Sony Bets That Jazz Can Still Be Hip

By Devin Leonard,  January 30, 2014
Tenor saxophonist Sonny Rollins will celebrate his 84th birthday this year. His cloudlike hair turned gray decades ago, but Rollins still blows with miraculous force. He recently demonstrated his staying power in another way: In January he signed a contract with Sony Music Entertainment’s (SNE) OKeh Records, one of the last major-label jazz imprints.

At a time when big record companies have all but given up on the genre, Sony has been assiduously signing jazz artists. Last year it resurrected OKeh, a dormant label known for recording historic sessions by Louis Armstrong and his Hot Five in the 1920s, as a jazz imprint within the Sony Masterworks division. This year OKeh plans to release as many as 20 albums. Wulf Müller, a veteran music industry executive in charge of signing artists to the label, hopes that one of those will be by Rollins , whom he personally courted. “He’s still a fantastic artist, and he’s still searching for the final kind of way to express himself, and he will never stop searching for that,” says Müller.
Read more: http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2014-01-30/sony-targets-jazz-fans-with-okeh-record-label-revival

Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, Mary Lambert & Madonna

Music Review: John Brown - 'Quiet Time'

By Jack Goodstein, BLOGCRITICS.ORG
Published 10:00 pm, Wednesday, January 29, 2014
Bassist John Brown's Quiet Time, recorded back in August of 2007, is scheduled for special release on Valentine's Day 2014-it was previously released in 2012. The 10-tune set is an hour and a quarter of jazz music filled with gorgeous sounds. There are familiar pieces; there are some less well-known numbers. Familiar or unfamiliar, each and every one is a lyrical gem, just right for a romantic evening in front of a fireplace for those into sentiment and cliché, and not bad listening for the more cynical among us.

Brown leads a tight quintet featuring Ray Codrington on trumpet and flugelhorn, Brian Miller on saxophones, Gabe Evens on piano, and Adonis Rose on drums. They open with an intense rendition of "Come Live with Me," a song associated with Ray Charles, and one that sets the tone for the entire album: introspective soulful solo work laid over a solid rhythmic foundation. Next is the title song, a John Brown original that puts me in mind of "My Funny Valentine," and it's more tender than soulful. The other original piece on the disc is Evens' "Lost," which features the pianist and Miller on alto.
Read more: http://www.seattlepi.com/lifestyle/blogcritics/article/Music-Review-John-Brown-Quiet-Time-5189964.php

Sweetwater jazz series set to kick off in Sewickley

Kevin McManus’ Pittsburgh Trombone Project will perform a tribute to J.J. Johnson and Kai Winding, prominent trombonists of the 1950s, ‘60s and ‘70s, during Sweetwater Center for the Arts’ Sweet Jazz Series.

By Joanne Barron
Published: Thursday, Jan. 30, 2014, 6:15 p.m., Updated 23 hours ago

Kevin McManus wants to change the image of the trombone.

The founder of the Pittsburgh Trombone Project, a band that will perform the first concert of Sweetwater Center for the Arts' 10th annual Sweet Jazz Series Feb. 7, said the trombone can be a wonderful instrument when it comes to jazz music.

The band will perform a tribute to J.J. (James Louis) Johnson and Kai Winding — prominent trombonists from the 1950s through the 1970s, who first began to use the trombone as a jazz instrument and were the first ones to “put the trombone in the spotlight,” McManus said.

“It's more than marching music and circus clown music,” he said.

“We want to change that humorous image and show people it can play beautiful melodies.”
The Swissvale resident said he founded the band five years ago. The core group includes McManus; Bob Matchette of Cranberry; Chris Carson of Donora; and James Nova of Ohio Township, all of whom play the trombone.

