At Home With Smokey Robinson

Reprinted from http://jazzwax.com

A couple of weeks ago I was in Los Angeles for the Wall Street Journal to interview (go here) Smokey Robinson at his home north of the city. At age 73, Smokey is a charming, gregarious guy who generates enormous electricity when he enters a room—even when only one person is there waiting for him.

What you notice first about Smokey is how tall and fit he is. He stands nearly 6 feet tall and there's solid body definition that comes from weight-lifting. Then you notice his eyes, which are a sparkly green. Smokey is a lifelong showman, but he's also remarkably down-to-earth and unpretentious—comfortable talking about his success and open about what he can and can't do.

As you'd expect, Smokey is highly passionate about all forms of music, Motown and songwriting. But he also knows his jazz and R&B history. We sat for an hour in his library—a comfortable room with a large sectional leather sofa and wood and glass cases housing awards and photos—and the subjects were wide-ranging.

Smokey, of course, wrote and recorded Shop Around—Motown's first No. 1 hit (on Billboard's R&B chart) and first million-seller in 1961. He also wrote many of the label's classics including My Guy, My Girl, You've Really Got a Hold on Me, Mickey's Monkey, Going to a Go-Go, Ooo Baby Baby, Tracks of My Tears, I Second That Emotion, Baby Baby Don't Cry, The Tears of a Clown, Love Machine and many others.

Motown remains one of post-war America's most remarkable success stories. A black-owned record company in 1960 manages to overcome a range of racial and business obstacles to create a highly identifiable, seductive sound thanks to the vision of songwriter Berry Gordy.

As Smokey said during our time together, the label's rise was possible only because the company was run in a highly organized, supportive manner. Its goal was to create music for black and white teens and was managed by black and white executives who knew their slice of the business—from sales and accounting to distribution and artist development.

Back in the 1960s, Smokey was a key architect of Motown's crossover sound as a performer, songwriter, producer and company vice president. He's still going strong today.

JazzWax track: Here's Smokey Robinson with the Miracles (minus Claudette Rogers) performing Shop Around...
Used with permission by Marc Myers

2013 Parliamentary Jazz Awards Nominations AnnouncedNNOUNCED

2013 PARLIAMENTARY JAZZ AWARDS NOMINATIONS ANNOUNCED

19.03.2013

The nominations have today been announced for the 2013 Parliamentary Jazz Awards, now Britain’s premier awards for the jazz loving public and jazz fans in both Houses.  Moira Stuart joins us to host the ceremony, now in its ninth year, for the first time and which is organised by the All Party Parliamentary Jazz Appreciation Group (APPJAG).  Back by popular demand, we have a special guest performance by James Pearson and The Ronnie Scott’s All Stars.

The awards are sponsored by music licensing company PPL and Jazz Services and feature nine categories: Jazz Musician of the Year, Jazz Album of the Year, Jazz Ensemble of the Year, Live Jazz Award, Jazz Journalist of the Year, Jazz Broadcaster of the Year, Jazz Publication of the Year, Jazz Education Award, and the Services to Jazz Award.

Following the online public vote for the Awards via the Jazz Services website, the shortlist was then voted upon by the Selection Panel who represent a broad cross-section of backgrounds united in their love and knowledge of jazz.  The winners are chosen by judging members of the All Party Parliamentary Jazz Appreciation Group in Parliament and will be announced at the awards which will take place at the House of Commons, Terrace Pavilion on 8^th May.

The full list of nominees is:

Jazz Musician of the Year:

Christine Tobin

Guy Barker

John Etheridge

Read more: http://www.europejazz.net/news-pagenew-3964.htm

Tomasz Stanko gets lift from new New York rhythm section

Article by: CHARLES J. GANS , Associated Press

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• Tomasz Stanko New York Quartet, "Wislawa" (ECM)
  Polish trumpeter Tomasz Stanko has long been one of Europe's leading jazz improvisers, known for his original ballads influenced by Miles Davis' 1960s acoustic quintet but with a touch of brooding Slavic melancholy. The 70-year-old trumpeter has recently been spending time in New York playing with a top-flight rhythm section — Cuban-born pianist David Virelles, bassist Thomas Morgan and drummer Gerald Cleaver — who add a vibrant new dimension both as soloists and ensemble players to his music.
  This double album was inspired by the poetry of the late Polish Nobel laureate Wislawa Szymborska with whom he performed at a 2009 recital in Krakow. Most of the original compositions reflect Stanko's penchant for slowly unfolding, meditative ballads such as the dirge-like opening and closing title track, with Cleaver contributing delicate brushwork, and "Metafizyka" on which Stanko and Morgan play pathos-filled solos.
  Read more: http://www.startribune.com/entertainment/music/199913531.html

