As I Dig It/Tony Adamo DownBeat

As I Dig It/Tony Adamo Giacomo Gates — Miles Tones: Sings The Music Of Miles Davis. He was @#1 on the jazzweekly jazz charts from April 22,2013 to May 13,2013, yet he only received 2 stars out of 5 from the Downbeat reviewer John Ephland. This brings up a point I made while being interviewed by Brent Black's @CriticalJazz. "Some of the critics of my music in the past I feel have used generic templates in writing reviews. I came across this way of reviewing while digging music reviews in music publications. I see too many opinion reviews based upon a critics personal music tastes and not complying with the music genre they are reviewing." I dig this is the case in the Giacomo Gates review. It looks like a knock off review. Lets get it done kinda thing. Don’t get me wrong people, there are as many great music critics as are there bad ones. In this case, giving Giacomo Gates and the music Of Miles Davis 2 stars is not in keeping with the star quality of Mr. Gates. I don't have to get up tight about not getting a music review in DB. I'm a unknown jazz artist and don't have the bread to pay for a ad in DB to be considered for a review and I'm only @#20 on the Top 25 jazzCharts @http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/jazzdownloads_day.php?day=30

TONY ADAMO SOUL TRACKS

Tony Adamo knows and reveres the history of jazz, blues, soul and funk. The long time Bay Area artist also knows about the beat poets such as Ginsburg and Kerouac and is familiar with Black Arts poets such as The Last Poets and Gil-Scot Heron. Both the beats and the Black Arts poets fused spoken word with music – mainly jazz, although the Black Arts poets also used soul and funk music and served as a bridge to hip hop. Adamo’s latest project, Miles of Blu, employs music backed spoken word to honor some of his musical heroes while also giving listeners a musical history lesson and a little political commentary to boot. Miles of Blu is an ambitious but uneven project that is more notable for its virtues than for its misses. Anyone honoring Hammond B3 organ legends such as Jimmy Smith, Brother Jack McDuff and Joey DeFrancesco is doing a public service. That tune, “Funkin’ At the Chickin’ Shack,” is an homage to Smith’s 1960 album “Back at the Chicken Shack” – a soul jazz classic. The cut encapsulates Miles of Blu’s main asset: uniformly excellent musicianship. This is also one of the tunes where Adamo’s channeling of the beat poet cadences and imagery matches up well with the musical arrangement. Adamo runs into trouble when he seeks to reimagine songs such as James Brown’s “Ain’t That a Groove” as a spoken word number. There is logic to Adamo’s reasoning. Brown’s voice is so unique and his music so well known that going rogue had a certain appeal. However, Adamo has a distinctive singing voice. Altering the track’s tempo was an interesting tactic, but talking the lyrics takes away from the track’s pacing. Adamo repeats that mistake on the Tower of Power tunes “Soul Vaccination” and “What is Hip.” Adamo’s reworking of another TOP number, “Don’t Change Horses,” is far more pleasing partly because Adamo chooses to sing rather than speak the lyrics. Adamo finds his spoken word groove on the tracks “Jack Kerouac, Jack” and “Sun-Ra Rockets to Mars.” Spoken word works on the former because of the connection between Kerouac’s beat poetry and jazz while the arrangement on the latter captures Sun-Ra’s eccentric essence. Adamo is teacher and witness on Miles of Blu. He covers a great deal of musical, stylistic and historical territory, It’s clear that Adamo loves soul, jazz, funk and spoken word. And while some of his vocal choices on this wide ranging project don’t quite work, on other cuts he pays a worthy tribute to masters of the past. SOULTRACKS

