ashby, Lee Morgan, and Wayne Shorter– embody the unconventional and challenge the status quo.
“When first conceiving the idea of this album, a colossal number of messages arose,” says Stabile, explaining that Supreme Sonacy (Vol. 1) reflects only the first step of a larger exploration of the vast landscape that is the jazz idiom.
“Sorting through those messages, chief among them was the shared connection amongst many of the people that are closest to me, many of whom are on this record. Though most of these people are worlds apart, we are all united by this common thread of shared philosophy and commitment to music. The foundation of everything we do is in creating the live experience, which nothing can ever replace.”
To capture that live music experience, Stabile worked closely with Tariq Khan, founder of HighBreedMusic. A self-funded, grassroots music and live video production company based in Brooklyn, HBM prides itself on creating a final product that reflects the energy of a live performance with the quality of a professional studio product. Working out of The Breeding Ground in NYC, Stabile and Khan created an album that evokes the enigma of the live music, from the lilting beauty of Brandee Younger’s harp to the dizzying grooves of Raydar Ellis’s interludes.
This latest album follows closely after the 2014 release of The Thought of You by Otis Brown III. His first recording as a bandleader, Brown is jointly signed with REVIVE and Blue Note Records. Saxophonist Marcus Strickland has also joined the roster of jointly signed artists and Stabile says she is looking to expand that list in the coming months.
Supreme Sonacy (Vol. 1) is the first compilation release of its kind from Blue Note Records. Beginning with the label’s first “revival” in the early 80’s, during the tenure of Bruce Lundvall, to its latest revolution under the leadership of Don Was, Blue Note stands at the 75-year mark poised to make history yet again.
In partnership with REVIVE, Blue Note has placed a finger on the pulse of yet another sonic rebellion and positioned itself at the front line in the fight to ensure the survival of quality music and support the people who have dedicated their lives to creating it. While REVIVE looks to the past for inspiration, Blue Note and Don Was look to REVIVE for the future.
“I think REVIVE has a keen understanding of the basic nature of the music, which is that it’s got to keep moving forward,” says Was. “Not decade by decade, or year by year, but every day.”
REVIVE Music Presents: Supreme Sonacy (Vol. 1)
1. A Supreme Welcome (Intro) – Raydar Ellis
2. Trane Thang / Pinocchio – Igmar Thomas & Marc Cary
Written by Written by Igmar Thomas and Wayne Shorter
Igmar Thomas: Trumpet
Marc Cary: Piano
Marcus Strickland: Tenor Sax
Louis Cato: Bass
Justin Brown: Drums
3. All Aboard (Raydar Ellis Remix / Interlude) – Igmar Thomas & Marc Cary
Remix Produced by Raydar Ellis
4. Let’s Wait A While – Marcus Strickland & Christie Dashiell
Written by James Harris, III, Terry Lewis, Janet Jackson and Melanie Andrews
Arranged by Marcus Strickland
Marcus Strickland: Tenor Sax and Bass Clarinet
Christie Dashiell: Vocals
Christian Sands: Keys
Kyle Miles: Bass
Charles Haynes: Drums
5. 3 The Hard Wait (Raydar Ellis Remix / Interlude) – Marcus Strickland & Christie Dashiell feat. Handclap Jenkins
Remix Produced by Raydar Ellis
Written by James Harris, III, Terry Lewis, Janet Jackson and Melanie Andrews
6. Water Games – Ravel Re-imagined – Slingbaum feat. Eldar, Casey Benjamin, Troy Roberts, BIGYUKI, Vicente Archer and Mark Colenburg
Produced by Tariq Khan and Terry Slingbaum
Written by Terry Slingbaum
Based on “Jeux D’eau” by Maurice Ravel
Arranged by Terry Slingbaum
Eldar Djangirov: Piano
Masayuki Hirano: Auxiliary Keyboard
Vicente Archer: Bass
Mark Colenburg: Drums
Casey Benjamin: Alto Sax
Troy Roberts: Tenor Sax
Bendji Allonce: Percussion
Maria Im: Violin
Stephan Fillare: Violin
Matt McBane: Violin
Ada Pasternak: Violin
Maria Jeffers: Cello
Jody Redhage: Cello
Terry Slingbaum: Mandolin and Violin
7. 808s in France (Raydar Ellis Remix / Interlude) – Slingbaum
Remix Produced by Raydar Ellis
Written by Terry Slingbaum
Based on “Jeux D’eau” by Maurice Ravel
808s in France” Samples Gary Bartz, Wallace Roney, Keyon Harrold, Marc Cary, and Al Carty provided by Converse Sample Library and Indaba Music.
8. The Procrastinator – Keyon Harrold, Maurice Brown & Jaleel Shaw
Written by Lee Morgan
Arranged by Ben Williams
Keyon Harrold: Trumpet
Maurice Brown: Trumpet
Jaleel Shaw: Sax
Kris Bowers: Piano
Ben Williams: Bass
Justin Brown: Drums
Kris Bowers and Ben Williams appear courtesy of Concord Records
9. Playing Catch Up (Raydar Ellis Remix / Interlude) – Keyon Harrold, Maurice Brown & Jaleel Shaw
Remix Produced by Raydar Ellis
Written by Lee Morgan
10. Dorothy Jeanne – Brandee Younger
Produced by Casey Benjamin
Written by Brandee Younger
Brandee Younger: Harp
Anne Drummond: Flute
Chelsea Baratz: Tenor Sax
Dezron Douglas: Bass
Dana Hawkins: Drums and Percussion
11. 1 For My DJ (Raydar Ellis Remix / Interlude) – Brandee Younger
Remix Produced by Raydar Ellis
Written by Brandee Younger
12. Celebration Of Life Suite: Awareness & Revolution – Ray Angry feat. Nadia Washington & Chris Potter
Written by Ray Angry, Kendra Foster and Nadia Washington
James Genus: Bass
Jeff “Tain” Watts: Drums
Chris Potter: Sax
Nadia Washington: Vocals
Daru Jones: Electronic Drums
13. Celebration of Life Suite: Awakening – Ray Angry feat. The Council of Goldfinger
Produced by Ray Angry
Written by Ray Angry, Kendra Foster and Nadia Washington
James Genus: Bass
Jeff “Tain” Watts: Drums
Chris Potter: Sax
Burinss Earl Travis, III: Bass
The Council of Goldfinger: Choir
Daru Jones: Electronic Drums
14. Drop Confetti Then We Jetti (Raydar Ellis Remix / Interlude) – Ray Angry
Remix Produced by Raydar Ellis
Written by Ray Angry, Kendra Foster and Nadia Washington
15. A Wally’s Good Night – Paul Poindexter
Executive Produced by Meghan Stabile
Associate Producer: Tariq Khan
Mastered by Josh Kessler at Kessler Mastering, Brooklyn, NY
Recorded and Mixed by Tariq Khan at The Breeding Ground, New York, NY
Except Track 6, recorded by Paul Wickliffe at Avatar Studios, New York, NY
Marc Cary appears courtesy of Motema Music
