Joey Altruda Quartet Wails At Herman Leonard Exhibit

(L-R Ramon Banda, Allen Mezquida, Joey Altruda, Theo Saunders)

I recently performed for Herman Leonard's latest photo exhibit at the Reserve Store on Fairfax Ave. The event was a sponsored by FreshJive Clothing and Etnies Shoes as a launch for their latest Fresh Jive shoe.

Herman Leonard was celebrated throughout the evening by his many fans who came out of the woodwork to pay their respects. My fifteen year friendship with Herman has thus far been one of the greatest treasures of my life. He has shared with me many things that I am forever grateful for, and it thrills me to no end that we were brought together once again for this great night of art, music and celebration.

(photos via Pix Feed LA blog)

Seu Jorge Rocks The Hollywood Bowl

(Seu Jorge, Joey Altruda, Pretinho Da Serrinha)

Seu Jorge came to L.A. last month to perform three nights at the Hollywood Bowl along with The Hollywood Bowl Orchestra and Bebel Gilberto. I was delighted to be a part of his rhythm section, thumping the Fender bass alongside Eric Bobo (drums), Mike Boito (piano), and Pretinho Da Serrinha (percussion, cavaquino).



The gigs were spectacular to say the least, including samba dancers, capoeiristas and a huge fireworks display that lit up the Bowl like New Year’s Eve at midnight.



The following week we met up at Jack Johnson’s Brushfire recording studio on Larchmont, experimenting with different ideas and musical textures, flavored with the keyboard stylings of my longtime compadre Money Mark.
Seu Jorge’s approach is a very free thinking one, and there were moments where he really struck me as a Brazilian counterpart to Serge Gainsbourg; a true musical painter.
I can’t wait to hear the outcome of these tracks and look forward to more musical collaboration with this great inspirational talent.

Joey Altruda’s Vinyl Meltdown-Special Art Blakey Podcast

Reserve Radio Vinyl Meltdown Podcast
(scroll down the page for previous Vinyl Meltdown podcasts)

I first discovered the music of Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers as a freshman in high school. It was the height of corporate arena rock, just before punk rock invaded sunny southern California, and Jazz was at an all time low in popularity. A classmate of mine loaned me his father’s copy of The Big Beat on a label called Blue Note; also John Coltrane’s Giant Steps, and the Charlie Parker Dial Sessions Volume I (essential classics of the genre). My experience with Jazz prior to this had been primarily pre war/ big band era music, especially the Benny Goodman sextet featuring guitar pioneer Charlie Christian.
Post war Jazz & Bebop was a whole new thing to me, and within seconds of dropping the needle on that Blakey vinyl I knew my life had been changed in a big way. The music was soulful, impressionistic, otherworldly, yet somewhat nostalgic at the same time. This was also my introduction to trumpeter Lee Morgan, sax man Wayne Shorter, pianist Bobby Timmons, and bassist Jymie Merritt, who were featured sidemen on this particular record. It wasn’t until several years that I became more informed about The Jazz Messengers’ legacy (remember, this was a couple decades before the internet and google).

As I later found out, several generations of Jazz stars cut their teeth with Art Blakey’s band-Clifford Brown, Lou Donaldson, Horace Silver, Benny Golson, Cedar Walton, Freddie Hubbard, Curtis Fuller, the Mangione Brothers, the Marsalis Bothers, etc-the list goes on & on.

I eventually became of age to get into clubs and finally see Art Blakey perform live, which was like having my arms plugged into a gigantic electrical socket of life energy, leaving the gigs walking on air for days after. Anytime the Messengers played in Los Angeles I made sure to be there, as close to the band stand as I could get;sometimes for several nights in a row. Over the years, I collected as many Blakey recordings as I could get my hands on, yet to this day, my favorite lineup is the 1963/64 Morgan/Shorter/Timmons band, a perfect combination of soul and incredible original compositions. Recordings of note featuring this lineup on the Blue Note label: The Big Beat, Like someone In Love, Meet You At The Jazz Corner Of The World Vol I & II, Night In Tunisia, Witch Doctor.

Playlist:
1. Sakeena’s Vision
2. So Tired
3. Yama
4. The Chess Players
5. Johnny’s Blue
6. The Things I Love
7. High Modes
8. Joelle
9. Invitation
10. Afrique
11. What Know

Django Reinhardt + Katie Morgan + Joey Altruda =Fang Bang Stomp!

Last season I was hired by HBO to compose the theme song for “Katie Morgan’s Sex Tips: Questions Anyone?” (an offshoot miniseries from Pornucopia).
They were looking for something in the tradition of Django Reinhardt’s gypsy swing music of the 1930’s. Needless to say, I immediately thought of a melody that had played through my head several months before when I was bicycling down Fang Bang Road (the old section of Shanghai). The outcome: Fang Bang Stomp, which has just recently been released digitally through about 80 different online stores including iTunes, eMusic, Napster, Rhapsody, LimeWire, Amazon etc. This track also features the saxophone styling of Allen Mezquida, creator of Smigly.

New Candye Kane Superhero CD Recorded At Joey Altruda’s

I’m proud to let the world know that the latest release by Blues Diva Candye Kane is officially out. Superhero (Delta Groove Records) was recorded at the Joey Altruda recording facility (aka Joey’s Place) a few months back and the results are top notch-featuring blazing guitar work by Laura Chavez, with guest appearances by Kid Ramos, Dave Gonzales, and Mitch Kashmar.
Album Review

New Joey Altruda Music-Hey Smigly!

