Label: AMAdea Records

Album: Nuggets Of Gold

Genre: Traditional Folk

Buy CD

ARTIST DESCRIPTION

Zhelyazko Zhekov is one of the famous producers in the field of the Bulgarian’s folklore. He is also musician, composer, arranger, teacher and as a whole – connoisseur of the Bulgarian traditional and national music.

During the years Zhelyazko Zhekov collaborate with many of the renowned musicians and performers of the traditional Bulgarian music. Despite of this he is always in search of young talents.

In his album collection “Nuggets of Gold”, there are compositions that represent the national creation of the South-eastern region of Bulgaria. This is a place with very specific colour of this genre of music.

Listen to the music and get into one different world.

In addition, Zhelyazko Zhekov has included a bonus tracks – 4 instrumentals from the performed music inside the album, which are FREE FOR USE, like home performing, karaoke or even available for remix with another style or instruments. NOW you can insert a blend from this marvelous music into yours.
MUSIC QUOTES

Bulgarian music has achieved special recognition for these odd-metered melodies and the unique vocalizations and once a person develops a taste for this style … it becomes addictive. One reaches dizzying heights of pleasure when savoring this musical experience — it lasts for hours and hours. You find yourself humming the melodies or tapping your toes or fingers to the odd meters unconcsiously even when the music stops. Bulgarian music is an acquired taste but once you develop it - you definitely want to experience it more often. This CD is a delightful smorgasboard for those who have had a bite of this style of music and want to expand their musical horizons.
- AMAdea Records, BULGARIA

AVAILABLE ALSO on iTunes

The September 30th, 2008 deadline for submissions to the New York Songwriters’ Circle’s (NYSC) annual Songwriting Contest is quickly approaching.

For over 18 years such notable artists as Vanessa Carlton, Norah Jones, Gavin DeGraw, Jesse Harris, Lisa Loeb, Charlotte Sometimes, Avril Lavigne, John Oates and Chris Barron (of the Spin Doctors) have all been a part of this legendary circle. This year’s grand prize winner will take home over $15,000 in cash and prizes, including a performance spot at the world renowned Madison Square Garden, The Live Nation - Jones Beach Concert Series, recording sessions with Grammy award winning producer Glenn Barett and so much more. The contest winner will also be featured on Jonathan Clarke’s highly rated “Out of the Box” radio show on New York’s most popular classic Rock station, Q104.3. For the first time ever, the NYSC will present two additional awards at the contest finale, an International award to an outstanding songwriter from anywhere outside the US, and a Young Writer award, for songwriters ages 8 to 18.

The New York Songwriters Circle contest annually gives performers the rare opportunity to perform their music live in front of top music industry professionals and excited music fans as part of the New York Songwriters Circle’s ongoing showcases series in Philadelphia (at World Café Live), Boston (at Johnny D’s in Somerville), and the legendary Bitter End in New York’s Greenwich Village. Past contest winners include Kate Voegele, (currently starring in the hit TV Show “One Tree Hill”) and “Company of Thieves,” (recently featured as a breaking artist on Billboard Magazine).

The Live Finale events on November 5th and 6th at the Bitter End in New York will spotlight the twelve contest finalists and include rare special guest appearances by Grammy Award winning Singer/Songwriter Marc Cohn and Indie music sensation Dave Barnes. Aside from his own impressive music catalog, Marc Cohn has worked with such notable artists as Tracy Chapman, Jackson Browne, David Crosby, Shawn Colvin and many more. Currently, Dave Barnes is touring with “Los Lonely Boys” and has achieved both critical and commercial success as an indie recording artist.

The panel of judges includes Grammy-Award winning producer Russ Titelman, 785 Records/Publishing and Denise Rich Songs President Mark Eichner, Rolling Stone and New York Magazine contributor and author John Colapinto and many more. Sponsors include 785 Records, Denise Rich Songs, Ascap, Bmi, Sesac, MorningStar Studios, Broadjam.com, SongU.com, Dubway Studios and Sam Ash Music.

For more information and to submit your music please visit http://www.songwriters-circle.com

It’s a funny funky little tune wishing “you-know-who” a final farewell.