Tony Adamo Tower Of Power Radio Playlist

Website: http://www.strokeland.com/strokelandjazz/tonyadamo/MilesOfBlu/Mil[...] Cheyenne Running Bear/Broken Arrow PR Publication, NY NY Tony Adamo, a Random Act Records (RAR) Artist owes a huge debt to legendary horn player and Tower of Power co-founder, Stephen 'Doc' Kupka for taking on Adamo's STRAIGHT UP DEAL and WHAT IS HIP? CDs for promo and sale on Strokeland Records. With the help of Steve Finch, Strokeland's Director of Operations, Adamo is able to sell his new CD MILES OF BLU(RAR)through Strokeland Jazz. This Tower of Power(TOP)connection has helped Adamo get airplay in tandem with TOP. Listed below are two stations currently playing TOP and Adamo together on June radio playlists. More to follow... WNMC 90.7 FM What is Hip?/What is Hip Tony Adamo Tower of Power still back to back Friday the 21st 03:33pm Slammin All-Body Band Thank You/Just Be Thankful/What Is Hip? Slammin All-Body... B...and Album Jazz 2005 Crosspulse 03:37pm Tony Adamo What Is Hip? J-046 _ Miles of Blu Album Jazz 6/15/2013 2013 Random Act 03:42pm Tower of Power What Is Hip? Tower of Power Album Jazz + 1973 Warner Jazz from Gallery 41 Playlist - Monday, June 03, 2013 – 11 am - 2 pm Pacific Streaming 24/7 – Live Broadcasts Monday through Friday Tony Adamo / Don’t Change Horses / Miles Of Blu (Random Act) Tower Of Power / Don’t Change Horses / Back To Oakland (WB) Tony Adamo & Tower of Power can also be heard on HornDriven Radio

Tony Adamo Tower of Power Back to Back play Radio WNMC

Play List Today WNMC RADIO /Tony Adamo & Tower of Power Back to Back Chucho Valdés & The Afro-Cuban Messengers: 'Tabu' Woody Pines: 'Heart Breaker' The Cash Box Kings: 'Run Run Run' Maloko: 'Direct Me' Tower of Power: 'What Is Hip?' Tony Adamo: 'What Is Hip?' Slammin All-Body Band: 'Thank You/Just Be Thankful/What Is Hip?'

Tony Adamo's "Funkin At The Chickin Shack" @#11 Allaboutjazz

Top 20 MP3's on ALLABOUTJAZZ/Tony Adamo's "Funkin At The Chickin Shack" @#11 and movin on up. http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/jazzdownloads_day.php?day=10

Tony Adamo Radio Stations Airplay/ May/June 2013

Tony Adamo Radio Stations Airplay/ May/June 2013 Radio Stations that are hip to Tony Adamo's "Miles of Blu" WHFC Desert Island Jazz on Pure Jazz Radio 91.1FM MORNING JAZZ hosted by: Alan Rock May 21, 2013 WUCF - FM WNMC 90.7 FM/Tony Adamo's song Miles of Blu added Tony Adamo's BBQ/MILES OF BLU CD/Written by Tony Adamo Mike Clark Playlists and musings from David Golden at WPKN 89.5 in Bridgeport, CT. JAZZWORKS hosted by: Bob Studebaker and... Helen Wigger May 27, 2013 WUCF - FM/Tony Adamo Miles of Blu Miles of Blu Random Act KTRJ Rhythm & Jazz Radio/Plays Tony Adamo cool jazz, r&b/urban, soft rock MORNING JAZZ hosted by: Alan Rock/Tony Adamo Miles of Blu/WUCF 89.9 KCSM Jazz 91 the San Francisco Bay Area Jazz Station is now playing songs from Tony Adamo's Miles of Blu CD. Jazz After Hours is a late night jazz radio show hosted by Jim Wilke/2:25:42 - Tony Adamo - Miles of Blu - Miles of Blu - Random Act 2:29:38 - Miles Davis - Miles - Cookin' at The Plugged Nickel - Columbia Jazz from Gallery 41 Playlist - Monday, June 03, 2013 – 11 am - 2 pm Pacific Streaming 24/7 – Live Broadcasts Monday through Friday Tony Adamo / Don’t Change Horses / Miles Of Blu (Random Act) Tower Of Power / Don’t Change Horses / Back To Oakland (WB) Music that fits multiple formats at WWSP Jazz/Vocal/Spoken Word/6/1/13 3 Tony Adamo – Miles of Blu – Random Act Skeal-Records Funk ESB RADIO/6/1/13 Top 3 Artists: Lee Ritenour (12), Tony Adamo (12) & Larry Carlton (11) NEWJAZZFUNK RADIO/Tony Adamo/"JB" http://randomactrecords.com/random-act-artists/

