Musical interlude: Jazz music to fill the plaza of the arts center

Photo courtesy of the Mesquite Arts Center

By Kenny Green, kgreen@starlocalnews.com, Published: Wednesday, May 22, 2013 2:32 PM CDT

For the past several years, the Mesquite Arts Center has hosted a series of summer jazz concerts on the plaza known as JazzBreaks on the Plaza. The concert series returns to the city on Tuesday, June 4, at the Mesquite Arts Center, 1527 N. Galloway Ave.

"We have done this since 1996 and have always had great audiences," said Mike Templeton, arts center director. "When we established the arts center we had local groups that were doing everything but jazz music. The arts council wanted to try and have a little bit of everything, so we started this. We originally had it in June and October, but the nights were too cool in October so we began only offering it only in June."

Before JazzBreaks, there was no music series at the arts center in June. The series is now held at 7:30 p.m. every Tuesday during the month.

"We thought this would be the best time to invite people to our front porch and see what we offer," Templeton said.

Templeton credits the success of the concert series to the level of musicians the arts council has been able to get to participate.

"The guys that come and play really enjoy this immensely. There is a lot of applause for the performances, especially following solos," Templeton said. "The niche we have found has been very successful so far."

Templeton said the arts council is always on the lookout for new groups to come and perform during the series each year.

Read more: http://www.mesquitenews.com/articles/2013/05/31/mesquite_news/news/1404.txt

Mulgrew Miller (1955-2013)

Reprinted from http://jazzwax.com

Mulgrew Miller—a lush and powerful jazz pianist who had the percussive feel of Oscar Peterson, the touch of Phineas Newborn, Jr. and the soul of Bobby Timmons—died yesterday after suffering a stroke. [Photo of Mulgrew Miller at home by Jimmy Katz for JazzTimes]

Here's Miller in video conversation with Bret Primack in 2010...

And here's Miller playing solo piano in 2010...
Used with permission by Marc Myers

The Omri Mor Trio at Te Papa

The Embassy would like to invite you to a special performance by the Omri Mor Trio

When: Sunday 9 June 2013, 2-3pm
Where: Te Marae, Level 4, Te Papa
Free Entry

Leading Jerusalem-based pianist Omri Mor and his Trio have created a vibrant new musical language through their new AndalouJazz project, weaving an intoxicating blend of contemporary jazz improvisation with traditional North African Andalusian music.

Omri Mor- piano;
Simon Starr- bass
Noam David – drum

The Trio are here to participate in the 'Wellington Jazz Festival', so you can also check them out the night before (Saturday 8th June 2013), at Mighty Mighty on Cuba St at 8pm.

Ottmar Liebert, guitar master, performs Saturday at Birchmere

WASHINGTON - Guitarist and composer Ottmar Liebert helped to establish "new flamenco" music in the early '90s. Think flamenco guitar mixed with Latin, jazz, and even Middle Eastern influences.

Liebert and his band Luna Negra are scheduled to perform at the Birchmere Saturday, June 1.

For more than 20 years, Liebert's masterful guitar work has garnered several Grammy nominations and thousands of fans worldwide.

"Dune," Liebert's 25th studio album, finds the guitarist exploring new territory, including adding accordionist Char Rothschild into the mix.

"I had never been a huge fan of accordion," Liebert tells WTOP in an interview. He changed his mind after hearing raï music -- a form of Algerian folk/pop.

Rothschild's accordion playing is prominent throughout "Dune," and adds a new texture to Liebert's signature hybrid guitar style.

"It's a great foil for the guitar on the album," Liebert says.

One of the standout tracks on the album, "Horse," employs an Arabic scale that Liebert discovered through an internet search.

Read more: http://www.wtop.com/41/3341926/Ottmar-Liebert-guitar-master-performs-Saturday-at-Birchmere

Antiquity Music ....

LOS ANGELES, CA - Today, Antiquity Music launches a Kickstarter Campaign for their Wheelharp. This is followed by their successful premiere at this year's NAMM Show. The Wheelharp is a groundbreaking keyboard musical instrument that gives the player the ability to orchestrate a full chromatic scale of sixty-one (61) actual bowed strings at one's own fingertips, almost like having a real chamber string orchestra at hand. 

After receiving buzz and high praise from the likes of The Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, Gizmodo, Keyboard Magazine, Premiere Guitar, and KTLA, the Wheelharp has since been featured on the soundtracks of NBC's television series, Hannibal, Mark Mothersbaugh's recent SXSW feature documentary, The Short Game, as well as the highly anticipated upcoming new album from Nine Inch Nails.  

Antiquity Music has been restoring and distributing vintage, rare, and exotic musical instruments here in Los Angeles, CA for over five years. Their clientele include that of Trent Reznor, Sean Lennon, Sigur Ros, Coldplay, My Morning Jacket, Fleet Foxes, Pete Townsend, The Black Keys, Gotye, Foster The People, Mark Mothersbaugh, Jon Brion, and many more...