McManus said the group has branched out to include a rhythm section used at certain venues, such as Sweetwater.
Read more: http://triblive.com/neighborhoods/yoursewickley/yoursewickleymore/5458681-74/trombone-mcmanus-jazz#ixzz2s18Ma3xP 
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Sinatra sings Sinatra

NPR Music - You Must Hear This

Dave Brubeck Was The Macklemore Of 1954 Sixty years ago, a jazz pianist found himself in much the same bittersweet position as a rapper did on Sunday night. Surely proud of their hard work, they also sensed that their privilege as white musicians had something to do with their new success. Read this story

DECEPTIVE CADENCE Cowboys In Love: 'Brokeback Mountain' Saddles Up For Opera From a powerful short story in the New Yorker to a major motion picture, Annie Proulx'sBrokeback Mountain now takes the stage in Madrid as a new opera, composed by Pulitzer winner Charles Wuorinen. Read this story

THE CHECKOUT: LIVE Guillermo Klein: Live At Berklee The composer and bandleader mixes Argentine folk forms, New York's jazz talent pool and a postmodern mash-up imagination. He returns to his alma mater, a core group of bandmates in tow, to coach a performance of his own uniquely beguiling music. Hear the concert

ALL SONGS CONSIDERED Recommended Dose: The Best Dance Tracks Of The Month Recommended Dose is a round-up of some of the best new electronic dance songs, presented in a monthly mix. Our inaugural installment includes music from Disclosure, Detroit legends Theo Parrish and Moodymann and more. Stream the mix

Grammy winner Clare Fischer

Pamela A. Hall, radio program director

By Jacques Kelly, The Baltimore Sun
6:08 p.m. EST, January 29, 2014

Pamela Audrey Hall, a former radio station program director who was active nationally in jazz and contemporary gospel music circles, died of cancer Jan. 21 at St. Agnes Hospital. She was 57 and lived in Ellicott City.

She was named Black Radio's Music Director of the Year in 1992. Billboard Magazine also nominated her as music director of the year.

Born in Philadelphia, she was the daughter of Dr. William Martin Hall, a gynecologist at Sinai Hospital and the old Lutheran and Provident hospitals, who was a founder of the Garwyn Medical Center. Her mother, Mildred DaSilva Hall, is a homemaker. The family moved to Baltimore many years ago and lived in Ashburton.

Ms. Hall attended Samuel Ready School before graduating from Western High School in 1974, where she played on the basketball team.

Ms. Hall earned a bachelor of arts in communication from Howard University, where she graduated with honors. She went into radio as an undergraduate and worked at the campus radio station, WHBC-AM, and was the assistant music director at WHUR-FM.

As a young woman, she studied piano in Baltimore and listened to her father's extensive collection of jazz recordings. She later collaborated with him on a radio program, "Doctor Jazz," which aired on satellite radio. She often visited Blues Alley in Washington and the Left Bank Jazz Society in Baltimore.

"She became a prominent music authority in the industry," said her brother, Norman B. Hall of Martha's Vineyard, Mass. "Many artists owe their career to her giving them air time and breaking in their first records. She stood for the highest ethical standards in the music industry."

Family members said she lived in New York City while in her 20s and was music director at WBLS-FM, part of Inner City Broadcasting.

She was later a promotions representative for Prelude Records and was then a regional promotions manager and artists and repertoire representative at Arista Records, also in New York.

She returned to Baltimore in 1984 and worked in cable television and as a legislative aide to Rep. Elijah E. Cummings. She was also an independent record representative in the Mid-Atlantic region. In 1993, she returned to Howard University as music director and an interim program director.

Read more: http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/obituaries/bs-md-ob-pamela-hall-20140129,0,3758558.story#ixzz2rs2KDE6g

former cellist of the National Symphony Orchestra - Yvonne Caruthers

Photo: Thom Wolf

I’m a former cellist of the National Symphony Orchestra, in Washington, D.C., with a wide variety of interests in the music world. I hope you’ll explore some of those interests with me on my website and my blog.  Come on in! ~Yvonne Caruthers

BIO

Jan 1, 2014 marks the first day in the next chapter of my life, as it’s the first day in 35+ years that I won’t be employed by the National Symphony Orchestra.  I’m looking forward to having time to pursue some of my other interests besides music, and to getting back to practicing music of my choice.

I’d like to re-visit some of the states that the NSO traveled to during the 20 years of their American Residency program (suspended due to budget cuts). I want to use my remaining performing years working with students to inspire them to keep working hard. I’m not sure where I’ll be even six months from now, let alone five years from now, but I’m open to suggestions. 

A clip from my debut solo show, "In Search of the Perfect G-String," from the 2013 Capital Fringe Festival.

Lauren Kinhan ....

