Weekend Wax Bits

Reprinted from http://jazzwax.com

Like you, I'm an avid music buyer and listener. And like any consumer, I have my gripes. No, this post isn't about the death of record stores or misplaced nostalgia for the LP. I'm good with downloads; I'm just not happy with what I'm getting and I see room for improvement. Maybe you do, too.

Here's Part 1 of my "Digital Wish List" (Part 2 will appear next weekend)...     

Are remasters really remastered? Do today's remastered recordings really sound better—or are we being tricked into thinking they are? Frankly, I don't know the answer. I knowthat the word "remastered" has a lot of leeway and probably ranges from a true reworking of the original material to waving the original over the digital one. What I do know is that 80% of the time, I'm not happy with what is claimed to be "remastered." In short, there's no wow factor. Whichever company can come up with the technology that adds true sonic value to recordings will rule the world.   

Who played on the download? I'm all for downloads. They're fast to buy and convenient to install. But albums aren't heads of cattle. I buy music because I'm interested in learning something and reading about who made it. I'm not sure why the industry has been so slow to offer liner notes with all downloads. Memo to industry: Hire intern, ask intern to scan original liner notes, convert to digital PDF.

Are samples better than  the download? I often check out samples before I invest in a download. In many cases, the samples sound bright and full, but when I download the album itself, the tracks somehow don't match-up. And I'm not sure why. This could be a music industry and retailer trick—the way ad agencies enhance images of products to make them more seductive. Or maybe the source they use for the samples is better than what's pushed through our cable. I have no idea. But if this trickery is truly happening, shame on the industry.

Where's the mp3? If you download from Amazon, as many people do, one of the big frustrations when shopping the site is that CD and download versions often are segregated.Meaning, you can wind up at the CD page and scroll down to see only track listings. But further inspection may show that a download is indeed available—just on another page. Amazon needs to bring its pages up to date and unify CD and downloads on a single entry.

So what's new? I've griped about this before but nothing has been done yet. In short, music buyers have no way of knowing what has just become available as a download. As a result, unless you are looking for something specific, you'd never know an album you're looking for was released yesterday as a download. The solution might be a weekly page listing new entries in specific music categories. Or perhaps a buyer could click to request a weekly email update. Either way, buyers spend when they know about what's on the market. Keeping new product a secret helps no one.  

A big thanks to Patrick Jarenwattananon, who writes and edits NPR's invaluable A Blog Supreme. Global readers of JazzWax who are unfamiliar with the NPR blog will find the site smart, insightful and way ahead of the curve when it comes to jazz news, web roundups and fresh perspectives on new artists. A Blog Supreme also has been an ardent supporter of JazzWax's mission to capture the stories of jazz legends and make them available online for free as an educational tool. Patrick was last year's winner of the Jazz Journalists Association's "Best Blog Award" and was a nominee this year. If you're unfamiliar with A Blog Supreme, go here and bookmark it. 

Enrico Rava radio.The lyrical Italian jazz trumpeter Enrico Rava [pictured] will be featured this Sunday on Bill Kirchner's hour-longJazz From the Archives radio show on WBGO-FM. Bill will feature Rava's recordings with a number of partners—including guitarist John Abercrombie, tenor saxophonist Mark Turner, trombonist Gianluca Petrella, pianist Stefano Bollani, drummer Paul Motian and others. Tune in from anywhere in the world on your computer at 11 p.m. (EDT) bygoing here.

Nelson Riddle Orchestra. If you're in New York on Tuesday night, you can dance outdoors to the music of the Nelson Riddle Orchestra as it pays tribute to Ella Fitzgerald and Frank Sinatra at Lincoln Center. The event is part of Lincoln Center’s 24th season of Midsummer Night Swing. Tickets are $17 each. For more information, go here. 

For sale: Glenn Miller's last concert property. JazzWax reader Phil Andrews in London sent along this fascinating article by Max Davidson in the Telegraph on The Grange. The large home in England's Bedfordshire was the site of Glenn Miller's last Army Air Force Band performance before the trombonist flew to Paris two weeks later in a small plane that disappeared. Go here.

