Yellowjackets - Lifecycle

Lifecycle is the 20^th release by the internationally renowned Yellowjackets, and it is a journey back to their beginning with the inclusion of a jazz guitar to accompany the talented jazz quartet.

Lifecycle: Falken's Maze, Country Living, Double Nickel, Dreams Go, Measure of a Man, Yahoo, I Wonder, 3 Circles, Claire's Closet, Lazaro

Personnel: Russell Ferrante: Piano, Keyboards, Percussion; Jimmy Haslip: Electric Bass, Programming on Lazaro; Marcus Baylor: Drums, Percussion; Bob Mintzer: Tenor and Soprano Saxophone, Bass Clarinet, Bb Clarinet, EWI; Mike Stern: Guitars

Lifecycle was released on the Heads Up label and is the 20th release by this legendary band. Following in their format of improvisational music the band goes full circle, and after an absence of almost 15 years they bring back the sound of a jazz guitar to their mix through the musicianship of noted jazz and jazz-fusion guitarist, Mike Stern. Never at a loss for stretching the barrier of sound and style, on this release the band ventures out by infusing a bluesy sound to the mix through the addition of Mike.

As Russell Ferrante noted, there were no problems melding the harmonics of the piano with the guitar, in fact he felt that the result was a tighter and more balanced sound. The addition of Mike Stern did not result in a couple of guest tracks like other bands may do, but Mike is an integral part of seven of the ten tracks. In addition, Mike contributed two songs to the release (Double Nickel and Dreams Go) and though the two songs were new to the band, the group wrapped their musical talents around each track and turned them into something special.

The release leads off with Falken's Maze written by Bob Mintzer with Mike Stern in mind. As Bob states, when he composes tracks for the Yellowjackets he takes in perspective their individual and combined talents, so with the addition of a guitar sound he created a platform for Mike to roll his sound in with the rest of the band. In addition, Bob's compositions typically have a rhythmic complexity to them and Mike was up to the challenge laying down some outstanding tracks on Bob's Falken's Maze, Yahoo, and I Wonder.

Lifecycle contains a few slow and softer tracks such as Dreams Go and Claire's Closet written by Russell Ferrante, both of which are beautiful renditions. Mixing it up on the release there are the infectious tracks Double Nickel and Yahoo, along with a contemporary jazz groove on the tracks Country Living (with a Gospel beat) written by Jimmy Haslip, Lazaro (a recognizable Yellowjackets track) a collaboration between Jimmy Haslip and Bob Mintzer, Measure of a Man written by Russell Ferrante, and 3 Circles a collaboration of the four Yellowjackets.

The band takes on a different persona with the inclusion of the harmonics from the guitar and the resultant sound is spicy and fresh. Lifecycle is lead by the combination of Bob Mintzer's saxophone and clarinet and Mike Stern on guitar, while the rest of the band contributes their familiar excellent musicianship. Lifecycle is another incredible release from the Yellowjackets, who continue to improvise and draw their sound to new heights.

E.F Nesta is the owner, contributing writer, and Publisher of Luxury Experience Magazine (http://www.LuxuryExperience.com).

Luxury Experience Magazine is a monthly magazine that features experiential editorials on luxury products and services; we do not book reservations or sell products on-line.

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Music takes center stage on the heels of the official registration opening for the Nike+ Human Race, the world’s biggest one-day running event taking place on August 31, 2008.  The race brings together the power of sport and music to inspire and connect runners from every corner of the planet.  Participants in this unprecedented event will experience an exclusive music performance by some of today’s top artists in each of the 25 designated race cities.

In Los Angeles, nine-time Grammy Award winning artist Kanye West will headline the run’s post race concert for the grand finale of the 25-city Nike+ Human Race.  Runners will take to the streets passing the city’s most famous landmarks before ending at the LA Coliseum to see West take the stage.  
“I’m hitting the stage in Los Angeles for the Nike+ Human Race, Nike's dopest 10k run ever. This race is bringing together hundreds of thousands of people from all over the world to run and listen to some great music while serving a higher cause, and I’m excited to perform in L.A. as part of the grand finale.”
West’s performance will bring to a close, an unprecedented day of races and activities around the globe starting in Taipei, ending in LA and including cities across Europe, Asia and North and South America. 

