Straight No Chaser
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Podcast 348: A Conversation with Willard Jenkins about...
The Lost Jazz Shrines series is dedicated to bringing legendary NYC jazz clubs back into the consciousness of the world with a thorough remembrance and celebration. In celebration of the resonant history of Birdland, BMCCTribeca Performing Arts Center will host two exceptional evenings that examine the musical and stylistic legacy of Charlie Parker through artists’ completely different lenses and cultural perspectives. Artistic DirectorWillard Jenkins will host these final two events, on May...
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Podcast 346: Previewing the Dave Brubeck Celebration...
"A Celebration of the Life and Music of Dave Brubeck" will be held on Saturday, May 11, 2013 at 4:00 P.M. at The Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine, 1047 Amsterdam Avenue in New York City. There are no tickets to this event; the event is free and all are welcome. Artists scheduled to perform Chick Corea, Paquito D'Rivera, Branford Marsalis, Paul Winter, Eugene Wright, Randy Brecker, Jon Faddis, Roy Hargrove, Roberta Gambarini, Bill Charlap, John Salmon, Renee Rosnes, Andy Laverne, Ted...
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Podcast 347: A Conversation with Fred Hersch
Fred Hersch’s weekly residences at New York’s finest jazz clubs provide highlights of any jazz season. The veteran pianist enjoys performing with a wide variety of sidemen and group configurations, from his trio to solo and duo setting. This week (May 7-12), Hersch takes the stage at the Jazz Standard for a series of duo and trio performances with some very special friends, in the annual tradition known as the “Fred Hersch Duo Invitation Series.” What makes these performances particularly...
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Shorter, Smith, Truesdell dominate JJA Jazz Awards
Veteran saxophonist Wayne Shorter, longtime creative music trumpeter Wadada Leo Smith, and newcomer Ryan Truesdell were top winners of the 2013 Jazz Journalists Association Jazz Awards announced yesterday online at their website. Sonny Rollins was named "Emeritus Jazz Artist – Beyond Voting," and other winners were divided between familiar names and new ones, although consistency with past results was more frequent than turnover of Awards to new nominees. Shorter, who emerged in the 1960s as...
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Celebrating International Jazz Day - Check Out the...
Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 "It has been my dream that one day every year, jazz would be celebrated, studied, and performed around the world for 24 hours straight. A collaboration among jazz icons, scholars, composers, musicians, dancers, writers, poets, and thinkers who would embrace the beauty, spirit, and principles of jazz, all of them freely sharing experiences and performances in our big cities and in our small towns, all across our seven...
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Podcast 345: A Conversation with Craig Taborn
ECM is making an early run at “Label of the Year” for jazz releases. In the first four months of 2013, Manfred Eicher and company have given us outstanding new CDs like Chris Potter’s The Sirens; the Tomasz Stanko New York Quartet’s Wislawa; and Charles Lloyd and Jason Moran’s teaming on Hagar’s Song; plus two fabulous reissues as box sets from Lloyd and from Paul Motian. Adding to this embarrassment of riches is the latest release from pianist Craig Taborn, a trio session entitled Chants....
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Repost: Shakespeare and All That Jazz
As an English major at Clark University (Class of '77) I spent many a fond moment with one of my favorite professors, Dr. Virginia Vaughan discussing the Immortal Bard, William Shakespeare. Although Shakespeare's birthdate is inknown, it is traditionally celebrated on April 23, St. George's Day. He was born 449 years ago today. And whither, you might ask, does this great writer intersect with Jazz? Look no further than the 1964 album by Cleo Laine, Shakespeare and All That Jazz, arranged and...
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Podcast 344: A Conversation with Bill Horvitz
The artistic muse strikes when it will. Personal tragedy or pain can be the catalyst for the creation of art just as often as joy, or the experience of beauty. The artist takes what comes, and if they are successful in their chosen medium, the resulting work gives the world a sense of what Susanne K. Langer called “felt life”. For Bill Horvitz, the tragedy was the sudden death of his younger brother Philip from heart failure in 2005, at the age of 44. Horvitz, who as a composer and guitar...
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Podcast 343: A Conversation with Jane Monheit
Jane Monheit has been a creative whirlwind since the birth of her son almost five years ago. She and her band are almost always touring the major jazz halls of the world; she has recorded and released three albums under her name, as well as a charity holiday single with Sara Gazarek; begun teaching master classes; and honed her skills as a singer-songwriter. Her latest release, The Heart of the Matter, may be her foremost artistic statement. Always an expressive singer, she has developed...
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Podcast 342: A Conversation with Lisa Kirchner
If it can be said that anyone has music in her D.N.A., that person would be Lisa Kirchner. The daughter of Pulitzer Prize-winning classical composer Leon Kirchner and coloratura soprano Gertrude Schoenberg, Lisa was raised in a home that appreciated Bach as much as Jimi Hendrix, Duke Ellington as much as Mozart. Ms. Kirchner made the most of that eclectic musical upbringing, successfully working on the New York stage, performing as a dancer, harmonizing with singers like Judy Collins, and...
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Podcast 339: A Conversation with Aaron Diehl
2013 has started off as a very good year for Jazz CDs. We’ve had excellent releases from Wayne Shorter, Chris Potter, Joe Lovano and Charles Lloyd, and I’m looking forward to some new material from Tomas Stanko, Jane Monheit and Terence Blanchard in the next few months. The CD I’ve been waiting for with the greatest anticipation, though, is the studio debut of pianist Aaron Diehl. Ever since I caught him at a jazz brunch in Detroit in 2012, it’s been apparent to me that this poised young man...
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Podcast 340: A Conversation with Joe Lovano about The...
“Paul was one of a kind: a musicians' drummer who thought about the music, not just the rhythm, and cast his own sound on everything he played... he could play anything, and with anybody." -Keith Jarrett Symphony Space in Manhattan will be presenting an all-star cast of jazz greats on March 22, coming together to pay tribute to their colleague, legendary drummer and composer, the late Paul Motian, voted number one in the 2012 Downbeat Critics Poll Hall of Fame. One of the most influential...
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Podcast 338: Six String Slingers
There has been a plethora of strong guitar-based music coming across my desk lately, so Podcast 338 is an attempt to pass on some of the news about these releases. Some of the artists, like Kevin Eubanks, may be well-known to you. Others, like Dan Phillips, may be as new to you as he was to me. In any event, these are jazz guitarists at the top of their game, and well worth a listen. Kevin Eubanks – Title track from The Messenger. It’s easy to lose yourself in Eubanks playing and forget that...
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Podcast 334: Valentine's Day Mix
Valentine’s Day can be a tricky day. If you remember it, but that special someone in your life doesn’t, there can be hell to pay. If you spend the big bucks on flowers, chocolate, etc., etc. and your special someone didn’t want you to break the budget, you feel like a dolt. Is it too soon in the relationship to make a big deal about the day? Does it send the wrong message? Or if you go low key, do you come across as uncaring? For me, the never fail answer to the day is – you guessed it – the...
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Podcast 336: A Conversation with Yuto Kanazawa
An exciting new jazz guitarist, 26 year old Yuto Kanazawa, will release his CD Earthwards this week to coincide with his appearance at Sculler’s in Boston, MA. Earthwards – also the name of his backing group - will be a world-wide affair, including saxophonist Mario Castro from Puerto Rico, clarinetist Felix Peikli from Oslo, Norway, bassist Zwelakhe-Duma Bell le Pere from Connecticut (USA!) and drummer Roberto Giaquinto from Italy. The Tokyo-born, Fukushima-raised Kanazawa has been studying...
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Podcast 333: A Conversation with Reed Wallsmith
Last month I posted a podcast interview with Javon Jackson, one of the many jazz stars who are converging on Portland, Oregon this coming week to perform in the 10th U.S. Bank Portland Jazz Festival presented by Alaska Airlines. From February 15 to 24, 2013 there will be large and small events in and around Portland, creating an exciting mix of music. One of the local bands to be featured in the Festival will be Blue Cranes. While they might no consider themselves to be “jazz musicians” per...
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Podcast 335: Donald Byrd (1932-2013)
14.00 Dr. Donald Byrd, one of the great trumpet players to emerge in the post be-bop era of the 1950’s has died at his home in Delaware. He was 80 years old. Byrd was born Donaldson Toussaint L'Ouverture Byrd II in Detroit in 1932 and began his career with Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers in the 1950s, in a version that included Horace Silver and Hank Mobley. He appeared as a sideman on more than 50 albums over a ten year period beginning in 1955, recording with Sonny Rollins, Wes Montgomery,...
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Podcast 332: Mardi Gras Mix
It's never too early to start celebrating the Mardi Gras! Fat Tuesday comes a bit early this year - February 12 - so make your plans right here and now to blow it out good before Lent comes along (if you follow that sort of thing). Here's just about an hour of Nawlins inspired or styled music to get you going. Whip up a little Etouffe or maybe some Jambalaya, crank up these tunes, and have yourelf a time. Podcast 332 includes the following uninterrupted music: Lester Young – “Way Down Yonder...
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Podcast 331: A Conversation with Chris Potter
Normal 0 MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 The Sirens is acclaimed saxophonist Chris Potter's ECM debut as a leader, an album of mood and melody inspired by Homer's The Odyssey - both its epic atmosphere and its timeless humanity. Potter, who has been a featured player on ECM albums by the likes of Dave Holland and Steve Swallow, found the timeless tale a source of inspiration as he sought to create for his latest band a year ago. Since then the music has been honed on the road, and captures the...
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Podcast 330: A Conversation with Javon Jackson on Art...
“We started the Messengers because somebody had to mind the store for jazz. No America–no jazz. It is the only culture that America has brought forth.” – Art Blakey The 2013 U.S. Bank Portland Jazz Festival, presented by Alaska Airlines,will start in less than a month, running Friday, February 15 through Sunday, February 24 at venues throughout Portland, OR.The 10th anniversary celebration will include a heady mix of world and west coast premieres and what they term For Portland Only...
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Podcast 329: Happy 65th Birthday, Donald Fagen!
“…Mr. Fagen's music is a rich-textured, harmonically oblique amalgam of rock, jazz and soul. It is, in a word, music for grown-ups—with lyrics to match. What is especially interesting about Mr. Fagen, though, is that unlike most of his contemporaries, he has always made music for grown-ups. Steely Dan, the group that he co-founded with Walter Becker in 1972, never did go in for kid stuff, and doesn't now. Jazz heavies like Wayne Shorter and Phil Woods have long popped up from time to time on...
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Podcast 328: A Conversation with Ben Allison about "Free...
Last year, the Jazz Standard presented a new interpretation of John Coltrane’s Ascension that knocked out audiences and critics alike. Click here to listen to a conversation with participant Donny McCaslin on the project. On January 16th, the Standard continues this tradition and presents an all–star tribute to Ornette Coleman and his influential work Free Jazz. In the spring of 1961, the alto saxophonist and composer Ornette Coleman (who had “roused more controversy in the jazz world than...
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Podcast 327: A Conversation with Paul Combs about Tadd...
