Artist: VANTOMME
Title: Vegir (featuring Tony Levin)
MJR catalog number: MJR090
Vantomme is a project of Dominique Vantomme, keyboardist, composer, band leader and producer, equally as well known for his work with many European pop and rock acts as for being the jazz piano instructor at the Music Conservatory in Kortrijk, in his native Belgium. In the studio session in Antwerpen, Belgium, in October 2016, Dominique Vantomme was joined by two musicians from the MoonJune circuit: the legendary Tony Levin (King Crimson, Peter Gabriel, Sick Men) on bass guitar and Chapman stick, and Michel Delville (The Wrong Object; douBt; Machine Mass) on guitar, with Dominique’s ultra-talented Belgian colleague Maxime Lenssens, tasked with holding down the timekeeping duties. The spontaneity and freshness of this sizzling, high-altitude set reflects the equally unpretentious manner in which the session itself came together. Tackling some decidedly hip musical sketches of Dominique Vantomme, the band is given full artistic liberty – and with all participants in top form, the resulting music weaves and winds its way across paths previously untrodden … in stunning fashion, and with sure footing! In the truest MoonJune tradition, “Vegir” thumbs its nose at convention and showcases these seasoned veteran musicians at the top of their game: with the skill set, bravery and chutzpah to follow their instincts and, in the process, allow the music to seek out and ultimately capture its own form. It slinks; it growls; it stalks; it devours! It grooves; it stutters; it holds you in suspense, then explodes! (… think ‘juggling chainsaws’ in the sonic realm.)
Track list:
1. Double Down 07:36
2. Equal Minds 10:19
3. Sizzurp 10:45
4. Playing Chess With Barney Rubble 09:04
5. The Self Licking Ice-cream Cone 13:08
6. Plutocracy 04:38
7. Agent Orange 09:46
8. Emmetropia 09:00
9. Odin’s Wig 01:54
Line-up:
DOMINIQUE VANTOMME Fender Rhodes Electric Piano, Piano, Mini Moog, Mellotron
MICHEL DELVILLE Electric Guitar
TONY LEVIN Bass Guitar, Chapman Stick
MAXIME LENSSENS Drums
Produced by DOMINIQUE VANTOMME
Recorded by Pascal Deweze at Studio Jezuz, Hoboken, Belgium, October 29th 2016.
To stream and purchase this album:
https://dominiquevantomme.bandcamp.com
••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
Artist: SLIVOVITZ
Title: LiveR
MJR catalog number: MJR089
Recorded live in Milan, Italy, in May of 2016, “LiveR” showcases the eccentric young Italian maestros at their collective best – playful, daring and just having fun! Some of their most potent material to date (primarily from their heralded 2011 release, “Bani Ahead” and 2016’s delectable “All You Can Eat”) is revisited in truly refreshing style: uninhibited, lively, but still with their decidedly tight synchronicity and intuitive interplay as a unit. Brilliant individual moments abound, with many songs extending well beyond their previously-established studio confines: affording soloists the opportunity to really step out and shine, while harmonic and rhythmic potentials are explored with playful delight by an always-adventurous rhythm section, steadily smoldering in the background. While many live albums may come across as merely a rehash or an attempted recapturing of some previous musical magic, from the opening frame it’s apparent that Slivovitz is completely engaged in the material — showcasing both their collective and individual brilliance and ambition, while continuing to push the bounds of each song’s structural and harmonic blueprints. This album roars with intensity, while serving as a testimony to the intrepidity and unfettered spirit of adventure which make this band one of progressive music’s most unique, innovative collective entities. “LiveR” is a merry frolic; a wonderfully vibrant live recording (enhanced by excellent production) which continues to grows on you with repeated listenings … delightful, essential ear candy! For fans of Snarky Puppy, Mahavishnu Orchestra, Frank Zappa, PFM, John Zorn, caffé espresso, la vera pizza napoletana and of course, of slivovitz!
Track list:
1. Mai Per Comando 05:41
2. Cleopatra 07:37
3. Currywurst 07:53
4. Egiziaca 08:30
5. Mani In Faccia 07:53
6. Negative Creep 05:10
7. Caldo Bagno 07:50
Line-up:
PIETRO SANTANGELO tenor saxophone
MARCELLO GIANNINI guitars
RICCARDO VILLARI electric violin
CIRO RICCARDI trumpet
DEREK DI PERRI harmonica
VINCENZO LAMAGNA bass
SALVATORE RAINONE drums
CIRO RICCARDI trumpet
Produced by Slivovitz.
