Interview: Jerry Lee Lewis

Reprinted from http://jazzwax.com

Back in 2010, I traveled down to Nesbit, Miss., for The Wall Street Journal to interview Jerry Lee Lewis at home. You can read that interview here. Last week I interviewed Jerry Lee again, this time by phone, for a career-spanning Q&A for today's Arena section of the paper (go here). Jerry Lee has a new album out and a new biography by Rick Bragg.

Jerry Lee, of course, is one of rock's originators—especially regarding rock's rebellious, independent attitude. Yes, the roots of rock date back to the late 1940s, Fats Domino gave the music a tremendous lift in the early 1950s and proto-rock R&B records were recorded prior to 1955. But once Chuck Berry, Little Richard, Bo Diddley, Elvis Presley and Jerry Lee dragged the music into the TV age in 1956 and '57, the music went visual and teen energy levels erupted.

Jerry Lee is a character. It comes with the territory, but in Jerry Lee's case, he's made attitude a fine art. Unlike Elvis, Johnny Cash, Roy Orbison, Chuck Berry or Little Richard, there was always something threatening about Jerry Lee—a smoldering cool mixed with an overheated boogie-woogie piano that could just as easily get you up on your feet or knock you off of them. What I learned this time around is that gospel played a big role in Jerry Lee's development. Preaching and assuming a possessed condition were part of his upbringing, which he incorporated into his piano playing. It wasn't enough to play well—you had to drive everyone wild, no matter how physical you had to get on stage. While Elvis appealed to women first and foremost, Jerry Lee was a guy's rocker, someone who could tap into male energy and pull the women along.

Here's Jerry Lee singing You Win Again—in 1964...

And here he is singing and playing the same song in the late 1970. Catch those hands...

Also in The Wall Street Journal, you can read my "Playlist" interview with Gerald "Major Dad" McRaney (go here) on his favorite song—Patsy Cline's Always—and my "House Call" interview with bestselling novelist Jodi Picoulton how a suburban New Yorker wound up loving rural New Hampshire (go here). [Photo above of Jodi Picoult at her home in Hanover, N.H. by Bob O'Connor for The Wall Street Journal]

Used with permission by Marc Myers

German Gypsy-Jazz Virtuoso Joscho Stephan

Digital magazine Gypsy Jazz Guitar Secrets features German jazz pioneer, Joscho Stephan, along with live music performances and exclusive guitar video lessons.

(PRWEB)

November 29, 2014

Joscho Stephan features in the 8th edition of Gypsy Jazz Guitar Secrets digital magazine available exclusively on mobile iOS and Android devices. This edition includes captivating video performances by Joscho in addition to an exclusive interview and video lesson detailing how to play Stochelo Rosenberg’s most famous minor lick. Each monthly issue of the magazine includes video lessons and performances from the best and brightest Gypsy Jazz guitarists from around the world.

“Joscho Stephan is a true rising stars of Gypsy Jazz and one of the most ferocious players on the scene.” - Robin Nolan, Gypsy Jazz Guitarist and Magazine Publisher

Exclusive live performances, cutting edge video lessons, music and interviews inside this month’s issue include:
Uber Django: Joscho Stephan - by Robin Nolan 
Robin Nolan interviews Joscho Stephan. Also included is a stunning performance by Joscho with Denis Chang, Jeff Radaich and Brian Netzley playing ‘Heavy Artillery’ & ‘Dance Norvegienne’ at DjangoFest Northwest 2012.

read more: http://www.prweb.com/releases/2014/11/prweb12353283.htm

Trumpet star Maalouf fulfils silver screen 'dream'

AFP/AFP - Lebanese trumpeter Ibrahim Maalouf performs on stage of the Nice's Jazz Festival in southeastern France, on July 9, 2014

By Maureen Cofflard | AFP
nov 30, 2014
Lebanese-French trumpeter Ibrahim Maalouf is reaching beyond his classical and jazz roots to a more mainstream audience seduced by his unique musical style blending Arabic and Western influences.

The 34-year-old, who has worked with Sting in the past, also told AFP on a tour stop in London that he is finally fulfilling his "dream" of composing film scores -- and has three more in the pipeline.

On the sidelines of a concert, Maalouf spoke of the "freedom offered by art" after the release of "Au Pays d'Alice" ("In the Land of Alice"), his musical take on the British classic fantasy novel "Alice in Wonderland".

The record mixes Franco-Malian hip-hop artist Oxmo Puccino with a classical orchestra and a children's choir -- the kind of world music work that is winning Maalouf a growing number of fans.

"I don't just do Oriental music: I do my music. There's a bit of jazz, a bit of the Orient, a bit of rock, a bit of hip-hop: everything I love and listen to can be found in my music," he said.

"I see my albums as the soundtrack of daily life."

Maalouf, who has won a string of world classical music competitions, is increasingly at ease in London and New York and his British gig was sold out.
The musician said he was particularly pleased about composing the scores for three films this year: the biopic "Yves Saint Laurent" about the life of the famous fashion designer, as well as an Iranian art-house movie and a French teen comedy.


"This was a logical move. I worked for four years on my first album and for me it was a movie soundtrack that I wanted to present to directors," Maalouf said.

read more: https://uk.news.yahoo.com/trumpet-star-maalouf-fulfils-silver-screen-dream-165558217.html#o7RS20B

Acclaimed pianist returns for another Welwyn Garden City performance

19:52 29 November 2014
By Alan Davies

Following sell-out performances at Herts Jazz Club and the 2012 Herts Jazz Festival, Zoe Rahman and her trio will play live in Garden City Cinema’s Screen 2 at the Hawthorne Theatre complex on Sunday night.

Zoe is one of the brightest stars on the contemporary jazz scene.

A vibrant and highly individual pianist and composer, her style is deeply rooted in jazz yet it reflects her classical background, British/Bengali heritage and her very broad musical taste.