Oddball album cover of the week: We may finally have found the polar opposite of those covers with half-clad models lying on their backs with drinks at their side. As for the target market of this album, one can only assume that the LP was aimed at chess-tournament types, protractor salesmen and lab technicians. Also makes you wonder if this album was part of a series:Music From Granite, Music From Magnets and Music From Condensation. On the cover, the signs for addition, subtraction and multiplication are there. Can you find the sign for division?
Used with permission by Marc Myers

Muddy Waters & The Stones - Baby Please Don't Go

Here's RARE footage of the Rolling Stone stopping by to sit in with Muddy Waters at The Checkerboard Lounge in Chicago to perform "Baby Please Don't Go" sometime in the early 70's is my guess. I'm not sure who some of the other players are on stage with them, but Mick (for a few songs), Ronnie Woods, and Keith Richards, get up for the duration of the set that lasted about 1 and a half hours. If you'd like to see the entire video email me at tranthum@unforgettable.com

JazzDoc: Bossa Nova

Reprinted from http://jazzwax.com

Here's a four-parter on the bossa nova from the BBC. They're missing a few things in terms of the history, but all in all, it's a solid overview (thanks again to Billy O'Hanluain of Dublin, Ireland).

Here's Part 1...

Here's Part 2...

Here's Part 3...

And here's Part 4...

Used with permission by Marc Myers

Dave Liebman: What It Is - The Life of a Jazz Artist

By LEWIS PORTER

[The following is an excerpt from Chapter 4 of What It Is: The Life of a Jazz Artist (Scarecrow Press, 2012), by saxophonist Dave Liebman, in conversation with Lewis Porter, author of John Coltrane: His Life and Music (University of Michigan Press, 2000). In it, Liebman and Porter discuss the saxophonist's involvement in the loft scene of the late 1960s/early 1970s in New York City, and creation Free Life Communication with a group of like-minded musicians.

This excerpt appears by permission of the publisher, Scarecrow Press. This material is protected by copyright. All rights reserved. Please contact the publisher for permission to copy, distribute or reprint.]

Arrival: Becoming an Artist

Lew: This loft was an important thing. How did the loft come about? When did it start?

Dave: In late 1968, after the practice period upstate, I went home to my parent's house to figure out the next period. During my time practicing in Lake Katrine from June to Thanksgiving, I had realized that I wasn't the super talent that some others around me were. I was just starting to understand what talent was, and how that affected what you did. I had al-ready met Steve Grossman, who definitely was what you called talented. I didn't have that kind of natural ear. I did not have that kind of natural talent, but I was a hard worker. I was fairly disciplined and had energy and emotion and expression—these aspects were never a problem. I knew that I had a story to tell. I could compel people to listen to me, but I wasn't that kind of guy who could hear something and play it back at you, which is the heaviest thing you want. I knew that for me to be good, I had to play and play more. There was no shortcut. It was hands on, hours at the wheel, and the only way to do that was to have a loft.

At the same time, I made a musical decision to play no more club dates. If I needed money, I had, after all, the right credentials and credits from college to be a substitute teacher in the public schools, which was a familiar scenario because of my parents. With substitute teaching two days a week, I could swing enough bread to be cool. It paid $35 a day and you were done by three in the afternoon.

I knew about the loft situation through my experiences with Bob Moses, who had introduced me to that whole world before. I knew that was the situation I needed in New York to get good. I knew how you got one—a real process. You got the Village Voice on Wednesday morning at six a.m. at Sheridan Square—direct from the printers. Then you got on the phone, ready to go immediately to see an advertised loft. You had to beat everyone else.

Lew: You mean you would buy it?

Dave: Exactly. It was called key money, which was basically a payoff. In other words, someone "owned" the loft who had ostensibly put in the fixtures—stove, fridge, toilet, shower, whatever. He might want $2,000 just for you to have the right to go to the landlord to negotiate a rental lease. I mean, you still had to pay monthly rent, and a sizable deposit for security. It's hard to explain, but in a way you were paying them, or someone before, who had put money into the building to make it liveable. Now, we are talking very basic in some cases, although when lofts be-came fashionable in the seventies and eighties, they could be like palaces. So, if you wanted it, you paid what the guy asked or whatever you could negotiate.

Lew: And it had nothing in it?

Dave: Well, maybe a toilet, but these were former industrial spaces, of-ten for the fashion trade which was centered in New York City during this time, especially in the Chelsea area on the West Side.

Lew: This is before SoHo lofts?

Dave: Before SoHo. That came a little bit later, and they were generally bigger and fancier—much more expensive than what I could ever afford. This area I'm talking about consisted of former industrial spaces with heavy machinery and the like. In one of my later lofts, above me was the constant thumping of clothing presses or whatever, but it all stopped at five p.m. and on weekends and holidays. Chunk, chunk, chunk, but at five o'clock, done!

Lew: Who lived in lofts?

