Catherine Russell’s musical prowess transcends genre. Accordingly, Cat, Ms. Russell’s 2006 debut album, on Harmonia Mundi’s World Village imprint, showcases a mature, one of a kind, vocalist, who defies easy categorization. Her singing encompasses jazz balladry, bordello blues, dance hall swing, jump blues, country, pop, and soul. Catherine Russell embodies the deepest heart of American music in a single voice.
A native New Yorker, Catherine was born in 1956 with an enviable jazz pedigree. Her father, the late Luis Russell, was a pioneering pianist, composer, and bandleader who sat at the center of several of the seminal bands of 20th century American jazz and popular music. In 1935, Louis Armstrong, a fellow transplant from New Orleans to New York, named Luis Russell as his musical director and Russell's orchestra as his backing group. Catherine's mother, Carline Ray, is an outstanding bassist and vocalist and holder of advanced degrees from Julliard and Manhattan School of Music. Carline has performed with Mary Lou Williams and Wynton Marsalis.
Ms. Russell attended the High School of Music and Art and later graduated with honors from American Academy of Dramatic Arts. Professional singing opportunities soon beckoned. Catherine toured Europe singing gospel music with a group fronted by Carrie Smith including Catherine's mother Carline Ray on bass.
Returning to New York City, Catherine sang blues and soul with Jimmy Vivino's Little Big Band where she met Donald Fagen in the fall of 1989. Soon after, Catherine joined Donald Fagen, performing in the N.Y. Rock N Soul Revue, which also included Boz Skaggs, Michael McDonald, Phoebe Snow and Chuck Jackson. When Donald Fagen returned to Steely Dan for tours of the U.S. and Japan, Catherine Russell came along as a backing vocalist. Catherine's growing reputation as a versatile and expressive singer led to a call from Paul Simon and a month long run in 1992 at the Paramount Theater in New York. Every night Catherine had the thrill to step out on a vocal duet with Paul Simon along with gospel legends The Mighty Clouds of Joy on "Slip Slidin' Away".
Today, Catherine Russell lives in Manhattan, her apartment walls adorned with the gold and platinum records on which she appears. She toured the globe with David Bowie as a vocalist and multiinstrumentalist on the hugely successful and critically acclaimed “A Reality Tour”, which earned the 1 top-grossing tour for the first half of 2004, according to Billboard. In addition, Ms. Russell has performed or recorded with a dizzyingly impressive array of trend setting artists, including Jackson Browne, Rosanne Cash, Cyndi Lauper, Joan Osborne, Michael Feinstein, Madonna, Al Green, J. Geils Band, Dolly Parton, and Isaac Hayes, among others. Catherine has also joined the faculty as Associate Professor of Voice at Berklee College of Music in Boston.
Catherine Russell is that rarest of entities – a genuine jazz and blues singer – who can sing virtually anything. Her voice is full blown feminity incarnate; a dusky, stalwart and soulful instrument that radiates interpretive power yet remains touchingly vulnerable. She launches fearlessly into each tune, getting inside the melody and capturing every emotion. Whether she’s shimmying through a barrelhouse stomper, channeling fifties R&B, dragging her weary heart through a torchy juke joint number, or kicking up her heels honky tonk style, Ms. Russell can stand comparison to her greatest forebears. As Grammy Award winning Jazz historian, Phil Schaap, crows in his liner notes, Sarah Vaughan, Bessie Smith, Ella Fitzgerald and Billie Holiday finally have a worthy descendant.
Program:
10 abr 2010 21:00 - Mohonk Mountain House New Paltz, New York
12 abr 2010 19:30 - Sing Into Spring Festival at Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola New York, New York
15 abr 2010 20:00 - Scullers Jazz Club Boston, Massachusetts
16 abr 2010 20:00 - Narrows Center for The Arts Fall River, Massachusetts
6 mai 2010 19:30 - The Egg Center for Performing Arts Albany, New York
21 mai 2010 19:00 - Kennedy Center for The Performing Arts District of Columbia, Washington DC
22 mai 2010 20:00 - Arden Club at Gild Hall Arden, Delaware
27 mai 2010 18:30 - Riverwalk Jazz at Pearl Stable San Antonio, Texas
24 jun 2010 20:00 - JazzAscona Ascona, Switzerland
Influenes:
Momma said there are only two kinds of music...GOOD and BAD...that about sums it up for me. My influences range from Etta James to Beatles to Bob Dylan...Louis Armstrong to Louis Jordan to my dad Luis Russell. Just finished listening to Astor Piazolla w/Kronos Quartet! Bach, Bernstein, Handel, Ravel, Ellington, Gershwin...and of course Garcia/Hunter!!! I love opera, gospel, early music on traditional instruments, Irish and American string band music, Dirty Dozen Brass Band. Voices I love (can't name them all)...Nancy Wilson, Abbey Lincoln, Ruth Brown, Jackson Browne, Elvis Costello, Bobby Womack, Curtis Mayfield, Marvin Gaye, Frank Sinatra, Peggy Lee, Michael Feinstein, Al Green, Levon Helm, Oumou Sangare, Habib Koite, David Byrne, David Bowie, Willie Nelson, James Brown, George Jones, Patsy Cline, Stanley Brothers, Charlie Rich. I've saved most of my concert ticket stubs from the days when concerts were anywhere from $1 to $5...ah those were the days! But these are the days too...and I must say THIS! I'm blessed with the best friends anyone could have!!! http://www.myspace.com/catrussell
Bessie Smith tune featuring Catherine Russell on vocals, Matt Munisteri on guitar, Howard Johnson on tuba, and Mark Shane on piano. From the album "Sentimental Streak" (World Village) - video by Anthony Pepitone at Joe's Pub in NYC 2-27-08.
Originally from Tucson, Arizona ,Tony Malaby has been permanently based in New York since 1995 and has been a member of many notable jazz groups including Charlie Haden’s Liberation Orchestra, Paul Motian's Electric Bebop Band, Mark Helias' Open Loose, Fred Hersch's quintet and Walt Whitman project, Michell Portal's Birdwatcher, various projects with Daniel Humair and bands led by Mario Pavone, Tim Berne, Chris Lightcap, Kris Davis, Angelica Sanchez, Michael Attias and Marty Ehrlich.
His debut cd "Sabino"(Arabesque) made the NY Times and Philadelphia City Paper's top ten jazz lists for 2000. He has a brand new release: "Tamarindo" with bassist William Parker and Nasheet Waits on drums. It is available on the Clean Feed label. His other releases include: "Adobe" available on Sunnyside in the US, featuring Drew Gress and Paul Motian; Apparitions" on the Songlines label featuring Tom Rainey, Mike Sarin, and Drew Gress; and "Alive in Brooklyn Vol. 1 and 2" featuring Angelica Sanchez and Tom Rainey.
Tony leads several projects of his own including: APPARITIONS featuring: Drew Gress, Tom Rainey and Mike Sarin. The Tony Malaby CELLO TRIO, featuring Chicago cellist Fred Lonberg-Holm and percussionist John Hollenbeck. The quartet PALOMA RECIO(Loud Dove) with Ben Monder, Eivind Opsvik and Nashhet Waits. The trio TAMARINDO featuring bassist William Parker and Nasheet Waits on drums. Tony co-leads the Malaby Sanchez Rainey Trio.
Kenny Barron (born June 9, 1943 in Philadelphia), is an American jazz pianist. He is the younger brother of tenor saxophonist Bill Barron, and known for his lyrical, adaptive style. His talent first came to wider recognition when he took the piano chair in the 1960s Dizzy Gillespie quartet. He graduated in 1978 with a BA in Arts from Empire State College (Metropolitan Center, NYC).
He also co-led the groups Sphere and the Classical Jazz Quartet. Between 1987 and 1991, Barron recorded several albums with Stan Getz, most notably Bossas & Ballads – The Lost Sessions, Serenity, Anniversary and People Time, a 2CD set. He has been nominated nine times for Grammy Awards and for the American Jazz Hall of Fame.
For over 25 years, Barron taught piano and keyboard harmony at Rutgers University in New Jersey. He now teaches at the Manhattan School of Music. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kenny_Barron
Kenny Barron - left side
Brad Mehldau - right side
Piano Summit - Umbria 1999
Michelangelo Buonarroti, The Sin of Adam and Eve, The Fall of Man, Fresco at the Vatican, Sistine Chapel
But then, what exactly is evil? Is it really so easy and clear to define? Or is it simply a point of view? Evil is intentional. After all, predators kill prey for food, but we could never rightly say they are evil. Are humans inherently good or evil? Is evil made or born? Is good made or born? According to the Chinese philosopher, Wang Yang Ming, man is inherently good. He says, "when it [the mind] sees a child fall into a well it naturally knows what commiseration is. This is intuitive knowledge of good, and is not attained through external investigation. If the thing manifested emanates from the intuitive faculty, it is the more free from the obscuration of selfish purpose. This is what is meant by saying that the mind is filled with commiseration, and that love cannot be exhausted. . . ."