The latest Joey Altruda 3 song EP has just been released on iTunes, emusic, Napster, and about 80 other online music stores. Hey Smigley, Doo-Boo-Dee-Boo, and The Swingin’ Smigs are written and performed by Joey & his Cocktail Crew, and featured in Allen Mesquida’s animated series of Smigly cartoons. Joey is also the voice of Smigly.
To view he complete first season, go to smigly.tv.

New Joey Altruda Vinyl Meltdown Podcast!

That’s right folks! After a couple months hiatus, I am back doing the Vinyl Meltdown podcasts for Reserve Radio every two weeks. These are archived so you can go back and re-listen any time you want, or download into your iPod via RSS feed. This current episode is one long mega-mix, without interruption, featuring:
Billy May, Les Baxter,Los Chakachas, Arcano Y Los Maravillas, Moondog, Frencesco De Masi & A. Allessandroni, Dick Grove Big Band, Miss Dee, Stan Getz & Cal Tjader, Astor Piazzolla & Gary Burton, Earl Grant, Ronnie Cook, Robert Williams, The Musical Lynn Twins, Alfred E. Newman, Ray Charles, George Braithe, Nancy Wilson, and Arthur Prysock.
Just Click Here & Enjoy!

The Latest Smigly-From Allen Mez

Cutting edge animator Allen Mez has come through once again with a profound social commentary about the current financial crisis, featuring a brand new song by yours truly entitled “Hey Smigly” (coming soon to iTunes, Napster, Amazon, etc.)
Subscribe To The Allen Mez YouTube Channel.
Visit Smigly.TV

Christmas In Hollywood

Over the years, many jazz artists have ended up detouring into pop when they recorded Christmas albums. But listeners can rest assured that Christmas in Hollywood is both a Christmas album and a true jazz album. Plas Johnson, of course, could have easily made this a pop recording -- the versatile tenor saxman has certainly backed his share of non-jazz artists, and is probably most noted for his performance on Henry Mancini’s “Pink Panther Theme”. Christmas in Hollywood, however, is very much a hard bop/soul-jazz recording.
It was a great pleasure for me to work with Plas once again on the production of this CD, as well as legendary balladeer and blues shouter Ernie Andrews.
http://cdbaby.com/cd/plas3

New Smigly Episode!

Allen Mez just posted this new installation in his Smigly series. A hilarious episode depicting the discomfort of modern romance in the 21st century.Featuring yours truly as the voice of Smigly, this is a must see!Join The Allen Mez YouTube page at:http://www.youtube.com/user/allenmez

Alton Ellis’ last Visit To Los Angeles

It was like a surrealistic dream when Alton Ellis stepped into my studio to rehearse for his last L.A. appearance. He had been one of my favorite Jamaican singers for over twenty years and I couldn’t believe how amazing he sounded up close and personal, singing some of his biggest hits-I’m Still In Love With You, Willow Tree, Cry Tough, etc. The biggest treat though was the Q & A session afterwards, when we all gathered around like children listening to Grandpa tell us stories of the Golden Age of Ska, Rocksteady, and Reggae.
That was July 2007, and we looked forward to many more visits from him in the future.
Little did we know that this would be the last time we would see him, as he was diagnosed with cancer shortly thereafter and sadly passed away on October 11, 2008 .
In his 50 year career Alton Ellis touched fans all over the world and will live in our hearts forever. We’re Still In Love With You Alton.

Tease!: The Beat Of Burlesque

The popularuty of burlesque, striptease, and pinup girls has gained a serious momentum in the past decade and doesn't seem to be slowing down any time soon. Several years ago I was hired to compile a CD of classic music from the golden era of bump & grind for the Verve record label, much of it hard to find and out of print.

"Hard-honking horns; slinky rhythms; heart-throbbing beats. . . . This soundtrack to the new burlesque is the sound of vintage rhythm & blues, bump-and-grind exotica, and hipster jazz working its magic to uncover hidden desires and soft, sultry curves."
Now available as MP3 downloads!

http://www.vervemusicgroup.com/artist/releases/default.aspx?pid=11265&aid=2656

Special Frank Zappa Retrospective Podcast

On this current installation of my podcast I welcome guest deejay Domenic Priore presenting a 90 minute retrospective of Frank Zappa’s early music, featuring The Mother’s Of Invention, Captain Beefheart, The Penguins, Bob Guy, Burt Ward, et al.
This special edition of Vinyl Meltdown highlights some rare and highly sought after cuts, especially for the die hard Zappaphile. Listen At Your Own Risk!
http://www.reservela.net/radio_blog.php

Roland Alphonso Jumps With Joey 1989

1989- The King King- located at 6th & La Brea in Los Angeles. That's where Jump with Joey first met and performed with Jamaican saxophone titan target="_blank"Roland Alphonso. It was the beginning of a close personal friendship that would last nearly a decade. Alphonso was a founding member and leader of the very first Ska band- The Skatalites. Through Roland, I was introduced to the godfather of Jamaican music, Clement "Sir Coxson" Dodd of Studio One, and together we made a CD entitled "Strictly For You Volume II"(1993).

The video below is from our first gig together at the King King and also features a guest appearance on baritone sax by Angelo Moore of Fishbone fame.

Roland Alphonso passed on in 1998 leaving a rich musical legacy. Jump With Joey disbanded a year later. May the memories live on!




http://www.skatalites.com/