Ryus Bar 気ままにいい夜
山本剛（pf） 斉藤誠（b） トニー・セント・ジェームス（ds）
King Records 1989
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Tsuyoshi Yamamoto Trio - Cleopatra's Dream
Osmar Milito - What Are You Doing For The Rest of Your Life?
Osmar Milito(p,el-p,org), Sebastiao Barros(b), Paschoal Meirelles(dr), Marcos Valle(el-p), Luiz Eca(arr,fl), Oberdan Magalhaes(sax), Marcio Montarroyos(tp), Altamiro Carrilho(fl), Copinha(fl), Mauro Senise(sax), Chico Batera(perc), Quarteto Forma(vo)
Bobby Broom Plays For Monk
http://www.bobbybroom.com presents the new Origin recording "Bobby Broom Plays Monk" featuring Bobby on guitar, Dennis Carroll on bass, and Kobie Watkins on drums. Bobby Broom (born January 18, 19...
Raul Midon....
Raul Midon brings a vibrant sound steeped in classic soul to the pop arena, because pop is where a singer and a song can have the biggest and most widespread impact. When an envelope-pushing song becomes a pop hit, it shifts the entire musical landscape, forcing out the shopworn and clich?d while opening the windows of change to let in fresh ideas. The notion of shifting the landscape is this artist's passion; the wide-ranging skill sets he brings to bear on his mission provide him with the tools to pull it off.
The New Mexico-born, New York-based writer/vocalist/guitarist burst onto the scene in 2005 with his audaciously original debut album, State of Mind, and he's followed it up with an even more memorable song cycle, one that substantiates the depth of his talent and the degree of his dedication. A World Within a World, the title of the new album (Manhattan Records, Sept. 25), might refer to the status of pop music within the culture as a whole; it could also describe the expansive interior realm that this single-minded artist, blind from birth, has created with his imagination.Midon is bringing currency to a rich tradition of pop inventiveness, combining the beguiling soulfulness of Stevie Wonder, the inventive appropriation of non-indigenous musical elements pioneered by Paul Simon and the trend-defying individuality of Bill Withers. "These are mainstream artists who were on the charts and making art," Midon notes. "There isn't that much originality in pop these days, because everybody is trying to sound like what they think might fit into the narrow formats on radio. But the best pop is as important as much as any music. I mean, I love Paul Simon or James Taylor or Prince as much as I love Miles." With A World Within a World, Midon aims to do his part to replant the pop wilderness.
In the pop field, says Midon, with what turns out to be characteristic outspokenness, "You have to think about your audience, and at the same time make music that's interesting to you as an artist. If something you hate becomes successful, you still have to play it every night, and that's no way to live. Because my first record was successful enough to satisfy the label, and because of the quality of the people I'm working with, we made the second album exactly the way we wanted to make it, which is pretty extraordinary in this day and age. There was no interference, no 'Where's the single?' We didn't go through any of that."
The album's diversity is manifested with brio in the beguiling settings. The opening "Pick Somebody Up," which could serve as Midon's credo, embeds a theme of uplifting social consciousness in an insinuating groove and the sort of lush, uptown soulfulness that distinguished the career-defining albums of Stevie Wonder and Marvin Gaye. The multitracked acappella piece "Ain't Happened Yet" references the the immediacy of street-corner doo-wop and the exuberance of the Beatles. "Save My Life" updates the silky '70s soul of the Stylistics and Delfonics, interpolated with the deep funk of the same period courtesy of Midon's wah-wah electric guitar part.
Midon focuses on another era altogether in "All the Answers," as he celebrates the ease of access to a vast universe of information thanks to the Internet; indeed, this may be the first lyric to specifically reference Googling. "When I grew up, you had to go to the library to find out about something," he points out. "The impact of the flow of information that we have today is impossible to overestimate-and what really fascinates me is, then, what do we choose to want to find out about? Time is finite, and I can't imagine spending my time on trivia-I just won't do it."
Just as unprecedented is "The More That I Know," which is equal parts love song, message song and modern-day spiritual. "On one level," Midon explains, "the song has to do with traveling-'The more that I know, wherever I go, I want to be close to you'-but it also uses metaphors in a different way. I've always felt at a disadvantage as someone who has never seen in that writing is very visual and image-driven. People really relate to images, and I've never seen images. So what I realized is that you have to write from what you know, and because people also hear, touch and feel, hopefully, they'll be able to relate to these songs. So that song is me starting to get into another way of writing-it's very much about my experience, and not trying to describe a sunset that I've never seen."
References to the perilous world we live in abound on A World Within a World. "Tembererana," which employs elements of Argentinean music, pits images of the threat of looming annihilation against "the power of creation." "The More That I Know" ponders metaphysical questions like "Why do the children suffer so?" And the culminating "Peace on Earth" places the radical humanism of John Lennon's "Imagine" in an unsettling contemporary context. "I got a few people accusing me of being na?ve on the first album-I don't think I'll get that this time," says Midon with a quick laugh.
Midon was born in Embudo, N.M., to an Argentinean father and an African-American mother. A passionate music lover for as long as he can remember, Midon started playing drums at age 4 before shifting his focus to the guitar. He turned down a scholarship in creative writing offered by the University of New Mexico after being selected by the University of Miami for its highly regarded jazz program. Staying in Miami after graduating, Midon became an in-demand backup singer, working primarily on Latin projects for artists like Julio Iglesias, Shakira and Alejandro Sanz, while moonlighting as a club performer, sprinkling the requisite cover songs with the original tunes he was starting to write.
On the city's stages, he diligently honed his craft as a singer, writer and guitarist, developing a syncopated, flamenco- and jazz-infused approach to the steel-stringed acoustic.
In 2002, when Midon felt he was ready, he walked away from his lucrative profession in order to pursue a solo career in New York City. "I wanted to become an artist and do what I wanted to do instead of being someone else's hired gun," he explains. When Midon performed for the legendary producer/arranger Arif Mardin, fresh off the recording of Norah JonesÕ breakthrough album, Come Away With Me, he offered the newcomer a deal on the spot-it would be the final signing of Mardin's long career. Ra?l readily accepted, eager to form a partnership with the highly skilled veteran and with Arif's multi-instrumentalist son Joe. Father and son co-produced State of Mind, which garnered critical accolades for its heady fusion of old-school soul, timeless pop, Latin, jazz and the singer/songwriter idiom.
Intrigued by what the youngster was cooking up, Wonder himself appeared on one track.
For A World Within a world, recorded after the death of the elder Mardin, Midon and Joe Mardin tightened the focus, with Joe laying down the grooves and playing additional instruments behind Midon's vocals and guitar parts on the majority of the tracks. "Like his father, Joe is a producer in the old-school sense of the word," says Midon. "He's interested in how a record sounds; he can do arrangements and conduct an orchestra-which he did on 'Pick Somebody Up.' Joe brought the value of making an album to the project, as opposed to just a collection of songs."
This is not your average pop record-not by a long shot. With A World Within a World, Midon has fashioned an album that is at once audacious and accessible, of the moment and suffused with history; it's personal yet universal, uncompromising yet inviting. This is that rare sort of pop album that could actually make a difference, and as such, it stands right alongside the pivotal works of the artists who inspired it.
Raul Midon - 'Sunshine'
Raul Midon - 'Sunshine', live at the Jazz Festival in Paris, La Défense, France 27/06/09
Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation....
Saturday, 1 Aug 2009, 21:30 - Anfiteatro ao Ar Livre
George Lewis Sequel (USA, Italy, United Kingdom, Germany)
George Lewis (trombone, laptop), Jeff Parker (electric guitar ), Siegfried Rössert (double bass, voice, laptop), Miya Masaoka (koto, laptop, electronics), Kaffe Matthews (electronics), DJ Mutamassik (turntables), Ulrich Müller (guitar, laptop), Guillermo E. Brown (drums, percussion, electronics)
Jazz in August 2009....
In 2009, Jazz em Agosto reaches its first quarter century. In its 26th programme, devoted to Icons and Innovators, the festival presents contemporary jazz musicians who have forged new languages and identities in an ever changing, and ever richer, free music scene over the last twenty five years.
The history of jazz, stretching back almost a hundred years to 1923 and King Oliver, first credited with inventing the language, are replete with figures who have become icons: Louis Armstrong, Lester Young, Billie Holiday, Duke Ellington, Charlie Parker, Thelonious Monk, Miles Davis, Charles Mingus, John Coltrane, Eric Dolphy, Ornette Coleman, Sonny Rollins, Bill Evans, Paul Bley, to name a few, and Cecil Taylor, George Russell, Jimmy Giuffre, Steve Lacy, Muhal Richard Abrams who have performed at Jazz em Agosto since its founding in 1984. The musicians who forged the language, and therefore became icons, have been succeeded by others, down to the present day. Through the process of repetition characteristic of music, innovative artists have adopted and developed new patterns, over time and generations, moulding and transforming them until they instituted new languages. Contributing to transformation, different social, economic and political situations came into place, in an accelerating process which is now more conducive to fragmentation and fractality.
In its programming choices, Jazz em Agosto has sought to provide a historical perspective as well as a snapshot of the contemporary scene. This year's ten concerts offer a cross-section of jazz today as it explores new ground.
The Icons but also Innovators in the line-up for the 2009 Jazz em Agosto will be George Lewis, presenting his electroacoustic project, Sequel, the Nublu Orchestra, led by the master of style, Butch Morris; Dave Douglas & Brass Ecstasy, a brass band evoking the trumpet player Lester Bowie, the unexpected super-group Buffalo Collision, with Time Berne, Ethan Iverson, Hank Roberts and Dave King, Peter Evans' pioneering trumpet playing, in two dimensions, solo and quartet, and Rob Mazurek?s Exploding Star Orchestra, with Bill Dixon. The selection of musicians also highlights the importance of the jazz trumpet: Dave Douglas, Bill Dixon, Rob Mazurek and Peter Evans, continuing the line of trumpet playing which goes back to the original creators of the language, King Oliver and Louis Armstrong.
