The composer Billy Strayhorn was responsible for some of the most exquisite melodies in the history of jazz. You've surely heard some of his tunes, if not necessarily his name: He mostly wrote them for the Duke Ellington Orchestra.
Jazz musicians know of his genius, though. The trumpeter Terell Stafford certainly does; his upcoming album This Side of Strayhorninterprets nine Strayhorn tunes as straight-ahead jazz, circa 2011.
He and his quintet will celebrate the release of this recording live at the Village Vanguard in New York, and WBGO and NPR Music will be on hand on opening night for a live audio/video broadcast and webcast onTuesday, March 15 at 9 p.m. ET. This page will host the audio/video feed, a live chat and archived recording.
This Side of Strayhorn largely features Strayhorn's more celebrated tunes — "Lush Life," "Day Dream," etc. — in a plainspoken, tasteful style. Stafford's band, however, has also workshopped a number of lesser-known tunes, which will hopefully crop up in performance. Pianist Bruce Barth had an important hand in these arrangements; he's part of Stafford's regular cast, which also includes the busy Peter Washington on bass, Tim Warfield on saxophones (coming in from rural Pennsylvania) and Dana Hall on drums (coming in from Chicago).
Complete on: http://www.npr.org/2011/03/15/134366694/terell-stafford-quintet-live-at-the-village-vanguard?sc=nl&cc=jn-20110315
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