Known for her individual style, powerful technique and exuberant performance, Zoe is a highly sought-after musician, working with the likes of George Mraz, Courtney Pine and Jerry Dammers’ Spatial AKA Orchestra.

Her 2006 album, Melting Pot, was nominated for the Mercury Music Prize and her critically acclaimed Where Rivers Meet found her and her brother Idris Rahman exploring the music of their Bengali heritage in a brilliant fusion of jazz and world music.

Clark Tracey, of Herts Jazz Club, said: “After previous sell-out gigs at Herts Jazz Club and the 2012 Herts Jazz Festival, we are really pleased to welcome Zoe back again.”

read more: http://www.whtimes.co.uk/what-s-on/music/acclaimed_pianist_returns_for_another_welwyn_garden_city_performance_1_3867814

Ray Anthony: Big Band Story

Reprinted from http://jazzwax.com

In 1963, bandleader and trumpeter Ray Anthony hosted a TV show from Hollywood called The Ray Anthony Show. In the following six-part video series, Anthony pays tribute to the swing bands of the late 1930s and '40s. What's fascinating about this showcase is that you get to see how the bands voiced their individual sounds as well as the crack musicians in Anthony's all-star band, many of whom take solos. We also get to see arranger Jerry Gray, Ann Richards, Herb Jeffries, Vicki Carr, Charlie Barnet, Les Brown and a vivid "crime jazz" segment. And how about Kellie Greene on piano and vibes?

A few notes: Dig the different conducting styles of the different guest leaders... Catch Dave Pell's near laugh as he solos on I've Got My Love to Keep Me Warm. Pell [above] was a Les Brown alum... Also, less than a year later, alto saxophonist Joe Maini would be dead of an accidental gunshot.

The band: Ray Anthony (tp,vcl) Conrad Gozzo, John Audino, Jack Laubach, Ray Triscari (tp); Lloyd Elliot, Lewis McCreary, Frank Rosolino (tb); George Roberts (b-tb); Joe Maini, Abe Most (cl,as); Bob Hardaway, Dave Pell (cl,ts); Leo Anthony (bar); Kellie Greene (p,vib) Al Hendrickson (g) Don Simpson (b,arr) Nick Ceroli (d) Vikki Carr, Herb Jeffries, Ann Richards (vcl). [Above, Ray Anthony with then wife Mamie Van Doren]

A special thanks to reader Richard Salvucci...

Here's Part 1...

Here's Part 2...

Here's Part 3...

Here's Part 4...

Here's Part 5...

And here's Part 6...

PS: If you let the last part end and sit, a new eight-part Ray Anthony Show will start.

Used with permission by Marc Myers

Steve Pouchie “North by Northeast” CD Release Show

Steve Pouchie

“North by Northeast” CD Release Show

Wed, Dec 17th

Don Coqui Restaurant, 2nd Floor Lounge, 115 Cedar Street

New Rochelle, N.Y. 10801  

Featuring

Steve Pouchie-Vibes

Chembo Corniel-Congas

Sam Barrios & Adan Perez-Keys

Solo Rodriguez-Bass

Diego Lopez-Drums

Julio Botti-Sax

Ariel Santiago-flute

Plus other invited guest musicians.

With his latest production, North By Northeast, vibraphonist Steve Pouchie may not be scaling Mount Rushmore or dashing about in a gray suit, evading cops and deadly crop dusters, but he and his players nonetheless generate the same breathtaking brand of excitement and unpredictability that characterizes the motion picture classic made famous by Alfred Hitchcock.

The virtuosic Pouchie, who has performed in many notable New York venues throughout the years, along with his renowned players — especially Grammy nominee Wilson “Chembo” Corniel, who co-produced this album—present, in Pouchie’s words, “the different shades of Latin Jazz….played with the sensitivity and precision, that only a good Latin Jazz band can achieve. Each song is experimental in one way or another.” — Vicki Solá, Que Viva La Música (89.1 WFDU-FM)

This album, North by Northeast is an infinitely sophisticated recording, full of romantic allusions from literature and film. If it suggests Alfred Hitchcock, it is because it abounds in mystery and magic. — Raul da Gama Latin Jazz Network

Jazz clarinetist Acker Bilk dead at 85

Photo: John Stillwell/AP
Jill Lawless Associated Press
POSTED:   11/02/2014 01:25:58 PM MST
LONDON (AP) — English clarinet player Acker Bilk, who beat the Beatles and other British rockers to the top of the U.S. music charts with the instrumental "Stranger on the Shore," has died at the age of 85.

Manager Pamela Sutton said Bilk died Sunday at a hospital in Bath, southwestern England. The cause of death was not announced.

Born Bernard Stanley Bilk in 1929 in the southwestern English county of Somerset, Bilk adopted the name Acker from a local slang term for friend.

He learned the clarinet as a bored army conscript, stationed in Egypt after World War II, and became one of the stars of Britain's 1950s "trad jazz" scene.

Before the British rock invasion, he was the first U.K act to top the Billboard music chart in the 1960s, with "Stranger on the Shore." The wistful 1961 instrumental also spent more than a year in the British charts and became his signature tune.

He was on the select list of artists who have been played in space. Along with tracks by Frank Sinatra, the Kingston Trio and others, three of Bilk's tunes were included on a cassette that accompanied the Apollo 10 astronauts on their mission around the moon in 1969.


Bilk attributed his distinctive vibrato sound to a pair of childhood accidents. He lost part of a finger in a sledding accident, and two teeth in fight at school.

read more: http://www.canoncitydailyrecord.com/opinion/ci_26850340/jazz-clarinetist-acker-bilk-dead-at-85

5 questions and answers with Jeff Miers

on October 10, 2014 - 1:24 PM, updated October 10, 2014 at 1:36 PM
News Pop Music Critic Jeff Miers chats with readers at buffalonews.com every Friday. Here are some of the best questions and answers from this week’s session, in which Miers touches on jazz, changing the world and the Wiggles.