When ticking off the names of the truly great jazz figures that came out of the be-bop era, Tadd Dameron may be the name that least comes to mind. Saxophonist Dexter Gordon called Dameron the "romanticist" of the bop movement, as perhaps more than any other musician, he added form to the then-emerging style of bop. Whether as a composer (standards like “Lady Bird”, “Hot House”, “Good Bait” and “If You Could See Me Now”), arranger (the Big Bands of Jimmy Lunceford, Count Basie, Dizzy...
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Podcast 326: A Few of My Favorite Things 2012
‘Tis the season for “best of” lists, and you can find some mighty fine ones from NPR’s A Blog Supreme; Critical Jazz; various members of the Jazz Journalists Association; and Ben Ratliff of the New York Times. Rather than call things “the best”, I prefer to look back the year’s releases and determine which ones, for one reason of another, earned repeat plays and became my favorites for one reason or another. I’ve made up some categories with which I can list the CDs, since it doesn’t make...
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Podcast 325: A Conversation with Kenny Barron
Kenny Barron will be celebrating his 70thbirthday in 2013, and you can bet we’ll have a celebratory Podcast that day. One of our finest, most versatile and hard working pianists, Barron shows no sign of slowing down as he approaches this milestone. He has a new CD set to come out in 2013, and he is currently playing a series of duets with his friend, bass legend Dave Holland. The pair will get the chance to settle in for a four night run at the Jazz Standard this week (December 13-16),...
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Podcast 324: Holiday Podcast #4 - Our Annual Nuthin' But...
Are you wrapping presents? Trimming the tree? Firing up the Yule Log? Baking cookies? Making use of the Mistletoe? Sipping some mulled cider by the fire? Maybe a Christmas cocktail or two? If you are partaking in any of these worthy seasonal activities, you need a soundtrack. And that is where the annual Straight No Chaser Nuthin’ But Christmas Podcast comes in. Download this hour plus extravaganza, and you’ll have all the music you need, featuring several of this year's best Christmas...
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Podcast 323: Holiday Podcast #3 - A Conversation with...
The last decade has seen Tim Warfield, Jr. become one of the most continuously interesting sax players around. After serving his time as a valued sideman with Christian McBride and Nicholas Payton, Warfield - along with his running mate Terrell Stafford – has emerged as a leader of some stature, playing originals and standards at a high level of expertise. This makes the release of Tim Warfield’s Jazzy Christmas all the more exciting. Warfield has gathered a who’s who of players – Stafford...
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Podcast 322: A Conversation with Stephanie Castillo...
The public and fans of Connecticut jazz artist Thomas Chapin, who passed away far too early at age 40 in 1998, are invited to a free reception to celebrate the release of Never Let Me Go, a new 3-CD set of Chapin live-quartet performances from '95 and '96. The gathering will be hosted in person by Chapin’s widow Terri Castillo-Chapin from New York City and Emmy-winning filmmaker Stephanie J. Castillo from Hawaii at Hartford's Real Art Ways on Dec. 11 from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. A 15-minute trailer...
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Podcast 321: Holiday Podcast #2 - Roundup of Christmas...
They start drifting in to our offices in September like so many errant snowflakes – holiday releases from jazz artists that will hit the stores as the temperatures dip. Every year I try to feature a few CDs, and do a Podcast for others worthy of notice that I might not get to zero in on. So Podcast 321 is composed of tracks from CD well worth tracking down for you holiday parties or stocking stuffers. Hilary Kole – “Let It Snow” from Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas. The Canadian...
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Podcast 320: Holiday Podcast #1 - A Conversation with...
“Let’s put Christ back in Christmas” has been a popular cry of those who think the holiday season has gone off the rails, moving from the observance of a religious holy day to “Spendapalooza”. Many of the Christmas jazz recordings we hear at Straight No Chaser tend to be of the secular variety, containing holiday spirit, but not necessarily holiday spirituality. Will Scruggs’ Song of Simeon: A Christmas Journey is a pleasant change of pace. Scruggs has tapped into his Christian beliefs and...
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Podcast 319: A Conversation with Eliane Elias
Podcast 318 was part one of a two part conversation I had with Husband and Wife duo Marc Johnson and Eliane Elias (pictured). Ms. Elias, born in Brazil and now a tried and true New Yorker, takes the spotlight on their latest ECM release, Swept Away. Her playing alternately shimmers and then bounces along, always with great swaths of romanticism and playfulness. Her compositions give the couple plenty of room for melodic solos. The fact that the two are very much in love, but also hold one...
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Podcast 318: A Conversation with Marc Johnson
Marc Johnson is a criminally overlooked bass player. Check out the Downbeat and JazzTimes polls, and you’ll find the established greats (Charlie Haden), the young hotshots (Esperanza Spalding) and the current mainstays (Christian McBride) all feted, By Johnson, whose innovative work spans the past thirty years, is overlooked. . His latest CD, his second close creation with his wife, pianist Eliane Elias, is called Swept Away (ECM), and stands as one of the finest collaborative jazz releases...
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Podcast 317: A Conversation with Marc Myers
Books written about jazz over the years have tended to focus on musicians and their creative process or influences. There are great tomes like Garry Giddons’ Visions of Jazz or Hear Me Talkin' To Ya, the Story of Jazz As Told By the Men Who Made It by Nat Shapiro and Nat Hentoff. Both tell their stories with grace, style and detail and are essential reading for any jazz fan. Now another book joins these titles as indispensable jazz reading. Marc Myers, the winner of the 2012 Jazz Journalists...
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Podcast 316: Jazzin' On Jimi at 70
“Jimi had a trio that sounded like an avalanche coming down off Mt. Everest. Even when he laid out his band thundered on, bringing to mind Miles Davis’ fabled comment: “This black dude made two white cats play their asses off.” I loved that! Wes Montgomery was also playing around New York at the time but a Hendrix performance compared to a Wes performance—I once saw them both the same night—was simply iconoclastic. It was beyond categorization of jazz versus pop or blues. It was a force unto...
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Podcast 315: A Conversation with Ryan Fraley of Wave...
As a child of the 1970’s, progressive rock was a big part of my musical life. Bands like Yes and Emerson, Lake & Palmer were huge at that time, much to the chagrin of rock purists and my father, who thought they butchered classical music, I have fond memories of seeing ELP at the Hartford Civic Center on their “Works” tour, just after they let go the symphony orchestra previously being schlepped on tour with them. Ryan Fraley is a bit more than a decade younger than me, but his early record...
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Podcast 314: Basin Street Records Celebrates 15 Years of...
Fifteen years ago, Marc Samuels decided to add a part-time job running a record label to his already busy life. Since that date, his Basin Street Records has signed a dozen artists and has released nearly 50 projects including 2012 Grammy winner Rebirth of New Orleans by the Rebirth Brass Band. To celebrate their anniversary, Basin Street Records artists will be performing all across the world this month, from Jason Marsalis w/ Marcus Roberts at the London Jazz FestivalNov 17 to Dr. Michael...
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Podcast 313: A Conversation with Bill Laswell
Normal 0 MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 “(Bill) Laswell’s pet concept is 'collision music' which involves bringing together musicians from wildly divergent but complementary spheres and seeing what comes out." – Chris Brazier. If Bill Laswell excels in making music that uses a world-wide sonic palette, then his latest release, Means of Deliverance (Innerhythmic Records), represents a rare return to his musical roots. Armed with a new instrument, the Warwick Alien fretless four-string acoustic...
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Elliott Sharp's Blues
Last year I had a wonderful conversation with guitarist Elliott Sharp, which was featured in a podcast (click here to listen in – the very loquacious Sharp makes it worth your time). Sharp’s musical talents are immense, and he plays different genres of music with equal expertise. Elliott Sharp's Terraplane is the name of his blues-based band, which somehow manages to successfully merge Delta and Country blues with everything from avant-garde jazz to groove-based rock. The band includes...
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Podcast 309: Spooky Song Titles 2012
It’s Hallowe’en time again, and so its time for our semi-annual Spooky Songs Podcast (you can find past editions here and here). This year we feature some monstrous tunes from both new and established artists you may enjoy. It seems like the little ghouls and goblins in our neighborhood are going to miss the whole Trick or Treats scene again this year, as Hurricane Sandy seems to be picking up where a freak snow storm that paralyzed our part of the Northeast left off last year. Nancy and I...
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Podcast 310: A Conversation with Jeff Holmes
"This is a delightful record, funny, quirky, personal jazz. Jeff's piano is informed by many styles and genres (as is his writing), hints of Gospel, Evans, Monk, Shorter, Latin and Herbie have all found a happy home in Jeff's brain, as have we the happy listeners." - Arturo O'Farrill Scratch the surface of any veteran jazz musician’s persona and you’ll find many facets. To be a professional musician, he or she must usually find time to be a composer, arranger, accompanist, performer,...
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Podcast 307: A Conversation with Matthew Silberman
Close your eyes and picture the jazz quintet. A classic arrangement of musicians – saxophone, trumpet, piano, bass, drums. Now open your eyes and check out Matthew Silberman’s latest quintet. Saxophone, bass, drums – and two guitars? What is this, a bar band in your local rock club? No, it’s all part of this promising young player’s vision for his band. “I was thinking of using one guitarist as another horn player and the other as a keyboard player,” he said. “One is dealing a more with...
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Podcast 306: A Conversation with Gilson Schachnik
Normal 0 MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 "Gilson Schachnik is an artist for the 21st century. [He] creates the kind of all-encompassing jazz mix that fans of the music's new world order now demand: entertaining, uncliched and flavored with tastes from around the world." – Bob Young When you want to talk about the music of Antonio Carlos Jobim, it’s best to find a Brazilian musician with whom you have the conversation. And that’s what I did when I spoke with keyboardist Gilson Schachnik, an...
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Podcast 305: A Conversation with Bob Belden
Bob Belden says of his latest release, Transparent Heart, “This record is not a jazz record, it's about my life in Manhattan“, and you know something is up. The Grammy-winning saxophone player has been acclaimed as an arranger, composer, bandleader and producer. He has been intimately involved in the award-winning reissue project of the Miles Davis catalogue, writing illuminating liner notes. He even had a short stint as head of A&R for Blue Note Records (listen to the interview to hear his...
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Podcast 302: Jazzin' on Radiohead - Happy Birthday, Thom...
Let me preface this posting but saying this – I don’t “get” Radiohead. I’ve seen them live – they opened for R.E.M. – and I’ve listened multiple times to almost all of their albums. I’ve read a ton about their masterpiece, OK Computer, and tried to bring that to my listening. And still – I don’t get Radiohead. But lots of jazz artists seem to. So since Thom Yorke, the frontman and co-writer of much of the group’s material turns 44 years old today, I thought it was about time to do one of my...
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Podcast 308: "Jumpin' Jazz Kids"
As a kid, I was first exposed to music by listening to records like “Tubby the Tuba”, “Peter and the Wolf” and “A Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra.” These were the recordings that introduced me to the joys of sound, and also of collecting records. I kind of wish Mark Oblinger had been working back in the early Sixties when I could have profited from his work. A former member of rock band Firefall, he has had a long history of award winning work as a songwriter, composer, producer and...