Antiquity Music's Kickstarter campaign can be found HERE.

More information on the Wheelharp can be found at www.antiquitymusic.com

Please send all interview requests to evanf@antiquitymusic.com

Antiquity Music
310.439.2643 or 480.840.4121
Evan Fox // evanf@antiquitymusic.com // info@antiquitymusic.com

Bob Dorough Duets

The proceeds from this record benefit COTA, the Celebration Of The Arts, also known as the Delaware Water Gap Jazz Festival. COTA is a non-profit organization. 

COTA's mission is "to present and support the art of jazz in all its forms and historical breadth, and to support and cultivate interest in art through youth education, performing arts presentations, scholarship opportunities, and community outreach throughout the Pocono area."

31st Annual M&T Syracuse Jazz Fest

Thursday, July 4th
2:00 pm ~ Gates Open, Paradise Food Court, Constellation Wine Court, Crafts Village

VERIZON MAIN STAGE Schedule & Lineup (All performance times are tentative, subject to change)

4:00 pm to 4:30 pm     ~  Syracuse Parks & Recreation Stan Colella All Star Band ( under the direction of Joe Carello )
5:00 pm to 6:00 pm     ~  West Coast Cool w/ Manhattan Transfer's Cheryl Bentyne and Mark Winkler & the Rick Montalbano Trio
                                          Sponsored by the Central NY Community Foundation
6:30 pm to 7:30 pm     ~  Kat Wright & The Indomitable Soul Band (I.S.B.)
8:00 pm to 9:00 pm     ~  Preservation Hall Jazz Band
9:00 pm to 9:30 pm     ~  Free Price Chopper Fireworks Display
9:30 pm to 11:00 pm   ~ THE DOOBIE BROTHERS

Friday, July 5th
2:00 pm ~ Gates Open, Paradise Food Court, Constellation Wine Court, Crafts Village

VERIZON MAIN STAGE Schedule & Lineup (All performance times are tentative, subject to change)

3:00 pm to 3:30 pm  ~  Paul V Moore HS Vocal Jazz Ensemble ( under the direction of Dennis Goettel )
4:00 pm to 4:30 pm  ~  Fayetteville-Manlius HS Jazz Ensemble ( under the direction of John Jeanneret and Rebecca Bizup )
5:00 pm to 6:00 pm  ~  Giacomo Gates Sponsored by the Central NY Community Foundation
6:30 pm to 7:30 pm  ~  Sophistafunk
8:00 pm to 9:00 pm  ~  The Yellowjackets ( w/ Russell Ferrante Bob Mintzer, Will Kennedy & Felix Pastorius )
9:30 pm to Closing  ~  THE GRANDMOTHERS OF INVENTION
                                    ( 20th Anniversary Frank Zappa Memorial Barbecue w/ Original Mothers Don Preston, Tom Fowler, and Napoleon Murphy Brock )

Saturday, JULY 6th
2:00 pm ~ Gates Open, Paradise Food Court, Constellation Wine Court, Crafts Village

VERIZON MAIN STAGE Schedule & Lineup (All performance times are tentative, subject to change)

3:00 pm to 3:30 pm  ~  Liverpool HS Stage Band ( under the direction of Stephen Salem )
4:00 pm to 4:30 pm  ~  Oswego HS Jazz Ensemble ( under the direction of Stephen Defren )
5:00 pm to 6:00 pm  ~  Five To Life: Gospel A Cappella
6:30 pm to 7:30 pm  ~  The Brubeck Brothers Quartet (BBQ) Tribute To Dave Brubeck
8:00 pm to 9:00 pm  ~  Ronnie Laws
9:30 pm to Closing  ~  TAYLOR DAYNE

Church jazz worship experience in West Milford

Thrusday, may 30, 2013, Aim West Milford
There will be a unique worship experience on June 2 at 7:30 p.m. at the West Milford Presbyterian Church, located at 1452 Union Valley Rd. in West Milford. It’s a Jazz Vespers Service intended for hearing "the familiar notes of our faith with a new beat." The service is full of music and is a "marvelous experience of worship, in a new way." The worship service is informal, and is open to family, friends and neighbors. The focus will be on some of the hymns and music of childhood as "we celebrate the gift of childhood." For more information, call the church office at 973-728-3081. –Janet Macgregor-Williams

Read more: http://www.northjersey.com/news/209462421_Church_jazz_worship_experience_in_West_Milford.html

Morrison flying high for music festival

Jazz virtuoso, multi-instrumentalist, festival director ... pilot?

“The engine of my aeroplane will not go cold for 17 days,” James Morrison said after the launch of the Queensland Music Festival program.