Soapdish: Hey now, Jeff!! I hated missing Esperanza Spalding last night; ticket price a little too steep for me at this point in time. Do you think lack of jazz radio in Buffalo had something to do with the sparse attendance you reported?

Miers: Hey man! Yes, I really do. Radio support makes a huge difference, unquestionably. But jazz in general seems to be getting short shrift. Herbie Hancock and Wayne Shorter didn’t sell out the Center for the Arts either, and that is just surreal. And by surreal, I mean, WHAAAAAT? The ticket prices were in keeping with what these artists get in other similar markets. I understand about times being tough and cash being tight, believe me. But still – Fleetwood Mac will fill the arena and the very best seats are $180 each! Great band, obviously, but …

Dan: Hi Jeff. I would like to talk about the new Pink Floyd album. David Gilmour said it was the last music of Pink Floyd. At this stage of their game, it is honorable, they haven’t made an album in years, and I very much enjoyed David Gilmour’s “On An Island,” one of my favess. I still feel melancholy about the ends of bands with tenures like that. What do you think?

Miers: I am with you on “On An Island.” I loved that album, and the tour that followed it was outstanding. I wish that Gilmour and Waters could mend fences and work together, but it just is not likely to happen. I’m glad they are putting out the final Rick Wright recordings as an ode to him. They have not tried to pretend that this is anything other than what it is - instrumental recordings started in the studio, and finished later.

read more: http://www.buffalonews.com/gusto/music/5-questions-and-answers-with-jeff-miers-20141010

Jamie Saft, Steve Swallow and Bobby Previte - The New Standard

Jamie Saft, Steve Swallow and Bobby Previte - The New Standard
(RareNoiseRecords RNR 041. CD review by Andy Boeckstaens)

Keyboard player Jamie Saft is best known as a member of New York’s exploratory and experimental music scene; he appeared in London last year to mark the 60th birthday of John Zorn.

The New Standard demonstrates Saft’s ability to thrive in a conventional jazz setting. His long-term collaborator Bobby Previte is a versatile drummer who has worked with the likes of Tim Berne and Lew Soloff; and the legendary electric bassist Steve Swallow will need no introduction to most readers. What a great band it is! 

The flavour of the session is revealed after the first few seconds. The opener, Clarissa, is a flowing swinger on which Saft’s thoughtful chording and imaginative right-hand flurries on piano bring to mind Horace Silver and Hampton Hawes. The other thing that strikes you is the gorgeous sound, which has a rare immediacy. Swallow always has a distinctive tone, but rarely has the gentle buzz of his bass sounded this warm. And Previte’s drums come across with astonishing presence.

The disc consists of ten original compositions: seven come from Saft’s pen; the others are credited to the trio. Most are straightforward blowing vehicles, ideal for the participants to stretch out and enjoy themselves. The leader says that the high level of improvisation “gives the album a special kind of magic”. Previte expands: “We did the entire record in three hours. Some tunes were completely improvised, some....brought in by Jamie...were sketches, really....we never ever talked about how to start or how to end”.

read more: http://news360.com/digestarticle/N3prRubNeEi0xOsHb5qlbQ

Jazz music is coming to Johnston

Posted: Nov 27, 2014 10:56 AM BRT
Updated: Nov 27, 2014 10:56 AM BRT
By Artie Tefft
JOHNSTON, R.I. -Johnston will be filled with jazz music on Wednesday, December 3rd.

The Mohr Library is hosting the Classics 5 Jazz Quintet for an evening of American songbook selections done with a jazz twist.


The event runs from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. downstairs at the library and is free and open to the public.

read more: http://www.turnto10.com/story/27495022/jazz-music-is-coming-to-johnston

Claire Martin and the Montpellier Cello Quartet

First published Thursday 27 November 2014 in Music news and reviews 
Last updated 12:11 Thursday 27 November 2014
by Charles Hutchinson
THE roots of Claire Martin's chamber-jazz adventure – "chazz" for short – can be traced to her daughter, Amelia.

"She was having cello lessons," recalls the York-bound jazz singer. " I say 'was' because she's given it up to be an international basketball player, and she's now playing for Sussex county basketball team.


"But at the time, she was showing real promise, so she had to choose. Sport? Money, honey! Music? Anguish! Anyway, everybody loves cello and so I went to see the Montpellier Cello Quartet in a local church and I was mesmerised. Four cellos! It was like four pints of Guinness in a line – and I thought to myself, 'my voice would go well with them'."

Amelia's cello teacher, Joe Giddey, happened to be one of the members of the Brighton quartet, so Claire struck while the iron was steaming. "I said, 'I'd love to sing with your four cellos' and Joe said 'yes. as we both thought it would be unusual to have a jazz singer performing with chamber musicians. 'Chazz', as I call it."


Set in motion in 2012, the project combines Claire's love of the Great American Songbook and popular classics with new arrangements especially commissioned from such composers as Mark Anthony Turnage, Geoffrey Keezer and the late Sir Richard Rodney Bennett, who arranged Kurt Weill's My Ship.

read more: http://www.yorkpress.co.uk/leisure/music/11630849.Claire_Martin_and_the_Montpellier_Cello_Quartet__National_Centre_for_Early_Music__York___November_30/?ref=rss

Nomfundo Xaluva shrugging off jazz stereotypes

By Katlego Mkhwanazi | Mail & Guardian Online
nov 28, 2014

Jazz singer Nomfundo Xaluva has won the 2014 Arts and Culture Trust ImpACT Award for Young Professionals in the music and singing category. 

The image of a female jazz singer wearing a seductive dress, singing into an old-school microphone in a small smoky bar is not how jazz singer Nomfundo Xaluva wants to be pictured.

"A lot of the time, woman in jazz are expected to be vocalists who have to look pretty and have to be the eye candy of the band and I think we are trying to change that. Our artistry and skill goes beyond how we look," says Xaluva. 