The first thing you notice is her voice, and then her savvy choices. Lauren Kinhan possesses a rare and beautiful instrument, tough and tender, clear and fine-grained in every register, whether she’s dipping down into husky chest tones or ascending into silvery head tones. With her glorious sound, she could sing anything and make it a memorable listening experience, but Kinhan is defining herself as an artist by creating her own material, making a compelling case that 21st century jazz singers can thrive outside the context of the American Songbook. Rooted in jazz’s improvisational imperative, she knows that you best celebrate the music by remaking it in your own image. “Think of me as a horn player who sings a lyric or a dancer filling a phrase, a reedy voice that’s lived in, adventurous and unapologetic,” Kinhan says. “It all circles around living in the moment, telling a story and letting conventions be undressed and re-outfitted.”

Circle in a Square is Kinhan’s third release under her own name, but she’s already established a vivid identity as a songwriter with a gift for capturing the emotional currents of everyday life. She made a powerful first impression with 2000’s Hardly Blinking, an eclectic program of original songs exploring an array of topics and instrumental textures. A decade later, she followed up with the highly personal Avalon, an album deeply informed by her experience of motherhood, and the pleasures and challenges of family life. In many ways Circle In a Square picks up where Avalon left off, evoking the numinous possibilities in a flirty pair of shoes, a familiar melody, or an insinuating groove.

Part of what makes Circle in a Square so revelatory is that it provides a rare 360-degree glimpse into Kinhan’s musical world. She wrote all the lyrics and almost all the music for every piece, and shaped each arrangement working with her core rhythm section of pianist/keyboardist Andy Ezrin and drummer Ben Wittman (the well-traveled Will Lee and David Finck divide bass duties). The steady personnel provides a cohesive feel throughout the album, while an all-star gallery of special guests contributes instrumental commentary and eloquent solos, such as Brazilian guitar great Romero Lubambo’s perfectly sculpted acoustic passage on the intricate, lyric-less “Chasing the Sun” and trumpet maestro Randy Brecker’s melodically charged passage on the title track.

Let’s talk about that title track, which opens the album. “It’s a bird/It’s a plane” Kinhan sings, but instead of a Superman sighting she’s hailing music itself. Sounding like a cross between Donald Fagen and Joni Mitchell, the song captures the evocative power of a record spinning on a turntable with a finely etched lyric married to a seductive melody that embodies the very transportive power Kinhan describes. It’s a bravura performance, and everything that follows lives up to its implicit promise. She often makes brilliant use of contrasting musical elements, like the way the jagged piano figure sets off the long sinuous melody of “My Painted Lady Butterfly” (a song tied together by Joel Frahm’s serpentine soprano sax solo). She summons the intensity of a gospel singer on the deceptively languorous “Another Hill to Climb,” which initially sounds like an uplifting anthem but instead unfolds as a cautionary tale. Whether rapturously becalmed (“The Deep Within”), on the good-time prowl (“Pocketful of Harlem”), or tormented by the search for unknowable answers (“To Live or Die”), Kinhan turns each piece into a self-contained emotional narrative driven by her unerring musical taste.

There’s no denying the scope and power of Kinhan’s individual vision. With Circle in a Square she fully reveals herself as an inspired singer and songwriter whose voice gains depth with every listen.

Andrew Gilbert is a music writer in Berkeley, Calif. who writes for the San Francisco Chronicle, San Jose Mercury News, JazzTimes and other publications.
Read more: http://laurenkinhan.com/music/circle-in-a-square/