But, when we compare this philosophy to Christian theology, it is the complete opposite... man is a sinner because of original sin. Man is corrupt, selfish, and depraved, saved only by divine Grace.
What is interesting is that both philosophies (religion, philosophy, so closely linked...can we not call one the other and the other one?) speak of the passions of men. In Eastern thought, man is born whole, good, upright then corrupted by passions (from Wang Yang Ming):
"The mind is one. In case it has not been corrupted by the passions of men, it is called an upright mind. If corrupted by human aims and passions, it is called a selfish mind. When a selfish mind is rectified it is an upright mind; and when an upright mind loses its rightness it becomes a selfish mind. Originally there were not two minds. A selfish mind is due to selfish desire; an upright mind is natural law (is true to nature). . . .Someone said "All men have natural endowment (mind), and the mind is the embodiment of heaven-given principles (natural law). Why then do some devote themselves to virtue and others to vice? The mind of the evil man has lost its original nature. . . .There are no crises and problems beyond those of passion and change. Are not pleasure, anger, sorrow, and joy passions of men? Seeing, hearing, talking, working, wealth and honor, poverty and lowliness, sorrow and difficulty, death and life, all are vicissitudes of life. All are included in the passions and feelings of men. These need only to be in a state of perfect equilibrium and harmony, which, in turn, depends upon being watchful over one's self. . . ."
So accordingly, evil is the result of not being watchful over one's self, yielding to the temptations that so readily present themselves in life whereas in Christian thought, evil is something we are born with and have to remove from our very souls by divine Grace... divine intervention?... that we will absolutely be doomed to evil... it's such a pessimistic view.
http://delineatingart.blogspot.com/2010/02/nature-of-man.html
Ryan arrived in NYC eight years ago and has been keeping extremely busy. He's played hits at Carnegie Hall, Jazz at Lincoln Center's Allen Room, Birdland, and the Bowery Ballroom, and tours frequently, having performed in Scandinavia, Italy, Ireland, Russia, Brazil, Argentina, Australia, etc. (He's in China right now!) Ryan graduated in 2001 from the Manhattan School of Music where he studied with Steve Turre and composers Mike Abene and the late Manny Album. He went on to study with Wycliffe Gordon and David Berger at Juilliard, and was a member of Jazz at Juilliard's first graduating class.
Ryan has also performed or recorded with Wynton Marsalis and the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra, Frank Wess, Jimmy Heath, Slide Hampton, Charles McPherson, Percy Heath, Teo Macero, Joe Lovano, Eric Reed, Ivan Lins, Jon Hendricks, Madeline Peyroux, and Alicia Keys among others. He is the regular trombonist for the Broadway musical In the Heights. In April of 2007 Ryan released his debut CD, Ryan Keberle Double Quartet, which the New York Times's Nate Chinen hailed as an "auspicious debut." (Photo: Jen Trail)
Ryan plays in like a bazillion bigbands in town, including Maria's. But I would like to go on the record to state that she stole him from me, and not the other way around — Ryan has been a Secret Society co-conspirator since October 2005 (our second-ever gig). I wrote "Zeno" as a feature for him, and he also tears it up on "Ritual."
http://secretsociety.typepad.com/darcy_james_argues_secret/2008/10/know-your-co--1.html
The Ryan Keberle Double Quartet in performance at NYC's Cachaca on June 23, 2008 performing Ryan's arrangement of the McCartney and Lennon classic, "Blackbird". Ryan Keberle - Trombone, Compositions / Arrangements, Pete Smith - Guitar, Matt Brewer - Bass, Brad Wentworth - Drums, Mike Rodriguez - Trumpet, Mike Fahie - Trombone, Chris Komer - French Horn, Jose Davila - Tuba.
Erica's a West Hartford native who moved to New York in 2000 to study at the Manhattan School of Music. She finished her studies at Juilliard after they launched their jazz program, earning the first Bachelor's Degree in jazz in the history of the school. Since 2003, she's been a member of the Afro-Latin Jazz Orchestra under the direction of Arturo O'Farrill. She plays flute in Chris Potter's Tentet, and is featured on last year's Song for Anyone. In 2006, Erica released her first album as a leader with her band, Project E, and she will soon begin recording for her next project. She also paints! Photo:> Dani Gurgel
Erica has been a Secret Society co-conspirator ever since our first gig back in May 2005. In addition to being a kickass improvising saxophonist, Erica is like a scarily good flutist. A lot of jazz saxophonists can double on flute well enough to get by in most casual situations, but Erica is actually serious about the instrument. This means I can write real flute parts for her in Secret Society, which is awesome.
Erica is featured on alto flute and soprano sax on "Chrysalis" (click to listen; right/ctrl-click to download). She is sad that she almost never gets to play her main horn in this band, so one of the new pieces I'm working on will be an alto sax feature for her.
Darcy James Argue's Secret Society is a sponsored project of Fractured Atlas, a non-profit arts service organization. Contributions in behalf of Darcy James Argue's Secret Society may be made payable to Fractured Atlas and are tax-deductible to the extent permitted by law.
"Ingrid plays trumpet and flugelhorn with all the brilliance and fire of a true virtuoso, following the spirit of the muse as she creates… …warm,sensitive, exciting and totally honest….." Marian McPartland
Born in Vancouver and raised in Nanaimo, Canada, Ingrid headed east after receiving a number of scholarships to attend the Berklee College of Music in Boston. Since graduating in 1989, her life has contained a whirlwind of musical activities. From her early days playing in the subways of New York, to establishing herself as a leader and soloist in a wide array of musical genres, Ingrid has made her mark. Her three CD's for the ENJA label and her latest CD, At Sea, won her nominations from the Canadian Juno Awards, including an award in 1995 for Vernal Fields.
Her performances as a leader and as a featured soloist have taken her around the world from Canada to Japan, Australia, South America, the Caribbean and to almost every country in Europe and Scandinavia.
Jensen can be heard with the Grammy winning Maria Schneider Orchestra, the IJQ with Geoffrey Keezer, Project O, Nordic Connect and a number of New York-based bands. She has received rave reviews and a strong reputation among critics and peers. In 2003 she was nominated, for the second time, alongside trumpeter Dave Douglas for a Jazz Journalist Association Award in New York and is seen yearly in the top five of the Downbeat Critic polls in the Talent deserving wider recognition category. Photo > Lindsay Beyerstein
Ingrid was featured on Gil Evans' Porgy and Bess at the San Francisco Jazz Festival, under the direction of Maria Schneider and was also a guest in the festival's "Tribute to Woody Shaw and Freddie Hubbard", alongside Terence Blanchard, Eddie Henderson, Bobby Hutcherson and Kenny Garrett. Some of the many musicians she has performed and or recorded with include; Steve Wilson, Jeff 'Tain' Watts, Dr.Lonnie Smith, Marc Copland, Bob Berg, Gary Thomas, Gary Bartz, Jeff Hamilton, Bill Stewart, Terri-Lynn Carrington, Geoffrey Keezer, Billy Hart, George Garzone, Chris Connor, Victor Lewis, Clark Terry, Frank Wess, Dr.Billy Taylor and the DIVA Big Band. She also performed on SNL with the British soul star, Corrine Bailey Rae.
Ingrid has been on staff at the Port Townsend Centrum Jazz Workshop for the past five years and from 1990 until 1992 held the professor of Jazz Trumpet chair at the Bruckner Conservatory of Music. Jensen continues to fill her schedule with an astonishing array of artistic creativity as a performer and educator. In addition to performing, she conducts master classes, clinics, and workshops around the world.
Ingrid is featured on Canadian Bravo Arts and Minds
Drummer, composer, producer and clinician. Terri Lyne Carrington, was born in 1965 in Medford, Massachusetts. After an extensive touring career of over 20 years with luminaries like Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter, Al Jarreau, Stan Getz, David Sanborn, Joe Sample, Cassandra Wilson, Clark Terry, Dianne Reeves and more, she recently returned to her hometown where she was appointed professor at her alma mater, Berklee College of Music. Terri Lyne also received an honorary doctorate from Berklee College of Music in 2003.
After studying under full scholarship at Berklee, with the encouragement of her mentor, Jack DeJohnette, Terri Lyne moved to New York in 1983. For 5 years she was a much in-demand musician, working with James Moody, Lester Bowie, Pharoah Sanders, and others. In the late 80's she relocated to Los Angeles, where she gained recognition on late night TV as the house drummer for the "Arsenio Hall Show," then again in the late 90's as the drummer on the Quincy Jones late night TV show, "VIBE," hosted by Sinbad.