Executive production by Bruno Savino and Leonardo Pavkovic.
Recorded live, May 27th 2016 (except track 7, January 25th 2014) at Casa di Alex (Milan, Italy).
To stream and purchase this album:
https://slivovitz.bandcamp.com/album/liver-24bit-882khz
••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
Artist: DUSAN JEVTOVIC
Title: Live At Home
Catalog number: CD009/2017
LIMITED EDITION CD. For promotional usage only and limited sale. Made possible with the generous support of SKC (STUDENTSKI KULTURNI CENTAR) KRAGUJEVAC. Released by SKC, for limited distribution and marketing by MoonJune Records. The proceeds from the album are intended to fund Dusan’s next studio release.
There is something daringly creative about Dusan Jevtovic’s latest release. Live at Home is an album that has many special characteristics. As the name aptly suggests this is a live album and was recorded on the 23rd December 2016 at the Decije Pozorište in Dusan’s home city of Kragujevac in Serbia. The recording is clear and uncluttered and does not suffer from any intrusive audience noise, or unwelcome audience participation.
Live at Home contains a number of pieces that featured on Jevtovic’s outstanding No Answer album. For the live performance, Jevtovic’s is aided, as he was in No Answer, by the renowned Serbian keyboard player Vasil Hadzimanov. The rest of the band on this live occasion are made up of Pera Krstajic on bass and Pedja Milutonovic on drums. Live at Home leaves little doubt that progressive fusion can be a passionate affair. It is an album that is never sterile, but is teeming with feeling and creative ideas that give it an organic and human touch. It burns energetically and ignites a multitude of senses; it gently serenades the heart, and when dissonance takes place, it seductively caresses the mind
Live at Home is a superbly-crafted fusion master class. It oozes with heartfelt emotion; containing dashing solo lines and dazzling instrumental passages. The music goes way beyond any normally defined parameters associated with fusion. This creates an album that is often exhilarating and challenging in its complexity. Technically excellent playing is combined with musical structures that enable boldly creative developments and well thought out embellishments to take place. Live at Home is a release that is able to take the listener through a range of moods and emotions. It combines the right mixture of aggression and charming serenity and never ignores the importance of the use of light and shade to emphasise its more explosive parts.
If you enjoy edgy tunes flavoured with lavish amounts of unpredictability and filled with accomplished playing; Live at Home is sure to delight. It is an album that rewards intensive and repeated listens.
Track list:
1. No Answer 08:06
2. Angel / Al Aire – Soko Bira 08:52
3. Ohrid 09:26
4. New Pop 09:00
5. Babe 04:31
6. Briga 10:00
7. Gracias Y Perdon – Outro 02:16
Line-up:
DUSAN JEVTOVIC guitar
VASIL HADZIMANOV keyboards
PERA KRSTAJIC bass guitar
PEDJA MILUTINOVIC drums
Produced by Dusan Jevtovic.
Executive production SKC Kragujevac, Dusan Jevtovic and Leonardo Pavkovic.
Recorded live at Decije Pozoriste, Kragujevac, Serbia, December 23, 2016.
To stream and purchase this album:
https://dusanjevtovic-moonjune.bandcamp.com/album/live-at-home
••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
For more information:
https://moonjune.com/
••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
MOONJUNE RECORDS which came into being in 2001 as the brainchild of out-of-the-box entrepreneurial producer, tour manager and globetrotter Leonardo Pavkovic, is named after Soft Machine drummer Robert Wyatt’s famous 1970 epic “The Moon in June,” has already established a name for itself with “in the know” fans. Its focus is to release internationally-situated music by artists exploring the expanding boundaries of genuine, challenging, non-over-produced music that cannot be easily categorized into any specific format. MoonJune Records’ ongoing goal is to support music that transcends stylistic pigeon-holing, but operates within an evolutionary progressive musical continuum that places jazz at one end and rock at the other. The ever-expanding boundaries of these two musical categories have since come to include everything from progressive rock to ethno-jazz, from experimental avant-garde to jazz-rock, and anything in between and beyond.
MOONJUNE MUSIC (BOOKINGS & MANAGEMENT) has handled booking of over 2000 shows since its formation in 2001. These shows have encompassed full tours, festivals, individual dates, clinics and workshops in more than 50 countries across the globe, specializing in tours in Latin America, Japan and Asia (70 tours in Japan since 2002).