Stop by www.memshannon.com and listen to a clip.

Living Down River is a ten track recording encompassing real life situations and feelings all set to a tasteful mix of folk, Americana and blues. Tamara has a clear and thoughtful vocal style that is convincing while very pleasing and inviting regardless of what style of music she is playing. She also writes all of her own material and maintains her independence as an artist with no attachments to any third parties. Ok, I am really starting to like this woman, everything about her is real and original and she is indie - that is the entire package for me, well the music needs to be good too and in this case, it is the icing on the cake.

This CD is solid in every way, the production is good, the musicianship exemplary - all of the most important aspects are in focus so we have ourselves a captivating group of songs to listen to. I have no doubt after reading about the life of this artist that she truly is living the songs performed.

When you hear “Better Day”, it echoes with emotion and the feeling of someone that has gone through, experienced, and endured some hardships only to come out the other side and step into the light then be able to share that experience with someone that needs some inspiration to do the same. “Big City Blues” is my favorite, which comes as no surprise because I do love the blues and it is a very upbeat track. Tamara and her friends really strut their stuff on this one.

I think a prerequisite to listening to this music and understanding it is to be in a reflective and somewhat serious mood but also lighthearted enough to enjoy the warmth and sunshine it can put in your heart because of all the hope and emotion that comes down the river, just as the title and closing track says. It is a bluesy number with a harmonica that is longing for a friend. A perfect closer to these stories told so well. “That Leavin’ Sound” is a lament to a relationship getting ready to end as the singer anticipates a break up by that sound of leaving in the person’s voice. These particular songs made a noticeable impact on me musically and emotionally.

To relate to music is to know it, and to know it is to understand the artist presenting it. I think I connected on Living Down River.

Artist: Tamara Lewis
Title: Living Down River
Genre: Folk-Americana-Blues
Label: Independent
Website
Source Link

Tracks:
01.I’ll Come Home
02.Better Day
03.Love Song To The Midwest
04.Don’t Look At The Mountain
05.That Leavin’ Sound
06.Big City Blues
07.With My Eyes
08.Cold Coffee, Warm Beer
09.Key of Lonely
10.Living Down River

© MuzikReviews.com

Keith “MuzikMan” Hannaleck

For more about Nadia and her music, visit www.nadiaworld.com.

On Jude Johnstone’s third effort Blue Light I discovered a rare new talent that had enormous potential. On Mr. Sun, that potential comes bursting through every song in the most beautiful untarnished way. The session prior to this is what spurred Jude on to get into a creative groove that kept going so they just continued to record and got enough material together to put out this new recording.

This is Jude’s ode to all the musicians that contributed to the sessions and the inspiration to create she found calling to her inside the music. A wellspring of ideas came flowing forth effortlessly just as the music pushed her to croon out the title track and ten more fine compositions after that with heartfelt emotion and spirit.

“Mr. Sun” is as warm as the title-there is something about the song that gives you that special tingly feeling that only a classic song can. It conveys something so strong that no other song could possibly match it. Not to say that this is not a very strong effort, indeed it is. This is the kind of album that needs some attention and will easily find it in due time once these tracks hit the airwaves or find their way in digital formats all over the internet and web radio.

Incredibly, Jude wrote all of these songs, no obligatory jazz standards, covers or nods to influences are on this CD, it is all pure Jude. This is the reason it all works so well, I do not think anyone wanted to do anything different on this project. Again David Pitch (upright bass), Danny Frankel (drums, percussion), Freddy Koella (guitar), and Marc Macisso (sax) show up for the event. In addition to the regulars Dean Parks, Mark Goldenberg (guitar), Jan Osssman (upright bass), Daniel Savant (muted trumpet, flugelhorn), Stephen Bishop, and Maxayn Lewis who provided background vocals step in to help. I had to mention them all because each person played their own quintessential role into making this Jude Johnstone’s masterpiece. If this one does not break her out, well I cannot see how anything else could, it is that good.

