As we approach the latter days of the record label and continue our relapse into the tech-owned, AI driven, soulless mass audio landscape of the future, we invite you to pause and experience quality recordings of the past and present day. And so, we present here a private library of brilliant recordings featuring some of the greatest musicians in the world, who were boldly given free creative reign and then captured over a period of more than 4 decades by Howard (“Humberto”) Lèder, and now carefully archived and curated.
More than bits and bytes: these are analog experiences that reveal stories that are not only true but will one day be treated as otherworldly myth like the Wild West. These are musicians/producers who have lived it, from 2-inch tape to the iPad, from downtown Jazz hangs to Latin street parties. Lurking in studios and developing a rapport with the best musicians of the day, laying down tracks like they were carving tablets in ancient Egypt.
Louis Marks, President, Ropeadope Records
TESTIMONIALS
“Soothing and relaxing in places, but gutsy and bold in others-it utilizes the conventions of the genre creatively and, at the same time, refuses to be limited by them… NY based producer/arranger Humberto (Howard) Leder ( no stranger to mixing musical cultures, like B.B. King with legendary Brazilian percussionist Nana Vasconcelos),… masterfully conceived an idea to make one piece, with specifically -sized ensembles and a unique groove, and to proceed emotionally and logically, how to make a well-known melody seem fresh and exciting, and then, how to contrast it with something not quite so familiar…….”
“…..the notes sound quite like raindrops falling on a jungle leaf, within a very lovely, positively verdant tropical style piano trio…….amazed that they can get such a distinctive South American feel with standard North American instrumentation including regular trap drums, as opposed to Latin percussion…….I never heard this iconic melody expressed in quite this kind of way…Remarkedly performed and recorded here…”
“Imagine my delight to find compositions performed so inventively new to me…
To reconsider an old expression, this music doesn’t just represent the “best of both world” – but rather the collective greatness of at least three of four…”
– Will Friedwald, Wall Street Journal
“In a night full of excitement (De Niro, Aretha Franklin, Stevie Wonder, Santana, Sting) gotta say that the highlight of De Niro getting honored by the Friars Club Ceremony was watching the New York City Salsa All Stars rock the afterparty!!!”…
– Questlove
“The greatest players of this music… it was a love fest to have all of the folks in one room, including the most gifted Latin vocalist walking the planet today-Frankie Vasquez…Infectiously wonderful dance tunes…a unique approach to improvisation…inventiveness to the music …with a sense of taste and sheer musicality…”
“I can listen for hours and never tire…brilliantly produced by Humberto (Howard) Leder…All sequenced, intense and swinging……..without a doubt your feet and heart will follow as you hear these infectious rhythms…”
– Sheila Anderson, WBGO
“The feeling of the music, the air, the family atmosphere as thrilling as if I was in the presence of Antonio Carlos Jobim…It’s something special….. and recalls the organic appeal of that older Brazilian style, yet it is thoroughly contemporary…
There’s an informality, a sense of flow and fun that is rare to hear on any studio jazz recording…
Can’t make it to Rio? There’s a nighttime of magic on East Side Rio Drive … “
– Ken Micallef, Downbeat
“…. uniquely creative….. has got some real force and punch to it…
Its a wonderfully balanced mixture of jazzy sounds from the two hemispheres…”
– Chris DiGirolamo, Two For the Show Media
“When one listens to this music, the warmth of the sun can be felt regardless of the real weather outside……..it creates a warm, breezy environment… Latin Jazz pop tunes performed by iconic singers and musicians of diverse backgrounds and reputations… “
– Dick Bogle, The Oregonian
“Music divine…defies predictability…Smooth and sexy..
Howard recruited two world class pianists who don’t work with singers as much as they should, the late Hilton Ruiz and Geri Allen, bassist Peter Washington, who gained immeasurable experience playing The Great American Songbook as a long standing member of the Bill Charlap Trio, and perhaps singers’ best friend, drummer Grady Tate…..It’s hard to believe, given Lillias’ many appearances in Broadway theatres and clubs like Feinstein’s and The Jazz Standard, that this is her first jazz album. Yet when, in “Besame Mucho,” she sings about hearing “music divine,” there’s no doubt that these words describe her own singing as well…”
– Will Friedwald, Wall Street Journal