Booking roster: STICK MEN (worldwide), LEVIN BROTHERS (worldwide), PETE LEVIN (worldwide), MÖBIUS feat. PETE LEVIN, LENNY WHITE, ALEX FOSTER, JEFF CIAMPA, IRA COLEMAN or TONY LEVIN, CHRIS PASIN or RANDY BRECKER, NANNY ASSIS (worldwide), SOFT MACHINE (formerly SOFT MACHINE LEGACY, worldwide), THE SECURITY PROJECT feat. JERRY MAROTTA & TREY GUNN (worldwide), GONG (North & South America except Brazil, Asia), GONG feat. STEVE HILLAGE (North & South America except Brazil, Asia), STU HAMM (North, Central & South America), SKOLHAMM ASYLUM feat. ALEX SKOLNICK & STU HAMM (North, Central & South America), HAMM & BERLIN feat. STU HAMM & JEFF BERLIN (North, Central & South America, Asia), JIMMY HASLIP ARC feat. SCOTT KINSEY (worldwide), SCOTT HENDERSON (North & Central America), WINGFIELD REUTER SIRKIS (worldwide), BELEDO (worldwide), NICOLAS MEIER (worldwide except UK), ASAF SIRKIS (North, Central & South America, Asia), GILAD ATZMON (North, Central & South America, Asia), YARON STAVI (North, Central & South America, Asia) DEWA BUDJANA (worldwide except Indonesia), DWIKI DHARMAWAN (worldwide except Indonesia), BORIS SAVOLDELLI (worldwide except Italy & Russia), GARY HUSBAND (North, Central & South America, Asia), PFM (North America, Asia), LE ORME (North America, Asia), FRANCIS DUNNERY (Central & South America, Asia), JAN AKKERMAN (North, Central & South America, Asia), PHIL MANZANERA (North America, Asia).
Formerly booking & management for (R.I.P.) ALLAN HOLDSWORTH (2005-2016)
Coming up on the booking roster in 2018: NEKTAR (worldwide), THE MAHAVISHNU PROJECT (worldwide), THREE FRIENDS featuring ex members of GENTLE GIANT (North, Central & South America, Asia), OREGON (North America, Asia), RALPH TOWNER (North America, Asia), ALEX SKOLNICK (Central & South America, Asia).
Besides above mentioned artists, MoonJune Music has worked and works directly or via their booking or management representatives with: Alan Pasqua, Alex Machacek, Alex Maguire, Allan Holdsworth, Andy Summers, Anthony Crawford, Area, Arti & Mestieri, Asaf Sirkis, Banco, Beppe Crovella, Bill Bruford, Bill Simms Jr., Boris Savoldelli, Chad Wackerman, Corrado Rustici, Curved Air, D.F.A., Daevid Allen, David Cross, David Jackson, Davy Knowles, Dennis Chambers, Dennis Rea, Deus Ex Machina, Dewa Budjana, Discus, Disney On Ice, Doubt, Dušan Jevtović, Eddie Jobson, Elton Dean, Ernest Tibbs, Fabio Golfetti, Finisterre, Flash, Forgas Band Phenomena, Francis Dunnery, Garbage, Gary Boyle, Gary Husband, Gilad Atzmon, Guy Davis, Ernest Tibbs, Hatfield & The North, Hugh Hopper, Jeff Berlin, Jerry Marotta, Jimmy Haslip, Jimmy Johnson, Joe Lovano, Joey Alexander, John McLaughlin, John Tropea, Jon Hiseman’s Colosseum, Kamal Musallam, Ken Hensley, Latte E Miele, Le Orme, Lenny White, Markus Reuter, Mauro Pagani, Mel Collins, Michel Delville, Moraine, Nektar, New Trolls, Nicolas Meier, Osanna, PFM, Pat Mastelotto, Pete Levin, Phil Manzanera, Phil Miller In Cahoots, Renaissance, Richard Sinclair, Robby Krieger, Scott Henderson, simakDialog, Soft Moon, Status Quo, Susan Clynes, Terry Bozzio, Three Friends, Tohpati, Tony Levin, Trey Gunn, Vasil Hadžimanov, Virgil Donati, Xavi Reija, Yaron Stavi, Zhang Ling (Big John Blues),
During his association with 2 Plus Music & Entertainment (2010-2015, in partnership with the legendary Gentle Giant frontman and then successful mainstream music business impresario Derek Shulman), MoonJune’s Leonardo Pavkovic has worked also with Billy Sheehan, Billy Sherwood, Bobby Kimball, Circa, Gary Cherone, Jake E Lee, John Sykes, Loudness, Mike Portnoy, Ron Mancuso, Texas Hippie Coalition, Tony Kaye, Whitesnake.
