Eric Wainaina's new CD 'Twende Twende!' is now available for download on Apple's iTunes Music Store. It will also soon be available on Rhapsody, Verizon Wireless V Cast, Sony Connect, MusicNet, MusicNow, BuyMusic, MP3tunes, Muze, Amazon, Ruckus, Napster, and many other online digital distribution services.

Click here to download (Apple's free iTunes software required).

It is finally here! Eric Wainaina's new album is called 'Twende Twende!' ('Comon, Let's Go!').

The official album release will be in October in Nairobi, Kenya. Pressing is now underway and CD's will soon be available at CDBaby.com. It will also be available for download from Apple's iTunes Music Store and many other online retailers.

The CD's 13 songs offer a fresh mix of modern and more traditional elements. There are songs in Swahili, English, Kikuyu, and Luo. The title song 'Twende, Twende!' is a duet featuring Eric along with Zimbabwe's acclaimed singer Oliver Mtukudzi on lead vocals.

This project started out in summer of 2005. Eric and I finished writing all the song material and recorded of all the basic tracks in Kenya. Working with Eric has yet again proven to be wonderful experience!

Eric Wainaina: 'Twende Twende!' (World)
Eric Wainaina: 'Fungeni Macho' (World)
Eric Wainaina: 'Dunia Ina Mambo' (World)
Eric Wainaina: 'Adhiambo' (World)
Eric Wainaina: 'Jana Ni Jana' (World)

Mixing live sound for Chesky Records artist and 2005 Billboard Latin Music Awards finalist Marta Gómez (Best Latin Jazz Album). Marta and her band delivered yet another stunning performance for a sold out audience.

The lineup featured Franco Pinna on drums, Julio Santillán on guitar, Yulia Musayelyan, flutes, Fernando Huergo, bass and special guest Vardan Ovsepian on piano.

Recording one more song for composer and vocalist José Wilson called "Aeroporto Solidão". José has colaborated with many Brazilian artists since the 1970's. He also wrote, performed recorded with Caetano Veloso.

Recording 18 songs for Brazilian singer/ songwriter Paulo Robinson.

Recording a new album for Marenglen "Geni" Skendo, 2005 Tai Hei Shakuhachi Scholarship Award Recipient and former member of the Albanian National Symphony. The recording features Geni on flutes & shakuhachi; Hadar Orshalimy, vocals; Sviatoslav Tolstoy, guitars; Yan Perchuk, bass.

Five-day recording session at MixOne Studios for vocalist Alida Rohr featuring Nando Michelin, piano, melodica; Jordan Scannella, electric bass, rap vocals; Esperanza Spalding, upright bass, rap vocals; Pedro Ito, drums, percussion; Richie Barshay, drums, tabla, percussion and Ivan Sierra on vocals.

This broad-based music is inspired from around the globe. Experimentation with form, interpretation, and verbal imagery ensures massive appeal. The multicultural and multi-instrumental talents provide vibrancy. Mixing is currently underway.

New album production for Brazilian singer and songwriter Arthur Santos.

Mastering of Eric Wainiana's upcoming album is completed. The mastering was done by Mat at M-Works in Cambridge, MA and it turned out really nice.

Eric's new CD is now only weeks away from being released. It will be available in Kenya and online through CDBaby.com. It will also be available for download at the iTunes Music Store, and many more distributors. Please check back soon for more information.

Nia Allen has launched her first album, “A New Thing” containing the song "Give Him Your Life" that we tracked a little while ago. This 12-track album is based on the scripture 2 Corinthians 5:17, and is a reflection of a new stage of spiritual growth in her life.

Nia’s passion is to sing gospel music and glorify God with her ministry. She has a youthful sound which she delivers with power and carries the title of singer, songwriter, motivational speaker and minister. She has opened for several artists, has been the featured artist for independent-soul.com.

Recording sessions for composer and singer José Wilson Martins with acclaimed Brazilian singer Fernando Mendes (EMI Odeon, Hugo Bellard, Caetano Veloso).

Both artists continue to influence the Brazilian music scene since the 70's when José Wilson started writing numerous songs for Fernando Mendes who was discovered on Chacrinha's famous TV show and later signed with EMI Odeon and proceeded to record many albums collaborating with artists such as Caetano Veloso along the way. We recorded 9 songs for José's upcoming release.