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Podcast 311: A Conversation with Juanito Pascal
For most jazz listeners, flamenco music officially became part of the jazz canon with the 1981 release of Friday Night in San Francisco, a live album by fusion masters Al Di Meola and John McLaughlin, joined by Spanish guitarist Paco de Luca. Their 1980 concert was described by jazz author and critic Walter Kolosky as "a musical event that could be compared to the Benny Goodman Band's performance at Carnegie Hall in 1938” and perhaps “the most influential of all live acoustic guitar albums"....
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Podcast 301: A Conversation with Dr. Leonard Brown
Normal 0 MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 John Coltrane’s 86th birthday would have been last week, and as part of the Straight No Chaser celebration of the great saxophonist, I spoke with Dr. Leonard Brown, the editor of John Coltrane and Black America’s Quest for Freedom: Spirituality and the Music, released in August 2010 by Oxford University Press. Dr. Brown will be a part of a major program at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, entitled The Second Great Migration and Music: The John Coltrane...
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Podcast 300: "Straight, No Chaser"
This is the 300th podcast for my show! It hardly seems possible that when I started eight years ago I would have this much to show for it, and over 1.1 million downloads from around the world. To celebrate, I thought I would take a moment to examine the song from which the blog takes its title - "Straight, No Chaser" by Thelonious Monk. The tune was originally recorded by Monk for Blue Note Records in 1951, and was written as a basic 12 bar blues in B flat. Much of its longevity comes from...
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Podcast 312: A "Telegraph Avenue" Mixtape
When Michael Chabon’s novel Telegraph Avenue was published, I knew that there would be a podcast in it for us all. The novel, set in 2004, has at its center the relationship between Archy Stallings and Nat Jaffe. Archy is black, Nat is white and Jewish and the pair have been the proprietors of Brokeland Records, a used record store located in North Oakland, on Telegraph Avenue. The plot is not nearly as important as their conversations about jazz, and in particular, the type of soul-jazz...
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Podcast 303: A Conversation with Rio Sakairi
Rio Sakairi is a major figure in the New York City jazz scene today. As the Director of Programming at The Jazz Gallery, she has created an internationally recognized breeding ground for blossoming musical talent, helping to launch the careers of dozens of today’s finest young players. When a 9.0-magnitude earthquake struck off the coast of Japan on March 11, 2011, spawning devastating tsunamis and a subsequent nuclear crisis, Ms. Sakairi, who was born and raised in Tsuchiura, Ibaraki (just...
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Podcst 304: A Conversation with Joe Fiedler
In March of this year, I had a conversation with Conrad Herwig, and we talked about the state of the trombone today. We agreed that there may be a renaissance of sorts happening for the instrument, with any number of top ‘bone players getting to lead bands and release recordings as frontmen. Further proof for this thesis can be found with the release of Joe Fiedler’s Big Sackbut, which puts together a quartet composed of three – count ‘em, three – trombone players and a tuba to create a...
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Happy Birthday, John Coltrane!
September 23 marks the anniversary of the birth of John William Coltrane in Hamlet, North Carolina. His impact on the world of jazz is still being felt three quarters of a century later. One of the more unusal aspects of Coltrane's legacy is the founding of the St.John Coltrane African Orthodox Church in San Francisco. Quoting from their webpage: Founders Archbishop Franzo King and Reverend Mother Marina King began this work in 1971 under the name of “One Mind Temple Evolutionary...
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Repost: L'Shanah Tovah and All That Jazz
Today is the Jewish holiday of Rosh Hashanah, the celebration of the New Year 5774. The traditional greeting for the day is "L'Shanah Tovah" - "A Good Year". Bassist David Chevan of the Afro-Semitic Experience has been working on some jazzed up versions of music associated with the High Holidays for the past few years. I' ve written before about his CDs Days of Awe and Yizkhor: Music of Memory, both of which are full of traditional materials done in the fascinating way he and his partner,...
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Podcast 298: A Conversation with Duduka Da Fonseca
Drummer/Composer Duduka Da Fonseca is a blender, set at high speed. The Brazilian drummer (born in Rio De Janeiro in 1951), who arrived in New York City in 1975, has been actively exploring the perfect marriage and mixture of jazz and samba since forming his first Samba Jazz trio as a precocious 14 year old (a band he called "Bossa Trio"), with brother Miguel on bass. Over the years Da Fonseca has becomea master at combining these seemingly disparate worlds, and has emerged as oneof the...
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Northampton Jazz Festival to Captivate the "Paradise...
The second annual Northampton Jazz Festival will be presented on Saturday, September 15from 11 a.m. - 8 p.m.in downtown Northampton, Massachusetts. Building on the success of the inaugural event, the NJF will feature two stages on Hampton Ave (behind Thorne’s Market) and a space in the Market. Known as the "Paradise City", Northampton, MA offers a lifestyle rich in cultural, artistic, academic, and business resources. It's downtown center, where the festival takes place, is one of the most...
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Podcast 297: A Conversation with Oliver Lake
Some people know how to throw a birthday bash. Noted saxophonist/poet/painter/all-around good guy Oliver Lake will celebrate his 70th birthday this week with a series of shows in New York. The winner of a Guggenheim Fellowship in 1993, Lake has executed commissions for the Pro Musica Chamber Orchestra and the Brooklyn Philharmonic; arranged for Bjrk, Lou Reed and A Tribe Called Quest; collaborated with poets, choreographers, and international musicians; led his own Steel Quartet and Big...
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Podcast 296: A Conversation with John Pizzarelli
John Pizzarelli has become one of today’s “Voices of Jazz” in the media, by virtue of his non-stop appearances onstage and in the recording studio. Yes, that’s even him on the omnipresent Foxwoods Resorts Casino ads on television. Normal 0 MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 st1\:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in...
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Podcast 299: A Conversation with Jeremiah Abiah
Is “Stretch Music” is the new Next Big Thing in Jazz, and perhaps music in general? I had discussions about the music released recently by Robert Glasper and Christian Scott with several writers covering the Detroit International Jazz Festival earlier this month, and they all felt that a number of jazz musicians are whipping up a tasty brew of modern jazz, neo-soul, hip-hop and downtempo chill music that defies categorization. Part of this trend is the use of jazz musicians by Soul/R&B...
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Podcast 295: Detriot Jazz Festival Preview
A four day free jazz festival in the heart of one of America’s greatest cities? Featuring Sonny Rollins, Pat Metheny, Terence Blanchard, Wynton Marsalis, Wayne Shorter, Gary Burton, Chick Corea and more? Did I mention it was free? Count me in! The 33rd annual Detroit Jazz Festival, presented by Chrysler, features this one-of-a-kind lineup of today’s greatest jazz performers. The performers at this year’s festival have been nominated for and won more than 200 Grammy Awards, and won a...
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Podcast 294: A Conversation with Luciana Souza
A new CD from Brazilian singer Luciana Souza is always good news. Two new CDs on the same day is reason to celebrate. For ten years Ms. Souza has been releasing CDs as a leader, earning four Grammy-nominations (Brazilian Duos, North and South, Duos II, and Tide). She has also been widely in demand by other artists, most notably Herbie Hancock, who showcased her on his Grammy-winning River- The Joni Letters. After a three-year hiatus from recording, Ms.Souza returns to Sunnyside Records with...
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50 Years Ago Today: Gordon Gives Us "Go!"
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Podcast 293: A Conversation with Ginny Carr
The art of the vocal jazz group has a long history. Early singing groups that came out of the swing era like the Andrews Sisters or the Boswell Sisters pioneered the idea of close vocal harmony taking the lead over an instrumental jazz band. Male groups such as the Ink Spots (”Stompin’ at the Savoy, “That Cat is High”) and Mills Brothers (“Tiger Rag”, “Chinatown My Chinatown”) certainly had elements of jazz in their singing as far back as 1931. The Four Freshman were highly influenced by the...
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Podcast 292: Jazz for the Dog Days
This went over so well last year, I thought I'd bring it back for another try! It's summer in New England, so why not some lazy music for these lazy, hot days? Today is August 16th, the feast day of Saint Roch, the patron saint of Dogs, so why not celebrate the "Dog Days"? The Romans referred to the dog days as diēs caniculārēs and associated the hot weather with the star Sirius. They considered Sirius to be the "Dog Star" because it is the brightest star in the constellation Canis Major...
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Wedding Day for My Son
My son Matthews gets married today in Maine, and I couldn't be happier or prouder. He is marrying his Anna, who he met in college and has been with since. They are making a home for themselves near Freeport, Maine (L.L. Bean here I come!) and my family and friends will be heading up that way for the festivities. The photo you see is the site of the ceremony. I had to find a jazz-oriented track for today, so I tabbed a "Wedding March - Slow Waltz" from Charles Mingus' Cumbia and Jazz Fusion...
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Podcast 291: Happy 70th Birthday Jack DeJohnette
Jack DeJohnette, one of the most influential and talented percussionists of the past 100 years, turns 70 years old today. A series of concerts in his native Chicago will take place this fall to honor the newly minted septuagenarian, but today is the day we honor him with a “mixtape” podcast of his recordings. From his earliest moments as a jazz musician, DeJohnette has been in demand by the most talented, adventurous and demanding players. Within his first few years as a professional he was...
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Marvin Hamlisch (1944-2012)
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Podcast 290: "Bridge Over Troubled Water"
Having been brought up on a steady diet of Simon & Garfunkel on my Dad's car stereo, I find that "Bridge Over Troubled Water" is a song I always enjoy hearing performed in new and different ways, so long as it remains true to its gospel-tinged roots. The song surely must be considered a modern standard. Paul Simon wrote the song when he was in a period of great personal reflection, as he was on the rocks with his partner Art Garfunkel and was questioning what musical direction to follow...
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24 Hours of Pops
Tune in on August 4th as WKCR-FM celebrate the true birthday (although he believed it to be one month prior) of Jazz great and American Hero, the trumpeter and vocalist, Louis Armstrong, with 24 hours of Armstrong's music. Louis was born in New Orleans at the turn of the century, and grew up surrounded by a vibrant musical culture, informed by the rags of Scott Joplin and the funeral marches that made up the New Orleans music scene. Louis was a featured soloist with King Oliver's Creole Jazz...
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Podcast 289: A Conversation with John Abercrombie
From fusion to dreamy modern sounds to straight ahead jazz, John Abercrombie has led the way as one of the finest guitarists in the business. Since 1974 he has recorded almost exclusively for Manfred Eicher’s ECM label, and has made memorable duo, trio (particularly with the band Gateway) and quartet albums with varying instrumental composition. For his jazziest record in years, Abercrombie has assembled some of his favorite collaborators – drummer Joey Baron, saxophonist Joe Lovano, and...
