NJJazzList.com Calendar

08/02 Fri Danny Bacher at Casa Dante Restaurant 5:30 pm to 8:30 pm Style: Mixed, Cover: None, Happy Hour at Casa Dante every Friday evening from 5:30pm to 8:00pm. All drinks buy one get one half price! Learn more , (201/551)

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08/02 Fri Greg Murphy at Lorenzo's Restaurant 7:00 pm to 10:00 pm Style: Mixed, Cover: None, Great food, friendly staff, great atmosphere Learn more , Hear samples , (Other )

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08/02 Fri Mauricio Desouza at MOONSTRUCK ASBURY PARK 6:00 pm to 10:00 pm Style: Brazilian/Latin,Cover: None, This will be Mauricio's First CD release party for his new album" Different directions" Learn more ,Hear samples , (Unknown)

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08/02 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. CD RELEASE PARTY. 6-10pm. 517 Lake Ave., Asbury Park, NJ. 732-988-0123. www.moonstrucknj.com. Mauricio de Souza Trio will be playing music from the new album (Different Directions), w/ arrangements of compositions by Tom Jobim, Bill Evans, Edu Lobo, Cedar Walton , Wayne Shorter, Milton Nascimento, Miles Davis, Pat Metheny, Sharel Cassity, Freddie Hubbard, Benny Golson, and Herbie Hancock among others. Mauricio de Souza (drums), Alan Chaubert (trumpet AND piano), Gary Mazzaroppi (bass). Learn more , Hear samples , (732/848)

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08/02 Fri OPEN JAZZ JAM AND FISH FRY at Moore's Lounge aka Bill & Ruth's, Jersey City, NJ 8:30 pm to 12:00 am Style: Mixed, Cover: None, Open Jam every Fri. 8:30pm -midnight hosted by Winard Harper and Rosalind Grant, Open to ALL Musiciana, Vocalistts, Spoken Word Artists and Dancers and Jazz Music Lovers are welcome. Moore's Lounge 189 Monticello Ave., Jersey City, NJ (201)332-4309. No Cover, No Minimum. Fish Sandwiches Available For Purchase.. , (862/973)

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08/02 Fri gil lewis piano/vocals at Ramada Hotel landis ave. Vineland nj 6:30 pm to 7:30 pm Style: Piano,Cover: None, family from boston mass requested jazz piano and vocals make me happy!! Learn more , Hear samples , (856/ )

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08/02 Fri gil lewis/piano/vocals at Ramada hotel landis ave vineland nj. 6:00 pm to 10:00 pm Style: BwayCab,Cover: None, Learn more , Hear samples , (856/ )

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08/03 Sat Andy McDonough & Friends at The Mill at Spring Lake Heights 8:00 pm to 11:00 pm Style: Mixed,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)

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08/03 Sat B.D. Lenz at Palmer Square 2:00 pm to 4:00 pm Style: Fusion, Cover: None, B.D. & quartet Learn more , Hear samples , (609/ )

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08/03 Sat Buster and Bruce Williams at Summer Jazz Café at Two River Theater 8:00 pm to 10:30 pm Style:Mixed, Cover: Tickets Available, Two musical forces headline "Legends and Lions," for the final week of Summer Jazz Café. Buster Williams is a jazz legend who has played with everyone from Herbie Hancock to Nancy Wilson. Bruce Williams (no relation) is an outstanding saxophonist who's played with Roy Hargrove, the Count Basie Orchestra, and Curtis Fuller. Their concert will be preceeded by a performance by our own "Jazz Lions," the Jazz Arts Academy Students in what promises to be an impressive and inspiring opening set. Learn more , Hear samples , (732/848)

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08/03 Sat Daryl Yokley at Candlelight 3:30 pm to 7:30 pm Style: Straight-ahead, Cover: over $10, Free Buffet , (609/ )

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08/03 Sat Mickey Freeman w/Mitch Schecter & Rick Crane at The Grille Room at the Bowling Green Golf Course 7:30 pm to 10:30 pm Style: Vocal, Cover: None, Located at 53 Schoolhouse Road in Oak Ridge, NJ, this is a great venue with great food. (973) 697-8688 , (862/973)

'A Walking Encyclopedia Of Rhythms': Remembering Steve Berrios

By Felix Contreras
Tue., July 30, 2013 1:00pm (EDT)

It is not easy to play both jazz drum set and Afro-Caribbean percussion. Lots of drummers do it, but few have mastered it in a way that makes their sound in either style unmistakable from the first beat.

The music community lost one of those true innovators Wednesday with the death of percussionist Steve Berrios in New York at age 68. Berrios could move seamlessly from jazz to Afro-Cuban rhythms in a way that perfectly reflected his bicultural roots.

Berrios was a true Nuevoriqueo, born in New York in 1945 to parents who had recently arrived from Puerto Rico. His father was a percussionist who played with many of the top dance orchestras in New York during the height of the 1950s mambo craze. Berrios followed in his dad's footsteps and eventually landed an important gig with Mongo Santamara, perhaps the greatest exponent of Afro-Cuban music in this country. He had a long list of album credits and even a Grammy nomination for one of his two solo albums.

But his most significant contribution was to the group he formed in 1982 with brothers Andy and Jerry Gonzlez: the Fort Apache Band. Just three weeks ago the band played a rare hometown gig, six triumphant nights at the Blue Note.