In 1989, Ms. Carrington released a Grammy nominated debut CD entitled "Real Life Story," which featured Carlos Santana, Grover Washington Jr., Dianne Reeves, Wayne Shorter, Patrice Rushen, Gerald Albright, John Scofield, Robert Irving III, Greg Osby, Don Alias and Hiram Bullock. Other solo CDs include 2002’s "Jazz is a Spirit," which features Herbie Hancock, Gary Thomas, Wallace Roney, Terence Blanchard, Kevin Eubanks, and Bob Hurst, and 2004's "Structure," a cooperative group which features Adam Rogers, Jimmy Haslip and Greg Osby. Both CDs were released on the Europe-based ACT Music label, and enjoyed considerable media attention and critical acclaim in the European and Japanese markets.
Her production collaborations with artists such as Gino Vannelli, Peabo Bryson, Dianne Reeves, Siedah Garrett, Marilyn Scott have produced notable works as well, including a special song commissioned by the Atlanta Committee for the 1996 Olympic Games, "Always Reach for Your Dreams," (featuring Peabo Bryson), and her production of the Dianne Reeves Grammy-nominated CD, “That Day," which hovered at the top of the music charts for many months.
Terri Lyne has played on many recordings throughout the 80's and 90's thru today. Notable examples of her work include Herbie Hancock's Grammy winning CD "Gershwin's World" where she played alongside Joni Mitchell and Stevie Wonder. She has toured with each of Mr. Hancock's musical configurations (from electric to acoustic) over the last 10 years and is featured on his "Future2Future" DVD.
After a hiatus from the U.S. recording scene as a solo recording artist, in 2008 Terri Lyne will be returning with "More To Say... (Real Life Story: NextGen)." She performs with friends and colleagues with whom she has been working with in her 20-year-plus career. Joining Carrington for the meticulously produced More to Say is an impressive all-star cast of jazz and contemporary jazz instrumentalists, including George Duke, Everette Harp, Kirk Whalum, Jimmy Haslip, Greg Phillingaines, Gregoire Maret, Christian McBride, Danilo Perez, Patrice Rushen, Robert Irving III (who also serves as co-producer), Chuck Loeb, Tineke Postma, Ray Fuller, Dwight Sills, Anthony Wilson, and a special appearance by her dad, Sonny Carrington, on tenor. In addition, Carrington collaborates with esteemed vocalist Nancy Wilson for the song, "Imagine This."
http://www.terrilynecarrington.com/
"From the first notes I heard, I knew Kate was the real deal. A huge talent." - Maria Schneider
"Kate Schutt's masterful NO LOVE LOST is meticulously composed and beautifully performed." - ALL ABOUT JAZZ, Eyal Hareuveni
"With songs that flow seamlessly from track-to-track, Kate displays the poise and execution of a seasoned performer on a major label. From the provocative string arrangements on the projects' opening song, "How Much In Love," to the most commercial track, "Raining," this CD is a treat for both new and old school lovers of Jazz (who will especially appreciate the stellar "Wrecking Ball"). Other gems that fortify this project, "Two Halves," "The Moon Got Broken," and "I'm Yours" make this a CD that can - and should - be listened to in its entirety for a more fulfilling and complete experience. Not to be overlooked is the spunky, Jazzy rendition of Sheila E's "Glamorous Life," which was bold, ambitious, and successful." - THE MUSE'S MUSE, Gian Fiero
Buzz artist and guitar-wonder Kate Schutt performs across the United States and Canada.
Summer 2009, she celebrates the release of her newest album TELEPHONE GAME (Artistshare/USA & Cuto-EMI/Canada).
Jon Garelick of The Boston Phoenix calls her "a phenomenal up-and-coming singer, Harvard and Berklee kid Kate Schutt is an assured singer/songwriter/guitarist with a smoky, understated delivery."
A provocative and soulful performer, Kate performs songs from TELEPHONE GAME as well as her acclaimed 2007 debut NO LOVE LOST, winner of the 2007 John Lennon Songwriting Contest for the track "How Much In Love."
Ms. Schutt's has won multiple ASCAP Plus Awards for Jazz Composition (2006-2009) and has appeared at such festivals as South By Southwest, North By Northeast, the Vancouver Folk Festival, the Ouro Preto Tudo e Jazz Festival (Brazil) and the Hillside Festival.
A constant collaborator, she has worked with artists as diverse as Justin Faulkner (Branford Marsalis), John Ellis (Charlie Hunter), Terri Lyne Carrington (Herbie Hancock), and Viktor Krauss (Lyle Lovett, Bill Frisell) to name only a few.
You could call Kate Schutt a musical triathlete. She is a creative triple threat - a guitarist, producer and singer/songwriter of rare skill and originality. Telephone Game, Kate’s second, self-produced, full-length album, is a remarkably lush, melodic record that deftly walks the line between pop, soul and jazz. A myriad of styles and influences, Telephone Game showcases Kate’s innate ability to write from various perspectives and in different voices. A provocative, soulful performer and a constant collaborator, Kate has worked with the likes of John Ellis (Charlie Hunter), Terri Lyne Carrington (Herbie Hancock), and Viktor Krauss (Lyle Lovett, Bill Frisell), to name only a few. http://www.linkedin.com/in/kateschutt
Credit: John Rogers
Source: johnrogersnyc.com
For many years, Steve Wilson has made a living as a "first-call" alto and soprano saxophonist. That is, he's a first-choice musician for tons of acclaimed bandleaders: Christian McBride, Maria Schneider, Dave Holland, Mulgrew Miller, Chick Corea, Buster Williams and so forth. He spent much of last year with the 70th-anniversary Blue Note Records band, and even took a few gigs with classical-music ensembles presenting works for strings and saxophone.
Of course, being called so often leaves little time to call others for your own projects. That was thankfully untrue when Wilson played a week at New York's Village Vanguard with his newest quartet, itself composed of first-call musicians. NPR Music and WBGO presented and archived a live video webcast and on-air broadcast of Wilsonian's Grain live from the Village Vanguard during the group's Wednesday night early set.
It's hard to describe Steve Wilson's style; he's made his career on being a complete musician, technically and imaginatively. (In order to fit into so many bands, he plays alto sax, soprano sax, multiple flutes and a clarinet.) More accurate would be to say that he's a musician of honesty within the vast field of mainstream post-bop, but never constrained by its parameters. With him were a group of old friends who are also on many a musician's speed-dial: pianist Orrin Evans, bassist Ugonna Okegwo and drummer Bill Stewart.
In a set alternately swung hard and delicately shaped, Wilson called a generous helping of standards. None of them strayed far from the melody, but all of them were tastefully put. Of the originals his group played, bassist Okegwo contributed the highlight, with a beautiful slow chart called "For You."
Wilson arrived in New York in 1987; the next year, he was already on the road with Lionel Hampton. The city's top musicians quickly learned of his talents, and he now appears on more than 100 commercial recordings. Since 1991, he's also found time to record seven albums of his own. Wilsonian's Grain remains undocumented on disc, though not on tape; in addition to this live recording, its October 2008 debut gig was recorded for air on NPR's JazzSet with Dee Dee Bridgewater.
It had been less than a year since Wilson last led a group at the Village Vanguard: an entirely different quartet co-led by pianist Michael Wolff, Chip Jackson and Victor Lewis. He also visited the club with Christian McBride's Inside Straight last fall — NPR Music and WBGO recorded that show, as well. In other words, he's no stranger to the place, no matter who calls whom for the gig
CREDITS
Josh Jackson, producer and host
David Tallacksen, mix engineer
Josh Webb, recording assistant Listen to: > http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=125076907
Young in Rio de Janeiro, the first time I saw and heard Nara Leão fell in love. It was a show of bossa nova - the new fashion recently invented by Joao Gilberto. Bossa nova was not just a song, was a state of mind, said Ronaldo Boscoli, host of the show and boyfriend of Nara. He knew whereof he spoke: it was the embodiment of the new aesthetic of bossa nova, with his little voice and his great timidity, a modern girl of Copacabana with a European feel and a look middle eastern, free, independent and very different from all girls who I knew.
Thereafter turned her fan, and soon after, and until the end, also his friend and partner in musical adventures. Followed closely the trajectory only in Brazilian music, first as a muse of bossa nova, then as founder of the MPB and voice opposition to the dictatorship, Nara sweet warrior tropicalista first time, revealing talent, breaking prejudices, renewing the samba and chôro , bossa nova and MPB, Nara eternally modern, intelligent voice of Brazil.