Mid-Atlantic Jazz Festival

February 14-17, 2014 • 1750 Rockville Pike • Rockville MD 20852 FRIDAY
7:00 PM	Giacomo Gates Quartet
8:30 PM	Vanessa Rubin and the Mid-Atlantic Jazz Orchestra
10:00 PM	Freddy Cole Quartet Featuring: Freddy Cole-Piano, Elias Bailey-Bass, Curtis Boyd-Drums, Randy Napoleon-Guitar
SATURDAY
12:00 PM	The Mid-Atlantic "Jazz Voice"--Vocal Competition Featuring: Performance by 6 Semi-Finalist. for $2,000 Grand Prize
3:00 PM	Sharon Clark, Dick Smith, and Lena Seikaly with the Chris Grasso Trio
5:00 PM	Mid-Atlantic Jazz Festival High School Band Competition Finals Featuring: 3 Finalists
7:00 PM	Gary Bartz Quartet
8:30 PM	Trombone Summit with Delfeayo Marsalis, Frank Lacy and Steve Turre
10:00 PM	Christian McBride Trio Featuring: Christian McBride-Bass, Christian Sands-PIano, Ulysses Owens Jr.--Drums
SUNDAY
1:00 PM	Bobby Watson with the Howard University Jazz Ensemble
2:30 PM	Dee Daniels and The Eric Byrd Trio Featuring: Dee Daniels-Vocals, Eric Byrd-Piano, Bhagwan Khalsa-Bass, Alphonso Young Jr-Drums
4:00 PM	Benny Golson Quartet Featuring: Benny Golson
7:00 PM	Reginald Cyntje Group Featuring: Reginald Cyntje-Trombone, Christie Dashiell-Vocals, Herman Burney-Bass, Amin Gumbs-Drums, Victor Provost-Steel Pan
8:30 PM	Javon Jackson and Les McCann
10:00 PM	Paul Carr's Tribute to Piano Great Mulgrew Miller Featuring: Paul Carr-Sax, Bruce Barth-Piano, Steve Nelson--Vibes,

Ron Aprea and his Jazz Ensemble Perform Music of John Lennon....

Photo Credit:  Rasheem Morris

PRLog (Press Release) - Jan. 28, 2014 - NEW YORK -- Ron Aprea: composer, arranger, producer, saxophonist, clarinetist, and flutist, has performed with Woody Herman, Les Elgart, Tito Puente, Frank Foster, Buddy Morrow, Billy May, Charlie Persip, Nat Adderley, Lionel Hampton, and Louis Armstrong, among many others.

While with Hamp's band, some of the highlights were a Ramsey Lewis television special, and a recorded concert at the Smithsonian Institute, where Ron's solos were taped and put into their Archives. Ron was the featured soloist and arranger for performances with Nat Adderley at the world-famous Apollo Theatre, and he also performed at the Paramount Theatre with King Curtis' Big Band. Ron has played shows for literally hundreds of stars, including Clint Holmes, Rita Moreno, Robert Merrill, Chita Rivera, Rich Little, and Billy Eckstine.

In 1974, Ron Aprea recorded with John Lennon and Elton John on the album entitled, Walls and Bridges. The all-star horn section included Howard Johnson, Frank Vicari, and Steve Madeo. Ron was a featured soloist on the jazz-gospel album, Free to Be Free. He also wrote, arranged, and produced his own album, Ronnie April's Positive Energy Volume 1. Ron had his own TV special on WNYC, and was a featured soloist on Broadway's Song of Singapore.
Read more: http://www.prlog.org/12273310-ron-aprea-and-his-jazz-ensemble-perform-music-of-john-lennon-on-the-gingernewyork-tv-show.html

Jazz Music by Pedia View - Open Source Encyclopedia

Jazz is a music genre that originated at the beginning of the 20th Century, arguably earlier, within the African-American communities of the Southern United States. Its roots lie in the combining by African-Americans of certain European harmony and form elements, with their existing African-based music. Its African musical basis is evident in its use of blue notes,improvisation, polyrhythms, syncopation and the swung note.[1] From its early development until the present day, jazz has also incorporated elements from popular music especially, in its early days, from American popular music.[2]

As the music has developed and spread around the world it has, since its early American beginnings, drawn on many different national, regional and local musical cultures, giving rise to many distinctive styles: New Orleans jazz dating from the early 1910s, big band swing, Kansas City jazz and Gypsy jazzfrom the 1930s and 1940s, bebop from the mid-1940s on down through Afro-Cuban jazz,West Coast jazz, ska jazz, cool jazz, Indo jazz,avant-garde jazz, soul jazz, modal jazz,chamber jazz, free jazz, Latin jazz in various forms, smooth jazz, jazz fusion and jazz rock,jazz funk, loft jazz, punk jazz, acid jazz, ethno jazz, jazz rap, cyber jazz, M-Base, nu jazz and other ways of playing the music.