Sizzling guitar riffs, shimmering bass notes and pounding drums are the perfect ingredients to go with Missy’s lead and her pals’ harmonies. She is definitely an artist one should pay attention to and catch live so you can say you saw her when. It was a privilege to record drums, bass and guitars for Missy on a number of songs.

This album features Missy Johnson on lead and backing vocals and acoustic guitar; Tom Deis on guitar, Ryan Alfred on bass and Jordan Perlson on drums.

Missy Johnson: 'Mercury' (Rock)
Missy Johnson: 'Wait' (Rock)

Lately I am receiving a lot of email inquiring about the status of Eric's upcoming album. Thanks for all the interest! This is very encouraging indeed and I thought I'd best post an update here on where things stand at the moment. The mixing is now underway and the CD is scheduled for release in July. It will also be available in the U.S. via online distribution (CD's). Please come back soon for further information on how to purchase the album. I will post more details as they become available. The CD will feature 12 - 14 new songs including a catchy brand new song of ours called 'Dunia Ina Mambo' that has the potential to become quite a hit, imho. More soon....

One of the songs I've worked on with Alon Leventon and Yuval Semo from the band The Bursers has been rereleased on a compilation CD called 'South Beach: Lincoln Road' under Kriztal records. The song is called 'Las Olas', a delicious blend of the orchestral and ambient with eccentric rhythms. Please click here to listen.

The original release of their EP 'The Bursers' has been featured on the frontpage of CD Baby (cdbaby.com) on October 24th.

"...The Bursers deal in ambience and gorgeousness the way wishing wells deal in wishes. There is an over-abundance of magic and emotions worn on shirt sleeves, unapologetically, in the most breathtaking way possible. Prepare to melt." (Derek Sivers, CEO, CD Baby)

The Bursers: 'Las Olas' (electronic, pop crossover)

The new CD of the Francisco Pais Quintet has been released by Fresh Sound New Talent records and is available in stores now. The album features Francisco Pais, guitar; Chris Cheek, saxophones; Ferenc Nemeth, drums; Leo Genovese, piano, Fender Rhodes; and Massimo Biolcati, bass.

"Instead of going for the typical chops-laden style that marks most releases, Portuguese guitarist Francisco Pais takes a more relaxed approach with Not Afraid of Color. Backed by a sure-fire quartet featuring saxophonist Chris Cheek and pianist Leo Genovese, his music is easy on the ears but also provides cerebral enjoyment."(All About Jazz)

The new solo guitar album 'In a Trance' (Ind., U.S./Space Time, France) showcases Lionel Loueke on guitar, saz (a Turkish string instrument), vocals, and percussion played on the guitar. The album was completed in one studio session, with each track recorded on the first take, and several using a loop machine. Remarkably, six of the twelve selections, including the title track, were composed spontaneously in the studio. Recording and mixing Lionels inspired performances was a great experience!

When not on tour with the Herbie Hancock Quartet, The Gershwin Orchestra, Herbie Hancock "Headhunters" or Terence Blanchard, Lionel is active on the New York jazz scene, playing with Richard Bona, Jeff "Tain" Watts, Gretchen Parlato, and Jeff Ballard.

Lionel Loueke: 'Boum-Boum!!!' (Jazz, World)
Lionel Loueke: 'In a Trance' (Jazz)

This is one fun project! I got this 2 hours worth of video footage delivered containing Interviews and pre/ post game commentaries with almost the entire Brazilian Roster dating back from the World Cup USA '94! Some of the audio tracks have serious problems and I was asked to try to save what I can. It's not an easy task, since in some places the audio is entirely covered with static. It's interesting to see (and hopefully soon hear) the stars talking about the game.

There are plenty of interviews with living legends Roberto Carlos, Romário, Taffarel and José Roberto Gama de Oliveira (Bebeto) amongst many others.

Completed mixing the latest song called 'Shine On Me' for talented songwriter Sviatoslav Tolstoy. Slava has written songs for various artists in the US and Europe, was a recipient of several awards and was also among the finalist in the latest USA Songwriting Competition with one of our previous projects "Single Woman". His style ranges from R’n’B/urban tracks to AC ballads, from neo soul to gospel/ inspirational songs.

Mixed and mastered a full length CD for drummer Yotam Rosenbaum, featuring Grammy Award winning mallet player Dave Samuels (Pat Matheny, Spiro Gyra, Frank Zappa), violinist Mads Tolling (Turtle Island String Quartet, Stanley Clark), pianist Vadim Neselovskyi (Garry Burton) and bassist Mike Oien.