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"Nancy (With the Laughing Face)"
Readers of this blog know that eery year on my lovely wife Nancy's birthday, I post a recording of "Nancy (With the Laughing Face)", written by Phil (Sgt. Bilko) Silvers and Jimmy Van Heusen, and made famous by Frank Sinatra. This year's version is a mellow take by saxophone legend Ben Webster from his The Warm Moods CD. Originally released in 1960, the tenor player is joined by Don Bagley on bass, Frank Capp on drums, Don Trenner on piano, and a string section arranged and conducted by...
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Podcast 288: A Conversation with Anat Cohen
When Downbeat magazine’s Critics Poll appeared earlier this month, to no one’s surprise, Anat Cohen captured the award as Best Clarinet player, and earned the Rising Star award on Tenor Saxophone. She was a dual winner at the Jazz Journalists’ Awards for Clarinetist of the Year and Multi-reeds Player of the Year. She is an inspiring performer and composer, and is at the top of her game on any number of instruments. She is also an entrepreneur, as she and her partner Oded Lev-Ari have created...
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Around the Internet: Jazz Innovations from an...
Saxophonist Steve Newsome writes a blog "created to reach out to fellow sax players and musicians committed to sharing ideas about the soprano saxophone." Sounds like a good idea to me. A recent posting is great reading, so I thought I would share the link with you. Entitled "Jazz Innovations from an Economist’s Perspective", it uses Chicago University economist David Galenson's article "Old Masters and Young Geniuses: The Two Life Cycles of Human Creativity," to define two types of...
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Old Jewish Trumpeters Never Die, They Just Move to South...
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Podcast 286: 92Y Jazz in July Preview - A Conversation...
It’s July in New York, which means its time for the 92nd Street Y’s “Jazz in July” series of concerts (July 16-26), curated for the eighth year by pianist Bill Charlap. This year’s series of six events will feature dazzling jazz performed by some of the finest soloists and ensembles in jazz. There will be themed nights (tributes to Richard Rodgers, Bill Eavns and Art Blakey) and a wide variety of contributing musicians, ranging from Charlap’s long-time trio of Kenny Washington and Peter...
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Podcast 287: A Conversation with Peter Cincotti
Singer-songwriter-pianist Peter Cincotti was the darling of the jazz media when he made his recording debut at the age of 18. His eponymous first album showed him to be a crooner of the first order, and a piano player with one foot in boogie-woogie and another in straight-ahead jazz. Ten years later, Cincotti has moved well beyond the persona that singers like Michael Buble have assumed, and writes and records his own material, sometimes with a jazz feel, and other times with a pop or R&B...
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Lionel Batiste (1931-2012)
Lionel Batiste, the vocalist, bass drummer and assistant leader of the Treme Brass Band, has died. He was 81. Fans of the HBO series “Treme” (truh-MAY) may not have known Batiste by name, but they often saw him close up. He was the skinny guy with the big drum in the band, one of the acts regularly featured on the show. Batiste, known as “Uncle Lionel,” had been ill for about a month, said band leader Benny Jones Sr. He said Batiste had been with the band since it was formed in 1995, but had...
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What I Saw at Saratoga 2012
The 35th Freihofer's Saratoga Jazz Festival was (as usual) a great two days of music, food and fun. This year's festival was also graced by the best weather in years, with nothing but blue skies and sunshine. My wife Nancy chronicled the various acts we saw over the two days and two stages with a great slide show you can access by clicking here, with a soundtrack supplied by Festival closing act Rombone Shorty. I hope you'll dig watching it on YouTube as much as we dug watching it live! As...
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The Official Straight No Chaser Song of Independence Day
American Independence Day 2012. We celebrate with cookouts, fireworks and concerts, but often fail to recall the brave words that were written by our forefathers in Philadelphia in 1776: When, in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bonds which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the laws of nature and of nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the...
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Podcast 284: Bill Evans on My Mind
The recent release of Live at Art D'Lugoff's Top of the Gate by Resonance Records offers listeners a table at the front of the stage for a stellar performance by one of jazz's greatest trios. It's October 23, 1968 in Greenwich Village, and legendary pianist Bill Evans is joined by bassist Eddie Gomez and drummer Marty Morell for two top-notch sets, represented here in their entirety. Aired only once, on Columbia University radio station WKCR-FM, this concert hasn't been heard for more than...
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My Vacation Starts at "The Wall"
Nancy and I start our summer vacation tonight by heading down to Hartford to catch Roger Waters’ “The Wall” extravaganza. Since Pink Floyd is one of the few 70’s rock demi-gods I have not seen in the flesh (pardon the pun, all you Floyd-heads), this should be some real fun. Jazz and Pink Floyd have crossed paths a few times now. The best of the results has been Jazz Side of the Moon, featuring Sam Yahel (Hammond B3 organ), Seamus Blake (tenor sax), Ari Hoenig (drums), and Mike Moreno...
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Podcast 283: Saratoga Jazz Festival Preview, Part II - A...
I first heard Hailey Niswanger when she played the Gazebo Stage at the Freihofer’s Saratoga Jazz Festival two years ago. Barely out of her teens, she played with great poise and elegance, using her alto sax to lay out long, lyrical solos and leading a quartet with great aplomb. The audience loved her. Two years later, as the festival celebrates the various acts that graced the Gazebo Stage with return gigs, Hailey is one of the acts I will most want to see. Her latest CD, The Keeper, shows...
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Around the Internet: "30 Platters of Jazz Perfection"
Tom Reney is the King of Western Massachusetts jazz radio, and his blog always presents good and interesting reading. Today he posts a dream list of jazz custs called "30 Platters of Jazz Perfection" As with any list of the greatest songs, it's highly personal and as a result, full of songs I would have left out and others I would have put in. Check out his list on his blog, and leave a comment there (or here) as to what you think belongs on the list and why. These are instrumental tracks...
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Around the Internet: A Must Read - "This one’s for all...
I found this article on line at the Ottowa Citizen website (who knew?) and wanted to amke sure anyone who has friends,family or significant others who are anti-jazz have a chance to read it. Pass this one along! Peter Hum does a great job of explaining to the non-jazz fan why jazz is a vital, exciitng and even fun music form. He writes, in part: Over the years, I’ve seen jazz dissed from every direction. It’s been slammed as old music for old people, too safe and staid. And yet, for others...
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Podcast 282: Saratoga Jazz Festival Preview, Part I - A...
My musical summer can begin on June 30th, with the 35th annual Freihofer’s Saratoga Jazz Festival takes place at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center (SPAC) in New York. If New Orleans is “The Big Easy”, then this festival should be known as “The Big Hang”, with two days of wonderful vibes, two stages of world-class music, food, crafts and general fun. And who will be featured on the Main Stage this year? I’m glad you asked. Saturday kicks off with Mario Abney & the Abney Effect, followed by...
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Repost: "Too Darn Hot" on a Friday
It was last July that I posted this entry, and it's more than appropriate for today, with 3 straight days of 90 degree weather in Western Massachusetts on these first few days of summer. Here in Western Massachusetts the mercury in the ol' thermometer ha hit well over 90 degrees all week, with no relief in sight for the weekend. That won't stop Nancy and me from seeing Lucinda Williams and Amos Lee in a dual-headlining concert Saturday night, though. It's worth pointing out that Lee is...
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2012 JJA Jazz Awards Winners Announced: Sonny Dominates
Sonny Rollins, saxophone colossus, was the big winner of the 2012 Jazz Journalists Association Jazz Awards, announced this afternoon at a gala party at the Blue Note Jazz Club in New York City. The tenor saxophonist was named Musician of the Year, his albumRoad Shows, Vol. 2chosen as Best Record of the Year and he was judged Best Tenor Saxophonist, too. Rollins will be one of the headliners at the Detroit Jazz Festival this Labor Day Weekend. Horace Silver, who at age 84 is residing in an...
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Around the Internet: Funky16Corners 2012 Pledge Drive /...
I've spread the news about the wonderful blog Funky16Corners on this site many times, and if you haven't checked it out, now is the time. The annual "Pledge Drive" is underway, so that they can raise money to keep the music coming to you gratis. For me, the highlight of the postings on the blog are the "mixtapes" of old jazz-soul that routinely pop up for the downloading. This time its Funky16Corners Presents: Greasy Spoon - Hammond Organ 45s from the Old School, a collection of sensational...
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75 Years Ago Today: "Hellhound On My Trail"
Seventy-five years ago today, a major piece of musical history took place in a makeshift studio at the Brunswick Record Building in Dallas, Texas. June 20th, 1937 was the day that a little known blues guitar player named Robert Johnson had his second of two recording sessions that resulted in 13 all-time classic songs, including "Love in Vain", Traveling Rierside Blues" and "Hellhound on My Trail". This was one of two recording sessions Johnson would do in his brief life. He was dead at 27,...
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Celebrate Juneteenth with "Oh Freedom"
Juneteenth, also known as Freedom Day or Emancipation Day, is a holiday in the U.S. honoring African-American heritage by commemorating the announcement of the abolition of slavery in the State of Texas in 1865. Celebrated on June 19, it is recognized as a state holiday or state holiday observance in 41 states of the United States. The celebrating allows me to share a righteous track from Cynthia Felton's latest CD, Freedom Jazz Dance. The talented singer has recorded an album containing...
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Podcast 280: Jazzin' on Paul McCartney at 70
Paul McCartney’s latest CD, Kisses on the Bottom (insert rear end joke here) was not really a jazz record, but with support from Diana Krall and her band, including Christian McBride, it was above-average Standards crooning. Calling it “the songs which inspired the songs”, he selected tunes that a young McCartney heard his father playing on piano when growing up in Liverpool. Now at the age of 70, the man called “Macca” has attempted almost every type of music in his musical career, from...
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The Official SNC Song of Father's Day: "Song for My...
Father’s Day is here and the Official Straight No Chaser Song of Father’s Day is, of course, Horace Silver’s “Song for My Father”. A hard bop classic, the original was released in 1965 and featured Silver on piano, Joe Henderson playing the unmistakable melody on sax, Carmell Jones doubling Henderson on trumpet, Teddy Smith on bass and Paul Humphries on drums. It’s got a Brazilian flavor to it, a Bossa Nova bounce that has become a well-deserved standard. The cover artwork pictured here...
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Podcast 281: A Conversation with Hey Rim Jeon
Hey Rim Jeon has been on the radar for a number of years as a pianist, composer and educator to watch. That promise is being fulfilled as Ms. Jeon has just released Introducing Hey Rim Jeon, her first set for NCoded Music and distributed by RED, a division of Sony Music Entertainment. In conjunction with the release, Hey Rim will present "An Evening of Original and Classic Jazz" at Scullers Jazz Club in Boston, MA on Tuesday, June 19 at 8:30 PM. Born in Korea, Ms. Jeon’s fascination with...
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Something to "Believe" In
My favorite “super group”, The Cookers, is back with Believe, their third recording in as many years. This septet, which is composed of a group of musicians who are all leaders in their own right, includes Billy Harper (tenor sax), Craig Handy (alto sax), Dr. Eddie Henderson (trumpet), David Weiss (trumpet), George Cables (piano), Cecil McBee (bass), and Billy Hart (drums). Besides their history as members of seminal jazz groups like Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers and Herbie Hancock’s...