This focus on the American birth-place of jazz, at a time when belief in a new world balance is taking shape, is complemented by two examples of European innovation: the Propagations saxophone quartet (water, earth, fire and air), from France, and the electroacoustic voice and flute duo, Franziska Baumann and Matthias Ziegler, from Switzerland.
The programme is rounded off by experimental DJing, with Rough Americana by DJ Mutamassik and Morgan Craft, a talk by George Lewis on his recent monumental book on the Chicago AACM A Power Stronger Than Itself / The AACM and American Experimental Music, and two documentaries on iconic jazz musicians, Escalator Over the Hill by Steve Gebhardt and Imagine the Sound by Ron Mann, providing an overview of the main trends in jazz in the first decade of the 21st century.
http://www.musica.gulbenkian.pt/jazz/index.html.en
Monday, June 29, 2009
Ronnie Scott's....
Fri 3th - Sat 4th July LEGENDS OF RONNIES - THE NINA SIMONE SONGBOOK presented by Gill Manly
We are proud to present 2 nights which re-create the legendary Nina Simone performances that took place at Ronnie Scott’s walls in 1985. Nina's performances at the club are often the most talked about for her amazing singing and slightly idiosyncratic performance style. Offering a tribute to the great singer is Ronnie’s regular Gill Manly, a powerful yet sensitive vocalist who takes on the potentially daunting task of performing Simone’s repertoire with ease.
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Ronnie Scott's - STANLEY JORDAN
Tue 30 June – Thur 2 JULY
The unique guitarist whose pioneering ‘touch’ technique on the guitar – an advanced form of two-handed tapping - is the stuff of legend. Stanley returns with his US band, who will be performing material from his latest cd ‘State of Nature’. We are proud to welcome him back to the club after a long hiatus.
Saturday, June 27, 2009
Valentina Igoshina....
Valentina IGOSHINA was born in Bryansk (Russia) in 1978. She graduated from the Tchaikovsky Conservatory in Moscow, where she studied under Larissa Dedova and Sergei Dorensky. Valentina IGOSHINA has won prizes at several international competitions: the Rubinstein Competition in Poland in 1993 (1st Prize), the Sergeii Rachmaninov International Piano Competition in Moscow in 1997 (1st Prize), the Atlanta International Piano Competition (2nd Prize), the Queen Elizabeth International Competition in Brussels in 2003 (finalist) and the José Iturbi International Piano Competition in Valencia (Spain) in 2006 (2nd prize).
“Russian pianist Valentina Igoshina played Chopin’s with heartbreaking nuance. Those who doubt Chopin’s intentions to have all 24 played at one sitting would have had their doubts dispelled by hearing how she subtly strung them together, with perfect control and dynamic shading and phrasing. It was the artistic performance of the day. Her Rachmaninov B-flat Minor Sonata was likewise idiomatic and meltingly phrased. Igoshina’s performance showed the difference between being a good pianist and being an artist.” wrote Keely Brown in Atlanta. Valentina IGOSHINA has performed at the Queen Elizabeth Hall in London in the Harrods International Piano Series. She has given recitals at the Tonhalle in Zurich, in Milan in the La Societa dei Concerti series, in Paris at the Théatre de l’Athénée, in Toulouse at the Cloitre des Jacobins and has participated in many festivals: Radio France-Montpellier, La Roque d’Anthéron (France), Ravello Music (Italy), Dushniki Zdroi (Poland), Povoa de Varzim, the Belem Festival in Lisbon (Portugal) and the Styriarte Festival in Graz (Austria).
She has been invited to perform with the Halle Orchestra and the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra in the United Kingdom, the Concertgebouw Royal Orchestra in Amsterdam.
Her engagements on 2008 included concerts with the Barcelona Symphony Orchestra (Rachmaninov’s Rhapsody on a theme by Paganini), the Santiago Chile Orchestra (Chopin’s Concerto n°1), the Galicia Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (Prokofiev’s Concerto n°2), the Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra (Tchaikovsky’s Concerto n°1) and the Brandenburg Symphony Orchestra (Tchaikovsky’s Concerto n°1) and she also gave recitals in Ludwigsburg, Jersey, Santiago de Chile, Paris, and Cintra.
On 2009, she will perform in Opole (Poland), St. Louis (USA), Solnok (Hungary), Luxemburg, St. Etienne (France), Macao (China) ….
Valentina IGOSHINA released her first recording (Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition and Schumann’s Carnival) with Warner Classics International in 2005 and her second CD was released on July 2008 by Lontano (distributed by Warner Classics International).
She has also performed at live broadcasts by the BBC and Classic FM in the United Kingdom and can also be seen and heard playing pieces by Rachmaninov and Chopin in two biographies by Tony Palmer, and The Harvest of Sorrow (1998) on S.Rachmaninov, and The Mystery of Chopin: The Strange Case of Delphina Potocka (1999, released as a DVD in 2001). A DVD was released by Claverdons Film in London (distributed by Warner Vision).
http://valentina-igoshina.com/about/
Valentina Igoshina - Fantasie Impromptu (Chopin)
This is Valentina Igoshina playing Chopin's Fantasie Impromptu in C Sharp Minor, Op. 66. Apologies for the shoddy editing!
The Voice Is Dark and the Emphasis Mysterious
By STEPHEN HOLDEN
A subdued Diana Krall held forth on Tuesday at Carnegie Hall, where she gave the first of two concerts on consecutive nights with a 41-piece orchestra, augmented by a jazz trio (Jeff Hamilton on drums, Robert Hurst on bass, and Anthony Wilson on guitar). The music, much of it from her recent bossa-nova flavored album, “Quiet Nights” (Verve), maintained an aura of hushed introspection with occasional blips of swing, when her sturdy jazz pianism came to the fore.
When Ms. Krall paused to talk, her remarks — about traveling on a tour bus with her 2 ½-year-old twin sons; about meeting President Obama, who she said was unaware that her husband is Elvis Costello (he was impressed); about the similarity of New York’s recent rainy weather to the climate in her native Vancouver, British Columbia — were dry observations, offered in a low voice with barely a trace of a smile.
“Quiet Nights,” which closely follows the format of her enormously successful 2001 album, “The Look of Love,” has reversed the downward trajectory of Ms. Krall’s record sales. Both albums, arranged and orchestrated by Claus Ogerman, feature music that works equally well as ambient sound for the bedroom and restaurant and as foreground music of considerable psychological complexity.
Together Ms. Krall and Mr. Ogerman (who was absent; Alan Broadbent conducted the orchestra) treat songs as film-noir fragments in which everything remains ambiguous and unresolved. Ms. Krall doesn’t interpret lyrics in a literary manner. With her dark whispery alto, she slithers through songs in short stop-start phrases that sometimes reduce a melody to a single repeated note. One string of words may be elongated with an emphasis on a vowel or a scooped-up syllable; the next grouping may be nearly swallowed as she hurries to catch up.
The effect is to turn songs into mysterious stream-of-consciousness ruminations. Adopting a jazz singer’s prerogative, she turns standards (“Where or When,” “Ev’ry Time We Say Goodbye,” “Love Letters”) expressing familiar romantic sentiments into semi-abstract, personal reflections whose meanings may not necessarily coincide with — and may even contradict — the words as written.
At the same time Mr. Ogerman’s lush arrangements, with their cool, sighing choruses of woodwinds and strings, carry advanced chromaticism to the edge of dissonance. Instead of a harmonic happy ending, the typical arrangement fades out like a ghost in the fog. The combination of voice and orchestration sustains an undercurrent of erotic tension fraught with foreboding. The truth remains hidden. That aura of ambiguity applied even to those numbers, like “P.S. I Love You” and “A Case of You,” that Ms. Krall sang while accompanying herself on piano, without the orchestra.
The concert’s somber mood was interrupted by some moments of hard swing (“ ’Deed I Do” and “I Love Being Here With You,” the latter prefaced by an extended stride piano solo) in which Ms. Krall’s emphasis on vocal sound over verbal elucidation was even more pronounced. Yes, on one level, Ms. Krall is a middle-of-the-road pop-jazz diva. But just below the surface lies an interpreter who is talking to herself in a private language that is all about rhythm.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/25/arts/music/25krall.html?partner=rssnyt&emc=rss
An All-Star Tribute Recalls the Downtown Loft Scene
By NATE CHINEN
Mark Morganelli waited until the last possible moment to blow his horn at the Rose Theater on Monday night. Walking out during the concert’s finale — “Ow!,” a standard Dizzy Gillespie ditty — he joined an all-star jam in progress, sidling up to the clarinetist Paquito D’Rivera. His fluegelhorn solo was brief and by no means flashy. Its directness and modesty suited Mr. Morganelli, just as it suited the tone of the evening.
The occasion was a 30th anniversary tribute to the Jazz Forum, a performance space that Mr. Morganelli first operated in a Cooper Square loft in the East Village, later moving to a nearby space on Broadway. From 1979 to 1983 it was a mainstream anchor of the waning loft scene. After its demise Mr. Morganelli established Jazz Forum Arts, a nonprofit presenting organization mainly active in Westchester County, where he now lives. (A schedule of events in Dobbs Ferry, Tarrytown and Mount Vernon is at jazzforumarts.org.)
Mr. Morganelli presided efficiently over Monday’s tribute, keeping a crowded bill on schedule. The program included well over a dozen Jazz Forum veterans. There were lulls, especially in the first half, and turnout could have been more robust. But the pace was brisk — set changes barely registered — and there were plenty of highlights to go around.