Tom Jobim and Astrud Gilberto - Viva Brasil

Astrud Gilberto: Holland '65

Reprinted from http://jazzwax.com

In the summer of '65, Astrud Gilberto made a fast trip to The Netherlands to appear on Dutch TV. The show—See Jazz—was produced by pianist and host Pim Jacobs. Flush off the release of Getz/Gilberto and the success of her single of The Girl From Ipanema, Gilberto sang a long list of songs with a bossa nova beat backed by Pim Jacobs (piano), Wim Overgaauw (guitar), Ruud Jacobs (bass), Ruud Brink (tenor saxophone) and Dom Um Romão (drums). According to the July 15, 1965 issue of Billboard, she returned to the U.S. a day after taping.

What's particularly special about the clip you're about to see—perhaps the finest video taken of the singer at her peak—is the foresight of the cameraman and producer. Rather than tape from a distance, they had the good sense to come in tight on Gilberto's face, giving us a luxurious look at how special she was back then—in both her innocent beauty and honest, lyrical delivery.

Here's Astrud Gilberto on Dutch TV in 1965 (ignore all the guesswork about the date at the YouTube page)...
Used with permission by Marc Myers

Charles Lloyd, Nicole Mitchell, Steve Coleman among top jazz releases

By Bret Saunders, Special to The Denver Post

There's so much accomplished new recorded music stacking up that I thought this relative breather between concerts would be a good time to get some of it out of my system and perhaps into yours.

Mostly Other People Do The Killinghas, over the decade since their formation, gelled into one of the premier jazz ensembles. Their CD cover art has perhaps received as much attention as the music itself, with the quartet's members re-creating classic LP shots from the likes of Roy Haynes and Ornette Coleman.

On the new "Slippery Rock" (Hot Cup) they present themselves as members of a slick '80s-era pop jazz ensemble a la Spyro Gyra (who will be in Parker

Lee Konitz will play at Dazzle on Sunday. (Associated Press)

this week, see below.) The irreverent cover art aside, this is a band committed to dizzying, avant-leaning intensity, usually provided with a hurried pulse. If MOPDTK remind me of anyone at this point, it's the infrequently documented ensembles of saxophonist and composer Henry Threadgill, which makes it as adventurous (and enthralling) as "jazz" gets. Meanwhile, trumpeter Peter Evans and woodwind expert Jon Irabagon are currently vying for the mightiest front line going.

Charles Lloydcontinues his seemingly endless winning streak with"Hagar's Song" (ECM) a more reflective set of duetswith pianist Jason Moran. Lloyd utilizes his arsenal of flutes and saxes to engage in soothing dialogue with pianist Moran, who has proven himself to be an empathic presence. It's a lovely hour, with the elder statesman reflecting on history (of jazz and himself.) Particularly effective are the meditative "Hagar Suite," the blues-inflected cover of Duke Ellington's "Mood Indigo," and the CD's delicate coda, a cover of (former Lloyd associates) The Beach Boys' "God Only Knows."

The notion of "jazz flute" has probably been relegated to Ron "Anchorman" Burgundy in recent years, and that's too bad, because, like Lloyd, there are some fine practitioners on the instrument,includingNicole Mitchell. Her quartet Ice Crystal has a spirited new CD, "Aquarius," (Delmark) that extends back into Eric Dolphy and Rahsaan Roland Kirk territory. The idea behind this project is to contrast her flute with vibraphonist Jason Adasiewicz, hence the aural "ice crystals." The sonic combination is intriguing, and even if you're not disposed to love the flute as a lead instrument, there are plenty of exciting ideas being explored here. Of the handful of Mitchell's releases I've heard, this one is the most appealing.