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For those Jazz Lovin' Dads
I rarely do blatantly commercial postings about products, but this new collection of - well, collections - requires me to call it to your attention. If you are looking for something special for that Jazz lovin' Dad of yours, you might look no farther than a series of "Complete" Albums on CD that have come out through True Blue Music. Who wouldn't love to have The Complete Columbia Studio Albums of hte Dave Brubeck Quartet? This captures the seminal band at its best, with Paul Desmond on sax....
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Happy 80th Birthday to Oliver Nelson
Oliver Nelson needs to be regarded by music listeners as one of the most significant jazz voices of his generation, and an important big band player, composer and arranger. Had he not died suddenly of a heart attack at the age of 43, he would be celebrating his 80th birthday today. He began playing with likes of Louis Jordan, “Wild Bill” Davis or Louie Bellson , then served as the house arranger for the Apollo Theatre in Harlem. In 1961 he released one of my favorite albums, The Blues and...
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Podcast 285: Yidstock!
The Yiddish Book Center, located in Amherst, Massachusetts, is a great cultural jewel, serving as a repository and place of advocacy for the left-for-dead language of Jewish Eastern Europe. They will host “Yidstock!", from July 11-15, a multi-day festival of new Yiddish music including musical performances, music-related films, lectures, exhibitions and other events culminating in two days of concerts featuring some of the top names in klezmer and Yiddish music. Klezmer music and jazz have...
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Podcast 279: A Conversation with Bob Wolfman
Bob Wolfman has been an exciting guitar player in New York, and then after his time at Berklee School of Music, in Boston, but has never gotten much national attention. Equally at home with blues or jazz styles, he is a well-known teacher in New England, and has been in demand in the clubs in and around Boston. That will hopefully change with his latest release, Transition. A CD that moves wildly from fusion to blues to torch songs, it features an outstanding band that has given Wolfman the...
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Podcast 278: A Conversation with Grgoire Maret
"Grgoire Maret is an exceptional young musician who is taking the harmonica to an exciting new place in jazz." - Pat Metheny Great jazz musicians who play non-traditional instruments are few and far between. One can think of Edmar Castaneda and Brandee Younger (harp); Jean Luc Fillon (oboe); and Steve Turre (conch shell). Cello players like Erik Friedlander, Peggy Lee and Fred Lonberg-Holm have topped critics’ polls for years. While the tuba was one of the founding instruments of jazz, today...
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A Song for Memorial Day: "The Ballad of the Fallen"
Today is Memorial Day in America, a time to pause and reflect on those in our armed forces who paid the ultimate price in serving their country. Formerly known as Decoration Day, it originated after the American Civil War to commemorate fallen Union soldiers. By the 20th century Memorial Day had been extended to honor all Americans who have died in all wars. Other than arrangements of certain military anthems and patriotic songs, there are not a lot of appropriate songs to post on a jazz...
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Donna Summer (1948 – 2012)
Legendary disco singer Donna Summer died today after a battle with cancer. Often called the Queen of Disco, her sound was a mix of genres, and helped her earn Grammy Awards in the dance, rock, R&B and inspirational categories. 1975's "Love to Love You Baby," written by Summer and produced by long-time collaborator Giorgio Moroder, brought her worldwide fame (and infamy) due to its use of synthezied beats and sexual conent. The song appeared in both a 17 minute album version and shorter...
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Podcast 276: A Conversation with Ralph Peterson, Jr.
Ralph Peterson had just gotten his grades into the registrar at the Berklee College of Music in Boston when we talked last week. However, the talented drummer, composer, and educator was not headed for any restful summer vacation. Instead, he is preparing for the release of his 16th CD as a leader, The Duality Perspective, and a 50th birthday party at Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola in New York on May 21st. The venerable drummer, who has collaborated with the likes of Terence Blanchard, Branford...
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Podcast 277: A Conversation with Brandon Wright
It’s a treat to hear a musician coming into his own. A few listens to Journeyman, the second CD release from Brandon Wright, gives you a chance to hear a saxophonist who has the verve and fire to become a major player. His debut CD, Boiling Point, featured his tenor sax alongside trumpeter Alex Sipiagin. Two years later, he’s the sole front man in a quartet with David Kikoski (piano); Boris Kozlov (bass); and Donald Edwards (drums). The New Jersey native has been a solid contributor and...
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Podcast 275: Burlington Jazz Festival Preview
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Happy 100th Birthday, Gil Evans!
Today is the 100th anniversary of the birth of Ian Gilmore Green, better known to jazz fans as Gil Evans, one of the greatest arrangers, conductors and composers in jazz history. I think it’s safe to say that only Duke Ellington, rivaled Gil for his contributions to large ensemble music, as both created new sounds, harmonies and textures in the jazz orchestra sound. After using new and different instrumentation with the orchestra of his mentor Claude Thornhill, Evans worked with Miles Davis...
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The Official SNC Song of Mother's Day: "Mom's Song" by...
Recorded Apr 25, 1999, this is a live performance of a top quartet - Alto saxophonist George Robert, pianist Kenny Barron, bassist Rufus Reid, and drummer Kenny Washington -performing in Lausanne, Switzerland. The second song that night was a lovely ballad that Robert had composed to honor his late mother, who had passed away two years earlier. "Mom's Song" from the album Inspiration is the Official Straight No Chaser Song of Mother's Day, so be sure to share this with your mom, or pause to...
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Podcast 274: With a South American Sway
Maybe it’s the fallout from International Jazz Day, or the onset of warmer weather, but I’ve been increasingly drawn to releases with a Brazilian or South American sound. The weather in New England has been rainy, so perhaps these mellow sounds will chase away the clouds and give us some much needed late spring sunshine. What better reasons for Podcast 274, which features tracks from several of those releases, including: Receita De Samba – “E Lux O” from Receita De Samba. Receita De Samba...
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Podcast 273: A Conversation with Ryan Truesdell
May 13 will be the 100th anniversary of the birth of Gil Evans, one of Jazz’s greatest bandleader/composer/arrangers. First as a member of, and arranger for, the highly influential Claude Thornhill Orchestra in the early 1940’s, and then as a long-time collaborator with Miles Davis, Evans re-wrote the book on instrumentation and sound for jazz combos. It would not be an overstatement to suggest that there might not have been a “cool jazz” or even a “modal jazz” sound without Evans. In 1942,...
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A Stunning Finish to International Jazz Day at the...
“Jazz ... that’s America’s only true indigenous art form. It’s our classical music, you’ve got to remember that…It’s the heart and soul of American music and we can’t afford to let it slip into obscurity.” – Quincy Jones at International Jazz Day at the United Nations. Co-host Quincy Jones’ comments set the tone for the closing concert of International Music Day, a musical extravaganza on the floor of the General Assembly of the United Nations in New York. The show, featuring many of jazz’s...
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Doing My Part On International Jazz Day
At 8:15 this morning, musicians, students and others (that means me) were asked to perform Herbie hancock's "Watermelon Man" with Hancock via streaming video. Here is my faithful, if a bit clumsy, bass part for the song. Special guest appearances in the video from my dogs Angus and Hamish.
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Podcast 272: A Conversation with Steve Kuhn
Despite a tremendous body of work, pianist Steve Kuhn remains somewhat an afterthought when the great pianists of the past fifty years are named. From his days backing greats like Kenny Dorham, John Coltrane, and Art Farmer; through his days recording trio and solo albums of almost universal excellence, he has been a player and composer of integrity and style. His tenure living and playing in Scandinavia in the sixties coincided with the development of the European style of jazz, captured so...
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Celebrate International Jazz Day Tomorrow!
The inaugural International Jazz Day will be celebrated by millions worldwide on Monday, April 30, and will begin with an all-star sunrise concert in New Orleans' Congo Square, the birthplace of jazz and culiminate with a sunset concert at the United Nations. Presented by UNESCO in partnership with the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz, International Jazz Day will encourage and highlight intercultural dialogue and understanding through jazz, America's greatest contribution to the world of...
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Pops Plays One More Time!
A live recording of Louis Armstrong playing his trumpet for one of the last times is being released to the public for the first time. The recording is being played Friday at the National Press Club in Washington where it was created in January 1971. Armstrong was a featured performer celebrating the inauguration of fellow Louisiana native Vernon Louviere as president of the club. The performance was a comeback of sorts. Armstrong had been in poor health and didn't play for much of 1970. But...
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Podcast 271: Israeli Jazz Musicians
Today is Yom Ha'atzmaut (Hebrew for "Independence Day") and commemorates Israel's declaration of Independence in 1948. It was preceded yesterday by Yom Hazikaron, the Israeli Fallen Soldiers and Victims of Terrorism Remembrance Day. Yom Ha'atzmaut centres around the declaration of the establishment of the State of Israel by The Jewish Leadership led by future Prime Minister, David Ben-Gurion, just 8 hours before the end of the British Mandate of Palestine.The operative paragraph of the...
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Charles Neville to Perform Benefit for Northampton Jazz...
New Orleans Saxophone legend Charles Neville brings his big sound to The Northampton Center for the Arts on Friday April 27th from 6-9 PM for an intimate evening of Jazz, storytelling, and fine food. This Grammy Award winning artist will take the audience on sonic journey while Spoleto will round out the evening with the type of culinary delights that have made them a Valley favorite for so many years. While there audience members can check out the salon area whereProvisions will be...
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Shakespeare and All That Jazz
As an English major at Clark University (Class of '77) I spent many a fond moment with one of my favorite professors, Dr. Virginia Vaughan discussing the Immortal Bard, William Shakespeare. Although Shakespeare's birthdate is inknown, it is traditionally celebrated on April 23, St. George's Day. He was born 448 years ago today. And whither, you might ask, does this great writer intersect with Jazz? Look no further than the 1964 album by Cleo Laine, Shakespeare and All That Jazz, arranged and...
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50 Years Ago Today: "Jazz Samba" Kickstarts the Bossa...
Verve released Jazz Samba, a collaboration between saxophonsit Stan Getz and guitarist Charlie Byrd fifty years ago today. Jazz Samba was the first major bossa-nova album on the American jazz scene, and the real start of the bossa-nova excitement in America, which peaked in the mid-1960s. They were joined by two bassists (Keter Betts and Charlie's brother, Gene (Joe) Byrd), and two drummers (Buddy Deppenschmidt and Bill Reichenbach) for the recording, which took place at All Souls Church...
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Levon Helm (1940-2012)
I had tickets to see Levon Helm and his band at a local theatre tomorrow night. I'll never get the chance to see him. Helm, one of the core members of The Band, passed away today from cancer. He was 71. As Jon Pareles put it in his New York Times obituary: In Mr. Helm’s drumming, muscle, swing, economy and finesse were inseparably merged. His voice held the bluesy, weathered and resilient essence of his Arkansas upbringing in the Mississippi Delta...Mr. Helm gave his drums a muffled,...