Tony Adamo / The Hipsters Hip Reviews

Tony Adamo / The Hipsters Hip Reviews . Giacomo Amari/ Another PR gig, NY NY Website: http://randomactrecords.com/random-act-artist-tony-adamo/ Bill Harris Says this about “Miles of Blu” “First of all let me say how much I love the CD and I'm very proud to have been a part of it! It is one of the coolest and hippest projects I've ever been involved with. Such great, fresh takes on the TOP tunes. My brother played with them for a bit and all us horn players grew up listening to their stuff but I really enjoy where you went with them. I listen to the tracks all the time. You can be sure I'm gonna be telling all my friends to get Miles of Blu! Good luck!” "I was really knocked out by Bill Harris’ cd and his playing on it...it’s a very welcome fresh approach to a saxophone record, and I hope a lot of people get to hear it—they will not be disappointed.” Dave Koz - grammy nominated saxophonist and syndicated radio show host Mike Clark Says This “Tony Adamo is one of the more interesting artists that I have worked with in years. His deep blues, Oakland style funk and jazz roots are locked in at a deep emotional level. In the tradition of Kerouac, Mark Murphy and Gil Scot, Tony is today's spoken word artist. He addresses the issues he feels strong about unapologetically with his own twist on the past, present and the future. Tony's funky street smart sensibilities and great sense of humor takes us on an adventure that we cant wait to go on. I played and produced this CD and it was a joy to be a part of it To.” “Renowned Drummer MIKE CLARK is a percussion innovator: His work with Herbie Hancock and The Headhunters revolutionized funk drumming. As a Jazz warrior, Mike has appeared with players such as Vince Guaraldi, Chet Baker, Joe Henderson, Donald Harrison, Randy Brecker and more. His peerless beats are among the most-sampled in the hip/hop world.” – Random Act Records Tim Ouimette Digs ‘Miles of Blu” “We musicians that have all played a million gigs, recorded hundreds of times and let it all seep in over the years forming our "persona", musically aged far beyond our time mostly from the tedium of mediocrity ---gigs that keep the landlord off of our tail--- are genuinely in search of being involved with something new, fresh, hip and beyond category. When Mike Clark asked me to be involved with Tony Adamo's new project, I gave a listen to his previous CDs and some current tracks "in the works" and was convinced that we were onto just such a "Hip-Holy-Grail". Tony's perspective informs these cuts with elements of the beat poets, Lenny Bruce, jazz from the '60's, East Bay Funk and the complete list of everything I ever dug. He paints aural portraits that compliment the music and vice versa. Giacomo Amari/ Another PR gig, NY NY Mike Clark, the perfect choice for producer/drummer and all round groove guru. guided the entire process and makes sure we do not stray from the earthy, bluesy feel that grounds it all. In short, if I didn't work on this, I'd be jealous of the guy that did. Tim Ouimette,” New York City Playing Credits: Iggy Pop,Lenny White,Mike Clark,Ben E. King,Ray Barretto, Chico O’farrill, Ray Charles/Trumpet,Trombone, Arranger, Engineer. Brent Black @CriticalJazz "Sort of a deconstructed Miles Davis Birth Of The Cool amped up to the new millennium. Adamo is much in the same way as Miles, a visionary."