Jude goes from slinky late night burners “Baby, Don’t You Call My Name” and “Winding Back My Heart” where she sings, “I can turn myself into a ghost if you want me to,” facing the inevitable loss of her love, to the less musically complicated laments like “So Bad.” Her vocal chords are the main instrument and it all builds into a mountain of feeling and an excellent musical production that this album is consistently from the first note to the last.

Indie jazz simply does not get any better than this.

Artist: Jude Johnstone
Title: Mr.Sun
Genre: Jazz-Blues
Label: Bojak Records
Website
Source Link

Tracks:
01. Mr. Sun
02. Over Easy
03. Don’t Tell Me That It’s Over
04. Echoes of Blue
05. Sunday Evening
06. When My Ship Comes In
07. Baby, Don’t You Call My Name
08. So Bad
09. Winding Back My Heart
10. The Light of Day
11. One For Us

© MuzikReviews.com

Keith “MuzikMan” Hannaleck

The CD’s hooky lead-off song, “The Man Nobody Knows,” could very well be Cutler’s theme song. He’s been in the music business since he was a teenager. He was signed to Mercury Records at age 13 with his band the Young Executives, went on to produce a total of 29 albums, perform in the original Godspell band off-Broadway and on Broadway for 800 performances, see his albums break the Billboard Top 100 and go gold and platinum; he posed as the centerfold for Playgirl and, with his million-selling Disco Diet, presaged the advent of disco. Still, he’s not a household name.

”The Man Nobody Knows” leads effortlessly into Test of Time’s other 21 original cuts, which include several fearless—and ageless—ballads with “Hear Here” and “California Nights” and an array of catchy pop tunes like “Moonlight” and “Back to Kansas” made substantive by Cutler’s gravelly voice. But the disc also demands equal time for showcasing jazzy rhythm and blues on “Live On,” the down-and-dirty rock ’n’ roller “People” and the memorable “Father and Son.”

“World Keeps on Turning,” “I Can’t Breathe” and “Innocent Love,” all originally recorded in the ’70s, feature Cutler’s Godspell band mate Paul Shaffer on keyboards, while the late jazz trumpeter Don Ellis can be heard on “Live On.” And the hits just keep coming. Cutler’s love for mixing it up comes through loud and clear with the electronic disco pulse of “Automatic Man,” while “Middle of the Mountain” is worthy of a month of gospel Sundays. Ultimately, this eclectic collection demonstrates the type of strength and versatility that can only come from a seasoned pro adept at moving forward while honoring the past. And Cutler’s Test of Time will most likely do just that.

Cutler was inspired to release Test of Time as a companion to his forthcoming autobiography, StarLust: The Price of Fame, an intimate self-portrait. From posh private parties studded with celebrities to the bright lights of Broadway as a musician in the original Godspell to the allure of Tinsel Town in the 1980s and ’90s, Cutler saw his star rise and fall and rise again. In StarLust Cutler reflects on his long and successful career, the risks he took and those he didn’t. It’s an insightful and timely look back on 40 years of playing the fame game.

Test of Time and Cutler’s autobiography are imbued with the sounds and culture of the changing times, the effect a mirror of Cutler’s life in and out of the spotlight. “StarLust and Test of Time,” he says, “paint the same story of survival in a fiercely unforgiving world.”

# # #

Test of Time by Jesse Cutler
Gourmet Records, June, 2008
CD, $12.95, download $9.99
Available through iTunes, CDBaby and DigStation.com

StarLust: The Price of Fame by Jesse Cutler
Morgan James, September, 2008
Hardcover, $29.95
ISBN 978-1-60037-418-0
Audiobook, $44.95
ISBN 978-1-60037-419-7

Web site: www.jessecutler.com

For more information, and to schedule an interview with Jesse Cutler, contact Mantra Public Relations, +1-212-645-1600.

For those who are just hopelessly “out of the loop” { } and still have no clue what the “Music and Spirit” blog is, read on!

I have been running an interesting blog on MySpace now for the last nine months or so, at www.myspace.com/musicandspirit. There are currently 40 AMAZING artists in my Top Friends who are all very much worth supporting. In addition, there are many more in my modest friend space which is currently at 150+, most of them musicians.