Dave: Painters, photographers and musicians. Painters needed room for canvases. Photographers needed light. A lot of these lofts had big windows with a lot of light—floor-to-ceiling windows, twelve-foot ceilings. Musicians needed a place to play where they wouldn't have trouble with neighbors. With these places deserted at night, holidays, and weekends, you were cool. Nobody cared. It also fit the musician lifestyle, which was hanging all night and sleeping during the day, though depending on the situation, it could be rough with the factory noise. Often I didn't get up until two in the afternoon, after having gone to bed at six in the morning.

http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/article.php?id=42354

Music Review: Toulouse Engelhardt - Toulousology

By Phillip Barnett, BLOGCRITICS.ORG

I've always been intrigued by the possibilities of solo guitar. To me it seems to be the instrument with the widest range of possible voices - classical, jazz, folk, blues and country. I've played solo guitar finger-picking style for many years, and I can attest to the extreme technical difficulties of the art form. Somehow those intricate patterns that I hear in my head don't quite make it down to my fingers. When I get particularly frustrated, I begin to imagine conversations between my hands:

Right Hand: "That was pitiful - try to keep up. And next time, better execution on the bar chords."

Left Hand: "Oh, look who's talking. Weren't you a bit out of control there? And can't you play a bit louder so people can actually hear?"

Me: "Guys, guys, let's not fight. Can't you shake hands and agree to make up? Maybe it's time to go to bed."

So I can appreciate those who really have this stuff down.

Which brings me to Toulouse Engelhardt, the so-called "Segovia of Surf." (Actually, his birth name is Thomas). A self-taught guitarist, Engelhardt grew up listening to a lot of Dick Dale, but he's clearly moved beyond those days. He was a member of the "Takoma Seven," a group of fingerpickers who recorded for Takoma Records in the '60s through the mid 70's. Other members includedJohn Fahey (who originated the label) and Leo Kottke.

Toulousology, a compilation of songs recorded from 1976 Through 2010, showcases Engelhardt's virtuosity and compositional inventiveness. He demonstrates a variety of techniques, sometimes sounding classical, sometimes jazzy, sometimes like a Piedmont guitarist on crystal meth. Most of the solos are performed on 12-string guitar - a few are on electric six-string. Most compositions are his own, and include themes from a wide variety of classical and pop sources. Engelhardt often takes his song ideas from non-musical motifs (which is the definition of a tone poem).

"Fire in O'Doodlee's Popcorn Factory" seems to be his signature piece - I have no idea where he gets the title. Played on 12-string guitar, the song starts and ends with a catchy harmonic run. In the middle is a frantically paced combination of strum/picked folk-style run.

The title of "Young Goodman Brown Joined the Confederacy Today" is taken from a famous Nathaniel Hawthorne short story. It begins with a simple theme anchored by arpeggios done in three/quarters time, which segues into a complicated up-tempo section reminiscent of Leo Kottke (who Engelhardt lists as one of his mentors).

Engelhardt also uses a 12-string on the Jimi Hendrix song "Third Stone from the Sun." He uses lightning fast strumming and picking to substitute for the Hendrix psychedelic electronic effects. There may be a bit of an inside joke in the song selection, since the lyrics from Hendrix's version includes the lines: "[A]nd you'll never hear surf music again."

Engelhardt switches to Piedmont-style picking on electric guitar on "Beavers in a Hot Tub" - an electric guitar arrangement of the Leave It to Beaver theme song - and "Pressed Hams."

Both in his titles and in his playing, Engelhardt shows a wry sense of humor (which you'd better have if you're going to spend a lot of time playing this kind of music). He avoids the major sin of many pickers - he doesn't dwell on a particular theme too long, making sure to switch tempos and styles frequently enough to maintain the listener's interest.

So I heartily recommend buying this CD. Toulouse Engelhardt demonstrates dazzling technique and range that speaks clearly to the possibilities inherent in solo guitar. He does so in an intriguing way that doesn't seem preachy or self-important.

And both my hands agree with me.
View the original article on blogcritics.org

Read more: http://www.seattlepi.com/lifestyle/blogcritics/article/Music-Review-Toulouse-Engelhardt-Toulousology-3645992.php#ixzz1yYUenISQ

Jazz & Salsa mix it up at Torii Friday

Some of Okinawa’s top jazz musicians are making their way to the beach at Torii Station Friday night for eight hours of music at the annual Jazz & Salsa Festivãle.

The annual event sponsored by Army Morale, Welfare and Recreation is free, showcasing three groups at the Friday evening outing. Torii’s advice: bring your blankets, chairs and friends to Torii Beach for an enjoyable evening under the stars with Okinawa’s finesse musicians. Organizers promise plenty of food, beer and wine will be available.

