Memo Acevedo - Ensemble

MEMO GUILLERMO ACEVEDO (drums, congas, timbales, Latin percussion, Brazilian percussion, vocals) was born in Santa Fe de Bogota, Colombia. He is highly regarded in the field of Afro-Cuban and Brazilian rhythms and has performed with a number of diverse musicians including Stephen Stills, Tom Scott, Bruce Cockburn, Mark Murphy, and for the Broadway musical “The Lion King”.

In 1993, Acevedo released his first album as a leader, the self-produced and arranged 'Building Bridges' on the Concord label featuring guest appearances by flutist Dave Valentin, pianist Gonzalo Rubalcaba, and Tito Puente.

He has taught percussion and drums at Humber College in Toronto and the Drummers Collective program in New York, spent time playing with Irakere and has been one of the musical directors for the Afrocubanismo festival.

He was the featured percussionist in 'Sound of Toronto Jazz' concerts with Banda Brava, the Carol Welsman Quartet, the Gene DiNovi Trio, and the Doug Riley Quartet.
read more: http://www.canadianjazzarchive.org/en/musicians/memo-acevedo.html

John Abercrombie

JOHN ABERCROMBIE (trombonist) was a member of Jim McHarg's Maple Leaf Jazz Band during his playing career. He was featured as a sideman with that band in the March 21, 1983 “Sound of Toronto” presentation.

The Stumble. Wayne Deadder, Shawn Abedin, Mike Branton

SHAWN ABEDIN (drummer) was born October 22, 1956. He performed at the Sound of Toronto Jazz Concert Series in 2002 with the Kelly Jefferson Quartet.

Balkans and Beyond: Cocek! Brass Band Bring the Horns and the Energy

Sam Dechenne was an aspiring trumpet player, still in junior high school, when he looked through CDs in his local public library. One cover caught his eye, a picture of men holding shiny brass instruments, and he began to smile. The name of the band was exotic – Fanfare Ciocărlia. He had no idea what it meant or where they come from. But when he got home and played the disc, his life was changed forever. In that moment the foundation for Cocek! Brass Band was laid. Now their debut CD, ‘Here Comes Shlomo’ (released October 2nd, 2014) has arrived.

“I fell in love with the music,” recalls Dechenne. “It really spoke to me. From there I discovered more Balkan brass and it became the biggest influence on the band.”

For all that they’re named after a Balkan dance, Cocek! Brass Brand aren’t slavish copyists of the style. It’s definitely there, but it’s only one ingredient in a spicy stew of horns. The five-piece (two trumpets, trombone, tuba, and drums) also draw from jazz, New Orleans, and even reggae – not too much of a stretch as Dechenne is a member of John Brown’s Body, one of America’s leading roots reggae bands.

“I wrote all the material on the album,” Dechenne explains. ‘We’re not trying to be traditional. It comes from all the music I’ve played, whether it’s Balkan, West African, Dixieland, classical brass, marching bands, or whatever.”

And so “Slow Jump, Fast Fall” carries echoes of the slow drag style of early jazz, while faint traces of “Summertime” drift across “Vagabond Dreamin’."

“I’ve been writing tunes for the last year,” Dechenne notes. “I didn’t really intend on doing anything with them. But when the band just came together last winter, we really hit the ground running, playing shows as much as we could for the last six months, then going into the studio. We already have another album’s worth of material.”
read more: https://www.storyamp.com/dispatch/10320/9NBloqWFV_ud81-exbeu2A

NPR Music - You Must Hear This

TINY DESK CONCERTS Pacifica Quartet: Tiny Desk Concert The Pacifica Quartet explores the world of Soviet-era composer Dmitri Shostakovich. Watch the group play selections from his introspective cycle of string quartets. Watch the video

MUSIC INTERVIEWS Painting Her Songs In The Air, Imogen Heap Keeps Innovating The Grammy-winning songwriter has a Midas touch of sorts: Everything she touches turns to tech. Heap speaks with NPR's Scott Simon about her new album and the electronic gloves she used to make it. Read this story

DON MENZA with SAM NOTO Live in New Orleans 1989

SAM NOTO (trumpeter, flugelhornist) was born on April 17, 1930 in Buffalo, New York, U.S.A. Reputed as an excellent bop soloist, Noto has worked throughout North America with some of the biggest names and best bands in jazz, including Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, Buddy Rich, Red Rodney, Don Menza, Joe Romano, Larry Cavelli, Louie Bellson, Kenny Shroyer, Frank Rossolino, Ed Leddy, Archie LeCoQue, Kent Larsen, Joe "Red" Kelly, Phil Gilbert, Pearl Bailey, Bob Fitzpatrick, Bill Catalano, Jim Amlotte, Anita O'Day, Lennie Niehaus, Bud Shank, Bill Perkins, Rob McConnell, Mel Lewis, Stan Kenton, and Richie Kamuca.