"People revere jazz singers but in terms of them taking jazz vocalists seriously, we still have a long way to go before that perception is completely transformed."

Continue reading…read more: https://za.news.yahoo.com/nomfundo-xaluva-shrugging-off-jazz-stereotypes-125800206.html

The Lost Fingers, Platinum Selling Gypsy Jazz Trio from Canada....

Digital magazine Gypsy Jazz Guitar Secrets exclusively features The Lost Fingers, along with live music recordings and exciting guitar video lessons.

(PRWEB) November 27, 2014
Platinum Selling Gypsy Jazz Trio from Canada, The Lost Fingers features in the 3rd edition of Gypsy Jazz Guitar Secrets digital magazine available exclusively on mobile iOS and Android devices. This edition includes exclusive video performances and interviews with The Lost Fingers. Each monthly issue of the magazine includes video lessons and performances from the best and brightest Gypsy Jazz guitarists from around the world.

“The Lost Fingers have reached a larger audience world-wide than all the rest of our gypsy jazz heroes combined and I love the way they gypsify cheesy pop tunes from the 80s and make them cool in a whole new way. Frontman Byron Mykaloff's boundless energy is the driving force behind this power trio." - Robin Nolan, Gypsy Jazz Guitarist and Magazine Publisher

Exclusive live performances, cutting edge video lessons, music and interviews inside this month’s issue include:

Pump up the Djam: The Lost Fingers - by Robin Nolan 

Robin Nolan interviews Canadian trio, The Lost Fingers, known for their witty, jazzed up versions of classic 80s hits. Also included is a video performance of The Lost Fingers with Robin Nolan at DjangoFest Mill Valley 2013.

read more: http://www.prweb.com/releases/2014/11/prweb12353339.htm

Suddenly, It's the Hi-Lo's

Reprinted from http://jazzwax.com

As far as jazz-pop male vocal groups of the 1950s go, I always favored the Four Freshmen. Albums by the Hi-Lo's, their chief rivals, seemed a bit flat. Song choices on the Hi-Lo's early Columbia albums were often corny and stiffly arranged instrumentally by Frank Comstock, while vocal arrangements for the Four Freshmen's Capitol dates, many by Pete Rugolo, were crafty and swinging.

But recently, my position on the Hi-Lo's has evolved, particularly after watching them on newly uploaded YouTubes. While their albums may have been mostly unintersting, the group was far more charismatic and fun to see on TV, especially when the arranger was Nelson Riddle. Here are five Hi-Lo's videos from Rosemary Clooney's TV show from the late '50s with Riddle's charts that will make any Four Freshmen fan reconsider... 

Here's Tomorrow Mountain...

Here's Have You Met Miss Jones?...

Here's Lulu's Back in Town...

Here's September in the Rain...

And here's Paper Moon...

Used with permission by Marc Myers

When parallels meet

Wednesday, November 26,2014
MSU’s jazz and classical armies rendezvous and conquer

by Lawrence Cosentino
There are risks to putting jazz and classical musicians together. When Duke Ellington unleashed his first big jazz-symphony hybrid, “A Tone Parallel to Harlem,” in 1951, photographers swarmed the stage. (Ellington made news taking a bath, let alone blending a symphony orchestra with his big band.) A flash bulb exploded and fell on the balding head of a string-bass player, according to a review the next day.

Fast forward to 2014. For years, music groupies have enjoyed the overflowing talent of MSU’s jazz and classical programs — but always separately. Friday night, the MSU College of Music arranged a historic meeting, like Apollo docking with Soyuz or Stanley meeting Livingstone. For the first time, jazz and classical forces joined, and they didn’t just shake hands.

The students tackled major music from (arguably) the greatest composers of their respective idioms, Ellington and Ludwig von Beethoven.

The night’s big payoff was the music that broke the flash bulb, Ellington’s “Harlem,” a swaggering, plaintive, multi-layered panorama of sound. The stage was crammed with over 100 student musicians, but no bald heads were exposed to harm.
Despite the forces involved, it was a tight performance of a tight piece of music. In the first seconds, a muted trumpet whinnied out a brazen challenge, shimmering strings rippled in response and the game was on.


A lot of people have gotten their idea of how to mix classical and jazz music from George Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue,” a classical piano concerto dressed up in jazzy sequins. Far fewer concertgoers are as familiar with Ellington’s major works, and that’s a pity. The dean of American jazz critics, Gary Giddins, called “Harlem” an “American masterpiece still largely unknown in America.”
read more: http://www.lansingcitypulse.com/lansing/article-10840-when-parallels-meet.html

Gonzalo Bergara is Featured ....

Digital magazine Gypsy Jazz Guitar Secrets exclusively features Argentinian guitar great, Gonzalo Bergara, along with live music recordings and exciting guitar video lessons.

(PRWEB) November 26, 2014

Gonzalo Bergara features in the second issue of Gypsy Jazz Guitar Secrets digital magazine available exclusively on mobile iOS and Android devices. This edition includes captivating video performances and interviews with Bergara and his band, the Gonzalo Bergara Quartet. Each monthly issue of the magazine includes video lessons and performances from the best and brightest Gypsy Jazz guitarists from around the world.

“Argentinian guitarist Gonzalo Bergara is one of my favorite players in the world of gypsy jazz. He brings latin passion and virtuosity to his music like no other.” - Robin Nolan, Gypsy Jazz Guitarist and Magazine Publisher

Exclusive live performances, cutting edge video lessons, music and interviews inside this month’s issue include:

Gonzalo Bergara - by Robin Nolan
Robin Nolan interviews Argentinian gypsy jazz guitarist, Gonzalo Bergara, one of the most exciting players in Gypsy Jazz today. Readers are also treated to several video performances from the Gonzalo Bergara Quartet live at Dangofest Mil Valley 2013.

read more: http://www.prweb.com/releases/2014/11/prweb12353347.htm

Featured Album of the Week on NPR/WNYC, The Jonathan Channel

Tune in and stream this Thanksgiving week to The Jonathan Channel on National Public Radio, WNYC to hear selections from Lissy Walker's Wonderland, the show's Featured Album of the Week, Monday November 24-Sunday November 30.