It's one of the accomplished musician's lesser-known skills – he's been a licensed pilot for 25 years and owns his own light plane. That Cirrus SR20 has been getting quite a workout, with Morrison and the QMF team travelling around Queensland to meet councils and tee up festival projects.

Advertisement

“We can hit three towns a day and get right around the state,” he said.

“It's a handy thing for an artistic director!”

The biennial festival runs from July 12 to 28, and Morrison will be trying to get to as many of the 200-odd scheduled gigs as possible.

“I'll be finishing seeing a concert or being in one, leaping in the plane and flying to another town ready for the next thing,” he said.

But Morrison laughed off the idea he's a control freak, instead saying he is somebody who likes to get things done.

“If there's music happening, don't you want to be the one playing it? If there's a plane flying, don't you want to be the one flying it?

“Whatever's going on, I want to be right in the middle doing it.”

James Morrison. Photo: Supplied
Read more: http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/entertainment/music/morrison-flying-high-for-music-festival-20130529-2nbsf.html#ixzz2UmVt7Ln5

The Short List

John Coltrane tribute

Created on Thursday, 30 May 2013 11:00 | Written by Jason Vondersmith 

It’s top-shelf jazz at Jimmy Mak’s, as the Azar Lawrence Quintet, as well as Devin Phillips, George Colligan, Alan Jones and Eric Gruber play “Classic Coltrane 1964-65” on two nights.

8 p.m. Thursday-Friday, May 30-31, Jimmy Mak’s, 221 N.W. 10th Ave., tickettomato.com, $18, $22 reserved

‘Cole Porter Meets the Gershwins’

A night after being scheduled to perform at the Harold Schnitzer Diabetes Center fundraiser, Rocky Blumhagen and Susannah Mars join violinist Lindsay Deutsch for a night of Cole Porter and George and Ira Gershwin, presented by the Portland Chamber Orchestra.

7 p.m. Monday, June 3, Jimmy Mak’s, 221 N.W. 10th Ave., 503-771-3250, $25

‘Dolly Parton Hoot Night’

Some of the Northwest’s finest musicians will take part in the

annual Dolly Parton tribute night, benefitting the Siren Nation Festival.

8 p.m. Saturday, June 8, Alberta Rose Theatre, 3000 N.E. Alberta St.,www.sirennation.org, $10, $12 at door

The Postal Service

Heads up: The Indie-tronica duo, Ben Gibbard and Jimmy Tamborello, will reunite with Jerry Lewis, who appeared on the debut 2003 album, for this show. Laura Burhenn of Mynabirds and Bright Eyes also will perform with the group.

8 p.m. Wednesday, July 17, Rose Garden, www.rosequarter.com, $29.50, $34.50, $44.50

STAGE

‘A Bright New Boise’

Third Rail Repertory introduces Portland to Samuel D. Hunter, and his bright new comedy about America’s love-hate relationship with religion.

7:30 p.m. Friday-Saturday, May 31-June 1, 7:30 p.m. Thursdays-Saturdays, 2 p.m. Sundays through June 23, Winningstad Theatre, 1111 S.W. Broadway,www.pcpa.com, $34, $42

‘Michael Jackson HIStory’

This is a unique tour that starts in Portland, a musical biography of Michael Jackson’s life, featuring more than 20 songs performed by Las Vegas star Kenny Wizz, together with a live band, choreographed dancers, authentic costumes and theater-quality production. The tour will include 15 other shows, including June 9 in Eugene.

8 p.m. Friday, June 7, Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall, 1037 S.W. Broadway,www.pcpa.com, $45.50-$67

Read more: http://portlandtribune.com/pt/11-features/153556-the-short-list

Jutta Hipp: The Inside Story

Reprinted from http://jazzwax.com

Last week I posted on German pianist Jutta Hipp, who recorded in the 1950s before disappearing from the jazz scene. I also mentioned that Katja von Schuttenbach—a jazz historian and journalist [pictured above]—had researched and written about Hipp. I sent Katja a handful of questions and she kindly responded. Here’s our e-conversation:


JazzWax: Jutta Hipp seems like a tragic figure—in part a victim of her own issues. Do we know what she went through as a teen living under Nazi rule?
Katja von Schuttenbach: Jutta was 8 years old when Hitler became chancellor (1933); 14 when Germany invaded Poland (1939); and 21 when she became a refugee (1946). As a Lutheran/Protestant in Germany, she did not suffer from religious persecution. However, along with millions of other German civilians, she went through massive bombing raids on her hometown of Leipzig. After the war she became a displaced person and suffered from malnutrition and lacked most basic necessities. [Photo above of Jutta Hipp provided by Han Schulte in the Netherlands]

JW: How do we know this?
KVS: I established a timeline of Hipp’s life based on articles about her in Germany and the U.S. between 1952 and 2010. I also conducted more than 35 interviews with people who knew her and I read about 300 of Hipp’s personal letters, in which she sometimes reminisced.