Some of these came courtesy of pianists, notably including Barry Harris, who led the first of his instructional workshops at the Jazz Forum. Mr. Harris opened the concert with “Like Someone in Love,” bringing in that standard’s melody with an unhurried solo introduction. Then the bassist Ray Drummond and the drummer Leroy Williams eased into gear. After a turn as a trio they stayed on to support the alto saxophonist Lou Donaldson, who ended his contribution with “Wee,” another Gillespie tune.
Cedar Walton and Kenny Barron followed Mr. Harris’s lead: each played a solo preface to a songbook standard, and each was suave both in trio format and beyond. Mr. Walton, with Mr. Drummond and the drummer Louis Hayes, backed the tenor saxophonist George Coleman on a boppish blues; Mr. Barron, with Rufus Reid on bass and Jimmy Cobb on drums, played behind Mr. D’Rivera and the trumpeter Claudio Roditi.
A few other standout moments had nothing to do with pianism. The tenor saxophonist Joe Lovano began the concert’s second half with George Mraz on bass and Al Foster on drums, tackling “Fort Worth,” one of his own ruggedly open-ended tunes. The guitarist John Scofield enlisted the same rhythm team for “The Days of Wine and Roses,” with a sparser lyricism. Then Mr. Lovano and Mr. Scofield joined forces to tackle “Hallucinations,” a vibrantly syncopated theme by Bud Powell.
The only dispiriting performance came from the singer Jon Hendricks, who delved wanly into bossa nova and the repertory grab bag of Lambert, Hendricks & Ross (with Kevin Burke and Aria Hendricks, his daughter). But Mr. Hendricks was warmly welcomed when he followed Mr. Morganelli onstage, doing his part to bring the concert to a close.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/26/arts/26rose.html?_r=1&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss
Happily Seduced by the Blues
BOB KOESTER came here in 1958 because he was a jazz and blues fan who wanted to see his favorite music played live in the small, smoky clubs that dotted the city. But he has ended up doing much more than that: as the founder and sole proprietor of Delmark Records he also became and remains the most dedicated chronicler of that scene, now gradually receding into history.
“I was seduced by the music,” Mr. Koester said in an interview last month. “You can’t record everything you like, and I missed a lot of good sessions because I didn’t have the money. But there was so much going on. I liked the music, I liked the label, and I did as much as I could afford to do.”
From traditional Dixieland to the farthest reaches of the avant-garde, artists representing nearly every category of jazz have found their way to Delmark, the oldest continually operating independent jazz and blues label in the United States. On the blues side Delmark’s releases have ranged from Mississippi Delta-style acoustic guitarists like Sleepy John Estes and Big Joe Williams to all-electric Chicago ensembles led by Magic Sam, Otis Rush and Luther Allison.
Because of those efforts Mr. Koester is one of a handful of nonperformers to have been inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame, in 1996. His influence can be felt in other ways: labels like Alligator, Flying Fish, Rooster, Nessa and Earwig were all founded by former employees, as were Living Blues magazine and numerous blues and folk festivals.
“I think you could make a good argument that without Bob Koester there might never have been the white blues movement, certainly not in the United States,” said Bruce Iglauer, president of Alligator Records, who began his career in 1970 as a Delmark shipping clerk. “The fact is that he opened the door for a lot of people, and I don’t think he has ever got the recognition he deserves for being such a seminal figure.”
Somewhat belatedly that situation is now being remedied. Delmark has just released a 55th anniversary DVD featuring performances by some of its leading artists, and a recording Mr. Koester produced more than 40 years ago, “Hoodoo Man Blues,” was inducted last year into the Grammy Hall of Fame, alongside pop hits like Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” and Pink Floyd’s “Wall.”
http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/news.php?id=38372
Gibson Guitar Announces Partnership with 2009 Montreux Jazz Festival
Gibson Guitar, the world's premier musical instrument maker and leader in music technology, is pleased to announce its partnership with the Montreux Jazz Festival. Gibson will be the official musical instrument provider of the festival and Title Sponsor of the Gibson Montreux Jazz Guitar Competition.
The Montreux Jazz Festival will take place July 3-17, 2009 in the beautiful lakeside city of Montreux, Switzerland. Founded in 1967, the prestigious Montreux Jazz Festival has become a must-see event for music fans from all around the world. This two-week, multiple venue event now features musical styles of every genre imaginable, including Jazz, Blues, Rock, World and Electronic music. All the greats, including musical icons B.B. King, Ray Charles, Miles Davis and David Bowie, have performed on one of the festival's many stages. A highlight of this year's festival will be a rare guitar workshop by the legendary blues artist B.B. King on July 13 at 3:00pm at the Petit Palais.
Another highlight of the festival will be the multicultural “Gibson Montreux Jazz Guitar Competition". This competition was founded in 2004 by Claude Nobbs, the founder of the Montreux Jazz Festival, in memory of the great jazz guitarists of the past. To preserve this tradition, promising young guitarists of all nationalities are invited to demonstrate their skill to a panel of expert judges, which this year will include the legendary jazz guitar virtuoso and Gibson artist Lee Ritenour. The competition will take place over two days in the intimate setting of the Historic Montreux Palace hotel.
Gibson is especially pleased to congratulate this year's talented candidates for the Gibson Montreux Jazz Guitar Competition Semi-Finals! Hailing from all over the world, they are:
Roland Balogh (Hungary)
Eduard Brenneisen (France)
Sam Dickey (United States)
Greg Duncan (Canada)
Roy Guzman (Puerto Rico)
Akira Ishiguro (United States)
Thibault Leutenegger (Switzerland)
David Preston (United Kingdom)
Rotem Sivan (Israel)
The semi-finals will take place on Monday, July 13, 2009 starting at 4:30 p.m., with the finals following on Tuesday, July 14 starting at 5:00 p.m. Following the finals there will be an award ceremony with guitar prizes being presented by Lee Ritenour to the top four competitors: First Place will receive a Gibson ES Gibson ES 335 Dot, Second Place a Gibson Les Paul Traditional Goldtop, Third Place a Gibson SG Sparkle, and Fourth Place Gibson LP Studio. This event is free and open to all visitors!
Gibson is known worldwide for producing classic models in every major style of fretted instrument, including acoustic and electric guitars, mandolins, and banjos. Gibson's HD.6X-PRO Digital Guitar, the Gibson Robot Guitar and Gibson's Dark Fire represent the biggest advances in electric guitar design in over 70 years. Founded in 1894 in Kalamazoo, Michigan, and headquartered in Nashville since 1984, Gibson Guitar Corp.'s family of brands now includes Epiphone, Dobro, Kramer, Steinberger, Tobias, Echoplex, Electar, Flatiron, Slingerland, Valley Arts, Maestro, Oberheim, Baldwin, Sunshine Piano, Take Anywhere Technology, J&C Fischer, Chickering, Hamilton, and Wurlitzer.
http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/news.php?id=38376
Michael Jackson Spent His Final Night Alive in His Favorite Spot on Earth: The Stage
Onstage at Staples Center, associates say, the performer radiated joy as he prepared for his comeback tour.
At Staples Center Wednesday night, the performer did a full run-through of his planned comeback concert. He and his company -- dancers, musicians, singers, aerial performers, choreographers and costumers -- planned to fly to England early next week for final dress rehearsals at London's O2 Arena, the site of the pop superstar's 50-night sold-out run.
By lunchtime Thursday, Jackson was in cardiac arrest. But in Staples Center's spotlight, he was in high spirits and totally engaged, according to a number of his collaborators. Energetic, optimistic and focused, Jackson gave no indication of what was to come, they said.
The show's director, Kenny Ortega -- a journeyman choreographer and movie director whose career highlights include “High School Musical," the “Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert Tour" and “Dirty Dancing" -- began work with Jackson on the intricate staging four months ago. On Thursday, Ortega recalled Jackson as bursting with enthusiasm and personally invested in the production's most minute details.
“There were a couple of times when Michael stood at my side and we looked at the stage together and were just beaming with gladness that we had arrived at this place," Ortega said. “And he was happy. We all felt that and shared that. We were four or five days from finishing in Los Angeles and heading to London and feeling in really good shape."
Ortega said he had no knowledge of the singer taking any drugs or medication. He also denied that the slender performer had physically overextended himself by working out four hours a day, six days a week in preparation for the physically taxing concerts.
“He was dancing, training, working every day with our choreographer Travis [Payne]," Ortega said. “Michael has always been slight. That was his fighting weight. He was getting rest time, coming in and working with the band, guiding the singers, working on orchestrations. He was enthusiastically involved in every creative aspect of this production."
Randy Phillips, chief executive of AEG Live, the concert promoter that will forfeit the more than $20 million it put into staging Jackson's comeback, was also among those at Staples Center on Wednesday. He recalled Jackson being in ebullient spirits.
“It was fantastic, he was so great. I got goose bumps," Phillips said. “It made me realize why I got into this business.
http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/news.php?id=38375
Sun 28 June - Ronnie Scott's
Ronnie Scott's Jazz Orchestra presents The Story So Far...
The Ronnie Scott’s Big Band is comprised of some of the greatest talents on the UK jazz scene and presents THE STORY SO FAR..., featuring the music of Count Basie, Duke Ellington, Woody Herman, Stan Kenton, The Rat Pack and Benny Goodman. This first-class big band is comprised of the cream of UK jazz talent, headed up by Pete Long, and will offer a retrospective on different aspects of jazz music.
Thursday, June 25, 2009
At Ronnie Scott's....
Fri 26 - Sat 27 June - LINDA LEWIS
“The first time I played Ronnie Scotts it was back in the seventies. I was one of the first non jazz singers to play there so I was scared! I could hear Ella and Sarah, Annie Ross and Blossom Dearie in the walls. Their lovely music which influenced me, as did Laura Nyro, Joni Mitchell, Stevie and Marvin... The audience and ambience at Ronnie Scotts has always been fantastic and I have always loved playing there...”. Linda fuses folk, soul, pop, rock and reggae into a totally unique signature sound which has her sought after and collaborating with some of today’s hottest acts such as Turin Brakes, Jamiroquai and Midfield General.