"The Jonathan Channel provides an unparalleled showcase for this timeless music, presented by its strongest advocate, Jonathan Schwartz, in his intimate, insightful, and utterly original approach that combines impeccable taste with colorful anecdotes and encyclopedic knowledge. The sounds of Frank Sinatra, Nelson Riddle, Ella Fitzgerald, Tony Bennett, Billie Holiday and other master's of the American songbook can be heard 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, anywhere in the world."

Hear Lissy interviewed by Michael Shobe, the show's producer, on The Headliner, here.

Other Radio News: "Lover Man" was played on Jazz After Hours, hosted by Jeff Hanley on Public Radio International. You can also find it in rotation at jazzradio.com on the Contemporary Vocals Station. The album continues to be played on 139 radio stations across the country, and has landed on the CMJ Top 10 Reports on WRBC, WRST, and WERU.
read more: http://us2.campaign-archive1.com/?u=4384911f32e60ba06f31c82a1&id=d43d68383f&e=1dd9d03609

NJJazzList.com Calendar

11/28 Fri Barbara Rose, Pianist & Vocalist at Molly Pitcher Inn, Red Bank 11:00 am to 3:00 pm Style: Mixed, Cover: None, Celebrate the American Songbook with piano prodigy Barbara Rose. Learn more  ,  Hear samples , (732/848) 

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11/28 Fri Greg Murphy at Lorenzo's 7:00 pm to 10:00 pm Style: Mixed, Cover: None,  Learn more  ,  Hear samples , (Other ) 

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11/28 Fri Joclyn Shannon Quintet at The Shrine, 2271 Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Blvd,NYC. 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm Style: Mixed, Cover: None, Two sets of Golden Jazz with talented vocalist Joclyn Shannon, swingin' Bassist Greg Zwiebel, lyrical Trumpeter/Flugelhornist Tommy Bender, Extraordinary Drummer Eddie Pillion and Master keyboardist Marcus Cohn. Gotta com' down! meet old and new friends in a warm jazz atmosphere. See U there!Learn more  , (212/ ) 

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11/28 Fri OPEN JAZZ JAM & FISH FRY at Moore's Lounge 189 Monticello Ave.,Jersey City, NJ 8:30 pm to 12:00 am Style: Jam Session, Cover: None, This weekly Friday Jam is open to musicians, vocalists, tap dancers, poets and jazz music lovers. No Cover. ! No Minimum ! Delicious fish sandwiches available for purchase. Support Jazz Venues ! Support Live Jazz ! (201) 332-4309 for info . Learn more  , (201/551) 

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11/28 Fri OPEN JAZZ JAM & FISH FRY at Moore's Lounge 189 Monticello Ave.,Jersey City, NJ 8:30 pm to 12:00 am Style: Jam Session, Cover: None, This weekly Friday Jam is open to musicians, vocalists, tap dancers, poets and jazz music lovers. No Cover. ! No Minimum ! Delicious fish sandwiches available for purchase. Support Jazz Venues ! Support Live Jazz ! (201) 332-4309 for info . Learn more  , (201/551) 

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11/28 Fri Oliver Lake Big Band at Trumpets 8:00 pm to 11:30 pm Style: Free/Avant Garde, Cover: over $10, Oliver Lake Big Band 6 Depot Square, Montclair, NJ 973 744 2600 8 & 10 PM Sets Featuring: Oliver Lake – alto saxophone / Terry L. Greene II – trombone / Alfred Patterson – trombone / Aaron J. Johnson – trombone / Stafford Hunter – trombone / Darius Jones – alto sax / Learn more  , (862/973) 

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11/29 Sat BLUE SOUL at ROD's Steak & Seafood Grille Lounge 9:00 pm to 12:00 am Style: Mixed, Cover:None, BLUE SOUL fuses vintage Blues, R&B, Soul, New Orleans, Jazz, and Rock styles. Featuring Herb Woodson (lead vocals), Bailey Gee (bass/vocals), Mitch Eisenberg (guitar), Glenn McClelland (keyboards), John Ferrari (drums). NO COVER CHARGE !! ROD's is located at One Convent Road (Madison Ave.), Morristown, NJ 07960 (973) 539-6666. Call for info & reservations. Hang out at the bar and enjoy the music and dance, or try their new casual dining "Red Dog Tavern" for dinner.  Learn more  , (Unknown) 

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11/29 Sat Barbara Rose, Pianist & Vocalist at Molly Pitcher Inn, Red Bank 11:00 am to 3:00 pm Style: Mixed, Cover: None, Celebrate the American Songbook with piano prodigy Barbara Rose. Learn more  ,  Hear samples , (732/848) 

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11/29 Sat Bucky Pizzarelli, Ed Laub, Walt Bibinger at The Deer Head Inn 7:00 pm to 11:00 pm Style: Straight-ahead, Cover: over $10,  Learn more  ,  Hear samples , (215/ ) 

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11/29 Sat Giants of Jazz, Honoring McCoy Tyner at SOPAC Mainstage 8:00 pm to 10:00 pm Style: Mixed, Cover: Tickets Available, Honoree McCoy Tyner will be joined by some of the greatest names in Jazz in this star-studded night of music.  Learn more  , (862/973) 

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11/29 Sat Greg Murphy at Lorenzo's 7:00 pm to 10:00 pm Style: Mixed, Cover: None,  Learn more  ,  Hear samples , (Other ) 

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11/29 Sat Holli Ross & Noriko Ueda at Grasso's Jazz 7:00 pm to 11:00 pm Style: Vocal, Cover: None, Vocalist, Holli Ross & bassist, Noriko Ueda will combine jazz and Brazilian styles for some exciting sounds in a beautiful setting with a great Italian menu. Pianist: TBA  Learn more  ,  Hear samples , (Other ) 

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11/29 Sat Jason Marshall at Candlelight Lounge 3:30 pm to 7:30 pm Style: Straight-ahead, Cover: over $10, free buffet with $10.00 minimum  Learn more  , (609/ )

the Rhythm Future Quartet

When four young jazz virtuosos decided to join forces, the Rhythm Future Quartet was born. Named after a Django Reinhardt tune, the Rhythm Future Quartet performs dynamic and fiery arrangements of Gypsy jazz standards and original compositions.