Catching Up With Tony Adamo The Miles Of Blu Interview! Part 1&2 @CriticalJazz

Wednesday, June 12, 2013 Catching Up With Tony Adamo The Miles Of Blu Interview! If there is a hipper cat on the planet than Tony Adamo, I would love to meet him! A recent conversation with Tony follows: Critics label artists because it’s so much easier than having to actually "think" about the artist or where they or their music comes from. so who is tony Adamo? T.A. "I am a man who leads his life with great respect for others and demands respect in return. I have lived my life with that idea as the forefront of my existence. I have lost the friendship of musicians and producers because they did not respect the direction my music was going in and wanted to consistently change it to their liking. Mike Clark believed in my music and respected its unique newness. In the music world many people say you have to earn your just dues to earn respect. This outdated way of thinking just does not lay right with me. No matter what profession you are hip to in life, if you come up with a new hip way to write something, (song, play, movie, novel, invention) on the first take, you have my respect. There are those who think that in order to earn your just dues one needs to take years to be successful. I just don’t dig that concept. On the first take is what I am all about!" Hip spoken word may be the most accurate description of your art. Tell us about the record and where you wanted to go. I sometimes use the term beatnik poetry as your words seem to embrace what's happening today be it music, politics etc... T.A. "The thought and direction behind MILES OF BLU (MOB) took shape many years ago. I had no idea this would be a new genre of vocal/hipspokenword. Many of the lyrics I wrote from MOB were made up in studio as I was recording. My free form hipspokenword flow turned out to be better than the lyrics I had originally written. Dig this Brent, Mike Clark to this day has no idea that I started in music as drummer. While playing drums, congas, or other percussion instruments in various bands I belonged to, I would hear words in between the licks I was putting down. I was not hearing singing, but whole sentences of spoken words between my drumming notes. I never knew what beatnik poetry was until my early twenties. When I tried to dig Kerouac and all the heavy beat hipsters, their beatnik poetry was not jiving in my head. I had to come up with my own voice without being influenced by the great beat poets, Kerouac, Ginsburg and LaMantia. I stayed away from listening to Mark Murphy’s spoken word and Gil Scott Heron’s political sayings. About the only cat I really dug was not a musician at all. Lenny Bruce’s comic delivery set me on my path. His timing and endless free thinking riff delivery on the spot, inspired me. An example from MILES OF BLUE would be “The Power of Funky Madness.” Mike and his crew laid down the music tracks for “Funky Madness” without my vocal hipspokenword. That track collected dust for six months. Mike finally ended up adding horns and guitar in studio. Mike asked me if I had any lyrics yet. I said something like “Bro I have it covered” and told him to let the music roll. What you hear is a free form riff that came to me in the moment. I was being vibed across my creative mind by Mike’s drumming. The Texas Shuffle he was laying down was my guide for the hip words that flowed from me. The recording of my vocal hipspoken word on “The Power of Funky Madness” was done in one take. I have no idea where the words came from. When I finished recording I had to listen to the playback in order to write down the words because I could not remember what I said. Oh yeah baby!" Producer/drummer and all around nice guy Mike Clark carries some serious weight. What was the most important thing mike brought to the table and what did you learn as an artist from working with him? T.A. "What Mike brought to the table was friendship, all encompassing friendship. Mike chants and I meditate daily. This bond of what we do different, but the same, brought enter peace and knowledge to the MOB project. Mike and I were digging the same groove consistently. I came up with a new way to say the same old thing and Mike wrapped his jazz, funk creativity and deep drum playing around my new concept. His leadership and dedication to this project brought it all together. I learned that Mike is a supreme producer in seamlessly managing the musicians and the music on MILES OF BLU." Wednesday, June 12, 2013 Catching Up With Tony Adamo Part 2! Continuing my rap with Tony Adamo from part one : http://www.criticaljazz.com/2013/06/catching-up-with-tony-adamo-miles-of.html I like to move past the traditional role of tossing out random opinions and promote artists that at least to me have something different to offer or may simply be a voice society needs to hear for a variety of reasons.So let me flip it, review the reviewers. what is your take on critics? are they simply bottom feeders caught up in the industry andr do you think in general most of us could step up our game a little? T.A. - "Some of the critics of my music in the past I feel have used generic templates in writing reviews. I came across this way of reviewing while digging music reviews in music publications. One critic in particular wrote one review on my WHAT IS HIP CD and years later on my MILES OF BLU CD. Though both albums are so different from each other, both reviews sounded somewhat the same. It seems like some reviewers do star inflation reviews on a legendary jazz artists. For example the legendary artists CD may not be up to par but just recycled cuts from past albums and they get five stars. Those same critics can be mean spirited to a new jazz artist or musician whose work in not well known but may far outshine a legendary jazz artist. The new musician receives three stars. I see too many opinion reviews based upon a critics personal music tastes and not complying with the music genre they are reviewing. What I find to be the most troubling is being reviewed by a non musician with no working knowledge of recording or working on stage. In saying this, do music critics who have a background in music and play and instrument write better reviews? Man I don’t know! It is all square to me man. Don’t get me wrong Brent, there are as many great music critics as are there a bad ones." Hip spoken word can trigger some preconceived ideas for a lot of people. if you can shatter any of these stereotypes what are they? T.A. - "First off my vocal/hipspokenword in not purely spokenword. I intertwine vocal and hipspokenword into a new genre. My vocal/hipspokenword is more accessible to radio than just coming out with a CD of spokenword backed by a jazz trio. It encompasses jazz, funk, pop, acid jazz and adult listening all laced together by vocal/hipspokenword and the stellar musicians that Mike Clark put together for MOB. When the listening public and music directors and program directors hear spokenword they tend to stay away from it because it can sometimes be an uninteresting and mundane delivery from spoken word artists. In MILES OF BLU I captivate my audience by being a storyteller of jazz history, politics and life in general. My hope is to have the new generation of listeners get hip to our rich jazz history." Finally, What artists do you listen to and perhaps draw from when considering your art? T.A."I always like to say I am never influenced but inspired by Tower of Power, Herbie Hancock and the Headhunters with Mike Clark, Organ Jazz Funk Trios, Acid Jazz, Latin Jazz, James Brown, house music." Brent, I want to thank you for giving me this interview opportunity. Bro it has been a great experience getting to know you. You are by far the hippest music critic I have come across. I dig you to the most man! Tony Many thanks to Tony for his time and friendship during this process