From his home in Barcelona, Jerry Gonzlez sent this note about his musical compadre of many years.

I'm in great pain over the loss of my brother Steve Berrios.

I met Steve in the '60s when I was still at 'Music & Art' High School. At that time, he was playing with Mongo Santamara's band and I remember doing a few gigs opposite to them at the Village Gate and Bottom Line. We would bump into each other in rumbas in the parks, concerts and "toques de santo" [Santera drum circles], and we kept gravitating towards each other till the point that we started the Nuyorican Village, which was a cultural center for all Latino artists in New York City. We started workshops there and I started a band called Hand Drum Control (who would eventually turn into Jerry Gonzlez & The Fort Apache Band) with Steve Berrios on drums.

Read more: http://www.gpb.org/news/2013/07/30/a-walking-encyclopedia-of-rhythms-remembering-steve-berrios#

Motema Takes Flight With Steady Stream of Breakthrough Albums

SOURCE: GOMEDIA PR, Published: 2013-07-29
Motéma Music's tenth anniversary year is in full swing, and as the summer heats up, the Harlem-based label has much cause for celebration. The month of July kicked off with vibraphonist Joe Locke's May release Lay Down My Heart, spending two weeks in the #1 slot on the Jazz Week chart. For the week of July 1, Motéma held the distinction of having the most albums of any label on Jazz Week's chart, with six of the top 50 albums receiving the most airplay on jazz radio around the US. Locke's Lay Down My Heart led the pack, joined by five additional Motéma releases, an assembly of music that's fully representative of the label's eclectic roster: Grammy®-nominee Eldar Djangirov's Breakthrough, the David Murray Infinity Quartet's Be My Monster Love (featuring Macy Gray & Gregory Porter), Living Color drummer Will Calhoun's Life in this World, pianist Marc Cary's tribute to Abbey Lincoln, For the Love of Abbey, and veteran saxophonist Bob Mover's My Heart Tells Me.

The airwaves are not the only arena where Motéma is shining brightly this summer. The cover of DownBeat's September issue features Gregory Porter, whose now skyrocketing career initially took off in 2010 with the release of his debut recording, Water, on Motéma in 2010. Water's Grammy® nomination for best vocal jazz CD kicked off a steady career rise that included multiple top ten international chartings and another Grammy® nomination for his 2012 Motéma Release, Be Good, which continues on its course as one of the top selling jazz albums of the year. Porter, now named DownBeat's Rising Star Jazz Artist and Rising Star Male Vocalist of 2013, also was voted Jazz Vocal Artist of the Year by the Jazz Journalists Association.

Porter is but one of many label artists earning kudos from tastemaker outlets around the world this summer, including DownBeat's distinguished poll of 165 critics. Included among the DownBeat Poll finalists this year were The Cookers, whose Motéma release, Believe, was among the top ranked in the Jazz Albums and Rising Star Groups of the year. The Cookers' founder/arranger David Weiss was named among the Rising Star Arrangers while label artists Marc Cary, Geri Allen, Joe Locke, Pedrito Martinez, David Murray, Rene Marie, Roni Ben-Hur, and Tessa Souter all were recognized for excellence on their respective instruments. It's no wonder, then, that Motéma itself was also recognized as a top ten label by the DownBeat critics.

Read more: http://news.allaboutjazz.com/news.php?id=105472#.Ufi94BbhEhQ

Interview: John Scofield

Reprinted from http://jazzwax.com

Guitarist John Scofield's new album Uberjam Deux (Decca) is a fascinating and energetic amalgam of jazz, R&B, soul and rock. Finding novel ways to merge music styles has long been a way of life for John. He was at the heart of the jazz-fusion movement in the early '80s, playing with Miles Davis, Pat Metheny, Billy Cobham and others. John is intensely curious, and his musical taste is eclectic and diverse. As a result, his compositions are often a dynamic braid of concepts, unified by his signature, metallic-meowing jazz-rock guitar style.

Uberjam Deux's beat-driven hybrids range from funk (Boogie Stupid), romantic soul (Al Green Song), Jamaican rocksteady (Camelus) and a Philly soul cover (Just Don't Want to Be Lonely). The beauty of John's music is that it combines influences and always stretches the form without losing the listener. In this regard, songs on his new album emerge as steel sculptures, with pieces affixed here and there—some rotating, some swinging.

I asked John, 61, about his approach...

JazzWax: Your new album is highly eclectic with a range of intriguing beats. How does it compare with your earlier jazz-R&B albums?
John Scofield: It was so much fun to get together with these guys after 10 years. I think we all played well because of the lift of our reunion. On the previous records—Uberjam and Up All Night—the songs were either tunes I composed or tunes that came out of group jam sessions. [Photo above of Uberjam] 

JW: And on the new one?
JS: On Uberjam Deux, most of the tunes are composed by Avi Bortnick (rhythm guitar and samples) and myself. When we decided to do the recording, Avi gave me free reign to take some things he'd composed and change them and add sections that I composed. I think the writing is stronger on the new CD than on the other ones. [Photo above of Avi Bortnick]


JW: Do you hunt for beats and then play them back for the band?
JS: A lot of these tunes started with grooves that Avi came up with and had demoed. The bass and drums work out parts to fit with the sampled percussion grooves. On the tunes I wrote alone, I made primitive home demos with my cheapo Zoom recorder just to give everybody an idea. I compose with the players in mind, and the band members always modify their parts to fit their own personal style.