Louis Armstrong, one of the most famous musicians in jazz, said to Bing Crosby on the latter's radio show, "Ah, swing, well, we used to call it syncopation, then they called it ragtime, then blues, then jazz. Now, it's swing. White folks - yo'all sho is a mess!"[3][4]

In a 1988 interview, trombonist J. J. Johnson said, "Jazz is restless. It won't stay put and it never will".[5]

Contents

• 1 Definitions
  • 1.1 Importance of improvisation
  • 1.2 Debates
• 2 Etymology
• 3 Race
• 4 History
  • 4.1 Origins
    • 4.1.1 Blending African and European music sensibilities
      • 4.1.1.1 Slave gatherings
      • 4.1.1.2 The Black church
      • 4.1.1.3 Minstrel and salon music
      • 4.1.1.4 African rhythmic retention
    • 4.1.2 "Spanish tinge"—the Afro-Cuban rhythmic influence
  • 4.2 1890s–1910s
    • 4.2.1 Ragtime
    • 4.2.2 Blues
      • 4.2.2.1 African genesis
      • 4.2.2.2 W.C. Handy: early published blues
      • 4.2.2.3 Within the context of Western harmony
    • 4.2.3 New Orleans
      • 4.2.3.1 Syncopation
      • 4.2.3.2 Swing

Read more: http://pediaview.com/openpedia/Jazz_music

Canadian composer Darcy James Argue gets second try at a Grammy Award

thecanadianpress_story.jpg

By Nick Patch, The Canadian Press | The Canadian Press – Sat, 25 Jan, 2014
LOS ANGELES, Calif. - Three years ago, Vancouver-reared avant-jazz composer Darcy James Argue found himself in a "surreal" position: sitting in the audience of the Grammy Awards.

Nominated for best large jazz ensemble album, Argue rejoiced in his unlikely environs. A guest at the lengthy pre-telecast — a boisterous if dizzyingly fleet affair at which the vast majority of the gala's awards are distributed away from cameras — he was nevertheless delighted by the experiences: "incredibly charming" host Bobby McFerrin; a gleeful performance of "Freedom Jazz Dance" by McFerrin and Argue favourite Esperanza Spalding; and the first Grammy win for legendary gospel singer Mavis Staples.

Since Argue went home without a Grammy that day, his highlight was seeing Neil Young win his first Grammy for music, an honour the legendary rocker was on hand to accept in person. Argue was thrilled, so much so he briefly pondered breaking protocol — after all, how often can an artist expect to be in the audience at the Grammys?

"I considered throwing a hand to Neil as he was going up the aisle. But I thought better of it," Argue recalled with a laugh in a recent telephone interview. "I was right on the aisle. I gave him a vigorous head nod. A 'yeah, man!' That was the extent of it."

In hindsight, Argue was probably right to err on the side of caution when it came to Grammy etiquette. Because this year he became a two-time nominee, and he'll be heading back to Los Angeles this weekend for a second opportunity at Grammy gold.

The 38-year-old expected neither nomination, but this second nod — again for best large jazz ensemble album — arrived after an especially ambitious (and taxing) project.
Read more: http://ca.news.yahoo.com/canadian-composer-darcy-james-argue-gets-second-try-140008416.html

NJJazzList.com Calendar

01/31 Fri Greg Murphy at Lorenzo's 7:00 pm to 10:00 pm Style: Mixed, Cover: None, Hilton Garden Inn Staten Island Learn more , Hear samples , (Other )

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01/31 Fri John Bianculli SOLO PIANO FRIDAYS at Italian Bistro Restaurant & Bar, The 6:30 pm to 10:00 pmStyle: Mixed, Cover: None, $20 PREFIX MENU EVERY NIGHT!! except Sat. beautiful baby grand Piano Full bar, Free parking lot John Bianculli Solo Piano Fridays, JAZZ NIGHT Saturdays duos & trios www.JohnBianculliMusic.com Learn more , Hear samples , (732/848)

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01/31 Fri Lou Volpe Jazz Guitar at Villa Amalfi 8:00 pm to 11:30 pm Style: Cool Jazz, Cover: None, Lou Volpe plays solo at this lovely restaurant in Cliffside Park. Learn more , Hear samples , (Unknown)