JW: Right after the war, what was life like for Hipp?
KVS: She was deprived of what we would consider a normal teenager’s life and, no doubt, her pregnancy in 1948 was also overshadowed by insufficient prenatal care. She was so poor that she did not even have an apartment of her own but lived in a room made available for individuals working for the United States Special Services.


JW: Pregnancy?
KVS: Hipp gave birth to a son, Lionel, whose father was a black G.I. stationed in Germany. Black G.I.s were not allowed to accept paternity back then if they fathered a child with a white woman—even if they had wanted to. The U.S. military was still segregated. This means that Jutta and Lionel’s father were not engaged or married. Lionel does not know who his father is but he would like to know. Unfortunately, without a reliable name, information on where he was stationed in and around Munich and details about his tour of duty, it's impossible to search. [Photo above of Hipp and Lionel, 1 1/2, taken in June 1950]


JW: How did Hipp learn to play jazz?
KVS: Hipp had been raised sheltered in a small, culturally inclined middle-class family. She began taking formal piano lessons at age 9, but a harsh teacher killed her enthusiasm, diverting her to jazz. Since jazz was frowned upon as “degenerate music” under Nazi rule, jazz musicians were always in danger of persecution and severe punishment. Hipp's listening sessions were confined to clandestine gatherings in friends’ homes and much of her continuing musical appreciation and education took place during bombing raids. Instead of joining her parents and brother in the basement shelter—she hunkered down in front of the radio transcribing jazz tunes played on forbidden radio stations. [Pictured above: Hipp, second from right]


JW: Where and how did she meet Leonard Feather?
KVS: Feather had received a tape from a G.I. that included Hipp playing. Feather loved what he heard and was eager to meet Hipp in person. In January 1954, when he toured Germany with “Jazz Club USA”—featuring Billie Holiday, Buddy DeFranco and other top American jazz musicians—he made a late-night side trip to Duisburg, where he found Hipp jamming in a cellar club.  [Photo above: Leonard Feather gives pianist Mary Lou Williams his famed blindfold test]


JW: Was Feather responsible for her being recorded in Germany that year?
KVS: Yes. By April 1954 Feather arranged for a recording session in Frankfurt/Main, featuring the Jutta Hipp Quintet. Eventually the tape became New Faces – New Sounds from Germany, which was released by Blue Note as its first Hipp release in the States in 1956.

JW: Why did Feather bother?
KVS: Feather was not likely doing this because of a personal interest in Hipp but because he hoped to make money by bringing European jazz talent to the States. For example, he also had sponsored George Shearing’s immigration.


JW: After Hipp arrived in New York, what role did Horace Silver play?
KVS: Not much. I was able to contact Horace Silver only through his biographer Phil Pastras back in 2005.  Silver only conveyed that he had known Jutta but added that he did not know her well. Jutta was greatly influenced by Silver’s blues-inspired rhythmic abilities, which led to her to move away from cool and bebop. 


JW: Hipp performed at Newport in 1956?
KVS: Yes, she performed a magnificent version of the St. Louis Blues.  Aside from being an artistic influence, Silver had no other apparent influence on Hipp’s career and was not romantically involved with her.

JW: Is there a recording available of Hipp's appearance at Newport in ’56?
SVK: Not yet, but hopefully soon.

Used with permission by Marc Myers

Read more: http://www.jazzwax.com/2013/05/jutta-hipp-the-inside-story.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Jazzwax+%28JazzWax%29

Miguel Zenón & The Rhythm Collective

By Lee Hildebrand
During the past decade, alto saxophonist Miguel Zenón has been at the forefront of fusing jazz and Puerto Rican music, much as timbalero Tito Puente did a half century earlier. It is fitting that on his latest album, after a short introductory piece titled "Oye!!!" ("listen!" or "hey!"), the 36-year-old San Juan-born musician rips into a fourteen-and-a-half-minute improvisation on "Oye Como Va" ("Hey, what's up?). The simple, riff-based 1963 Puente composition was popularized by Carlos Santana eight years later. Zenón opens his treatment with some unaccompanied rapid-fire Charlie Parker-imbued alto lines that dissolve into the basic five-note title phrase. Electric bassist Aldemar Valentin, trap drummer Tony Escapa, and conguero Reynaldo De Jesus soon enter in a cha-cha mode, their complex cross rhythms gentle one minute and ferocious the next, spurring the leader to one emotional peak after another.