Read more:Charles Lloyd, Nicole Mitchell, Steve Coleman among top jazz releases - The Denver Posthttp://www.denverpost.com/music/ci_22843696/charles-lloyd-nicole-mitchell-steve-coleman-among-top?source=rss#ixzz2ObHtCw00

Bebo Valdés, Cuban Music Giant, is Dead at 94

By Jeff Tamarkin
Bebo Valdés, a pioneering Cuban pianist, bandleader, arranger and composer who was instrumental in wedding traditional Afro-Cuban dance rhythms with the improvisational freedom of American jazz, died yesterday (March 23) in Stockholm due to pneumonia. A multiple Grammy and Latin Grammy winner, Valdés, who spent his last years living in Benalmádena, Spain, also suffered from Alzheimer’s disease. He was 94.

Ramón Emilio “Bebo” Valdés Amaro was born Oct. 9, 1918 in Quivicán, a village outside of Havana. His interest in music began at age 7 and he studied both European classical and Cuban music at Havana’s Municipal Conservatory. His earliest performances were in the native rumba style but his exposure to jazz in the 1930s altered the course of his music as he adopted the African-rooted rhythms and the swing of the American big bands to his own playing and arranging. Valdés is credited with developing the batanga rhythm.

His ascension to musical director for the Tropicana (as well as in-demand arranger for film scores and studio sessions) came in 1948. Valdés played piano not only for Cuban performers but for visiting American jazz artists (including Nat “King” Cole, with whom Valdés worked on the 1958 album Cole Español) and by 1952, when Verve Records’ Norman Granz recorded him for the label’s first Afro-Cuban jazz session in Cuba, his renown had spread beyond the island.

Read more: http://jazztimes.com/articles/79430-bebo-vald-s-cuban-music-giant-is-dead-at-94

Vitoria-Gasteiz Jazz Festival (Vitoria, Alava, 16 Julio 2008).
El Pabellón de Mendizorrotza se llenó hasta la bandera para vivir la noche más latina de la 32º Edición, gracias a las actuaciones de Javier Limón y los pianistas cubanos, hijo y padre, Chucho y Bebo Valdés.

El Festival de Jazz de Vitoria-Gasteiz vivió su noche más caliente en la que los aires cubanos trasladaron a los asistentes al mismo mar Caribe de donde procedían los ritmos. Con un pabellón casi a rebosar, los músicos que se presentaron en Mendizorrotza no defraudaron.

Los cubanos Chucho y Bebo Valdés regresaban a Vitoria esta vez juntos, mano a mano, con un predecesor bien conocido por ambos: Javier Limón, quien tenía como artista invitada a la mallorquina con orígenes guineanos, Concha Buika. Buika, volvía así a un escenario en el que el año anterior causó diversidad de opiniones. Ayer demostró con su impotente voz que lo del año anterior fue tan sólo una sombra en su incalculable carrera.

Limón, más conocido por su faceta como productor (cuenta con cinco premios Grammy y es el responsable de álbumes de gran éxito como "Lágrimas negras" de Bebo y El Cigala o "Cositas Ricas", del guitarrista Paco de Lucía) demostró que también sabe hacer música. Arropado por su banda Limón, formada por jóvenes cubanos, y la colaboración especial del batería Horacio El Negro Hernández y la invitada Concha Buika, desplegó un repertorio formado por canciones de jazz, con mucha improvisación y ritmos flamencos. Con el disco "Son de Limón", Javier deja a un lado los escenarios para dar a conocer un disco de jazz latino. En Vitoria demostró que con tan sólo 35 años, ya ha llegado hasta la cima.

Con el público ya entusiasmado, subió al escenario, asumiendo el peso de la actuación Chucho Valdés, para su padre y para muchos, el mejor pianista del mundo. Durante más de una hora, demostró con el permiso de su padre, que es uno de los pianistas cubanos más importantes de los últimos tiempos. A la fiesta del mambo, el danzón, el son y la percusión se sumó también Mayra, hermana de Chucho quien puso voz, gracia y movimiento de caderas a temas tan populares y aclamados por la grada como "Bésame mucho".

Así, Chucho junto con Lázaro Rivero al bajo, Yaroldy Abreu en la percusión y Juan Carlos Rojas en la batería embelesaron y convencieron a todo Mendizorrotza de que quizás sean ciertas las palabras de su padre.
El momento más esperado y emotivo de la noche fue cuando llegó Bebo Valdés, presentado por su hijo como el tres veces maestro: maestro como padre, como músico y maestro en la vida.