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Airto Moreira....
Airto Moreira was born in 1941 in the small village of Itaiopolis - south Brasil, and was raised in Curitiba. Even before he could walk he would start shaking and banging on the floor every time the radio played a hot song. This worried his mother, but his grandmother recognized his potential and encouraged him to express himself. By the time he was six years old he had won many music contests by singing and playing percussion. The city gave him his own radio program every Saturday afternoon. At thirteen he became a professional musician, playing percussion, drums, and singing in local dance bands. He moved to Sao Paulo at the age of sixteen and performed regularly in nightclubs and television as a percussionist, drummer and singer.
In 1965 he met the singer Flora Purim in Rio de Janeiro. Flora moved to the USA in 1967 and Airto followed her shortly after. When in New York Airto began playing with musicians such as Reggie Workman, JJ Johnson, Cedar Walton and bassist Walter Booker. It was through Booker that Airto began playing with the greats - Cannonball Adderley, Lee Morgan, Paul Desmond and Joe Zawinul, to name a few. Zawignul recommended Airto to Miles Davis for a recording session in 1970 for the “Bitches Brew” album. Davis then invited Airto to join his group, which included such jazz icons as Wayne Shorter, Dave Holland, Jack DeJohnette, Chick Corea and later John McLaughlin and Keith Jarrett. He remained with Miles for two years, and appears on such releases as “Live/Evil”, “Live at the Fillmore”, “On the Corner”, “The Isle of Wight”, “Bitches Brew” and later releases including the “Fillmore Sessions”.
Following his stint with Miles Davis, Airto was invited to form the original Weather Report with Wayne Shorter, Joe Zawinul, Miroslav Vitous and Alphonse Mouzon with whom he recorded “The Weather Report”. Soon after, he joined Chick Corea’s original Return to Forever group with Flora Purim, Joe Farrell and Stanley Clarke and they recorded the albums, “Return to Forever” and “Light as a Feather”.
In 1974 Airto formed his first band in the U.S., “Fingers” with Flora Purim. Since then they have performed constantly all over the world and recorded their own album for major record companies in Europe and America. Airto remains one of popular music’s most in demand percussionists. His collection of instruments, along with his knack for playing the right sound at the right moment, has made him the first choice of many producers and bandleaders. His work with Quincy Jones, Herbie Hancock, George Duke and Paul Simon, Carlos Santana, Gil Evans, Gato Barbieri, Michael Brecker, The Crusaders, Chicago, and many others including contributions to movie sound tracks such as The Exorcist, Last Tango in Paris, King of the Gypsies and Apocalypse Now, represents only a small number of the musical contributions Airto has made over the last three decades.
His impact was so powerful that Downbeat magazine added the category of percussion to its readers and critic’s polls, which he has won over twenty times since 1973. In the past few years he was voted number one percussionist by Jazz Times, Modern Drummer, Drum Magazine, Jazzizz Magazine, Jazz Central Station’s Global Jazz Poll on the Internet, as well as in many European, Latin American and Asian publications.
He has been advancing the cause of world and percussion music as a member of the “Planet Drum” percussion ensemble, with Mickey Hart, drummer for “The Grateful Dead”, and master conga player Giovanni Hidalgo and tabla virtuoso Zakir Hussain, along with Flora Purim, Babatunde Olatunji, Sikiru Adepoju and Vikku Vinayakram. Planet Drum won a Grammy Award in 1991 for World Music. Airto also contributed to another Grammy Award winning ensemble, “Dizzy Gillespie’s United Nations Orchestra", which received the award for Best Live Jazz Album.
Airto’s love for the music and the people of his native country of Brazil takes him back every year to visit old friends and relatives as well as to pay respects to his spiritual guides and elders. Airto has been involved in “Spiritism” since an early age and used to go to the “sessions” with his father José Rosa Moreira, who was a spiritual healer all of his life. His lifelong interest in spirituality led him to record The Other Side of This, an exploration into the healing powers of music and the spiritual world. Airto also composed and performed his “Brazilian Spiritual Mass” for a two hour special on German television, with the WDR Philharmonic Orchestra in Cologne, Germany. This rare performance was reproduced on Vinyl for the classical record label “Harmonia Mundi” and licensed as a video by WDR, broadcast around the world.
Airto performed as a guest star with the Boston Pops Philharmonic Orchestra on a special for the PBS TV, the Smashing Pumpkins “Unplugged” for MTV, the Japan based percussion group Kodo and Depeche Mode’s latest CD “Exciter”. In 2001 when Airto recorded with Kodo, he contributed with two of his compositions: “Maracatu” and “Berimbau Jam”. The song “Maracatu” was chosen to be one of the official songs for the 2002 World Cup in Asia to open the ceremonies for the event in Japan.
One of Airto’s recordings for the Melt2000 label, “Killer Bees”, features Herbie Hancock, Stanley Clarke, Chick Corea, Mark Egan and Hiram Bullock; it was one of the most critically acclaimed albums on the European market. His solo album entitled “Homeless”, on Melt2000 was released in the year 2000. It is a high-energy album with “tribal” rhythms that is shaking the dance floors around the world. Other releases on this label include the group “Fourth World” with Jose Neto and Flora Purim.
His song “Celebration Suite” was re-mixed by the DJ group “Bellini Brothers” entitled “Samba de Janeiro”. The track hit #1 in the dance music charts over 26 countries around Europe, Asia and Latin America.
Airto has worked together with and had his music re-mixed by Frederic Galliano, Giles Peterson, Endemic Void, Justice, Ashley Beedle, Circadian Rhythms, Jimpster, Amon Tobin, and Max Breenen, among others.
In September of 2002, Brazil’s President Fernando Henrique Cardoso named Airto Moreira and Flora Purim to the “Order of Rio Branco”, one of Brazil's highest honors. The Order of Rio Branco was created in 1963 to formally recognize Brazilian and foreign individuals who have significantly contributed to the promotion of Brazil's international relations. The order is named after Barão do Rio Branco, Brazil's Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1902 to 1912, famous for his role in negotiating the national borders of Brazil and referred as the “Father of Brazil's Diplomacy".
For three years Airto was a professor at the Ethnomusicology department of UCLA, and broke new ground in musical concepts and creative energy.
Currently he divides his time between recording studios, workshops and clinics, creating new projects including DVD Surround Sound, as well as researching new materials for future releases, and live performances in the US, Europe, Asia and Latin America.
Airto’s latest album, “Life After That” was released on Narada Records on September 30th, 2003.
http://www.airto.com/airtooldsite/frames1/wildframeset.htm
Kasper Villaume....
One of Denmarks leading young piano talents with international recognition both with his own groups and as a sideman. Kasper Villaume has won several prices in denmark and internationally. Kasper Villaume has studied with a.o. Kenny Werner, Ellis Marsalis and at the Rythmic Conservatory in Copenhagen. He has released several price winning cd’s as a leader and as a sideman.
Kasper Villaume is today one of the most used pianist of the Danish jazz scene. He has played and recorded with a.o. Ed Thigpen, Leroy Jones, Benny Golson, Jimmy Heath, Allan Bothcinsky, Danny Moss, Alex Riel, Jesper Lundgaard, Katrine Madsen, Jesper Thilo, Bob Rockwel, Bent Jædig.
MILESTONES
Kasper Villaume Trio tours coming up in Germany, Poland, Thailand and Japan.
Featured on new Chris Minh Doky cd on Blue Note 2006.
2006 “Hands” recieves award as ‘Jazz Album Of The Year” – audience and critics poll at the Danish Music Award Show.
2006 Kasper Villaume trio records new album for Japanese label Marshmellow Records. To be released summer 2006 (exclusively in Japan)
2006 “Hands” cd sells more that 4000 ex. In the first 3 months
2006 Featured on new Amnesty International cd with many popular danish jazz and pop artists.
2005 “Hands” recives prize (DKK. 50.000) as Jazz cd of the year 2005 from “Statens Kunstfond”.
2005 Kasper Villaume is selected as one of the danish jazz groups to be promoted internationally by the Danish Jazz Federation
2005 Kasper Villaume Trio tours Denmark, Sweden and Germany.
2005 New cd out “Kasper Villaume – Hands” feat. Chris Potter, Chris Minh Doky and Ali Jacksson
2005 Joins the swedish saxophonist Fredrik Kronkvist’s internationally acclaimed quartet.
2005 Recieves the international jazz-prize Django D’or for best young jazz musician of the year in Denmark 2005.
2005 Produces and play on new album with singer Malene Mortensen featuring bassist Avishai Cohen. Release march 2005.
2004-fall Concerts in a.o. Finland, Norway, Germany & Sweden. Solopiano performances, tour witj Danish Radio Jazz Orchestra, tour with Chris Minh Doky Trio.Severeral CD projects, both as pianist, composer and as producer
2004 Japan tour with own trio, and saxophonist Bob Rockwell
2004 Records with hip-hop group “Outlandish” for new album and single release. Wins several prices.
2004 Records new trio Cd “117 Ditmas Avenue” for Stunt Label in New York with drummer-legend Jeff Tain Watts and producer Chris Mihn Doky.
2004 Is nominated for a Danish Jazz-Grammy for the cd “Bob Rockwell – Bob’s Wilder”.
2004 Kasper Villaume Quartet is house band at a “Danish All Star Jazz Galla” at the Midem Festival in Cannes, France.
2003 Second cd with ”Kasper Villaume Quartet” is released on the Stunt label. Great reviews, and extensive touring in 2003-2004.