Read more: http://www.eastbayexpress.com/oakland/miguel-zenandoacuten-and-the-rhythm-collective/Content?oid=3560563

JJA Jazz Awards Party June 19 at Blue Note Jazz Club/ NYC

The Jazz Journalists Association will celebrate the 17th annual JJA Jazz Awards  with a cocktail-and-music party on Wednesday June 19, from 4 to 6 pm at the Blue Note Jazz Club in New York City. This event is open to the public; tickets should be purchased in advance.

Harpist Edmar Castañeda, 2013 winner of the Jazz Award for Players of Instruments Rare in Jazz, vocalist Paulette Dozier with pianist Danny Mixon, and violinist Zach Brock --a finalist nominee for Violinist/ Violist/Cellist of the Year-- and his band will provide entertainment. Josh Jackson, host of WBGO's The Checkout, will emcee. Read more »

Read More: http://www.jjajazzawards.org

Jazz violinist connects with art at the Phillips

Bill O'Leary/The Washington Post - Jazz violinist David Schulman practices for Jazz ’n Families Fun Days at the Phillips Collection. He will be interpreting art through music.

By Moira E. McLaughlin, Published: May 28 E-mail the writer

When you look at a famous painting in an art gallery, you probably feel something: happy, sad, confused, uncomfortable. If you look at a painting closely, you may start to hear something: birds chirping, leaves crunching . . . or, if you’re violinist David Schulman, music playing.

This weekend at the Phillips Collection art gallery Jazz ’n Families Fun Days, Schulman will make up music based on particular paintings that the audience is looking at. (Composing music on the spot is called improvisation, which is a big part of jazz music.) Schulman said his goal will be to help the audience understand what the paintings are saying.

“I come to the paintings on their own terms,” he said, “and find out how they speak.”

Translating art

Can a painting really talk? KidsPost asked Schulman if we could see him in action. So on a recent day, he set up his musical equipment in a corner of the Phillips. He brought two violins (one was plugged into an amplifier, or amp, which made it louder) and a few small percussion instruments.

Schulman also brought effects pedals, which he put on the floor. The pedals allow Schulman to record his music on the spot and then play the recording back as he plays something new. This is called “looping.” By the end of a song, a listener may hear 10 violin parts even though there is only one Schulman.

Once Schulman’s equipment was ready, he picked out a painting by Francis Bacon called “Study of a Figure in a Landscape.” He looked at it. He blinked his eyes and looked at it some more. In the painting, there’s a shadowy man sitting in the middle of a field with his knees pulled to his chest, a blue sky behind him and trees that seem to be blowing slightly around him. After a few moments, Schulman picked up his violin.

He played some high notes pizzicato — meaning he plucked the strings — to represent the sky, long bow strokes for the grass and a more melodic, quieter part to represent the man in the field, Schulman explained later. The music created a mood that was mysterious and beautiful.

“I’m offering ideas,” Schulman said. Or “a soundtrack” for people looking at the painting.

Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/kidspost/jazz-violinist-connects-with-paintings-at-the-phillips-collection/2013/05/28/1e86c16c-be4e-11e2-89c9-3be8095fe767_story.html?wprss=rss_lifestyle

NJJazzList.com Calendar

05/31 Fri Barbara Rose, Pianist & Vocalist at Molly Pitcher Inn, Red Bank 6:00 pm to 11:00 pm Style: Mixed,Cover: None, Celebrate the American Songbook with piano prodigy Barbara Rose. Barbara’s style as a vocalist ranges from Judy Garland to Janis Joplin. Her piano style is reminiscent of Thelonius Monk. Learn more , Hear samples , (732/848)

---

05/31 Fri Betty Liste Duo at Palazzo Restaurant 7:00 pm to 10:30 pm Style: Mixed, Cover: over $10, Piano and bass interpret American, Brazilian standards. Dave Kingsnorth, bass Learn more , Hear samples , (862/973)

---

05/31 Fri Bob DeVos Organ Trio at Stanhope House 8:00 pm to 11:00 pm Style: Contemporary/Post Bop,Cover: None, Dan Kostelnik-organ, Steve Johns-drums. 45 Main St. Stanhope NJ. Learn more , Hear samples , (862/973)

---

05/31 Fri Mauricio de Souza Trio at Moonstruck 6:00 pm to 10:00 pm Style: Straight-ahead, Cover: None, Maurício de Souza Trio at Moonstruck. 6-10pm. 517 Lake Ave., Asbury Park, NJ. 732-988-0123. www.moonstrucknj.com. Mauricio de Souza Trio will be playing tunes from the new album, with arrangements of compositions by Tom Jobim, Bill Evans, Cedar Walton, Miles Davis, Benny Golson, Roberto Menescal, Hermeto Pascoal, Pat Metheny, Mauricio de Souza, Baden Powell, Luiz Eça, Sharel Cassity, Milton Nascimento, John Coltrane, Edu Lobo, and Freddie Hubbard among others. Maurício de Souza (drums), Ben Winkelman (piano), Chirs Berger (bass). Learn more , Hear samples , (732/848)