The blog itself consists of about 35 entries, some extensive, showcasing artists’ lyrics and additional material provided by the artists themselves, in addition to several reviews by myself. The word “spirit” in its title is NOT a reference to dogmatic spirituality. I consider a good love song to be “spiritual.”

This site and blog are open to any songwriter who wishes to message me and send a friend request. I reserve the right to decide on the suitability of the material– please review my profile page, listen to the artists, and look at the blog itself. You will see that there is a wide variety of styles represented, and you will be able to judge for yourself if this is a place where you’d like to have your music “found.” It is free, and will remain free, forever.

And be sure to read the top blog entry, my interview with the “Awesome Artist of the Month”, who is currently Annika Fehling from Sweden! The profile song, which you hear before you go to the blog, or after you go back to the profile page, is one of hers.

Currently, I am receiving spontaneous friend requests from really good artists, EVERYWHERE! Germany, Japan, Australia, Ireland, Scotland, Sweden, Norway, Britain, and of course, the USA. It is good, free exposure for any artist who has “the right stuff.”

Be Well–
Blogger Van
http://www.myspace.com/musicandspirit

Hit songwriter Craig Bickhardt has released a song written for his son, Jake, who has Cerebral Palsy. The song was posted this week on his popular blog, Ninety Mile Wind — www.ninetymilewind.blogspot.com. It is also available for free download from his website at www.craigbickhardt.com, or it can be streamed from his My Space page — www.myspace.com/craigbickhardt — where it has been garnering a lot of listener response. The song, titled “Giant Steps”, speaks inspiringly about the father-son relationship and the challenges both face as they tackle life with a disability.

“You’re just a little boy clinging to your father’s hand
Your legs are working hard keeping up with your old man”

But Bickhardt’s confidence in his son’s future carries the song to an optimistic conclusion.

“Soon the day will come when you’ll run ahead of me
Certain of yourself and what you’re gonna be
But whenever you stumble and lose your stride
May you never lose the boy down inside
Taking Giant Steps”

He posts an accompanying journal entry in his blog further highlighting the difficulties of life with a Special Needs child.

“There are days when life with my son is challenging, and a dark horizon looms three hundred and sixty degrees around me. And then there are those days of singing blue sky, when I know I’m a lucky to have him. On those days my heart is an eagle’s feather and I am made for rough winds.”

Bickhardt, a former Nashville resident who has written award winning songs for Ray Charles, Johnny Cash, B. B. King, Alison Krauss, Martina McBride, Art Garfunkel, David Wilcox, Tony Rice, Pam Tillis (#1 song, “Between Dances”) and many others, is currently on tour in the north east. He will be appearing in at The Sellersville Theater with Beth Nielsen Chapman, and also at The Philadelphia Folk Festival in August. His other music is available through itunes, CD Baby.com, Amazon.com, and his website www.craigbickhardt.com

The JUNE edition of Bandit has just been published to my strictly limited number of subscribers world-wide.

Another brand new batch of world-wide labels, publishers, managers, producers, etc all eager to get involved with new music and artists. This month we have a top producer looking for a female singer for a major label project, a studio based label looking for a band that plays “real” music, more labels looking to sign acts in the PUNK, ROCK, SOUL, DANCE, POP and HIP HOP areas and some managers and publishers looking to discover brand new talent - and more, All kinds of stuff!!

Look through this latest issue by clicking through to
http://www.banditnewsletter.com
and see all those people in there who want to review your type of music. Send them your demo and who knows, they may be knocked out by it!

Get to the front of the queue by starting to proactively interact with people ready to invest in you!

Try Bandit’s great service for just $2 / 1 ukp and get the current JUNE issue, the JULY issue, the 3 latest back issues, PLUS 2 FREE REPORTS - “The Bandit Guide to sending demos” AND ” How to get noticed by the Music Business”, by signing up for the intro subscription deal at

http://www.banditnewsletter.com

If you agree that Bandit will bring you solid, useful, up to the minute information for you to use to get your music heard by the right people, do nothing more and enjoy your monthly issues,
If not just cancel in the next 30 days and pay nothing more!!

Regards
John Waterman Editor