2003 Pianist in the new super group: ”Ed Thigpen Scan-tet” with Ed Thigpen, Jens Winther, TomasFranck, Jesper Bodilsen og Kasper Villaume. Cd out december 2003
2003 CD releases with a.o. ”Kasper Villaume Quartet” (Stunt), ”Bob Rockwell Kvintet”, ”DR Big Band”, ”Mårten Lundgren Quintet”.
2002 Records first “Kasper Villaume Trio” record “Estate” for the japanese label
Marshmellow Records. Release summer 2002.
2001 Extensive touring with a.o. Jimmy Heath, Leroy Jones and Benny Golson.
2001 Reciewed a Danish Jazz Grammy for “best newcommer in jazz” for the album “Kasper Villaume Quartet - Outrun”.
2000 Released the debut album “Outrun” with “Kasper Villaume Quartet” on Stunt Records.
1999 Graduated diploma exam after 5 years at The Rythmic Musicconservatory.
1997 Received scholarship from “Sonning Foundation” for studies in Africa and USA. Studied here a.o. with Ellis Marsalis and Kenny Werner.
1996 Won 2nd prize in the 13. Jazz Piano Contest in Vilnius, Lithauen.
1995 Won the Gold- and Talent Award in the “Berlingske Tidendes Rythmic Competition”
1995 Started playing regualy at the famous jazz club “La Fontaine” in Copenhagen
http://www.villaume.dk/
Gary Versace....
Since basing himself in New York City in June of 2002, jazz organist, pianist, and accordionist Gary Versace has quickly become one of the busiest and most versatile musicians on the scene, often featured in bands led by musicians such as John Scofield, John Abercrombie, Maria Schneider, Matt Wilson, Lee Konitz, Eliot Zigmund, Scott Wendholt, Joe Magnarelli, Danny Gottlieb, Seamus Blake, John Hollenbeck, Andy LaVerne, Adam Nussbaum, Brad Shepik, Ingrid Jensen, Tim Ries and many others.
Versace was voted a "rising star" on the Hammond organ in the last three Downbeat critics polls, and was the subject of a feature article in the July 2004 issue of Keyboard magazine.
Versace has been a featured soloist on several critically acclaimed recordings of recent years: accordionist on Maria Schneider's Grammy-winning recordings "Concert in the Garden" and "Sky Blue" and as the pianist on John Hollenbeck's Grammy-nominated large ensemble recording, "A Blessing."
Over the past five years, Versace has appeared as a leader for the Criss Cross and SteepleChase labels, and as a sideman on over 50 recordings with artists on various labels including Palmetto, ACT, Omnitone, Songlines, Pirouet, High Note, Justin Time, ArtistShare, Fresh Sound, Kind of Blue, and many others.
As a pianist, Versace performed in a two-piano recital with Marian McPartland, and in April of 1999 appeared on her acclaimed National Public Radio program, "Piano Jazz." McPartland has called him "...endlessly inventive...(Versace) really has an extraordinary talent."
Gary Versace has a masters degree in music performance from the Eastman School of Music, and spent eight years as a tenured associate professor in the jazz studies department at the University of Oregon. He remains active as a clinician and guest soloist both nationally and around the world.
http://www.garyversace.com/
Camila Inês....
Camila Ines will make th following musical presentations:
5/jul - in Brasilia (only one presentation) it will be in the Bookstore Culture of Brasilia, in the Shopping House Park.
12/jul, 9/ago, 20/set - in São Paulo will begin, shows in the Bookstore Culture of the Shopping Bourbon.
Shows will be carried through to divulge the new COMPACT DISC, that will be launched soon, intitled Jazzmine. In the COMPACT DISC they had been recorded classics of the jazz, that had consecrated singers and instrumentistas, everything in language contemporary, with grooves and modern elements. To direct the COMPACT DISC I invited the pianista Ed Staudinger and the baterista Misael Barros. The two are musicians of great experience and great knowledge of the musical language of years 70, 80, jazz and sambajazz. Everything this, mixed with my fort influences of the Cool Jazz. The result? soon you will hear…
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Leroy Jones
Born in New Orleans on February 20th, 1958, Leroy began studying the trumpet at age 10, in school band. By the time he was 13 years old, he was already playing gigs and leading Danny Barker's young Fairview Baptist Church Brass Band. The Fairview Band performed at church events, Social & Pleasure Club events, Funerals, and Second Line Parades all over the city of New Orleans. The band has performed at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and the Smithsonian Institute Festival of Culture & Folklore. The Fairview band later evolved into the Hurricane Brass Band, which became the seed of the Dirty Dozen Brass Band.
Leroy Jones was a significant figure amongst the new breed of aspiring young musicians participating in Barker's renaissance of New Orleans brass bands.
After a very brief stint in the Jazz Studies Program at Loyola University's Conservatory of Music, Jones joined the musicians union and went on to pursue his career as a professional musician. He has played with nearly all the famous jazz bands in town, and has performed at festivals and clubs throughout the U.S., Canada, Europe, South America, Southeast Asia, Japan and Australia.
The past decade Jones has been a member of the Harry Connick, Jr. Orchestra, performed on numerous recordings with various artists, leads one of the Preservation Hall Jazz Bands and has two critically acclaimed solo releases, "Mo' Cream From The Crop" and "Props for Pops" on the Sony/Columbia label. Jones continues to travel and record the world over.
Leroy Jones Quintet
The Leroy Jones Quintet was formed during the 1980s. But the band's first real international exposure came when it was the opening act for Harry Connick, Jr.'s "She" tour. The Quintet has toured the United States, Canada, South America and Australia. After releasing two critically acclaimed recordings on the Columbia label, the band toured on it's own, performing at festivals and club dates throughout the U.S., Canada, and Europe, and has appeared on NBC's "Tonight Show". The quintet has also made numerous appearances at the Louisiana Jazz & Heritage Festival.
The Leroy Jones Quintet performs an energetic swing style that encompasses both old and new jazz idioms.
http://www.satchmo.com/leroyjones/main.html
Sunday, June 21, 2009
Allen Toussaint - sweet touch of love
sweet touch of love - allen toussaint
Allen Toussaint (born January 14, 1938) is an American musician, songwriter and record producer.
One of the most influential figures in New Orleans R&B, many of Toussaint's songs have become familiar through their numerous cover versions, including "Working in the Coalmine", "Ride Your Pony", "Brickyard Blues", "Get Out My Life Woman", "Southern Nights" and "Everything I Do Gonna Be Funky".
Allen Toussaint
R&B legend Allen Toussaint has done with his music what America has been forced to do since Hurricane Katrina laid waste to his hometown -- take a new look at what is in danger of fading away.
His new album is a collection of New Orleans classics such as "St. James Infirmary" and songs from outside the Big Easy that Toussaint reworked into the style he grew up hearing, like Thelonious Monk's "Bright Mississippi," from which the album takes its name, "The Bright Missisippi."
The result is a departure from 1960s and '70s Rhythm & Blues and pop tunes for which the 71-year-old pianist and composer is famous, hits such as Lee Dorsey's "Working in a Coal Mine" and the Rolling Stones' "Fortune Teller."
But if the album differs from Toussaint's best-known work, it couldn't be closer to his roots in New Orleans, a city undergoing a slow recovery from the 2005 hurricane. There, the traditions of marching bands and jazz funerals have endured.
"There's been a resurgence of this kind of music," Toussaint said. "Also, I'm very glad about the New Orleans traditional jazz brass bands who help keep this genre alive, even though it's a little rougher than what we're doing on this particular album."
The soft-spoken Toussaint recently spoke with Reuters by phone before heading on tour to St. Paul, Minnesota, San Francisco, Washington, D.C., and Calgary, where on June 22 he headlines a jazz festival with Big Easy stalwarts, Dirty Dozen Brass Band.
http://www.postchronicle.com/news/entertainment/article_212238519.shtml?ref=rss
Jake Langley's Sweet Blues
Guitarist Jake Langley has developed a reputation as being one of the hardest swinging, modern beboper's on the scene today. In this video clip, taken from one of Jake's Mikes Masterclasses clinics, Jake lays down some serious blues and bop licks.
http://www.jazzguitarblog.com/2009/02/jake-langleys-sweet-blues.html
Amazing Jazz Guitar Solo Intro: Adam Rogers
A subscriber (thanks Chris) recently told me I should checkout Adam Rogers. I did, and so should you, he's an amazing guitar player.
I had never heard of him before, I guess he's more famous in the States than he is in Europe (and there are so many great jazz guitar players these days, it's hard to know them all).
According to his bio, Adam Rogers is a post bop guitar player with a classical background. He plays in the John Patitucci Trio and in Chris Potter's band. Before that he played in the Michael Brecker Group and Lost Tribe.
Other people he played or recorded with include Norah Jones, Cassandra Wilson, Paul Simon, Larry Coryell and Elvis Costello. Adam Rogers studied with John Scofield, Howard Collins and Barry Galbraith.
In this video, Adam Rogers plays a solo intro to Half Past Late on a Michael Brecker concert In Mexico:
http://www.jazzguitarblog.com/2009/04/amazing-jazz-guitar-solo-intro-adam.html
Bobby Sanabria & Ascension
Bobby Sanabria leading his band Ascension at the Modern Drummer festival at NJPAC on Sept 17, 2006 courtesy of hudsonmusic.com
For the only jazz videosharing site and to see tons of jazz videos visit
http://jazzvision.net
Bobby Sanabria at the Aspen Ideas Festival
International percussionist and drummer Bobby Sanabria joins world leaders from all over the globe at The Aspen Ideas Festival, to be held June 29th through July 5th 2009 in Aspen, Colorado. Presented by the Aspen Institute and The Atlantic Magazine the annual event has sizzled up a stimulating and inspiring festival of presentations, lectures, panels, and debates. The event will also host architect Frank Gehry, painter and photographer Chuck Close, and Director Damian Woetzel. The festival will also include actress and playwright Anna Deavere Smith, Executive Producer WGBH Elizabeth Deane, and the president and CEO of the Los Angeles Philharmonic.