JW: Are you on a mission to jazzify today's musical language?
JS: I like to think I'm still improving as an improviser, increasing my musical vocabulary. I continue to love the stuff I loved before I started studying modern jazz—blues, R&B and all the great stuff we heard on the radio in the ‘60's. I guess I “jazzify” stuff unconsciously because that's just what I do. I’m not on a mission, just always in a moment.


JW: How do you strike a balance—not leaning too far into R&B and holding too firm to jazz?
JS: I think it's all instinct. That's what tells me if I’ve crossed the line. I’ve seen the connections between R&B, soul and jazz since I started playing guitar. They’re all branches on the same tree. I saw in an interview that B.B. King [pictured] objected to being called a “blues” artist and preferred being called a “jazz” guitarist. That's interesting, coming from the King of the Blues, right? I continue to learn about and practice straight jazz as well as the dreaded back-beat music.


JW: Did you introduce Miles to the contemporary pop tunes featured on You're Under Arrest in 1985?
JS: Oh not at all. Miles was always very familiar with current pop stuff and checked it out on his own. I think he always had—even in the '50s and before. He actually discouraged us from listening to old music so we remained current and cutting edge.


JW: Why did he choose Human Nature and Time After Time?
JS: We recorded a bunch of pop tunes at the time, but Miles believed he could only do one take on them before he got stale. Human Nature and Time After Time were the only ones where he liked his playing, I guess. I remember he wanted to try Life Begins With You by DeBarge. He had me write up a lead sheet and he played it beautifully, but we never got around to it.

JW: You've always had a bold, distinct sound that takes listeners back to the 70s and yet propels them forward. How is the Scofield sound created?
JS: I think all guitarists get their sound through their fingers. Equipment choice matters some, too. I mostly use my trusty Ibanez AS200 guitar and a Vox AC30 amp from the ‘90s—the new ones are different. I like to bend notes and play with vibrato and expressive articulation. I think that can be missing in the orthodox jazz guitar approach.

JazzWax tracks: Uberjam features John Scofield on guitars, Avi Bortnick on rhythm guitar and samples, Andy Hess on bass, Adam Deitch and Louis Cato on drums (different tracks) and special guest John Medeski on organ, Wurlitzer and Mellotron. You'll find John Scofield's Uberjam Deux (Decca) here.

- See more at: http://www.jazzwax.com/2013/07/interview-john-scofield.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Jazzwax+%28JazzWax%29#sthash.D0ryCHSa.dpuf

Used with permission by Marc Myers

VanAnh Vo Vietnamese multi instrumentalist, composer and vocalist

Passionate and wildly talented traditional Vietnamese instrumentalist and composer Van-Anh Vanessa Vo knows where the soul of her music lies: in her left hand.

“It brings out all the colors, everything you want to hear, the bending and sliding notes. Otherwise, with just the right hand, the melody feels so dry,” explains Vo. “The right hand is the father who sired me, but the left hand is my mother who raised me.”

The left hand’s color and emotive quality burst through the diverse and intriguing pieces of Three Mountain Pass, (Innova; release: September 24, 2013). A masterful player of the 16-string danTranh—a zither with moveable bridges and the springy, bending tones resembling the koto—and the pitch-bendingmonochord danBau, Vo draws on the dozens of traditional genres found in Vietnam to craft new arrangements and compositions.

Whether setting a sensual 18th-century poem to a newly invented instrument (“Three Mountain Pass”) or completely upending one of Satie’s Gnossiennes, Vo brings virtuosic subtlety and profound emotion to her work, a keen ear for the essence of her roots and their potential resonance with contemporary sounds.

In collaborations with Kronos Quartet (the wonderful chamber music conversation of “Green River Delta”) and in her work with orchestras and Japanese taiko drum ensembles, Vo reveals the great breadth and flexibility of the traditional styles she spent decades perfecting with master musicians and at the conservatory in Hanoi. Now based in the Bay Area, Vo pushes the envelope of the past, engaging sounds and complex, multi-layered concepts to unfurl new spaces for the music she loves.

“I think if you have a love for music, you want to explore more and more and maximize your abilities,” muses Vo, whose mastery of danTranh, danBau, and 5 other Viet traditional instruments is exceedingly rare. “I’m still doing it, not just with Vietnamese traditional instruments, but I’ve moved to many other instruments around the world, as many as I can.”

Read more:http://www.rockpaperscissors.biz/index.cfm/fuseaction/current.press_release/project_id/729.cfm

Excerpt work from Fire and Bronze (stage 1) production. Featuring Jazz guitarist Nguyen Le. Ensemble members: Sheldon Brown on wind and reed instruments, Jimi Nakagawa on Taiko, Aaron Germain on Upright Bass and electronic bass.

Van-Anh Vo on dan Tranh (Vietnamese 16-string zither), dan Bau (the monochord), dan T'rung (the bamboo xylophone), vocal, Viet traditional drum and other percussions.

Bartow-Pell Mansion Museum .....

Bartow-Pell Mansion Museum and WHEDco's Bronx Music Heritage Center Present Latin Jazz Great Bobby Sanabria

(PRWEB) July 29, 2013

They brought the audience to their feet last year—there wasn’t a non-dancing foot in the Mansion or on the grounds—and they’re coming back for more. On Friday, August 2, Bartow-Pell Mansion Museum and Bronx Music Heritage Center will present Latin jazz great Bobby Sanabria and his band, Quarteto Aché (positive energy), for its First Friday! from 6:00-8:00 p.m.