Moreover, as few artists of his time, Nara led his life and career with freedom, independence and integrity and always did what he wanted, as he wanted and when his heart of a lion sent. 40 years later, I heard the Pato Fu and Fernanda Takai, I saw your clips. Loved. My first impression was a high compliment: wow, this girl is the Nara Leão pop rock. The opposite of exuberance and vulgarity of pop stars, Fernanda was discrete and unique, stylish and cool, had a look middle eastern and sang intelligent lyrics and ironic gently and firmly, as a modern girl, timid and talented as Nara in 1959.
When I finally met Fernanda, in 2006, could not resist and suggested that she would be the ideal singer to make a great record with modern reinterpretations of songs that marked the career of Nara. To my surprise, she knew several, and liked, the father played the discs Nara for her since childhood. I asked for a list of suggestions and said he would do something with John at his home studio and would have me. And then came one, great, then another, pretty, different and another, beauty!
All in mp3 by email, I responded with praise and sugestõezinhas, and when we look, and listen, we were ready with a disk! And very beautiful, which certainly Nara listen with pleasure, joy and pride, a record that honors his memory and to revive and renew. Just like that, almost by accident, wanting very much. Fernanda's face, the face of Nara.
The most interesting of this album made at home and co-produced at a distance is that for his generation and training pop rock, Fernanda and John had little familiarity with the universe rhythm of the samba, choro and bossa nova Nara, which resulted in readings amazing and renewing all the songs, chosen from among the most important career of Nara. The pop, rock, folk, jazz, dixieland, the ballad, techno, soul, John White and Fernanda (with the help of luxurious multi-purpose keyboards Lulu Camargo) renew and reinvent great songs from masters such as Chico Buarque, Ze Keti, Roberto and Erasmo Carlos, Caetano Veloso, Tom Jobim and Vinicius de Moraes, Ernesto Nazareth and Nelson Cavaquinho, with beats, loops, grooves, sounds, solos and arrangements of the third millennium. The grace and good taste, elegance and discretion - and a middle eastern look - combine the delicacy and intelligence of the music of Nara and Fernanda. Nelson Motta, October 2007 http://www.myspace.com/fernandatakai
Bill McHenry is a saxophonist, composer and bandleader living in Brooklyn New York. He is known for his melodic/free form composing and improvising, demostrated most recently on his newest CD "ROSES".
Since moving to New York in 1992 Bill started playing regularly in groups led by REID ANDERSON, GUILLERMO KLEIN, ETHAN IVERSON, REBECCA MARTIN, CHRIS LIGHTCAP, and BEN WALTZER as well as leading his own group with BEN MONDER. Eventually that group was joined with Reid and PAUL MOTIAN, and they recorded "Bill McHenry Quartet featuring Paul Motian", which led to Bill playing with that group several times over the next few years at the VILLAGE VANGUARD. Thier newest CD, "ROSES" has been recognized as the strongest yet and Bill continues to write and develop music for other settings.
Bill was born in Maine in 1972. His mother is a pianist, and his great great grandfather was Horatio Parker, a composer who was famous for teaching and failing Charles Ives. He started saxophone at ten and at fourteen went to Interlochen Arts Academy for four years, and then New England Conservatory for eight months. In 1992, Bill moved to New York. After playing little gigs and doing day jobs Bill moved with his sister Mary and high school friend pianist Ben Waltzer to Barcelona and spent two years going back and forth between the two cities. In Barcelona Bill started playing more regularly and with Ben recorded his first record for the Fresh Sound label in Barcelona. After returning to New York he studied long tone production with Dewey Redman which helped him strengthen his tone and identity. He has also played with CHARLIE HADEN, ANDREW CYRILLE, HENRY GRIMES, JOHN ABERCROMBIE, and NORAH JONES.
Bill will be in writer/director Tom McCarthy's new film "The Visitor" playing saxophone, improvsing and playing songs by his high school friend Mohammed N. Ali.
John McNeil Trumpet Bill McHenry Tenor Joe Martin Bass Jochen Rueckert Drums play Moonlight in Vermont at Biscuit BBQ Brooklyn NY Jan 7 2007
...plays his horn with a soulfulness that is rarely heard these days. [His] poetic, dusky-toned trumpet is very close to song." — Chicago Tribune.
JOHN McNEIL is regarded as one of the most original and creative jazz artists in the world today. For over three decades John has toured with his own groups and has received widespread acclaim as both a player and composer. His highly personal trumpet style communicates across the full range of contemporary jazz, and his compositions combine harmonic freedom with melodic accessibility. John's restless experimentation has kept him on the cutting edge of new music and has kept him from being easily categorized.
Although his background includes such mainstream jazz groups as the Horace Silver Quintet, Gerry Mulligan, and the Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Orchestra, John is equally at home in free and structured settings. This stylistic versatility has put him on stage with such disparate artists as Slide Hampton and John Abercrombie, and shows itself in the combination of free and structured elements found in his CDs recorded on the OmniTone label from 2003 to '06.
Rediscovery, John's latest release (co-led with fellow individualist and tenor icon Bill McHenry), takes the free/structured approach to a different level as they redefine the harmonic boundaries of a number of forgotten or neglected jazz classics.
BIO
John McNeil was born in 1948 in northern California. Due to a lack of available musical instruction in his home town of Yreka, John largely taught himself to play trumpet and read music. By the time he graduated from high school in 1966, John had already begun playing professionally in the northern California region.
John moved to New York in the mid-1970's and began a freelance career. His reputation as an innovative trumpet voice began to grow as he played with the Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Orchestra, and led his own groups at clubs such as Boomer's, the legendary Village jazz room. In the late 70's, John joined the Horace Silver Quintet. Around the same time, he began recording for the SteepleChase label under his own name and toured internationally.
Although he has worked as a sideman with such luminaries as Gerry Mulligan, John has consistently led his own groups from about 1980 to the present. He has recorded numerous albums that have met with excellent reviews, and continues to record with similar acclaim. In the 1990's, John became increasingly in demand as a writer, arranger, and record producer. He continues these activities in addition to his usual schedule of live performance.
Tour:
The JOHN McNEIL QUARTET will be taking a brief hiatus from their regular Wednesday gig at Puppets Jazz Bar. The gig may start up again on March 31st, but it definitely will be on as of Wednesday, April 7th.
The new time will be from 8:30 to 11:15, with another band at 11:30.
John McNeil Trumpet Bill McHenry Tenor Joe Martin Bass Jochen Rueckert Drums play "Carson City Stage" by the late Carson Smith at Biscuit BBQ Brooklyn NY Jan 7 2007
Born................... March 15, 1928 in New York.
Instruments...... Clarinet, Alto Saxophone, Soprano Saxophone, Tenor Saxophone.
Musical Style.... Classic Jazz.
Influences........... Sidney Bechet, Benny Goodman, Johnny Hodges and Coleman Hawkins
Bob Wilber is an internationally renowned instrumentalist, arranger and composer who has been a leading figure in keeping the spirit of classic jazz alive.
His association with jazz came about at an early age. He recalls having heard “Mood Indigo” by Duke Ellington when he was only three years old! In high school he studied clarinet and then formed a band with Dick Wellstood and Ed Hubble known as “The Wildcats”. This band of teenagers went on to sit in at Jimmy Ryan’s club in New York. During this time he studied and lived with Sidney Bechet. In 1948 he played at the Nice Jazz Festival and toured France with Mezz Mezzrow. Then for two years he led a band at Boston’s Savoy Club.
By the 1950’s Wilber was searching for his own voice, studying classical clarinet with Leon Russianoff and jazz with Lennie Tristano and Lee Konitz. In 1954 he formed “The Six” a group that combined elements of traditional and modern jazz. After two years of touring and recording three LP’s he joined Eddie Condon’s band, playing at Eddie’s club and touring England. He wound up the decade playing with Bobby Hackett in New York and touring with Benny Goodman’s big band.
In the 1960’s Wilber was freelancing in New York with the likes of Ruby Braff and Bud Freeman, making records for Music Minus One and working for Jackie Gleason with Max Kaminski’s band. In 1968 his “Music of Hoagy Charmichael” LP was nominated for a Grammy Award. In 1969 Wilber became a founding member of the “World’s Greatest Jazz Band”, led by Yank Lawson and Bob Haggart that featured Bud Freeman, Billy Butterfield, Ralph Sutton and other stars. He stayed with them until 1974 when he teamed up with Kenny Davern to form “Soprano Summit” which featured the unique sound of two soprano saxophones.
They toured the US, Europe and South Africa, recording nine LPs. He also was on the board of The New York Jazz Repertory Orchestra which gave a series of concerts at Carnegie Hall and toured Russia in 1975. In 1981 he and his wife, singer Pug Horton, formed “The Bechet Legacy”, a six piece band which set out to celebrate the musical heritage of Sidney Bechet. During this time they set up their own record label Bodeswell and recorded seven LPs including The Bechet Legacy, Reflections and The Music of King Oliver’s Jazz Band. He arranged the Ellington recreations for the movie “The Cotton Club” in 1984 for director Francis Ford Coppola which won him a Grammy.
