Larry Appelbaum

Larry’s Contributions

October 2009 Before & After

Before & After with Earl Klugh

Earl Klugh’s music matches his disposition: warm, relaxed, gentle and thoughtful. The Atlanta-based nylon-string guitarist took a break from his sold-out weekend engagement at Blues Alley in Washington, D.C., to drink coffee and listen to music. Afterward...

August/September 2009 Before & After

Before & After with Lou Donaldson

Saxophonist Lou Donaldson shoots from the hip during in a listening session done during the Portland Jazz Festival

09/21/08 Concerts

Jazz in the Hermitage Garden

Russia has a long, complicated history with jazz, reaching back to the 1920s. Viewed as decadent and forced mostly underground during the Stalin era, jazz has proven remarkably hardy, especially since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. The Russian...

06/18/08 Concerts

Nordic Jazz '08

The Nordic Jazz series in the nation’s capitol has undergone a number of changes over the past three years. It began in January 2006 as a way to capitalize on appearances by various musicians at the IAJE Conference in New York. In that first year, embassies...

05/28/08 Concerts

Mary Lou Williams Women in Jazz Festival

The Mary Lou Williams Women in Jazz Festival is no longer the risky, ground-breaking venture it once was. After more than a dozen years the Kennedy Center has honed the formula for success: mix different styles with established names and lesser known acts...

07/03/07 Concerts

TD Canada Trust Vancouver International Jazz Festival

Vancouver may be known for its scenic splendor and great food, but for jazz fans what seals the deal is the annual 10-day jazz festival leading up to Canada Day. Now in its 22nd year, the TD Canada Trust Vancouver International Jazz Festival deftly balances...

02/27/07 Concerts

Portland Jazz Festival: A Celebration of ECM

In only four years the Portland Jazz Festival has grown into an international event that successfully reconciles creative programming with the financial bottom line. This year, in addition to more than 140 performances and educational programs over two weeks...

November 2006 Artist Profiles

Tigran Hamasyan: Brilliant Covers

Pianist Tigran Hamasyan was not the most popular finalist in the Thelonious Monk International Jazz Piano Competition held Sept. 17 at Washington, D.C.’s Kennedy Center; at least not with the audience. Fortunately, the Thelonious Monk Competitions have never...

10/10/06 Concerts

Duke Ellington Jazz Festival 2006

In Washington D.C., straightahead jazz festivals come and go. An important if now forgotten international jazz festival in 1962 unfortunately only lasted one year, and the Kool Jazz Festival played here for only a few years in the early 1980s. There were...

09/19/06 Concerts

Monk Institute Piano Competition

Pianist Tigran Hamasyan was not the most popular finalist in the Thelonious Monk International Jazz Piano Competition held Sept. 17 at Washington, D.C.’s Kennedy Center; at least not with the audience. Fortunately, the Thelonious Monk Competitions have never...

09/17/06 Concerts

Kenny Garrett Quartet with Pharoah Sanders

Jazz CD sales may be down but saxophonist Kenny Garrett’s career is on the upswing. During the three-year gap between his last Warner Brothers CD Standard of Language and his new Nonesuch release Beyond The Wall , Garrett continued an active touring schedule...

05/15/06 Concerts

Mary Lou Williams Women in Jazz Festival 2006

The 11th Annual Mary Lou Williams Women in Jazz Festival began with a nod to the festival’s namesake. Pianist Jessica Williams shared a story about hanging with Mary Lou Williams at the Keystone Korner in San Francisco, then dedicated to her a heartfelt...

01/26/06 Concerts

DC Nordic Jazz

Since 9/11, visa paperwork and expenses have made it increasingly difficult for musicians outside of the U.S. to play American clubs and concerts. It’s a shame because jazz is now a world music that needs cross-cultural access and collaboration to stimulate...

January/February 2006 DVDs

Rendezvous in New York
Chick Corea

In late 2001, Chick Corea celebrated his 60th birthday with a three-week acoustic engagement at the Blue Note in New York City. The musical party included Corea in nine different musical settings, from duos and trios to larger ensembles. A double-CD amuse...

12/12/05 Concerts

James Moody’s 80th Birthday Celebration

James Moody’s 80th Birthday Celebration at the Kennedy Center was an entertaining blend of thrown-down jazz and lighthearted fun. Backed by the Dizzy Gillespie All-Star Big Band, Moody and fellow NEA Jazz Masters Slide Hampton, Jimmy Heath and Paquito D’Rivera...

09/21/05 Concerts

Thelonious Monk International Jazz Guitar Competition

Norwegian guitarist Lage Lund, a graduate of the Berklee College of Music, has won the 19th annual Thelonious Monk International Jazz Competition. Lage's artful arrangement of Billy Strayhorn’s “Isfahan” and his darting, articulate lines on Wayne Shorter’s...