"This band rockets between bop, straight-up and charging, to the langourous bolero, to galloping Cuban timba, to rhythms from Puerto Rico and Brazil and the Caribbean...it is propulsive, slangy, and above all historically literate," Ben Ratliff, The New York Times.

A Bronx native and 7-time Grammy nominee, Sanabria is a drummer, percussionist, composer, arranger, conductor, and bandleader who has performed with Dizzy Gillespie, Tito Puente, Paquito D’Rivera, Afro-Cuban jazz godfather Mario Bauzá and other jazz legends. Sanabria, Quarteto Aché’s musical director and drummer, will be joined by Peter Brainin on tenor and soprano saxophones, Enrique Haneine on piano and Andy Ealau on acoustic bass.

Bobby Sanabria’s music has been featured on numerous Grammy-nominated albums, including the soundtrack to 'The Mambo Kings' and other movie soundtracks, and on television and radio. He is the associate producer of the award-winning documentaries 'The Palladium: Where Mambo Was King', and 'From Mambo to Hip Hop'. A graduate of the Berklee College of Music, Sanabria is on the faculties of the New School and the Manhattan School of Music, and conducts Afro-Cuban Jazz Big Bands at both schools. In 2011, he was named Percussionist of the Year by the Jazz Journalist Association. Sanabria’s latest CD, 'Multiverse', with his electrifying 19-piece Big Band, was released last August and received two Grammy nominations.

This band rockets between bop, straight-up and charging, to the langourous bolero, to galloping Cuban timba, to rhythms from Puerto Rico and Brazil and the Caribbean.

Read more: http://www.prweb.com/releases/2013/7/prweb10966648.htm

Marcus Strickland Quartet

Marcus Strickland Quartet

@ the Jazz Standard - August 13 & 14

"Strickland's own approach to music goes far beyond merely staying current - he is an innovator." - Joe Montague, JazzReview.com

"Marcus expertly stretches the outside of the envelope on every solo, and his sense of narrative never falls flat." - J. Hunter, All About Jazz

"Like Newk before him, Strickland has assembled a set of tunes with strong, direct melodies that inspire boundless reveries . . . Strikingly, the leader's own originals are just as memorable, and tailor-made for his tightly attuned trio . . . Throughout the album, the trio maintains a sound both sparse and rich, with a relaxed ease that allows for experimentation but without the airiness ever feeling empty." - Shaun Brady, DownBeat

"Great knots of sound, breezy lines continuously unfurling - Strickland puts pressure on himself to carry the ball and he's been gaining a lot of yardage lately...want to hear how those qualities play out on the stand? Of course you do." - Jim Macnie, The Village Voice

"A streamlined acoustic trio date, steeped in jazz heritage even as it foregrounds inventive takes on tunes by OutKast, Oumou Sangare, Jaco Pastorius and others." - David Adler, Time Out New York

"This album, with Mr. Strickland distributing his intensity carefully over a subtle, flexible rhythm section, is of a whole other order...It's a record you can give to friends who aren't keeping score with jazz. That's good..." - Ben Ratliff, The New York Times (on Idiosyncrasies)

"Strickland has started to turn heads in the most thriving but most competitive jazz scene on the planet... his tone: liquid and luminous, yet forceful and exact... simply one of jazz's shining young saxophonists." - Thomas Conrad, JazzTimes

The Jazz Standard, 116 e27th St., between Park and Lexington - NYC 10016

Marcus Strickland – tenor, alto and soprano saxophones  
Gerald Clayton – piano  
Linda Oh – bass  
Justin Brown – drums


From: Jazz Promo Services
Press Contact: Jim Eigo, jim@jazzpromoservices.com

Ahmed Abdullah's Diaspora

Ahmed Abdullah's Diaspora

Jazzy Monday's @ For My Sweet

Monday, August 5th

Trumpeter/composer/bandleader/educator Ahmed Abdullah's band Diaspora (Dispersions of the Spirit of Ra) will make a rare NY appearance and perform at For My Sweet, 1103 Fulton Street between Classon and Claver Place on Monday, August 5th at 7 and 9pm. The band includes vocalist/poet Monique Ngozi Nri,  Alex Harding, baritone sax, D.D.Jackson, piano, Radu, bass and drummer Reggie Nicholson. 

Diaspora is an acronym, according to Sun Ra, who clearly explained this from the astral plane and therefore the music of this band includes the music of Sun Ra complemented by music, lyrics and poetry of the African Diaspora.

Mr. Abdullah has been leading his own band since 1972. His music will be featured on WKCR, 89.9FM, Sunday, July 28th from 2pm until 7pm. In this year, 2013, two of the recordings from the collective ensembles Ahmed Abdullah performed in, the Melodic Art-Tet (1974) and The Group (1986), have been released on the Lithuanian label, NoBusiness Records. These recording will be available at the performance.

