Got an email from Ken about an update to his blog. There's some great stuff going on with the new cd due out next year and he talks about it in the blog.....CHECK OUT THE LIST OF MUSICIANS! Spyro Gyra fans, notice the drummer!! Dave Weckyl fans, notice the bass player! Yeeha!

We're moving in a totally new direction here, further away from snooze and more into energetic jazz.

Having some trouble copying the blog entry to here...

anyway- here's the gist of it.

"The demos for all of my new compositions are now finished and I have booked the recording sessions with some of the best contemporary jazz musicians in the world for this new CD. Joel Rosenblatt will be playing drums and I believe he is the perfect fit for this new music of mine. Joel has played with many great musicians including Michael Brecker and Steve Kahn and he is probably best known for his great work as Spyro Gyra's drummer for many years. On acoustic bass and electric basses will be the amazing Tom Kennedy. Tom also has a very impressive resume including recording and touring work with Al DiMeola, Steve Gadd and Michael Brecker but he is probably best known for his recording and touring work with drummer extraordinaire Dave Weckl. On acoustic piano and keyboards will be my longtime keyboardist and musical associate Jay Rowe. Jay and I are already doing some pre-production work on the keyboard parts and his input on this new music will be very important."

This makes at least one really fresh, exciting and definitely anti-smooth cd to look forward to in the coming months.

A few weeks ago, Ken had surprised me with a link to a rough (in his words, sounded great to me) demo of a tune that will be on the new cd.
(It's main purpose was just as an example,to get the players on the same page. But Ken does these very elaborate demos, so by most standards it's a completed recording.)

He'd mentioned in a previous blog that he was working on a tune in 26/8 time, which seems like it would be really weird; but I swear, you'd never know it was oddball time signature. It has a 7/4 feel to it, but all the time shifts are smooth and unobtrusive, very natural.

By the way, it's a killer tune- you guys will love it. I can't share it, Ken wants to have a more finished sample ready before he opens the door on that, but let's just say lovers of Pat Metheny and outstanding musicianship will be right at home. Even has a touch of Yellow Jackets or something in there.

It looks like Ken's taking what he started on Meeting Place, and ratcheting up the complexity and energy at least a couple notches. I don't think it'll be music that's over most of our heads, but it will challenge us to listen more deeply for sure.

Background music during dinner, it ain't.

Anyway, thought you guys would want to know- I'm sure Ken will let us know when another sample is available, just wanted to give you guys a heads up to be watching out for it.

And with Joel R and Tom K in the rhythm section and Jay Rowe on keys, well....makes me anxious to hear what that combination can do. All the fundamental ingredients for a great cd are in place.

What a touring band that would be, too...wow.

Later
TonyY

Jay's latest albums were all smooth jazz albums. I don't think that Ken will record an anti-smooth jazz album. I assume there will definetely more complexity in his album. But please don't leave the melodious path.

I will be keeping my ear on this one! And what a killer lineup! I love Jay Rowes playing!

hbh, maybe I need to define what I meant.

When I say anti-smooth jazz, I mean not your average smooth jazz. Not the same repititious tempos on a programmed drum loop, not the predictable sax solos, the "formula" smooth jazz approach. Music you can fall asleep to, the marketplace is full of that. You ought to know, you've reviewed a lot of them. Ken will stand out from all that.

If Ken is anything, he's melodic, so no worries there; I'd say he's leaving behind the rest of the pack that call themselves "Smooth" and reaching for a higher goal, to be truly energetic and sophisticated contemporary jazz.

I never said he was going to abandon melody, just abandon boring. Hopefully that clears it up.

From the one tune I've heard, I'd say think Pat Metheny on caffeine....no doubt plenty of melody and dynamics, soft and light to hard and crunchy.
And all that is in one tune.
And with the band lineup, it should just ooze energy.

In real life, Jay is not smooooth.... although I think he acknowledged what he had to acknowledge for his last CD. But as we know, everyone is moving away from the depiction of smooth jazz.... no sense in clinging to the stereotype anymore. (especially with the Beastie Boys nominated for pop instrumental Grammies).

He's a good guy and very talented.... and I'll be lending a helping hand to 2008's Smooth Jazz for Scholars.

Ken, nice to hear about your latest venture. Hope to see you soon.....

Ken, I'm lookin' forward to hearin' your new material with Joel, Tom, and Jay. That should be great complexities on the ears.

Bassix, I review a lot of everything

Very true! And you do a good job of it.

What I meant by that was, I'm sure you've noticed how many artist's sounds and tempos and even the songs at times, can seem to be interchangeable, or how one artist does two different cd's, and you can barely tell them apart- it all blends together into a bland and "vanilla" sound, like the artist is just going through the motions and doesn't really care what it sounds like, so long as they have a chance of getting airplay (by sounding like everyone else.)

I've basically quit listening to anything that's considered "smooth" anymore, it's just boring.