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01/31 Fri Mel Davis & Friends: A Tribute to Ronny Jordan at Trumpets Jazz Club 8:00 pm to 11:00 pm Style:Jazz/Funk, Cover: over $10, with Mark Bowers on guitar & guests in an evening dedicated to the late great guitarist, Ronny Jordan, with whom Mel played for years. Learn more , (862/973)

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01/31 Fri Rob Paparozzi & John Korba Duo at Vintage Italian Restaurant (Roselle Pk) 7:30 pm to 10:30 pmStyle: Mixed, Cover: None, call (908) 445-4520 for resv...Rob and John will be mixing it up for a fun night!! Join Us if you can.... Learn more , Hear samples , (908/ )

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01/31 Fri Stephen Fuller and Lee Tomboulian at Hibiscus American and Caribbean Cuisine 7:00 pm to 10:00 pm Style: Vocal, Cover: None, Reservations recommended, BYOB Learn more , Hear samples , (862/973)

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02/01 Sat B.D. Lenz at Wine Time (Hackettstown NJ) 7:00 pm to 10:00 pm Style: Guitar, Cover: None, solo jazz guitar! Learn more , Hear samples , ()

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02/01 Sat Dining and Live Music with Judy Kessler at Franco's 207 Pizza-Ristorante 7:00 pm to 10:00 pmStyle: Straight-ahead, Cover: None, Relax and enjoy dinner in a cozy dining room and listen to live piano and voice by Judy Kessler. Please call to reserve a table @ 201-265-8111. BYOB. 207 Kinderkamack Rd. Emerson, NJ Learn more , (201/551)

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02/01 Sat Dr. Dubious and the Agnostics at The Jazzberry Patch at Classic Quiche 7:00 pm to 10:00 pmStyle: Traditional/Dixieland, Cover: over $10, Dr. Dubious seven piece band with 2 cornets, reeds, trombone, tuba, banjo/guitar, drums and keyboard + vocals . . . No repeats on this Groundhog Day Eve. Reservations suggested . . . call (201) 692-0150 Learn more , Hear samples , (201/551)

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02/01 Sat John Bianculli JAZZ SATURDAYS at Italian Bistro Restaurant & Bar, The 6:30 pm to 10:00 pmStyle: Mixed, Cover: None, $20 PREFIX MENU EVERY NIGHT!! except Sat. beautiful baby grand Piano Full bar, Free parking lot John Bianculli Solo Piano Fridays, JAZZ NIGHT Saturdays duos & trios www.JohnBianculliMusic.com Learn more , Hear samples , (732/848)

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02/01 Sat Lou Volpe Jazz Guitar at Villa Amalfi 8:00 pm to 11:30 pm Style: Cool Jazz, Cover: None, Lou Volpe plays solo at this lovely restaurant in Cliffside Park. Learn more , Hear samples , (Unknown)

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02/01 Sat Mike Longo Funk Band at Trumpets Jazz Club 8:00 pm to 11:00 pm Style: Jazz/Funk, Cover: over $10, 8 p.m. & 10 p.m. sets for the great Mike Longo & his funk band Learn more , (862/973)

Swing to the sound of jazz with the Mayor of Worcester

10:01am Wednesday 29th January 2014 in News
A VARIETY of charities will be getting into the swing of things when the Mayor of Worcester hosts and evening of Jazz.

Councillor Pat Agar will welcome guests to the Guildhall on Friday, February 28, where the 12-piece Glevum Big Band are providing the entertainment from 7.30pmto raise funds for her chosen charities along with Acorns Children's Hospice.

The band, who come with a keyboard, drums, bass and rhythm guitars, trumpets and alto saxophones, play a variety of jazz and swing hits, including, Fly Me to the Moon, Tuxedo Junction and In the Mood.
Read more: http://www.worcesternews.co.uk/news/10970615.Swing_to_the_sound_of_jazz_with_the_Mayor_of_Worcester/?ref=rss

Joyce Foundation Announces 2014 Joyce Award Winners

PR Newswire via Yahoo! News
Four African American Women to Lead Innovative Performing Arts Projects in the Midwest CHICAGO, Jan. 29, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Four African American women will contribute to vigorous dialogue through theater, dance and classical music arts across the Midwest, thanks to generous grants from the Joyce Foundation . "Throughout the Joyce Awards' 11 years, we have been so proud to support ...