Tony Adamo Reviewed by @CriticalJazz

As the business and cultural landscape of improvisational music has evolved over the last year or two I am starting to notice a slight trend toward the inclusion of poetry and spoken word passages on some recordings and with incredibly mixed results. Tony Adamo is releasing a spoken word recording or "beatnik jazz" that is way outside my personal wheelhouse but when you toss in drummer Mike Clark, pianist Michael Wolf and horn ace Stephen "Doc" Kupka you end up with the next generation of hip. Sort of a deconstructed Miles Davis Birth Of The Cool amped up to the new millennium. Adamo is much in the same way as Miles, a visionary. Tony's unique vision has opened up yet another sub genre on the jazz family tree being commonly referred to as "HipSpokenWord." Personally I like "Beatnik Jazz" better but to each his own. Jazz / funk drummer Mike Clark is the producer and lends his prolific talents to help elevate Adamo's game to the next level. When you have the former musical director for Arsenio Hall in Michael Wolf and Tower of Power veteran "Doc" Kupka then you know people are indeed buying what you are selling. Adamo's words are powerful, topical and guaranteed to make you think while expanding your musical horizons into a well defined poetry for the culture today. "JB" kicks off and pays tribute to the hardest working man in show business while "America R We Free?" is a more personal statement involving the p.o.v of America being built on the blood sweat and tears of the middle class. While not necessarily agreeing with Adamo's politics, I would be the first to applaud his fearlessness in putting himself "out there." A former editor would often caution me on gratuitous self references but whether you are a writer or a vocal artist, a shared perspective is just that and what the audience chooses to do or make of it is strictly up to them. "Sun-Ra Rockets To Mars" has a more ambient vibe and spatial integrity reinforced by the relentless groove of producer Clark. With the exception of only a handful of traditional rap artists, most creative vocalists are lacking the substance and stamina to put an entire recording on their backs in an effort to either spread their message, music or both. Tony Adamo makes it look effortless and with a virtual all star line up he gains the freedom to let his imagination soar. Sometimes stepping outside your musical comfort zone is a good thing and Tony Adamo makes it an enlightening experience! 5 Stars for creativity and ingenuity alone! Tracks: JB; Miles Of Blu; Funkin' At The Chickn Shack; America R We Free?; BBQ; The Power Of Funky Madness; Soul Vacation; Don't Change Horses; Ain't That A Groove?"; Jack Kerouac, Jack!; Sun-Ra Rockets To Mars; What Is Hip?" The Other Side Of Time; Ticking Clock. Personnel: Tony Adamo: vocals, hipspokenword; Mike Clark: drums; Tim Ouimette: trumpet / trombone; Bill Harris: bari / alto / tenor sax; Richie Goods: bass; Delbert Bump: organ; Steve Homan: guitar; Gary Mielke: bass / keyboards; Rob Dixon: tenor / alto sax; Derrick Gardner: trumpet; Stephen "Doc" Kupka: bari sax; Brett Palm: bass; Bill Summers: percussion; Kati Mac: background vocals; Tom Guarna: guitar; Michael Wolf: piano.

