Three Words to Thrive Emanuel Ruffler

• 1 Elephant 05:20
• 2 The Infinite 04:02
• 3 Polo 06:52
• 4 Out of Alignment 05:17
• 5 Three Words to Thrive By 02:32
• 6 Street Scenes 03:07
• 7 Thunder 03:38
• 8 Jazz Dakar 06:40
• Total Runtime 37:28

Info for Three Words to Thrive

The trio Ruffler, Carter + Angulo is set to release some of that good, jazz music with the new single “Jazz Dakar” featuring the fantastic vocals of Valerie Troutt, from the project Three Words To Thrive By, on October 30th from enja records.

Emanuel Ruffler (piano), Rashaan Carter (bass) & Timothy Angulo (drums) provide the canvas for the release while Valerie’s voice delivers a melody originally intended for a horn section. A future classic, three + one have created a song full of feels and emotions.

Jazz Dakar evokes an important shared experience. “In each of our travels to West Africa, we’ve encountered the challenge of examining the history of slavery from a new vantage point,” explained the band.

Tapestry and abstraction are actual elements of the band’s structure. This is a jazz trio expressing soulful noise and blues thinking. A three-man set providing melody and rhythm for Valerie Troutt to evoke legacy to all willing to listen.

“This trio is born of conversation. It’s origin, thought and dialogue. An empathic dialogue rooted in listening, sharing, and learning. We’ve developed a fairly regular routine in which a discussion precedes and completes a rehearsal or recording. We’ve developed a trust that ushers these exchanges through a wide range of ideas and topics. This conversation forms the core of the music,” noted the pianist, Ruffler.

This is “soul” music. This is truth within the blues. This is jazz. This is yesterday’s future music now.

Emanuel Ruffler, piano
Rashaan Carter, bass
Timothy Angulo, drums
Valerie Troutt, vocals

Recorded on November 2019 at Rufftone Studios, Brooklyn NY
Mastered by Kevin Blackler
Produced by Nadja Weber

Emanuel Ruffler
Composer and pianist Emanuel Ruffler was born and raised in Munich, Germany. Since re-locating to New York City in 1996 he has been active on the music scene in a variety of roles and genres. His electronic sound-design was featured in several museums and exhibitions. As an acoustic pianist he has appeared alongside musical legends like Joe Chambers, Antoine Roney, Don Byron and Sabina Sciubba of the Brazilian Girls.

Rashaan Carter grew up in the Washington, D.C. area. Through the nurturing of his father, a saxophonist, and his mother, a jazz radio programmer, Carter forged an interest in music. Rashaan has performed and/or recorded with Wallace Roney, David Murray, Henry Threadgill, Ravi Coltrane, Geri Allen, Benny Golson, Curtis Fuller, Louis Hayes, Marc Cary, Cindy Blackman, Sonny Simmons and more. Hailing from Berkeley, California, Timothy Angulo is an emerging artist in drumming and composition. At 24 years old, Angulo has already toured and performed with artists such as Kamasi Washington, Charenee Wade, Jonathan Finlayson and many others. Rooted in the history of black creative music and the arts, Angulo is passionate about expressing the sentiments of the present day and the future for his generation through sound.

Valerie Troutt stands on the shoulders of gospel, soul and jazz greats such as Edwin and Walter Hawkins, Sarah Vaughan, Bessie Jones and the countless other singers who’ve performed in juke joints, on plantations, in churches and nightclubs just to be free. She was born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area and continues to play a prominent role as a community activist, singer and composer for dance and theatre. The mission of her organization “Find Your Light” is to create safe spaces for Black women through SongCare.

This album contains no booklet.