JAZZ, TELEMARKETERS, AND MATH... WITH A CONTEST TO BOOT! posted by O.W.

P.E. Hewitt Jazz Ensemble: I'm Wondering Why
From Winter Winds (Now Again, 2009)

Isn't it just like a telemarketer to bring you back to reality when you're listening to some new sounds that have taken you to another place? While jamming (and I mean REALLY jamming thanks to my new Klipsch Promedia 2.1 Series speakers, which I highly recommend) to the the groovy sounds of the P.E. Hewitt Jazz Ensemble, the latest Now Again release, the phone rings. Thinking that it could be my wife, who is due to deliver in the next month, I dutifully answer. But, no, it's someone wanting information on my grocery shopping habits... or on grocery products I buy... some BS like that.

But I refuse to let it get me down – not when Stones Throw/Now Again is once again ponying up some serious music to give away for FREE to YOU, the Soul Sides faithful. Recession? What recession? At any rate, don't tell Egon, who is kind enough to be giving the goods away - you don't want him to renege!!!

And what might these goods be, you ask? How about the CD version of the Japanese-only release of P.E. Hewitt Jazz Ensemble's “Winter Winds” album! Only a limited amount of copies have been secured for release outside of Japan either directly at Stones Throw's web store or through Dusty Groove. Now Again is providing not one, not two, but THREE copies of this CD to give away! (In case you haven't checked the sites above, it retails for $25 in the US of A.)

So if you can't wait to get your hands on one of these fine specimens and want to secure a physical copy, you can buy from either of the stores mentioned above. Or if the recession is hitting you hard in the pocketbook and you're like me – always having a jonesin' for some new tunes, you could enter in the latest Soul Sides contest. Just answer the three questions below correctly for your chance to enter.

Also, you can listen to the full first track of this album above. “I'm Wondering Why” is a punchy tune. Rick Hearns hits the kit hard with some possessed drumming reminding you of some great Buddy Rich work with the sticks. With such an upbeat tune, it's hard to imagine it coming from an album called Winter Winds. Those vocalists come through scatting a made-up language like they had just come over from a Gary McFarland session. Absolutely breezy work, this tune.

It's not all sunshine, however. Other songs on the album, such as Ill Love Song, are of a different ilk with resounding yearning. Then there's the closer “Tuija,” of which you can imagine looking out the window watching the snow melt from the tree branches, perhaps while thinking of a time you wish you could go back to or of a lost loved one.

Take a listen to the snippets over at the Stones Throw's web store to see why we're so excited that you get a chance to win this great piece of music. It's all leading up to the full P.E. Hewitt anthology release coming out Summer 2009 through Now Again.

Contest Rules:

1. Contest ends at midnight on March 30, 2009. Entries that arrive after that time are ineligible.
2. ALL addresses are eligible!!!
3. Should there be more than three contestants with all correct answers, three names will be chosen in a drawing of those who answered correctly. Should less than three people answer correctly, then winners with all correct answers will automatically win with the remaining winners to be chosen by a random drawing.
4. Your first response is your official and final response.
5. You are only eligible to win one of the three CDs.

Questions:

1. What label, based out of the UK, is Now Again partnering with for the expanded release of the Spritiual Jazz anthology?

2. Now Again released another lost, fuzzed-out jazz album based on children's tunes as one of its pilot releases. Name the group.

3. The ever-feared story problem: Egon is digging for records at the local record store. He finds 20 that he likes. On his way to the counter, Egon is so excited about the records he finds that he trips over speaker wire running across the floor causing the stash of records to fly through the air. All but 12 are broken or scratched beyond repair, including a formerly pristine copy of Third Guitar's “Baby Don't Cry.” How many records does Egon have left that he wants to buy?

Even if you don't think you know all the answers, give it a shot. You can't win if you don't enter!

E-mail your responses to elueckin AT hotmail.com and put Hewitt Jazz Ensemble in the subject line.