For more information on Ahmed Abdullah go to: www.ahmedian.com 

For My Sweet, 1103 Fulton St, Brooklyn, NY 11238
(between Classon and Claver Place)

featuring:
Ahmed Abdullah - leader / trumpet
Monique Ngozi Nri - vocalist / poet 
Alex Harding - baritone sax
D.D. Jackson - piano
Radu - bass
Reggie Nicholson - drums

From: From: Jazz Promo Services
Press Contact: Jim Eigo, jim@jazzpromoservices.com

Eden Atwood, Girl Talk

In modern times, the word "ballad" has come to mean a "slow, sentimental popular song, esp a love song," or so claims Webster. That shallow definition ignores the fact that the ballad is a centuries-long tradition of human expression, one that spans Irish, Celtic, French and Mexican folk music, verse penned by Wordsworth, Keats and Shelly and 20th century standards from Harold Arlen, Johnny Mercer, Sammy Cahn, Harry Warren and a host of others. Since ancient times, ballads have dwelt on love, good, bad and indifferent.

In modern times, the word "ballad" has come to mean a "slow, sentimental popular song, esp a love song," or so claims Webster. That shallow definition ignores the fact that the ballad is a centuries-long tradition of human expression, one that spans Irish, Celtic, French and Mexican folk music, verse penned by Wordsworth, Keats and Shelly and 20th century standards from Harold Arlen, Johnny Mercer, Sammy Cahn, Harry Warren and a host of others. Since ancient times, ballads have dwelt on love, good, bad and indifferent.

No matter what time or place it hails from, the label "ballad" suggests form and function; rhythms, rhymes, stanzas and verse. Most importantly it is the expression of the human condition.

At best, the ballad's form becomes invisible and we are left with its dramatic message. Even as the form evolved and diversified--through the improvised lyrics of wandering troubadours, the emotionally-distant but tightly structured Parnassian school of French poets, the loosely-metered a-b-a-b rhymes of 21st century pop-- the ballad has always focused on narrative.

As any balladeer of the 19th century might tell you, the ballad is part story, part storyteller. Whether 50 or 500 years old, ballads share common themes. Those who interpret ballads, be they balladeers or torch singers, perform from a place of empathy, conviction and experience. They carry their own meaning to its story.

This Is Always brings together two of the jazz world's best storytellers: Eden Atwood, the bright standout among the current generation of vocalists, and Tom Harrell, the veteran accepted as the best lyrical trumpeter on the planet. That both these artists excel at what they do is apparent in the way they create distinctly different statements even as they perform the same music.

Eden's story, told frankly in the notes to her previous GrooveNote release Wave=85The Bossa Nova Sessions, includes her upbringing in harsh, spacious Montana (her grandfather is A.B. Guthrie, author of the classic novel The Big Sky), a distant but musical father, a struggle to survive as a singer and actress, stints in Chicago, Los Angeles and New York, encouragement from the likes of Marian McPartland and Carl Jefferson of Concord Records and artistic if not commercial success at a relatively tender age.

That success did not come without difficulty. But now, based again in Montana, Eden says she's turned a corner in her life. "I feel I've grown up a bit," she explains. "I feel as if I've matured. I used to gravitate towards "Lush Life", "Good Morning Heartache," ballads that represented the more down side of life. But that's not where I am right now, I'm not as demonized as I have been in the past. Suddenly, there's a certain satisfaction in my life."

Such a person is Melba Joyce ....

Every once in a while a special someone defies the odds and manages to make his or her talent shine again and again, in different venues, on stages and bandstands, in recording studios or on tour.

Such a person is Melba Joyce. Her long and impressive career has spanned three decades in the company of and sharing top billing with such giants of the music world as Louis Armstrong, Sarah Vaughn, Louis Jordan, Lionel Hampton, Tony Bennett, Joe Williams, Marvin Gaye, Smokey Robinson and so many others.

A graduate of Antioch University West in Los Angeles, California, Melba Joyce was born in Dallas, Texas. She grew up under the warm and instructive musical influence of her mother and grand parents. Her father, Melvin Moore, a prominent vocalist with the jazz and swing bands of his era -- including Dizzy Gillespie, with whom he toured and recorded -- was also one of Melba's influences. After her family moved to Los Angeles, Melba was immediately noticed by musicians and soon found herself opening for such renowned artists as Miles Davis, Freddy Hubbard and Smokey Robinson & the Miracles.

In addition to her jazz vocal appearances, Melba appeared in the Tony Award winning Broadway show "Black and Blue" where she understudied all three principal characters:Linda Hopkins, Ruth Brown and Carrie Smith, she starred in the launching of that show's successful world tour. Melba appeared in just about every major (and some minor) cities in the world from Amsterdam to Beijing, London and Bordeaux; to New York, Dallas, Beverly Hills, and Little Rock Arkansas.

Melba Joyce tirelessly toured the war-torn fields of Vietnam to entertain the troops at the height of that horrid conflict, an experience that raised her social conscience to new heights. When Melba returned, she was appointed panelist for the Congressional Black Caucus of Women in Jazz Forum. She produced the first Women in Jazz Festival at Harlem's Schomburg Center for Black Culture; and became a principal in the Day of the Child Series for UNICEF. With funding from the National Endowment For The Arts, Ms Joyce produced Jazz For Special People, a musical education series for the handicapped.
In 1998 Melba travelled overseas as part of the 1998 Kennedy Center-USIA Jazz Ambassadors program for a tour of several African countries for six weeks, with a special performance at The Kennedy Center as part of the program.
Melba was the first to be honored by the National Jazz Museum in Harlem, in their "HARLEM SPEAKS" series" in May 2004. Launched to honor persons keeping the flame of jazz alive in Harlem, it was "....a tribute to the work of one of Harlem's treasures, Melba Joyce....."