In 1983 he became the first director of The Smithsonian Jazz Repertory Ensemble which toured the United States for three years. In 1988 Wilber led bands at both Carnegie Hall in New York and Royal Festival Hall in London to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Benny Goodman’s famous 1938 concert. Since then he has continued to lead his small groups and large orchestras for work around the world. He also received critical acclaim when he wrote his memoirs “Music Was Not Enough.” In 1996 Wilber received “The Three Key Award” at the Bern Jazz Festival. (Previous recipients were Oscar Peterson, Benny Carter, Milt Hinton, Clark Terry and George Wein).
To this day Bob Wilber continues to create and play music that is a tasteful and exciting exploration of classic jazz. He has been nominated to receive an Honorary Doctorate of Music from Hamilton College in Clinton, New York in 1998. (Past awards have gone to Sweets Edison, Milt Hinton, Clark Terry and Marian McPartland). http://www.subjazz.com/wilber.htm
BOB WILBER & LINO PATRUNO & the Band of Bix Soundtrack
Song: Somebody Stole My Gal
Place: Ascona, July 3, 2003
Tom Pletcher (cornet), David Sager (trombone), Bob Wilber (clarinet), Franz Sjostrom (bass sax), Keith Nichols (piano), Lino Patruno (banjo), Walter Ganda (drums).
"The superb drumming of relative newcomer Allison Miller revealed that high-quality talent continues to flow into the jazz mainstream" - Don Heckman, LA Times
BIOGRAPHY
NYC-based drummer Allison Miller defies all boundaries bringing her individual sound to diverse types of music while preserving their stylistic authenticity. Allison goes from playing with legendary songwriting vocalists Ani DiFranco, Brandi Carlile and Natalie Merchant, to touring with avant-garde saxophonist Marty Ehrlich and legendary organist Doctor Lonnie Smith. She approaches each of these musical situations with her own stylistic identity and a creative, fresh and energetic approach. Allison was chosen as “Rising Star Drummer” in Downbeat’s 53rd Annual Critics Poll.
Raised in the Washington D.C. area, Miller began playing the drums at the age of ten, studying with Walter Salb, and was soon thereafter featured in Downbeat magazine's "Up and Coming" section in 1991. Five years later, after graduating from West Virginia University she moved to New York City to study with Michael Carvin and Lenny White and pursue what has became a fruitful career as a freelance drummer, composer, producer, and teacher.
Miller’s talents have landed her gigs in the mainstream music world, with artists like Natalie Merchant, Ani DiFranco, and most recently, singer Brandi Carlile; and her jazz skills have been embraced by everyone from avant-garde saxophonist Marty Ehrlich to organ legend Dr. Lonnie Smith, with a wide range of leaders in between, including Steven Bernstein, Kenny Barron, Erik Friedlander, Mark Helias, Ray Drummond, Peter Bernstein, Sheila Jordan, George Garzone, Mike Stern, Rachel Z, Kevin Mahogany, Bruce Barth, Mark Soskin, and Harvie S.
Allison is currently celebrating the release of her second solo leader album, BOOM TIC BOOM (Foxhaven Records, March 2010). This album pays homage to and is inspired by all of the important women in Millers life. The album features pianist Myra Melford, violinist Jenny Scheinman, and bassist Todd Sickafoose. Together, they musically collaborate, creatively expounding on compositions written primarily by Miller and Melford.
She also leads or co-leads several other bands, including EMMA, with singer/songwriter Erin McKeown; TILT, with pianist Taylor Eigsti and bassist Jon Evans; and Agrazing Maze, with trumpeter Ingrid Jensen, pianist Enrique Haneine, and bassist Carlo DeRosa. Miller has also been recognized by the Showtime network, which featured her music in the series The L Word, and by the US State Department when she was chosen to tour East Africa, Eurasia and Southeast Asia as a Jazz Ambassador.
Allison also produced the critically acclaimed children's album. Ask the Planet (2009). Organized by the Biomimicry Institute, Ask the Planet connects environmentalism with song, while educating children about respecting the environment and learning from nature's plan. In 2008 Allison founded the "Walter Salb Memorial Musical Scholarship Foundation" in honor of her late teacher and mentor. The foundation annually provides a promising young musician a monetary award directed toward furthering their studies in music.
She also holds an adjunct teaching position at Kutztown University and gives lessons and master classes at additional universities and high schools throughout the United States - including NYU, UMASS Amherst, University of Alaska, Elon University, University of Southern Florida, West Virginia University, Berkeley Jazz School, University of the Pacific, UC Berkeley and the University of Maryland. She has been featured in DRUM magazine, Downbeat, Jazz Times, Modern Drummer, Yamaha All Access 360, TomTom Magazine, Traps, All About Jazz NY, and Female Musician magazine. Allison endorses Yamaha drums, Zildjian cymbals, Vic Firth sticks and mallets, and LP Percussion.
http://www.allisonmiller.com/Media/Bio.aspx
Partial vid of In The Way showing Mike Dillon and Allison Miller improv solos. Ani DiFranco has always surrounded herself with fine musicians, and her current touring band is fantastic. If you want a full recording of this track, you should pick up Ani's Babeville concert DVD from www.righteousbabe.com
Mann Center, Philadelphia.
Mike Dillon - vibraphone & percussion
Allison Miller - drums
Todd Sickafoose - upright bass & righthand man
Recently a friend ask me this question, “why do you like jazz so much?” A simple answer to that could be, “because there’s no better music than jazz”. But that would not be the right way to answer. I’m sure everyone think their favorite music is the best music. But when I say there’s no better music than jazz, the only ones with a good argument against it are those who listen to classical music. Besides jazz, classical and some folk music, there’s no other music that even comes close in quality. Why do I include folk music? Because Classical composers originally were inspired by european folk music for their compositions. And the roots of jazz music are basically the folk music of the african-americans at the end of the 19th century. Folk music from Asia, Africa, Europe and Latin America have a quality that can’t be found in most popular music today. That quality is “truthfulness”, folk music comes from years of tradition and represent the culture of each country. Some examples of good folk music may be heard on cuban music (guaguanco, son mambo, etc. rhythms that later gave birth to salsa music), samba, bossa nova and other rhythms from Brasil, flamenco from Spain (heavily influenced by arabic music), and the Argentine’s tango, to name just a few. Even today jazz and classical composers get inspired by folk music from around the world and at the same time influence folk music. Getting back to the original question, why do I like jazz? To answer this question we must talk about the elements of music. There are four major elements in music, melody, harmony, tone and rhythm. Melody is basically a sequence of musical notes. We all learn some simple melodies when we were young like “Twinkle, twinkle, little star” or “Happy Birthday”. But as we get older, we evolve to more complex and interesting melodies, especially if you study music or learn how to play a musical instrument.
Call me old fashioned but I prefer to listen to a an instrument played by real person than to listen to a computarized version of that instrument. In jazz music there are huge differences in texture or tone when the same instrument is played by different musicians. Compare the sound of Coleman Hawkins, to Lester Young, or Sonny Rollins, John Coltrane, Joshua Redman or David Sanchez. All sax players, all with a very distinctive sound. And then there’s rhythm. Rhythm is the element that distinguish one music style from the other. Most music is written in 4/4, including jazz, but some like waltz are written in 3/4. Since jazz music is mostly improvised, melody is one of the most interesting elements for a jazz musician and listener. In the 40's a jazz style called Bebop provided the blueprint to all the jazz styles that came after. Before Bebop, the improvisation in jazz was limited to just a few solos, similar to rock music today. With Bebop, improvisation became a essential part of jazz music. In a typical jazz group the musicians first play the main melody or theme, then one or more musicians (piano, trumpet, sax, bass, etc.) take turns improvising variations based on the main melody. At the end the band returns to the original theme or melody. Classical music is similar, with the difference that both, main theme and variations on the theme are written and the musicians must play them as close as possible to the original intentions of the composer.
That’s why there’s no other musician with more knowledge and command of their instrument than a jazz musician. A jazz musician is creating art every time he or she plays. In jazz the same piece of music sound different even if is played by the same musicians. In popular music, like r&b, rap, hip hop, country, etc. , the same melody is repeated constantly with little or no variations. There’s also the fact that most people can’t listen to music if there’s no lyrics to it. That’s why almost all famous artists in popular music are singers. In popular music the singer is the star, the one that sings the melody, and the other instruments are just a background. Music and arrangements are written in the simplest way possible, so there’s no need to be a virtuoso to play popular music.