---

05/31 Fri Rob Paparozzi & Dave Keyes Duo at BB's Burger Bar @Atlantic Casino Club (AC) 9:00 pm to 1:00 am Style: Blues-Acoustic, Cover: None, Rob & Dave Duo hit Atantic City!! Join us... Learn more , Hear samples , (609/ )

---

05/31 Fri at Priory Restaurant 233 W Market St Newark NJ 07103 7:00 pm to 11:00 pm Style: Mixed, Cover:None, Former Host of BET J Network Perform with her with her with her world class jazz band. This will be Volora's performance at the Priory Restaurant for the first time in ten years Learn more , Hear samples , (862/973)

---

06/01 Sat Andy McDonough & Friends at The Mill at Spring Lake Heights 8:00 pm to 11:00 pm Style: Vocal,Cover: None, Join the area's most talented jazz & blues musicians each Saturday night at The Mill beginning at 8pm! Learn more , Hear samples , (732/848)

---

06/01 Sat Andy McDonough and Friends at The Mill at The Mill, Spring Lake 8:00 pm to 11:00 pm Style:Vocal, Cover: None, The Mill is an extraordinary setting. Great food and a lounge for jazz. Andy sings some standards. Learn more , (Unknown)

---

06/01 Sat Betty Liste Duo at Palazzo Restaurant 7:00 pm to 10:30 pm Style: Mixed, Cover: over $10, Piano and bass interpret American, Brazilian standards. Kevin McCarthy, bass Learn more , Hear samples , (862/973)

---

06/01 Sat EMQ at Peddlers Village, Lahaka, PA 2:00 pm to 4:00 pm Style: Mixed, Cover: None, The Eric Mintel Quartet at The Fine Art and Contemporary Crafts Festival Learn more , Hear samples , (215/ )

---

06/01 Sat Grace Kelly Quintet at The Levoy Theatre 8:00 pm to 10:00 pm Style: Mixed, Cover: Tickets Available, Learn more , Hear samples , (856/ )

---

06/01 Sat Hammerheaded Quartet at Dauphin Grille, Berkeley Hotel, Asbury Park 7:00 pm to 10:00 pm Style:Straight-ahead, Cover: None, Featuring Anthony Ware Jr., Chuck Welch, Joe Peterson, and Dan Weeks , (732/848)

---

06/01 Sat John Gatti Trio at Wyckoff Reformed Church 8:00 pm to 10:30 pm Style: Cool Jazz, Cover: over $10, Cool jazz with a hot Latin twist from this trio of veteran performers led by John Gatti. Tickets are $20 and can be ordered at 201-891-1782 or purchased at the door. Coffee and cake will be served and guests welcome to bring additional snacks and beverages. , Hear samples , (201/551)

---

06/01 Sat Lady CiCi at Candlelight Lounge 3:30 pm to 7:30 pm Style: Vocal, Cover: None, Free Buffet, $10.00 Minimum Learn more , (Unknown)

---

06/01 Sat Lady CiCi at Candlelight Lounge 3:30 pm to 7:30 pm Style: Vocal, Cover: None, Free Buffet Learn more , (609/ )

---

06/01 Sat Lustig Dance Theatre & Emily Asher's Garden Party at Victoria J. Mastrobuono Theatre 8:00 pm to 10:00 pm Style: Mixed, Cover: Tickets Available, The critically acclaimed Lustig Dance Theatre performs "Shake Down the Stars" to jazz ballads arranged by Emily Asher and performed live by Emily Asher's Garden Party.Learn more , (732/848)

Journey to Rio, by Roger Davidson

Like many Americans, Roger Davidson discovered the bossa nova through the recordings of Stan Getz, and since then, the sounds of Brazil have been especially close to his heart. In four previous CDs – Brazilian Love Song, Bom Dia, Rodgers in Rio, and Bingo – he brought his unique spin to the music of a country that, remarkably, he had never visited. In October 2011, that changed.

Accompanied by his producer, the Argentine bassist and bandleader Pablo Aslan, Roger took his first trip to Brazil. Most of his eight days there, which he spent in Rio de Janeiro, were occupied by six recording sessions. Roger arrived with a hundred of his Brazilian compositions to choose from; the songs he recorded – in addition to several new ones he composed in Rio – comprise these two CDs.