Entertainment kicks off at 4 p.m. with Sword of the Far East. Musicians from the Okinawa Jazz Association entertain from 5 p.m. ~ 8 p.m., and Kachimba 1551 performs from 8 p.m. to Midnight. Right in the middle of the evening will be a fireworks exhibition. Fireworks start at 9 p.m.
The event is free to both the military and local communities. No personal alcoholic beverages, food, glass, pets or canopies will be permitted on Torii Beach. Taxi and Daiko services will be available to get patrons home safely. A map on getting to Torii Beach is available at www.toriimwr.com.
http://www.japanupdate.com/?id=12320

Indie Music Mockumentary makes Québec Premiere

VANCOUVER, June 21, 2012 /CNW/ - Bruno's Blues premieres in Montréal at the Cinéma du Parc. The film, with an indie, cult and jazz audience appeal, opens in a limited engagement for Late Night Weekend Madness screenings on June 29, 30 and July 6, 7 to coincide with the Festival International de Jazz de Montréal.

Set and filmed in Vancouver, the locally produced feature length music mockumentary, about the life of Bruno Hubert, a talented but irresponsible jazz pianist with its tragic and comedic turns, also showcases such acclaimed jazz artists as Juno award winnerBrad Turner, Mike Allen, Bill Campbell and Denzal Sinclaire.

Inspired by the life of talented Montréal born Jazz pianist Bruno Hubert, Brunoʼs Blues is a unique hybrid, combining elements of music documentary with comedic and dramatic performances in a quirky, offbeat mockumentary style. In addition to the virtuoso live music performances some of the musicians also play fictitious characters while Hubert dramatizes his own eccentric life.

"It's like nothing you've ever seen before," says the film's creator, Michael Simard of Bruno's Blues Productions Inc. Simard employed an unusual variety of film techniques to create the 80-minute film of shameless fun and sizzling jazz. "Bruno is the underdog that the audience can laugh at but also root for, as he goes through various challenges in the real world he has largely managed to ignore."

Simard says the movie that Bruno inspired has much in common with the unique musician. "I'm proud of the film in that it is original and you can't compare it to anything else - it doesn't fit into some cookie cutter mould. All these key Canadian artists came together and volunteered to support their good friend and fellow musician. We all did it for love and passion for jazz."

An accomplished photographer, artist and successful business entrepreneur MICHAEL SIMARDconceived, produced, wrote and directed Bruno's Blues, his first feature length film.

Bruno's Blues opens in Montréal following the film's successful theatrical screenings in Vancouver and Toronto, earlier this month.

Who:  What:  When: Where:

Jazz fans, indie cult film lovers Bruno's Blues Premiere June 29, 30 and July 6, 7 at 10:30 pm Cinéma du Parc, 3575 Av. du Parc, Montréal, QC

For full press kit and trailer go to:  http://www.brunosblues.com

http://ca.finance.yahoo.com/news/indie-music-mockumentary-makes-qu-090000262.html

2012 JJA JAZZ Awards Winners

Sonny Rollins, saxophone colossus, was the big winner of the 2012 Jazz Journalists Association Jazz Awards, announced this afternoon at a gala party at the Blue Note Jazz Club in New York City. The tenor saxophonist was named Musician of the Year, his album Road Shows, Vol. 2 chosen as Best Record of the Year and he was judged Best Tenor Saxophonist, too. 

Horace Silver, who at age 84 is residing in an assisted care facility in upstate New York, was hailed for his Lifetime Achievement in Jazz.

Amiri Baraka, author of the books Blues People and Black Music as well as plays, poetry and social criticism, was the recipient of an Award for Lifetime Achievement in Jazz Journalism; author Albert Murray, age 94, was honored with a "Words and Music" Award, co-presented by the JJA and the Jazz Foundation of America. Robin Bell-Stevens, executive director of JazzMobile, and Adrian Ellis, recently resigned executive director of Jazz at Lincoln Center, were celebrated as New York City "Jazz Heroes."

Other Awards in the 40 categories of excellence in music and music journalism voted on by professional members of the JJA went to a broad spectrum of jazz stylists; all the winners are listed below.