The funny thing is that except for a few ones, popular music singers are not really that good. Technology is so amazing nowadays that almost everyone with a pretty face and a fair enough voice can make it as a singer in pop music. There are singers also in jazz music, but unlike popular music, the voice in a jazz band is just another instrument. A jazz singer is expected to improvise, do variations on the melody and have the same command over their instrument as any other jazz musician. Rarely you’ll find in popular music (or in any other music for that matter) a singer of the quality of an Ella Fitzgerald or Sarah Vaughan.
Harmony is created when two or more notes are played at the same time. This can be done by different instruments, like in a classical music orchestra or a jazz big band or by only one instrument, usually a piano or guitar (creating chords). Harmony is just as important as melody to a jazz musician. Harmonies or chords in jazz are usually done by the pianist and the real good ones, like Thelonious Monk, improvise harmonies also, doing chords variations. Those variations allows the improviser to change and play with the melodies. Harmonies makes the music more fuller and richer and the more interesting the harmonies the more options the musicians have melodically.
The use of harmonies in pop music, if any, are usually simple. Hardly you’ll find 7th , 9th , 11th chords or chords inversions in pop music. Tone is the sound quality of the different instruments used in music. Each musical instrument has a distinctive sound. With the advancements in technology in the last 30 years, you don’t even need to play an instrument to make music. More and more, the music you listen on the radio like rap, hip hop and reggaeton, is done with drum machines, computers, sampling or pre recorded instruments. Rarely you’ll find this in jazz music.
“When jazz was only ragtime, the basic rhythm was merely that of a march time, One-two-Three-four. This same rhythm was made much more interesting in jazz simply displacing the accents so that the basic rhythm became one-Two-three- Four” Aaron Copland, What to listen for in music.
These variations on beat accentuation is what makes diverse and interesting rhythms in music. If above that 4/4 rhythm you add other freer rhythms, that combination is called polyrhythms. Jazz like other music with african roots use polyrhythms (most latin music, cuban and brazilian music). Is that combination of rhythm (polyrhythms) that gives jazz it’s rhythmic vitality. In contrast, pop music, especially in the last decades has a constant steady beat with little or none rhythmic variations. So you may ask yourself, if jazz is so good, “why isn’t everybody listening to jazz music?”. The reason is simple, most people prefer entertainment over art. A gossip magazine is entertainment, a good novel or poetry is art. A soap opera is entertainment, a good theater play is art. Wrestling is entertainment, a painting exhibition is art. “The Fast and the Furious” is entertainment, “The Godfather” is art. Lady Gaga is entertainment, Esperanza Spalding is art.
Art stimulate your mind and your senses, makes you think and increase your sensibility. Entertainment is just a distraction and usually has the opposite effect of art. And once you learn how to appreciate art, you’ll find out you’re also being entertained.
“The hard fact is that in our time, not many people really know or care much about jazz or if a musician can really play. They don’t care because most of the nonclassical music they’ve heard is performed by amateurs or even complete non musicians, people who may possess personal charisma but can barely play. Real jazz musicians were already good enough at fourteen or fifteen to do what most top selling musical acts can do, and by saying that I’m not criticizing, I’m just describing.” Wynton Marsalis, Moving to Higher Ground
" Gerry Gibbs is an up and coming talent that deserves recognition". - McCoy Tyner
About: Hello,everyone My name is Gerry Gibbs. (many people ask where the nick-name Thrasher came from ? It was a name that I gave to pianist Don Pullen and some how in time it got turned around back on me and people started to call me the Thrasher, so I kept it).
I am 44 years old, not married, and have no children. I live in both Hollywood California and Astoria Queens New York.
My first real big gig came when I was 6 years of age and appeared on the Steve Allen show to play a drum solo. Also later that year I appeared on the Hollywood Squares to perform a drum battle with Bob Crane who played Hogan from the hit show Hogan's Hero's I make a living as a Jazz musician and have had the opportunity to work with many great Jazz artists (I have listed some of my favorite people that I have either gigged, toured or recorded with up above). I was born in NYC, but grew up in Southern California.In those early years (and I am talking about when I was between ages 18 and 23), I worked with an eclectic discography of musicians around Los Angeles. Of course I worked gigs and recordings all the time with my pops, Terry Gibbs and clarinet pioneer Buddy Defranco. I also worked with many of the greats from the old west coast jazz days such as Conti Condoli and Lou Levy to name a few. I also made gigs with more modern jazz musicians like Billy Childs and Ernie Watts. I was also part of what seems like the last Central Ave jazz scene which put me on many gigs with people like Doug Carne, Larry Gales, Horace Tapscott, Frank Morgan,and many others. For me, one of the best times I had musically back then was being called to sub for Billy Higgins to play a few sets with trumpeter Woody Shaw in Los Angeles. My all time greatest musical moments back then came from with out a doubt , playing gigs and recording with Alice Coltrane. Those will always be some of the most important and gratifying moments in my musical and non musical life.
In 1988,I moved back to NYC to start a jazz career. Within a week of my arrival I met the Harper brothers. They were the hottest young lion jazz group in N. Y. at the time and had just finished their new CD for Verve Records. They were really big at the time and always on the road. Both brothers really helped me out and I became drummer Winards sub at the Blue Note jazz club playing in the after hours band every night.
Many times in the next three years I got to even be the leader and hire my own bands there.This eventually would help to put me into a great situation to play with my 3 different bands that I was writing music for. I then played one week engagements every 4 or 5 weeks at the Village Gate in Greenwich Village. That went on for a few years until the club actually closed after being one of the most famous jazz clubs in NYC for 40 years. This was an important time in helping me to get my own music and projects out there to be heard. That situation would eventually lead to a record contract with Quincy Jones and Warner Bros. In 1991 I got married,but soon after my wife tragically passed away from the disease, Sickle Cell Anemia
During this time I was working a lot around NYC. I was still a sideman playing in the after hours band at the Blue Note jazz club and the Village Gate and didn't travel too much because it took me a few years to get back on my feet after her passing.
In 1994 I had 2 projects I was writing for. One was a band that was made up of vibes (Joe Locke) and violin (Mark Feldman) ,bass ,and drums and the other was a west coast traveling thing I was doing and writing for. My long time friendRavi Coltrane was in that band. We would usually do a west coast 12 gig tour 3 times a year and have pianist Billy Childswith us. Sometimes Brad Mehldau or Patrice Rushen would do it too.
In 1995 the great drummer/producer and co leader of the Jazz group the Crusaders, Stix Hooper caught the band in Los Angeles. He asked me for a tape of what we were playing and played it for Quincy Jones. Quincy told him that he wanted to record us on his own label. I had actually envisioned a more colorful combination of instruments and wanted to combine the sax, piano, bass and drum combo with the vibes and violin. So I gave Stix some tapes of the Vibes/Violin band and told him to envision the two together. Within a week Stix told me thatQuincy dug it and the result was my first CD of all my own music on the Warner Bros label. Along with pianist Billy Childs, I added long time musical friend, pianist Uri Caine to play on half of the CD because we played all the time together in NYC and did some tours with a co-led trio in Paris,France. That CD got many rave reviews all over the world and we did many great tours after.
In 1997 I met an amazing woman in San Antonio Texas. I started to visit there a lot and in no time was living between Texas and New York. In 2001 I helped her open her first club Carmens De La Calle Cafe. Today it is still a hotspot in San Antonio, Texas. At this time I was finding that there were over 150 jazz musicians living between San Antonio and Austin. Musicians that were on the same level as many musicians back in N.Y. Musicians that had more time to rehearse because everyone including myself in NY always seemed to be too busy and it was too hard to keep the same guys together. I had a club to do what ever projects I wanted to do. There were so many cats wanting and hungry to be involved that it became the scene in Texas. I built a studio to record everything done at the club. I had everything from a new quartet to a project adding 10 horns and 15 gospel singers. I also had a project called the Miles Davis Bitches Brew Orchestra playing the music of Miles Davis, from 1967 to 1975. That band was made up of 2 drummers, 2 keyboard players playing fender rhodes and the other playing organ. Also and electric and acoustic bass, sitar, percussionist, 2 electric woodwind players and electric trumpet. My latest recorded CD which will be released in September 2008 is music with a newer version of that project and was recorded January 2008 .
It features musicians from Los Angeles, New York, New Orleans and San Antonio Texas. To continue on with the story,in time, I had a steady trio called "The Third Trio From The Sun" and had many guest from NY and Los Angeles come play with us. People in NY were also hip to the place. Two different times WyntonMarsalis, Wes Anderson and some of the cats in his band came by after another gig and played with my trio in front of hundreds of people for 3 hours both times. After having legendary innovator, saxophonist Dewey Redman be our guest, Deweycalled me 2 days after the gig and asked if he could take us on some tours with him. Those were some of the best times I have ever had on and off the bandstand.