Mr. Sanabria will be part of an elite panel that will focus on Latin Music USA, a new documentary about the musical fusions that have deeply enriched popular music in the US for over more than eight decades. Produced by a world-class production team at WGBH and the BBC, Latin Music USA invites the audience into the vibrant musical dialogue between Latinos and non-Latinos that has helped shape the history of popular music in the United States. This ground breaking film is slated to premiere during Hispanic Heritage month and will air on PBS and BBC on October 12, 2009 (episodes 1 and 2) and October 19 (episodes 3 and 4).
“Bobby has been an amazing resource for Latin Music USA. His deep understanding of Afro-Cuban music as well as Jazz and his relentless talent are priceless to this project, “ explained Pamela A. Aguilar, producer, Latin Music USA. “We are grateful for his contributions!"
“I am very excited to be a part of such a prestigious lineup of world leaders and business luminaries that will be attending the festival" says Bobby Sanabria. He adds, “I'm looking forward to discussing the upcoming documentary Latin Jazz USA, as it will shed light on how Latin music has had a deeper a broader reach than most people realize." The Aspen Ideas Festival brings together people from different fields and offers a one-of-a-kind event to share, connect, and transform their ideas. Audiences will get to know Bobby Sanabria and explore the musical fusions that have enriched America's popular music.
Bobby Sanabria continues to deliver to a myriad of listeners across the world with a diverse body of work that includes three Grammy nominations for his solo CD's. His most recent album in 2009, Kenya Revisited Live! (Jazzheads Records) has him conducting the Manhattan School of Music Afro-Cuban Jazz Orchestra. Kenya Revisited “Live" is a unique interpretation with new arrangements of the legendary Kenya album originally released in 1958. The original album featured alto saxophonist Cannonball Adderley, trumpeter Joe Newman and conga virtuoso Candido Camero-who graces the present-day recording of the Kenya repertoire an incredible 50 years later. Chip Boaz of The Latin Jazz Corner writes “Bobby Sanabria is leading this charge… on a creative ride through one of the most important albums in Latin Jazz history on Kenya Revisited Live."
Bobby Sanabria is a drummer, percussionist, composer, arranger, recording artist, producer, filmmaker, multicultural warrior and educator. Maestro Sanabria has been featured on numerous Grammy-nominated albums, including his own Grammy nominated Live & In Clave!!!, 50 Years of Mambo-A Tribute to Damaso Perez Prado, and most recently for Big Band Urban Folktale. He has performed and recorded with such legendary figures as Dizzy Gillespie, Tito Puente, Mongo Santamaria, Ray Barretto, Candido, Chico O'Farrill, Paquito D'Rivera, and the creator of the Afro-Cuban jazz tradition, Mario Bauz. Bobby co-produced the documentary The Palladium-Where Mambo Was King, for the BRAVO network, which received the 2003 IMAGEN Award for Best Documentary for Cable TV as well as the 2007 ALMA Award for, From Mambo to Hip Hop - A South Bronx Tale, for PBS. Sanabria is an associate professor at the New School University's Jazz & Contemporary Music Program and a professor at the Manhattan School of Music. Bobby has been the recipient of many awards, including induction in 2006 into The Bronx Walk of Fame where he has a street named after him and the 2008 Lifetime Achievement Award by KOSA for his outstanding accomplishments in jazz and Latin music both as a performer and educator.
For more than 50 years, the Aspen Institute has been the nation's premier gathering place for leaders from around the globe and across many disciplines to engage in deep and inquisitive discussion of the ideas and issues that both shape our lives and challenge our times. The Aspen Institute seeks to engage a broader audience in a discussion of some of the significant ideas and issues that touch all parts of our society as found in the arts, science, culture, religion, philosophy, economics, and politics. With the partnership of The Atlantic, the festival offers a stimulating and invigorating celebration of some of the liveliest minds on the stage today. The 2009 Aspen Ideas Festival will engage its participants in a variety of programs, tutorials, seminars and discussion events that together are guaranteed to charge the atmosphere with vibrant intellectual exchange.
Emerson Bran Management is a full-service booking and management agency dedicated exclusively to the Latin Jazz & Jazz industry. Our commitment is to bring you the best performers, but from a cultural perspective. Latin Jazz, from the Afro-Cuban and Brazilian perspectives and the rest of Latin America, from the traditional to the contemporary, folklore and more. EBM artists are some of the finest performers, clinicians and educators in the world. We have produced events featuring Grammy Award winners, national and international recording artists as well as emerging talent. From international and national headlining performances, to unforgettable collaborations and special presentations, EBM's artists offer a diversity of genres and rhythms for any size engagement. For a complete roster of EBM artists, please go to: emersonbranmanagement.com
http://www.allaboutjazz.com/
NYC: Ron Kaplan Sings New York! July 10 and 11, 2009
Great American Songbook Preservationist and classic-jazz-standards singer Ron Kaplan is making a rare concert appearance in New York City on July 10 and 11 to present his “New York Song Collection" (a select group of songs taken from his album entitled New York). Kaplan will perform at Feinstein's at the Regency Hotel, located at 540 Park Avenue, NYC.
Singer Ron Kaplan keeps the flame burning brightly to illuminate jazz standards, the Great American Songbook and the classic sound of singers of the Fifties. The epitome of a “saloon singer," Kaplan has a rich, warm voice that literally cocoons the listener within the cozy atmosphere of images it creates.
“Ron Kaplan is an original personality in the world of jazz vocalists and he has managed to put his name into that previously closed inner circle. He has breathed new life into it by the sheer force of his style, for as you know, “the style is the man himself". The Velvet Crooner and the elegant power of his seemingly casual phrasing is in fact, ultra-tight and perfectly seductive… Jean Szlamowicz, Jazz Hot"
In addition to his career as a concert performer and recording artist, Kaplan also is the founder and executive director of American Songbook Preservation Society, a non-profit organization whose mission statement is: “To preserve our cultural treasure known as the Great American Songbook by performing this music to the public at home and abroad as Ambassadors of Song."
This very special musical fanfare will be a NY evening to remember. Ron is delighted to bring this recording to Feinstein's Loews Regency under the musical direction of Steinway Artist and New Yorker Pete Malinverni.
Making his New York visit even more special, Kaplan will perform some of these New York Songs and talk about this classic material on one of the city's top talk shows, “The Joey Reynolds Show" (on WOR 710 and nationally-syndicated) on Thursday, July 9, starting after midnight.
The New York CD is available by request for review purposes in print or online media.
One of our finest contemporary singers of jazz standards, Ron Kaplan has spent his entire career championing the Great American Songbook, with much of that classic material written in or about New York City. So it makes perfect sense that this tradition-oriented vocalist dedicates his latest album, New York, to that remarkable metropolis.
“Although I am from California," explains Kaplan, “every time I go to New York City I am always struck by the energy, excitement and exuberance of the place. Everything about it is exciting – the history, the architecture, the people, the culture, the arts. It's the jazz capitol of the world. It's the home of Broadway theatre, Tin Pan Alley, the Brill Building and countless legendary songwriters over the past century. There is so much to do and the atmosphere is so intense. It's the city that never sleeps. It is one of the few cities in the world that has had many, many songs written about it. The difficulty wasn't finding New York-themed songs for this recording, but deciding which ones to sing."
In addition to his career as a concert performer and recording artist, Kaplan also is the founder and executive director of American Songbook Preservation Society, a non-profit organization whose mission statement is: “To preserve our cultural treasure known as the Great American Songbook by presenting this music to the public at home and abroad as Ambassadors of Song."
http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/news.php?id=37945
Ron Kaplan sings One For My Baby at L.A. Benefit Concert
Singer Ron Kaplan performs One For My Baby with pianist Karen Hammack at the Los Angeles benefit concert on behalf of American Songbook Preservation Society...Singing the Great American Songbook
Visit us @ http://www.greatamericansongbook.org
Friday, June 19, 2009
Johnny Hartman - "my one and only love"
John Coltrane & Johnny Hartman (1963)
Track No. 3, "My one and only love"
Johnny Hartman....
Despite his talents, jazz singer Johnny Hartman struggled to maintain a thriving career. Hartman caught a couple of big breaks during his life that seemed to show promise, but the racial and cultural milieu during his active years were such that he never earned the recognition he deserved while he was still alive.
Hartman’s first big opportunity came after he won a singing competition at age 17 in a Chicago supper club. The prize was a brief engagement with Earl Hines’ big band. Hines, whose band cultivated the talents of bebop stars such as Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie, invited Hartman to join the group for a longer period.
Bebop: Not the Right Fit:
Hartman, whose strengths were his dulcet vocal timbre, emotional nuances, and meticulous phrasing, did not entirely fit into the bebop scene. He left Hines’ band to sing in Gillespie’s big band, but abandoned it in 1949 for a solo career.
Hartman distinguished himself from the majority of jazz singers in the 1950s by rejecting conventions such as scat singing and modifying standard songs. He prided himself on staying close to original melodies, allowing the lyrics to guide his musical interpretation. Some argue that for this reason, Hartman’s potential was squelched by promoters who weren’t interested in supporting a black musician who sounded thoughtful, intelligent, and romantic.
http://jazz.about.com/od/classicjazzartists/p/JohnnyHartman.htm
Jazz Internet Radios....
By Jacob Teichroew, About.com
For listeners who want to increase their exposure to jazz, here is a short list of jazz internet radio resources:
•Pandora:
As soon as you visit Pandora, you are prompted to type in the name of your favorite artist or song. Using a system known as the Music Genome Project, Pandora chooses music that you might like based on your selection. From there, it sets up a “station,” or a pool of tracks by artists who fit into the same category, which is defined by things like melody, harmony, rhythm, and instrumentation.