In August 2005, Melba Joyce joined the great Count Basie Orchestra as featured vocalist.
In 2008, The Central Park Conservancy presented Melba with a very special recognition through the City of New York for creating and producing The first Women's Jazz Festival. The program, held in Harlem at the park's Dana House, featured Kunle Abodunde reading of a chapter from his unreleased book. During Melba's tour assignment in Nigeria as a Jazz Ambassador, Abodunde attended her performance and being deeply impressed included a chapter in the book describing what he felt about the evening.

In July 2009 Melba Joyce and Her Big Band, debuted at Lincoln Center's Mid Summer Night Swing, featuring a "constellation" of New York's finest jazz musicians. Her conscious hiring choices of nine women and nine men sets a precedence as recognized by Jazz WBGO radio's Rhonda Hamilton, who emceed, and in making her introduction of the band, compared the singer's actions to Benny Goodman who hired Black musicians to play with his big band many years ago as Melba celebrated Goodman's 100th birthday, further paying a befitting tribute with a duet on Goodman's song "Bir Mir Bis Du Shoen" with Anat Cohen on clarinet and Melba. Other stellar musicians included, the legendary Benny Powell, (whom Melba met at the age of 15 at Birdland, hanging out with her father, big band singer and Oklahoma Jazz Hall of Fame recipient, Melvin Moore). Additional band members were Lakecia Benjamin, Valery Panomov, Clarence banks, Debra Weitz, Michael Howell and Helen Sung to name a few. The Lincoln Center press, "There were few female big band leaders, Ella Fitzgerald and Billie Holiday were two, now joining their illustrious ranks is veteran songbird, Melba Joyce." Melba was awarded a grant from the American Music Center for her original composition and performance of "You Are My Song", which premiered at the Lincoln Center event.

In the fall of 2009 Melba was requested to join a panel of judges at Russia's first prestigious, International Harpist Competition, "The Golden Harp" in honor of The Empress Elizabeth. A special event during the competition featuring 19 contestants was the unveiling of one of Russia's celebrated composers, Dmitri Shostakovitch whose son, Maxim served as the presiding juror of this competition. Maxim Shostakovitch, conductor and is an outstanding interpreter of his father's creations. The colorful Gala featured performances by four of the jury members. Melba performed a duet with Anna Makarova, the principal harpist of The Saint Petersburg Philharmomic Orchestra. The two achieved a striking blend of marvelous artistry and musicality in their version of, "Send in The Clowns". Melba and The Saint Petersburg Chamber Orchestra under the superb direction of their conductor, Fabio Mastangelo sang a medium jazz tempo of Gershwin's "Summertime" with string arrangements by American trumpeter and big band leader Steve Huffsteter. Melba Joyce represented the United States at this long awaited prestigious event.

In the summer of 2010 Melba was invited to music festivals in Beijing, China and Georgia (Russia).

MCG Jazz is Searching for a Star!

MCG JAZZ ANNOUNCES AUDITIONS FOR THE NEXT GREAT MALE JAZZ VOCALIST

The Gentlemen Sing: Three Generations of Song featuring Allan Harris and Ernie Andrews is missing its next generation singer.

This brand-new curated project by Marty Ashby and MCG Jazz features Allan Harris, Ernie Andrews and a brand-new artist that will be chosen by nationwide search. 

MCG Jazz opens the search with a nationwide call for submissions from young male jazz vocalists, followed by live auditions here in Pittsburgh with Allan Harris and Freddy Cole.  The project will culminate in a two-concert presentation showcasing Allan Harris, Jazz Master Ernie Andrews and a brand new jazz star!

MCG Jazz invites young male jazz vocalists, ages 18 to 35, to submit resumes and videos and compete to win the ultimate prize: a 2-show live concert appearance at MCG Jazz on February 28, 2014 with superstar Allan Harris and living legend Ernie Andrews. 

Every entry must include the application (downloadable at MCGJazz.org), a resume and a 5 to 7-minute video that includes the individual singing “It Could Happen to You” in a medium tempo and one tune of his choosing. 

Submissions are being accepted electronically now through September 13, 2013. 

Submit your video online via YouTube using the tag “MCGGen3” and email your application to kfriedson@mcg-btc.org.

Alternatively, you may send a DVD with your application to MCG Jazz, Attention: Kahmeela Friedson, 1815 Metropolitan Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15233.

MCG Jazz Mission — To preserve, present & promote jazz.

All arts and music programs of Manchester Craftsmen’s Guild share a common vision born from founder Bill Strickland’s personal experience – that through direct involvement in the making of art and through exposure to the masters who teach and perform it, our lives will be enriched, even transformed.

MCG Jazz’s mission is to preserve, present and promote jazz. Through our performances, we strengthen the long time Pittsburgh jazz community and contribute to the overall cultural and artistic diversity of the region. Through our live recordings we reach a national and international audience – a market we’d like to grow. Through our educational programs we are able to have students attend the concerts at low or no cost to them, make artists available for master classes and provide opportunities for internships in production and marketing.