Yotam lives in Los Angeles, California. He works as a freelance drummer and composer. He is available for gigs, tours, recordings and teaching.

Editing, mixing and mastering a new record for Marenglen 'Geni' Skendo, 2005 Tai Hei Shakuhachi Scholarship Award Recipient. Having played with the Albanian National Symphony and after receiving several awards he now pursues his career in the U.S. performing flute and, more recently, shakuhachi, replacing the silver flute as his number one passion. This CD features a fresh combination of contemporary Jazz and Funk rhythms, flute virtuosity and some more traditional Shakuhachi elements.

The mixing of the new Interoceanico 3 album is done and will be released shortly. With a unique blend of three musicians from Japan and Argentina, Interoceanico's music is a unique cornucopia of lush harmonies, lyrical melodies, driving rhythms and the first class arrangements that form their original music. The group combines elements of South American folklore, contemporary fusion, jazz and pop music to create an overall sound that is appealing to both non-musicians and musicians. The music is shaped by a variety of diverse influences and backgrounds of it's band members. Interoceanico's inimitable sound and inventiveness are evident throughout the musical journey. The group was formed in Boston, MA 2002 by composer and guitarist Hiroya Tsukamoto from Kyoto, Japan, and features Motohito Fukushima on bass and Franco Pinna on drums. They had successful tours to Japan (November 2004) and Korea/Japan (August 2005).

Brazilian born, U.S. based singer/ songwriter Carlos Magno Vaz has a brand new album. After a long time of refining sounds we are all very pleased with the outcome. It was a lot of fun to record, edit, mix and master all the material from beginning to end. I ended up co-producing a number of songs along the way and playing guitar and on some tracks.

The CD features a eclectic mix of musicians, such as Alida Rohr, Michael Ruzitschka, Pedro Ito, Giana Viscardi, Fernando Huergo, Oscar Rosza, Fernando Brandão, Matthias Bublath, Keiichi Hashimoto, Gilad Ronen, Lennie Peterson, Sula Da Silva, José 'Pie' Pienasola and Carlos Hosa.

After a long time I finally updated my website! It's pretty rudimentary at the moment but I will add more content soon. I will try to regularly post any new and interesting projects as they happen - stay tuned and thanks for visiting!

New Poli is an Italian folk group of 9 musicians playing traditional Italian songs in a fresh untraditional way. With three singers, two percussionists, a guitarist, bass player, a flute and an accordion player it got pretty packed in the studio. The nonet’s main goal is to rediscover and bring to attention the traditional folk music from south of Italy such as Villanella, Pizzica, Tammuriata and Tarantella. In this first set of recording sessions we managed to get numerous great takes with all musician tracking 'live' at the same time.

Italian vocalist and composer Carmen Marsico is an active performer in the New England area and I am pleased to have a chance of working with her again. She currently leads her own quintet performing her compositions and jazz standards originally arranged. Her music uniquely blends her Italian tradition with contemporary jazz and Brazilian music. In 2003 Carmen recorded her debut CD "Sogno" which has received excellent reviews in jazz magazines such as All About Jazz and Cadence Magazine. She has performed and collaborated with acknowledged musicians such as Bruno Råberg (George Garzone, Mick Goodrick, Bob Mintzer), Phil Grenadier (Kenny Baron, Chris Potter, Kurt Rosenwikel, Larry Goldings), Lisa Thorson (Kenny Wheeler, Sheila Jordan Harvie Swartz, Jerry Bergonzi) and Mark Shilansky (Luciana Souza, Clark Terry, Kenny Wheeler), among others.

relaxing in Amden, Switzerland.....

The past two months I spent in Nairobi, Kenya. Eric had asked me to join him to produce the new material. Needless to say, we had a great time! Although the rainy season lasted throughout my stay it was quite warm (20ºC) and we only saw rain every couple of days just for a few minutes at a time which apparently is totally normal. However, according to that logic, in Switzerland it's rainy season all the time...

I was met with great hospitality by Eric, Sheba and all their friends and family. Turns out that Kenyan Coffee is the best and, of course, I already miss the Chapati (kind of pancake)!

The record will feature a lot of new sounds and there will also be several collaborations with other artists such as Zimbabwe's Oliver Mtukudzi, DJ Gupz and Kanji, both fellow Kenyans. The album will be available late spring 2006.