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Podcast 270: A Conversation with Jay Hoggard
The highlight of the 11th Annual Wesleyan Jazz Orchestra Weekend, (and indeed, the entire New England jazz season) happens on Saturday, April 28, 2012 .Vibraphonist Jay Hoggard will be performing withpianist and organist James Weidmanand drummer Yoron Israel, joined by special guests, including Wesleyan Professor of Music andsaxophonistAnthony Braxton, percussionist Kwaku Kwaakye Martin Obeng,bassistSanti Debriano,woodwind player Marty Erlich, and harpist Brandee Younger,to perform Mr....
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Saying Happy 70th Birthday to Han Bennink
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Happy Jazz Day!
In April 2001, the National Museum of American History of the Smithsonian Institution launched the first Jazz Appreciation Month to honor both the legacy of America’s original art form and its relevance and importance as a part of modern American culture. Throughout the nation, schools, organizations, and local governments celebrate JAM with diverse events and concerts. This year, JAM highlights “the role of jazz and jazz advocates in crossing musical and cultural borders to support freedom,...
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Fifty Years Ago Today: The Dead in Europe 1972
For those of us who came of age musically in the 1970's, the 3 record album Europe '72 by the Grateful Dead was a major addition to our record collections. Not only was it one of the best cross-sections of the post-psychedlic Dead musically, but it also was a major financial commitment on our part-time job fed wallets. And let's not forget the iconic "Ice Cream Kid" picture that appearfed on the original album's back cover. The Grateful Dead's website has been celebrating the 50th...
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Mildred Bailey Needs Your Help!
An open letter to Wynton Marsalis caught my eye the other day, and I wanted to share some of it with you: My name is Julia Keefe, and I am a student at the Frost School of Music at the University of Miami in Coral Gables, FL, studying vocal jazz performance. I am also a member of the Nez Perce Indian Tribe. Shortly after I first became interested in jazz over ten years ago, I began researching the life of Bing Crosby, who also attended my high school, Gonzaga Prep, in Spokane, WA. I was...
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Repost: Music for Passover - "Go Down Moses"
Christian Holy Week includes the Jewish holiday of Passover this year, so this week will feature jazz musicof a spiritual nature. As the first Seder is tonight, celebrating the Exodus of the Israelites from slavery in Egypt under the leadership of the prophet Moses, I've gone into the category of music that was called "Negro Spirituals" when I was in school, and picked "Go Down Moses" Versions of the song seem to go back to 1862, when it was called "Oh! Let My People Go (The Song of the...
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Podcast 268: A Conversation with Ravi Coltrane
Ravi Coltrane, one of the finest exponents of expressive, improvisational saxophone, leads his latest quartet into Bowker Auditorium at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst, MA on Friday April 13. I’m psyched to have my tickets in hand, and proud that my employer, United Wealth Management Group is one of the sponsors of the concert. For those not aware of his pedigree, Coltrane is the second son of John and Alice Coltrane. His father, perhaps the most important saxophone player of the...
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Podcast 269: A Conversation with Joel Harrison
Joel Harrison is rapidly becoming on of jazz’s finest composers and arrangers. The guitarist has been steadily releasing albums of improvised music, while honing the crafts of composition and arrangement by merging the jazz sensibility with European art music formats. The results, most notably on his String Choir release celebrating the music of Paul Motian, can be moving and stimulating. Harrison has assembled an unusual septet for his latest CD, Search. In addition to Harrison’s guitar, he...
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Around the Internet: Bootleg Herbie
At the age of 71, Herbie Hancock shows no sign of letting up. Currently on tour with a quartet that includes Trevor Lawrence on drums, James Genus on electric bass and Lionel Loueke on guitar, the venerable pianist played a hit-laden show at the McCarter Theatre in Princeton, NJ last week. Through the magic of the internet, you can grab a listen at the wonderfl Jazz Blues and Co Bootleg site. Hancock serves as a UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador, and his first major initiative is to establish...
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Podcast 266: Inside Cadence Magazine
If you enjoy jazz magazines, Cadence Magazine should be on your radar (or tablet, since its available online as well as in print). Founded in 1976 by jazz critic and historian Bob Rusch, the magazine covers a range of styles, from early jazz and blues to the avant-garde. It was published on a monthly basis until October 2007, when it switched to a quarterly schedule with an increase in page numbers. In January 2011, Rusch announced that Cadence would cease publication with the...
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Podcast 267: Spirituality
Holy Week, commemorating Jesus’ arrival in Jerusalem followed by his Crucifixion and Resurrection. begins today for Christians all over the world. Today is also the Hindu festival of Rama Navami, celebrating the birth of Lord Rama, the seventh incarnation of the God Vishnu. For Jews, preparations are underway for the celebration of Passover on April 6th, the “Festival of Freedom,” recalling the Exodus from Egypt. That same day, Buddhists will celebrate Therevanda, the New Year’s festival,...
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Podcast 265: A Conversation with Lynne Arriale
"Some people write in their journals . . . I create my journal through music; expressing what I cannot put into words," – Lynne Arriale. After almost fifteen years of working exclusively within the trio and quartet formats, pianist Lynne Arriale has recorded her first solo CD. A strong player who has recorded both intimately structured originals and bold versions of pop songs, the new CD, simply entitled Solo, gives her a chance to stretch out on her own. The result is a set of tunes that...
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Around the Blogs: "Any Major Fusion" mixtape
I've raved about the must-visit site "Any Major Dude With Half a Heart" (dig that Steely Dan reference) before, and the latest mixtape they have posted is a must-have for jazz-rock fans. "Any Major Fusion, Vol.1" is a 16 track beauty that runs the gamut musically from the well-known (George Duke and Ramsey Lewis) to lesser-haerd gems (by the likes of Mezzoforte and Oliver Sain). Get it while its hot!
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An Evening for Clark Terry
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Podcast 264: A Conversation with Giacomo Gates
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Leon Spencer (1945-2012)
One of the masters of the might Hammond B-3 organ has passed away, with the recent death of Leon Spencer. Best known for his work with guitarist Melvin Sparks, who passed away last year, Spencer never really got his due as one of the founders of "acid jazz". Two read two wonderful commentaries on Spencer. go to Funky 16 Corners and Sound Insights, both excellent site for learnign about acid jazz. Click here to listen to Spencer tear it up with Sparks on "Thank You", a cover of the Sly Stone...
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Around the Blogs: What's the Matter With Kids Today?
My favorite jazz DJ is Tom Reney, whose "Jazz a la Mode" show on our local NPR affiliate, WFCR, never fails to satisfy. He also writes a blog that is worth your attention, and in particular a slightly horrifying posting today. I won't republish the whole thing here, but let you check it out yourself. But here's an eye-opening taste: I was a guest lecturer on jazz for two music appreciation classes at a private New England liberal arts college yesterday.You might say I had my work cut out for...
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Over One Million Served!
When I began podcasting and blogging over eight years ago, I never dreamed I would have a wonderful group of listeners who constantly check my pages to see what project I'm up to this time. This week, I'm pleased to announce that I passed one million downloads of podcasts and songs that have been posted on this site. Thank you to all those who listen, all who agree to talk with me, and those wonderful record companies and publicity people who ensure I have the latest and greatest to hear....
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Podcast 263: A Conversation with Conrad Herwig
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Robert Sherman (1926-2012)
"We don't like the dark side of things, and we want only to entertain people. We like singable songs as opposed to, say, performers' songs. We don't write for someone, we write for everyone." – Robert Sherman Robert Sherman, who with his brother Richard became the house composers for Disney films and theme parks for decades, has died at the age of 86. Nominated for nine Academy Awards, and winner of two, the Sherman brothers wrote the music for “Mary Poppins”, “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang”, “The...
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Podcast 262: Celebrating Wes Montgomery with an Historic...
Lost tapes of Wes Montgomery, the highly original and influential guitar player, have been discovered and restored. Resonance Records releases Echoes of Indiana Avenue - the first full album of previously unheard Montgomery music in over 25 years - on March 6, which would have been Montgomery's 88th birthday. Over a year and a half in the making, the release provides a rare, revealing glimpse of a bona fide guitar legend. The tapes are the earliest known recordings of Montgomery as a leader,...
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Program Your DVRs Now!
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Red Holloway (1927-2012)
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Podcast 261: SFJAZZ Collective is Wonder-ful
In a world of outsized personalities and vanity projects, the SFJAZZ Collective stands as a truly unique gathering of musicians. Every member of the Collective is a bandleader in his or her own right, and yet they check their egos at the door, so to speak, and enjoying working together to make memorable music. Launched in 2004 by SFJAZZ—the West Coast’s largest nonprofit jazz institution and the presenter of the annual San Francisco Jazz Festival—the Collective has become one of the most...
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Podcast 260: Re-Imagining Sondheim
Stephen Sondheim is among our greatest living composers, have spent more than sixty years collaborating with legends (Leonard Bernstein, Oscar Hammerstein, Jule Styne) and then becoming one himself, with ground breaking musical theatre pieces like “A Little Night Music”, “Follies”, “Company”, “Pacific Overtures” and “Sweeney Todd”. His songs have regularly been recorded by singers of from many genres, but until recently, there has been something of a dearth of instrumental jazz or classical...
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Around the Blogs: Miles...1950...Birdland
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Podcast 259: A Conversation with Laurence Hobgood
POEMJAZZ, the new CD recorded by Robert Pinsky and Laurence Hobgood on the Circumstantial Productions label represents a continuation of a tradition of jazz and the spoken word. Jack Kerouac teamed with pianist David Amram for memorable performances, as did Ken Nordine with the Fred Katz Group in the 1950’s. Lawrence Ferlinghetti collaborated with Stan Getz. More recently, Michael Mantler’s treatment of Edward Gorey’s texts in 2001’s The Hapless Child and Other Inscrutable Stories stretched...
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Podcast 258: A Brazilian Valentine's Day
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Around the Blogs: Jazz Standards Updated for the Modern...
Writer Andi Sharavsky reminds me that standards are not all they are cracked up to be in the 21st century. Or are they? I recently read a tongue-in-cheek column she wrote entitled "Jazz Standards Updated for the Modern Young Lady" on McSweeney's Internet Tendency site late last month. Her playlist? “I’ll be Seeing You (On Skype Until We Give Up On This Long-Distance Relationship)” “Someone to Watch Over Me (While I Pee in the Woods Behind This House Party)” “You Do Something to Me (But I...
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Music for Lovers: "Romance in the Dark" by Catherine...
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Music for Lovers: "Down With Love" by Amy Cervini
Blossom Dearie (1924-2009) was a jazz singer beloved by the cognoscenti from New York to London to Paris and beyond. Miles Davis and Gil Evans were among her famous fans and friends in the '50s, to be joined by John Lennon in the '60s. Dearie said her key influences included Ella Fitzgerald, Frank Sinatra and the team of George Burns & Gracie Allen; that, wrote jazz vocal authority Will Friedwald, was "a statement that speaks volumes about the nature of her music and the importance of humor...