Since 1987, MCG Jazz has brought audiences together with jazz artists at its 350 seat music hall in Pittsburgh for innovative 4-day performances and recordings. Many of these international masters of jazz would headline a list of Jazz’s “Needs No Introduction” — Joe Williams, Billy Taylor, Dizzy Gillespie, Stanley Turrentine, Ray Brown. MCG Jazz Archives now contain over 300 CDs worth of jazz history by those who represent the past, present and future of jazz music. The performance series, one of the oldest in the nation, is an anchor of Pittsburgh cultural and community life.

The jazz artists come to the Guild to perform with an understanding that we’re a school. Most leave feeling that they got as much or more from their MCG experience than they gave. They frequently mention “hope” and “the spirit of the place.” You will hear what they mean in their recordings. MCG Jazz label recordings are unusually joyful. Artists spread the word and encourage others to perform here. Many come back time and again, choosing to record something unique on the MCG Jazz label. They generously give proceeds to support our programs.

From: Jazz Promo Services
Press Contact: Jim Eigo, jim@jazzpromoservices.com

Ron Isley: Who's That Lady

Reprinted from http://jazzwax.com

The Isley Brothers' That Lady was released 40 years ago this summer. It has always been a favorite of mine. With the song's wailing, hard rock guitar and Ron Isley's falsetto, it packs a funky, psychedelic punch. So when I spent time with Ron at his home in St. Louis a few weeks ago for my Wall Street Journal profile, I had an opportunity to talk to him about it:

Marc Myers: Most people aren't aware that the Isley Brothers' That Lady in '73 was actually a cover of your own song recorded first in 1964.
Ron Isley: Right. Back then it was called Who's That Lady. We recorded it for United Artists but it didn't go anywhere. It should have been a hit.


MM: What was the song's inspiration?
RI: The Impressions' Gypsy Woman from '61. We were crazy about that Curtis Mayfield song. I was crazy about it. I loved the sound of it—from the Latin feel to the seductive vocal. We used an organ and got in the same groove. It was sensual and seductive.


MM: By the end of 1964, you and your brothers had formed T-Neck Records. Why bother re-doing Who's That Lady in '73?
RI: Times had changed and we thought we could give it a fresh spin, bring it up to date.


MM: So what did you do?
RI: The remake had a more Latin-funk thing going on and the ripping guitar solo was inspired by Carlos Santana and Jimi Hendrix, who had played with us in '64. My brother Ernie played that Hendrix fuzz guitar. That song went to No. 6 on the Billboard Hot 100 in '73 and No. 2 on the R&B chart. [pause] That's what happens when you do it yourself [laughs].

JazzWax clips: Here's the Impressions' Gypsy Woman and the Isley Brothers' Who's That Lady and That Lady...

Gypsy Woman (1961)...

- See more at: http://www.jazzwax.com/2013/07/ron-isley-whos-that-lady.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Jazzwax+%28JazzWax%29#sthash.lv893Tb3.dpuf

Used with permission by Marc Myers

João Bosco, Bala com Bala

Vadim grew up in Odessa, Ukraine

"More than just a strong pianist, he's a composer who blends form and freedom in new ways." - John Kellman, All About Jazz
  
"...extraordinary playing..." - Los Angeles Times

Critics have praised NY-based pianist/composer Vadim Neselovskyi for "extraordinary playing" (Los Angeles Times), "exceptional composition skills" (musicweb-international.com) and "feathery touch" (New York Times). While mostly known as one of the key members of multiple GRAMMY® winner Gary Burton's Quintet, and as a featured pianist and composer on Burton's Concord Records release "Next Generation," Vadim is rapidly gaining reputation as a band leader, creating a "thrilling blend of classical and jazz" (jazzreview.com)

Vadim grew up in Odessa, Ukraine, where he was the youngest student to be accepted into the famous Odessa Conservatory, and then moved to Dortmund, Germany when he was 17 years old. Shortly after arriving in Germany, he established himself on the local jazz scene, taking part in the Dusseldorf Jazz Rally and Leipzig Jazz Days. After a few years he moved to the USA to further his studies at Berklee College of Music, where he was discovered by Gary Burton.

Before graduating from Berklee Vadim was asked to play and compose for a Berklee's promotional recording produced by Pat Metheny. Four weeks after graduation he was playing with Gary Burton at the Blue Note in New York. Since June 2004 Vadim has been consistently touring the US, Europe and Japan in Gary Burton's quintet.

Vadim is developing a name for himself as a solo artist. His new CD, Music for September, produced by Fred Hersch received the following praise from Jazzpodium,"Although this reviewer is decidedly opposed to promotional labels like: 'The Chopin of the jazz piano' (as the Neue Musik Zeitung entitled him), this comparison however is not too far-fetched indeed.

Growing from a stalwart classical foundation, Neselovskyi's immense technique, powerful but crystal-clear touch and sparkling improvisations betray influences from Bach to John Lewis and Lenny Tristano. In short, Vadim serves as a living counter-example for musical pigeonholing. Neselovskyi deliberately places himself within the tradition of great solo piano, reimagining and enriching it with accomplishments of jazz and pop...His music is everything: composition, adaptation, interpretation.

And sometimes it's almost hard to distinguish where a standard is being played, where he's making an allusion and where it's actually a composition by Neselovskyi himself, who considers himself more a composer than a pianist."