In London, runners will be treated to an exclusive performance by world-renowned American DJ, songwriter, musician and singer Moby in the city’s famed Wembley Stadium.  Other all-star artists confirmed to play at the Nike+ Human Race include chart-topping rock band All-American Rejects in NY; hometown favorite Fall Out Boy in Chicago; R&B songstress Kelly Rowland in Paris; dance-electro-pop duo The Pinker Tones in Madrid, Turkish pop sensation Kenan Dogulu in Istanbul; the Fantastic Four in Munich; Beijing-based singing duo Yu Quan in Shanghai and American rock band Boys Like Girls in Singapore.  

Beyond running and music, the Nike+ Human Race is also an opportunity to give back. Participants will be able to run for a worthy cause and support the three official Nike+ Human Race charitable partners: the Lance Armstrong Foundation – uniting people in the fight against cancer; WWF - the global conservation organization addressing the causes and impacts of climate change; and the UN refugee agency's ninemillion.org campaign – bringing sport and education to refugee youth.  Together, Nike and runners will raise funds to donate at least USD $3 million to the Nike+ Human Race charities.  Money will be raised via givebacks from registration fees, a percentage of Nike+ Human Race t-shirt sales and a donation of USD $1 million from Nike.
The Nike+ Human Race will also feature an online pledge tool so individual runners can donate additional funds to the cause of their choice and invite friends and family to contribute on their behalf.

“As a committed runner and a cancer survivor, I’m proud to be participating in the Nike+ Human Race,” Lance Armstrong said. “The race offers the best of both worlds by bringing together a global community to run together and support worthy causes like the Lance Armstrong Foundation, the UN refugee agency’s ninemillion.org and WWF in our combined efforts to have a positive impact on the world.

Other Nike athletes will also be joining the movement to run with the world and for a cause.  Like Lance Armstrong, they will serve as honorary athlete ambassadors for the charities and join in Human Race activities.  Six-time marathon winner and current NY Marathon Champion, Paula Radcliffe and middle distance runner Kara Goucher will be running to support WWF, while marathoner Meb Keflezighi will be representing ninemillion.org.

Nikeplus.com will be the official destination for the Nike+ Human Race and for all pre-race training needs. Here, runners can create a personal profile page or stay motivated by sampling and downloading the latest in Nike+ Sport Music offerings. Sport Music offers runners the best in original Training Run and Coaching Mixes designed specifically for treadmill and road runs.  Beginning June 15, runners will also be able to visit Race City pages covering local race info and news, Training pages for information and links to in-city training runs, events with official race partners including 24Hour Fitness and Starbucks and Nike+ Coach training.  Gear pages covering the latest in Nike performance training gear and Nike+ product will also be offered.

About Nike+ Human Race
On 08.31.08, Nike hosts a run like no other before with the Nike+ Human Race - the World’s Largest One Day Running Event.  Nike’s first global race will take place over the course of one day, with a goal of one million runners, across 25 cities and featuring 25 top musical acts.  The 10k event celebrates runners and their sport, offering participants across the globe the chance to run and compete together in an unprecedented race experience.  Spanning multiple continents, Nike+ Human Race cities will include LA, New York, London, Madrid, Paris, Istanbul, Melbourne, Shanghai, São Paulo and Vancouver among others.  Following races in each city, participants will be treated to an exclusive music concert featuring one of today’s top artists.  Participants will be able to run for a cause as a portion of funds raised will be donated to three Nike+ Human Race beneficiaries: WWF, the global conservation organization, Lance Armstrong Foundation and UN refugee agency's ninemillion.org campaign.  The race will be open to anyone, anywhere. Runners outside of the 25 race day cities can join by logging into nikeplus.com.  With the help of Nike+ and the Nike+ SportBand, every city and every road can become a race-day course.  For more information, visit nikeplus.com.