Tony Adamo/Jeff Berlin Recent Adds Jazz from Gallery 41

Jazz from Gallery 41 Playlist - Tuesday, June 04, 2013 – 11 am - 2 pm Pacific Streaming 24/7 – Live Broadcasts Monday through Friday Recent Adds (May/June 2013) Label/Artist / Title Random Act Records Tony Adamo / Miles Of Blu Jeff Berlin / Low Standards Looking forward, Ron J. Pelletier Gallery 41 P.O. Box 8415 Berkeley, CA 94707 Telephone: 510.528.0326 Jazz from Gallery 41 Evening Jazz / KCSM-FM91 http://randomactrecords.com

Tony Adamo Reviewed By Scott Yanow

Website: http://randomactrecords.com/ TONY ADAMO Miles Of Blu Random Act Records Tony Adamo in his musical career has always expressed his love for funk, funky jazz, Tower Of Power and the Headhunters. While he has been a soulful r&bish singer who at times has recalled Dr. John, Ray Charles and Mose Allison, Miles Of Blu is something different. In addition to his singing, much of the time he is talking in what he calls "hipspokenword." Adamo's fast talking is not really rapping since he tells stories rather than endlessly indulging in rhymes. Among the 14 pieces on Miles Of Blu are selections that pay tribute to James Brown ("JB"), discovering jazz in a nightclub ("Miles Of Blu"), soul jazz and Jimmy Smith ("Funkin' At The Chicken Shack"), Jack Kerouac's love of jazz ("Jack Kerouac, Jack!") and Sun Ra ("Sun Ra Rockets To Mars"). There is also a look at today's political situation ("America R We Free"), good times ("BBQ") and his philosophy of life ("Ticking Clock") plus a few transformation of Tower Of Power songs (most notably "Soul Vaccination" and "What Is Hip?.") He is touching in his biographical references to Mike Clark on ("The Other Side Of Time".) Tony Adamo's voice is joined by a funky backup group that features some solos from Tim Ouimette (on trumpet and trombone), organist Delbert Bump, guitarists Steve Homan, Danny Draher and Tom Guarna, tenor-saxophonist Rob Dixon, and lpianist Michael Wolff. The rhythm section is propelled by legendary drummer Mike Clark who is also the CD's producer. Miles Of Blu casts Tony Adamo in a role similar to Gil-Scott Heron or Oscar Brown Jr. (who he sounds a bit like on "Don't Change Horses"), a commentator on today's music scene and the world in general. It makes for a thought-provoking and always funky ride. Scott Yanow, author of 11 books on jazz including The Great Jazz Guitarists

Tony Adamo Larry Carlton Lee Ritenour Top Artists ESB Radio/6/1/13

ESB RADIO/6/1/13 Top 3 #lastfm Artists: Lee Ritenour (12), Tony Adamo (12) & Larry Carlton (11) #ESBJazzRadio http://t.co/64JToRVT3l Tweekly.fm twky.in Tweekly.fm posts your most played artists from last.fm to Twitter or Facebook once per week.