MARCH 2015
02 Dave Bendekigt and Keeper of the Flame 7 Mile House Brisbane, CA
06-08 Akiko Tsuruga and Mary Stallings Java Jazz Festival Jakarta, Indonesia
09 Dave Bendekigt and Keeper of the Flame 7 Mile House Brisbane, CA
12 Bob Kenmotsu Group 6p Hyatt Regency San Francisco, CA
14 James Gavin’s Lena Horne Stormy Weather w. Mary Wilson (The Supremes) University of New Mexico Albuquerque, NM
16 Dave Bendekeigt and Keepers of the Flame 7 Mile House Brisbane, CA 7-10p
20 Dena Derose Trio Piedmont Piano Oakland, CA 8p
21 Dena DeRose Trio Monterey Jazz Festival Fund Raiser Private
22 Ayerto Presented by Art Jackson Angelicas 863 Main St, Redwood City, CA
23 Dave Bendekeigt and Keepers of the Flame 7 Mile House Brisbane, CA 7-10p
29 Atsuko Hashimoto Group and Big Band Osaka, Japan
30 Atsuko Hashimoto Quartet Oldies Club Kobe, Japan 7:30p
31 Midori Ono Trio Kyoto, Japan

APRIL 2015
02 Akira Tana Quartet Club Azul Osaka, Japan
03 Kazuhiko Takeda Trio Sub Club Osaka, Japan
04 Midori Ono Trio Royal Horse Osaka, Japan
05 Midori Ono Trio Organ Club Tokyo, Japan
08-09 Recording w. Kazuhiko Takeda Trio Osaka, Japan
10 Hisayuki Terai Trio Overseas Club, Osaka, Japan
11 Atsuko Hashimoto Quartet Kanazawa City, Japan

Sons of Sound remembers Lew Soloff with deepest respect. A consummate studio professional, we were privileged to work with Lew on Jodi Stevens' Girl Talk sessions and are forever grateful for his contributed energy and talent.

We offer our condolences to Lew's many friends and family.

Sons of Sound recording artist Jodi Stevens (Girl Talk) will present a one-woman show entitled "A Broad's Way" this weekend at the Music Theatre of Connecticut's MainStage, with music direction from Jerold Goldstein.

Star of Broadway’s Urban Cowboy, Dracula and Jekyll & Hyde — as well as MTC MainStage’s My Way and Love Letters­ — brings her critically-acclaimed cabaret act to MTC. Jodi shares colorful stories from her career as an actress and singer, as well as songs from some of Broadway and pop music’s favorite composers. Don’t miss this sparkling night of fun!

Saturday, March 7 at 8pm and Sunday, March 8 at 2pm
at Music Theatre of Connecticut (MTC MainStage)
509 Westport Avenue (Route 1) in Norwalk (Click here for directions)
Tickets: $30-$40 include a complimentary glass of wine

Putting technology to work in jazz seems like a contradiction, but the future of the music depends on exploring new distribution channels. Leave it to one of our most established artists to do the experimentation:

In a live webcast, award winning bassist/songwriter Jay Leonhart will perform the second concert of his Concert Window series on Wednesday, February 25 at 7:30 PM. Viewers can interact with Jay in his home studio from anywhere that has an internet connection.

Tune in to watch, listen, and chat live with Jay as the show progresses and see him try to answer questions and remember his lyrics at the same time. Jay will perform his own songs, including some new works you have not heard. He is constantly writing poems and songs about what he sees, what he thinks he saw, or what he knows he didn't see. No matter. These songs will be full of imagination from this heralded jazz songwriter and master instrumentalist.

Click here to watch the show.

Drummer's drummer and Sons of Sound recording artist Rich Thompson will be traveling to Saint George, Utah, for a March 5th date. Later in the month, Rich will be back home and featured along with Trio East band mate Jeff Campbell on bass and singer Denzel Sinclair with the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra on March 20th and 21st.

Rich recently returned from the Jazz Cruise 2015 where he performed with the Byron Stripling Quartet. He was also spotted at the world renowned club Marian's Jazz Room in Berne, Switzerland during Thanksgiving week 2014. A new Trio East project featuring a live recording with video is on deck for the Spring.

Drummer Akira Tana makes his fourth release as leader on Sons of Sound with Otonowa, a recording that further develops his concept of presenting jazz arrangements of traditional Japanese folk melodies last heard on Moon Over The World.

Otonowa was developed in support of the victims of the earthquake and tsunami in Northern Japan. Having assembled to perform a benefit concert 2011, the group completed the recording and returned to Japan in 2014 for a tour in aid of the ongoing relief efforts.

We are pleased to make this recording available world-wide and on some platforms for the first time. In association with the expanded release, Otonowa has been remastered in high-resolution, 24-bit/96kHz sound for download and streaming services that support higher quality audio, including Apple’s "Mastered For iTunes" format.

Sons of Sound recording artist Jodi Stevens (Girl Talk, Rodgers & Leonhart) stars in the recently released feature film entitled "Pervertigo".

Here is the synopsys:
Lloyd Gills, a lonely Peeping Tom, is propositioned to murder his landlord’s wife. Spooked, he runs for the hills. But with a badass debt collector hot on his tail, Lloyd has no choice but to agree to the murderous offer. Only problem is, Lloyd has fallen in love with the target.

Selected for the Titanic, Warsaw, and Mumbai film festivals, the film is available for download now on iTunes.

Sons of Sound recording artists Bob Sneider (guitar) and Gene Lewin (drums) will be performing with the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra and guest conductor Andy Einhorn in support of vocalist Audra McDonald on Saturday, January 17th at 8pm.

The performance will be held in Kodak Hall at Eastman Theatre, Rochester, New York. Details are provided on the RPO website.

Ray will be performing at Birdland and The Iridium in NYC this month, with The Birdland Big Band and The Ed Palermo Big Band, respectively:

Friday, January 16 and Friday, January 23 (5-7pm)
Birdland 315 West 44th St., New York, NY 10036

Saturday, January 18 (8 & 10pm) and Sunday, January 19 (9:30pm)
The Iridium 1650 Broadway (at 51st. St.), New York, NY 10019 (212-582-2121)
The Ed Palermo Big Band will be performing two completely different shows, so check out Ed's website or The Iridium for details.

As 2014 comes to a close and the label re-boots with new branding, it seems an appropriate moment to restate our philosophy and position in this business of music. If we are to collectively encourage instrumental performance and composition, the challenges of teaching, creating, and supporting creative music in a difficult commercial environment are worth thinking about.

Read more at our blog on Tumblr. We'll use the blog to share thoughts about the music business amongst less serious content. Future blog entries will be announced on Twitter as they are posted. You can follow us on Twitter or keep an eye on our home page for the latest tweet.

PS: the image to the right is one version (white on black) of our new social media icon. Look for it on Twitter, Tumblr, YouTube, Facebook, Soundcloud, and other social media. You can access these sites by clicking the icons at the top right of every page on our web site.