{"id":805452,"date":"2020-03-19T10:00:17","date_gmt":"2020-03-19T16:00:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/?p=969154"},"modified":"2020-03-19T10:00:17","modified_gmt":"2020-03-19T16:00:17","slug":"hear-ali-shaheed-muhammad-adrian-younge-team-with-jazz-royalty-on-new-comp","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/music-news\/hear-ali-shaheed-muhammad-adrian-younge-team-with-jazz-royalty-on-new-comp\/","title":{"rendered":"Hear Ali Shaheed Muhammad, Adrian Younge Team With Jazz Royalty on New Comp"},"content":{"rendered":"
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In 2017, the Los Angeles promoter Andrew Lojero had an idea for a new jazz<\/a> concert series. Along with A Tribe Called Quest<\/a> DJ-producer Ali Shaheed Muhammad and prolific R&B and hip-hop<\/a> composer-producer Adrian Younge \u2014 the duo behind throwback soul project the Midnight Hour<\/a> and the Luke Cage<\/em><\/a> soundtrack \u2014 he began putting together bills featuring esteemed jazz veterans such as Roy Ayers and Gary Bartz, and rising stars of the genre like Keyon Herrold. Lojero dubbed the series Jazz Is Dead.<\/p>\n

\u201cI thought the name was bold, provocative and exactly what was needed to stir things up,\u201d Muhammad writes in an email. \u201cFor us it\u2019s more than a show; it\u2019s a celebration of our treasured bastions of freedom.\u201d<\/p>\n

Now, three years later, the team is furthering the project with the launch of a new label bearing the same name. The first release, Jazz Is Dead 001<\/em><\/a> \u2014 officially out March 20th and premiering below \u2014 is a compilation on which Younge and Muhammad team up with their musical heroes to create brand-new tracks.<\/p>\n

The track list is studded with artists who have been sampled for years by hip-hop heavyweights such as A Tribe Called Quest<\/a>, Dr. Dre<\/a>, Nas<\/a>, and J Dilla<\/a>: jazz-funk vibraphonist Ayers; Bartz, the saxophonist, NTU Troop<\/a> leader, and onetime Miles Davis sideman; Brian Jackson, who collaborated with Gil Scott-Heron on a long string of landmark Seventies albums; bossa nova luminaries Jo\u00e3o Donato and Marcos Valle; keyboardist Doug Carn, whose Seventies LPs on Oakland\u2019s Black Jazz label are highly prized by crate diggers; and Brazilian jazz-funk outfit Azymuth.<\/p>\n

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\u201cWe want them to feel the love for what they have given us in a time where a spotlight may not be shining brightly on their works,\u201d Muhammad says of the artists featured on Jazz Is Dead 001.<\/em><\/p>\n

Every one of the tracks \u2014 from \u201cDistant Mode,\u201d on which Bartz\u2019s alto sax dances over a simmering groove to \u201cDown Deep,\u201d a beautifully chill ballad featuring Carn\u2019s potent Hammond B3 organ \u2014 was a full collaboration between the featured artist, and Muhammad and Younge, both of whom play keys, guitar, bass, and more on the record. (Various other musicians contribute drums, vocals, horns, and keys throughout.) A balmy title track, \u201cJazz Is Dead,\u201d by Muhammad and Younge\u2019s own the Midnight Hour, rounds out the album.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo see Ali with Gary Bartz or Jo\u00e3o Donato, two artists that meant so much to A Tribe Called Quest, is crazy,\u201d Younge writes, reflecting on the sessions that went into Jazz Is Dead 001.<\/em> \u201cWhen they sampled their compositions, they never thought it would come full circle. I never thought I\u2019d be sitting in the studio with Marcos Valle or Lonnie Liston, writing with Brian Jackson and Azymuth; writing with Jean Carne and Doug Carn. It\u2019s insane. It\u2019s as if my career was meant for this moment.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSeeing someone that you sampled long ago blowing fresh notes onto something we have written just for them was emotional,\u201d Muhammad adds. \u201cAdmiring the way they are playing right in front of your eyes when at one time it was a dream to wonder what they were thinking about when they recorded their songs. Feeling humbled at the respect they give us for the music that we have made for them. Wondering how this wave of new music will be transferred by the next generation.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jazz Is Dead 001<\/em> is merely a prelude for the label. Later this year, they\u2019ll reveal seven full-length albums, one featuring each of the guests heard on the comp. They\u2019re also planning live shows featuring artists from their roster and other like-minded musicians. To learn more about all upcoming Jazz Is Dead activities, visit their website<\/a> or Instagram page<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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Popular on Rolling Stone <\/h3>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

via:: Rolling Stone<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In 2017, the Los Angeles promoter Andrew Lojero had an idea for a new jazz concert series. Along with A Tribe Called Quest DJ-producer Ali Shaheed Muhammad and prolific R&B and hip-hop composer-producer Adrian Younge \u2014 the duo behind throwback soul project the Midnight Hour and the Luke Cage soundtrack \u2014 he began putting together […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[98],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-805452","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-music-news"},"acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-07-18 22:11:44","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"KSMT The Mountain","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/805452","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=805452"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/805452\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=805452"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=805452"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=805452"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}