The quartet features Jason Anick on violin, Olli Soikkeli and Vinny Raniolo on guitars, and Greg Loughman on bass. Over the years they have individually been performing alongside notable musicians like John Jorgenson, Frank Vignola, Tommy Emmanuel, Bucky Pizzarelli, Andreas Öberg and Howard Alden and have finally joined forces to form this special group.

Jason Anick and Olli Soikkeli, the front-men and lead soloists of the group, have been receiving critical acclaim this past year and are considered ‘rising stars’ in the world of Jazz and Gypsy Jazz. The prestigious Wall Street Journal proclaimed, “Olli Soikkeli, is a riveting Finnish guitarist who combines astonishing dexterity and speed with pure soul in a way that places him among the worthiest current day successors to the legacy of the great Django.” Jason Anick, who is also an award winning composer and Berklee College of Music Instructor, received critical praise from the world-renowned Boston Globe which stated, “Jason’s compositional voice is as distinctive as his virtuoso playing.”

For their debut self-titled album, the Rhythm Future Quartet decided to re-visit and record classic jazz and Gypsy jazz favorites. Through their intricate and creative arrangements, they have brought new life to songs like “Night and Day” and “Summertime.” Coupled with musical sensitivity and virtuosity, the Rhythm Future Quartet’s debut album acts as an enticing example of the future of Gypsy jazz music.

Julie London's Holiday Album

Reprinted from http://jazzwax.com

It will always be a mystery to me why singer Julie London did not record a Christmas album. Someone at Liberty, her label, must have suggested it, but clearly London passed. Perhaps it was a personal thing. Or maybe she felt that a holiday album would be too square and run counter to her cool, nocturnal image. Whatever the reason, London recorded only one holiday side—I'd Like You for Christmas—and that's it.

So what I've decided to do here is create my own Julie London Wishes You a Merry Christmas album, which probably qualifies only as an EP, since all I could find are six songs with a year-end theme. If you worked at Liberty, I'd love to know the story behind the album that never was but should have been.

Here's Warm in December...

Here's I've Got My Love to Keep Me Warm...

Here's Sleigh Ride in July...

Here's November Twilight...

Here's The Thirteenth Month...

Used with permission by Marc Myers

The Jazz Connect Conference

The Jazz Connect Conference, organized by JazzTimes and the Jazz Forward Coalition, will be held January 8-9, 2015 in New York City and will lead into the annual APAP (Association of Performing Arts Presenters) Conference as well as Winter Jazzfest.  Continuing the momentum from the January 2014 event which hosted over 800 registrants, the Jazz Connect Conference  in 2015—based on feedback from attendees—will feature a series of essential workshops, panels and events held over the course of two days.  Pre-registration is only $75 until October 8, with additional discounts offered to members of various organizations.

With a theme of “Strength Through Community” the conference will again bring together a wide cross-section of the jazz community for 12 workshops and 5 plenary sessions, on a variety of ttimely and engaging subjects. Moderators and panelists include an impressive cross-section of artists and professionals. Returning this year will be an "Ask the Experts" networking session enabling emerging artists and professionals to connect and get informed input on their own careers and operations. 

The schedule reflects the input from and collaboration with numerous organizations such as JazzWeek (radio programmers), Jazz Education Network, All About Jazz and the Jazz Journalists Association, each of whom will host workshops or panels during the conference.  In addition to incorporating the involvement of various organizations, the sessions also include a wide range of voices in and out of the jazz community.

The Jazz Connect conference is organized by Peter Gordon of the Jazz Forward Coalition and Lee Mergner of JazzTimes, with assistance and input from over a dozen industry professionals.  The conference has received the support of the Association of Performing Arts Presenters organization, which hosts the world’s leading forum for the performing arts every year in New York City.  JazzTimes is the official publication for the event. 


For more information about the Jazz Connect conference, you can e-mail jazzconnectnyc@gmail.com.  To pre-register for the conference, go to the registration page.

read more: https://sites.google.com/site/jazzconnect2014/home-1

Larry Ridley ....

Born: September 3, 1937, Indianapolis, IN, USA;

Doctor of Performing Arts - University of Maryland, Eastern Shore. 2005;


Master of Arts, Cultural Policy - State University of New York / Empire State College. 1993;


Bachelor of Science, Music Education - Indiana University / New York University, 1971;

Professor of Music, Emeritus, Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, beginning 1999;


Professor of Music - Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, 1971-1999;


Department Chairman & Designer/Implementer of the Undergraduate Jazz Degree Program of the Livingston College of Rutgers University Music Department - 1972-1980;

National Endowment for the Arts - Jazz Panelist, 1974-1976; Panel Chairman, 1976-1978;

National Endowment for Arts National Coordinator, Jazz Artists in Schools Pilot Program - 1978-1982;

Music Panelist - NY State Council on the Arts, 1987-1990; United States Information Agency, 1992; and numerous other State arts agencies (NC, PA, MI, NJ, OH) Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation;

YAMAHA Silent Bass Artist;

2011 to Present - Lecturer: Jazz at Lincoln Center / Swing University;

Executive Director, African American Jazz Caucus (AAJC) - beginning in 2001 to the present;

2014 - MEADE LEGACY JAZZ GRIOT AWARD, JEN Conference, Hyatt Regency Hotel, Dallas, TX;


