Charlie Apicella - Call to Action / Call to Prayer - COMPACT DISCS [CD]

A deeply melodic guitarist along the lines of Grant Green. Apicella faithfully has sought to channel an era of American music when hard-bop and r&b reigned - But the guitarist still manages to keep things fresh. - DownBeat. New York guitarist Charlie Apicella's musical voice runs historically deep, with his 7 recordings to date highly focused on celebrating the elders of jazz, R&B, and the Blues. His band, Iron City, has been with him the whole way, providing a base context for all of his projects. With InchDestiny Calling,Inch this hard bop rhythm section drives headlong into the future as the elder masters of The Griots Speak draw from a lifetime of experience in communication with the ancestors. Trail blazing percussionist Juma Sultan formed the Griots with saxophonist Daniel Carter, bassist William Parker and Apicella to help celebrate a patriarch of New York's '60's loft scene. Simultaneously fluid, extroverted, light, confrontational, and meditative, their music is poetry in motion. They create spontaneously, as they move between instruments, including a variety of indigenous instruments which convey a pan-ancestral tapestry at the core of their sound. For Apicella, it's the realization of lessons learned through his studies with Yusef Lateef and the opportunity to further amplify the legacy.

Charlie Apicella & Iron City are a torch bearer of the classic guitar/organ sound and InchGroove MachineInch is a return to form for the New York guitarist's catchy, swinging original compositions. Straight out of the classic 1960's hard bop era and showcasing the band's deep interplay, the 3rd recording by Apicella, organist Radam Schwartz, saxophonist Gene Ghee, and drummer Alan Korzin, is packed with burning solos, Charlie's tight arrangements, and an unrelenting groove that defines the character of Iron City. Special guests include Freddie Hendrix on trumpet, Mayra Casales on congas and violinist Amy Bateman. InchAs a player, Apicella immediately brings to mind Grant Green. He's funky, he's bluesy, and he's not afraid to get dirty at times. Apicella and band have that perfect jazz rapport that allows them to be tight as hell and play off each other beautifully.Inch - Vintage Guitar Magazine.

Seafood Sam is a futuristic artifact. If that description might sound confusing at first, it matches the eclectic dualities found in true originals. With his effortless cool and timeless style, the North Long Beach native defies convention and exact comparison. He's a virtuosic rapper, a stop-you-in-your tracks singer, and a symphonic producer. Welcome to the lavish life of a laid-back transcontinental man of mystery, rolling in old school Cadillacs, eating caviar with a blade in his pocket, and making plays in vintage Pelle Pelle gear. A blaxploitation icon for the Instagram age, blessed with the bars of a '90s legend and 23rd century swagger. Seafood Sam is a true hero of modernity. On his full-length album debut for up-and-coming tag drink sum wtr (Kari Faux, Deem Spencer, Aja Monet) debut, Standing on Giant Shoulders, Sam splits the difference between Snoop Dogg and D' Angelo, Curren$y and David Ruffin. The songs reveal a forward-thinking sensibility rooted in ancestral soul. He creates spiritual hymns for the streets that tap into universal ideals and irrepresible groove. In an era plagued by short-term thinking, his ambitions reveal a crate-digging depth of music history and a meticulous ear for detail. The giant shoulders in the album's title refer to James Brown, Bobby Brown, and Miles Davis - the holy trinity who inspired Sam's process. From the Godfather of Soul, Sam took a perfectionist's rigor and focus. The example of Bobby Brown lent an unshakeable confidence and self-belief. While the constant artistic left turns of the trumpeter that birthed Cool offered an aspirational archetype. Standing on Giant Shoulders is the evidence of a master, a young sensei in the model of Quincy Jones. All rhymes, singing, production, and arrangements were handled by Sam - with an assist from his close Long Beach kinsman Tom Kendall from the group Soular System. It's hard-e