Smithsonian Folkways Recordings

John Santos / ‘Art of the Descarga’ / Smithsonian Folkways

Percussionist, educator, and social activist John Santos will release Art of the Descarga, a new album with the John Santos Sextet, on August 7 through Smithsonian Folkways. Santos is an icon of Latin jazz who played a key role in positioning the San Francisco Bay Area as a hub for the genre, and who has performed with Eddie Palmieri, Tito Puente, Max Roach, and Dizzy Gillespie. As a founder of the Machete Ensemble, and as a bandleader, Santos has been one of the most revered percussionists specializing in Afro-Cuban traditions, and has emerged as a leading expert on the history and folklore of those rhythms. Like much of his life’s work, his new album paints a direct through-line from Africa to Cuba, and considers the expansive, multiregional array of jazz that has been woven into the fabric of American music for the past century. 

Rockabye Baby!

Rockabye Baby! Lullaby Renditions of Shania Twain

Break out the cheetah print and the bright red lipstick, because Rockabye Baby has an announcement that's Gonna Getcha Good ... 'Lullaby Renditions of Shania Twain' is coming August 14th.

For the first time, country's best-selling female artist will have her iconic hits adapted into nighttime-friendly arrangements, including "Man! I Feel Like a Woman," "That Don't Impress Me Much," "You're Still the One," and many more. So whether it's just for a "Party of Two" or the whole family, Rockabye Baby's latest is here to help turn bedtime into a country lullaby with these twelve classic tracks. 

Brasstracks/ Golden Ticket/ EQT/Capitol Records

GRAMMY® Award-winning duo Brasstracks (multi-instrumentalist Ivan Jackson and percussionist Conor Rayne) announce their debut album — Golden Ticket — out August 21st via EQT and Capitol Records. The record reinforces the duo’s free-thinking approach to songcraft and embraces an unprecedented charm.  An eclectic mix of collaborators feature on almost every track – including modern rap and R&B titans such as Common, Masego, Grammy nominated Tank of Tank & The Bangas, Robert Glasper and more.

Chuck Prophet/ ‘The Land That Time Forgot’/ Yep Roc

Prophet recalls the melancholy wonder of his native Bay Area, a land that, to the acclaimed songwriters, represents the hope and despair that makes rock ‘n’ roll so timeless, even if it’s now full of “robots with ironic haircuts.”

Contact: Max Lefkowitz

Malik / ‘Spectrum’ / ARTium Recordings

GRAMMY-winning producer & artist Malik (Ariana Grande, Earthgang, JID) announces Spectrum, his debut project out August 21 through ARTium Recordings, the label run by his mentor, No I.D. The 24-year-old Austin producer (full name Brian Malik Baptiste) describes Spectrum as an epic sci-fi journey through his emotions, each feeling being unique yet still related to each other – similar to all the colors on the spectrum. He adds that “It’s a sort of musical take on Pixar’s Inside Out, if it were as heavily influenced by Outkast, Graduation-era Kanye West, Days Before Rodeo-era Travis Scott, Acid Rap Chance the Rapper, and Nostalgia Ultra Frank Ocean, as I was.”

Falu & Karyshma/ ‘Someday’

Falu & Karyshma have announced Someday (August 28), their interpretations of traditional Indian songs that span centuries and center on themes of oneness and universal human experience. One of the band members, Falu, is the first Indian female singer-songwriter to be nominated for a GRAMMY. Falu & Karyshma have performed for the Obamas at The White House, as well as at India's official Independence Day celebrations, The TIME 100 Gala, and Carnegie Hall. The New York Times has praised their sound as bridging "East and West, ancient and modern."

PJ Morton

PJ Morton/ ‘Gospel According to PJ’/ Morton Inspiration/Tyscot Records

PJ Morton comes full circle with the announcement of his first-ever gospel album, Gospel According to PJ. Out August 28th on Morton Inspiration/Tyscot Records, the project features Yolanda Adams, Kim Burrell, The Clark Sisters, Commissioned, Kirk Franklin, and over a dozen others collaborating on fresh interpretations and born-again arrangements of hits that Morton has written for a slew of gospel stars throughout his career. With the exception of the 2020 BET Award-nominated "All In His Plan" (feat. Le'Andria Johnson & Mary Mary), PJ Morton self-produced the album in the midst of the coronavirus lockdown this spring and summer, crafting his own string arrangements in self-isolation, connecting with each artist via videoconference, and leading remote recording sessions from his New Orleans studio.