Pandora allows for the continual evolution of your station based on all of your previous choices, which you can rate by clicking a “thumbs up” or “thumbs down” icon. Because of the way the songs are indexed, you could stumble across music you like that you've never heard of before.
Website: www.pandora.com
•Pure Jazz Radio:
Pure Jazz Radio plays jazz every day all day long. Hear anyone from the early days of jazz to contemporary innovators and every one in between. The station is programmed by Rich Keith, a New Yorker who has been promoting jazz on the air waves since the 1970s. You can tune in any time to hear great music, but you need Windows Media Player. Also, Frank Sinatra fans will be delighted to know that every Sunday features Sinatra all day, from 10:00 am to 6:00 pm.
Website: purejazzradio.com
•Live365:
Live365 gives you access to hundreds of radio stations all over the world. Live365 is not an interactive internet radio site the way Pandora is, but is a hub of live and pre-recorded radio broadcasts. Select your preferred genre, and be directed to a list of stations that are associated with it. I chose “jazz,” and the list contained stations broadcasting bebop, smooth jazz, and gypsy guitar jazz.
Live365 is a great way to tap into some new prospects if you are like listening to traditional radio, but are unhappy with your local station’s jazz content.
Website: www.live365.com
•Rhapsody:
Rhapsody allows you to search for music you like by keyword, genre, or artist. Like Pandora, Rhapsody gives personalized suggestions based on your choices. Unlike Pandora, Rhapsody allows you to listen to an entire album from start to finish, and generally gives you more control over what you listen to at all times.
The catch is, you have to pay a fee, starting at $12.99 a month. However, before you commit to a membership plan, you get 14 free plays to determine whether or not you like the service. Rhapsody is ideal for people who end up paying more than $12.99 a month buying tracks on itunes or similar pay-by-the-track services.
Website: www.rhapsody.com
•Shoutcast:
Shoutcast is another streaming radio station hub, giving you access to hundreds of stations featuring a multitude of genres. It has a more streamlined site than Live365, letting you see what each station is playing before you decide whether or not to tune in.
Website: www.shoutcast.com
•RadioRow:
RadioRow, like Live365 and Shoutcast, is a hub of streaming radio stations. But, instead of being able to tune in directly from the site, the list of jazz stations contains links to the stations’ websites, requiring more navigation to actually begin listening. On the plus side, RadioRow’s lists are formatted very simply, and therefore easiest on the eyes. It’s clear immediately where the radio station is located, and what style of jazz it features.
Website: www.radiorow.com
•NPR’s Live at the Village Vanguard:
With a project co-led by NPR and Newark, New Jersey’s WGBO, the Live at the Village Vanguard series presents monthly performances given at New York’s famous Village Vanguard jazz club. You can tune in to hear the performance live, or download streams of previous performances from today’s jazz masters.
Website: www.npr.org
Jazz at the White House
On Monday, June 15th, Michelle Obama hosted an afternoon of jazz education at the White House. 150 high school students were invited to take part in demonstrations, clinics, discussions, and to attend a concert featuring trumpeter and jazz pedagogue Wynton Marsalis and clarinetist extraordinaire Paquito D'Rivera.
The event was organized in part by Washington, D.C.'s Duke Ellington Jazz Festival. As Ben Ratliff suggested in his New York Times piece, the afternoon was a symbol of the current administration's dedication to jazz and the arts.
Sean Jones, whose album The Search Within I reviewed here, was another of the clinicians at the White House. The lessons of the afternoon focused on jazz and American history, the blues, swing, and Duke Ellington.
http://jazz.about.com/b/2009/06/17/jazz-at-the-white-house.htm
Jack Nimitz, died
He was in 10 june that Jack Nimitz, the excellent sax-baritone voice that acted with great success in the bands of Woody Herman and Stan Kenton and still participating actively of the Supersax group, directed for Med Flory, came to died to the 79 years. Plus one craque that it is gone.
http://www.charutojazz.blogspot.com/
Ana Paula Albuquerque....
Ana Paula Albuquerque is one of the great revelations of vocal music in recent years in Salvador,Brazil. Been born in Grajaú of the Maranhão and created in Pará, she came to the Bahia to the 16 years to study music in the Federal University and soon one got passionate for the local musicalidade and its musicians. With a sweet voice, worked I sing for it lyric and for the jazz, Ana Paula of the one has touched special to each one of musics that she interprets, searching to mix the diverse influences the one that had access, presenting a rich view in combination of rhythms and sounds.
This interpreter has developed a work of high quality, always giving emphasis to the main Brazilian rhythms. RELEASE Ana Paula Albuquerque possesss a diversified resume. Bachelor in I sing (2002-2005), for the Federal University of the Bahia and with great nimbleness in such a way in Brazilian and bahian popular music, how much in jazz and erudite music. Its works include since participation in operas and concerts, as presentations of new samba and bossa. It integrated the Benutt's Band under regency of Sergio Benutti, and the Bahia Sambajazz Quinteto (group which established together with other local musicians).
Already it was presented with Robert Mendes, Joatan Birth, Zeca Freitas, the Melódicos, Rowney Scott and others. It was indicated for the prize of better interpreter for the Trophy Caymmi 2004. It participated of some festivals of music in Salvador and in other localities and, in many occasions, she was awardee for its performance, as Educator FM happened in III the Festival of Music of the Radio, in which the Trip of Firmino was interpreter of best vocal music “”, in November of 2005, in the Unifest - Festival of University Music, when it conquered the prize of better interpreter, with 2° place, music “Pain and the Sea” that also the prize received from according to place in the festival of music of the Bahia. Recently it conquered one more time as place in the festival of Music of the Bahia, interpreting “If you will be Of the Bahia”. In XV the Festival of Instrumental Music of the Bahia if it presented with the Orchestra Fred Dantas. Currently, it develops personal work, from the meeting of the diverse influences of its musical trajectory.
http://www.myspace.com/anapaulaalbuquerque
Funeral Details for Bassist Hugh Hopper
Here are the details of bassist Hugh Hopper's funeral, to take place in Teynham, Kent, in the UK. Thanks to Hugh's wife Christine, and to drummer and close friend John Marshall for passing this information along:
Hugh's funeral will be on Thursday 25th June at 10am at Deerton Natural Burial Ground, which is situated close to the village of Teynham, in Kent (postcode: ME9 9LL).
It will be a Tibetan Buddhist Ceremony to respect Hugh's wishes and there will be opportunity for a few musicians to play by the graveside to say goodbye. Afterwards there will be lunch at a local pub and then a gentle walk. From 5pm we will gather at the Oyster Building, which is on the seafront in Whitstable, where musicians are welcome to play.
No flowers please; however, donations offered will be shared between the Brabourne Ward at Canterbury Hospital and the Kangyur Rinpoche Foundation.
Do not cry because I die
Do not cry as I am
Drifting alone on the
Seashore of light
Rejoice in the light of love, my love
Into the pure light above
The Rainbow light where
I am free of suffering
And bright.
From me to Hugh and all his great friends and family.
love,
Christine Hopper
http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/news.php?id=37869
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Paul Morris and Ben Ratliff discuss the book: "Jazz: A Critics Guide to the 100 Most Important Recordings"
In the preface to his book Jazz: A Critics Guide to the 100 Most Important Recordings, New York Times jazz critic Ben Ratliff writes, "You oughtn't look at jazz only by its corners, its Hot Fives and Sevens, its Kind of Blues and Love Supremes. You have to look at what the corners surround."
In this spirit, his book is an exploration of jazz in its many varied forms, and opens the reader's ears to quite surprising recordings comfortably overlooked by other guides. While it includes many of the classics jazz historians have come to expect from such an endeavor, it also lists a variety of Cuban, Brazilian and avant-garde recordings even serious jazz fans may find puzzling, yet worthy of discovery.
In our January, 2003 interview, Jerry Jazz Musician contributor Paul Morris and Ratliff discuss the book, the logic of his choices, and his experiential perspective on jazz.
JJM So many of us grew up in the world of rock and roll and found our way to jazz somehow. How did you get interested in jazz?
BR Somehow, a Louis Armstrong record drifted into my house when I was ten or so, and I subsequently found out some things about Miles Davis and a few other jazz people. The big leap forward for me was being involved with radio station WKCR while a student at Columbia University. The station was an amazing community of completely different people, all united by the same obsessions, which was being on the air. I was one of the people who camped out at the station, which turned out to be a remarkably fast way for me to learn much about jazz because they had an enormous record library. I didn't have to spend thousands of dollars at the record store to figure out what I liked and where I wanted to go. Even though WKCR is a college radio station, it is taken quite seriously in New York and has a wide, hardcore jazz listener following. Because of that, if I wanted to invite a musician on the air to talk, it was doable.
JJM So you got to do interviews.
BR Yes, and because we were in New York and I had this connection to the station, I got to hear music and meet musicians. I was suddenly "of that world." I don't know how I would have had that access and opportunity if not for my involvement with WKCR.
JJM Your book, The Essential Library of Jazz, lists 100 of the most important recordings in the history of the music. How do you see people using this book, either for those new to jazz or who are veteran jazz listeners?
BR The idea of this book was presented to me by New York Times Books, who have begun publishing a series of books written by their critics that take the form of the "100 Essential Documents" of different aspects of the culture, whether it be jazz, opera, film, etc. My book is the first of the series to be published. I never aspired to write a book like this, but I thought it would provide me with a decent opportunity to write about certain things in jazz history that interest me as a writer. It is an alternative way to write about jazz history, using records as the filter for it. The book is written for a very general readership, although there is enough specific information in it and enough semi-obscure recordings that people who do know about jazz would be interested in it also. The nature of the book is that it is a list, and a primary purpose of it is to provide a form of entertainment for those who read it and see if my choices correspond to theirs.
JJM You write in your introduction that you have a bias that favors understanding jazz as it is currently played.