That's why someone like Ken interests me, his music is different, challenging, and far from bland.

Later
TY

With this attitude you will miss surprises. Things can change.

True, but they rarely do, and I'm sure the good folks here, yourself included, will make sure if something "surprising" comes out, we'll know about it.

Thanks for watching out for us

I just bought "the meeting place" for my dad for chrimbo. £14.49 off amazon!
Thats $29.48! I hope it's good :p

Look forward to the sounds of this new stuff. I likey the sound of it.

Tony;
you're quite the descriptive writer yourself. You could definitely write reviews...as you just did for Ken's current project. I'm eager to hear the offering.

And, yes. You're right. The talent here on the Island will share surprises.

Hi everyone. I have missed visiting magicisland and thank you Tony for your very nice description of the new music I am composing and for getting me out of the recording studio long enough to post a reply here.

To address the concern that hbh had about melody - the spirit of the music is what you find inside "the envelope" - and in that regard, this new music of mine has a very strong melodic sense as well as a warm, inviting vibe that has been at the heart of my music (I hope!) for years. The complexity and sophistication of the new music is the envelope itself, the envelope that the heart and spirit are delivered in so to speak, and I feel like it only makes the listening experience deeper and more rewarding when the envelope is interesting and surprising and multi dimensional. I think that this next CD will point towards a distinctly new way to make contemporary jazz which is melodic and warm AND ALSO sophisticated and more intricate and detailed.

I am really happy about Joel Rosenblatt and Tom Kennedy coming on board for this project. I have always worked with great rhythm section players over the years but for this new music, I wanted to have just the right players. And they certainly are!

I really just want to say thank you to Tony, hbh, Kat, DWBass, Bruce, antiguabil, Billy G, and everyone here at the island for your interest in what I am working so hard on these days - for better or worse, you could say I am consumed with making this new CD the best it can be. If you would like to hear a demo of one of the new pieces, PM me and I will send you a link where you can hear a demo with me playing all of the parts. (It's the song Tony referred to which is in 26/8 time)

Happy Holidays to you Ken! As always, I look forward to the next time I get to hear you in person....

Smooth Jazz for Scholars 2007 pic

I hear you Ken and I would like to hear the sample.

hey hbh, let us know what you think after you hear the sample. Give it a few spins to grow on you first though...It's got a lot of stuff going on in there.

Ken, glad you came up for air long enough to post here, thanks!

BillyG, thanks for the compliment-
Be sure to send Ken a PM and listen to the tune when you get a chance.

Later
Tony

You absolutely right Bassix. This is a blend or a patchwork of melodies following a direction given by the rhythm.

Ken, I understand your concept. There is depth and complexity for the brain and melody for the heart. The patterns are woven in each other like a carpet or a picture of the pointilists. Something for every musical bon vivant.

Thanks Hans and Markus (and Kat through the grapevine) for your very nice compliments about the demo and my new music. Very good to hear! I hope to hear from more of the folks here at magicisland. Just send me a private message if you would like to check it out.

Bruce - if you check your private messages, you'll see one from me with the link to the demo per your request.

Ken
www.kennavarro.com

Thanks Ken. I'm finally gettin a chance to sit down and take a listen.

Wow! Ken, that tune is so gorgeous! Same as Tony mentioned, feeling natural. To me, complex rhythms and melodies should always be approached, felt, and played naturally, touching the metaphysical. When the brain is multi-tasking, it is doing so in a naturally flowing scientific creative fashion, and when we speak, it is in a natural flowing rhythm, almost songlike, even when using a complex vocabulary, so, complex music should always be in harmorny with the natural laws of the universe. All that to say Ken, I can't wait to hear the finished composition. I really dig it bruh. beautiful.

Thank you Bruce - it's great to hear that, particularly coming from you! And of course your perspective on rhythm is dead on. Once I began to truly "feel" the particular rhythms in this piece, it was like I was floating on it or riding a wave. It was a very exciting feeling.

I have had many requests via Private Message for the link to the demo and received so many wonderful responses to this new song. At Tony's urging, I am going to publish the link here so that anyone visiting magicisland can listen to the demo.

So here is the link to the demo of one of the new compositions for my next CD (scheduled for release in June, 2008) - you are getting an early first listen as I have not yet made this public via my website or myspace or anywhere else. It is me playing all of the parts so that the musicians can see what I'm going for when we record the "real" version for the CD.

http://kennavarro.com/kennavarrodemo1803.htm

isn't it gratifying to know that there is interest in real melody and composition rather than re-cycled instrumental versions of hits from the 70's and 80's and 90's?

Thanks Ken for giving everyone the opportunity to listen and appreciate....

Yes Kat - melody and composition - that is at the heart of great music as far as I'm concerned, whatever the style. The folks here at magicisland agree with us I think.