Original compositions by Roger Davidson (Musica Universalis, BMI)

Roger Davidson, piano
Marcelo Martins, tenor and soprano sax, flute
Gilmar Ferreira, trombone
Leonardo Amuedo, guitar
Ney Conceiçao, electric bass (CD1 tracks 1,2,9 – CD2 tracks 1,2,4,7,8,12)
Sergio Barrozo, acoustic bass
Rafael Barata, drums (CD1 tracks 1,2,9 – CD2 tracks 1,2,4,7,8,12)
Paulo Braga, drums
Marco Lobo, percussion

Read more: http://soundbrush.com/album/journey-to-rio/

Norwegian Jazz Launch 2013

Norwegian Jazz Launch is a launch programme for the new generation of jazz musicians.The 2013 programme is providing support for saxophonists Marius Neset and Karl Seglem, bassist Mats Eilertsen and the band Elephant9.

by CAMILLA SLAATTUN BRAUER
A new generation of Norwegian jazz musicians have become established as internationally renowned artists. The response from live audiences, critics and leading international music magazines alike has been tremendous. Karin Krog, Jan Garbarek, Arild Andersen and Terje Rypdal have been big international names since the 60s. Now musicians such as Nils Petter Molvær, Arve Henriksen, Sidsel Endresen, Mathias Eick and Bugge Wesseltoft are following suit. So too are an increasing number of newcomers to the scene.

A well-established infrastructure has made it possible to unite forces and develop this trend further. The Norwegian Jazz Launch started up in 2004 as a three-year programme to help Norwegian artists with international ambitions and potential to meet a broader international audience. The programme is now in its fourth period, and promoting a new set of artists. It is seeking to build further on the excellent reputation that Norwegian improvised music has attained internationally, and its activities include providing financial support for travel expenses, marketing, and arranging bookings with key international jazz clubs and festivals.

The West Norway Jazz Centre and the Norwegian Jazz Forum are both involved in the programme, which also receives financial support from the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Arve Henriksen and Paal Nilssen-Love were the first two artists to be promoted by the Norwegian Jazz Launch. Since then it has enabled Eldbjørg Raknes, Morten Qvenild, Helge Lien, Håkon Kornstad, Stian Westerhus and Frøy Aagre to launch various projects. Established artists too, like Nils Petter Molvær, Bugge Wesseltoft and Sidsel Endresen, have received assistance. The 2013 programme is providing support for saxophonists Marius Neset and Karl Seglem, bassist Mats Eilertsen and the band Elephant9.

These artists and many more are currently establishing Norwegian jazz internationally as a top quality brand.

Elephant9

To hear Elephant9 live is to experience one of Norway’s most formidable live acts in any genre. The trio’s brand of high-octane  progressive neo-psychedelic jazz-rock combined with outstanding musicianship have won acclaim from critics and audiences across Europe, and their four albums  have received high praise in the leading international press including Mojo, Uncut, Down Beat, Prog, Rock-a Rolla and Q amongst others.

Ståle Storløkken (hammond organ, Fender Rhodes, synth) is widely considered to be the most inventive keyboard player from the fertile Norwegian jazz scene, his playing with bands like Supersilent, Humcrush, Motorpsycho, Terje Rypdal and countless others being firm testament to this. Nikolai Eilertsen (electric bass) was first known to the Norwegian public through his playing with popular rock group Big Bang and later chart-topping pop group The National Bank. Torstein Lofthus (drums) is one of Norway’s most respected drummers whose energetic and versatile approach has made him constantly in demand for session work as well as playing in jazz, soul and rock bands, most notably blackjazzers Shining.

Elephant9 released their debut album ‘Dodovoodoo’ in 2008, and followed that up with ‘Walk the Nile’ in 2010, both on the Rune Grammofon label. Walk the Nile was awarded Spellemannprisen 2010 (Norwegian Grammy), and has drawn considerable praise from both the jazz and rock communities worldwide. On their fourth album, ‘Atlantis’, Elephant9 join forces with Reine Fiske, the Swedish prog-rock guitar veteran. Writers have compared them with names like Tony William’s Lifetime, Deep Purple, Brian Auger, Emerson Lake & Palmer and early seventies Miles Davis to describe the music, all testament to the fact that Elephant9 are neither rock nor jazz but take these genres and more to another level.

Karl Seglem

Karl Seglem is unique in Norway’s music scene, an outstanding tenor saxophonist, goat horn player, composer, producer and poet. He is unquestionably one of the great innovators and visionaries of Norwegian music, reinvigorating both jazz and traditional genres with his unswerving will to fuse expressions, pursue crossover ventures and embrace new instruments, sounds and perspectives. He has contributed so much to the Norwegian jazz scene since the 1980s, not just with his superb tenor sax playing, but with his use of goat horns, his work with Hardanger fiddle players and other traditional musicians. He is simply one of Norway’s finest musical ambassadors.

While Karl is one of Norway’s foremost instrumentalists, he is important for the Norwegian scene also for the work he has done as a composer developing new contemporary forms on the basis of jazz-, folk- and world music. He has also been instrumental to the growth of cross-over expressions and projects as a producer and record label manager for NORCD (since 1991). He is widely admired for his generosity in supporting younger musicians, guiding and promoting them, bringing his own characteristic sensitivity to every project he works with.