BR Yes, that is because my job as jazz critic for the New York Times involves seeing live concerts, sometimes as many as three or four a week. Consequently, I am in tune with what is playing in the clubs and the incredibly wide range of what jazz sounds like now. What I meant by saying that I have a bias that favors jazz as it is currently played is that I believe jazz is in an emergency situation right now, and I am faced with that on a daily basis. I thought it would be most useful to write a book that is weighted toward the music as it is currently played, rather than burying myself in outmoded styles of jazz and holding those records up as lost paradises. I did put a lot of old records in there, but decided to put my biases up front and explain why so many that were recorded during the last forty years were chosen was because of the impact they have had on jazz as we know it now.
JJM Compared to similar books, you had much more information on free jazz and music of the last thirty years.
BR In general, there are inequities in jazz books that I wanted to address. In many of the jazz books I read growing up, I felt one of the inequities was that writers either knew nothing and cared nothing about free jazz or post-Coltrane type music, or loved it so much that they blathered on about it incoherently. I wanted to write a book that could have room for free and post-free and connect it sensibly with the rest of jazz history.
JJM I must say you got me digging out some of my old recordings. It was fun to listen to Roscoe Mitchell's Sound, which I hadn't heard in many years, and I was surprised that you put Miles Davis' Get Up With It on your list of essential recordings.
BR I always favored that over Bitches Brew because, to me, parts of it are more beautiful and more austere. It is both lovely and frightening. And, it is the closing statement on that whole six-year period of electric music before Miles vanished and went mute for five years. Choosing this recording is an example of how I felt that it was important to make some choices that weren't so obvious. Even if some of them seem a little perverse, I think it allows people to engage with those odd choices and question them, and maybe decide that they do like Bitches Brew better, but to think about why. When writing about jazz, there is way too much perceived wisdom and judgements that are basically repeated over and over again without thinking what they mean, and without thinking whether they still apply twenty or thirty years after the judgements were first made.
JJM You include several Latin jazz recordings by Machito, and by Tito Puente. Why were these important?
BR This goes back to the idea of my forthright bias about jazz as it is currently played. If you are going to pick up a book like this in 2003, you are going to want to come out of it with some sense of what jazz means, and to me that means what jazz means now, taking into account the present and the past. One of the ways jazz is heading right now is that it is "Latinizing," just as our country is. I meet more and more musicians, especially drummers, who have either been to Cuba or have plans to go there to study with Cuban musicians. Their intent is to learn Cuban music in the proper way, without playing jazz with a light Cuban flavor and passing off bad watery rhumba as the real thing. I also believe that some of the most imaginative records in jazz in the last ten years have been Latin jazz records. Also, it is clear to me that Latin jazz has not been well represented in other jazz books. Martin Williams' The Jazz Tradition, which is one of my favorites, and books that are more directly comparable to mine, like Len Lyons' book about essential jazz records called The 101 Best Jazz Albums: A History of Jazz on Records, don't represent Latin jazz very well. I had to ask myself, If my book is going to be different, how is it going to be different? Including Latin recordings seemed to be an obvious way to make it different.
JJM I compared your list to Len Lyons' list and I found nineteen matches.
BR That is interesting. I still haven't done that, but that sounds about right.
JJM A choice you made that one would think was peripheral to jazz was Bob Wills. Why is Bob Wills on your list?
BR Because those musicians really swung, and because they were all listening to Ellington and Basie. There were playing to different audiences and using some different ingredients, but they were, in their mind, absolutely part of the jazz tradition. I thought it was important that the best western swing be represented.
JJM Another surprise for me was seeing a Stan Kenton album on your list, New Concepts of Artistry in Rhythm. Your essay on Kenton was very interesting, and you included a wonderful photograph of Kenton behind the wheel of a bus.
BR Yes, the photo is by Lee Friedlander. Kenton's music fell dramatically out of favor in the sixties. I have only recently found use for it myself, and part of that came from having experienced Bill Russo's repertory band play some Kenton music live. People "dis" repertory bands all the time, but I find them incredibly useful because they help understand what this music was supposed to sound like, especially in big bands where there is such a wide soundscape. To hear how the music ricocheted around the different areas of the band is essential in understanding it on the level the composer and the arranger intended for the listener. I have gone back to those Kenton records and find fascinating things in them -- and some very flat footed things too -- but the best way to understand any form of music is through its nearly perfect statements as well as its overindulgences and near misses.
JJM Before I ask you about another surprising choice, I want to insert that you cover the Ellington and Armstrong and Parker recordings that everyone would expect to find in this book, and your essays are insightful and fun to read. Having said that, I do want to ask you about the unusual choices. You include a Louis Jordan anthology, and you make the comment that "Louis Jordan was one of the most important musicians of the twentieth century."
BR Jordan was part of jazz, part of R&B, and was one of the most important wellsprings for rock and roll, so, in a sense he was some of the best of twentieth century American music in a nutshell. He was connected to all these various ways in which the music could go. Although one could find his music somewhat frivolous, I find it to be wise and witty. It is great stuff. Jordan has had some impact on some jazz musicians. Whenever I can, I like to point out that jazz doesn't need to be considered as a very rare, very special, very cordoned off area of music. The more jazz is connected to the rest of popular expression in America, the better off we all are. When it is, we can enjoy it more and we can feel that it is has made an impact, rather than just receding further and further into obscurity.
JJM You use the term "perverse" to describe some of your choices. Tell us about the choice of an organ jazz record by "Baby Face" Willette called Face to Face.
BR Face to Face transcends the cliches of organ jazz records, of which there are many. There is a drive and a gut feeling on the record -- and really excellent playing -- that makes you feel that you are not listening to just another organ record. There are tons of "just another organ records" out there. The further into the book I got I realized that each record I suggested to do a certain job. That job might be to talk about a single musician or a style or a school of thought or an era. When I got to a certain point where a record had to do the job for a tenor or an organ recording, I just chose the one I loved the best.
JJM The inclusion of the Brazilian record by Moacir Santos was a surprise…
BR I thought it would be fun to put in a record that was legitimately brilliant but which few people have ever heard. Also, it was a way to talk about how American styles made their way to places like Brazil without anybody in America ever realizing that. I hear a Gerry Mulligan big band influence in the Santos record, Coisas, but I also hear great originality in Santos' composing. I thought that the record is strong enough to stand up on its own as a top 100 choice. Also, Santos is still living, and I thought it was important to have as many recordings in the book by people who are still living as I could.
JJM In addition to your top 100, you have a second 100 that you have labeled, "More albums you should own or at least know about," which include many interesting choices that people are going to want to check out. You comment in your introduction, "Don't come to me with your 'why didn't you put this on your list until you have looked at that one.'" But, I am going to come at you with a couple "Why didn't you put this on your list? questions, and tell me what you think. How come there is no Bud Powell in your top 100?
BR I realize now that that's a problem, and it is number one on my list of regrets. I can give you some more too! It's funny, while doing this book I cornered myself into all kinds of strange processes of logic that seemed to make sense at the time. The great thing about Martin Williams' The Jazz Tradition is that he was able to revive it. I hope at some point to revive this book, because there are things that I would take out and there are things that I would add to it. Immediately, once I saw the book and read through it from beginning to end, I noticed that the absence of a Bud Powell record from the top 100 was palpable, even though I put one in the alternative 100. I think my reasoning at the time might have been that I didn't want to spend too much time on bebop, and that I had briefly discussed Powell elsewhere in the book. But you are right to question me about why I left Powell out, and I will tell you a couple more that should have been in the book. Now He Sings, Now He Sobs, by Chick Corea is one, and the record Nancy Wilson made with Cannonball Adderley should be in the book too, just because it is perfection. It would have been a good place to talk about how you don't need to be an absolute original to make nearly perfect art. You can say that at that time Nancy Wilson sounded a lot like Dinah Washington, but it doesn't matter. She had such control over her craft, and the record is such a beautiful thing.
JJM Yes, it is certainly her best. Another artist not on your list is Wes Montgomery.
BR Yes, I considered him. I thought a lot about guitar records, and even though I grew up playing guitar, I think that is the instrument that gets short shrift in the book.
JJM You have Django in there, Charlie Christian and Grant Green is noted for his performance on the "Baby Face" Willette record as well as being listed in the second 100.
BR That's right. I don't know what to tell you about why I left Wes Montgomery out.
JJM You say that you have a level of dissatisfaction with records as opposed to performances. Why?
BR I sort of want it all. When I go to hear music live, I want to be reminded of why people make music in the first place. I want to be part of the audience participation, and see how the artists react to the needs of their constituency. That is not something you can get from records. Many records, including the ones I write about in the book, are brilliant, but there is something I like even more about live performance because the artist does it and then it is gone. There is a blank slate on the next set and the artist can start over, do it better or do it differently. I am influenced by a couple of people who have written about this sort of thing, and who are usually described as "musicologists," but to me they are just good thinkers. One of them is Christopher Small, who wrote a great book called Musicking, and the other is Charlie Keil, who has written a lot about music as a participatory act -- including their audience in the participation. Because I witness so much live music, I have to rationalize for myself why I keep doing it, and why I like to go through the process of getting to the club, sitting down, clearing my mind, and experiencing something new. I enjoy this much more than sitting down alone, concentrating on a record. That is just the way my mind works.
JJM Who was your childhood hero?
BR The people who were my heroes as a kid, in the end, don't make the cut. I think they were idols but not heroes. Pete Rose, Richard Wright, John Malkovich, Keith Richards or Miles Davis are people I loved for one aspect of their lives, but the more I learned about them, the less I felt that I could be influenced by them as complete human beings. I am a parent and whoever my hero is has to be someone who is a good parent. So, I have friends and relatives who are more heroic to me than most of my favorite artists. But I would say that Duke Ellington is a heroic figure to me.
http://www.jerryjazzmusician.com/mainHTML.cfm?page=ratliff.html
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