2013 - Inducted into The Indianapolis Jazz Foundation Hall of Fame;


2013 - Congressional Black Caucus Foundation Jazz Legacy Award presented to Dr. Larry Ridley by the Honorable Congressman John Conyers (D-MI); also, Mel Watt (D-NC)& Bobby Scott (D-VA) @ The 43rd Annual Congressional Black Caucus Foundation Legislative Conference (9/19/2013); Walter E. Washington Convention Center, Washington, DC;


2012 - Inducted into the Indianapolis Public Schools System- Shortridge High School Hall of Fame;


2011 - Don Redman Heritage Award presented by the Don Redman Society, Piedmont, WV, Jefferson County, WV NAACP & Harpers Ferry Historical Association;

2011 - Rutgers University/Livingston College Legacy Award, presented by the Livingston College Alumni Association;


2006 - New York City Council Proclamation (June 19, 2006) awarded to Larry Ridley by Charles Barron, Council Member, 42nd District, Brooklyn, NY.
9/16/2001 - 6/30/2002 Member Board of Directors, Madame C.J. Walker Theatre Center, Indianapolis, IN;


2001 - Recipient of the Howard University "Benny Golson Award";


1999 - Inducted into the Down Beat Magazine Jazz Education Hall of Fame;


1998 - Inducted into the International Association of Jazz Educators Hall of Fame, NYC Convention;


1997 - Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation's "Living Legacy Jazz Award", Kennedy Center, Washington DC. (http://www.midatlanticarts.org/funding/artists_programs/living_legacy/ridley.html.);

Leader, Bassist and Artistic Director - the JAZZ LEGACY ENSEMBLE , 1985 to the Present;

1982 - 1987: Jazz Cultural Theater, New York City: Co-Partners: Larry Ridley, Barry Harris, Jim Harrison, Frank Fuentes;

JAZZ ARTIST IN RESIDENCE: Grambling College, Southern University, University of Utah, Drake University, Creighton University, Colorado College, Penn State University, Bowdoin College, Alcorn State, Bennington College, College of the Virgin Islands, University of Natal-Durban, South Africa. Madame Walker Theatre Center, Indianapolis, IN - 7/1/2002 to 9/30/2002. Schomburg Center/New York Public Library - 1993 to the present. 

The New York Klezmer Series

photo by David Kaufman
Aaron Alexander is Artistic Director of the New York Klezmer Series.  He has been an active klezmer musician since 1988, having played with many well-known Klezmer and Yiddish musicians. Alexander has released 3 CDs of original and improvised music, including Midrash Mish Mosh on the Tzadik label, and two self-released CDs “Blues for Sparky” and the duo CD “Conversational Music” with the great jazz trombonist Julian Priester.     He taught and performed for 10 years on faculty at Klez Kanada, Klez Kamp and has also taught at the Krakow Festival of Jewish Culture, Yiddish Summer Weimar, and others and often teaches the Klezmer Workshop at the NY Klezmer Series.

Alexander has performed & recorded as a member of Klezmerfest!, The Klezmatics, Hasidic New Wave, Babkas, Frank London’s Klezmer Brass All-Stars,  Greg Wall’s Later Prophets, Alicia Svigals Band, Satoko Fujii Orchestra West, Michael Winograd’s Klezmer Orchestra International.  He has performed with Theo Bikel, Adrienne Cooper, Cantors Ben Zion Miller & Yanky Lemmer, Lauren Brody, Elenor Reissa, Margot Leverett and more.

This just in: Ilana Cravitz will perform a short opening set with Pete Rushefsky on Tsimbl!

with:

Matt Darriau – clarinet
Patrick Farrell – accordion
Brian Glassman – bass

Ilana Cravitz – violin

read more: http://aaronalexander.com/wp/concert-schedule/nov-25-2014-aaron-alexander-friends

Rat Race Blues: The Musical Life of Gigi Gryce

Rat Race Blues: The Musical Life of Gigi Gryce

By Noal Cohen & Michael Fitzgerald

Second Edition 

ISBN 978-0-9906686-0-2 

Published by Current Research in Jazz, Rockville, Maryland

Foreword by Benny Golson - Over 30 photographs

Winner of the 2003 Award for Excellence from the Association for Recorded Sound Collections, the first edition has now been updated with new information from another decade's worth of research.

Gigi Gryce was a saxophonist and composer who worked with some of the best-known names in jazz during the 1950s, including Dizzy Gillespie, Thelonious Monk, and Max Roach. His many compositions remain a part of the jazz repertoire today.

His remarkable rise from poverty led to conservatory studies and tours of Europe and Africa before he established himself as a fixture on the New York scene. His efforts as a music publisher were bold and groundbreaking, and his quiet, unassuming personality set him apart from most of his peers. In only a decade as a professional musician, he earned the respect and admiration of his colleagues and served as a mentor to numerous aspiring young players. Gryce's sudden disappearance at the start of the 1960s left the jazz world wondering as to his fate. Few were aware of his change of identity and professional rebirth.

Misinformation about Gryce abounds, and rumors have circulated for decades. Years of research and dozens of interviews were conducted for this book, resulting in a biography that finally tells the true story of this often overlooked figure and illuminates his contributions to one of the richest periods in jazz history.

"There are any number of reasons for someone interested in the story of America and its music to delve deeply into the legacy of Gigi Gryce. To begin with, he was a superbly melodic composer who wrote pieces that linger in the memory. He was a master of writing music for larger ensembles and knew the intricacies of all of the instruments. This enabled him to combine them in ways that sounded fresh, and that were both challenging for the players and intriguing to the listener. Gigi Gryce is far too important a figure to remain in relative obscurity. This book will correct that situation." - Loren Schoenberg, saxophonist and artistic director, National Jazz Museum in Harlem.

Judi Silvano ....

