Powered By Blogger

Search This Blog

Monday, October 5, 2009

CD RELEASE - New York, Boston, London, Tel Aviv


This “round” in the US is almost over... what an amazing and fruitful time... I got to see many of my new york friends, sadly not all... I'll be back soon for some more "ketchup" sessions...

next on the horizon - a few more NY days, some Boston time (Oct 8 - 13), a day in London (Oct 16) and then off back to Israel...

here are a few updates on what I have been and will be Upto ;)

As you may know, my new CD
“Upto Here | From Here” was released in August, distributed by Obliqsound.
Want a(nother) copy?
CDBaby.com
/ Amazon.com / ilike (or other websites and retail stores)

We’ve performed CD Release concerts in NY and Philly (thanks to those of you who came out!!) and have one more to go in Boston (Brookline). It would be great to see you (or your friends and family :) there!!

Boston CD Release Concert
Vernissage, Brookline
Thursday, October 8, 8pm
1627 Beacon St., Brookline.
Tickets: $15 (students $12 with ID)
(617)566-3340
http://vernissagerestaurant.com/jazz.aspx

ARG – Voice / Compositions, Avishai Cohen – Trumpet, Michael Attias – Saxophone, Carmen Staaf – Piano, Sean Conly – Bass, Satoshi Takeishi – Drums

--

I just found out that “Upto Here | From Here”
is on the ballot for a Grammy nomination in two categories: Best New Artist and Best Jazz Vocal Album
This is NOT a Grammy nomination, but the step PRIOR to that – in which you can help...

If you are a voting member of NARAS please check out the music on my website and consider supporting it:
http://www.ayeletrose.com
If you know any voting members (you may know someone without even knowing it- musicians, producers, artwork designers, liner-notes writers, etc.) please tell them that Upto Here | From Here is on the ballot. If you, or they have questions, please email me and I will do my best to give good answers...

Here’s a taste of what
the press are saying about Upto Here | From Here:
"Employing the words of the Persian poet Rumi (on the song "Some Kiss"), Gottlieb has constructed the sensual jazz delight of 2009." – Mark Saleski, Jazz.com
Ms. Gottlieb has a distinct style, a wonderful voice and some ideas that are quite outside the realm of standard fare. … she blends contemporary and traditional forms of music with high drama, humor, satire, style and grace. Upto Here | From Here is my pick for one of the best jazz vocal performances of 2009 – Paul J. Youngman, JazzReview.com
After a hundred years, is it still possible to say something new in jazz? Gottlieb demonstrates powerfully that there is.
– Jeff Pinzino, Casual Listening

--

A couple of days ago I finished recording a vocal quartet CD for
John Zorn’s “Book Of Angels: Masada Book 2” series. It was an amazing experience to work on this project... It took time and many shifts and twists, but we made it! I recorded this album with three great vocalists – Basya Schechter, Sofia Koutsovitis and Malika Zarra, and with the engineering chops of Marc Urselli at East Side Sound over two long days. It will be cooked soon, and released sometime in early 2010... Stay posted for release and performances dates...

--

On Tuesday night I’ll be singing a short duo set with Carmen Staaf on accordion at a fund raiser event for a new dance piece by choreographer Netta Yerushalmi. Netta will also present sections from her new work which will open on Dec. 10th at Danspace Project. There will be cocktails and food... admission for artists / friends (i.e. - you) is $30.
7-10pm 95 Greene Street #5C.

--

On Wednesday, my last night in NY, I’m performing with the WONDERFUL guitarist Amanda Monaco and her
Pirkei Avot Project... We recorded an album of this music in June, to be released soon...
October 7, 9pm at Drom (85 Ave A, btw 5 & 6)

--

Israel performance dates for October, November and December are now posted on my website

--

so.... that's my upto here | from here of the moment... I'd love to hear your thoughts, ideas and comments... and hope to see you soon, here there and everywhere...