I will always missDewey for his friendship and fun times playing with him as well as his check in's to say hello calls. The trio also went to Los Angeles to back up another legend, Gary Bartz for a week during that time.Over all I produced well over 25 concerts bringing people in from New York,Los Angeles and europe to play at Carmens De La Calle and concert halls in San Antonio. Names such as James Moody, Clark Terry, Larry Coryell, Randy Brecker, Sam Rivers, Tom Harrell, Joanne Brackeen, Steve Turre, Dave Liebman, Jon Hendricks, Ravi Coltrane, John Abercrombie, Mike Stern and many others. Eventually I would start to write for the biggest undertaking of my career. With the help of organizing, copying out thousands of pages of music, and everything else it takes to get 18 musicians up on a stage to perform, my long time friend trumpet player/conductor, Adrian Ruiz came to the rescue and without him there would not have been a Thrasher Big Band.
His unique way of conducting, interpreting and giving the band his wild energy,as well as his wild trumpet playing helped to bring more out of the music than if it had been anyone else. I then took that year to write and arrange music for The Thrasher Big Band and an amazing vocalist that also travels with Adrian and I when we do Big Band gigs outside of Texas, by the name ofJoan Carroll. Later on my pops used her on his next CD.
Well, after having a home for one and a half years before I would leave Texas for good, my big band played each week at a wonderful club in San Antonio called Luna Fine Music. Each week we performed in front of 100's of hungry jazz fans. The result came in the recording of the Gerry Gibbs Thrasher Big Band "Live At Luna", conducted by Adrian Ruiz (look above for CD info).The same year my sextet made up of 5 guys from the big band also recorded a CD called Gerry Gibbs Thrasher Band "Faces Unknown" for the SMS jazz label. Both CD's were chart bound on jazz radio across America and received rave reviews in almost ever jazz publication.
One other project I was so fortunate to be part of was to work with a very talented radio programmer in San Antonio namedBen Donnelley to start a 7 day a week jazz station. As a radio DJ which I was for 5 years before I left Texas, I introduced every kind of jazz to the station and San Antonio jazz fans. We would play everything from Louis Armstrong to Cecil Taylor toCharlie Parker to Weather Report to Miles Davis and everything he did from Birth of the Cool To Bitches Brew.
We played Dixieland, old big bands, modern big bands, bebop, straight ahead, avant garde, and even some contemporary stuff that was still jazz based like the Crusaders or Grover Washington. I also would do interviews with everyone from Larry Coryell (who spent 5 hours with me on the radio talking, playing, telling wild stories and listening to music) to Dewey Redman who spent 3 hours with me, telling stories and playing his personal recordings. Eventually I recommended the greatest music programmer in jazz music, Aaron Prado from the radio station at Columbia University in NYC, and today he has turned the station into the most innovative and important jazz radio station in America. Check out KRTU 91.7 sounds for San Antonio on your computer.
In February of 2005, the five guys and myself as well as the three wife's married to 3 of the guys in the band,all packed our bags from San Antonio and moved to Los Angeles to work together as a band. (for the complete story of the sextet you may go to Thrasherband.com and read our story). At the end of the year (2007) The Thrasher Sextet will release our next CD on Ravi Coltrane's RKM Music label.
Its called Moving On, Never Looking Back. Its title comes from each of us in the band having our own personal things that we have had to move on from and those things that we should never look back on. Also as all bands have their ups and downs, there have been and there were things that we all had to move on and never look back on. These are some of the things that have kept this band together for over 4 years and make a huge move together as well as keep our music moving forward into new directions. Complete on http://www.myspace.com/gerrythrashergibbs
Mort Weiss: Clarinet, Ron Eschete':Guitar, Gerry Gibbs: Drums, Tom Ranier: Piano, Dave Carpenter: Bass, playing in Jan. of 04
“Payne conjures the spirit of Ella... she’s off the charts with Ella-tonian fever. Payne rocketed the crowd up into Ella’s galaxy.” - New York Amsterdam News
“Payne bears a remarkable resemblance to the legendary singer’s sound, and has mastered the wordless scatting style developed by Ella.” - Variety
“Payne makes Ella worth seeing and hearing. Her scatting is a wonder.” - Star-Ledger
Freda Payne, celebrated R&B and jazz vocalist, who shot to fame with her #1 Hit, “Band of Gold,” and “Bring the Boys Home,” pays tribute to the legendary Ella Fitzgerald, as no one else can! Payne, the star of such Broadway shows as Jelly’s Last Jam, Sophisticated LadiesandBlues in the Night, “conjures the spirit of Ella” with her renditions of “A-Tisket, a-Tasket,” “Sweet Georgia Brown,” “It Don’t Mean a Thing.”and “Mack the Knife,” as well as many other Fitzgerald classics. The Iridium Jazz Club is pleased to present soul, jazz and R&B diva Ms. Freda Payne in a very special Tribute To Ella Fitzgerald Thursday through Sunday, March 25 through March 28th. FROM: JAZZ PROMO SERVICES
· Harlem Speaks: Joe Temperley and Darcy James Argue· Jazz for Curious Listeners: The Joint is Jumpin'—Fats Waller· Jazz at the Dwyer: Trinidad Meets Jazz with the Etienne Charles Band· Jazz for Curious Readers: Salim Washington· Jazz at the Players: Aaron Diehl Trio· Harlem in the Himalayas: Jason Lindner/Suphala, Dominick Farinacci· Saturday Panel: Fat Waller's Harlem in the 1920s and 30s
Come pursue the varieties of jazz experience at the National Jazz Museum in Harlem! From conversations and live performances to educational sessions and panel discussions, you’re sure to have a ball and learn a lot too. If live music performance is your bent, look no further than our three concert series: Harlem in the Himalayas, which this month starts with a pairing of radically talented musicians Suphala, a tabla whiz, and jazz pianist Jason Lindner, to whom no style is foreign. The second featured artist for this series held at the Rubin Museum of Art is young trumpeter Dominick Farinacci, who has absorbed the jazz trumpet tradition and presents it with suave and vitality. Jazz at the Players has yet another young player making his mark, pianist Aaron Diehl, in a trio setting. And bring your dancing shoes, as trumpeter Etienne Charles, who recently (as did Diehl) graduated from Juilliard, inaugurates our newest series, right here in Harlem, with an ensemble for Jazz at the Dwyer(where people come to dance and enjoy the music) that will embody the spirit of Trinidad within the frame of jazz.
This month the National Jazz Museum in Harlem puts special focus on the musical and cultural contributions of an important early jazz figure, Fats Waller. AtJazz for Curious Listeners (every Tuesday evening) we begin with his rich legacy as a composer of compositions key to the jazz dimensions of the American Song Book, and continue on with his place in American music as a pianist and organist. In the latter part of April we present a Saturday Panel on “Fat Waller’s Harlem: Reflections on the 1920s and 30s” and top it off with Fats on film for the last JFCL event of the month.
Friday, April 2, 2010Harlem in the Himalayas Jason Lindner/SuphalaLocation: Rubin Museum of Art (150 West 17th Street), 7:00pm Pianist JasonLindner grew up in Brooklyn, NY, started playing piano by ear at age 2 and was playing jazz proficiently at 15. He apprenticed with master bebopper Barry Harris and the mystic master Chris Anderson (Herbie Hancock's harmonic guru), and worked as a journeyman with Junior Mance, Tardo Hammer, Harold Danko, Frank Hewitt and Jaki Bayard before exploring a world of Latin and African rhythms, Funk, R&B, Hip Hop, Electronica, and even Rock. He's been a fixture in the New York jazz scene since the mid-90s when the well-respected Greenwich Village club, Smalls, became home for a new generation of forward-thinking jazz musicians. There he led smaller ensembles and then a big band; Lindner regularly drew sold out crowds on Monday nights at Smalls, earning him an Impulse records debut on Jazz Underground/Live At Smalls, which led to a full-length release on Chick Corea’s Stretch label, Premonition.
Monday, April 5, 2010Jazz for Curious Readers Salim WashingtonLocation: NJMH Visitors Center (104 E. 126th Street, Suite 2C), 7:00 – 8:30pm Born in Memphis, Tennessee, Salim Washington moved to Detroit, Michigan with his family at the age of eight. Early on he was drafted into the neighborhood gang; fortunately, the gang leader happened to play trumpet, which influenced Salim, ironically, to pursue music not gangs. He began on trumpet, and then studied classical piano. By middle school, Salim was performing in school ensembles and student funk bands. His college years brought him to Harvard, after which he joined the Worlds Experience Orchestra under the leadership of Jamyl Jones, and then the Source of Life Arkestral Revelation (SOLAR) in Boston, touring with them extensively throughout the south.