Noto’s only formal training on the trumpet was in grade school, but he became so proficient that he was invited to join Stan Kenton’s band as lead trumpet player while still in his early 20s. He played with Kenton full-time until 1958, and again in 1960 after a year-long stint touring Europe with Louie Bellson and Pearl Bailey in 1959. He was also a member of the Count Basie Orchestra for two separate periods between 1964 and 1967. He worked primarily in Las Vegas after 1969 until relocating to Toronto in 1975. It was while living and working in Vegas he became acquainted with trumpeter Red Rodney who was influential in Noto’s prolific recording career with Xanadu.

While living in Toronto, Sam Noto quickly became a first-call studio player, and was a member of Rob McConnell’s The Boss Brass for a number of years in the ‘80s. He also established his own successful groups including the Sam Noto Quintet, performing frequently on bandstands and concert stages throughout Toronto in the ‘90s and early 2000s. Now living in Fort Erie, Ontario, he continues to play in and around the Toronto area, as well as closer to home in Buffalo, New York jazz clubs.
From: http://www.canadianjazzarchive.org/en/musicians/sam-noto.html

'Blues for Oscar'

'Blues for Oscar', a Peter Beets composition, performed live by the Peter Beets Trio at the Hothouse Redbad jazz stage in De Harmonie Leeuwarden, NL on Friday, April 11th, 2014.
Musicians: Peter Beets - piano, Marius Beets - bass, Gijs Dijkhuizen - drums.
Video recorded by EBBARKJ
From: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sdaSCacVknM#t=14

Tubby Hayes/Jimmy Deuchar - Suddenly Last Tuesday - 1965

Although it took me a while to grasp how far-flung its influence was, culturally, one of the USA’s greatest gifts to the world is Jazz in all its manifestations.

In retrospect, I became aware that through Willis Conover’s Voice-of-America and a variety of European-based radio broadcasts, exported US records and vibrant domestic recording labels in a host of European countries and the efforts of visiting or expatriate Jazz musicians, Jazz thrived in far-flung places like Great Britain, France, Sweden, The Netherlands, Italy, Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Japan.

And where it wasn’t allow to flourish openly, a serious Jazz underground following developed in central Europe and The Soviet Union.

Thanks to many generous urbane and cosmopolitan friends, then and now, my awareness of Jazz on the international scene has grown over the years much to my satisfaction and enjoyment.

My first exposure to Jazz abroad were a series of Jazz in Britain recordings that Lester Koenig released on Contemporary Records, a Hollywood, California based label whose “corporate offices” and “recording studios” were conveniently located about 10 miles from where I went to high school.

Lester’s “corporate offices” consisted of a small storefront near Paramount Movie Studios on Melrose Avenue and his “recording studio” was sometimes set up in the back room where he packed and shipped his LP’s.

Lester’s “British Jazz” LP’s were actually re-issues of recordings that had originally been produced for London-based labels such as Tempo and Jasmine. [Essentially, Lester was reversing the process and “importing” Jazz back into the United States!]
http://jazzprofiles.blogspot.com.br/2012/08/pub-crawling-with-jimmy-deuchar-and-lads.html

Lansing's Gallery Suite Jazz Series to feature U.K. talent

Oli Silk on Friday will bring his music to the Gallery Suite Jazz Series at The Knight Cap in Lansing. / Courtesy photo by Graeme Holiday

Lansing’s Gallery Suite Jazz Series, spearheaded by Lansing saxophone great Phil Denny, just finished up its 18th consecutive sold out performance, and the next show is shaping up to be equally successful.

Oli Silk is one of the most talented jazz keyboardists and producers coming out of the U.K. right now, and today, he will bring his music to the Gallery Suite Jazz Series at The Knight Cap in Lansing.

Silk spoke with us about his love for jazz music, the U.K. jazz community and his latest album, “Razor Sharp Bit.”

Q: When did you first get into jazz music, and what drew you to the genre?

A: I was exposed to jazz, funk and soul music from a very young age through my older brother in particular, who was a huge vinyl collector. It was the first time I got

to hear artists like Jeff

Lorber, George Duke and The Crusaders.

Q: You’re based in the U.K. What is the jazz community like there?

A: The scene over here is quite thriving actually, we have a cool club in London called Pizza Express Jazz Club which hosts many of the big U.S. contemporary jazz artists every year. We also have several other satellite venues around the South which is exciting.

Q: You recently released a new album, “Razor Sharp Bit.” Tell me about the writing and recording process for this album.

A: Razor Sharp is my fourth solo studio album for Trippin’ Records.

It’s a project I was really psyched about as I managed to write and feature some great guest artists like Chuck Loeb, Paul Brown and Elan Trotman. The first single “At Your Service” featuring bassist Julian Vaughn went all the way to the top of the Billboard Radio Top 30, which was just fantastic.
read more: http://www.lansingstatejournal.com/article/20140821/THINGSTODO02/308210055/Local-Music-Beat-Lansing-s-Gallery-Suite-Jazz-Series-feature-U-K-talent?nclick_check=1