Youth the focus for the 39th Central Illinois Jazz Festival

The Cornet Chop Suey Band
BOB FALLSTROM H&R Community News Editor, 29 jan 2014

DECATUR — Traditional jazz is usually portrayed as music played by old timers to entertain a white-haired audience. 

So it’s noteworthy to point out that the 39th Central Illinois Jazz Festival Friday, Saturday and Sunday, Jan. 31-Feb. 1-2, at the Decatur Conference Center and Hotel has a youth focus playing happy music, the kind that’s good for what ails you.

Yes, seasoned veterans will be here. Mixing in will be youngsters, more so than in the past. Consider:

* Peter and Will Anderson, leaders of a sextet from New York, are in their 20s. They provide the dinner show music Saturday night.

* Stephanie Trick, considered to be the world’s No. 1 stride piano player, is in her 20s.

* Clarinet expert Dave Bennett, a Benny Goodman clone, is in his 30s. He leads a quartet.

* Nicki Parrott, double bass player and leader of the Central Illinois Jazz Festival All Stars, is in her 30s.

* Adrian Cunningham, the clarinet/saxophone playing member of the All Stars, is inhis 30s.

* The Red Skunk Zipzee Swing Band from California members are in their 20s. Molly Reeves, the leader, is 22.

* The two Millikin University jazz bands are ultra-young. They play Saturday starting at 10 a.m. in Fountain Hall, open to the public free of charge.

Now for the veterans:

The long-time favorite groups return, including Cornet Chop Suey from St. Louis, Tom Rigney and Flambeau from Berkeley, Calif., Wally’s Warehouse Waifs from Michigan, Red Lehr’s Powerhouse Five from theSt. Louis area, the Dixie Daredevils from Central Illinois and Bob Draga and Friends from Florida. Also returning as featured guests are vocalist Marilyn Keller from Portland, Ore., and drummer Danny Coots from Nashville, Tenn.

Read more: http://herald-review.com/lifestyles/a5f86bf8-b5c8-547c-991d-dba90964b80c.html

Tommy Flanagan: Germany, 1999

Reprinted from http://jazzwax.com

In the summer of 1999, pianist Tommy Flanagan appeared at the Jazz Baltica Festival—held on the grounds of the Salzau Palace near Kiel, Germany—a few miles from the Baltic Sea. With Flanagan were Peter Washington on bass and Lewis Nash on drums, with appearances by Bobby Hutcherson on vibes and Johnny Griffin on tenor sax. [Photo above of Tommy Flanagan by AllAboutJazz.com]

Here is video of the performance, thanks to Jimi Mentis in Athens...

- See more at: http://www.jazzwax.com/2014/01/tommy-flanagan-germany-1999.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Jazzwax+%28JazzWax%29#sthash.GgLuWLI3.dpuf

Used with permission by Marc Myers

NPR Music - You Must Hear This

FIRST LISTEN First Listen: Jeremy Messersmith, 'Heart Murmurs' With its subtle strings and sly infectiousness,Heart Murmurs is no less than an attempt to craft a new batch of pop standards. Whether Messersmith succeeds depends mostly on how many people are lucky enough to hear him. Stream the album

TINY DESK CONCERTS Angel Olsen: Tiny Desk Concert Without her backing band, the expressive, ethereal singer previews songs from her new album, Burn Your Fire for No Witness. Watch her and you'll see calm in her eyes; listen to her and you'll sense torment in her heart. Read this story

MUSIC NEWS Reinventing The Music Video, One Street Corner At A Time The French website La Blogothéque is famous for what it calls "Take Away Shows": original, informal videos of musicians from across the U.S. and Europe playing live in unlikely places. Read this story

FAVORITE SESSIONS KEXP Presents: Helmet Page Hamilton and his crew were a huge deal in the early 1990s, but his more recent material has gone, for lack of a better term, unsung. Watch him perform "Blacktop" live in KEXP's studios. Watch the video

FIRST LISTEN First Listen: Marissa Nadler, 'July' On her sixth album, the Bostonian singer-songwriter gets darker and more sinister than ever before. Its title must refer to a cold, polarizing kind of July, with the frigid climes that accompany an early-February release. Stream the album