2012 JJA JAZZ AWARDS WINNERS

Nominees in all categories 
These awards honoring excellence in jazz music, recordings, presentation and journalism were presented by the Jazz Journalists Association at the 16th annual JJA Jazz Awards Awards gala on June 20, 2012 at the Blue Note Jazz Club in  New York City.
Note: We ask that you  DO NOT cut-and-paste or copy the entire winners list into your own blog or site, please link to this page instead. We, of course, welcome coverage and commentary on the list that includes some winner names. If you blog about or report on the winners we will be happy to link back to you; please send the URL of your blog post or report to admin@jazzjournalists.org

AWARDS FOR MUSIC
Lifetime Achievement in Jazz: Horace Silver
Musician of the Year: Sonny Rollins     
Composer-Arranger of the Year: Maria Schneider
Up and Coming Artist of the Year: Ben Williams     
Record of the Year: Sonny Rollins, Road Shows, Vol. 2 (Doxy Records)
Best Historic Recording/Boxed Set: Miles Davis, Bootleg Sessions, Vol. 1, Quintet Live in Europe 1967 (Columbia Legacy)
Record Label of the Year: ECM    
Large Ensemble of the Year: Mingus Big Band
Small Ensemble of the Year: Joe Lovano Us Five     
Best Male Vocalist: Kurt Elling    
Best Female Vocalist: Gretchen Parlato
Trumpeter of the Year: Ambrose Akinmusire  
Trombonist of the Year: Wycliffe Gordon
Multi-reeds Player of the Year: Anat Cohen   
Alto Saxophonist of the Year: Rudresh Mahanthappa
Tenor Saxophonist of the Year: Sonny Rollins
Baritone Saxophonist of the Year: Gary Smulyan    
Soprano Saxophonist of the Year: Jane Ira Bloom   
Flutist of the Year: Nicole Mitchell
Clarinetist of the Year: Anat Cohen
Guitarist of the Year: Bill Frisell   
Pianist of the Year: Vijay Iyer
Keyboard player of the Year: Gary Versace
Bassist of the Year: Christian McBride
Violinist of the Year: Regina Carter
Percussionist of the Year: Poncho Sanchez   
Mallets Instrumentalist of the Year: Gary Burton   
Drummer of the Year: Roy Haynes
Player of Instruments Rare in Jazz of the Year: Toots Thielemans, harmonica

AWARDS FOR JAZZ JOURNALISM
Lifetime Achievement in Jazz Journalism: Amiri Baraka   
Helen Dance-Robert Palmer Award for Writing in the Year 2011:Larry Blumenfeld
Willis Conover-Marian McPartland Award for Broadcasting: Josh Jackson    
Lona Foote-Bob Parent Award for Photography: Herb Snitzer     
Print Periodical of the Year: JazzTimes
Website of the Year: AllAboutJazz.com
Blog of the Year: Marc Myers' Jazz Wax
Book of the Year: Norman Granz: The Man Who Used Jazz for Justice (University of California Press), by Tad Hershorn    
Liner notes of the Year: Francis Davis, Sonny Rollins' Road Show, Vol. 2 (Doxy Records)
Photo of the Year: Chick Corea by Pavel Korbut
Short Form Jazz News Video of the Year: Victory! - The Making of J.D. Allen's Album by Mario Tahi Nathan

http://www.jjajazzawards.org/2012/06/2012-jja-jazz-awards-winners.html#more

All sorts at All Saints

TALENT from near and far will be showcased at the second All Saints' Arts Festival in Leamington.

Over the course of the weekend from June 29 to July 1, the neo-gothic church will host a varied programme of music from classical to jazz, samba to rhythm & blues, and also a photography exhibition.

The Purcell Trio, recent London Music College graduates, will give a chamber recital on June 30 at noon, playing music by Mozart, Schumann, Berg and Vasilenko.

Local samba group, The Sambassadors of Groove, will also perform on Saturday afternoon, and as usual they will be inviting the audience to join in with the Latin groove.

The Saturday evening will be one of jazz and dancing with Birmingham-based group The Vintage Jazz Band providing the music.

On the Sunday a traditional organ recital given by James Scott in the afternoon. His programme will include works by Bach, Willan, and Guilmant.

Award-winning cellist Alice Neary, David Adams and Thomas Guthrie will perform later in the afternoon, including Ravel's Sonata for Violin and Cello, Howells' By the Waters of Babylon and Stanford’s A Song of Wisdom and A Song of Peace

Leamington-based blues guitarist Steve Walwyn from Dr Feelgood will play an acoustic and electric set on the Sunday evening.

The festival will open on the Friday with a photography exhibition presented in conjunction with Warwickshire College, which can be seen throughout the weekend.

The festival organisers, who are all volunteers, thanked all the businesses and individuals who have lent their support, including The Rustic Food Company, Canna Wines, Kismet and Vale Pianos, together with local designer

Nicky Cure and photographer Andy Lock.

Visit www.allsaintsartsfestival.org for tickets and further details.

Read more: All sorts at All Saints | Rugby Observer