After returning to Detroit, he taught music in prisons and in public schools. He eventually returned to Boston to finish his degree. After completing his doctorate, he headed to New York to begin a professorship at the Brooklyn College Conservatory of Music. He has travelled extensively, playing music festivals throughout the US and Canada, Latin America, and Europe. He has also led music workshops for the Northern Ireland Arts Council in Belfast, the Bill Evans conservatory in Paris, and others. Salim Washington is a member of the Jazz Study Group at Columbia University and has participated on various committees and panels in service of jazz, including those convened by the Ford Foundation, the Boston Phoenix, the New England Foundation for the Arts.
In Salim’s collaboration with Farah Jasmine Griffin for the recently-published Clawing at the Limits of Cool, the two scholars chronicle the drama of the musical relationship between Miles Davis and John Coltrane, from their initial historic partnership to the interlude of their breakup, during which each man made tremendous progress toward his personal artistic goals. The book even continues with the last leg of their journey together, a time when the Miles Davis group, featuring John Coltrane, forever changed the landscape of jazz. Washington and Griffin also argue that Davis and Coltrane’s collaborations embodied important ideas about what it meant to be a black artist during the Civil Rights era. By insisting on the legitimate cultural value of their work, Coltrane and Davis challenged dominant images of black musicians as merely entertainers, earning the respect of blacks and whites alike for their accomplishments as artists. From an idiomatic perspective, the authors also examine the profound implications that the Davis/Coltrane collaboration would have for jazz and African American culture, drawing parallels to the changing standards of African American identity with their public personas and private difficulties.
Tuesday, April 6, 2010Jazz for Curious Listeners The Joint is Jumpin': Fats Waller: The ComposerLocation: NJMH Visitors Center (104 E. 126th Street, Suite 2C), 7:00 – 8:30pm We focus on the composing genius of Fats Waller as we start a month-long series in his honor. In the American public memory, perhaps because of his filmic images, Fats Waller is known as a smiling, eyebrow raising entertainer who also played piano. Fact is that Waller was one of the best of the New York jazz pianists in the au courant styles of that day—from Stride to Swing. He was also a fabulous organist, having cut his teeth at the open air religious services led by his father, Edward Waller, a Baptist lay preacher. He played piano at his public school and at 15 became organist at the Lincoln Theatre on 135th Street. His father hoped that Waller would follow a religious calling rather than a music career, but after his mother Adeline Waller died in 1920, he moved in with the family of the pianist Russell B. T. Brooks. Waller soon met James P. Johnson, under whose tutelage he developed as a pianist and through whose influence he came to make piano rolls—starting in 1922 with Got to Cool My Doggies Now. There’s even evidence to support Waller's claims that during his formative years as a pianist he studied with Leopold Godowsky and composition with Carl Bohm at the Juilliard School. Waller wrote many pop hits – Ain’t Misbehavin’, Honeysuckle Rose, for example – but also explored extended compositions with this London Suite. We’ll look at the breadth of his compositions this evening.
Thursday, April 8, 2010Harlem Speaks Joe Temperley, SaxophonistLocation: NJMH Visitors Center (104 E. 126th Street, Suite 2C), 6:30 – 8:30pm Scotland-born Joe Temperley first achieved prominence in the United Kingdom as a member of Humphrey Lyttelton's band from 1958 to 1965. He toured the United States with the band in 1959, and, in 1965, came to New York City, where he performed and/or recorded with Woody Herman, Buddy Rich, Joe Henderson, Duke Pearson, the Jazz Composers’ Orchestra, and the Thad Jones-Mel Lewis Orchestra and with Clark Terry, among many others. In October 1974 he toured and recorded with The Duke Ellington Orchestra as a replacement for Harry Carney. Mr. Temperley played in the Broadway show Sophisticated Ladies in the 1980s, and his film soundtrack credits include The Cotton Club, Biloxi Blues, Brighton Beach Memoirs, When Harry Met Sally, and Tune In Tomorrow, composed by Wynton Marsalis.
Mr. Temperley is a mentor and a cofounder of the FIFE Youth Jazz Orchestra program in Scotland, which now enrolls 70 young musicians ages 7 to 17 playing in three full-size bands. Mr. Temperley has released several albums as a leader, including Nightingale (1991), Sunbeamand Thundercloud with pianist Dave McKenna (1996), With Every Breath (1998), and Double Duke(1999). He released two new recordings in September 2001. He is an original member of the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra (now JALC Orchestra) and serves on the faculty of the Juilliard Institute for Jazz Studies, which opened in fall 2001. He has served on the
Manhattan School of Music faculty since 1992. Tonight Temperley, known too for his moving feature on Duke’s “A Single Petal of a Rose” with the JALC Orchestra, will discuss his tenure in this world-class jazz big band led by Wynton Marsalis as well as his previous decades of service in the vineyards of jazz.
Friday, April 9, 2010Harlem in the Himalayas Dominick FarinacciLocation: Rubin Museum of Art (150 West 17th Street), 7:00pm For a soulful listen to the future of jazz now, you can’t miss with young trumpeter Dominick Farinacci, an exemplar of the brass tradition in jazz in full bloom. Last year, after having released six albums as a leader on a Japanese record label, Farinacci debuted with critical acclaim in the U.S., on the Koch label, with “Lovers, Tales, and Dances.” He's won a variety of awards over the years in the States and in Japan—Farinacci received two Gold Disc awards (Record of the Month) from Swing Journal Magazine in Japan for his recordings of "Say It" and "Besame Mucho," for example. In 2003 he received the International New Star Award in Japan, an honor previously awarded to Diana Krall and Christian McBride, co-director of the National Jazz Museum in Harlem. In the United States, Dominick was the recipient of the ITG Carmine Caruso International Jazz Trumpet Competition in 2003. At 15, he was "discovered" by Wynton Marsalis in Cleveland, Ohio, Farinacci’s place of birth. Wynton invited Dominick to appear as a featured soloist with the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra on a PBS broadcast, "Live from Lincoln Center." While studying with Warren Vache and Wynton Marsalis at the Juilliard School, Dominick was also featured at Lincoln Center on a tribute concert to Freddie Hubbard and Lee Morgan, "Night of the Cookers." Over the years he has performed and/or recorded with many high-profile jazz artists such as Joe Lovano, Wynton Marsalis, Ira Sullivan, Mulgrew Miller, Carl Allen, Jason Miles, and Joe Labarbera. Prepare to be dazzled by virtuosity and moved by the emotional weight of this young trumpet lion as he claws at the limits of cool with an intense yet relaxed approach to the jazz trumpet tradition.
Tuesday, April 13, 2010Jazz for Curious Listeners The Joint is Jumpin': Fats Waller: The PianistLocation: NJMH Visitors Center (104 E. 126th Street, Suite 2C), 7:00 – 8:30pm Over sixty years after his death, the consummate artistry and high-spirited zest for living make pianist/composer Fats Waller one of the most celebrated artists in jazz history. His best-known compositions, such as "Ain't Misbehavin'," "Honeysuckle Rose," "Black and Blue," and "Jitterbug Waltz," long ago entered the canon of American music, as discussed in last week’s Jazz for Curious Listeners class. Moreover, his skills as a pianist place him in the top tier of those who played the instrument, but this fact has been obscured by his greatness as an entertainer with a widespread following in the United States and Europe. Tonight we focus on the art of Fats Waller as a pianist: his playing (and his songs) reverberates to this day amongst jazz fans and musicians cognizant of his influence and depth.As a pianist, Waller was the outstanding exponent of the Harlem Stride style of jazz piano, drawing together the innovations of Willie "The Lion" Smith and James P. Johnson into a coherent style. And taken alone, the fact that he was a major influence on the peerless Art Tatum speaks to the eternal place Fats Waller will maintain among the pantheon of jazz greats. Come hear his piano mastery in all of its splendor at the Visitor’s Center of the National Jazz Museum in Harlem. http://www.jazzpromoservices.com/For Jazz for Curious Readers, scholar of jazz and saxophonist Salim Washington will discuss his co-authorship of a recent work delving into the Miles Davis/John Coltrane relationship and impact. Harlem Speaks features discussions with baritone sax master Joe Temperley, and critically-praised and provocative big band leader Darcy James Argue.
JAZZofilo is a cultural Blog. Our intention is not to commercialize music, but to share with friends the pleasure of listening jazz music and the world of jazz.
The site does not keep music files, but through widgets. You're welcome to submit posts, photos, etc. of jazz related topics.
If for some reason you feel offended by the content of a particular post here that was not our intention. Please let us know and we'll remove it.
Any questions and suggestions, send me to the link: cavalcanticlaudio@yahoo.com