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Music for Lovers: "Garota de Ipanema" by Ondine Darcyl
You know you have the vocal chops to make romantic music when your recordings are name checked in a published novel. Best-selling novelist Eric Jerome Dickey wrote about Ondine Darcylat length in his novelBetween Lovers: “ Back at the Hotel Bedford, after a long, hot bath, we ordered room service, lit candles, put my Ondine Darcyl CD in the player, listened to her soothing rendition of "Autumn Leaves", "La Vie en Rose" and "Black Orpheus," all in French, some with a Brazilian feel, all jazzy...
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Podcast 257: A Conversation with Tim Berne
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Podcast 256: A Conversation with Steve Tyrell
"He sings the great songs the way they should be sung." - Woody Allen Steve Tyrell has had a long journeyman's career in the music business, serving as record company executive, songwriter, and producer. But no one could have predicted the twist his career took in the late '90s. After he sang standards on the soundtracks of the films Father of the Bride (1991) and Father of the Bride 2 (1995), he joined a new wave of retro singers like Diana Krall and Jane Monheit, reinterpreting the Great...
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Music for Lovers: "Always and Forever" by Hulon
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Don Cornelius (1936-2012)
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Podcast 254: A Conversation with Charlie Hunter
Charlie Hunter has established himself as one of the premier modern fusion/jazz-rock artists. Hunter will often find a funk groove and turn it into an amplified, wah-wah pedal induced free jam that competes with saxophones, keyboards and even violins. Since the early 1990s, Hunter has released 17 acclaimed albums featuring his dizzying technical and virtuosic 8-string guitar playing. Hunter has collaborated with preeminent names such as Christian McBride, Michael Franti, Norah Jones, Kurt...
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Podcast 255: A Conversation with Myra Melford
February is the month when the Northampton Center for the Arts in Northampton, MA traditionally celebrates the art of jazz in a series of solo piano concerts by modern masters. In celebration of creative music, they will present “A World of Piano: 3 Jazz Masters” and welcome Satoko Fujii (February 3), Myra Melford (February 10) and Angelica Sanchez (February 17), all of whom have established international careers and who represent a broad range of approaches to the piano. The concerts,...
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Podcast 252: A Conversation with Thara Memory
PDX Jazz will honor trumpeter Thara Memory as the second annual Portland Jazz Master to kick off the 2012 US Bank Portland Jazz Festival Presented by Alaska Airlines on Friday, February 17that 7:30pm at the Winningstad Theatre. An influential performer and educator within the Portland community for over 40 years, Memory will use the occasion to present an ambitious, special program in tribute to his inspiration Miles Davis, entitled "Artfully Miles." The show will spotlight the landmark...
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Podcast 251: A Few of My Favorite Things 2011
I don't pretend to have the critical abilities to give you a "best of" list for any year in jazz, and there are always musical releases I fail to catch up with that likely would make a list. Instead, I've created a number of categories to give you some idea of my favorite recordings of 2011, and Podcast 251 features a selection or two from them. This year's Favorite Things include: Notable Releases Vince Mendoza - Nights on Earth Rez Abbisi’s Invocation – Suno Suno Marcus Strickland –...
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Etta James (1938-2012)
Etta James, the soul shaking singer who made "At Last" and “I'd Rather Go Blind” standards, has died,from complications from leukemia. She is survived byher husband, Artis Mills, and her sons, both of who played in her band. She would have turned 74 Wednesday. Throughout her career, James overcame a heroin addiction, opened for the Rolling Stones, won six Grammys (including a 1994 award for Best Jazz Vocal Performance for her album "Mystery Lady," and the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in...
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The Voice of Miles Lives
Friend of SNC and award-winning author David Fulmer has called to our attention a release that any audio-book loving jazz fan would want to check out: Dion Graham, who has done such a masterful job reading three of my books on audio, just sent me a few samples of his upcoming release of Miles: The Autobiography. If you ever heard Miles speak, you'll be amazed at Dion's spot-on rendition. If not, this is how Miles sounded when he spoke. If there were Golden Globes for this medium, Dion would...
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Podcast 253: Even More Wonder-ful
I'm getting psyched already for a performance by the SF Jazz Collective at the University of Massachusetts Fine Arts Center March 1, 2012. The all-star band - saxophonist Antonio Hart; trombonist Robin Eubanks, a two-time DownBeat “Trombonist of the Year”; trumpeter Avishai Cohen; Grammy-nominated vibraphonist Stefon Harris. pianist Edward Simon and two of the most in-demand sidemen on the international scene—bassist Matt Penman and Eric Harland, winner of DownBeat #1 Rising Star drummer for...
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A Wee Bit of Bowie
Rock Star/actor David Bowie turned 65 earlier this week. One of the great musical chameleons of our time – perhaps only Miles Davis tried more musical styles and guises during his career – he’s unfortunately something of a recluse these days, producing little new work. He’s left a body of recorded projects that dominate my iPod – I go nowhere without Ziggy Stardust, Station to Station, Low and ‘Heroes’. Jazz musicians haven’t spent much time on the Thin White Duke’s catalogue. Other than The...
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Sam Rivers (1923-2011)
Sam Rivers, the noted saxophone player, died on December 26, 2011 at his home in Orlando, Florida. He was 88 years old. He was among the finest free jazz improvisers of the late 1960’s. A close friend of the young Tony Williams, Rivers was recommended by the drummer to his boss Miles Davis, who added him to the developing Mile Davis Quintet in 1964. Their performances are captured on the album Miles in Tokyo, and show a band struggling to develop a musical identity. Not surprisingly, Wayne...
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Dynamic Duo
It takes real courage to record a jazz duo album. There’s no place to hide when it’s just you and your partner responsible for carrying the rhythm, the melody, and the timing. 2012 begins with a release from clarinetist Eddie Daniels and pianist Roger Kellaway, Live at the Library of Congress (IPO Records) that shows what the good things that can happen when individual virtuosos work together as a team, Given their instruments, it’s not a surprise that some tracks, particularly Gershwin’s...
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Podcast 250: A Conversation with Jimmy Owens
2012 is starting out with a bang for the venerable trumpet player Jimmy Owens. Jimmy will be honored as a NEA Jazz MasterTuesday, January 10, 2012 7:30pm at Rose Theaterpresented byJazzat Lincoln Center. Owens, Charlie Haden, Jack DeJohnette, Sheila Jordan and Von Freeman will be given the nation's highest honor in jazz. Owens will also be the recipient of the 2012 A.B. Spellman NEA Jazz Masters Award for Jazz Advocacy, primarily for his founding of the Jazz Musician's Emergency Fund, a...
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Podcast 249: Steve Cardenas Remembers Paul Motian
"I'm not a showpiece drummer. ... I feel like I'm an accompanist. It's my sort of thing to make the other people sound good, as good as they can be. I feel like I should accompany them, and I should accompany the sound that I am hearing and make it the best that I can — that I can do." – Paul Motian. The jazz world lost one of its greatest performers, composers and mentors earlier this year when Paul Motian passed away from complications of multiple myeloma. He was 80 years old. Motian...
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The Official Straight No Chaser Song of New Year's Day:...
New Year's Day - a day of hangovers, resolution writing, college football games, and general recovery. Nancy and I are off to her Cousin Jimmu's open house for an afternoon of family, cut-throat board games, and for the first time in many years, no college bowl games. They come tomorrow! A happy new year to one and all - let's toast2012 with a verse or two of "Let's Start the New Year Right"by Irving Berlin, sung here by that great crooner (and underrated influence on all jazz singers), Bing...
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The Official Straight No Chaser Song of New Year's Eve
My wife Nancy and I will try to go to a friend's party this New Year's Eve, after last year's plans were derailed by the sudden illness of our mini-dachsunds, Angus and Hamish. To all who are traveling on an evening that often becomes "amateur night" take extra care and pick that designated driver! Aperennial favorite song for New Year's Eve, and the Offical SNC Song of the eveningis Frank Loesser's classic, "What Are You Doing New Year's Eve?". Written in 1947, when Loesser was already an...
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Noted in Passing 2011
We lost more than our share of jazz (and jazz-related) men and women this year. We shouldn't let the hub bub of the holidays prevent us from remembering: Melvin Sparks, (pictured) 64, American jazz and soul guitarist; Paul Motian ,80, American jazz drummer and composer; Al Vega, 90, American jazz pianist.; Dixie Fasnacht, 101, American jazz singer, clarinetist and club owner.; Michael Garrick, 78, English jazz pianist and composer.; Jimmy Norman, 74, American rhythm and blues and jazz...
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Geri Allen's Music, Morris's Film Show the Holiday Spirit
Motma Music is proud to announce its collaboration with Media Voices for Children on a short film titled A Gift. Produced by Media Voices, the project is a new cultural music video set to music from jazz pianist Geri Allen's new Christmas album, A Child Is Born (released on Motma, October 11). Now available for viewing on YouTube, the filmmakers and Allen present the film as a gift to the public during this holiday season. In return, the public is encouraged to make donations to Media Voices...
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JazzWeek Jazz Chart—December 27, 2011
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The Official Straight No Chaser Song of Christmas Day:...
A Merry Christmas to you all.I ama practicing Jew who does not celebrate Christmas as the birth of the messiah. However, I can appreciate the universal themes of peace, love and understanding that are prevelant this time of year, and so the Offical Straight No Chaser song of Christmas Day is "Peace", written by Horace Silver, and sung by Norah Jones. Considered one of the finest ballads of the hard bop era, "Peace" has a timeless message for us all, as the last few lines of the song show:...
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The Offical Straight No Chaser song of Christmas Eve
t's December 24, which means that once again it's time to break out the Official Straight No Chaser Song of Christmas Eve. It's not really a song, actually, but Louis Armstrong reciting "Twas the Night Before Christmas", in his inimitable raspy voice. Recorded on February 26, 1971 at his home in Queens, New York, this ended up being the final recording Armstrong made, before succumbing toa fatal heart attackon July 6th. The poem, written by Clement Moore, is technically titled "An Account...
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25 Days of Jazzmas: "O Little Town (of Bethlehem)"
The text was written by Phillips Brooks(1835–1893), an Episcopal priest, and rector of the Church of the Holy trinity in Philadelphia, PA. He was allegeldy inspired by visiting the city of Bethlehem in 1865: “After an early dinner, we took our horses and rode to Bethlehem,” so he wrote home in Christmas week of 1865. “It was only about two hours when we came to the town, situated on an eastern ridge of a range of hills, surrounded by its terraced gardens. It is a good-looking town, better...
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25 Days of Jazzmas: "Deck the Halls"
Two of our greatest living pianists, Herbie Hancock and Chick Corea, contribute dueling keyboards on this wonderful modern interpretation of a Christmas chestnut. Recorded in 1969 with a nonet, that included trumpeter Woody Shaw, studio guitar legend Al Caiola, and onetime Tonight Show drummer Ed Shaughnessy, the track can be found on the Jingle Bell Swing compilation CD. The tune is Welsh, likely dating back to the sixteenth century, and belongs to a winter carol, Nos Galan. In the...