Maravillado por la hermosura del País Vasco, que contempló desde la ventana del coche que le trasladó a su llegada desde el aeropuerto de Loiu a Vitoria, comenzó su recital de maestría con una versión de "La paloma" del compositor alavés Manuel Iradier.

Con un público totalmente entregado y de pie, Bebo Valdés demostró a los asistentes porque es una leyenda viva del jazz. Aunque ahora resida en Estocolmo, lleva a la espalda, casi 90 años de música cubana.

El broche final llegó cuando Chucho invitó a la banda de Javier Limón a subir al escenario. Limón conoce muy bien a padre e hijo, con Bebo ha grabado hasta doce discos y con Chucho ha participado en la producción de sus tres últimos trabajos. El resultado, una preciosa improvisación de la canción "Lágrimas negras", donde Mayra y Concha Buika unieron sus voces para ofrecer al público el mejor de los regalos.

Chihiro Yamanaka Trio At Dizzy's In San Diego, March 30

SOURCE: SCOTT FOSTER MEDIA, Published: 2013-03-22\
The Chihiro Yamanaka Trio will perform March 30 at Dizzy’s in San Diego, CA. The concert marks the San Diego debut by Chihiro, a Universal Music recording artist and influential jazz pianist and composer. The concert has the additional distinction of being part of Chihiro’s first multi-city west coast tour as a leader.

The tour also includes concerts at Yoshi’s San Francisco (March 27) and Kuumbwa Jazz Center in Santa Cruz, CA (March 28). The Chihiro Yamanaka Trio also will perform March 23 at the Warner Theatre in Washington, DC in the opening ceremony of the National Cherry Blossom Festival.

Dizzy’s is at 4275 Mission Bay Drive, at Rosewood St., in the scenic Pacific Beach section of San Diego. The concert begins at 8:00 PM and will take the form of one 90-minute extended set. Tickets are $20 and may be purchased at the door, and Dizzy’s provides information at (858) 270-7467. The current Dizzy’s venue is a new showroom location made possible through a collaboration with San Diego Jet Ski Rentals.

Appearing with Chihiro will be bassist Yoshi Waki and drummer John Davis. The New York-based trio's California debut was in September, 2012 at Yoshi’s San Francisco, where the group played to a packed house and to countless more who viewed the concert via streaming video.

In the month of March alone, Chihiro has performed on three continents, including 2 separate trips to Asia, before and after a trip to Europe. Her stops have included Japan, Italy, Germany, France and the United States, including concerts at two Billboard Live clubs (Tokyo and Osaka), the Blue Note Nagoya, Memo Jazz Club in Milan, and the opening concert of Festival Confini in Paris.

Keeping pace with Chihiro’s busy touring schedule is her prolific international recording career with Universal. In the past year she has had three CD releases, one in the United States,Reminiscence (Universal/Decca/EmArcy), and two in Japan, awaiting release in the United States: her Beatles tribute, Because (Universal/Verve), and After Hours 2 (Universal/Verve). In the same period Chihiro and Universal also have released an EP, Still Working, and a DVD, Live In New York, taped at Iridium Jazz Club.

The Live In New York DVD gives Chihiro’s fans the opportunity to experience on video the spectacular visual presentation that has been seen by anyone who has witnessed the fireball of energy and virtuosity on display at a live Chihiro concert appearance.

Read more: http://news.allaboutjazz.com/news.php?id=103400#.UU2Z47_hEhQ

Wolff & Clark Expedition

When two of the best musicians on the planet decide to combine their estimable talents to create a band without boundaries, the result is: WOLFF & CLARK EXPEDITION. Pianist Michael Wolff and Drummer Mike Clark, together with creative Bassist Chip Jackson, present a burning set of tunes ranging from The Beatles to Joe Zawinul. This is a "nouveau" piano trio: They take listeners to new, unexplored sonic realms. This self-titled debut is the first in a series of planned albums from Wolff and Clark. Join the EXPEDITION, and let the odyssey begin...!"

More info

Reviews

• "Michael Wolff a Master Entertainer at SFJAZZ Show"
• By Jim Harrington - Oakland Tribune
• "Wolff has finally found himself."
• NY Daily News
• "Wolff reaches a career peak"
• Knoxville Sentinel