12/02/2014
Jazz Soup for the Holidays 
The Metropolitan Room, New York, NY

12/05/2014
Nublu Jazz Festival presents: Judi Silvano’s Zephyr Quintet 
Nublu, New York City, NY

About
What Judi Silvano has been able to accomplish thus far gives the appearance of multiple artists’ careers strung together — but it’s all Judi. In fact, she’s always got a new project ready to fly, oftentimes dovetailing and overlapping her previous efforts.

Born in Philadelphia, with a degree (in both Music and Dance) from Temple University, Judi made her way to New York City in 1976 where she launched her career as an improviser — of dance at first. But jazz would not be far behind.

An alchemist of music and movement, her career as a choreographer and dancer led her straight to NYC’s downtown music scene where her improvisational spirit could run free. It also steered her toward what would become a long-term collaboration with saxophonist Joe Lovano that began in 1980 and continues to this day.

Throughout the 80s, you could also find Judi on any given Monday night at the Village Vanguard where the Mel Lewis Jazz Orchestra held forth, soaking in the great charts of Thad Jones. Before long, Judi could sing along with all the lead trumpet parts. You can trace the roots of her unique horn-like approach to vocalizing directly to this experience.

To date, Judi Silvano has 11 recordings to her credit, including 1997’s Vocalise on the Blue Note label. She has recorded her own original songs in addition to classic standard songs in ensembles from Duo (her newest 2014 release with Michael Abene: My Dance, and another with Mal Waldron: Riding a Zephyr) to Trio (voice, piano and trumpet: Indigo Moods) to Quartet, Quintet and Septet.  In addition, she has released 2 recordings for Meditation and Healing: Sound Garden – Spirit Music features Judi on flute and alto flute with sax great Joe Lovano on percussion and woodwinds and Sound Garden – Celestial Voices features her vocal ensemble’s soothing soundscapes.  Ms. Silvano has won numerous awards and grants (Meet the Composer, New York State Council on the Arts), been named as one of the Top 10 Vocalists in Down Beat magazine four times and Best Jazz Vocalist in the Hudson Valley, has written jazz columns for All About Jazz/ NY Jazz Report and has been the subject of an original composition (“Sketches for Silvano” by Lori Dobbins).

As a gifted educator with a great heart (that comment comes straight from her students), Ms. Silvano has passed on her knowledge and experience to a multitude of young musicians both privately and through her Vocal Improv workshops in NYC, and at such esteemed institutions as Banff International Center for the Arts, Rutgers University and University of Vermont in addition to international workshops and Master Classes.

As a progressive composer and arranger, Judi Silvano’s work has been recognized by the industry in many ways, including taking First Prize in The Brooklyn Lager Band Search, with judging for the Search led by trumpeter Lester Bowie.  She has written over 45 jazz and chamber music compositions which have been featured on recordings and stages in the US and in Europe.

Silvano dons the “Producer’s Hat” quite often. Her monthly shows at NYC’s Cornelia Street Cafe, featured established and emerging vocalists spanning a deliciously eclectic array of themes including: “A Tribute to Monk”, “Sephardic Meets Jazz”, “New Songs for Singers” (which included 14 singers presenting new repertoire), and with jazz journalist Lara Pellegrinelli, an evening of alternative lyrics to songs entitled “Strangers in the Night – An Evening of Uncommon Lyrics to the Great American Songbook”.  She is a champion of works by American Women Composers (ie her Women’s Work CD) and she collaborates on Thelonious Monk Birthday concerts around October 10th every year in New York City and the Hudson Valley.

The roster of musicians with whom Silvano has collaborated, performed, recorded and/or toured reads like a Who’s Who of Jazz. A short list of these stellar artists includes Kenny Werner, Joe Lovano, Charlie Haden, Jack DeJohnette, Billy Drewes, Ratzo Harris, Bill Frisell, Tim Hagans, Paul Motian, Erik Friedlander, George Garzone,  Manny Albam, Dave Holland, Mike Formanek, Gerry Hemmingway, Michael Abene, Rufus Reid, Ingrid Jensen, Dick Oatts and Newman Taylor Baker – and that’s just the tip of the iceberg. She’s performed at a multitude of festivals and concert houses around the globe including the Montreal, Paris, London, Verona, Perugia, Istanbul, Langnau Switzerland and North Sea Jazz Festivals as well as in NYC.

Judi has also painted her whole life and recently began showing her Watercolor, Pastel Oil and Encaustic paintings,  with solo and group shows along the eastern US.  She is a member of the Wallkill River School of Art, the Woodstock Artists Guild and has won the “Mary Evelyn Whitehill Award” for her watercolor and First Prize for a Pastel in juried shows.


You may have to stop and take a deep breath just from reading what Judi Silvano has accomplished to date – but she won’t! Judi’s ideas, spark, talent and enthusiasm know no limits. She’s off and running again, bringing her abundant talents and tireless spirit to the next endeavor.

Frank Foster ....

Frank Foster is one of America’s great composers, along with Duke Ellington and George Gershwin. His contributions have been as a saxophonist, mentor, composer, arranger and organizer. Those are the things he excelled in from the time he left Cincinnati. Some people are great instrumentalist, or great innovators, John Coltrane was a great innovative saxophonist, but Frank was known for all those things, and revered all those things.

CECIL BRIDGEWATER

Within the pages of this book is a candid autobiography of Frank Foster III. The book was published just as Frank wrote it.  In his own words, Frank chose to reveal the complexities both positive and negative that would tell his story.  His final request to his beloved wife Cecilia was to make certain that his book was published after his death. 

Frank’s musical career spanned seven decades with a contribution to the Jazz world that will never be forgotten.  He was called a musical genius.  As you read this book, you will see a life that reveals the triumphs and struggles of a man who made a major impact as a saxophonist extraordinaire, composer, arranger, educator, conductor of the world famous Count Basie Orchestra, as well as establishing his own 3 bands that became legendary.

I second the quote by his publicist, “Here’s to Frank, a musical genius for all time…One More Time!

DIANA GILLESPIE
Publisher