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JazzWeek Jazz Chart—December 20, 2011
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On NPR: "Two Takes On Christmas Music: Sweet And Sour"
If you're not NPR Morning Edition junkies like the Siegel family, you might have missed a great piece this morning about Bob Dorough and Miles Davis' "Blue Xmas", a track I featured as part of the 25 Days of Jazzmas last week. Click here to listen to the story, including talk with Dorough: "You know, we always called him the Prince of Darkness, and so I thought this was not going to be one of those happy, 'What are you going to bring me for Christmas?' songs...And my point was to emphasize...
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Celebrating Hanukkah with Avi Wisnia
I just read a really wonderful, succinct version of the story of Hanukkah, the "Festival of Lights" celebrated by Jews around the world beginning this evening in the Huffington Post. I urge you to read it, and if you have friends and family who are unfamilar with the holiday, which is in no way to be called the "Jewish Christmas", forward the link along to them, please. This year we celebrate musically with a jazz version of the Hanukkah song "Maoz Tsur", or "Rock of Ages" from Avi Wisnia....
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25 Days of Jazzmas: "Skating"
Again, sometimes people say it better than I can. Check out this posting from Rob Jones on The Delete Bin last year:, Listen to a classic Christmas melody from West Coast jazz preponent and Charlie Brown soundtrack purveyors Vince Guaraldi Trio, featuring Guaraldi himself on piano. It’s “Skating”, a piece is featured on the soundtrack of Charlie Brown Christmas, a TV special first broadcast in 1964, and since a part of everyone’s Christmas viewing pleasure into our Twenty-First Century....
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25 Days of Jazzmas: "Merry Christmas Baby"
No one swings Christmas quite like Ramsey Lewis. The Sound of Christmas, recorded at Ter-Mar Studios, Chicago, Illinois in 1961, is one of the top Jazz Christmas recordings of all-time (the sequel More Sounds of Christmas ain't bad either). The album kicks off with this version of the R&B Christmas standard written by Lou Baxter and Johnny Moore. Johnny Moore's Three Blazers,w hich featured singer Charles Brown was a top West Coast blues club band when their recording of "Merry Christmas...
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Ralph MacDonald (1944-2011)
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25 Days of Jazzmas: "The First Noel"
Chet Baker was late in his career when he recorded an album of holiday inspired tunes, Silent Nights: A Christmas Jazz Album for folk label Rounder. The album mixes blues ("Nobody Knows the Trouble I've Seen") and hymns ("Amazing Grace") with more standard Christmas fare. The band for the 1995 release included Baker on trumpet ,Christopher Mason - Alto Sax, Mike Pellara - Piano, Jim Singleton - Bass, and Johnny Vidacovich - Drums. "The First Noel"(also written The First Nowell) is a...
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25 Days of Jazzmas: "Mistletoe and Holly"
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25 Days of Jazzmas: "Jingle Bells"
We're getting a little funky today as we begin the last week of the Christmas countdown by bringing out Duke Pearson's aptly titled Merry Ole Soul. Backed by Bob Cranshaw,Mickey Roker,and Airto on the rhythm section, this one will certainly make you jingle them bells all the way to the big day. The album is a bit hard to find, but the good people at Mosaic Records have released Duke Pearson - Mosaic Select 8 that includes the album in its entirely. The song "Jingle Bells" Normal 0...
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Happy Birthday, Ludwig Van
The dogs woke me about 4 am, so I lay on the sofa this morning with them to calm them down. NPR was playing the overnight classical music show, which called to my attention that today is the 241st birthday of Ludwig Van Beethoven. There is no authentic record of the date of his birth; however, the registry of his baptism, in a Roman Catholic service at the Parish of St. Regius on 17December,1770, survives. This is not the place for an essay on Beethoven, but let it be remembered that he was...
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25 Days of Jazzmas: "The Christmas Song"
We can't leave the funky side of Christmas without tapping into some Jimmy Smith. Whether the album is titled Christmas Cookin' or Christmas 1964, it represents the pinnacle of Hammond B-3 holiday music, and that's just fine with me. Funkmeister Creed Taylor produced the disc, which featured Smith on organ, a 13 piece brass section, Art Davis on bass, Kenny Burrell on guitar, and Grady Tate on drums. The inimitable Rudy Van Gelder was the engineer at the famous Van Gelder Studios, Englewood...
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25 Days of Jazzmas:"Away in a Manger"
Oscar Peterson's version of "Away in a Manger" comes from Normal 0 MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman";} An Oscar Peterson Christmas. the album was recorded in...
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Around the World with Lawson Rollins
Elevation, the latest CD from finger picking guitar whiz Lawson Rollins, is a true world music album. Playing his Spanish guitar (a custom 2006 Maldonado, in case you’re wondering), and piecing together recordings made in Iran, Nepal, California and Virginia by musicians from across the world, Rollins pieces together varying sounds and stylings that creates a wonderful whole. Rollins has wisely assembled two experienced musician/producers to help shape his sound. Shahin Shahida adds...
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25 Days of Jazzmas: "That Spirit of Christmas"
The great Ray Charles only made one Christmas album in his lengthy career, and for some reason, The Spirt of Christmas was briefly out of print. Now available again on CD as part of Concord Records' reissue projects, it is a winner from start to finish. The title track, with one word changed,(which I have been told plays in the film Christmas Vacation when Clark Griswold is watching of his old family movies) is the featured track today, It's hard to argue with these lyrical sentiments: I was...
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JazzWeek Jazz Chart—December 13, 2011
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25 Days of Jazzmas: "' Zat You, Santa Claus?"
Jack Foxz wrote this bluesy, comic tune that Louis Armstrong and the Commanders recorded in 1953. The seesion was held on October 22 of that year in New York, and the Commanders included Billy Butterfield, Andy Ferretti, and Carl Poole joining Armstrong on trumpet; Lou McFarity, Cutty Curtshall, Phil Giardina and Jack Satterfield on trombones; Hymie Schertzer and Al Klink on sax, Bernie Leighton on piano, Carmen Mastren on guitar, Sandy Block on bass and Ed Grady on drums, all udner the...
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Podcast 248: The Annual Straight No Chaser Nuthin' But...
A track a day is fun, but what if you just want a solid hour of good Christmas jazz to enjoy? Look no further -dig the Annual Straight No Chaser Nuthin' But Christmas Podcast for 2011, which includes swinging tunes like: Ella Fitzgerald - "Jingle Bells" Marcus Roberts Trio - "Little Drummer Boy" Vince Guaraldi - "Christmas is Coming" Rahsaan Roland Kirk - "We Free (Three) Kings" Bobby Timmons - "Winter Wonderland" John Coltrane - "Greensleeves (What Child is This?)" Michael Buble - "All I...
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25 Days of Jazzmas: "Jesus Is the Best Part of...
First posted in December 2009: One of the nicest musical surprises of this holiday season is Alexis Cole's latest CD, The Greatest Gift. If you're looking for that last minute gift, stocking stuffer or digital download, this is the place to go for some heartfelt holiday jazz. Born the child of two deaf parents, Alexis is a Jazzmobile competition winner as a vocalist, and was an award winner at the Montreux Jazz Voice Competition. She is currently the lead singer for the West Point Jazz...
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25 Days of Jazzmas: "White Christmas"
Sometimes other bloggers say things better than I can. So here's today's selection as introduced by the blog Plastic Sax: Charlie Parker seemingly didn't take any days off. He would have been forgiven for coasting on a rendition of a relatively recent Irving Berlin song on a Christmas morning broadcast in 1948. Instead, his solo beginning at 0:50 and ending at 2:13 is a masterwork. Even his quote of "Jingle Bells" fits perfectly into the brilliant effort. Parker is joined by Kenny Dorham, Al...
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25 Days of Jazzmas: "Blue Xmas (To Whom It May Concern)"
Miles Davis only did two recordings that could be called Songs of the Season. One is found on the soundtrack to Scrooged, and the other is the wonderfully cynical "Blue Xmas (To Whom It May Concern)". Recorded during sessions with Gil Evans in August 1962, it brought Miles into collaboration with Bob Dorough, the singer and sognwriter who would go on to Schoolhouse Rock fame. Allmusic.com tells the story well: The cynical, bah-humbug "Blue Xmas" was probably not what Columbia executives had...
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Around the Blogs: Jazzcast Christmas Sessions
I've been digging the mixes from the blog JazzDJ out of the uK for years, and I can't keep their posts a secret any longer. Today they posted four - count 'em four - Christmas jazz mixes that I'm grabbing as you read this. They are bound to be funky and fun, so get 'em while the're cool. And say thank you while you're on their page.
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25 Days of Jazzmas: "Rudolph, the Red Nosed Reindeer"
One of the best loved Christmas songs concerns the flaming proboscis of one Rudolph the Reindeer. Robert L. May created Rudolph in 1939 as an assignment to create a give-away coloring book for the Montgomery Ward stores. Supposedly, May considered naming the reindeer "Rollo" and "Reginald" before deciding upon using the name "Rudolph". In its first year of publication, 2.4 million copies of Rudolph's story were distributed by the department store. And the rest, as they say, goes down in...
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25 Days of Jazzmas: "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing"
Dave Koz is not my favorite Smooth Jazz artist. He gets a bit schmaltzy for my tastes, and fails to capture what I percieve as true emotion and drive in his work. Having said that, he is immensely popular, and his latest compilation of Christmas tunes, Ultimate Christmas, is good musical wallpaper for Christmas busy work like wrapping presents, making cookies or addressing holiday cards. Here he teams up with fellow Smooth Fellow Brian Culbertson for a take on "Hark! The Herald Angels...
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25 Days of Jazzmas: "Winter Wonderland"
I called Geri Allen's A Child is Born the best Christmas Jazz CD of 2011, but the Marcus Roberts Trio's Celebrating Christmas Cel is right on its heels, and is no doubt the most fun Christmas jazz CD. This is a band that knows how to have a good time. Jason Marsalis (yup, that family again) is a wonderful drummer, and Rodney Jordan is emerging as a top bass player. But its Roberts who turns this into a party, creating new arrangements that take famiolar tunes new places. Whether its a New...
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25 Days of Jazzmass: "Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It...
Since we talked about Sammy Cahn and Jule Styne yesterday, why not trot out their other holday classic? Click here for Joe Williams' inimitable vocal stylings on the song, which can be found on his 1990 release That Holiday Feeling. And what a band he put together to support him on this one - Bobby Watson (alto saxophone); Frank Wess (tenor saxophone); Seldon Powell (baritone saxophone); Clark Terry, Joe Wilder (trumpet); Al Grey (trombone); Norman Simmons, Ellis Larkins (piano); Kenny...
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Podcast 247: Talking "Mobro" with Andy Bragen
Way back in September, I featured an interview with saxophonist John Ellis. The North Carolina born, New Orleans trained, and New York resident performer talked about his less straight ahead work in that interview, mentioning his collaborations with playwright Andy Bragen. One of those collaborations, Mobro, is being mounted for the second time this year over the next few days at the Jazz Gallery, 290 Hudson Street, New York, NY 10013.Ellis and Bragen composed, workshopped, rehearsed and...
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