Marcus, please go ahead and share the link with your friend. I appreciate that. And again, your words of support are very nice to hear.

stunning, simply stunning. Proof that beauty and complexity can co-exist quite nicely thank you. The radio powers that be have tried to polarize this for quite a few years - that interesting music can't possibly be listenable because people have this very small safety zone and they will jump outta their skin if you go beyond it. They are totally wrong of course. What a great way to open the musical door to 2008.

I'll let the scoop out for Smooth Jazz for Scholars:

Saturday, April 26th, 2008
The Parsons Complex
8 p.m.
Milford CT

The 6th annual Smooth Jazz for Scholars Concert to benefit the Milford, CT. school music dept. featuring Marion Meadows, Joyce Cooling, Ken Navarro, Eric Marienthal, and Chieli Minnuci. Ticket price : $40 each, Tickets go on sale online and at jayrowemusic.com on 12/14/07.

Hey Kat-
that sounds like a ton of fun, hope you have a great time there. I know you'll be doing all sorts of "behind the scenes" stuff to make it work.
Of course, you have some major draws there also, so hopefully that makes your ticket sales much easier.

Here's hoping for a total sellout. And for the sake of those of us who can't be there, would someone PLEASE do a good quality video??

Shannon, well said- it's one of those style songs that you can't really describe to someone very accurately, it must be experienced. And I think there's enough folks with brains still functioning out there that would love this, no matter what "they" say...the powers in control of radio and major labels just don't seem to get that a lot of us aren't all that interested in posers and one hit wonders.
Ken's music is for the brain and the heart, at least to me... I want to hear passion and fire, but "they" seem to think that means really short dresses on divas that can shake it.

Anyway....enough rambling there....looking forward to hearing more from this cd.

Later
TonyY

Stimulating music played before masses causes people to think for themselves and collectively.

You beat me to letting the scoop out, Kat.

Thanks Kat :rolleyes: I was considering Paul Taylor in Vegas on 4/26, but you're a lot closer AND, you got my girl Marion is my bride's buddy - that's why I'm learning the bass groove to his "Diggable". It would be nice to see him again and to meet Ken and to see Eric and Chieli again. Decisions, decisions...

and you can stop off in NYC to see the Rippingtons on 4/25!

ok, folks, anyone else clicking on the link, what do you think, etc? It'd be great to hear from some of our not so regulars, also- we know you're out there!

I'm still enjoying this one. It's not an everyday thing, but every couple days maybe- a very uplifting tune. I can only imagine what this stellar backing band will be able to do for this CD...

Later
TY

I continue to get very nice emails from people about the demo from the upcoming CD and I really appreciate hearing from people. It's also nice to see that folks appreciate that I would make something like this available.

I just did an interview with Shannon for the Feb issue of smoothviews.com. We talked all about the upcoming CD and also why I made a link to a demo song available. The link to the demo will be featured in the story as well.

Ken

Hey Ken-
When do tracks actually get laid down? Didn't you say it was some time in February?
Just curious....and fishing for another link

Will also look forward to reading the interview...and seeing if having that link in the story helps things along.

Later
TonyY

Keyboardist Jay Rowe and I have already been adding many keyboard parts and sounds to the demos all during the month of January. I will be travelling to NY to record drummer Joel Rosenblatt the second week in February. Then Jay Rowe travels to my studio in MD to record for 4 days, then bassist Tom Kennedy is in my studio for a few days to play all of the acoustic, electric and fretless bass parts and finally percussionist Kevin Prince will spend a day in my studio playing everything from congas, bongos, and shakers to cuica, wood blocks etc. I will give myself a day off after 10 straight days in the studio and then spend about 7 days recording all of my acoustic and electric guitar parts again. All of that tracking will be followed by 4-5 weeks of mixing and a week of mastering. Our distributor's national release date is June 17 but I may make it available earlier for visitors to my website store.

Here's the link to the interview, which is really insightful. I think it is totally unprecedented for an established artist to go public with one of their demos. Welcome to the Brave New World! Or as Sheryl Crow called it on a fabulous NPR interview last night - the new wild west!
Ken Navarro Talks About The New CD

Great interview Shannon-
I hope all who follow that link are patient and give it time to build. If they are used to 20 second sound clips, it'll throw them off....in fact, I have no idea how you'd sample this tune, to try to find it's identifying one phrase, because there just isn't just one- it could be five or six separate tunes, depending on where you took it from. But it works best for me like a margerita....sip it slowly, don't rush it, and just enjoy the warmth as it grows on you.

How about letting us know what kind of response smoothviews gets from this, I think you'll find more and more artists that would be willing to do this if they see that Ken's bold move here is successful.

I also love that he said these demos are so far from he envisions as the finished product, that gives me a real anticipation for what could be next.

Thanks again, and good job as an interviewer! You made some great points on the intelligence of the music listeners....we aren't all dumbed down requiring the same old oatmeal music everyday. Some of us actually have taste left, if we can find anything worth tasting.

TonyY