National and international renown has grown steadily and not least his four latest solo releases ‘Femstein’, ‘Urbs’, ‘Ossicles’ and ‘NORSKjazz.no’ have captivated both national and international critics and audiences. Among prizes and awards Karl Seglem received the highest order in Norwegian Jazz in 2010: The Buddy-award. Karl will release a new album with his acoustic jazz quartet in September 2013 – and do a major tour in Germany and Norway.

Read more: http://www.europejazz.net/articles/norwegian-jazz-launch-2013

June Tabor / Iain Ballamy / Huw Warren: Quercus

By JOHN KELMAN, Published: May 28, 2013

Awaiting release for more than seven years, Quercus is not the first time ECM has branched into the realm of traditional British music combined with jazz improvisation. Unlike the rawer and more unfettered freedom of producer Steve Lake's inspired pairing of singer Robin Williamson with improvisers including violist Mat Maneri, bassist Barre Phillips and Swedish traditionalist Ale Möller on recordings like The Iron Stone (2007), however, Quercus is a more refined, elegant and dark live recording that pairs renowned British singer June Tabor with saxophonist Iain Ballamy—already known to ECM audiences for his electro-centric collaboration with Norwegian percussionist Thomas Strønen in Food, last heard on Mercurial Balm (2012)—and pianist Huw Warren, who like Tabor is making his first ECM appearance here.

This live recording from March, 2006 may be long overdue, but this is not something for which ECM is to blame. As far back as the trio's sublime performance at the 2007 Punkt Festival, in Kristiansand, Norway, Ballamy and Warren were talking about a recording looking for a label. When ECM came into the picture is unclear, but it's fortuitous—as much for its intended audience as the musicians that made the record—that it did.

Tabor, Ballamy and Warren have intersected before. Ballamy first guested in 2005 on Tabor's At the Wood's Heart (Topic), which, also featuring Warren, who'd been playing with the singer for nearly 20 years, debuting on Aqaba (Topic, 1988). At the Woods's Heart featured other musicians, including longtime Tabor accompanist, guitarist Martin Simpson, who'd made herAbyssinians (Shanachie, 1983) a classic of dark, often depressing but still thoroughly compelling traditional fare, but it was clearly where the idea of Quercus—both the name of the trio and its debut recording—first germinated.

Tabor's reputation as a serious singer who'll not take on a song unless it completely resonates with her on some level means that the song selection which has been key to her success since emerging in the mid-'70s with Steeleye Span's Maddy Prior in Silly Sisters—a perfect pairing if ever there was one—is just as essential to Quercus' achievements. The opening "Lassie Lie Near Me," a traditional tune with lyrics from the pen of poet Robert Burns, may be, at its core, a love song, but its minor-keyed structure and Tabor's delivery ensure its painful longing remains intact. Tabor is not a singer to take great liberties with a melody; instead, her interpretive skills are far subtler—the slightest inflection or barest turn of phrase carrying great weight, even when delivered at a near-whisper, and her earthen, low-register range adding even further to its gravitas.

Read more: http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/article.php?id=44568#.UaSJPZXhEhQ

Lindsay Mendez and Marco Paguia's Debut Jazz Album, "This Time,"

By Michael Gioia, 28 May 2013

Wicked's Lindsay Mendez and music director and jazz pianist Marco Paguiarelease their debut jazz vocal album, "This Time," May 28.

The 13-song collection offers an eclectic mix of songs, reimagining tracks from popular music and blending elements of jazz, soul and rock into the familiar setting of an acoustic piano trio and vocalist. Their reinterpretations include tracks by Alicia Keys, Stevie Wonder, Fiona Apple, The Cars, Joni Mitchell, John Legend and more. Hear streaming samples from their debut here.

The album is available digitally May 28 and is also on sale in the lobby of Broadway's Gershwin Theatre, where Mendez takes over the lead role in Wicked May 28.

A track listing for "This Time" follows:
1. Ordinary People (John Legend)
2. Us (Regina Spektor)

3. Fast As You Can (Fiona Apple)
4. No One (Alicia Keys)
5. A Case of You (Joni Mitchell)

6. Just What I Needed (The Cars)

7. Them Changes (Buddy Miles)

8. Lilac Wine (James H. Shelton)

9. As (Stevie Wonder)

10. All My Days (Alexi Murdoch)

11. Brandy Alexander (Feist & Ron Sexsmith)
12. Freedom of the Road (Martin Sexton)
13. Sittin’ in the Middle (Raul Midón)

Read more: http://www.playbill.com/news/article/178356-Lindsay-Mendez-and-Marco-Paguias-Debut-Jazz-Album-This-Time-Released-May-28