5 September2017
Kirk Knuffke / Roscoe Mitchell / Houston, Texas
Francis Davis talks to the cornetist Kirk Knuffke about playing standards - which he calls "covers" -, about having gone through Monk and Mingus phases, about his latest album, "Cherryco" which contains tunes by Ornette Coleman and Don Cherry, about the choice of the cornet over the trumpet, about his fascination with the trumpeter Don Cherry, as well as about playing the cornet, yet also hearing a trombone in his head ( The Village Voice). --- Christian Belanger talks to the saxophonist Roscoe Mitchell about growing up in Chicago, about having worked with the Art Ensemble of Chicago since the 1960s and looking forward to the 50th anniversary of that group's performing under that name in 2019, about the connection between improvisation and the study of music, as well as about not slowing down and finding inspiration in constantly practicing one's instrument and then thinking about it ( Chicago Mag). --- Nate Chinen reports about the effects of Hurricane Harvey on Houston's vibrant jazz scene, talking to the drummers Kendrick Scott and Eric Harland, the pianists Robert Glasper, Jason Moran and Helen Sung, as well as to Sarah Rothenberg, the artistic director of Da Camera of Houston, a concert series of jazz and chamber music. He also talks to Warren Sneed, the current director of jazz studies at Houston's High School for the Performing and Visual Arts, and the guitarist Mike Moreno, and finds that many musicians who came out of Houston think of ways how to support their hometown and its jazz scene ( NPR).
6 September2016
... what else ...
Scott Timberg talks to the singer Cécile McLorin Salvant ahead of a performance at the Hollywood Bowl ( Los Angeles Times). Scott Timberg talks to the singer Bryan Ferry who is the headliner of the show at the Hollywood Bowl ( Los Angeles Times). --- John Lewis attends a performance of the Dutch trio Tin Men interacting with their audience through a cell phone app ( The Guardian). --- Robert Migliorini talks to the Hammond organist Rhoda Scott ( La Croix). --- Kevin Sun remembers the saxophonist Lester Young on his 108th birthday ( The Kevin Sun). --- Arthur C. Brooks remembers the saxophonist Charlie Parker on his 97th birthday ( New York Times). --- Oliver Hochkeppel attends the Jazzfestival Saalfelden ( Süddeutsche Zeitung). --- Sabrina Kleinertz talks to Lothar Krist and Uwe Thedsen about the Jazz Club Hannover in Germany ( Rockszene). --- Christina Schönstetter congratulates the German saxophonist and educator Joe Viera on his 85th birthday ( Passauer Neue Presse). Roland Spiegel and Ulrich Habersetzer talk to Joe Viera about his long jazz experiences as musician, author, teacher and artistic director of the Burghausen Jazz Festival ( BR Klassik). --- Jonathan Stempel reports about a lawsuit which the heirs to Thelonious Monk have filed against a northern California brewery about the use of Monk's name ( US News). --- Kirk Silsbee talks to the Israeli trumpeter Avishai Cohen ( Jewish Journal). --- Melanie Taylor reports about the Balalaika Bar in Frankfurt, Germany, opened in 1969 by Anita Bohländer ( Frankfurter Neue Presse ). --- Carli Berry talks to the guitarist Aaron Loewen ( Kelowna Cap News). --- Erin Nyren talks to the pianist and singer Harry Connick Jr. ( Variety). --- Stefan Michalzik hears the German saxophonist Christof Lauer at Palmengarten in Frankfurt ( Frankfurter Rundschau). --- Mitch Myers reports about an informal poll listing 20th century record labels which enthusiasts trust most, labels such as Blue Note, ECM, Impulse, Verve or ESP among them ( Variety). --- The Japanese trumpeter Terumasa Hino has been criticized for "excessive instruction" techniques by the Tokyo school board of education ( The Asahi Shimbun). --- The German saxophonist Angelika Niescier is awarded the Deutscher Jazzpreis, Germany's most important jazz award ( SWR2). Congratulations!
Obituaries
We learned of the passing of the guitarist John Abercrombie at the age of 72 ( Ottawa Citizen, New York Times, Los Angeles Times, NPR, Guitar World, The Guardian, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung , Tagesspiegel), the singer Bea Wain at the age of 100 ( Los Angeles Times, New York Times), the British critic Mike Hennessey at the age of 89 ( Billboard, Schwäbische), the trumpeter Tony Hardwick at the age of 79 ( The Union), the saxophonist and bandleader Larry Elgart at the age of 95 ( JazzWax), the guitarist Walter Becker at the age of 67 ( Los Angeles Times, New York Times, The Kansas City Star, The Blue Moment, New York Daily News, The Guardian), the drummer Skip Prokop at the age of 73 ( Billboard), the Scottish sousaphone player James Young at the age of 84 ( Scotsman), as well as the German singer and actress Margot Hielscher at the age of 97 ( Spiegel Online).
Last Week at the Jazzinstitut
The 15th Darmstadt Jazzforum takes place from 28-30 September, and Wolfram Knauer was asked on radio about the state of jazz research, about the story of the Jazzinstitut and about the concept behind this year's international conference about "Jazz @ 100. An alternative to a story of heroes". The interview can still be heard online ( Deutschlandfunk Kultur ).
Should you want to attend the Darmstadt Jazzforum, you are most welcome to. No formal registration necessary, however for organizational reasons we appreciate a short message letting us know you plan to attend. While the conference is free (jazzforum.jazzinstitut.de ), you might want to secure tickets for the evening concerts by the Kirk Lightsey Quintet (22 September), the Julia Hülsmann Oktett (29 September), and by Orrin Evans (30 September). We will be happy to see you!
The German photographer Arne Reimer shows photos about "My Encounter with 'American Jazz Heroes'" at the Literaturhaus Darmstadt, an exhibition which accompanies our Darmstadt Jazzforum this month. More details about the conference, concerts and exhibition can be found on our website ( jazzforum.jazzinstitut.de); a report about Reimer's exhibition (misidentifying Carla Bley as a singer) appeared in the weekend edition of our local newspaper ( Allgemeine Zeitung). Doris Schröder who curated the exhibition will be at the Open House at Literaturhaus this Friday which the exhibition is taking part in.
Wolfram Knauer was one of two keynote speakers at the Rhythm Changes conference in Amsterdam talking about aspects of space and sound in jazz and meeting with colleagues from many different countries ( Rhythm Changes, program booklet, report at OUP blog).