Saturday, September 12, 2009

on releasing

"to release" - a verb that implies conflicting things. On the one hand - a sense of freedom; of lighter breath & calmer muscles. On the other - the tension that was needed in order to have something to release...
On one hand - the feeling of letting go, pressing "restart", new possibilities, new energy. On the other - it implies a void, an emptiness...

to release... to let go of what was kept tight. (Is there a loss in that?)

to release... to be able to place things and move away from them.

[I don't believe in progress, but rather in modulation. shifting is not evolving, just motion to another plain.]

---

...and can we ever break these spirals of tension and release? would we want to if we could?

[in music and in life i NEED this delicate balance of tension and release in order to remain interested. never just one or the other. give me some ugliness along with the beauty, some rawness aside the refinement, some harshness inside the delicate...]

---

I love rituals. They allow us to take note of the spot we are standing on. they allow us to measure. to re-think and re-choose. to choose to move away or to continue on the path we have already been on.

I am ritualizing this moment by writing these words. I am sitting near the window of my home-for-the-month on Ave B. Plants surround me. two beautiful felines are purring at my feet. I am thinking about releasing. I am drinking coffee [small soy latte] to make a mark in time: upto here, from here.

---

a new album is born. I notice the familiarity and closeness when rehearsing the music with Avishai, Loren and Anat. I think of how long it has been since we were all in one room together. I appreciate the beauty and tenderness that Anat's trio with Roland and Gary bring to the music. I notice the absence of our drummer, Take, who is definitely in the room with us, but only in spirit.

We will celebrate this release together in New York, Philly and Boston (details below). There are some circles closing... to play in Boston for the first time since I've lived there (about 8 years ago)... after I no longer live in the U.S... To release THIS record, with THIS title, in the months following my move back to Israel... and to begin the releasing celebrations in NY, a city that was home until not long ago, and now is a place I come for visits... To say a final goodbye to Take by letting this recording go out into the world, while re-uniting with Avishai, Loren and Anat after a long time we haven't all shared a stage

Where is home these days?

"adam betoch atzmo hu gar"

I ate my first pomegranate of the season today. thinking... "Tishrei's pomegranates, cluttered, bursting silently within themselves". bitter sweet juices. red stains on white napkins. and, my pomegranate man - he's my antioxidant... in a couple of month we will be living together in Israel after two and a half years of living apart. I recorded this CD weeks before we got married, and now, several years later, it is being released weeks before we actually start living together again...

A new-ju-year is beginning. a great time for releasing, reflecting, renewing. A great time to sing songs about pomegranates, that are now in season... that symbolize hope for an abundance of rights (to all humans and living things this year, amen). A great time to sing the words of Dr. Martin Luther King and Rumi about self fulfillment and the meaning of living.
A new-ju-year is beginning. I'm throwing breadcrumbs in the water. shedding. letting go of preconceptions on what life should be. allowing myself not to know. to float. to recharge.

I hope you keep joining me on this journey, and share your thoughts and upto-here-from-here moments with me. may we have a calmer year. a year of peace, resolution, realization, experimentation, creation, love, laughter, friendship and fluidity. may we release what needs releasing, and keep what needs to remain close.

Much love and Shana Tova
Ayelet

-----

In the upcoming weeks I'll be celebrating the release of my third CD "Upto Here | From Here".

At the Jazz Standard in NY
Sept 15, 7:30 & 9pm
$20

At Chris' Jazz Cafe in Philly
Sept 17, 8 & 9:45pm
$15

with:
Ayelet Rose Gottlieb - Voice / Compositions
Avishai Cohen** (trumpet)
Loren Stillman (saxophone)
Anat Fort (piano)

At Vernissage in Boston
Oct 8, 8pm

with:
Ayelet Rose Gottlieb - Voice / Compositions
Avishai Cohen** (trumpet)
Michael Attias (saxophone)
Carmen Staaf (Piano)
Sean Conly (Bass)

--

* each of the "Upto Here | From Here" links to a different review of the new CD if you're interested in reading those...
**Avishai is playing with in NY and Boston. Not Philly.