Ed Cherry Trio / Iridium - Sunday, september 1

From: Jazz Promo Services
Press Contact: Jim Eigo, jim@jazzpromoservices.com

Guitarist Ed Cherry has performed with many of the legends of jazz: Sam Rivers, Henry Threadill , Jimmy Smith, John Patton, Paquito D'Rivera..and from 1978-1992 with Dizzy Gillespie. Currently a member of the Paula West Quartet and Dr. Lonnie Smith's  ‘In The Beginning' octet; Ed performs here with his current trio-Pat Bianchi playing Hammond B- 3 (Lou Donaldson ,Chuck Loeb, Pat Martino) and  chris beck on drums(has performed with nicholas payton,orrin evans, oliver lake,terrill stafford)..Ed’s  most recent cd release “it’s all good”  on Posi-Tone Records. - www.edcherrymusic.com


Ed Cherry – Guitar

Pat Bianchi - Hammond B–3 organ
Chris Beck – Drums

"Ed is a great, soulful, swinging underrated player deserving of wider recognition." - Bill Milkowski

"Particularly dazzling - Cherry's guitar had the young bar crowd dancing" - Kay Cordtz : 'blues review'

Singer-songwriter JJ Cale dead at 74 after heart attack

Reuters
Posted at 07/28/2013 12:04 PM | Updated as of 07/28/2013 12:04 PM
NASHVILLE, Tennessee - Grammy Award-winning singer and songwriter JJ Cale, one of the most versatile musicians of his era who played guitar and spanned music genres from rock 'n' roll to blues and jazz, has died after suffering a heart attack, his official website said on Saturday.

Cale, 74, won a Grammy in 2008 for "The Road to Escondido," which he recorded with singer-songwriter Eric Clapton.

While he never attained Clapton's level of stardom, he had a wide-ranging influence, particularly his style of playing the guitar and the songs he wrote for music legends.

Singer-songwriter Neil Young once described Cale as the best electric guitar player he had ever seen other than the late Jimi Hendrix.

"He wasn't a flashy guitar player. He was real soulful. He played with his fingers, not picks," said Brent Mason, a performer in Nashville who admired Cale.

He wrote many hit songs performed by some of the top musicians of the era, including "After Midnight" for Clapton, "Call Me The Breeze" for Lynyrd Skynyrd and "Louisiana Women" for Waylon Jennings.

Cale was one of the originators of the Tulsa sound, a type of music that drew from rock, blues, country and jazz.

"I consider myself a songwriter. ... I guess the business end is my songs and the fun part is playing the guitar," Cale said in a 2004 video that showcased his performance with Clapton at the Crossroads Guitar Festival.

Born in Oklahoma City as John Weldon Cale, he spent the early part of his career in Nashville before moving to Los Angeles in the 1960s, where he flourished.

Read more: http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/entertainment/07/28/13/singer-songwriter-jj-cale-dead-74-after-heart-attack

Piano Mastery, Trinidadian Trumpet, Singing Apes: New Jazz

It's been too long since we simply sat up and pointed out a few of the many new releases worth a set of ears. Luckily, the staff on weekends at All Things Consideredthought the same. They invited me to sit down with host Jacki Lyden and play a few cuts for them.

Here's music from an elder statesman of piano, a trumpeter who understands creole music personally, a drummer who writes tunes with a payoff, and a singer in her early 20s with maturity and kick.

Credit Photo: Laura Ferreira / Courtesy of the artist - 

Trumpeter Etienne Charles' new album is called Creole Soul.

Copyright 2013 NPR. To see more, visit http://www.npr.org/.

Transcript

JACKI LYDEN, HOST:

Once again, this is WEEKENDS on ALL THINGS CONSIDERED from NPR News. I'm Jacki Lyden. And it's time now for music.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC, "I'M WALKING")

LYDEN: That's the pianist Harold Mabern from a live recording he made just last year. It's one of the records that NPR music jazz blogger Patrick Jarenwattananon brought to our attention. Patrick, it is great to have you here with us. Welcome.

PATRICK JARENWATTANANON, BYLINE: Well, thanks, Jacki.

LYDEN: So tell me about this music, Harold Mabern. I - I'm in the presence, obviously, of a very talented piano player.

JARENWATTANANON: Indeed you are. Harold Mabern is one of those guys who came to New York in, say, late '50s, early '60s - around then - one of the golden ages of recorded jazz in some form. He played with a lot of the greats. He played with a band called the Jazztet with Art Farmer and Benny Golson. He was in Miles Davis' band for a little bit. This is an older song, but it's a new live recording.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC, "I'M WALKING")

JARENWATTANANON: This is the song "I'm Walking" that you may know as made famous by Fats Domino. And it was recorded at a small club called, well, Smalls. It's your typical New York City basement room. You know, you walk downstairs, except this one happens to have a house record label. So imagine this, you know, legendary pianist who's been around for the better part of half a century and just two other guys and 100 people. That's the sort of character that you see in this recording).

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC, "I'M WALKING")

LYDEN: Harold Mabern, great soulful character to this. I suppose what we should expect from someone who's been to the "golden era of jazz," quote, unquote.

JARENWATTANANON: Absolutely. I mean, so many of those guys, I mean, once they're gone, they're gone. So we really do need to appreciate them while we still can. But, you know, I don't really like to give off the impression that those are the only musicians who are still making jazz. In fact, there's constantly influxes of new talent. And so I made sure to also cue up some music for you, Jacki, by some artists who are younger and whose music reflects that.

Read more: http://keranews.org/post/piano-mastery-trinidadian-trumpet-singing-apes-new-jazz-releases

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